My "M" Meme*

Every week, Donna from the Double Happiness Blog hosts a Friday Foto Challenge. This week's was to take the letter randomly assigned to us by Donna and share ten things we love starting with that letter, with accompanying artwork / images.

So without further ado, I bring you my life and loves according to the letter M.

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Mornings

~~my absolute favorite time of the day~~

Although I've gotten a bit off-schedule since motherhood, I still love those days when I'm up before the world and all is quiet. I drink coffee, read, sometimes watch a bit of tv, sometimes write. I generally don't do anything from my "to do" list and I don't feel guilty about it.

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Motherhood

~~even though I knew I'd like it, I never knew I could be this in love~~

Exhausting, challenging, snort-laughter-inducing, terrifying, expensive, clothing-destroying, inspiring, humbling, gratifying.
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The Moon and Her Meanings

Many of you know that Kate has speech issues and, the more we learn, the more we're pretty sure that it's actually a speech disorder rather than a delay (more about that in another post sometime in the next month or two). Well, "moon" is one of the handful of words that she can say. She loves everything about the moon - from when its a sliver in a daytime sky to when it hangs like a ripe peach just over the ocean. Of course she also loves Goodnight Moon.

The moon holds stories for many cultures, including China. I remember BK (before Kate) looking up into the moon and realizing that, half a world away, we shared a moon. Now, I look at that same moon and I think of her birthmother. I pray that there's a way that she sees the moon and feels an unexplainable comfort -- that somehow the universe has told her that Kate is happy, loved and taking on each day for everything its worth. And when Kate and I are sharing a quiet mommy - daughter moment looking at the moon, she blows kisses to her Guilin Mommy. So do I.

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My Mom

Clever, beautiful, giving, strong, my mom raised me to believe in myself, to help others, to be polite (well, she tried anyway), and to pursue my dreams. Watching her be a grandmother makes me appreciate her in a way I couldn't when I was a kiddo. I love you, Mom!

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Mischief

"Well behaved women rarely make history." ~ Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

I just love, love, LOVE creating a bit of mischief and it's what I miss most about the classroom. No one's better than a little mischief-making than 8th and 9th grade students, unless it's their teachers. Oh, wait a minute -- I have my own mischief-maker 24 / 7. It can be a little exasperating, but mischief makes for a strong woman -- so keep bringing it, chica!

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Music

Classic rock, country, lullabies I sing to my daughter, and any campfire songs. Last three artists I've listened to? John Denver, Laurie Berkner (very cool kids music), Indigo Girls.
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Monsters in the Morning

~my very guilty pleasure, tongue-in-cheek redneck radio at its finest~

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Mystery Novels

(well, Mystery - Suspense, to be more precise)

~loved teaching 'em, love reading 'em, love when the twist surprises me~

Recommended:

To the Power of Three by Laura Lippman

Tess Gallagher series by Laura Lippman

V.I. Warshawski series by Sara Paretsky (set in Chicago!)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Gone for Good by Harlan Coben

Goodnight, Irene by Jan Burke

Most anything by Jeffrey Deaver

And your recommendations are???

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Men Who End Up Doing What They Swore They Never Would

Scott was never sure about being a dad, so when I catch him doing things like this -- well, I can't help but find it both hysterical and endearing. No, not so endearing that I won't embarass his ass on this blog, but just the same, it's sweet.

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Madison, WI

Madison, WI -- home to childhood vacations, godparents extraordinaire, Monty Python marathons with Tommy, horseback riding with Donna, the best ice cream in the entire world (at the University of Wisconsin, Madison where they make it in the Dairy / Ag. building), corn-shucking, reading beneath the willow tree, and being the happiest a kid could be.

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***A reward for those of you who actually read this far:

From: www.thedailymeme.com

What is a meme?

People often ask, "What is a Meme?" so here's a more than a little information on that. I pronounce it so it's rhymes with 'dream'; some pronounce it so it sounds like 'mem' (from mem-ory).
In the context of web logs / 'blogs / blogging and other kinds of personal web sites it's some kind of list of questions that you saw somewhere else and you decided to answer the questions. Then someone else sees them and does them and so on and so on. I generally consider these to be actual questions and not some multiple choice quizzes that determine some result at the end (what color you are most like, what cartoon character are you, what 80s movie are you).