10 Minutes: That's how long it took on Tuesday morning to realize that my internet was not working.
36 hours: The amount of time, including an embarrassing number of hours spent trying to diagnose and repair this problem through my highly technical system of messing with wires and randomly probing around in software diagnostics that I don't understand, it took me to realize that our phone wasn't working either.
A-ha! Obviously the problem was with the phone lines so I called the phone company who sent some kind men to my rescue. Whew! I totally didn't know what to do with myself for a while. I actually resorted to dusting and cleaning under furniture!
(In my defense, it should be noted that I was gone most of Wednesday at an amusement park sitting in one of the only air conditioned quasi-restaurants to avoid the extreme heat and reflect on the fact that I was now of an age where this seemed preferable to the thrills of my once beloved roller coasters.)
Anyway, if that doesn't tell you enough about me, I'm gonna share more.
Becca tagged me with a meme that asks the following:
Think back on the last 15 years of your life. What would you tell someone that you haven’t seen or talked to for 15 years? How would you sum up your life? You get 10 bullet points. A list of 10 things to summarize about you. At the end of your list, tag 5 more people and send on the love…For starters, 15 years ago I had been married for 3 years, had a 1 year old son and was working as an office manager for a local printing company. Since then...
1. Boys. I had 4 four more boys making a total of 5 sons through whom I've learned more about life, love, legos, and testosterone than you can imagine.
2. Work. I quit my office manager job when I was pregnant with my 2nd baby and the company went out of business (this was a convenient resolution to my desire to quit as it came with unemployment benefits which increased to disability benefits as my due date loomed closer). After he was born, I returned to work in real estate (I had obtained my license years earlier) for a while.
3. Home. I quit working when my 2nd son was about 2 years old to be a full time mommy and embrace the life of diapers, laundry, muddy hands, and play-do. (Actually that's a lie. I hate the smell of play-do so my boys experience with it was limited.)
4. Work again. I would be remiss if I didn't mention my brief stint as a Pampered Chef consultant. It was a fun experience but unrelenting "morning" sickness during my 3rd pregnancy made discussing, let alone preparing, food for others significantly difficult. The birth of my 3rd son made it impossible.
5. Church. Relying on the Lord has become an increasingly important part of my life. Church fellowship is an central part of our family's life and we are grateful for the friends and support with which we have been blessed.
6. School. Ten years ago when it was time for my oldest to start Kindergarten, I began homeschooling him. What was intended to be a single year at home to better prepare him for school, became a whole new lifestyle as I've continued to homeschool my children ever since. This year I will be teaching my 9th, 6th, 4th, and K sons at home. However, my oldest son attends the local high school in order to keep my life balanced and full of obligatory sporting events.
7. Sports. I have learned more about sports than I ever wanted to know. I have attended, and continue to attend more baseball, basketball, and football games than I even thought possible. I'm fairly certain that ESPN is the only news channel that our TV receives and am often shocked by my own ability to discuss current events in the world of sports (go ahead - ask me anything about Brett Favre)... just please don't attempt a discussion of the economy with me. It would be useless.
8. Sanity. At some point after the birth of my 5th, I realized that I just may be insane. More precisely, I became painfully aware that I was never going to get my act of juggling this crazy life together and woefully accepted the fact that neither my kids nor I were ever going to be perfect. This was quite the blow to my hopeless case of perfectionism, but has set me free from such expectations and allowed me to enjoy life more freely... and perfect my skills of denial.
9. Knitting. About 4 years ago, a dear friend put some needles and fun fur in my hands and I have since become passionate about knitting! Not only is it a terrific hobby, I'm quite sure it helps with all of the above too. I also do occasional technical editing and had the opportunity to knit a sweater for one designer that will be modeled in an upcoming book!
10. Blogland. I have become a "blogger" and daily spend time interacting with wonderful, fascinating people I would've otherwise never had a chance to meet! I am constantly encouraged, inspired, and challenged by the many people in blogland who I now consider my friends.
Okay. Now I will pass this on to 5 people. Only 5. I think
everyone who reads this should consider themselves tagged. But if I need to pick 5, I'll choose the following bloggers who I would like to see answer this question.
Auntie Pudentaine,
Kristie,
Lynda,
Angelika, and
Maria.
Bonus: It is possible I have an unhealthy relationship to the TV. More season premieres this week! 
