I'm it

I was tagged (for the first time ever) by Adrianne, so here goes . . .

1. Best thing you cooked last week? Hmm, did I cook anything last week? Wait . . . yes, I did! Goulash and chocolate chip cookies. Those might have won even if they hadn't been the only things. Current favorite meal I ever cook? Pumpkin sausage pasta (lots of garlic and fresh sage). Yum.

2. If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with whom? With John and so, so many places. Right now, I'm a little obsessed with going to Vail for a weekend away. We drove through there in the middle of the night during the summer we were dating (2003). I have never seen so many bright stars. We actually pulled off the highway for a few minutes just to gaze, and I've wanted to go back ever since. I keep telling him one of these years he needs to take me for our anniversary. With a probable wedding in the family (although no engagement yet, see below), a family reunion in Canada, and a nursing baby, this year probably isn't the year, though. Maybe next year.

3. When was the last time you cried? I'm actually not sure. I cried quite a bit those first three months after having Evelyn. One day when she was just shy of four weeks old (it was Halloween, actually, now that I think of it), I basically cried every time anyone looked at me. Got to play group, started crying as soon as the first person said hi. Lorinda and Nate came over to visit while Rebecca was at preschool, and the minute she walked in the door I basically started sobbing uncontrollably. It worked out, though, because she gave me carte blanche to come over to their apartment any time I wanted. I really love those guys. I think it's been at least a month now since I shed any serious tears, though.

4. Five things you were doing 10 years ago: That would be 1998, right?
* Getting ready to graduate from high school
* Commuting to Murfreesboro two times a week for calculus and physics
* Trying to convince my parents to let me go to BYU a few months early; they eventually relented, and that was when/where I met John
* Volunteering at Vanderbuilt Children's Hospital
* Eating breakfast at the Pancake Pantry on Saturday mornings after violin lessons

5. Five things you were doing (almost) 5 years ago: I'm going to interpret this as a general 2003 question, since the first three things listed happened that summer
* Interning at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York (a gig that very handily got me out of jury duty just a few months ago; or maybe it was the fact that I have two family members who were victims of a crime and testified against their attacker; or that I'm an attorney who has represented individuals on death row in a few different states; it wasn't completely clear)
* Hanging out with Eve, Amy, and Anna - OK, so this is really part of the EDNY gig, but I just have to mention those girls because I am amazed that we all still keep in touch as well as we do. I love it.
* Wondering whether I would make law review
*Attending my grandmother's funeral - one of those sadly sweet times I have attended a funeral and been sad to be separated from a friend or family member but known unequivocally that the person being eulogized was now in a joyful place
* Wondering if John was ever going to ask me out - for the record, I broke the silence first by asking him what he thought about us going on a date (not our first date - that was back in 1998); then, he asked me out

6. Five things you were doing 1 year ago:
* telling John I was pregnant (technically, like a year and a week ago)
* working my longest hours
* settling into our new apartment
* sitting through jury duty for the first time (see above)
* hoping John's replacement would get hired soon (it finally happened on December 2)

7. Seven of your favorite hobbies:
* running - I don't really enjoy it, but I like how it makes me feel afterwards.
* walking - this, I actually love
* reading
* playing the violin - I'm hoping as E gets bigger I can work a few minutes here and there back into my schedule
* singing
* baking
* right now, watching Lost - we started when we were in the hospital at the beginning of October and are still only halfway through season 2 because we only watch it together

8. Five favorite foods:
* ice cream
* cheese
* fage 2% yogurt (a new obsession, but I think it has staying power)
* peanut butter and jelly
* cheesecake lollipop tree with bubblegum whipped cream at davidburke & donatella

(and I will pause here to say that we now see why the thought of me eliminating dairy was ludicrous)

9. Five places you've been:
* China
* Macchu Picchu (Peru)
* Maceio, Brazil
* Morocco
* Turkey

10. Five Favorite Memories: Can I change the question? I don't know that I have such a short list of favorite memories. Here are five memories I treasure (of many).
* Our wedding day - it was honestly, absolutely perfect. I've never wished I could go back and redo it (although I've often wished someone else would get married, just because I like weddings, especially the cake)
* The day Evelyn was born - One minute, there were just the two of us (and John was napping, so really, I was sort of alone), and the next (well, okay, like 90 minutes later), there were three! Maybe it was the epidural (I doubt I would have been in a very contemplative mood had I still been in excruciating pain), but I found the whole experience very surreal.
* The first time John told me he loved me.
* New Year's with the Barretts - this is really a lot of memories rolled into one, but I love my family's tradition of a fancy dinner on New Year's Eve as well as the New Year's Day traditions we have
* Our vacation to Mexico last June - I don't think I've ever had such a relaxing vacation. I was terrified I'd be bored to tears without 5-6 a.m. wake up calls, changing hotels (okay, cheap hostels) every night, 3 cities in 4 days, etc, but it was actually really nice. As I told a coworker after I returned, it turns out my husband is pretty amusing; we had been seeing virtually nothing of each other for a few months before we went.

People I am tagging: Brooke and Kaedi

* * *

February 1

February 2 - you have interrupted my evil plan

. . . to vomit all over Daddy (don't feel too badly for him; the day before, I got the bodily fluid trifecta; I just went ahead and threw those pajamas away)

February 3 - oh, so, you're supposed to TOUCH the toys. Of course! This makes so much more sense now.