Blog Challenge Day 30: Favorite Comfort Food

I'm sorry, but this one is lame.  The second to last post of this challenge, and THAT's the category??!  Why not "If you could have a super power, what would it be?" or "If  you could do one thing to make the world a better place, what would it be?" or something like that?  No, they have to select one of the most common, ordinary topics---comfort food.  I've already referenced this in a much earlier post, because almost, if not all, of the favorite foods I listed on Day Whatever were selected because they're comforting.  Blah, blah, blah.  Macaroni and cheese.  There.  Moving on, please....!


P.S.  Healing powers---healing hands, like Aragorn, or maybe I'd go the Rapunzel (Tangled) route and have healing hair...although it'd be better if I could cut it and it wouldn't lose it's strength.  And my answer to the other one....I've already done it.  I gave the world Jennifer, Adam, Stefanie, Holly, Lisa and Kelli, and they've made the world a better place.  They're fun, caring, stubborn, outspoken, loving, conscientious and determined.  The world needs people like that, and I'm honored to be their mother.  
   
Stef      Kelli       Jen      Holly       Lisa      Adam

Blog Challenge Day 29: Top Things on My Bucket List

1. Vacation in Hawaii
2. Go on a Disney cruise
3. Have a getaway home, either a cabin in the mountains or a beach house


Honestly, that's all I can think of.  I've never kept a running list of things to accomplish before I leave this frail existence.  I think I've already accomplished a lot--I've given birth to, and raised, 6 of the most amazing people I could ever want to know, and now they're starting to reward me even more by giving me grandchildren. I am still very much in love with their father.  He takes good care of me.  I continue to work toward improving my testimony and my faith, trying hard to build my relationship with my Father in Heaven and my Savior, Jesus Christ.  This goal will carry me beyond this life, and hopefully, my eternal relationships with my family will be carried beyond this earth, as well.  Actually, that goal makes the 3 I listed above seem pretty worldly and selfish.  But I still wouldn't mind if they happened.  (insert sheepish grin here)
     

Blog Challenge Day 28: The Last Time I Cried

I cried twice last week, while at my daughter Jen's house in Broomfield.  The harder cry was while she, Kelli and I were watching TV and this commercial came on with this sweet young man who had suffered brain damage in a car accident.  I'd never seen it before, and when he held up the "Where r" sign that showed the text message that caused the accident he was in, I LOST IT!  It caught me so off guard, I just threw my hands up over my face and sobbed.  Both my girls looked at me in shock, they had seen it before and so it didn't startle them like it did me.  AAAgh!  Is this what it's gonna take for people to put the phone away while driving?  I sure hope so!  The second time was stereotypical...of course I cried when it was time to leave them, especially when I picked up my Quincy and got a tight toddler hug!  Something tells me it's not gonna get any easier to say good-bye to those grandkids.  I like them.  A LOT.  And I love that, even at their tender ages, they're starting to figure out that this lady is someone that loves them so much, and they reciprocate!  Pretty cool, and definitely worth a few tears.

Crying

*Time to play the song game....up there is a link to one of my favorite songs with the word 'crying' in it....how many can you think of that have the word 'cry' or 'crying' in it?  This is a favorite Mahan traveling game---pick a random word and try to sing as many songs/lines from songs that have that word in it. Discuss.*

Blog Challenge Flashback: Days 1 through 13

This may be very narcissistic of me, but I'm gonna torture you with my Blog Challenge responses from Day 1 through Day 13.  Those were the posts I shared with my family via email, because I hadn't gotten brave enough to start my own blog yet.  So, just in case you don't yet feel like you know more about me than you need to (or WANT to!), here are my unedited initial responses from the first two weeks of the challenge.  (In descending order!)  

Day 13: Favorite Quote

I have 2 that I refer to often:  both from favorite books, and both related to agency....our ability to make the best of the situations in our lives.

