One of my favorite blogs to read, My Friday Blog, recently had a Forward to the Past post that included a ‘Grown-Up Survey’.  Truth is, I secretly miss those random quizzes too.  The ones that let you mentally step away from your norm during the day, or wind down at night.  The ones that let you think about everything or nothing, and let you be as nondescript or detailed as your little heart desires.  Sorry that it took me longer than anticipated to post this, but here you go Josh… I’ll play your game!

GROWN-UP SURVEY

1. What bill do you hate paying the most? I hate paying our truck payment. First, because it is the wide-ass dually that I can’t stand. Second, because we already bought that truck outright several years ago.  When my husband and I decided to finish our basement, the most inexpensive and logical “loan” was against one of the vehicles. Now we are making payments on the truck.  For our basement.   That we haven’t even completely finished.  Sigh.
2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner? At my dining room table, five nights ago. No, the kids weren’t sent off to grandma’s house: everyone was home. The family was enjoying the last day of the work/school week, each other’s company, and a great meal.  The thing that I love most about my husband is that he can still make my heart flutter, even during the most mundane of situations.  There we were, the kids chatting happily about their favorite parts of the day, actually getting along and using their manners at the dinner table, and my husband, out of nowhere leans in and kisses me, for no apparent reason.  He then refreshes my wine glass.  Kisses and wine?!  That is romance at its finest, in my opinion.
3. What do you really want to be doing right now? At this particular instant, I would love to be soaking in a tub with Epsom salts and essential oils to take away yesterday’s intense work-out aches. With a glass of wine. Oh, and a good book… I would even settle for the Reader application on WordPress.
4. How many colleges did you attend? I attended one in person, one on-line, and worked at another.
5. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now? Because Uncle Sam chose it for me.
6. What are your thoughts on gas prices? Fuck gas, and its high and fluctuating prices. Seriously, it is absolutely ridiculous to be spending money on something that (a) we have a stockpile of here in the U. S. of A., and (b) that I’m pretty certain we have progressed enough in our environmentally friendly ways to alleviate our dependency. But, I may be out of a job if that was the case……
7. First thought when the alarm went off this morning? Fuuuuuddddgggggeeeee. Did I actually sleep last night?!
8. Last thought before going to sleep last night? Add ‘grapefruits’ to the grocery list… and also travel size containers for my upcoming trip with Mama to Florida…and I can’t wait to be sitting on the beach… and I wonder if my bathing suit from last year still fits…and I wonder if the weather will allow me time to sit on the beach in my bathing suit…. and will I be able to relax…. and how will Kenzie do with me gone, since she didn’t do very well with my latest trip to Oklahoma City… and I wonder when I will get my per diem for my Oklahoma City trip… and we are going to have to use that per diem to pay for the IPR on the truck… and we need to take the other vehicle in for servicing tomorrow…and…… (I could go on and on and on… my mind doesn’t really ever shut down at night)
9. Do you miss being a child? Yes and no. I miss the lack of responsibility and very short few years in my life when my biggest concern was what my little sister and I were going to do during the day; whether it was exploring the neighborhood, or “roughing” it out in the woods behind the house, riding bikes all day long, or swimming at Dad’s house. I do not miss the bullying, the feeling of inadequacy compared to my three beautiful sisters, the nightmares, and the back and forth between my mom’s and dad’s houses.
10. What errand/chore do you despise? Bleh…. cleaning the toilets. Yuck, yuck, yuck. It is bad enough cleaning the toilet after myself, but cleaning a fecal matter-encrusted toilet bowl that everyone in the house, and sometimes guests use.  <shudder>
11. Get up early or sleep in? I would love to sleep in if I could, but I really haven’t slept in over four years. As long as I can drag my ass out of bed and into the shower, an early morning wake-up is best for me.
12. Have you found real love yet? Absolutely. I gave birth three times to my greatest instances of never-ending, unconditional love. My husband is pretty great too… It took until my 30’s to meet him, but everything happens for a reason.  We both had a lot of growing up and life-living to do in our late teens and twenties.  If we had met earlier in life, I don’t think either one of us would have been ready for the other.  The end result, however, is a mutual respect, honest-to-goodness care for each other’s well-being, intense friendship, passionate love life, and a shared sense of humor that makes any situation just a little bit better.
