Summer Camp, Days 23, 24, and 25

Day 23 – What are your favorite activities to do on-line? Is there more to do beyond blogging?

My favorite thing to do online is play games. Specifically: crossword puzzles, nonograms, logic puzzles, and my new favorite KenKen. If you like brain teasers or sudoku, you'd like nonograms and kenken.

Day 24 – What is your dream date? Have you ever dated anyone you met from the internet?

"April 27. Because it's not too hot, and it's not too cold..." If you get that, you're a dork, just like me. And no, I've never dated anyone I met from the internet.

Day 25 – What did you want to be when you grew up? Why and/or how did that change over time?

At some point in time, I wanted to be an astronaut, a zookeeper, a vet, and a teacher. I'm not a vet because I couldn't handle having to put animals to sleep, I'm not a zookeeper because I wouldn't want to clean out the cages, and I'm not smart enough to be an astronaut. In college I wanted to be a museum curator, and would still love it, but unfortunately most curator pay would not cover the amount of $ I would spend on the master's degree in museum studies.

Summer Camp, Day 21 (and a random side note)

Day 21- What names would you NEVER name a child or pet? What name do you wish you had been named? Do you like the name of your blog?

Ok, first off, there are things I would name a pet that I would NEVER name a child. So, really, that's two questions. And since all my pets are named after Harry Potter characters, a lot of names don't qualify. :)

Being a teacher, lots of names get ruined for me because of the kids. For instance, I would never name a kid Hayden, John, or Brady. McKenna, Mackenzie, or McKayla. Victor. Avery. Kendall. And I've always always ALWAYS hated the name Kiefer.

I love my name, but, my mom wanted to name me Anjuli instead of Julie. My dad apparently hated the name though, and gave my mom a choice between Julie and Angela. I love being a Julie, but sometimes I wish my name were Anjuli. I like it. I use Anjuli a lot for emails and such.

The name of my blog is ok. It makes sense to me, even if it does to no one else.

Speaking of blog names, I have two finalists for my more Cate-centered blog. "Love, Honor, and Constant Vigilance" and "Chew Toys and Teething Rings". Which one do you like?

Random Side Note: I'm trying to stop pumping, and I went 48 hours before I realized that I really really had to pump. (Seriously, my boobs were rock hard.) Anyway, I did, and the milk that I pumped was green. Not like, grass green, but like mint ice cream green. It was very strange. I looked it up though, and apparently, it's normal.

Don't forget to tell me which blog name you like!

Summer Camp, Days 19 and 20

If you're here from the LFCA click here, or scroll down. Thanks for your help!

Day 19 – How do you (and your partner if applicable) feel about PDA? Does your husband/wife/partner know that you blog and if so are they involved?

I'm wondering if the only definition I know of PDA (public display of affection) is not the one in this question, since I don't understand how it relates to Jeff knowing I blog. But you all know he knows I write a blog, and he writes one too.


Day 20 – What is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you? Did you repay the kindness? Did you blog about it?

I can think of 2 things that really stand out, and both of them have been in the last year. The first was Foxy sending a baby bonnet and a sprig of lavendar for Cate. It meant so much to me that an almost stranger who I know only through the internet would take the time so send such a heartfelt gift. And Foxy, she's big enough for it now, so you can expect some pictures!

The other thing will seem silly to you, but it meant a lot to me. The day I went back to work after my maternity leave, my co-worker C brought me a Diet DP. I know, that's small, but she took the time to bring me my favorite drink on the morning she knew I'd be having a rough time.

Summer Camp, Days 17 and 18

If you're here from the LFCA about donor eggs, click here, or scroll down. And thanks for your input!

Day 17 – What is your favorite thing about the weekend? Do you take a break from blogs or is this when you catch up?

It used to be that my favorite thing about the weekend was that Jeff and I had time to go garage sale-ing, go out to eat, sleep in, and goof off. Now that it's summer, we have a hard time figuring out what day of the week it is, so weekends don't make too much difference. I know that when school starts up again, my favorite thing about the weekend will be that I get to spend all day with Cate, instead of just a few hours.

I catch up on blogs whenever I have time, not necessarily on the weekends.

Day 18 – How do you feel about astrology? What’s your sign, baby, and do you think it matches your personality?

I really don't ever give much thought to astrology. My sign is Aquarius, and I actually had to do a bit of research before I could decide if it matched my personality, which should tell you how I feel about it.