#1:  

“So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.
- Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

#2:

“It is our choices, Harry, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Day 12: Money, money, money by the pound!

(I'm copying Lisa's method of clever captions....although hers are far more clever than mine!)

First of all, I will never win the lottery, cuz you can't win if you don't play.  BUT, IF I did, the first thing I'd do is pay off your grandparents' homes/cars.  Then I'd get us out of debt, and most likely put a healthy down payment on a home of our own.  THEN I'd give each of my kids a set sum to do with as they pleased, and create some kind of trust fund/college fund for the grandkids.  Oh, and go to Hawaii for a week....or two.   Aloha.

Day 11:  Most proud moment

I'm assuming this should be a proud moment involving ME, but all I can think about are the proud moments I had concerning my children.  Huh.  Well, I do remember feeling very proud of making it through the district spelling bee in the 8th grade and winning that $100.  That trip to Denver for the State contest was one of the most fun weekends I ever had, my mom and I went with her good friend and some of her family, stayed with some of HER friends in Denver, and I went shopping at a Target store for the very first time in my life!  All truly momentous events!  Oh, and we used the money to buy me a 10-speed bike, which I rode for MANY years.

Day 10: First Celebrity Crush

Believe it or not, Donny Osmond.  I was about 9 years old, and I loved the Osmond Brothers' music!  Our friends across the street had their album, and I remember looking at the photo of him and his brothers a LOT!!!   "One Bad Apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl...."

(Donny's in the red shirt, in case you couldn't tell)

Day 9: Piercings/Tatoos

I have my ears pierced, just one in each, and I'm glad I do.  However, if a friend hadn't given me a gift certificate to get them pierced as a graduation gift, I probably still wouldn't have any piercings, because I'm such a big chicken!  But since it was a gift, I felt obligated, so my Aunt Joan went downtown with me while she was here for my graduation, and I got them pierced!

Day 8:  Old Photos of Me

Cindy, age 9 months Cindy, age 17 1/2 (TOLD ya I was blonde!)

Day 7: Food, Glorious Food!           

My 10 favorites (as of 2012, not in any particular order of preference)--macaroni and cheese, french dip sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips, my lasagne, rib eye steak (medium), shrimp, that appetizer with the flour tortillas rolled up with cream cheese and stuff inside it, Chili's chips and salsa, twice-baked potatoes.

Day 6: 3 Personality Traits that I Am Proud Of

1.  Friendly

2. Nurturing

3. Honest

--Hopefully I don't need to provide examples, because if they truly ARE part of my personality, they would be obvious.  

Day 5: My Guilty Pleasure:  "Toxic" by Britney Spears.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcLy9FFssP8

Day 4:  Earliest childhood memory

Well, my earliest memory is at the age of 4, when I got to go see Mary Poppins with my mom and at Aunt Patti, at least, although I can't imagine that Aunt Linda wasn't there, too!  I remember leaving my Grandma Bland's house, being told to be very quiet because Cathy was sleeping (Grandma was babysitting her), and walking over the small grassy lawn to the car!  I was SO excited!  As far as I know, this was probably the very first movie I'd ever been to...when we went to the movies as a family, it was usually the drive-in, with blankets spread across the back of the station wagon after the back seats had been lowered!  But I digress....I honestly can't say I specifically remember being AT the movie, just the thrill and anticipation of going....all by myself!  SUCH  a big girl!

 P.S.  Guess what?  When I looked up this picture, it was on IMBD, which lists the original release date as Sept. 11, 1964!  I'll be doggoned......

