Procrastinator Edition of Ten on Tuesday Vol. 3

I know you are shocked I am late yet again on Ten on Tuesday.....  I suck.  I've had a mountain of paper work to finish for the end of summer semester at work.  But I finally got it all done and turned in this morning so now I have some free time.

1. What colour are your toenails painted?
OPI Brisbane Bronze. 

2. What colour are your fingernails painted?
Nothing.  I don't paint my nails often at all.  I find I am way to hard on my nails and nail polish chips and or peels off in about 2 days, which drives me crazy.  Plus with all the origami folding I tend to put dents in my nails from all the folding so it's not worth putting on nail polish.

3. What is your favourite brand of nail polish?
OPI or Sally Hansen.  OPI is the best but not cheap so I tend to go with Sally Hansen when I want to try a new color or style.

4. As the norm, do you DIY your nails or get mani/pedis?
DIY.  I tend to get a mani and pedi once or twice a year when my husband gives them to me for gifts.  Before I had kids I would go once a month for manis and about every 2-3 for pedis and man do I miss going that often.

5. Have you ever had a gel mani? Do you recommend it?
I never have but a friend of mine has and she loved it and thought it lasted a lot longer than a normal mani.

6. What is the last movie you watched on television? (TV, Netflix, Redbox, etc.)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1.  I watched it in preparation for going to the theater for part 2.

7. What is the last movie you watched in the cinema?
Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Pt. 2. I was one of those crazy people who went at midnight opening day.  At least I did not dress up but it was fun to see people dressed up and to see the movie in a large audience like that.

8. Is there a movie that everyone talks about as if it is a classic but you haven’t seen?
OK don't think badly of me but I have never seen any of the Godfather movies.  I have no interest.

9. What is your favourite movie soundtrack?
I LOVE, LOVE  movie soundtracks! A few of my favorite are True Romance, Practical Magic, The Commitments, Grease,  Ten Things I Hate About You, 50 First Dates, and Say Anything.

10. Have you ever seen a movie and thought it was better than the book it was based on?
Where the Heart is.  Don't get me wrong I liked the book a lot.  But I saw the movie first and there is just something about the movie that I loved more than the book.  Maybe that's because I saw the movie first instead of reading the book first.  Which is unusual, I usually read the book first.

Ten on Tuesday

1. What is your favorite zoo to visit?
My favorite is the Denver Zoo.  I like it because it's smaller so it's easy to see everything and the animals are closer so you can see them better.  Plus it's in Colorado so it's never too hot or too humid like it gets here in NC.

2. Do you visit a zoo very often?
Maybe once a year.  When my mom lived in Colorado we went more often.  I would like to go to  the NC Zoo more but it's a good 3 hour drive and it's way to miserable to go during the summer.

3. Do you have a membership to a zoo?
Yes sort of ... we have a membership to our NC aquarium and with that comes free admission to lots of other zoos and aquariums around the country including the NC Zoo.

4. When you visit a zoo, do you stay all day or just an hour or two?
It's usually an all day visit.  Since it's not in our town we drive to it and spend all day.

5. Do you buy food at the zoo or pack a picnic lunch?
We buy food because again it's a drive or an all day trip to the zoo so it's just easier to buy food there.

6. What is you favorite animal to see at the zoo?
I either love to see the polar bears or the gorillas.

7. What is your least favorite animal to see at the zoo?
Snakes!  I hate snakes.  They creep me out even behind glass.

8. What is your favorite memory of going to the zoo as a kid?
I wasn't really a kid but I was like 15 and we were at the NC Zoo and I was there with my mom, brother, boyfriend, uncle and grandparents.  We were in the African plain viewing area and there was a gazelle about 30 feet below us giving birth.  We stayed and watched the mom give birth and then lovingly clean up and then get the baby up and walking.  It was pretty amazing to see.

9. Do you visit the gift shop when you go to the zoo?
Always.  I am a sucker for gift shops. But I found my favorite wallet of all time at the Denver Zoo.

10. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best and 1 being the worst) how nice is your city’s zoo?
Wilmington doesn't have a city or county zoo but I forgot we have local private zoo.  I have never been because it's been picketed by PETA about a dozen times.  Plus I have heard stories of how small the cages are and how pitiful the animals look.  So I just can't bring myself to go.  But I will rate the NC Zoo and I would give it a 8.

Ten on Tuesday

1. When you are on a plane and the kid behind you is kicking your seat, what do you do?
I have been on both sides of this situation.  It sucks either way.  If I am the one being kicked I won't do anything about it as long as the parents are trying to keep it under control or at least talk to the child.  If they just ignore it I will turn around and ask the child nicely to stop (I've only had to do this once and it worked pretty well).  I have also been the parent of the child kicking the chair in front of them.  I try my hardest to keep them from doing it but it happens.  Planes are boring and their feet are at just the right place to kick or push on the chair in front of them, so it happens.

