I Am -- Old School Blogging Link Up

I am so excited to be co-hosting a thing called Old School Blogging (OSB) with my friend Elaine from the Miss Elaine-ous life.  Elaine hosts this blog link up once a month and it is so fun!  



This month I told her about a project that Lucy did in her fifth grade poetry unit-- I Am poems-- and we thought it might be a good fit for OSB. So, here is my I Am poem/blog post/jumble of thoughts with some pictures and videos.


I am a complicated, over thinker, over feeler in love with life.

I wonder what is going to happen next.

I hear all of my favorite Pandora channels playing all the time everywhere I am  -- Aretha Franklin, Etta James, The Avett Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Madonna, Otis Redding, Karen Carpenter, Blondie, Pit Bull and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros.

(Songs like this classic Steven Stills cover by Bonnie Raitt. Holy woah, I love this song and the way she sings it.)


  (click here to watch/listen.)


I see my kids growing up so fast.

I want time to slow down.

I am a complicated, over thinker, over feeler in love with life.

My babies, not so much babies anymore.

I could write post after post filled with my older kids looking annoyed and so over it. Ha!

I pretend that I am okay with the 15 pounds I've gained in the last four years and that I gained it because of a thyroid problem (but nothing is wrong with my thyroid).

I feel ALL THE FEELINGS ALL THE TIME! If there is a feeling, name it, I've felt it.  I used to hate that, and sometimes I still do, but mostly I love it and I ride the feelings roller coaster with my hands up in the air.

I touch the knot in the back of my neck and remind myself to relax more and stress less AND to stop clenching my jaw.

I worry about keeping my family and myself together (holdover complicated-ness from having divorced parents and a crazy mother).

I cry when I go into my kids' classrooms in elementary school because their right now is a big deal and it feels so sweet and important and it overwhelms me.  (I also cry during award shows, when Ellen gives away stuff to people, when they highlight an athlete's story before the big game, when I've had more than three drinks, when I'm tired, when Scott Disick on Keeping Up With The Kardashians can't get himself together even after rehab and when someone is nice to me at the grocery store checkout.)

I am a complicated, over thinker, over feeler in love with life.


I understand that being sensitive is an asset and makes me a better parent/person.

I say we all need to dance more and vote more.
(I try to dance in my kitchen daily.)

Yup there are snowflakes in the air, I'm pretty tired and we still haven't figured out how we are getting all the kids to all their stuff this wknd, but who cares this song sounds to happy to be sad. And too dancey not to dance to it. #kitchendance #happyfriday

A video posted by Angela Youngblood (@jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed) on Mar 27, 2015 at 5:19am PDT

I dream about sleeping more, dancing more and how much fun my kids and I are going to have on summer vacation.

I try to live my whole life by THE Golden Rule because I think it's kind of the best thing ever.  

Photo Source

I hope I am raising children that become loving, open-minded, big-hearted, accepting, encouraging adults that express themselves in their own way and live their own truths.

I am a complicated, over thinker, over feeler in love with life.

Now it's your turn! Copy the bold words and then the rest is up to you.  Fill in the words or sentences however you wish and then link up.

Old School Blogging-Whoomp There It Is

I consider myself sort of old school.  For example, I prefer real books to reading on electronic devices.  I still watch shows like "Evening Nightly News," occassionally I buy a newspaper (made out of paper!), I think it's a real shame that soap operas don't dominate daytime TV anymore and I say things like "in my day."  Holy shit, I just sound like I'm old.  

Old, old school--whatever you want to call it, I thought I was the perfect fit to link up with Elaine from the miss Elaine-ous life and Kim from Co-Pilot Mom's Old School Blogging.  That's right I'm joining in on the fun and just like the old school Tag Team classic, Whoomp There It Is, says: "I'm taking it back to the old school, cuz I'm an old fool, who's so cool." 

For this link up, they are asking a bunch of random questions. Check out my answers:

What was the last thing you watched on TV?  I fell asleep last night to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Reunion.  I enjoy the Housewives' shows, but the reunions make me sad.  It all gets really real and fight-y. But I caught a few minutes of Ellen this afternoon and she always makes me feel happy.

When did you last step outside?  What were you doing?  I walked back to my car after having dinner with a friend.  It was dark.  I was so excited to be out after 9 p.m. on a school night. But I was really, really tired too....because I'm old (school).

What is on the walls of the room you are in?  My kitchen/nook/office/dance studio is my favorite place in my house, which is good because I spend a lot of time here.  It looks like a sort of insane kindergarten teacher's space--a giant chalkboard fills half of one wall, a Dixie Cup light garland hangs on the window, children's artwork lines the wall above the window, an easel stands behind me at the ready for anyone to be creative, a rainbow craft hangs by the door and fresh, beautiful daffodils are in a vase.  It's colorful and chaotic...a real window into my soul.

If you became a multi-millionare overnight, what would you buy?  I'm very bad with money.  I've always said that if I did win the lottery (or become a multi-platinum recording artist) I would find a way to blow it all and end up bankrupt.  BUT I would blow it all on sending my kids to college, buying a house on a beach,  starting a kick-ass charity, buying everyone I know a car and going to Paris.