3. Meaning of my business name - 

  To answer this, I'm going to share a story about the name of the 'business' I work for...which is ______ Elementary.  It's a tale that shows how a name can be had for good OR ill, and how difficult it can be to change from the latter to the former.  When I worked for the other school in this district, I got the impression from people, including families that transferred their kids from _______ , that it was a cold, unfriendly place with sub-standard teachers.   So then, lo and behold, my classroom para job disappears, and the best way for me to stay employed is to interview for the librarian job at that school!  So, now, after 18 months, here's my first-hand take....to some degree, the opinions I had heard were correct.  The building itself, although only 10 years old, is a cold and sterile (hospital-like, one co-worker said!) environment.  There are pale tiles on the floor and white brick on the walls, so it's loud and blah.  And yes, there are some staff members that are difficult to approach, but that's the same everywhere.   The teachers there work just as hard on behalf of the kids as anywhere else.  So the problem is the NAME.  My husband even says that realtors and other business members will tell people, "Oh,  you don't want to live there, that's _______'s district."  Yikes!  How do we combat that?  When a name has had a negative reputation for so long, it's an uphill battle to change people's thinking!  I don't have the answer, I just know that I'm doing my best in my little corner of the world, to make it a warm and welcoming place.  My ideas?  Put carpet in the halls and change the name...give this building a fresh start!  But then, I'm not in charge of such things....  So, children of mine, let's always remember what the name Mahan means, and do our best to uphold our honor!  After all, as Kelli so aptly put it, "We're kind of a big deal."    (Note:  I actually did edit this post, I removed specific names to protect the innocent!)

Day 2.  20 Facts about me

1. I'm blonde  (really!  --check out my school photos--)

2. I'd rather read YA literature than most anything out there written for adults

3. I married my high school sweetheart...sorta...after making a huge fool of myself over him.  Lucky for him, he fell for it.

4. I have a 'Rain Man' sense for birthdays and phone numbers...but the phone number thing is fading, thanks to modern technology.

5. I used to be pretty good at tennis

6. Favorite color is green, mostly because...

7. I love summer

8. I make friends easily

9. I was never one of the popular kids, but I didn't care.  I have plenty of other things to worry about.

10. I like my lemonade with thingys in it, but I like my orange juice pulp free.

11. My favorite animals, besides dogs, are panda bears and penguins.  Guess I have a thing for black/white critters.

12. I can sing the old McDonald's Big Mac theme song backwards...I once won a contest on the radio doing it in less than 10 seconds.

13.  I've also won a getaway weekend and $1000 in different radio contests, and held on for almost a whole week in a Men vs. Women contest on the radio.

14.  I went to the State Spelling Bee in the 8th grade, though I didn't make it past the written round.  I know for sure that I misspelled "marshmallow"...I put -mellow.  That's probably what did it.

15.  I have only been out of the country one time...a Spanish club trip to Guaymas, Mexico my junior year.  I got severely sunburned and my camera stolen.

16.  I have several gold medals that I won in archery tournaments as a kid....but that was just because I was usually the only girl there.

17.  There's this scene in the movie "Peggy Sue Got Married" (Kathleen Turner, Nicholas Cage) where Peggy Sue has gone back in time, into her high school body, and she realizes that being in that time means her grandparents are still alive, and she books it over to see them..I would love to do that.  I miss my Grandpa and my Grandmas still.

18.  I hate balloons.

19.  I intensely dislike the word "hate".

20.  My favorite movie of all time is Mary Poppins.        

 Day 1. Hi, my name is Cynthia Joan (Gray) Mahan, pleased to meet you.  I was born in MI, moved to CO at age 11, and have lived here almost the whole rest of my life.  I enjoy reading, crocheting, my dogs, and mostly, my FAMILY.  My children are the greatest contribution I have made to this world.  I also kinda like their dad.  My faith and testimony are very important to me, since my heart's desire is for us all to be together in the eternities.  I also like music, and I tend to sing a lot and have a verse for just about any situation.  I'm marginally good at lots of things, but not an expert on any one thing.  I'm OK with that.

