Bonkers in Barnhart

The 31 Day Blog Challenge is hosted by Boy Oh Boy.

Hmm, do you really have time to read the lengthy list of my worst habits?  I doubt it, not to mention it would be terribly depressing – for both of us – LOL.

But if I cut to the chase and pick just a couple of my worst habits they would be:

1. I worry too much – really, I’m a constant worrier and it’s frustrating since it rarely does any good anyway!
2. If I don’t want to do something I will procrastinate till the cows come home and then procrastinate till they leave the next morning!  I am a very creative procrastinator by the way!
3. I have an Irish temper – it’s an inherited bad habit and one that my daughter informs me she has inherited as well – oh joy!

So that is what I would consider a top three of my worst habits.  I’m sure I could add a lot more to that list but for the sake of my psyche and yours we’ll just stop there – LOL.

Photo credit: cheerfulmonk

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This is not something you see very often in our household – MacKayla the Empress (who does not like any of the boy kitties, *at all*!), Joel Gray (the mellowest of the group) and Giblet Paws the Kitten (who is seldom not in a state of constant motion!) hanging out together on the couch. I rushed to get a photo so I would have proof that miracles do in fact happen in Barnhart – albeit furry ones!

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Since I managed to get a day behind in the 31 Day Blog Challenge hosted by Boy Oh Boy, I am going to combine yesterday and today into one post.

The Day 7 Challenge is about Pet Hates (what I call Pet Peeves).  Depending on the day I can have *a lot* of pet peeves, but I’ll just pick out a couple of the big ones and spare you the ordeal of listening to me whine this early in the day!

My Major Pet Peeves:

1. People who are rude – there is rarely a reason to be rude to someone, yes, I know there are some potential exceptions to that statement, but generally rudeness is not something that I feel is acceptable behavior.
2. People who litter – there are trash cans for a reason!
3. People who are always late – being on time shows respect for the other person.  Occasional lateness is not the issue here, chronic lateness drives me up a wall.

Those are the three big ones that I’m thinking about at the moment.

Day 8 is What is in Your Handbag – well, I always seem to be carrying a lot of stuff and then the kids add to it.  I know that right now I have:  wallet, coin purse, calendar, several pens, card holder, stamps, comb, small travel perfume, various bits and pieces of paper which may or may not have important information on them, camera, my church ID tag which I always forget to put on, two small travel games that the kids and I play when we are someplace stuck waiting (the racing sheep one is our favorite),  some coupons for various things and several small pinecones (that the kids want to make into hedgehogs).   That’s not too bad actually, some days I pull some really strange things out of my purse!

My biggest problem lately is that I just can’t find a handbag/purse that I like and that has been very annoying — hmm, might almost qualify as a pet peeve!  I don’t like to change purses often, I prefer to have one that I can rely on as my daily purse to take care of all my needs and is easy to drag around — is that so much to ask for?!   MacKayla the Empress kitty says I just need a butler or a Birkin bag — LOL

So I’ll just take this one, thank you very much:

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But at least now I am caught up, for the moment

This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

This week I am reading Jane Vows Vengeance by Michael Thomas Ford:

This is the third book in the Jane Austen, Vampire series.  I really enjoyed the first two books and the third one is no exception in that regard – it’s fun, has a bit of mystery thrown in, and I’m rather sad this is to the conclusion to the trilogy.  I would have liked to read more about Jane Austen the Vampire!

Sorry, missed yesterday because things got really busy and I was tired last night, so I’ll do catch up today starting with Your Five Senses Right Now.  The 31 Day Blog Challenge is hosted by Boy Oh Boy!

SEE:  A gray and cloudy day today matching the fluffy gray kitty (Joel Gray) who is sleeping soundly on the couch nearby.

TASTE:  Pepsi – breakfast of champions – LOL

FEEL:  A little stuffy since it’s a humid day.  If I could get Joel Gray to come over by me I could rub his really soft fur but he is studiously ignoring me!

HEAR:  The rain falling steadily outside, the clock ticking in the kitchen, the click of the keys as I type.

SMELL:  Nothing, which is probably a good thing!

In case you are wondering what he looks like, here is Joel Gray is all his sleepy glory – isn’t he cute!

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Back for Day 5 of the 31 Day Blog Challenge hosted by Boy Oh Boy.

Most of the songs I l currently like are pop songs that are upbeat and fun.  I don’t tend to go for the more serious songs although I really like Goyte whose music I think of as more “serious”.  I love musicals so there is a lot of songs I could pick from them that I really like, but I chose to go with more current songs for this particular list.  I also like a lot of 80’s pop songs but I limited myself there also, since that would really be a list in and of itself.  Plus I love Christmas music – which would be another list – LOL

1. Get the Party Started – Pink
2. Rumour Has It – Adele
3. Bad Romance – Lady GaGa
4. Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5
5. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) –Kelly Clarkson
6. Big Girls Don’t Cry – Fergie
7. Poker Face – Lady GaGa
8. Somebody I Used to Know – Goyte
9. Run the World (Girls) – Beyonce
10. Hearts a Mess – Goyte

Photo from Wikipedia

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Here we are on Day 4 of the 31 Day Blog Challenge, hosted by Boy Oh Boy, and today the question is What Are You Afraid Of?