13. Favorite lunch meat? Chopped ham, cheese and bologna, after that, macaroni. Mustard, ketchup, ham, ham, ham, ham, haaaaaaammmm!!! Actually, just ham.
14. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart? The perpetual feeling that I am contributing to everything bad in the world.
15. Beach or lake? Beach, for sure!! I think of a lake as stinky and stagnant. I think of a beach as an undulating surf, with the tides sweeping away the bad and starting each day with an empty canvas.
16. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual? No. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with promising yourself to only one other person, and vowing to be monogamous. I also don’t believe the bible as the “word of God” though, so my idea of a marriage may be something vastly different from the majority.
17. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives? Neither. Save that drama for your mama… I have enough of it in my life that I don’t need to be caught up in all of that garbage.
18. What famous person would you like to have dinner with? George W. Bush. He seems like a funny mother-fucker, full of quirky comments and someone who you could enjoy a beer with.
19. Have you ever crashed your vehicle? Oh lord… let me count the ways… (1) Some assbag ran a red light and ripped the whole left side of my Cheesemobile (my first car – 1985 Honda Civic hatchback) off. (2) I took a corner too fast, slid on the wet pavement, and ran headfirst into a telephone pole with my first new car purchase <totaled>, (3) I got t-boned in a parking lot <totaled> (4) I backed out of my parking spot at o’dark’thirty, leaving for work one morning, smashing into the car that was parked illegally behind me <totaled their car, minimal damage to mine>
20. Ever use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose? Yep. I put out a fire on a jet fuel starter on an F-16 aircraft. Scared the living shit out of me.
21. Ring tone? Family and close friends have their own personalized ring tones, but my main one is the theme song from True Romance, You’re So Cool.
22. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth? 38,000 feet in the air in the back of a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft.
23. Somewhere in California you’ve never been and would like to go? San Diego. My husband tells me how beautiful it is… I would like to experience it someday with him.
24. Do you go to church? Uh, no. Or should I say, hell no. I was force fed Catholicism for 17 years of my life.  I tried attending the Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Episcopalian churches.  They all seem very cult-like to me.
25. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship? I would rather start a new career, hands down.
26. How old are you? 37 years young. I think… I kind of stopped counting after turning 35.
27. Do you have a go-to person? My husband Martin is my number one go-to person. If he is unavailable, my dad, my mom, and my oldest daughter come in a very close second place tie.
28. Are you where you want to be in life? Not really… I want to be free of anxious thoughts. I want to be able to shut down my mind at night and relax every once in a while. I want to have a career where I feel like I am actually making a difference, not just a paycheck.   Fuck that… I don’t want a career anymore.  I still want to make a difference, but I want to stay home with my two remaining children who are still at home, and concentrate on being a good mother that isn’t exhausted and snapping at them all the time.  I don’t want to be deployed anymore.  I actually like my family and wish to spend as much time as I can with them.  I want to raise my honeybees and chickens and garden and write and make candles.  I am utterly in love with my house and land, but eventually would love a houseboat.  I struggle with friendships… It’s very awkward for me.  I am one of those people who have a hard time interacting with other women, because I really don’t get into the shopping and the hair and the drama and the make-up and the cattiness and, wow did I just completely stereotype all women??  I see others engaging in these ultra-supportive girlfriend relationships, it really looks quite nice and I get a bit jealous.  When I have the chance to develop a friendship, however, even with a woman who is more like me, it usually just fizzles away before it amounts to anything.  I get too busy, or don’t work hard enough at it to keep them around.  I am where I want to be with my marriage, but I would like the ability to concentrate more on just us every now and again.  I feel like my husband and I sometimes neglect each other with the everyday norm.

So there you have it…. I would love to hear what you have to say to these questions!  Copy the text, replace my answers with yours, and don’t forget to tag me when you are done.

~Cari~