                    

Blog Challenge Day 27: What Makes Me Feel Better, Always

I will not play tug o' war. I'd rather play hug o' war. Where everyone hugs instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins, and everyone cuddles, and everyone wins.
Shel Silverstein

OK, it was the word "always" that made me ponder.  I mean, there are LOTS of things that make me feel better, depending on the situation--Jane Austen, Lord of the Rings movies, macaroni and cheese, talking to my mom, phone chats with my children, petting my dogs, and so on.  But I've chosen a winner, and found a pretty good quote to help convey it!  HUGS, ladies and gentlemen, will help me feel better EVERY TIME (as in, ALWAYS)!  This weekend I attended a funeral for a man who died much too young, and after suffering much too much physical pain that left him with very little quality of life.  After the service, I walked up to his 20-some year old daughter, whom I love, and just held out my arms.  She immediately embraced me tightly and started to cry.  It was healing, for me and for her.  And when I turned to hug her mother after that, she actually thanked me for hugging her girl.  Like it was difficult...but she told me that I have healing hugs.  I don't know if I've ever received a more wonderful compliment.  I saw another quote on the same web page as the one above, and basically it said, 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 for maintenance, and 12 a day for growth.  I like it.  A lot can be said, and felt, just by wrapping our arms around someone.  Words are optional.  

Blog Challenge Day 26: 5 Favorite Blogs

Well, since I'm so new to this whole blogging thing, my favorite blogs belong to my children!  Holly started hers when Eric was going through everything with his cancer, and it was the perfect way for people to check in and leave words of comfort and encouragement!  Jen and Stef started theirs when they moved far away from family, and Lisa started hers about the time she began her journey as a wife and mom!  Holly's blog is here, Jen's blog is thisaway, Stef's site is this, and Lisa's can be found through this door. They are all wonderful writers, and I'm not just saying that because they're my daughters!  They certainly didn't inherit that gift from me!

That's only four, so I'll have to say that, at this current time, my other favorite blog is the one that was just set up for my friend Lynn.  She is a kindergarten teacher I worked with for 4 1/2 years, and this last school year she was finally, rightfully,  chosen as our school district's elementary teacher of the year!  But on June 8 she suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm, and has been in a Denver hospital ever since.  There is a site called Carepages.com that allows family members to set up a blog to keep friends and family updated on a loved one's medical condition, and I visit it regularly!  Like Holly and Eric's blog started, it is a fantastic way for the family to update everyone at once, and also allows those of us who love and care about her to let her and her family know we're here!

Blog Challenge Day 25: My Best Physical Feature

I think my best physical feature is my smile.  Eyes? They're a nice shade of blue, but they're squinty and crooked.  Nose?  A little too big.  Hands?  Might be in the running, except for the biting nails part.  So I'm left with my smile.  I don't mind.  I use my smile a lot, and I think that it improves the other parts when I do.

Blog Challenge Day 24: A Difficult Time in My Life

This topic kept me awake last night, pondering what I would say.  I decided to share the difficulties I had when we moved from Broomfield to Montrose in June of 2006.  The next 6 months or so were some of the most difficult I have faced.  We made the decision to move because Michael had been offered what we THOUGHT was a better work opportunity at a car dealership here, and we decided the timing was right.  We'd lost his dad very unexpectedly in March of that year, and felt that we needed to live a little closer to his mom, who is alone in Silt, CO.  It was a difficult choice; we'd raised all the kids in Broomfield, where Mahan had become a name of legend (I may exaggerate, but not by much!), and I would be leaving the best friends I'd ever had.  We pulled poor Kelli away from the only home she'd known, away from a core of amazing and fun kids that had all grown up together, after her freshman year in high school!  Well, long story short (too late!), the job was not the better opportunity he'd hoped for, and we struggled financially and emotionally.  Well, I can't speak for Michael, but I sure did.  I did (and do!) love being closer to our parents, but those first few months I was homesick and stressed.  Even church didn't help, there were too many people who have grown up here, never left, and were very set in their ways.  I bided my time, hoping to find a 'kindred spirit' or two, but I really didn't.  My heart hurt at how Kelli struggled that first year, she was very lonely at school and at church, which is not something she or I was used to.  Add all that to bills that we struggled to pay, and it made for a very trying time.  The bright spot in all this was my new job...ironically, I have been the one who has been given the better opportunity for work.  Granted, my income is not one we could live on, but I've been able to bring home more than I ever did on the eastern slope.  Michael continues to work in the car business, for a different local dealership now, and we have cleared many financial hurdles in the years since.  But I find myself analyzing that time, wondering what I was supposed to learn from that trial, and hoping that I have come through it stronger and wiser!  The choices we make may not always reap the benefits we expect, but if we endure and focus on what we can do to improve, we will be better for the experience!

