B.Y.O.C. Bring Your Own Crazy!!!

It’s BYOC Friday – Bring Your Own Crazy! Five little questions – some funny, some serious – that you can copy and paste to your blog. We do this in an effort to get to know each other better and to give our blogging brains a break! Enjoy!


Side note: Some of the questions today or upcoming may be repeats BUT some newbies have asked that I ask them so if you don’t mind re-answering that’d be great for all the new bloggers who are getting to know us “oldies”!

1. Regardless of what stage you are in - in your weight loss, get healthy journey – do you still consider yourself “fat”? Was there a point when you stopped feeling that way?

This is a hard one for me because I think the word fat has such negative conotations that I've pretty much banished the word from my brain.  It makes me cringe to hear it whether someone is talking about a fat little kitten, or if it comes up while playing catch phrase "the opposite of thin".  So, I would never use that word to describe another human including me.  I do think I'm overweight and in fact I am, so I'm not sure how helpful that is.  Perhaps when I'm closer to goal I struggle with thinking I'm still overweight when I'm really not (or not much) we'll see.
2. Tell us about your first kiss.

It was in the back seat of my friend's boyfriend's car while we were driving home from the skating rink (the first date).  I was 13 in the 7th grade and my friend was 15 in the 9th grade and her boyfriend and this guy who I was with were both 16 in the 10th grade.  (can you imagine letting your 13 year old daughter go out with a 16 year old boy).  I remember the very first contact was with his mouth wide opened and my mouth compltely closed (as I didn't have the slightest clue what the hell he was doing) so it was like he was eating my mouth.  But I figured it out pretty quickly and there we were making out in the back of the car with these other people in the front seat.  I was completely mortified, but had no idea how to make the situation stop.  He wasn't being agressive, I just didn't know how to be assertive.

As a side note - I told my parents that I had a date and brought him home to meet them because I thought that's what you were supposed to do (I didn't really have rules when I was growing up I just sort of did what I thought you were supposed to do)  Anyway, of course they didn't love the idea that I was going out with a boy who was 3  years older than me, though they didn't tell me not to, just that I couldn't be alone in a car with him.  But - it was an interaction that I didn't like.  So the very next boy I introduced them to was my husband when I was 24 years old and he was 21.  I'm pretty sure that my mom, to this day, believes that I only went out with two boys in my whole life.  I've never told her otherwise.
3. Describe your parenting style (either current or what you hope to do or what you would do if you ever had kids)?

I call it gentle parenting.  I have friends who from the moment their kids were born they have been enforcing the rules.  Sit this way, act that way, do this, don't do that (and I'm not talking about in any kind of negative way - just the way I see lots of people do it - and they end up with lovely polite children).  Their goals are to be commended and I want my kids to end up the same way, with the same rules and knowledge.  But I have a bit of hippy in me.  My biggest wish growing up was to live on a comune - I still want to.  I sort of see me as a border collie herding my kids in the right direction - towards the small end of a funnel - sort of pushing them closer and closer into where I want them to be - but we didn't start that way.  I am really big on "fly and be free" I want the 'who they are meant to be' to come through loud and clear.

I'm not sure it was the right choice - we'll just have to see.  It's certainly true that my first born is ready willing and able to question authority and I love that, though we're still working on when that's not a smart idea.  Of course my second born is naturally worried and shy and he struggles with just being himself because he's afraid - mind you, he's much better at following all the rules society gives... I just don't know. 

I'm big on being polite and nice and my older one struggles with that right now as he's entering his teenage years.  All this said - I'm so much more tough than my parents ever were.  There are rules and consequences and lines in the sand they'd better damn well not look at much less cross..... Who knows.  We'll all see how we did at some point in the future.
4. How would your best friend describe you?



Hmmmm.  I'd say I'm a lucky girl as I have two.  There's the one I've known for many, many years - who was with me through depression and marriage and children all the ups and downs of life and I know without a doubt I could tell her anything and she'd always have my back and she'd always tell me the truth no matter how hard - this is Jen.  Jen would say... I'm loyal and smart and tough and principled and fun to play with.  She's who I'm going to JazzFest with.  We will have lots of fun and I am totally hoping I'll get to meet and play with Tessie Rose and her lovely hubby.

Then there's Camille.  I've only known Camille for a few years and we've never met in person.  I met her through a kinky board we both belonged to once upon a time.  We have an IM window opened every day, most of the time.  We talk throughout every day - a little of this and a little of that.  She knows me so completely it's amazing.  There isn't anything we haven't talked about - seriously anything - big, small, personal, world views - whatever.  If she didn't read here I'd tell you what she told me yesterday and you'd know just how much we share - LOL.  On the face of it we couldn't be more different and if we'd come across each other in person - we wouldn't have done more than be polite to each other.  But at the core of who we are - we sync beautifully and without the internet I'd have completely missed that - and that would have been tragic.  So.. Camille would say... (and she'll correct me if I'm wrong) hmmm.. I'm funny, and smart, and a smart ass.

I just asked Camille and this is what she said: "inquisitive, caring, funny, intelligent, determined, insightful about others (not always herself lol), and charming"  Hmmm. Very interesting.


5. Repeat question: Summarize your week in blog land and in real life.

In real life - The madness has started.  We had four baseball practices and one soccer practice this week and that's just the very tip of the iceberg.   Soon all four sports will be in full swing and we won't get a break till school's out - of coures that's when summer stuff starts, but whatever.  Today it's 75 degrees and I'm driving around with my top down and it's just hard to be too upset about much when that's the case!

In blogland - I feel totally inept at keeping up.  I try and try and try and completely fail, though I think I'm finding a rhythm that is sustainable. 

And Jenny is going around sprucing up everyone's blog - she's just flat out amazing.  That's really all I have to say on that point!