2. What food that you KNOW is bad for you and you shouldn’t have, but you love/eat it anyway?
Soda.  I usually drink diet but I have been seeing article after article about how bad it is for you so I have tried to cut way back.  Oh and candy ...

3. What is your favorite book of all time?
I don't have just one.  But I will tell you I have just finished Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Emily Griffin and liked both but liked Something Blue better.  Again not my favorite of all time because I just can't choose one.

4. If I came to visit you in your town, where would we eat?
For a nice dinner I would take you to one of two places Elijah's or The George in downtown Wilmington.  They are both on the river walk so there is outside dining where you can eat outside and get really nice views of the Cape Fear River and downtown.

5. You have 500 dollars and 40 minutes to spend it at any store you want. Where do you go?
Target.  I could get something for everyone in my house and some fun things too.  Let me tell you it would not take me 40 minutes to spend 500 dollars in Target more like 15.

6. What blog do you read every day/the most often?
I don't read any blog everyday.  But Roots & Rings is one I get emailed to me and that seems the only way I can read a blog every time it's published. 

7. What’s the longest you’ve ever been stuck at an airport?
I think it was 6 hours.  James and I were going to Alaska to go on a cruise with my family and we used the cruise line to book our flights and they did a crap job.  We ended up spending like 6 hours in the Dallas airport waiting for our connecting flight (there were earlier flights but for some stupid or most likely cheaper reason they gave us a much later flight).
I have also been delayed many many times one of worst was a trip when Noa and I were flying back to NC from California and we were on the plane at LAX and they delayed us on the runway for close to 3 hours.  Noa was 2 1/2 and we couldn't get out of our seats.  It was torture.  I finally gave the boy some benadryl so he would just sleep.  But then of course we still the the very long 3 1/2 hour flight after that.

8. What’s your daily makeup/face/cleansing routine?
On non working days I wash my face in the shower with Cetaphil cleanser and then use the Cetaphil moisturizer with SPF.  At night since I didn't put on make up I just a use a cucumber facial cleansing cloth before bed.  On working days I shower and use the Cetaphil cleanser again but then use Mary Kay tinted moisturizer, blush, eye shadow and mascara.  At night I use Mary Kay eye make up remover and Time Wise cleanser/makeup remover and moisturize with whatever free sample of night cream I have around.

9. Where is your farthest away friend?
A friend that I still talk to and see on occasion would be my friend Meg who used to live here on my street but then moved back to New Hampshire.

10. Where is your favorite place to go hiking (or to enjoy nature)?
I live at the beach so there isn't really any hiking here.  There are nature trails to walk but that's about it.  There is a local park called Hallyburton Park that has some really nice walking trails that go into the woods.  It's one of my favorite parks to walk.

The Gospel According to Katie

I am going to apologize for my two week blogging absence. I have been waist deep in planning for and teaching my class, being a full time mom to two kids during summer break and still running my Etsy store. This has been nothing short of exhausting, so blogging, cleaning, and my Words with Friends games has suffered.

But here I am giving you my version of some wisdom I'd like to pass on.

Never and I mean never carpet your stairs. Just don't go there. I don't care what you say you will do but I promise you they will not get vacuumed as often as they should. Plus they just don't vacuum as well as the floor so there's always dirt. Just go with the hardwood people.

Stop using the word retarded. Just stop. It's just as offensive as the N word or F word. I have been guilty of using it in the past but after hearing one of my students talk about it I will never use it again.

People without children do not judge parents by what you see in public. You might be able to do better when it's your turn but I doubt it. You'll see what I mean.

Buy a set of good makeup brushes. It's well worth it and they apply makeup so much better than the cheap applicators that come with the makeup.

Use please and thank you everywhere. It basic manners. Plus having worked in one of the lowliest jobs (food service) it's so nice to hear.

In that same vain get off the phone when you are ordering! That is just too rude.

Check out ONE.org at least once. It's an incredible organization. And all they ask for is your voice and sometimes your time (which are two things I have lots of and am happy to share) instead of money like most non-profits.

Don't let your dog or cat's Frontline (or whatever flea or tick meds you use) lapse for more than a month. Fleas don't wait around, they attack really quick.

If you decide to give your baby a pacifier be sure to take it away before they turn 1. Experts say between 6 months and a year is best. Because the longer you wait the harder it gets!! Both my kids were about 3 and it was not fun. Not to mention the damage it did to their teeth. I cringe when I see profile portraits of my son at 3 and his paci teeth!

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