20 Questions

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile. My in-laws are in town all the way from Alabama, so...needless to say, I'm spending time with them and not on the computer. Tomorrow we're going on vacation for a few days (a REAL vacation!), so I'll likely be MIA for another week or so.

BUT. My friend Lauren tagged me, so I must oblige, right?

Rule #1: The tagged person must write their answers on their blog and replace any questions they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

Rule #2: Tag 5 people to do this quiz. The tag-ee must state who tagged them. Goodness, who might actually do this that hasn't already been tagged? Let's try Rachel, Ann, Jackie, Renee, and Barbara. I'm not providing links right now because I need to go to bed! But you all know who you are, I do believe.

1. What is one word that can best be used to describe you?

Hmm. Blunt? Real? Northern? Ha. I'm not really sure. But I think these all sum me up pretty well...what you see is what you get. I am not good at putting on a front or pretending to be something or someone I'm not. I'm also extremely...well, blunt. I say it like it is. I try not to be rude, but I also don't know how to sugar coat things. Thanks, oh-being-raised-in-the-North.

2. If you could have a dream come true, would what it be?

Hmm. I don't know. My dreams seem to be fairly realistic (because let's face it, I'm a realist) and attainable. Let's try a different question: If you could go anywhere in the world on a dream vacation, where would it be? -My answer is FIJI!

3. What would you do with a billion dollars?

Invest most of it. Help my mom finish fixing up her house. College fund for Lane and future kids. Go on a GREAT vacation. Buy some new clothes (because let's face it, I need some).

4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?

Umm...probably just time. Alone. A good run (not like I've been running in a very long time, though). Praying, depending on why I'm in a bad mood. Sleep. A funny movie or an episode of "Friends." Pretty much anything to get my mind off of why I'm in a bad mood!

5. What is your bedtime routine?

Take out my contacts, get into my jammies, brush my teeth, go to the bathroom, get a glass of water, Shannon and I pray together, and then it's glorious sleep!

6. What activities did you do in High School? If you could go back, would you do the same or something different?

I was on the dance team and sang in choir my senior year. I think I'd try to do a few more sports (if I could go back), but I don't know if my "athletic ability" would come any earlier the second go-around.

7. What kind of books do you read?

I'll read anything, really. I just read "The Help"...it was fantastic. I love the Harry Potter series. I like John Grisham and Jodi Picoult. And of course I like books that help my walk with the Lord.

8. How do you see yourself in ten years?

A stay-at-home-mom. NOT learning a new language, hopefully. Eek, I'll be 41. Goodness that sounds old!

9. What's your favorite piece of clothing you own?

Gosh, I don't know. Most of my clothes are pretty boring. I guess I have some really fantastic summer dresses that I don't get to wear very often because...well, they're not exactly appropriate unless you're at the beach. Which I'm usually not.

10. What kind of skin care do you use?

Apricot face scrub (when available) and Neutrogena SPF 15 moisturizer.

11. What's the first thing you do when you wake up?

Umm...go to the bathroom? Ahh, probably drink a glass of water...that's usually first.

12. If you could have any job, regardless of income, what would it be?

If I didn't have a family, I'd love to be a world traveler/photographer. Travel the world and take photos, like for National Geographic or something. Awesome.

13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?

I like my name. I think I'll keep it.

14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months or rain, which would you choose?

Sun. But not if it was accompanied by six months of more-than-80-degree weather. Then I'd choose the rain.

15. If you could only eat one thing for the next six months, what would it be?

Italian food. Anything Italian. YUM.

16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most?

I like knowing that I'm keeping our friends and family updated on our lives, even the boring parts (sometimes), while we live so far away.

17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods?

Depends. Usually sweet, I guess.

18. What items are in your purse right now?

My wallet, hand sanitizer, tissues, a pen, our change purse (has money, chapstick, a spare contact lens, and gum inside), eye drops, and a "diaper pod" that has 2 diapers, a thing of wipes, and a small cloth (for covering up icky surfaces in case of emergency diaper changes). That's it!

19. What is the best memory you have of you and the person that tagged you in their 20 questions?

I think it'd have to be eating at Shuckers last August. I seem to recall that Lauren ordered something that took her forever to eat, and that something went wrong with her order as well. It was quite funny, her being the center of attention and the last one eating for, oh, 20 minutes or so.