Tell me something about you that most people don't know.  I LOVE being alone.  I've always loved it.  People are cool, but I find a lot of joy in being alone.

Who made the last incoming call on your phone? My husband.  We were standing in the kitchen/nook/office/dance studio together and I  asked him to called my phone so I could find it.  

If you could change something about your home, without worry about expense or mess, what would you do?  I would add a bedroom and change my kitchen floor (I would LOVE to have a checkerboard floor!).

What was the last thing you bought? Dinner. I had an awesome dinner out with a good pal.  

Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?  Neither.  I discovered an intense fear of heights on top of a mountain in my early twenties.   I prefer to stay grounded.

If you could eat lunch with one famous person, who would it be?  These are two of my favorite things--food and celebrities. This is really hard for me to choose. My first thought was Oprah because she's Oprah.  But my final answer is Tina Fey because she is f*cking awesome.  

Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?  Whole Foods.  We are a gluten-free family and that shit is expensive.

Is the glass half empty or half full?  I can go either way.  A therapist told me once I was a balancer--someone is feeling a little down, I'm half-full and keeping it light; someone is feeling a little too high, I'm half-empty and keeping it real.

What's the farthest-away place you've been? Amsterdam. I was in college, it was sweet.  (That's 90s' old school slang for it was amazing.)

What's under your bed? So much junk. I'm part-hoarder.

What is you favorite time of the day?  I peak around 2 p.m.

By 4 p.m., I'm totally done.

What inspires you? People that work hard to help others and create change.  Women and men that I know that stand up for what they believe in.  Underdogs inspire me.  Artists inspire me.  My kids inspire me.

Don't my kids inspire you?
They can even make the baby pool a fun toy in the winter.  

And whoomp there it is! My answers. Shaka-laka-shaka-laka. 

Just in case you want to hear the Tag Team classic Whoomp There It Is, here you go:

 

The ABCs of Me & Old School Blogging

I got tagged by my good friend Greta to link up to Old School Blogging questions ( Link up hosted by  Elaine and Jennifer ).  Here it goes, the A,B,C's of Me...

A. Attached or Single?  Attached for the last 15 years to Tim.  We've been married for 13 years (we got married in 2000 which is an easy way to always remember how long we've been married).

B. Best Friend? My pal Steph, although sadly our lives are crazy busy and we don't hang out so much as we want these days.

We always make time for a Madonna concert.

C. Cake or pie?  Chocolate cake and pecan pie.  After I had my first baby, I could eat an entire pecan pie (from Kroger's bakery) in one sitting.  I'm not bragging, but I do think that's kind of impressive.

D. Day of choice? I like Thursdays.  Over the hump of mid week, but still in a good routine groove, but not completely bone tired like I am by Friday nights.

E. Essential Item? My iPhone.  I am nothing without it.

F. Favorite color? I am into sea foam blue right now.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Neither.  With my fourth pregnancy I became obsessed with fruit snacks, but it was a weird phase/craving for me.

H. Hometown? Grew up in a suburb of Kalamazoo, MI, yes there really is a Kalamazoo and yes, it sort of has suburbs.  Portage, Michigan is my hometown.  But I also feel like Pittsburgh, PA raised me a little too (I lived there in my early 20s).

I. Favorite Indulgence? Other than pecan pie? Red wine.

J. January or July? July, 100 percent.  I love hot weather and not needing a coat.

K. Kids? I am a member of the Mom of Four Club. 

My Mother's Day morning full of love ( and chaos).

L. Life isn't complete without? TV,  I love television and always have.  And of course my family, but that goes without saying right?

M. Marriage date? July 22, 2000

N. Number of brothers/sisters? One older sister, two younger brothers.  I am a classic middle child.

O. Oranges or Apples? Gala apples are my fav.

P. Phobias? Frogs.  I have a severe, unexplained phobia of frogs and toads.  I scream, hyperventilate and run away when I see a frog.  I can't even look at a picture of a frog.  Even typing this right now is making me tense.  I live in fear of one of my kids bringing a frog home one day from the backyard.

Q.  Quotes? I have a bathroom wall filled with my favorite quotes in frames.  One of my favs from my bathroom is:

This was from an old ditto from a literature class in college.  Yeah, I said ditto.

R. Reasons to smile? My kids' love of life, their imaginations, their wonder and their playfulness.

My Lucy feels joy with her whole entire being and I love watching it.

Oh it may be just a pile of laundry to most people, but to Wade it is an adventure.

S. Season of choice? Summer!!!!!!  Flip flops, swimming pools and long days. I live for summertime.

T. Tag 5 People. Lisa, Farrah, Jen ( I only did 3 people, I hope I don't get kicked out of old school blogging)

U. Unknown fact about me? I bet a lot of people didn't know the frog phobia.  Another unknown thing...one time, a million years ago, I danced on a local TV show (a children's show) to Michael Jackson's Beat It (and I still remember most of the routine).   

V. Vegetable? I love peas.

W. Worst habit? Overthinking and worrying. I could win awards for being the biggest worrier, but nobody gives awards for that. Waaaa.

X. Xray or Ultrasound? If I had to choose, I guess ultrasound.

Y. Your favorite food? I am very into avocados right now.  I'm also always into pizza.

Z. Zodiac sign? Gemini.