Blog Challenge Day 23: Pet Peeves

*People who crack their knuckles
*Squeezing the toothpaste in the middle instead of working it up from the bottom
*Public speakers with a wad of gum in their mouth
*Anyone speaking with a wad of gum in their mouth!
*Too-full refrigerators (I start to stress about penicillin growing in the containers toward the back!)
*Adults who tack on "Okay?" after every sentence they speak to children.....Who's in charge, them or you?  Stop asking their permission every time you are supposedly giving them directions!  If you're telling them to pick up their rooms, or to ask for something nicely, and you add "Okay" at the end, they're probably thinking "No, it's not OK!"  ---Replace that phrase with "Do you understand?"  or "Got it?"  
*Waiting in line at the customer service counter for 20 minutes while everyone ahead of me is trying to cash a check without proper ID, or cashing in their $2 lotto tickets and staring in the counter window to pick out the next one(s) to waste their money on, or buying cigarettes.  Wish they had a customer service counter JUST for lottery ticket and cigarette buyers, so the rest of us who AREN'T wasting their money could conduct our business and be gone!


Huh...look at that.  Apparently pet peeves bring out a grouchy streak in me!  But then, maybe that's the definition of a pet peeve.   :b

Blog Challenge Day 22: 10 Favorite Songs

These songs are in no particular order, and I've selected them because they stay with me no matter what other tunes I enjoy throughout the years.  Some of these categories I consider 'songs', and the others are 'hymns' (yes, there is a difference!).  All of them touch my heart, and several reduce me to tears every time I hear or sing them.  

*Colour My World by Chicago - This is Michael's and my song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN-AyNsDtN0A

*A Wink and A Smile by Harry Connick, Jr. - a more recent tune to add to my all-time favorites, but when I first heard it on the Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack, I fell in love!  It just makes me happy!  My daughter Holly and my son-in-law Eric danced to it at their wedding reception!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIwqw_2J6H8

*The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra, et al - This one is such a classic that it seems no matter who sings it, it sounds fantastic!  It has a special place in my heart because my son Adam selected it as the song he and I danced to at his wedding.  If you love this kind of music, follow my daughter Kelli's lead, go to Pandora.com and create a Michael Buble station (another singer who nails this tune!)...like Kelli told me when she suggested I do that, "You'll thank me later!"  (Oh, and musical/movie trivia...this is also the song that Dermot Mulroney sang to Julia Roberts as they danced on the boat floating down the river in Chicago in "My Best Friend's Wedding")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Gg7RULwrI

*Every song in "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music" (yes, even Climb Every Mountain!) - by Rodgers and Hammerstein, sung by Julie Andrews and others - OK, so maybe this is cheating, lumping all these melodies into one, but come on!  Each one is sweet, fun and great to sing along to, which is always a top priority in just about any song I like!  Confession: Although I saw Mary Poppins at the tender age of 4, when it first came out, and I knew a few of the songs from Sound of Music growing up, I never actually SAW The Sound of Music until I'd been married for several years...I know, shocking!  I had no idea until that point that "Do, Re, Mi" and "Edelweiss" were songs from that movie!  The only thing that I remember hearing about the movie before finally watching it (VHS..it was the 80's!) was some random trivia fact that a woman set some kind of Guinness record for seeing The Sound of Music 100 times in the theater.  I wonder if the record still holds....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cD-7DtEPfM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL5B5D22B325FCFC26