20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn't?

I don't watch anything on television. I do own all ten seasons of "Friends," though. And I love it. Maybe it's a tad inappropriate at times, but we all need a good laugh sometimes, right?

15 Months Old

Sigh. I love that my little girl is growing up, but it just goes too fast.

At 15 months old, Lane:

*points to herself when asked, "where's the goose?"
*gives you "five" if you stick out your hand.
*makes "ooh, ooh, ahh, ahh" noises when you ask what a monkey says.
*raises her arm in the air and says "wheee!" (or something like that) when you ask what an elephant says (sometimes) or when she sees a picture of an elephant (usually).
*loves, loves, loves strawberries. They are by far her favorite food right now.


For snack the other day I gave her five strawberries and a chocolate cupcake. You can see what she preferred! (She did touch the cupcake again, but only to smash it to a million pieces, not to eat it.)

*can identify her toes, hair, eyes, nose, teeth, tongue, ears, head, and belly. Not all the time, but when she wants to. =)
*uses sign language for "please" often (we think it means something more like "I want it!"), and "thank you" when prompted.
*has eight teeth. She got her left top molar about two weeks ago and her third bottom front tooth (on the left) four or five days ago. We think she has the same teeth on the right side coming soon.
*wipes her face if you give her a washcloth.
*still just says the four words: "mama," "dada," "nite-nite," and "meow, meow." Meow is becoming more drawn out: "mee-owwww, meee-owww." It's hilarious.


Playing hide-and-seek (or peek-a-boo) behind the curtains in her room.

*often pats (or slaps) the front of her diaper area if she's dirty, like she's telling you to change her.
*"knock knocks" on a book or on a door when you ask her if she wants to "do a knock knock."
*is climbing on everything. She can get onto the couches, the bottom bunk bed, and our dining table chairs without assistance or a step stool.
*puts any dishes and silverware in the bottom rack of the dishwasher "up." This involves her reaching up to the silverware drawer and lobbing them (forks, spoons, plates, bowls, even the silverware basket once) inside. It usually looks something like this after she's finished with it:



*is getting pretty good at climbing stairs by herself (holding onto a hand rail).
*can stack at least five blocks on top of each other.
*comes to us for an Eskimo kiss sometimes when we ask "where's your nose?"
*is good at following simple directions and it's obvious that she understands a lot, even if she's not talking much. (Lane, please get your shoes. Lane, can you get mama my other sock? Lane, bring mama a book. And so on.)
*loves to drape things around her neck (e.g. underwear, bags, her blankie, etc.).
*loves shoes. Anytime she sees shoes (in a book, in a store, on a person, on the television) she furiously signs "shoes, shoes!" She wants to wear shoes most of the time, and brings us ours frequently.


Playing in the sink. She did this for an hour one day, using up all of our hot water. When I told her it was "all done" time, she just looked at me and furiously signed "please, please" over and over again. It already breaks my heart to tell her "no" to something she wants that's not dangerous.

From the Archives: Becoming a Southerner

The first time I got my driver's license, I was 16, like most American teenagers. In Alaska your license is good for four years from your next birthday, so mine expired the day I turned 21. I waited until the day after my birthday and went for my new license (because of course I didn't want the "UNDER 21" stamped on my license that would be good until I was 26). Even though I was living in Idaho at the time, since I was still in college I didn't want to change my residency.

I lived in Idaho for a year after graduating from college and still didn't change my license. After all, why give up residency in Alaska (where I might be eligible for a PFD again one day) when I wasn't sure what I was doing or where I was going with my life?

Then I moved to Poland for three years, returned to Alaska at age 25, and of course, renewed my driver's license the following January. And then I moved to North Carolina, where once again, I didn't get a new driver's license.


My last Alaska driver's license.

A year later I got married. Shannon was a resident of Alabama, me (myself?) a resident of Alaska. Should I get a NC driver's license, since that's where we were living? I'd heard it was a big pain to switch to a NC license, and that still wouldn't make us residents of the same state, so I decided to wait. (Enter my using my passport as i.d. for two years, since it was the only piece of photo i.d. I had with my correct name on it.)

