Here's something you didn't know about me: I love taking surveys. Love it, love it, love it. I think it has to do with how self-absorbed I am. I will answer page after page after page of questions about myself, happily. Sometimes we'll get one of those consumer surveys in the mail, asking about the household products we purchase, how often, which brands, etc. I will open it up, squeal "OOOOH! A survey!" and then immediately get my #2 pencil and go to it. After I've bubbled in my responses to questions like which brand of peanut butter do we prefer (Food Lion, believe it or not) and how often do we visit the drugstore (like, pretty much never) and what size condoms do we buy (wait, WHAT?!), I will decide that I've revealed way too much information about our habits and I'll tear up the survey and stuff it in the trash. Screw the survey people; I've had my fun.

So imagine my complete and utter delight when I discovered a BLOG SURVEY. For bloggers. About blogging. JACKPOT! Moreover, it's for an MIT study that is examining, in part anyway, the idea of community among bloggers. Yeah, gee, I think I recall someone saying a while back that someone should do a study on blogging and community. Hmmmm, who was that? Oh, that's right, IT WAS ME. Those MIT nerds totally stole my idea.

I'm over it, though, because it's a survey, and I love those! And oooh, what's even better is that after you take the survey, you can view the aggregate results and compare your blogging habits to everyone else's. EYE-OPENING.

If you haven't already, you should definitely do it. (And look! They even give you a badge!)

My mom just called me at work and said, "I'm leaving to go get a haircut. Just thought I should tell you so you don't worry."

I'm not sure, but I think she was mocking me.

Household pet peeve (literally)

Simon and Maylee went through a wallpaper shredding stage.
Fortunately it seems to have passed. Unfortunately, the damage remains.

Magazine subscriptions

Rob laughs every time Real Simple arrives in the mail, saying, "Heh, you're reeel simp-uhl" in his best hillbilly accent.
Yeah, this from the guy who subscribes to Reader's Digest. Whatever.

Wired is technically Rob's subscription, but I read it, too. He also gets several other geek magazines and Games magazine. I hate Games because it is a monthly reminder of how much smarter than me he is. He always wants me to do the games with him, but I suck at them. So now I will only do ones that meet the following criteria: there must be NO NUMBERS OR MATH INVOLVED and if it is a crossword puzzle it must have a difficulty rating of one and a half stars or less. (It kills me that he is so much better at word games than me. I'm the fucking English major, after all.) I like the picture games the best, although even with those, he kicks my ass. But I did beat him once at "Identify these celebrity mouths." Score.

Favorite framed picture

This is a card I bought at Hallmark that is now framed in my bathroom. This is not the only Hallmark card I have purchased for the sole purpose of displaying in my home or office. I have a cute one of a cow jumping over the moon that I bought for our nursery for possible future use. (Please note: The nursery came with the house - I am not pregnant.) And I have one in my office at work that says, "Sure, I've got emotional baggage, but at least it's really cute and matches." But anyway, back to the one pictured here. I have a jacuzzi in my bathroom which I don't use nearly enough, but when I do, I load it up with bubbles and it is fabulous. And during my bubble baths, Bridget always comes to visit me and walks along the edge of the tub and sniffs at the bubbles (and has almost fallen in on multiple occasions). I framed this card because it reminds me of those moments of bliss.