Challenge - Day 12

Post a picture of your favorite memory.

I don't have the exact picture I wanted to post. But this one is close enough. My favorite memory is high school graduation. (And this was our senior t-shirt.)

Yes, I've graduated from college. I've gotten married. I've birthed babies. I've travelled internationally. But my favorite memory continues to be high school graduation.

I'm not sure exactly why that memory was never overtaken by my wedding or the arrival of each of my 3 boys. But it hasn't. It's just the memory that I have of being the happiest.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I wasn't happy during the other occasions, but I think the nerves during those times pushed aside some of their joy. Or maybe it was because graduation was a culmination without any stress. After all, I'd already been accepted to college. After college graduation, I had the stress of an upcoming wedding, a still-a-student fiance, his graduation, and the probability of moving, out of state nonetheless. Whereas after our wedding, life on our own and it's pressures were attached to it. Then with each baby came the fear that I was responsible for a human being's life, every day, rain or shine.

So as is classic to many movies, those carefree high school days that seemed so BIG at the time were really easy and fun in retrospect. And graduation was the ultimate goal. At least that's what I think. (I think.)

Challenge - Day 11

Post a picture of something you hate.

Well, now, that just sounds negative. Especially in light of all the personal stuff I've opened up about lately. But I do have one thing that gives me the heebie jeebies.

From grass snakes to copperheads, snakes freak me out. I mean, I won't even go through the reptile house at the zoo. To quote a movie that I'm sure you can all guess: "Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?"

Challenge - Day 10

Post a picture of your most treasured item.

Treasured: defined as something of great worth or value.

If that's the case, I have several things that fall into this category.
My photos, especially of my kids.
My computer, since it houses 75% of my pictures.
My phone, because it's my calendar, my lifeline, to the world.
The magnolia painting & blanket we got for wedding gifts. (They remind me of my roots.)

Then there's my stepdad's watch. Not an expensive item. But I wore it to his funeral. Just to be near him. My dad's jewelry, some of which I've melted and had remade to fit me. Some pieces are in their original state. (Daddy was a big jewelry guy.) I wore his gold rope necklace to his funeral.

Is this getting too sad and depressing? But what I'm realizing, is the things I place the most value on have to do with people who are no longer here. Like my grandma's bowl, which my mom has, that I will inherit someday. It's nothing special, nothing valuable. But it was hers. And I never knew her.

So, it boils down to this picture. Taken just for this post. It is my Dad's cowboy hat and the flag draped over my stepdad's coffin and presented to my mom at his funeral. She then gave it to me.

Challenge - Day 9

Post a picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

That prize has to go to the obvious, my best friend and mate, Ben. Like all couples who've been together for quite a while, we've had our ups and downs. But unlike most couples, there's not always a Kim in the relationship. I'm a pain. As Harry from "When Harry Met Sally" says, I'm high maintenance.

I've been angry, intolerant, depressed, anxious, sad, manic, pregnant, emotional, irrational, self conscious and much more, I imagine. And my loving husband puts up with me. Day after day after day. I've lost 2 dads, been through a difficult pregnancy, and nearly lost a child. And he hasn't wavered. I've been skinny. I've been fat, and Ben still loves me for who I am on the inside. And makes me feel like the most beautiful woman on this earth. He's even emptied my throw-up bucket when I've been sick or just hungover. Now that's love. And devotion.

This picture of him was taken on a trip to the Bahamas to celebrate our 10-year anniversary (in 2005). When we met, he had a full head of hair and wore size 28 (waist) jeans. Today, he's got less up top and more in the middle, but I couldn't ask for a more loving, handsome, sexy, caring husband.

"You're so cool," Ben. And I'm so lucky.
Thank you.

Challenge - Day 8

Post a picture of your night.

I should have done this a few nights ago when we were at the grandparents' farm. The stars were beautiful. The kids commented that they didn't know there were that many stars up there. I guess that's what city lights and smog will do.

