200th Post

This is my 200th post! Which isn't as impressive as it sounds since I've had this blog since 2004. I have gotten better at posting more regularly though.

Arianne tagged me with the 5 Things Meme a while back and I figured today was a good day to tackle it. Sorry it took me so long!

5 Things Meme

What I was doing ten years ago...
1) Taking a semester off from BYU. I had recently broken off an engagement and needed some time to myself and some space. I ended up not going back to BYU the next semester either, I went to Southern Virginia College (now University) instead. Then after my mission I went back to BYU.
2) Living with my parents in Virginia. Along with needing space, I needed to get out of Utah.
3) Working 3 jobs. I worked in a music store, an LDS bookstore, and as a tutor for high school kids.
4) Learning to play the guitar. I practiced constantly - whenever I wasn't at work, my guitar was in my hands. That's something I want to bring back into my life, I don't play nearly as much as I would like to now.
5) Writing to Eric on his mission in Italy. He was awful about writing back, so I only wrote a few times.

Five things on my to-do list today...
1) Fold laundry (that's pretty much always on my to-do list.)
2) Go to the grocery store.
3) Take pictures of new soaps to list on Etsy.
4) Wash my car. The pollen count has been so high the past few days that it's covered in yellow dust. It doesn't help that my car is black.
5) Get some more plastic storage bins for Sawyer's new toys he got for his birthday. I'm learning that the older kids get, the more pieces their toys come with.

Five snacks I enjoy...
1) Cold cereal. I practically lived off it in college. It's what I have for breakfast every single day.
2) Baguette with goat cheese. In fact this can be a whole meal for me. Sawyer loves it too, although he prefers to lick the cheese off and just use the bread as a delivery device.
3) Ice cream. Anytime, anywhere! I just discovered a new favorite flavor - Häagen-Dazs Sticky Toffee Pudding.
4) Special K Cereal Bars. The Chocolatey Drizzle ones are my favorite - and they're just 90 calories a bar.
5) Fruit. Almost any kind. I'm on a mango kick lately.

Five things I would do if I was a billionaire...
1) Hire a housekeeper. I have so many things I want to do and housework just gets in the way. I love having a clean house (and I can't function if I let things go) but I resent the time it takes from other things that seem more important and interesting.
2) Open my own boutique, and hire someone else to run it. Like the housework, it's something that would be really fun to have, but not so much fun to actually do.
3) Travel travel travel. I want to go everywhere.
4) Buy a simple house with a lot of land. I have no desire to have a huge house, but I would love to have the acreage for gardening, raising chickens, keeping horses, and having as many dogs as I want. There are some really nice things about suburbia, but I don't feel at home there.
5) Give a lot of money away. It would be the best feeling to be able to give huge amounts of money to people who could really benefit from it.

Five of my bad habits....
1) When I wash my hair in the shower and loose strands of hair come out, I put them on the shower wall so I can clean them up later - but at least 50% of the time I forget they're there until the next time I get in. Pretty gross. Luckily I have my own bathroom so Eric doesn't have to see it.
2) Picking up lunch at the drive through. It's a waste of money and the food usually isn't healthy, but it seems so much easier when I'm running errands all morning and Sawyer is suddenly starving. He recognizes the Chick-Fil-A sign from a mile away ("Chicken? Fries?") Pretty bad.
3) I do loads of laundry and then leave the clean clothes sitting in the basket forever. See above about folding laundry always being on my to-do list.
4) Using Dora the Explorer as a babysitter while I make soap. He would watch it all day every day if I let him.
5) Forgetting to call people back. When I get a voice mail from someone if I don't call them back RIGHT THEN, chances are that I won't ever remember to. This is why email works so much better for me, there's a constant visual reminder of the message even after I've read it.

Five places I have lived....
1) Northern Virginia (ages 3 to 5, 11 to 22, and 25 to now. So most of my life.)
2) Utah
3) France
4) North Carolina
5) Ohio

Five jobs I've had....
1) Stable hand. I fed, watered and cleaned the stalls of about a dozen horses after school. I made $30 a week for an hour a day, 4 days a week - pretty good for a high school student back then. I loved the physical labor and being around the horses.
2) Music store employee. This was such a fun job, I got to talk to people about music all day. The people I worked with were so much fun, and very different after being at BYU, which was a welcome change. I was the only one there without facial piercings.
3) Summer intern at a DC law firm. I assisted lawyers with clerical stuff like typing, filing, and research. I hated almost every minute of it - the only part I liked was taking the train downtown and using the free gym. I was 100% sure after this summer that I didn't want to be a lawyer - not that I needed much convincing.
4) Secretary/receptionist for the Political Science Department at BYU. I loved this job. The professors and students were so fun to work with and I learned a lot about the field.
5) Teaching assistant. My dad taught religion classes for freshman honors students and I was his TA. I kept attendance, graded papers, and helped students write papers. Plus I got to hear all my dad's lectures and learn from him. Pretty posh job.

I know that's already five - but I just have to add that the best job I've had so far is being a stay at home mom. I didn't expect to love it nearly as much as I do. I love having the freedom to plan my days however I want to, and I can honestly say I've never been bored.

If you feel so inclined to do this - consider yourself tagged!