I was tagged by Janet at The Queen of Seaford to play a 7 things meme. I haven’t been tagged in ages and I appreciate the honor. Now I just have to scrounge up 7 things about me that you don’t already know…not an easy feat since I talk about so much randomness every day. This has actually taken me a while to write – not only because it’s hard to come up with 7 facts but because I just haven’t blogged in general. But I have been thinking about my answers since I was tagged lol. And it’s Friday which deserves some fun after such a grueling week.

1. I have a tendency to take on too much and then I beat myself up for not getting everything done that I wanted. I’m trying to stop doing this but it’s not easy. There are just so many things which need to be done around here but never enough time. Not only do I manage the homestead and watch over Mack, I also have to care for Ayla, two cats, Stefan and a dozen or so companies that we have come up with in the last few years. No wonder I’m so tired at night!
2. I can no longer just stick to a recipe. I really only started getting into cooking when we moved to Germany, I guess because I knew if I wanted good home cooked meals I’d have to make them myself. What they consider to be “American” food here is just not even funny. And don’t let them define “Mexican” food either – no matter what they say, broccoli, carrots & corn do NOT belong in fajitas. Anyway, I love trying new recipes but I rarely manage to stick to them anymore. At first I was terrified to deviate because I was sure I would mess something up. Now I still hope my variations don’t mess things up, but generally feel people don’t use enough spices!
3. I might have mentioned this somewhere along the line but I have lived in 22 houses and apartments in my life. Nine were in Texas, 4 in Virginia, 6 in Miami and 3 in Germany.
4. I can’t recall a time in my life when I didn’t have a pet. Whether it was a dog, cat or just a fish, I have always had some sort of pet (if not multiples). When we moved from Texas to Virginia, we took our cats with us. When I moved to Florida for college I has my fish. And when Stefan and I moved to Germany, we brought our two cats.
5. I am completely disgusted by bugs and insects. I don’t care for worms much either but I appreciate earth worms at least. I detest spiders and flies the most but I could do without a lot of other bugs too.
6. We currently live without having our TV hooked up and it’s the greatest thing ever. I’m highly connected on the internet, just got a blackberry, still enjoy my American TV shows…but not having the TV constantly running in the background, creating noise and distractions is so liberating. TiVo is nearly as special because it allows you to watch the TV when you want – but keeping ourselves from watching the idiocracy that comes on TV every day helps me focus on the things that are truly important. Not who’s getting kicked off the island or out of Flava’s house this week.
7. Some day I’d like to move back to Florida, especially Naples. There is just something special about Florida. Unless you’ve lived there, it’s hard to describe. It’s like living in the tropics while still being in the US. And I know it’s the most corrupt state on Earth, but somehow the incredible weather and the beauty of it all just makes up for it. What about the hurricanes? They usually miss you…

To keep the meme alive, I’m tagging the following. I had no idea how hard it would be to come up with 7 unique blogs to tag…

• Big Black Dog – Sometimes I wish I could just eat the pages of this blog. SO many delicious goodies that I want to try!
• Neither Here nor There – A new blog/friend I discovered when she found me on Twitter. This internet thing seems to be spreading! 😉 An expat from Canada who’s found herself in Germany too. Woo!
• The Boyer’s Brigade – A mommy blogger friend of mine from elementary school
• An American Expat in Deutschland – Christina is a devoted and wonderful expat blogger – and I’m so jealous of her endeavors into German cooking – something I have not yet been brave enough to do!
• Unplug Your Kids – This is a cool blog about finding ways to get your kids doing crafts, spend time outdoors, think outside the box and just be kids; not vegetables in front of a TV.
• Digital Photography Blog – I know they won’t be following along with this game, but I love this blog. It’s got all sorts of great tips and tricks to be a better photographer – something I hope to become one day! 😉
• Workaholic Dad – The thoughts and rants of my dear husband – who still isn’t sure if this blogging stuff is all it’s cracked up to be 🙂

Here are the “rules”

1. Link back to the person who gave you the award
2. Reveal the 7 things about yourself
3. Tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post and link to them
4. Let each blogger know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
5. Let the tagger know when your post is up.