The two things that I am most phobic about are spiders and heights – so if you put me on a roof with a really big spider that would be the end of me – LOL.

I’m actually able to deal with smaller spiders nowadays as long as they aren’t running or jumping around – when they start moving I get freaked out!  If I can find someone else to take care of them though that is much better.  But we have woods behind us and in those woods live Wolf spiders and those Wolf spiders scare me beyond words – sigh.  They are big, they are hairy, I mean really, you can see their fangs!!  That’s so not good!

As far as heights, I’m fine if I’m enclosed and up high, but I do not like open heights, ladders, things like that.  I remember as a kid having to climb very tall ladders to pick apples and cherries in our orchard – I hated that, I was always sure I was going to fall.  I never did but logic is not going to play a part in this, so let’s just move on shall we.  And I am not admitting to the fact that the ladders really weren’t *that* tall, they just seemed taller because I was a kid – but that would be logical also and we’ve already dealt with that issue!

There are certainly other things I’m afraid of – poisonous snakes (although I like other snakes just fine, especially garter/garden snakes and black snakes), creepy bugs (like cockroaches or those cicadas that seem to always want to attack me), getting trapped in my car in deep water (yes, I know, I live in a land locked city so this is unlikely to happen – what did I say earlier about logic?!), and public speaking (I got an A in a public speaking class but it still scares me).

And no, I am not neurotic in the least, thank you very much

If you look closely you can see the Wolf spiders just lurking in the woods waiting for the perfect moment to pounce – trust me, they are there! LOL

So, what are you afraid of?

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This is part of the 31 Day Blog Challenge hosted by Boy Oh Boy

I can never figure out which one quote is my favorite, so here are my top favorite ones at least at the moment:

What are some of your favorite quotes?

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So, 20 facts about me for the 31 Day Blog Challenge hosted by Boy Oh Boy:

1. My first name is Venus, but after being teased endlessly as a kid about it, I have gotten used to using my middle name – Marie.  The name Venus came from my great-grandfather who was an amateur astronomer.
2. I had three ducks when I was growing up – Rocky, Tilly and Milly.  They were great fun and I really want to have ducks again at some point.
3. If I could I would sleep late, take a nap and go to bed early – I love to sleep!
4. I am phobic about spiders – size doesn’t matter – a spider, any spider turns me into a quivering pile of goo.
5. I love to read – it’s how I relax and de-stress.
6. I have a serious addiction to chocolate – sad but so very true.
7. I have inherited by Grandmother’s Irish temper – even though I didn’t get the red hair and Irish complexion (darn it!)
8. I love animals although I’m more of a cat person then a dog person – we have four cats (plus a dog and two guinea pigs) at the moment.
9. I am not a winter person – I don’t like cold, snow, ice or any of those lovely winter things.  I much prefer the other three seasons!
10. I love pasta – pasta and chocolate and I could be happy for a very long time.
11. Several years ago I had to have my colon removed and I was really sick and almost died so I’m very fortunate to still be here to enjoy my family and friends!
12. I can get lost going in a straight line – getting a GPS has been the best thing ever – I don’t get lost nearly as much, yhea!
13. I took guitar lessons for years as a teenager but never was very good – I think it’s safe to say I have very little sense of rhythm or tone even though I did learn to read music.
14. I’ve always wanted to be able to draw but my cows look like horses and my horses look like cows – fortunately my daughter can draw quite well and gives me plenty of horses and cows that look like they should.
15. I have to have quiet time to recharge or I get really cranky.  Just ask anyone who knows me well!
16. I am pretty shy and am lousy in groups – I do best one on one.
17. I’m a total klutz and have the constant bruises to prove it – although really, the furniture jumps out at me, it does, I swear it does!!
18. I love Glee – it’s such a cool show.
19. I also love to read YA literature – it’s often much more interesting then the “grown up” stuff.
20. When I read the “grown up” stuff I especially love mysteries and historical fiction – did I mention that I read *a lot*!

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I thought this would be a great way to motivate me to post more often – the 31 Day Blog Challenge hosted by Boy Oh Boy.

Yes, I am starting a day late so I’ll have to do a catch up post somewhere in here but better then a week late right?!

So an introduction:

My name is Marie and I’m 43 years old, married 19 years and stay at home mom to two kids (Alexandria who is 9 and Macgregor who is 7).  I take care of our family construction business on the home front while DH does the work out in the field.  Our household also includes four cats (MacKayla the Empress, Joel Gray, William the Orange and Giblet Paws the Kitten), one dog (Lady the part Brittany Spaniel) and two guinea pigs (Magic and Muffin).

We live near St. Louis, MO and I enjoy blogging (when I manage to stay motivated!), reading (a lot!!), artsy things like collage and crafts with the kids, journaling, letter writing (snail mail – yhea!), cruising around the internet looking for fun stuff, walking/hiking, baking, photography, and hanging out with my kids/family and friends.  The small things tend to make me happiest!

And yes, I know it says I should put up a recent photo but I honestly don’t think I have anything that could in any way be construed as recent!   The closest I could find was the baseball game we went to last summer.  Here I am with Mac: