You're so Quirky!

We all have weird quirks or habits from time to time.  Some quirks we share with everyone, some with a few and some we hide in the very depths and crevices of our souls! Here is a list of our silliness and weirdness for you to take a gander at and enjoy making fun of us!  Happy Reading…..

   

Misty’s List:

·        I am an obsessive hand washer.  It has gotten so bad that I actually have “chapped” my hands into a different color than the rest of my arms!

·        I love peanut butter and pickle sandwiches.  The peanut butter must be smooth, the pickles must be dill hamburger slices only!

·        I love the summer but absolutely hate being hot

·        I hate for people to touch my hair. 

·        I am obsessed with hand writing lists.  If I don’t like the way my handwriting looks or make a mistake, I will throw away the list and start again.

·        I write with my right hand but plays sports (example: bowling, throwing a ball or batting) left handed.

·        **Disclaimer…this is my gross one!  As much as a germophobe I claim to be, I like to clean people’s ears.  My family is totally grossed out by this, but some are cooperative and let me have a pick at theirs! LOL! 

·        I love the numbers five and seven and sometimes find myself doing things in those number orders.  I don’t like most even numbers.

·        I have a trigger finger and like to gross people out by making it pop back into place.

·        I have affection for ribbon blankets and must have one on the bed or I can’t sleep. 

·        I never end a conversation with my parents until I have prayed over them.  Even if I talk to them numerous times each day, I will say a prayer over them every time before hanging up the phone!

Kendra's List:

• I have an intense fear of bridges. I couldn’t drive over a bridge by myself for about ten years after I got my license.
• I eat very weird combinations of food and most of them are vegetarian concoctions. For example, I love heart of palm, raw peas, artichoke hearts, onions on my grilled cheese, and almost all condiments. (especially, A1 Steak Sauce)
• I am a compulsive cleaner. I love to clean and I usually go nuts wanting to straighten things up at my church, stores, and other people’s homes.
• I am a binge TV series watcher. Not in the sense that people binge watch Netflix on the weekends. I mean, I literally will watch entire series of shows over the course of a few days. (A few years back, I watched the entire series of Parenthood over Christmas Break in a matter of three days- I don’t think I slept at all. LOL) I also do this with books if they are trilogies, or more.
• I am a grunter. If there is silence in the room, you will often hear me grunting and I have no clue that I am going it.  
• I randomly bust out in song and/or whistling. And there is always dancing that follows. People either love me or loathe me for this because I never really do it at appropriate times. 
• I don’t drive in the winter when there is snow or ice on the ground unless I absolutely have to. Yes, I am a giant baby about inclement weather.
• Until May of this year, I was a chronic nail biter. Now, I am so used to having nails, that if one of them breaks, I get really upset about it. Funny how trying new things can be a nice change. Want to know the gross side of this? I still bite my toes. Yes, they are clean first.
• I never let my family go off of the phone without saying “I love you” first. And, if any of my immediate family traveling somewhere, I make them text or call me when I get there.
• When the rest of the world is checking up on celebrity movie stars and singers, I am a huge author fan girl. I have a “short” list of my favorites and I am always checking up on their social media accounts to see what they are up to. (And when their next book will be out!) Yes, I am a nerd. 

Guilty Pleasures

We all have a guilty pleasure we indulge in from time to time. Whether it’s heading to the salon to have our nails done, turning into Starbucks for that weekly (daily) latte, hitting Kohl’s every time there is a sale, or binge watching another Netflix original when we should be sleeping. (Hello, Stranger Things)

One thing we have in common when it comes to our favorite guilty pleasure is that we watch reality television. Not all reality T.V. shows appeal to us; in fact, we are quite specific about what we waste precious time on. Check it out!

Kendra's choice- The Bachelor/Bachelorette

                                                               

From the very first season, I fell in love with the concept of the bachelor/bachelorette. (I am going to just call this the B&B from now on.) I have always been a hopeless romantic and since I have a personal history of not always making the right choices for my love life, I gravitated to a show that helped others find love.

One thing I loved most about the B&B is how romantic the settings are for each group and single date. Dating has become a lost art and people do not invest in planning a romantic night out like they used to. Trust me, I am not naïve to the fact that this is all for show and that the producers are paying for all of these wonderful adventures, not the people dating. But to see a couple go carriage riding through a city, or take in a show at a live theater verses the standard dinner and a movie, is quite fun to watch. (see previous post about date nite! LOL) 

Trista and Ryan make it work!

I love the anticipation of who gets voted off and who is staying each week. Narrowing down the contestants based off a variety of factors and seeing who he/she picks as the final two. Will they say “I love you” or could one be leaving even before the rose ceremony? Yep, I am a sucker for all of it.

I will admit there were a couple of seasons that I either didn’t watch or just couldn’t get into. I have been a little bit disappointed with the fact that some contestants return for a second and even a third time to win a chance at love. And I have often wondered how much work some of these people have had before the show. I mean, are they really all that glowing, bright teethed, flowy haired when they are back in Texas or Arkansas or North Dakota?

Ashley and JP are still one of my favorite couples! 

There are many things I believe this show could do without, and my moral compass often cracks at some of the vulgarity that slips through the crevice, but I still love watching a people begin to fall in love. I still hope that some of these couples can make it work. And I will always, always believe that the final season should be Chris Harrison finding love (again) if he hasn’t already. 

Will Chris Harrison get the FINAL rose? 

Hi, my name is Misty (hi Misty) and I’m addicted to Real Housewives. I’ve been an addict since season two of Orange County.  I watch almost every cast and follow some of the housewives' twitter and Instagram accounts.  It’s gotten so bad that my family has been influenced by my addiction and my husband will now watch with me.   
 

There are currently nine Housewives to choose from (Orange County, New York, New Jersey, Potomac, DC, Atlanta, Dallas, Miami and Beverly Hills).  Bravo also airs Housewives of Melbourne.  My personal opinion, don’t waste your time with that one and hopefully they never bring back DC or Miami!  I have no idea why I got addicted to this show.  It’s totally scripted, they are extremely catty and the majority of the women aren’t even HOUSEWIVES!!!! But….it’s got me hook, line and sinker.

My favorite of the Franchise is New York with a close second being Orange County, but honestly, EVERY SINGLE HOUSEWIVES has the same premise.  Rich, glamourous women who shop and fight, then make nice again, take an exotic trip together, fight on the trip, cry, make up, have a big party at the end of the season, fight at the party and drag the fight into the Reunion show, where they try to talk it out and become frenemies so they can get on the next season.  Oh yeah, in between the fighting there’s little glimpses of their families and jobs…you know, their actual REAL LIVES!  

So why watch?  Why not?  I love the fashion, the homes and the places they travel.  It cracks me up and it’s not my drama.  It’s an hour or two a week; given how many episodes Bravo has showing where I don’t have to think about anything.  It’s one of the shows you can just zone in and not have to retain. 

So there’s my guilty pleasure, not the easiest to confess, but hey, at least it’s not the KARDASHIANS! :) 

Date Night!!!!

Let’s face it; after marriage, date nights can become obsolete. But they don’t have to be. I can remember the first time my Mother suggested Pax stay all night so Donnie and I could have a date night out. (I think we might have grabbed a quick meal and then went home to sleep without interruption!)

We still enjoy an evening out, kid free, but we also really enjoy our nights at home. Our recent date nights include a kid friendly movie first, some take out from one of our favorite places to eat (like Nancy’s deep dish pizza or Hunan’s Chinese food and sushi), and then a movie for just Donnie and me when Pax goes to sleep. I’ve been into a lot of drama and suspense movies lately. Our last date night at home included Nancy’s pizza and the Amanda Knox documentary on Netflix. (Exciting right?)

We are huge movie fans but that is only one of the things we do for date night. Sometimes we will get ice cream from Baskin Robbins and play retro video games or just talk about our week. Having a face to face conversation is sort of a lost art these days.

Yep, I make him do selfies with me on date night! 

Date nights really are about keeping the spark alive and making time for the other person. When you focus on these things, it doesn’t really matter what you do as long as you are doing it together.

I am sure our family and friends that have children think our life is a constant date night since we have no children, but of course that’s not the case.  We lead a pretty busy weekly schedule with work and social calendar.  Dave and I always enjoy our time together and even though we love our home, we enjoy getting out and about.  Dinner and a movie is always an option to but sometimes it’s nice to switch it up a bit.  Fortunately for me, I have a husband that’s just as spontaneous (or indecisive) as me. 

 

One of our favorite date activities is a quick road trip to St. Louis.  We could find something to do in our hometown, but STL offers a lot more choices for a fun date night.   We love Forest Park and will visit the Art Museum or the zoo.  We may do a little shopping at Ikea, Trader Joe's or The Container Store (who doesn’t love containers!!).  We may head down to the landing and hang out by the arch, or grab a bite to eat at one of the gazillion restaurants.  

The best part about our little adventure is the hour long car ride that gives us time to catch up and talk about anything and everything.  After almost twenty years of marriage, I’m glad we still have things to talk about! LOL! 

READER SURVEY:

Date night out?

Date night in?

Dating is overrated?

 

Fall Favorites

One thing we have always agreed on as best friends is that Fall is and always will be the greatest season. We've already shared our love of Fall and the anticipation we felt with it right around the corner. Now that it's here, we are listing our favorite things that makes Fall the best out of all the seasons. Let's see if you agree!

Apple picking- One of our traditions growing up was to go to Broom Orchard in Carlinville, about an hour from our home.  We would get up early on a Saturday and make a whole day of it.  After we left the Orchard, my dad would always drive further south to take us on the ferry and a drive on the Great River Road to look at the leaves changing. This has always been a favorite childhood memory of mine and a tradition I have tried to keep up with as an adult.

Leaves changing color
Pumpkin spice ANYTHING
Windows open
Thanksgiving
Bonfires- Whether it’s a fire pit in your own backyard or attending a big party outside, there’s nothing that screams fall more than a bonfire.  It’s all about the smell of the burning wood, the color of the embers and roasting hotdogs and marshmallows. 

Fresh baked goods 
Sweatshirts and hoodies
Fall scented candles
Indian summer- I have always looked forward to an Indian summer just before we hit a long, cold winter, There's something about that last warm day to remind us how great Summer was but how amazing Fall will be.

Evening skies
Crisp air
Pumpkins
Warm blankets
Football
Weekend drives
Chili
Rainy days
Halloween candy- Candy has always been a weakness and poor Pax will have to share all of his chocolate Halloween candy with his mama, or else. LOL. But lately, we've been on a candy corn/peanut mix kick because it reminds us of a PayDay candybar. What's your favorite candy? 

Festivals
Hay rack rides
Chex mix
Scary read/movie
Mums
Date nights in 

What's your thing about Fall? Did we miss any? Happy Wednesday Friends!