50 Questions You’ve Probably Never Been Asked

Hello, friends! I’ve been spending a lot of time with my little family this week, since my mom is here visiting, so I haven’t had much time to focus on writing prompts, or vlogging, so I thought it might be fun to post these silly questions that I found online, and answer them. Just for fun. So here are 50 Questions You’ve Probably Never Been Asked!

1. What’s your favorite candle scent?
Despite not buying into the whole pumpkin spice everything craze that comes around autumn, I absolutely adore pumpkin spice candles. I love warm scents… and food scents. Pumpkin spice, or maple, or warm vanilla… mmm. *drools*

2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister?
My sister? Probably Anna Kendrick, or Emma Stone… but that’s a bit awkward, since I also want to marry them both. And Mila Kunis.

3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother?
I can’t decide between Christian Kane, who played Eliot Spencer on Leverage, or Aldis Hodge, who played Hardison. I love them both.

4. How old do you think you’ll be when you get married?
I am hoping to get married in the next year or two. We’ve actually been engaged for two years now, but we’re not in a rush to get to the altar!

5. Do you know a hoarder?
Thankfully, no.

6. Can you do a split?
Ugh, I used to be able to. Not so much these days.

7. How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike?
Really, really young. Maybe 4? I don’t remember!

8. How many oceans have you swam in?
I think just one!

9. How many countries have you been to?
Two! United States, and Canada.

10. Is anyone in your family in the army?
Hm… I don’t believe so. No.

11. What would you name your daughter if you had one?
We have a name picked out actually… not telling. Although, funny enough, I recently found out that it is the same first AND middle name as a famous YouTuber. Weird!

12. What would you name your son if you had one?
Our son’s name is Liam Thomas. But we do have another boy name picked out… and it may, or may not, be after a famous pirate.

13. What’s the worst grade you got on a test?
I’ve probably failed a few.

14. What was your favorite TV show when you were a child?
I used to looove Sesame Street! And Barney. As I got a bit older I got really into Rugrats, Hey! Arnold, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Goosebumps, Spongebob… so many!

15. What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight?
I think probably a witch? I was a witch a lot. Or some kind of vampire sorceress.

16. Have you read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series?
Well, let me tell you, I was (and still am) obsessed with Harry Potter when I was in school. I am 26 now, and it still holds a special place in my heart. I read all the Twilight books in high school as well. Never read the Hunger Games books, only saw the movies.

17. Would you rather have an American accent or a British accent?
BRITISH. Obviously.

18. Did your mother go to college?
She did!

19. Are your grandparents still married?
Actually, neither set are. Huh.

20. Have you ever taken karate lessons?
I went to karate once with my friend Kayla. Ages ago. It was fun!

21. Do you know who Kermit the frog is?
Of course I do!

22. What’s the first amusement park you’ve been to?
Hmm… probably Funtown Splashtown in Maine.

23. What language, besides your native language, would you like to be fluent in?
I would love to be fluent in French, but realistically, Spanish is the way to go.

24. Do you spell the color as grey or gray?
Gray.

25. Is your father bald?
Nope, full head of hair at 51.

26. Do you know triplets?
Actually, I know one set! A million sets of twins as well.

27. Do you prefer Titanic or The Notebook?
Honestly, neither.

28. Have you ever had Indian food?
Maybe once? I like curry.

29. What’s the name of your favorite restaurant?
I don’t have one. I do really enjoy Bonanza, Culver’s, and Steak ‘n Shake though.

30. Have you ever been to Olive Garden?
Yes, and it is overpriced, and not worth the hype. The last two times I went, in two different locations, we had bugs in our food. No joke.

31. Do you belong to any warehouse stores (Costco, BJ’s, etc.)?
Nope.

32. What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender?
That’s a really good question, I should ask my mom… I have no idea.

