Fun survey

I recently received another of those "what's your favorite salad topping" surveys from several friends, but I found their answers so interesting & fun that I decided to respond as weel as post my answers here. Some of you have already received the email, so you can skip this post. :) I do plan to blog more soon -- maybe the next time the girls miraculously nap at the same time? Here's hoping!

1. What time did you get up this morning?
Ugh. Do you mean WAKE up, or GET up? Miriam & I ended up trading
beds last night, so I was roused by Katie jumping up and down in her
crib and throwing her rattle-babies around at some ungodly hour
("ungodly" = earlier than 7:30). I finally admitted consciousness
(after Miriam came in and gave me a kiss, awwwww) somewhere around
8-ish. So I guess that's sleeping in for me? (We usually get up
around 7.)

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Oooh, tough call. I always used to prefer diamonds, but pearls are
growing on me. Can I have both?

3. What was the last movie you saw?
Horatio Hornblower! (for my FRC comrades -- did you know there are 8
episodes?? They're all good -- and Horatio is sooo cute!) :)

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Well, since our TV lives in the basement where we don't get any
reception, we don't watch it. Before the TV's banishment from family
life, though, it used to be Alias. One of my secret dreams is to be
a cool spy chick. :)

5. What did you have for breakfast?
Pancakes (courtesy of the hub) and scrambled eggs w/cheese.

6. What is your middle name?
Catherine.

6b. What is your Confirmation name?
Margaret, after St. Margaret Mary.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
"Cuisine"?? With two small children I'm not up on haute couture!
But I do enjoy Italian. (who doesn't?) Right now for Lent though
we're going all vegetarian so no meatballs or chicken parmigiana,
sigh!

8. What food do you dislike?
Squash. Texture issues.

9. What is your favorite chip flavor?
Tortilla with lime. My mouth puckers pleasantly just thinking about it!

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Definitely the soundtrack from the new Pride & Prejudice. I want the
sheet music!

11. What kind of car do you drive?
A silver Honda CRV (one of those cars that wants to be an SUV when it
grows up). We're going to have to upgrade to a minivan before we
have any more kids, though -- can't fit 3 carseats in the back!

12. Favorite sandwich?
Ham & cheese melt with interesting mayo -- hubby's specialty.
Although PBJ will do in a pinch. Sometimes I just get a weird
craving for them.

13. What characteristic do you despise?
Self-centeredness.

14. What is your favorite flower?
Hands down, Easter lilies. There's nothing more wonderful than their
smell. I had lilies in my wedding bouquet. Close second is
gardenias.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Hm. That's a tough one. If we had a personal tour guide who spoke
12 languages and knew all the best lodgings and restaurants around,
Europe. If not, then New Zealand. (I admit it, I'm a LOTR geek!)

16. What color is your bathroom?
Oh, I'm so proud of this one: our master bath is a sponge-painted
beige on cream. It took me about 3 hours but it was worth it -- I
love how it looks! Our main-level "powder room" is pale yellow with
a horizontal burgundy stripe. This bathroom is a story unto itself, as readers of this blog know!

17. Favorite brands of clothing?
Are mothers of two allowed to have favorite brands of clothing? Oh,
stupid me -- Motherhood Maternity and Motherwear, of course! :)

18. Where would you like to retire to?
Someplace tropical. I'm not picky. Welllll, actually, near my
grandkids, wherever there is the largest concentration of them.

19. Favorite time of day?
In the evening right after the girls have gone to bed (assuming of
course they actually decide to STAY asleep).

20. What was your most memorable birthday?
I've had a couple -- the one where a couple friends & I went
horseback riding (can't remember the year, maybe 21st)... 22nd, when
my sweetheart flew 2,000 miles to visit me... 7th, when I got my
first bicycle...

21. Where were you born?
Inglewood, CA

22. Favorite sport to watch?
If I had to? I guess high school football. I loved the Steubenville
games. Close second is baseball. Go Dodger Blue!

23. Who do you least expect to send this back to you?
my mom :)

24. Person you expect to send this back first?
Do I have to answer this one? Does it really tell you anything about
me? I mean, honestly!

25. What fabric detergent do you use?
Cheer. Again, the smell thing. I LOVE the smell of Surf, but it
wasn't very good at getting clothes clean, sigh.

26. Coke or Pepsi?
Root beer.

27. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Definitely night owl. This was a major source of contention between
my morning-person hubby & me when we were first married! He didn't
believe in one's sacred right -- nay, one's DUTY -- to hit the snooze
button as often as necessary until one felt awake enough to face the
cold, brutal world. He actually ENJOYS getting up at 5am, the weirdo.

29. Any Pets?
Um, do spider crickets living in the basement count? I suppose not,
since the first thing I do when I see one is try to squish it. We
have an empty rabbit cage though that needs an occupant -- we miss
Juliet the Honeybun. The problem with us getting pets is that we
travel so much that making arrangements for them is a pain. Maybe
after we have so many kids that we can't afford to fly anymore....

30. Any words of wisdom you'd like to share?
Secret to happiness: eat dessert first.

31. What did you want to be when you were little?
A school teacher and a ballerina and a mommy.

32. What are you doing today?
Well, I hope to be going to bed soon -- but today I spent the morning
juggling whiny children while hubby had hockey practice and got a
haircut, then I put Katie down for her nap, then I took Miriam to the
pediatrician at noon (ear infection), then took her to the drugstore
to get her Amoxicillin, then brought her home and put her to bed.
Then I had lunch (at 3pm) and some precious quiet time while hubby
took Katie grocery shopping, bless him. When he came back I put
Katie to bed again (she's getting over being sick too), fixed a
snack, then woke Miriam up so she would actually go to bed at a
reasonable time tonight, then watched a cartoon with Miriam until
Katie woke up, then I gave Miriam an early bath and juggled whiny
children again while hubby made dinner. Then I read to Miriam while
he gave Katie a bath, then we prayed a family rosary and put the
girls to bed. Then the hub & I had some popcorn, and now here I am,
checking email! Any spare time I had I spent reading various materials lying around the house -- The Magic Years (great book!), or the latest Family Foundations, or Playful Learning (about preschool at home).
Is this a typical day, do you ask? I answer: no. Usually I clean
and cook too.

33. What state do you live in?
Confusion.

All right, all right, I know that's an old one. But I don't live in
a state. I am blessed to reside in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia. As you can learn from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website, "the Commonwealth is distinguished from, and superior to, a mere state by the greatness of the people of Virginia." Sic Semper Tyrannis!

34. What is the farthest this E Mail will travel to?
California, I assume.

35. If money were no object, what is one thing that you would like to do?
Pay off our student loans! After that, buy a house with a larger
yard. I'm sure that, given time, I could come up with something more
grandiose, but for now my dreams are humble. :)

36.Who is the person(s) who inspires you to greatness?
My husband. He's too good for me. I'm still trying to be worthy of him!