eleven eleven eleven. tag!

you probably have seen other bloggers doing this little survey making its way around the blogosphere, telling random facts, answering questions & then tagging other bloggers to do the same.  now it's my turn!  i've been tagged by mandy, jess & jessie.  since they each gave me 11 questions to answer, i'm going to answer four questions from each of their surveys.  mmm, k?  here goes.

there are five rules:
1.  post these rules.
2.  post a photo of yourself & 11 random facts about you.
3.  answer the questions given to you in the tagger's post.
4.  create 11 new questions & tag new people to answer them.
5.  go to their blog/twitter & let them know they've been tagged.

randoms you probably don't know about me... here goes!

1.  one of my favorite snacks is sliced pickle eaten with a slice of cheddar cheese.  i particularly like this on sundays.

2.  i also really like sliced raw potato (peeled) with a dash of salt.  YUM.

3.  i grew up on the green river in the 80's & 90's.  yes back when the "green river killer" was doing his thing.  my childhood house had riverfront property & we would swim in the river as kids.  never met the serial killer face to face though.

4.  i always stay up way too late.  every day i say i'm going to bed early & then i don't.  because those hours that i should be sleeping?  is my time.

5.  i eat the same thing for breakfast every morning... chocolate protein shake with frozen strawberries.  i never get sick of it.

6.  when i was younger i wanted to be a veterinarian.  just like every other little girl.  although i actually majored in pre-vet med for a while in college before i decided it wasn't for me.

7.  sam thinks i'm deaf.  i'm always asking to have the tv turned up & always asking "wait, what'd they say?" when we watch shows.  so... i may actually be a little deaf.

8.  i listen to lots of my favorite music in the car with parker & hope that he'll grow up with an appreciation for good music & be cool like me.

9.  i'm the youngest in my family of four girls.  whenever i tell people that they always say "your poor dad!"  meh, he did just fine.

10.  i was a little too obsessed with the "lord of the rings" movies when they were big.  sam's never even seen them & is totally not into it.  it still creates a little divide in our marriage.

11.  i get ansy & disappointed if i don't get at least three workouts in during my week!

and now, the questions to be answered!

from jessie:

what's your favorite food?
my meal of choice would have to be a really good steak.  made even better with a side of crab legs & ridiculously good mashed potatoes.

dream job?
my dream would be to really be making it in the photography business.  i'd love to have a gorgeous studio where i worked real hours once my kids were in school & have a bunch of awesome equipment.

favorite sandwich?
a post-thanksgiving turkey-leftovers sandwich on potato bread with pickles & mayo.

if i could live anywhere?
sydney, australia.  we visited a few years ago & my heart is still there.  pretty sure.

from jess:

what's the meanest thing you did as a kid?
when i was in 2nd grade me & this boy buried a girl's coat in the sawdust by the monkey bars.  she was pretty traumatized & my mom had to come pick me up from the principal's office.  i think that was the end of my bullying.

what are the best characteristics of your spouse?
sam is a ROCK.  he is so reliable & i can always trust him to do what he says he will.  i immediately fell in love with him when i realized i could count on him to get things done & get them done right without me hovering.

when was the last time you cried?
i cried like a baby watching "being elmo" at the part where the make a wish foundation girl meets elmo.  i mean, that's a dying kid & her last wish was to meet elmo.  can't even imagine being a part of that, on either end.

what chore should i be doing RIGHT NOW?
well, i should always be doing laundry.  but mostly right now i should be taking a shower while sam is giving parker a bath.  yes, showering is a chore.

from mandy:

how would you describe your style?
getting better?  i know what i like when i see it, but translating that into what's actually in my closet is another story. i'm working on really only buying things i love & that will help my style but it's hard not to buy more go-to hoodies & t-shirts.

where do you see yourself & your family in 10 years?
living in the house we want to be in til we retire, i'm doing photography dang-near full-time & training for triathlons on the side, we have two or three kids & sam is working in a job that he loves.

favorite dessert?
HAS to have chocolate.  chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, whatever.  if there's no chocolate it's not worth the calories.

what is your most valued possession?
easily our computer with all our pictures on it!  we have everything backed up to an external hard drive & even took it with us when we had to leave our house during snowmaggedon.  if we lost our collection of photos i would cry for days & DAYS.  and then more days.  photos are irreplaceable.

whew!  that was fun.  here are my 11 questions for the ladies i tag:

1.  what is one thing your working on to change/better about yourself?
2.  what is your dream car?
3.  if you could have one talent you don't already have, what would it be?
4.  what is your favorite part of the day?
5.  what is your favorite day of the week?
6.  what did you want to be when you were a little kid?
7.  what's your favorite physical feature about yourself?
8.  what would you love your kids/future kids to grow up to be professionally some day?
9.  what is a pet peeve of yours?
10.  what would your husband/significant other/best friend say is their favorite thing about you?
11.  what is your dream vacation?

and i tag:
nicole
olivia
ashley
chelsea
mandy

let me know when you post your questions so i can see your answers :)  do it!