33. If you have a nickname, what is it?
Jan, Jan Jan, J, Super Jan… So original.

34. Who’s your favorite person in the world?
My son… though my fiance is a very close second. ❤

35. Would you rather live in a rural area, in the city, or in the suburbs?
Suburbs, but I actually enjoy the city as well.

36. Can you whistle?
No… and now you know my dirty secret.

37. Do you sleep with a nightlight?
Kind of. Our bathroom light stays on, with the door cracked, but mostly so I can see in the hallway if I have to get up with my son in the middle of the night. I like the dark. Sorta.

38. Do you eat breakfast every morning?
Usually, yeah, because I eat with my kiddo.

39. Do you take any pills or medication daily?
Tylenol, and a multi vitamin… because 26 is the new 46.

40. What medical conditions do you have?
None that I know of!

41. How many times have you been to the hospital?
A bunch of times when I was little for various flues and sicknesses, but never anything serious. I’ve never broken a bone, or even had a serious sprain, or any other injury. I was in a few car accidents with my mom, which warranted hospital visits, but I was always unharmed. Also, when I had my son, obviously.

42. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo?
Who hasn’t?!

43. Where do you buy your jeans?
JC Penny usually, or Target… that’s really it. My current favorite pair is actually from Maurice’s, but I can’t afford to shop there too often.

44. What’s the last compliment you got?
“Your son looks so much like you!” And he is pretty damn cute, so I’ll take it.

45. Do you usually remember your dreams in the morning?
Usually! I write them all down if I do, and type them out into my Dream Journal.

46. What flavor tea do you enjoy?
I’m not picky. I like all the tea!

47. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own?
One pair of sneakers, which are following apart, and two pairs of boots, which it is way too hot to wear. I need new shoes…

48. What religion will you raise your children to practice?
I will not raise my children in any religion, but I also will not shelter them from the beliefs that exist. I will answer their questions honestly, and fairly, and allow them to make their own decisions on what they want to, or don’t want to, believe in when the time comes.

49. How old were you when you found out that Santa wasn’t real?
… What? Santa isn’t real? HOW DARE YOU.

50. Do you have a Tumblr?
I do! You can click here to see it, but I haven’t been giving it much love lately. Sorry.

That’s it! Hope you guys enjoyed reading my answers. Feel free to copy and paste to your own blog of choice and fill in your own. It is just a fun way for people to get to know you more.

Thanks for reading, friends!

Jan

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Mom’s Visit | Day 3

[You can read about Days 0-1 here, and Day 2 here!]

Hello, friends. Despite yesterday being not-so-fantastic, today was pretty good! It was unbearably hot, and we had made zero plans for the day, but I knew I wanted to stay indoors as much as possible. I wanted a little bit of alone time with my son, just to bond and relax, so I told my mom that we could meet up later in the day, some time after Liam’s lunch and nap, and then maybe do some afternoon shopping. I made delicious grilled cheese sandwiches for Liam and I for lunch, which had provolone cheese, parsley, avocado, and tomato (his was deconstructed, since he still doesn’t have many teeth), and they were so delicious. I haven’t cooked, or really made anything at home, in days!

We ended up meeting up much later than planned, thanks to some technical difficulties on my mom’s end with Facebook. Even though she was on it all day, she never saw any notifications for the half a dozen messages I sent her telling her she could come over at that point. After over two hours of waiting for her, I messaged Kyle and asked him to text her (I still don’t have minutes), since I knew she would get that right away. Sure enough, she did, then messaged me back immediately, very upset that she had missed all my messages. I was thankful for the time I got to spend with Liam (as well as a fantastic nap that I snuck in before lunch), but happy to finally get out and do some shopping.