*Hark the Herald Angels Sing - I consider this my favorite Christmas song, and it's actually one I think could be categorized as a song and a hymn. Sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir AND by Charlie Brown and friends...how can you go wrong with that??  Come on, everybody, tip your face up to the sky...."loo, loo, loooo, loo, loo, loo, loo, loooo....."
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTu00FCLgPs

*For the Beauty of the Earth - A classic, timeless hymn.  It just makes me appreciate the beautiful world that our loving Father in Heaven created for us.  It doesn't hurt that I live in a particularly gorgeous part of that world, and I hope I never take it for granted!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsp3p16lONI

*How Gentle God's Commands, LDS Hymnbook #125 - This hymn is one that sustains me often when I feel burdened and overwhelmed.  By the time we get to the last verse, my heart and my tear ducts tend to overflow.  "I'll drop my burden at his feet, and bear a song away."  I need to work on this concept, and this song reminds me that I really can turn my trials over to Him, and He will strengthen me and lighten my load.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66EpXqk1lKU

*Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing - this hymn is a more recent addition to my all-time favorites list, but I think I love it for reasons similar to the ones listed above. And that's all I have to say about that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uslytyVrWFw

*Patriotic Songs - Yes, yes, I'm lumping again, but these 4 will give me goosebumps and cause tears to stream down my face every time.  They are: The Star-Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful,  The Battle Hymn of the Republic, and God Bless the USA  (Lee Greenwood).  One year, our son Adam was deployed to Iraq in the Marine Corp, and as his dad and I stood to sing the Star-Spangled Banner in church that 4th of July Sunday, we both could barely finish, and literally had tears streaming down our faces (My allergies are acting up even as I type this).  One of our church leaders, who was standing up at the front, commented afterward that he had to consciously avoid looking at us as we sang, because it touched him so!  Can you honestly say that you will not expect to get chills at the end of this summer, as our national anthem is played during the Olympics?  This great land was founded on righteous principles, and no matter what, it is a land that is blessed, and I pray it will always be a "land of the free and....home of the brave!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOvA-Hn4_Z

*And finally, For Good - from the musical "Wicked", music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and sung by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth - all the music from this play is amazing, and one of the things that I enjoy most about it is how clever the lyrics are.  In several of the tunes, the phrases carry a double meaning, and this one is a great example of that.  I love this song because it speaks to enduring love and friendship, and the fact that even though many of the people that we care for deeply are separated from us, whether geographically, emotionally or philosophically, they all leave a "handprint on my heart".  I am grateful for all the wonderful people I have in my life now, and have had in the past, who have made me what I am and set the example for what I may become.  Thanks to all of you, "I have been changed....for good."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQJaZO2nfGg 

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!"  (Professor Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, p. 128)

Blog Challenge Day 21: Something I Miss

Two things popped into my head as I read today's category:
1)  My grandparents.  I believe I've referenced them before, but at this stage in my life, I'm blessed to still have both my parents here and going strong.  But even now, as I have become a grandparent myself, I still miss my own.  I only had one grandpa (dad's side), because my mom's dad died of pneumonia when she was 13 and the oldest of 4 sisters.  I loved him dearly, he and my Grandma were the 'fun' grandparents...they had a little hunting cabin in northern MI where we'd go on weekends to play, and Grandpa would bring over his snowmobile in the wintertime and take us (and several neighbor kids!) on rides through our neighborhood.  My mom's mom was kinda mean, or so I thought when I was little, but ironically, about the time we moved away to CO, I was getting old enough to be able to relate to her better....and to make her laugh, which was very important to me!

