Day 8 - Short term goals for this month and when you'll accomplish them

Since I'm mid-month here, I'll do November AND December.

-Pass my classes (First week of December)
-Have ALL my lines fully memorized for the play (Thanksgiving weekend)


Actually... that's about it.  :-)

Day 7 - A picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you

Let's do this from left to right, clockwise.  :-)

First and foremost, my Savior.  He has been, by far, the person with the most impact on my life.  He loves me, and for that I am eternally grateful.  He chose to atone for our sins.  Not just those who accept that sacrifice, but EVERYONE'S.  It doesn't matter if you don't believe in His existence.  It doesn't matter if you know He's there, but sin anyway... He still atoned for your sins.  I'm forever in awe of Him.  His love for me, His compassion, His ability to forgive all my craziness... He's always there.  My favorite story from His life?  Luke, chapter 11, specifically verses 1-44.  That link will take you to it.  I love that story because the Savior grieves with Mary and Martha... exactly the way each sister needs Him to.  It shows His true depth of understanding of EACH of us, on an individual level.  He's amazing.

Next, the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  These two books have literally changed my life.  I wouldn't be who I am today without them.  If you haven't read them, I encourage you to request a free copy.  For a free copy of the Bible, click here.  For a free copy of the Book of Mormon, click here.

After that, we have Joseph Smith.  The prophet.  This man has done so much for the world, and I love him for the sacrifices he made.  He was a human being, a man, called of God to bring forth a work He had in mind for His children.  What a humbling calling that must have been.  Read more about Joseph Smith here.

That adorable couple on the far right?  Two of my favorite people in the entire world.  Gordon B. Hinckley and Marjorie Pay Hinckley.  Presdient Hinckley was the prophet and leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for most of my childhood.  His example, his testimony, and his lighthearted sense of humor still stays with me, even after his passing.  His sweet wife, Sister Hinckley is still one of my favorite examples of motherhood, love, and strength.   For a brief video honoring Sister Hinckley, click here.  For a brief video of President Hinckley sharing a lesson he learned as a boy, click here.

Last, but not least, we have the Rexburg Idaho LDS Temple.  That beautiful building at the top of the hill was my beacon for the time that I lived in Rexburg.  A constant reminder that the Lord loves His children, that families ARE forever, and that He wants us to return home to Him... that temple was MY temple.  I went as often as I could, sometimes several times per week.  I miss it.  I love that place.

Day 6 - Favorite superhero and why

Iron Man.

Because seriously?  Why not?

Okay, I'll get real.  I love Iron Man for a number of reasons.  He's Marvel's bad-a, playboy, rich kid, genius who doesn't give a flying fig what anybody thinks about him.  He's like Batman with less angst.  ;-)  I like Tony Stark because he's enough of his father's son to get him places, while still being enough of his own brand of bad-a.  :-)  I like that in a man.  Honestly though, I like Iron Man BEST when he's with the rest of The Avengers.  Captain America is pretty bad-a too... and I respect him for his integrity and honor, things that Tony's kinda lacking.  It's really hard for me to narrow down one superhero though.  These guys were my childhood pals.  It's like asking a mom to choose her favorite child.  VERY hard.

Day 5 - A picture of somewhere you've been

Day 4 - A habit that you wish you didn't have

I'm reeeeally bad at e-mail procrastination.  Nine times out of ten, I get people's e-mails on my phone.  Usually when I'm in the middle of something.  Same thing goes for Facebook messages.  Usually, these are e-mails and messages I really ought to respond to.  But... I'm busy!  So I say, "Later!  I'll have more time later!" and then... it's been a week and I'm going, "OH NOES! TEH E-MAIL!!!"  Yeah.  Not effective communication skills.  And then the person who I should have e-mailed back is all, "What the heck?  Am I not important to you AT ALL!?!?!

Whoops.

My other habit I don't love?  Trashy TV.  :-)  I looooove me some trashy TV.  I'll gladly (and guiltily!) watch hours and hours of Gossip Girl, Sex and the City, and the Real Housewives of New York.  I don't even know WHY I care about them.  They are ALL fictional characters.  But it's a good mindless distraction.  Thank heavens for DVR.  I would NEVER watch those shows around mah preshus baybees.  I mean, technically, my only baby is still inside me, so I guess he or she is watching with me... scary.  But... I haven't actually had any TIME to watch trashy TV during this pregnancy, so I think we're good.  :-)

Day 3 - A picture of you and your friends

(Okay... so... I'll be back later with a REAL "picture" of my friends and me.  You'll see.  For now, enjoy this picture of kittens.)