She picked us up, and told me all about her morning and afternoon exploring the town. She went down to the waterfront, somewhere I didn’t even know existed, and relaxed by the water, sipping her coffee. We talked about possible plans for tomorrow, and I pointed out a few possible dinner options for tonight. We got to Walmart, and did a couple laps around the store. I picked out two shirts, two pairs of shorts, and a package of socks for Liam, and we found a cute sensory animal book for him as well. It has words I can read to him, as well as pictures of animals, and little patches of “fur” textures for him to touch. When you press on the textured spots, it makes the noise of that animal. I was excited, because I’ve been looking for a book just like that for him, and this was the first I had seen. It wasn’t until we got home that we realized that the whole back half of the book is a misleading block of fake pages, where the batteries and noise boxes are, and that it is actually only a few pages long. Very misleading, and definitely not worth the $13 it cost. Oh well.

I didn’t see anything there that I liked, mostly because Walmart only has three options for women: Too tight junior clothes in neon colors, workout clothes, and… well, clothes that even my 50 year old mother thinks are too old for her. So I got nothing, which was fine with me, since I’m still not comfortable letting her spend money on me. She bought some cute things for Liam, so that seemed to satisfy her urge to spend.

After Walmart, we went to Culver’s for dinner, since she had never been, and talked about the past. She asked me if I still kept in touch with the handful of friends I had in high school, which I do, and told me that she bumps into them every now and then. She asked me questions about my ex, and his family, and about our breakup, which I honestly didn’t mind answering. It’s not like I really have friends I can talk to about it, even though it was over 3 years ago, it was nice to be able to bitch about him and his family for a minute, ya know?

After dinner, we headed to the mall to visit with Kyle before he got off work, and Liam happily ran barefoot through the empty store. We decided that since Kyle has tomorrow off, we would head to one of the neighboring towns, where there is a huge indoor swimming pool, and do some swimming. It is supposed to be stormy and yucky for the next few days, so this will be a nice alternative, assuming it isn’t really crowded. The hotel pool where my mom is staying is still being renovated, and we spent a lot of money on swimsuits, and don’t want them to go unused. I am excited. Liam hasn’t had a lot of exposure to water, aside from the tub, and when he dumps his water cup on himself, so I am hoping he has fun. As for me, I haven’t been swimming in nearly 7 years. And I looove swimming.

It was a good day. I got some alone time with my kiddo, as well as a nice nap. Kyle is home now, so we are going to cuddle up on the couch and continue watching The Adventures of Merlin on Netflix. I can’t remember if I recommended that yet, but seriously, you guys should check it out if you’re into magic and fantasy and lore and adventure. It is quite fantastic!

Hope you’re all having a fantastic holiday, thanks for reading!

Jan

Mom’s Visit | Day 2

Hello, friends. I am so exhausted. My mom has been in Illinois for three days now, though we’ve been visiting for two, and I am already emotionally drained. The first day was nice. She got to meet Liam, and the four of us took a road trip, and we all caught up and whatnot (you can read about our first day here)… but yesterday, it was just my mom, Liam, and I… and it didn’t go as well as our first day.

WARNING: This will be a looong blog. Grab a drink, adjust your butt, and go pee now!

To be fair, it was a decent day. It could have been worse. Kyle worked 10-6, so it was literally just my mom and I all day, and I got zero time to myself, or any alone time with my son (which has certainly thrown us for a loop), because she wants to come over early in the morning, and I just don’t have the heart to say no, or make her wait. She came over about an hour before Kyle left, and we all just sat around, chatting politely, and playing with Liam’s blocks. After Kyle left for work, my mom asked if we could go to the park that Liam and I always walk to. I was hesitant, because it was very hot and sunny, and close to Liam’s nap time, but I slathered Liam in sunscreen and we drove there anyway.

Since Liam and I usually walk to the park, we get out of the stroller at the park, and he doesn’t really know the rest of the park. We parked in the parking area, pretty far from the playground. Liam started running away from me, so I grabbed Liam’s hand and said, “The playground is over here, bud.”

My mom then turned to me and said, “Don’t drag him, just let him lead the way.” But her tone… her tone, guys. Like she was scolding me. I ignored it, but it definitely put a damper on my mood. I don’t know why.