2) Energy....I don't miss my youth, but I do miss the energy that came with it!  As I get a little older (notice I said LITTLE!), I appreciate more the ability I once had to move around quickly without worrying about twisting an ankle or knee, and without having to grunt and groan as I transition from one position to another!  For those of you who check in on this blog who don't know what I'm talking about....appreciate that fact, and enjoy yourselves!  And for those of you who DO understand....well, at least we have each other!  

Blog Challenge Day 20: Where I'd Like to Be in 10 Years

If I've added all my numbers correctly, in 10 years I will be celebrating my retirement from public education! I'd love to say that it's a safe bet I would still be IN my current job position, but with the craziness that surrounds district budgeting, who knows?  Personally, I hope to be filling my calendar with lots of grandchild birthdays...let's see, in 10 years Michaela will be a Beehive (the youngest group in our church's Young Women program), Quincy and Monroe will be about 11, and Tessa, Paisley and Lucy will be turning 10!  I'd say that's a decent chunk of Grandma time, wouldn't you?!  I would love to have the flexibility to travel to my kids and grandkids as the major events in their lives occur.  Oh, and probably the other biggest change in my life in 10 years is that I could very well be dog-less.  I have had dogs in my life ever since I was a year old, but I can see that the season of dog ownership may be past by that time.  I will NOT (and you can hold me to this!) cave in and get a little-old-lady little dog, I've seen too many that are not worth the rhinestone collars around their yappy little necks!  Check back in the summer of 2022 and see how well I predicted!

Blog Challenge Day 19: My Worst Habits

My longest-lasting worst habit is biting my fingernails.  I'm pretty sure I started to do it when I stopped sucking my thumb, just replacing one oral habit with another....and, at 52 years of age, I still have trouble.  I know I do it more when I'm worried or stressed (which are synonymous), but I'll also nibble while I'm watching TV or reading.  As for any other bad habits I may have, you'd have to check with Michael....I'm sure he has his own list!  Ha!  So I'll never do nail polish ads for Avon, big whoop...hopefully that's the worst habit I'll ever have, because at least it doesn't hurt other people.

Blog Challenge Day 18: Thing(s) I'm Most Afraid Of

Heights, confined spaces (claustrophobic), and, when my kids were little, I would have irrational fears of them drowning. The first two fears have gotten worse as I've gotten older, and the last one has decreased now that my kids are grown.  I would never, EVER leave them unattended in the bathtub, I can tell you that! 

Blog Challenge Day 17: Favorite Childhood Book, or Of Mice and Fairy Tales

Whoo, boy.  This is a tough one.  The problem here is that I remember what the book looks like, and I remember the gist of the story, but I can't remember what it was titled!  I can picture the cover and the illustrations....oh, well, here's the synopsis.  Maybe somebody out there knows this book, too,  cuz I don't own it anymore, and I'm sure it's out of print.  It's the story of a little mouse whose hole was in the bedroom of a little girl and boy.  Every night the father would read the children a bedtime story from a large book, and the little mouse would sit, enraptured, out of sight and listen to Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, etc.  So one day, when the family is gone, he sneaks out and opens up the book.  He has a wonderful time looking at all the pictures that match the stories he's heard!  But then, he comes across a story in the book that he doesn't recognize!  He keeps hoping, night after night, that the dad will read it, but the little boy and girl keep requesting others.  Then, one night, the father finally begins to read a new tale, and the mouse is so excited!  But, oh, no, the cat comes into the room!  So the little mouse runs into his hole and doesn't get to hear the end of the story.  Days go by and the father doesn't tell that story, so the mouse sneaks out again, finds one of the little girl's hair ribbons, and uses it to mark the spot in the book.  That night the father asks who put the ribbon in the book, and the children don't have a clue.  The mouse holds his breath...will the father pick another story, or will he choose that one?  Are you on the edge of your seat yet? Yes!  The father decides to read the story marked by the ribbon, and finally, FINALLY, the little mouse will find out what happens to the characters he saw in that tale!  ..... The End 


 P.S.  I looked on Google images and Goodreads, in the hopes that I'd stumble across it, but no luck!  If I ever find it, trust me, you'll be among the first to know!

