You be the judge...

I am definitely not a big fan of having housepets & I think that toddlerhood is convincing me of that even more everyday :)

Here are just a few of the ways that Luke is channeling his inner puppy & proving this to me...

*Most of his toys have been a "chew" toy at one point or another
*He follows Scott & I around the house (as the old saying goes) "like a puppy" :)
*Peeing on the carpet is a great new trick
*For the last week or so, we keep hearing him say "ooww, ooww, owooo" (howling) when he is playing with his animal toys
*He has been known to pick up pieces of food off the floor to eat after having thrown them on the floor
And...
*He loves to pant & wave his hands in the air (similiar to dog's wagging their tails) when he is really excited about or wanting something

It really is all very cute, well except for the peeing on the carpet thing, but it does leave me wondering. Hmmm...what will his next phase be...?

2009 Book #4

Thanks to all of these snow days, I just finished my book last night! I read After Long Silence by Helen Fremont which is a memoir of her family. Helen & her sister, Lara, were raised as Catholics, but when she was an adult she learned that her parents were actually Jewish. They were Holocaust survivors who were still living the "lives" they had created during that terrible period. Helen & her sister eventually pieced together most of their parents' story through research & interviews that they had conducted with others.

This book was a fast read & not quite what I expected it to be. I thought that it was going to be more about her parents' 'story' than it actually was. This book was more about her, Helen's, life & how she and her sister and their family as a whole were affected by the lies that were told as they were growing up. Don't get me wrong, there were still many, many accounts of the Holocaust told in the story, but Helen definitely let you know that she wasn't ever sure that she was getting the "whole truth" from her mother, father & aunt. I have read several books about the Holocaust & am always blown away by the terrible things that occurred & how terrible human beings can be to one another based on a simple difference in beliefs. Although this book was not (in my opinion) one of the best ones I have read on this time period, it did leave me with a couple of new impressions. For instance, every book I have read, pretty well, stops somewhere between 1946-1950 so I liked that this book took place long after those years & gave me a glimpse of what it was like to grow up raised by Holocaust survivors. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it before, but it probably would have been quite trying at times especially if you weren't really aware of what had happened to them! I also liked that they were raised as Catholics because she wrote about their mom's take on some of the things Catholics do (since she was only 'Catholic' as a way of protecting her children!) For instance, when Helen asked why they don't go to Communion like everyone else or if she had to participate in Confirmation, her mother always replied that they never did those things in Poland & that they were newfangled American additions to Catholicism. Because I myself am Catholic, I found those remarks quite hilarious, but totally understood why her mom told her those things.
Soo...if you're interested in this time period, you may find this book interesting, but I wouldn't recommend it as a 1st read if you are wanting to learn more about the Holocaust in general.

Wordless Wednesday: Snow

This is a pic from the last time it snowed a week or two ago, but there is plenty more than this out there again today~Yay! I was going for an 'artistic' shot-love to hear what you think, but only if it's good-hehe :)

Check out more Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom

25 Random Things...

I did this on Facebook for some of the people I know in RL (real life) & I thought I'd share it all with you too~enjoy! :)

1. I love to read & will read almost anything put in front of me.
2. I love listening to music & will listen to any kind.
3. I once helped to host a "Polka Party" for one of my aunt's birthday parties~yours truly provided the tunes :)
4. I like making people laugh, but am not always sure that they get my humor.
5. I also tend to smile/laugh in awkward moments (like funeral lines) & I feel guilty about it, but don't know how to stop it.
6. I like beer! (the drink & the song!) ;)
7. I love teaching kids & hope that I am making a difference in a few of their lives.
8. I have a very sarcastic/dry humor.
9. I cannot remember ever being able to smell anything, except on 3 or 4 rare occasions in my entire life.
10. I like knowing that I have taken a GOOD picture of someone or something :)
11. I wrote in a journal through some of high school & most of college & loved the 'release' it gave me for some of my thoughts.
12. I love watching TV, especially soap operas (although I don't really watch them much at all anymore) & old sitcoms.
13. I do not get up at night with my son, Luke. Scott does this, mostly, because he hears him before I do~he is a VERY good man!
14. I have been known to sleep through my alarm clock, loud thunderstorms & even the smoke alarm once! Yikes!
15. I love watching a good sappy movie & forcing Scott to watch it with me!
16. I have a new found love of running, especially in colder temps, but I haven't done it much lately with the weather & extreme cold temperatures :(
17. I have a weird fear of having tick stuck to me & never knowing it's there~I think because I'm not really sure what happens if you never find it.
18. I have problems with the times "quarter til" & "quarter after"~I get them switched around in my head when I am trying to remember when someone told me to be someplace at one of these times. I do much better with :15 or :45.
19. I used to always be very early to places, but now tend to run 10-15 mins late~I blame my friend Lora :) her ways rubbed off on me when we were college roommates!
20. I am known as the "instigator" in my close circle of friends~I am constantly encouraging them to do crazy things when we get together.
21. I used to take a roll of dimes with me to a local bar outside of town when I was in college for their "30 cent draft" nights every Thursday. :)
22. I really like even numbers, especially 4's & 8's.
23. I would love to have 4-6 kids someday.
24. I spell peoples' names in my head when I meet them & if they end up spelling it differently than I would, it bothers me until I am used to it. A little weird...I know :)
25. I also associate certain spellings with specific people so when I see that spelling I automatically think of that person.