Day 2 - The meaning behind your Blog name

LemonDropLoving... that's my blog address...
The Lemon Momma... that's how I sign my blogs...
Breathe, Step, Trust... that's my blog title...

Not entirely sure which one of these you want me to define, so how about all of them?!

I chose "Lemon Drop Loving" as my blog address because of a few reasons.  I've always been a fan of lemon drops.  Since I was little.  I love the sweet and sour flavors, the crunchiness when you get too impatient to keep sucking on them, how they have little air bubbles that kinda cut your tongue if you're not careful... I love everything about them.  To me, they taste like summer car trips and school bus rides.  They taste like childhood.  I will never STOP loving them.  They also remind me of Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore.  They were his favorite muggle sweet.  And... at the time I created this blog, I was pretty newly pregnant, and lemon drops were my first real craving, and a good nausea deterrent.

I chose "The Lemon Momma" as my signature/blogger name because it fits me.  I'm not your conventional fruit.  Most people wouldn't like to just take a big ol' honkin' bite outta me... but I add good flavor to most situations.  And I'm really pleasant when I'm all sweetened up.  I know I'm not everyone's cup of tea (but I do tend to be more enjoyable with a cup of tea), and I may not do everything the way everyone else would do it... but I am a pretty handy fruit to have around.  I'm versatile, if you will.

And finally, "Breathe, Step, Trust..."  That one comes from one of my favorite quotes by Richard Bach,

“When you have come to the edge of all the light you have
And step into the darkness of the unknown
Believe that one of the two will happen to you
Either you'll find something solid to stand on
Or you'll be taught how to fly!”  

This blog has been a huge leap for me.  I started it, quite literally, standing at the edge of everything I knew, all the light I had... and I took that step into the darkness.  This is that step.  But it's also about the emotions going into that step.  I take my deep breath, I take my step, and I trust that I'm either going to soar, or I'm going to be on solid ground.  Breathe, step, trust...

Day 1 - Recent picture of you and 15 random facts about yourself

(need a little more explanation?  It's a meme... clickety on over here for the juicy deets!)


Recent picture of me, eh?  Hmmm...  How about, THIS one!?  I took it today, and it's of my feet... so I think that qualifies.

