TMI Tuesday

1. How are your March Madness picks doing? or What is your favorite event?

I know this is kind of anti-American, but I don't do March Madness. I do know that all 4 of the top seeds made the finals - how easy should that have been to pick??

2. What is the best April Fool's joke - EVER?

I don't do April Fool's Day either - well, not really. I did make a meatloaf on April fools one year and "frosted" it with mashed potatoes and then served a cookie and tootsie roll concoction that looked like used kitty litter for desert. No one was fooled but they did have fun with it!

3. Valentine's Day - bogus holiday or romantic holiday?

I think it's become far too commercialized to be romantic anymore, yet I can't help but think how special it would be to get a hand-written love note, or a special home-cooked meal on that day. In other words, I'd like it to be a romantic holiday, but in order to protect my heart, I pretend to think it is bogus.

4. If you made any New Year's Resolutions have you broken them yet? or What have you done lately to make yourself a better person?

I don't do "official" resolutions - this year was no different. Kind of odd ... someone asked my just a few days ago what the top 3 things on my "to do" list were for this year. I had to think about that - I've been pretty much in "survival" mode since November, but here was my response:

(1) Maintain my weight loss (maybe even lose an additional 15-20 lbs) and increase my fitness (I could have counted this as two, but I'll play fair since they are closely related)

(2) Go back to school ... again. Since it looks like accounting is most likely where I will focus the next 10 years of my career, I'd like to go back to school and finish a BS in accounting and just maybe take the CPA exam.

(3) Do whatever I can to help Cam be successful in school so that he can start 7th grade in the fall with confidence.

5. If you believe in 'regret', what is your biggest regret? If you don't believe in 'regret', what do you call 'errors in judgment' or 'missed opportunities' in your philosophy of life?

I always hate questions like this. I really try not to have regrets as I don't believe they serve much purpose. It's not until they are seen as opportunities to change for the better that they offer any value.

Bonus (as in optional): Tell us about four things about yourself, one of which isn't true. (Anyone want to venture a guess as to which one ISN'T true??)

~ I qualified as an "Expert" Marksman, with an M-16, while serving in the U.S. Army.

~ I lost my virginity when I was 16 and it was a one-night stand.

~ I lived in the same house for most of childhood.

~ My parents are still happily married after 46 years.

***SPOILER IN THE COMMENTS***

TMI Tuesday

Ready or not, It's time for another TMI Tuesday! I have no doubt that all of you are just waiting on pins and needles to learn the answers to this week's questions.

1. By what nickname(s) were you known as a child?

I've had only two nicknames in my lifetime - one given to me by my father (chipmunk cheeks) and one given to me by the Army("TJ" - the first two letters of my very Norwegian last name that no one in the Army was able to pronounce).

2. Do you have a favorite poem and, if so, what is it? Recite it (or a snippet) here, please.

The first poem I ever memorized remains my favorite. I came across it while reading "The Outsiders" (S.E. Hinton) when I was 11 years old. It's a gem from Robert Frost:

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

3. What is your greatest regret in life, something that you failed to do that you wish you did?

It's difficult for me to pick a single, greatest regret. On one hand, there are so many things I wish I had done differently, on the other hand I am where I am right now due to the choices (good and bad) that I've made in the past. Although my current circumstances may not be ideal, I am the sum of my experiences and most days I like who I am!

Regrets? They kind of hold you back. I'd much rather set goals.

4. You are tired and hungry, but it's too late to cook. If any snack food were available to you, what would you choose and why?

Peanut butter toast! There is nothing I like more than a slice of whole wheat bread, lightly toasted, with melted peanut butter on top. Fills me up and tastes YUMMY!

5. What is the oldest item of clothing (not jewelry!) that you wear regularly and what do you love about it?

I don't really have an answer to this question! After last year's weight loss, I had to replace almost all of my clothes (with the exception of shoes). If I include shoes my absolute favorite is a pair of Gore-Tex Army Boots. OK ... OK ... they aren't the most stylish pair of footwear, but they are extremely comfortable and NOTHING beats them in winter weather. They are 17 years old and still do an excellent job!

Fallopian Oblivion

The fallopian oblivion was a success and I feel great, and that's even without the Vicodin!

Let me be honest here, I was really having some second thoughts as we headed to the hospital yesterday. It had absolutely nothing to do with wanting another child, but everything to do with knowing that it was no longer going to be an option. I think too, having conceived my son as a single mother, I was having a difficult time with the realization that I would never know what it was like to conceive a child in a "traditional", loving relationship. In other words, it wasn't so much that I was facing the end of my child bearing years - it was realizing that I would never share the experience of having a child with anyone in the way I had dreamed of since I was a little girl. Of course, this entire line of thinking was a little silly as there is never any guarantee that it will all be roses even when done in the "traditional" manner - but I still felt an odd sense of loss about it.

The positive side of this is that the procedure itself seemed to be the finalization that I needed. It felt good to let go of the "what-should-have-been's" - the guilt that I felt for not giving my son the "traditional" and loving family he deserved from day one. I woke up from the anesthesia knowing that I had made the right choice and was able to let go of those feelings that I didn't even realize I had been holding on to for the past 12 years. I feel like I can now go on with life, appreciating my family for what it is, and knowing this family is what I have and it really doesn't matter where it started from, it's how we finish it that matters.

No doubts, no regrets ... and the rest of my life filled with (hopefully) lots of sex without fear!