But my typical night is in my comfy bed. And, yes, I have a TV in my bedroom. Experts say not to have one there, but fooey on them. I really enjoy unwinding in my PJs, under the fan with the A/C running full blast (I like it cold), snuggled under the covers, with a kid or two stopping by for a snuggle and some Tivo.

I don't normally make my bed, as you can tell upon close inspection of this photo. Today, I just pulled the covers up and threw our sleeping pillows on the bed to mask its normal messiness.

Challenge - Day 7

Post a picture of the person you do the most screwed up things with.

You get 3 answers, or sets of photos, for this one. They represent different periods of my life. Today, though, I mostly save my crazy for my “alone” time. However, I got my first tattoo with one of my college BFFs. The 5 others that adorn my body were on my own time. :)

This was taken in college. Carolyn is the blonde in the middle. I've got some sort of rastafarian wig on. Ben's wearing the Lollapalooza shirt.

But the most trouble-doing I did was probably in high school. Snuffy, this one’s for you.

Sometime around 1989. Shane is on the far right. And a nod to Snuffy & Big Bird as best buds.

I met Shane my junior year of high school in Technical Drawing. He was my Snuffleupagus; I was his Big Bird. We just clicked. Not as romantic soul mates, but as best buds. We partied together. We listened to music together. He healed a flesh wound on my knee after a night of very bad things. We watched the summer 92 Olympics together. (He wasn’t too chauvinistic to admit he liked women’s gymnastics!) He came to visit me in college. He was an usher at my wedding. We’ve stayed close 20+ years later. Some time may lapse between visits or phone calls, but we’ll always be close.
And, of course, I’ve done plenty of wild things with dear hubby. (He was actually my first answer to this challenge, but then I thought I should try to think out of the box a little.)

That's my hubby, with shaved sides and a ponytail. Sometime in college.

Nowadays, it’s hard to get too crazy with 3 young ‘uns (OK, so they’re not so young), and PTA meetings don’t seem to get too out of control. But writing this post and thinking about this topic, does make me think that I’m about due for a wild time! Usually that means ink. But we’ll see.

Challenge - Day 6

This will barely make it under the wire. It's Sunday, 11:17 p.m., right now. Today's subject: post a picture that makes you laugh.

I pondered and wondered about what makes me laugh. Sadly, I realized that I don't laugh enough. I love corn ball humor, though. (So did my dad.) "Confucious say" jokes are my favorite! But I don't have a picture to capture that feeling. I mean, yeah, I could have "borrowed" a fu-manchu, old-style drawing of an old Chinese man, but does that really do justice to a philosopher who lived a billion years ago? OK, I may be exaggerating.

The picture that I originally posted is pretty hilarious, IMO. Blackmail for the future, I'm guessing, as well. I won't identify the kiddo in trouble (and the nakedness was his choosing), but feel free to guess. Timeouts must come when they must is the moral of that story, I suppose.

THERE WAS A NAKED-BUTT PICTURE OF ONE OF MY BOYS (AROUND AGE 2) STANDING IN THE CORNER FOR A TIMEOUT. BUT A FAMILY MEMBER SUGGESTED I REMOVE IT FOR FEAR OF PROVOKING THE CHILD PORNOGRAPHY FANATICS. NO BIGGIE. I REMOVED IT.

Lisa Lampanelli and Gina Yashere are 2 comediennes that I like. Vulgar, yes. Crude, yes. JUST LIKE ME. (But, as a side note, I don't care for potty humor. Sexual explicity and veracity are fine, in my warped mind, though.)

The Bill Cosby album "Himself" and Steve Martin's movie "Parenthood" crack me up because they are so poignant about parenting for all the different stages you go through as a mom or dad. Watch these (now) DVDs each year or 2, and you'll see something new. I guess that's the clean side of my personality, as opposed to the polar opposite side mentioned with the above comediennes.

I realized with this rather difficult exercise that I can say "aww" to many things. I'll "smile" at touching moments/snapshots. I'll even admit to the "cute" photos of my family or others. But laughter was one that was tough to come by for me.

And, by the way, I didn't make it before the midnight deadline. Good thing I'm not being graded on this project. :)