1. I have Celiac disease.  This means that gluten (the protein found in grains like wheat, spelt, barley and rye) is poison to my body.  Interestingly enough, instead of just going, "Ew!  Yicky!  Flush that crap OUT!" my body actually goes, "DEATH to the INVADER!!!!  And fights it off like an infection.  Ridiculously huge, full-scale immune battle-mode response which includes attacking the villi in my intestines and trying to kill THEM simply because they're trying to absorb those nutrients.  Poor villi, it's not THEIR fault.  Celiac sucks.  But eating gluten free?  That totally does NOT suck.  It's yummy, and now the food I love actually loves me back.
2. I am a self-proclaimed "iAddict"  :-)  I proudly own three iPods, an iPhone, and a MacBook Pro.  Steve Jobs (may he rest in peace) was an icon, a genius, and a friend to millions.
3. I love makeup.  LOVE, love makeup.  I've done everything from professional makeup artistry to selling cosmetics with my Mary Kay business.  It's kinda my outlet.  LOVE it.  You can usually tell my mood by looking at my makeup. ;-)
4. I cook when I'm angry.  For example?  I was supposed to bring a dish to a potluck on Monday.  As in ONE.  It was a bad day... I started with one... and then it quickly turned into three.  Lol.  Like I said, I cook when I'm angry.
5. When I'm in a bad mood, there are a few movies that will usually pull me out.  Mean Girls and Easy A have been my go-to movies lately.  Heh.  They're just funny.  And RIDICULOUSLY quotable.
6. That leads me to my next point... Movies.  I own nearly 300 DVD's.  And I've seen them ALL.  And I watch them ALL over and over again.  I love me some movies.
7. I love comics, and comic book movies, and superheroes, and super villains.  :-)
8. I had mainly guy friends growing up, as in... from birth.  This means I love Star Wars (and have proudly called someone a nerf herder and meant it) and Transformers, and sports, and Xbox, and other such boyish things.
9. I'm pregnant, and I actually REEEEALLY enjoy being pregnant.  This is probably the most insanely awesome I've ever felt about my body.  Sure, I whine about things... but really, in my head?  I follow it up (most of the time) with, "I am a freaking ROCKSTAR!  I'm making a BABY in here!"
10. I set custom ringtones for people that either make me think of them, or make me  laugh when I hear them.  Like, my parent's text tones for example?  My mom's is "IT'S SO FLUFFY!!!" from Despicable Me, and my dad's is Darth Vader saying, "I AM YOUR FATHER!" heh... makes me giggle every time.
11. As much as I enjoy long walks on the beach... I prefer long RUNS on the beach.  I really enjoy running, anywhere and everywhere.  It's hard to do while pregnant... but I do really love it.
12. I will gladly pack my own backpack into the woods and camp out for a week or more.  I mean, I'm as girlie as they come... when I want to be, but if you can't drop the makeup and curling iron for an extended period of time... there's something seriously wrong with you.  I love to be outdoors, and I love to be all rough and tough with the best of 'em.
13. I kind of hate the number 13.  I'm not triskaidekaphobic or anything... but I just think 13 is a sucky number.  And don't give me that "Baker's Dozen" crap.  I don't want to hear it.  That baker can't count.  
14.  (I just realized that I've written this list out like a 14 year old on a sugar high.  Yes.  That's a fairly accurate description for my standard thought process.  The Avril Lavigne I'm cranking in the background probably isn't helping my maturity level.)  I listen to lots of types of music.  I don't really have one genre that I like more than others.  My iTunes on shuffle is crazy.  It'll go from Yo Yo Ma to Nicki Minaj to Billy Joel to Tim McGraw.  I like music.
15. I absolutely love Ellen Degeneres.  That woman makes me happy inside.  I love the insanely quirky/happy drum she marches to, I love her cute show, I love that she has adorable youtube kids on as guests... I love Dory from Finding Nemo... I just think Ellen is a rockstar.  I would LOVE to be on her show, simply so I could dance my entrance.  Ten bucks says I do a better job than Obama did ;-)  He's been an alright president, but my dance entrance on Ellen would be cooler.  Just saying.

And... that my friends is Day One.  :-)  And now... I'm going to take my pregnancy-induced insomniac butt up to bed.  I probably won't sleep... but I'm becoming an EXPERT at finding patterns in the texturing material on the walls.

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you...

This little thing has been going around the blogosphere... so I'm jumping on the bandwagon.  Kinda like Pinterest ;-)  Here goes!

Day 1 - Recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 2 - The meaning behind your Blog name
Day 3 - A picture of you and your friends
Day 4 - A habit that you wish you didn't have
Day 5 - A picture of somewhere you've been
Day 6 - Favorite superhero and why
Day 7 - A picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you
Day 8 - Short term goals for this month and when you'll accomplish them
Day 9 - Something you're proud of in the past few days
Day 10 - Songs you listen to when you're bored, happy, sad, mad, etc.
Day 11 - Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12 - How you found out about blogging and why you have a blog
Day 13 - A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14 - A picture of you and your family
Day 15 - Put your ipod or shuffle on-first 10 songs that play
Day 16 - Another picture of yourself
Day 17 - Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18 - List some plans, dreams, and goals that you have
Day 19 - Nicknames you have and why you have them
Day 20 - Someone you see yourself marrying or being with in the future
Day 21 - A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22 - What makes you different from everyone else?
Day 23 - Something you crave often
Day 24 - A letter to your parents
Day 25 - What I would find in your bag
Day 26 - What do you think about your friends?
Day 27 - Why you are doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28 - A picture of you from last year and now - How have you changed?
Day 29 - In this past month, what have you learned?
Day 30 - Your favorite song

For the record, when it comes to posting pictures of myself... I don't do that.  So... you'll get pictures of me, but not of my face.  A girl is entitled to SOME secrets, after all!  ;-)

What I miss about The City...

This is what I miss about my City... All of this.  Might be the pregnancy hormones, but I teared up a bit while watching this.  I want to go home... home to a place that was never really my home... but now that I'm gone?  It sure feels like it was.