Blog Challenge Day 16: Dream a Little Dream of Me

My 'dream job' would be not to have one.  That's the bottom line.  I'd love to be home, pursuing projects that I enjoy, and having the flexibility to spend time with my parents, my children and my grandchildren as the situations present themselves.  That being said, however, I think I've got the next best thing in the job I have now.  I've been a classroom para (teacher's aide) since 1997, and due to district budget cuts, I was informed 18 months ago that my position would disappear at the end of the 2010-2011 school year.  But the librarian at another school in Montrose was retiring at Christmas break, and so I applied for that job.  I'm in heaven!  I get to spend my days with children and books, and it is a perfect match! I build my own lesson plans, get to read to kids, and I have my own little world to work in each day!  Add the fact that I get weekends and holidays off, and I've got it made in the shade!  So I may not be dreaming, but my reality is a pretty sweet deal!
...which leads beautifully into the next blog challenge, which is...

Blog Challenge Day 15: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

Thought it might be helpful to go back and paste in the original topics for this blog challenge that my daughters and I have taken on....so here we are, on Day 15 already!  But before I begin the boring list of my day, I have a link that is a followup to my entry of Day 10...my first celebrity crush.  And, 'scuse me, he's still pretty crush-worthy!

http://www.aol.com/video/donny-osmond-to-be-a-grandfather-again/517396267/?ncid=webmail6

Yeah, the title gives it away, but so what?


Anyway, on to the timeline of my day, and since it's summer, it's pretty short!

*Sleep in til about 8:30
*Grab my water bottle, yogurt and most recent Harry Potter book, head outside to sun for about 1/2 an hour. (This also involves throwing the ball for Viva, and pulling large chunks of hair out of Lizzie, who is still molting.)
*Shower, get dressed, blah, blah, blah
*Do a chore or two around the house
*Eat lunch, take a nap, crochet most recent baby afghan
*Watch NCIS or Big Bang Theory
*Dinner
*Chat with husband
*Crochet some more
*Go to bed

There are slight variations on this theme every day, but those are the basics.  I plan to do some serious grandchild bonding this summer, too, as I will be taking care of Monroe for a week or so in July while her regular babysitter is on vacation, and then it will be time for the next babies to arrive!  Ah, summer...this is why I work for pennies for the public education system!

Blog Challenge: Day 14: My Mary Poppins Bag

What we women carry in our 'handbags' (a quaint old term!) is supposed to tell a lot about us.  A truly frightening thought.  My current purse contains the following:
Wallet
Cinnamon Altoids
Hand sanitizer
Bandaids
Tiny scissors
A small LDS hymnbook
A deck of cards
Sunglasses
2 small plastic clamps
3 pens, 1 of which is empty
Wicked Witch of the West sticky notes
Straw wrappers (Sonic Happy Hour residue)

So bring me your injured, your grimy, your morning breath, your threads hanging off clothing (Go Fish, anyone?)!  I gotcha covered!  Oh, and my keys are no longer kept in my bag, because no matter how large or small the purse is, I will dig for 10 minutes to try and find them every time!  It ain't called my "Mary Poppins bag" for nothing!

A Disturbance in the Force

Well, well, well, looky what we have here!  Cindy Mahan is attempting to conquer yet another modern technological field by starting a blog!  My daughters are my inspiration for this daunting endeavor, so I will have them to thank (or chastise!) as I try to navigate the blogger world!  No guarantees as to the quality, or quantity, of these posts.  I plan to use this as a forum for 1) finishing up the '31 Day Blog Challenge' that I have been participating in via email up to this point, and 2) posting reviews of books.  Books, and reading them, is my most favoritist form of entertainment and relaxation, after spending time with my husband, kids and grandkids, of course!  So hold on tight, family and friends...it could get a little crazy...but then, that's definitely a 'Mahan Thing'!