So far, I've found that Aquarius is tempermental, impatient, makes friends easily, is a leader, struggles to pay attention to detail, and wants to make the world a better place. I freely admit I'm impatient and tempermental. Attention to deal is definitely missing in my world, and I would like to make the world a better place, but of course thinking about it is usually as far as I get. However, I actively try not to be a leader. I don't have the confidence required to lead, and I don't make friends easily. I prefer to listen rather than talk (a big change from when I was a kid) when I meet strangers, and I think I come across as snobby. I swear I'm not though.

Summer Camp, Days 14, 15, and 16

Day 14 – How do you typically dress to run errands? Do you think bloggers dress better or worse than “regular people”?

I wear a t-shirt and jeans or shorts pretty much all the time. When I was pregnant, I lived in sweat pants at home, but I would change them before leaving the house. I have standards and all.

I can't honestly say I've ever thought about how bloggers dress.

Day 15 – What was your college experience like? Were you involved in any clubs, groups, etc? If you did not go to college what was your experience like after high school?

I liked college. I had fun. My freshman year, I joined a sorority, but I didn't really have the time or money for it. I worked full time all four years of college, 3 of them as a manager at a Burger King. Still, I loved college.

Day 16 – How many friends of yours blog/tweet/actively facebook? Has social media helped or hurt your friendships?

I don't have any close friends who are active in any of that. Facebook has been nice though. It helps me keep in touch with my friends who are scattered across the nation.

Egg Donation

I've wanted to donate eggs ever since Jeff and I had to pick out donor sperm. Now that we have a baby and our IF treatments are over with (for now?), it's been on my mind more and more.

I started doing research on it today. I'm glad I did, since most companies have an age cut-off of 29. That leaves me about a year and a half.

However, there are almost a dozen local companies right here in DFW, and who knows how many nation-wide. So, I'm looking for women who have used donor eggs or donated eggs. I want their input on who they used and why. I want to be sure I pick a company that doesn't bankrupt the prosepective parents.

If they used donor eggs, I also want to know if they preferred open or anonymous donations. Some centers I've found require meetings before hand, and some are strictly anonymous. I don't think I care either way, but I'd like to know what those using donor eggs look for.

Thanks for your help!

Summer Camp, Days 10,11,12, and 13

Day 10 – Share your favorite recipe (or two) (see! You CAN be a food blogger!)

I'm not sure I've enabled you to fully grasp what a terrible cook I am. I have no recipes to share, but you if have one to share with me that is EASY to make (less than 3 steps), I'll try it and let you know how it goes!

Day 11 – How are you different from your parents? How are you the same? Do your parents and/or family know that you write on-line?

Hmm...I'm having trouble thinking of how I'm different from my parents. I have my dad's sense of humor. I'm pretty much my mother. Seriously, she about fell over laughing the other day when I confessed that I actually licked my thumb to clean something off Cate's face. I don't look a thing like my mom, but if you look at pictures of her when she was my age, we could be twins. In fact, check this business out:

This is a picture of me, my mom, my grandma, and my great-grandma. My mom posted this on Facebook on Mother's Day, and everyone thought it was her, me, and Cate. My, oh my.

Most of the fam knows I have a blog, and they know they have to stop reading it soon. They get their own.

Day 12 – Tell us about the first time you got drunk or tipsy (as far as you can remember…) Do you ever stop yourself from telling too much when you write on-line or do you think you tell too much?

You know, I hate to say it, but I'm going to skip this question. I don't think anyone I work with/for would ever read this blog, but you never know. If you're just dying to hear the answer to this question, feel free to email me. I'll tell you.

Day 13 – Tell us about the best job you ever had, and the worst. Do you ever blog or read blogs while at work? Do you ever quote or reference blogs while at work?

Love this question. While teaching is certainly the best paying job I've ever had (sad), the most fun I've ever had at a job was when I worked as a server for Studio Movie Grill. If you're not familiar with it, it's a theatre that serves actual food. Tables, bar, full menu, the works. I had so much fun working there. I only did so for 6 months while I was student teaching, but it was awesome. (The tips were lousy.) I got to work with great people, see all the movies we had, and serve food, which I really enjoyed.

The worst job I ever had was the one right before Studio. I worked for an inventory counting service. It was the worst. Job. Ever. Never have I been so bored. It was completely mindless, counting shirts and shoes and bread and peanut butter and cell phone parts. Ugh. Terrible. I dreaded it every day. I only did it for a month. They wanted to promote me, but I took the lower paying server job instead. Fantastic choice!