And then this past spring, right at a year ago, I took the plunge. I changed my residency for the first time in 30 years. I got a new driver's license and am now an Alabama resident, along with my husband.

Notice that 10-pound weight gain between the ages of 25-30? I'm totally blaming it on Lane!

The question is, does it make me a Southerner that I have a Deep South driver's license? Or can I still claim Northerner status since that's where I was born and raised and lived most of my life? (Notice how that question is raised: it's not "Do I still claim...," it's "Can I still claim....") I don't think of myself as a Southerner, even if technically I am one now.

7 Quick Takes #1

I have a friend who does a blog post on Fridays called "7 Quick Takes." I'm stealing it today. While I probably won't usually do it (and today's a Monday, anyways), today it seemed appropriate.

1. Shannon's going on a business trip tomorrow, and I get to go with him! Lane's coming too...I'm not sure how much "fun" we'll have, but it sure will be nice to get out of Istanbul for a few days! Don't be expecting a blog post for at least a week.

2. I'm getting a Mac in 13 days when my in-laws come. I can't wait. One of my current problems is that I can only send one email at a time through one of my accounts in Windows Mail. Then I have to restart my computer before I can send another one. And it doesn't remember my password even though I have my settings set to remember it. So irritating. My new mantra is "this would never happen on a Mac." I hope it proves to be true.

3. Yesterday we went to Moe's. Yes, there is a Moe's in Istanbul now! Let me just say that our first Tex-Mex in nine months was fantastic.


Isn't Shannon ever the multitasker? Actually, I think he was just afraid to put his burrito down...

4. Last week was "Italian Week" at the Scarbrough household. The dinner schedule: Monday: spaghetti. Tuesday: zucchini lasagna. Wednesday: pizza. Thursday: vegetarian lasagna. Friday: pasta primavera. It was a yummy week!

5. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike ironing? Ugh. I'm ironing all of Shannon's dress shirts and khakis and suit pants and ugh, ugh, ugh.

6. Is this not the cutest thing ever? And these? And this? Eeek, at the cuteness!

7. I went to the OBGYN for the first time in Turkey about two weeks ago. FYI: you do not have to take off ALL of your clothes like you do in America. Just your bottoms. I'm sure the doctor and the nurse were laughing at me, but how was I supposed to know? I've only ever been in America! Let's just say it was a lesson learned the hard way.

There you have it, my 7 quick takes, since I've neglected my blog for a week or so. Anyone out there have a "quick take" you care to share?

Rain

Saturday it looked like this outside:



And while normally we love not having a car (what's the point, really, in a city this big?), when the rain drops look like this:



Having to do this:



Really stinks.

We Got a Package!...Kind of.

We have some friends back in North Carolina who knew someone who was going to be traveling to Istanbul on business. So, they emailed us and asked us if we wanted him to bring us anything. This would be the first time that we had a chance to ask for something we've been craving.

Cheddar cheese.

We asked for a block of cheddar cheese and some peppermint flavoring. (I made these cookies a couple of weeks ago and think they'd be fantastic with mint-flavored frosting.) We'd been told that it's possible to bring cheese on an airplane, that it just gets soft but the taste is still the same. We figured we'd try it out.

So, on Wednesday we hiked it over to where Curt was having his business meetings. He presented us with a large ziploc baggie full of:


Loot! Easter candy, a cute shirt and socks for Lane, FOUR blocks of cheddar cheese (one was...unpresentable due to our munching on it!), and peppermint flavoring (not pictured).

Oh. my. yum. That cheddar cheese...so, so delicious. It's been almost nine months since we had real cheddar. And this is sharp cheddar. So good. Lane loves it, too! You can buy white cheddar here, but it comes in packages with five slices...and costs five lira. One lira per slice. That's about $.65 per slice. PER SLICE. And it's just not the same.

I digress.

Thanks so much for the CHEDDAR! And for the other stuff, too...but the cheddar...oh, the cheddar...

I digress again. =)

Seriously, thanks to Curt for hauling our loot over here! And thanks to Thomas and Leslie, and anyone else who contributed to our little "package"...we're enjoying everything so much!

Especially the cheddar.