Hope you enjoyed this version of "getting to know Anita"! ;)

I've Been Tagged!

I'm so excited! This is the first time EVER that I've been tagged for anything in the blogging world so here it goes~thanks Brenda!

Here are the rules:
1. Go to where you store your digital photo folders & open the 4th folder.
2. Go to the 4th picture and post it.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag an additional 4 people.

Some great photography to be sure! ;)

This picture was taken in August 2004 at my cousin Becky's 'couples' wedding shower. She & her husband received a croquet set (most awesome game ever!) as a gift, in fact, I may even have been the one to give it to them, but I'm fuzzy on the details. Becky, my sis Emily, myself, & a couple other cousins decided to break into this gift immediately for a game of "Extreme Croquet". Becky's mom & dad had just recently built their new home & it had a huge slope from their walkout basement. So "Extreme Croquet" consisted of playing a game in the dark with the metal hoops all on the "hills" where you had no control over where your ball would stop if you could get it up the hill & hopefully not lose your ball in the darkness! That was a fun night :) Thanks for helping me to remember it Brenda!

I am going to tag Jenny (because I know she has tons of pics & I'd like to know what her 4th pic in the 4th folder is :), Jamie (one of my RL friend blogging buddies), Jaime & Angie (2 bloggers I've known a short while & some my newest blogging buddies)
I can't wait to see your pics! :)

"You Light Up My Life" Sunday 1/25/09

This person always makes me laugh.
This person is by far the "most intelligent" person in his family...if you listen to him tell it :)
I am actually a bit frightened by how alike our sense of humors are!
This person would do anything for his family & friends.
He is a good uncle, but prefers to see his niece & nephews in 'small doses'.
This person loves to cook & is good at it too.
He loves to sing, especially when he may only know one little phrase of a song & knows that it may be annoying to his brother.
He is a good brother to his brothers & sister.
This person is very thoughtful, most of the time. ;)
He is my only hope for having a niece named "Ethelburga" someday! haha (maybe I'll share this inside joke with all of you in a future post someday...)

So to my brother-in-law, Brad, here's to you~I love ya!

2009 Book #3

I just finished reading Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner this week. It is the first book I have read by this author & I enjoyed it quite a bit so I'm sure I will be reading more of her books down the road.
This book is about a girl named Cannie Shapiro who has just broken up with her boyfriend of 3 years. She is a pop culture reporter, has a mother who has come out of the closet & a father who 'forgot' about his first family when she was just a girl. The plot of the story basically begins when she sees a new magazine column that is being written by her exboyfriend. It shares the same title as the book & the column she sees is titled "Loving a Larger Woman", which sends Cannie into a year filled with lots of misery along with some very fantastic events. She comes out the other end with a totally new perspective about herself & her life in general.

I liked this book because I felt that Jennifer Weiner really captured the dialogue that runs through my 'fat person' head. The way Cannie sees & thinks about herself throughout most of the story is something that I can totally relate too. I can also say that I have felt that same way about myself numerous times throughout my life. I also like how she comes through the terrible thing (I don't want to ruin the surpise if any of you haven't read it yet) that happens toward the end of the book with such a healthy take (eventually) on everything that has happened to her & about herself and the way she looks. I also liked that it was a fairly easy read that only made me think 'just a little bit' about myself & how I view myself. It is good to have a "thinking" break between the tougher books! :)