Meme Catch Up

I know. Some of you have tagged me for memes in the past and I have rained on the parade. But two newer readers tagged me, so I will indulge them.

Tater Mama tagged me for

7 Random Things About The Farmer Files:

1. In junior high I was really interested in photo journalism. I am neither the greatest photographer nor the greatest journalist, but The Farmer Files has evolved into our family's photo journal (scribed as well as snapped) many moons later.

2. We have a few family sayings. One we plucked off the walls of our VA pastor's guest bathroom: Friends are Family You Choose. We expanded the saying to include: "A friend of the Farmers is a friend for life." (We define friend pretty strictly, though. HA!) Other sayings include: "The Farmers never pay full price." (You have no idea how Hubs can torture me with that one.) AND "You can't get too much of Jesus."

3. We have a "garage sale fever" song we sing on occasion. That's it. I am not sharing anymore of the song. Because that's the only line of the song. When I was a newlywed my mom and dad thought garage sales were a "cute phase." They never took me to any growing up. Hubby loves them, though. Now I am an addict. For lots of reasons. We don't buy personal articles of clothing. Nooo. We have bought everything from drum cymbals to a jet ski (jet ski was in CA).

4. Hubby and I are both first born children. I don't think either of us could have married anyone but a first born. Draw your conclusions about us. They are accurate.

5. My kids have the exact same initials. That was Hubby's choice. It works. He asks me for very little in life. So even though I wasn't crazy about the idea, I agreed. He also chose our wedding cake. We were engaged, attending a wedding, eating this very cake, and we left the wedding to go order this cake for our wedding. It was the B.E.S.T. wedding cake ever. It was called Fruit Basket and was filled with strawberries, kiwi, and peaches, and maybe other fruit, but I can't remember. It was white chocolate outside and probably had a mousse filling I have forgotten about. We will stop by and grab a piece and show you some day.

6. The boys and I rode a trolley car on Sunday. The little one refused to hold my hand and would not obey me. He kept running from me. He is at that 18 month stage where his legs move faster than his mouth. I had no idea why he was running or what he wanted. Finally, I quit grabbing for him, and he ran in the same direction. Only this time, since I didn't grab him, I found out what he wanted. He grabbed his brother's hand. Some days he prefers his older brother to his parents. On the trolley car he sat right next to his older brother. And the older one? He eats all of this up.

7. Hubs drums and plays the bongos in church on occasion. YES BONGOS. This is Hawaii, people. Son1 totally loves those Sundays. He tells me his daddy is playing the "Bang-Ohs."

Consider yourself tagged for this meme if you want to play along.

Yew Nork Babe tagged me for

5 Ways Blogging Has Changed My Life:

1. I love that I can share Hawaii with so many of you, that many of you can visit the islands without spending a penny.

2. I love that our families are part of our lives several times a week. The time difference and distance isn't so great anymore. Now rather than see us once or twice a year, they see us every day.

3. I love that our friends feel that we haven't really left them, that they know our children, even if they haven't seen them in eons.

4. I have met so many people from around the blogosphere that brighten my day, that are so similar to me, yet so different. I am intrigued by the "different."

5. My kids will actually smile for pictures. I say, "If you want me to put your picture up on the computer then you HAVE TO SMILE." And they do.

If you want to play along:

1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively.
2. link back to the person who tagged you.
3. link back to this parent post.
4. tag a few friends or five, or none at all.
5. post these rules— or just have fun breaking them.