Once we finally got to the playground, Liam ran to the swing immediately. As usual, the rest of the playground was in the shade, except for the swing, which was in direct sunlight. I don’t like it, and try to limit his swing time, but it is his favorite. After a few minutes standing by the swing, my mom started complaining about the sun, and saying we should let him go down the slide. I told her that he really only likes the swing, and would fuss if I tried to get him out so soon. She stopped and returned to the shade of the tree.

A few minutes later, she came back and started trying to take pictures, but was getting frustrated because they weren’t coming out right, or Liam wasn’t looking at her… because he was on the swing. Eventually she gave up and went over to the playground, where she proceeded to repeatedly slide down the largest kid’s slide, screaming, “Wheee! Wooo! Yaaay!” at the top of her lungs, and urging Liam, who was still perfectly content in his swing, to come and slide with her.

It was so embarrassing. It reminded me too much of all the embarrassing moments I had endured in high school with her.

A little while later, kiddo gestured for me to take him out of the swing, and my mom thrust her phone at me, and tried to wrestle him into her lap in the grass so she could get a few pictures. He was not too happy about that. He was trying to push her away, but she wouldn’t let him go, and he eventually caved, and we were able to get a few nice pictures. I have told her a dozen times that he will warm up to her eventually, definitely before she leaves, but this was only the second day. He still doesn’t want her holding him, and he especially did not want her restraining him to her lap when he was trying to play. There will be plenty of opportunities to get pictures that won’t involve making him angry.

All day long, she just seemed so impatient with everything. I just kept thinking, you’ve had a child, remember? Do you not remember how toddlers are? Especially with strangers?

Then we went back home. Liam had his lunch, and went down for a nap, and my mom proceeded to drive me absolutely nuts with every word she said.

Me: Mom, I’m making coffee, do you want some?
Mom: Only if it’s already made.
Me: Well, I’m making some now, do you want some?
Mom: Um, well, I don’t want you to go out of your way.
Me: … I’m up. I’m making some. Do. You. Want. Any?
Mom: I mean, I guess…

YOU LOVE COFFEE. YOU ARE AN ADDICT. I AM OFFERING YOU SOMETHING THAT I AM ALREADY MAKING. WHY ARE YOU BEING LIKE THAT?

Then, instead of sitting in awkward silence for a few hours, I decided to put something on for us to watch.

Me: Do you want to watch something? What kind of shows to you watch?
Mom: I don’t watch TV, I’m too busy.
Me: Okay… what about movies? Want to watch a movie? Netflix has a million.
Mom: Oh, what about American Idol?
Me: Oh, no, they don’t have American Idol…
Mom: Oh… I don’t know then.
Me: Okay. Um, movie then?
Mom: I don’t know.
Me: Well, what movies do you like?
Mom: I don’t know.

She was acting like a pouty toddler, and it was getting frustrating, so I just decided on one of my favorite comedy specials. Everyone loves comedians, right?

Five minutes into the comedian’s special…

Mom: *sigh* She isn’t funny. I don’t like her.
Me: Okay… what do you want to put on then?
Mom: Nothing. I don’t know. This is fine.
Me: Fine.
Mom: *long sigh*

Silence.
*In my head* Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Nothing has changed. She is the same as I remember 4 years ago, and 4 years before that. She thinks that everything she says or does is so damn bothersome, that she can’t have any opinions. Any time you say anything against her, even if it is in the politest way possible, she just shuts down, and she gets pouty, and then it becomes bothersome. She thinks you’re constantly angry with her, for no reason. She just can’t act… normal. It’s like we are constantly stuck as strangers, butting heads over everything and nothing, and going nowhere. We don’t even feel like family.

Anyway, we spent most of Liam’s nap in silence, except for when I tried to help my mom work her iPhone, which has been an absolute pain (I hate iPhones!) After about two hours of Liam’s napping, she started saying that she was getting impatient that he was still asleep. I already told her a dozen times that he naps for 2+ hours, but she just kept saying, “Wow, this is the longest nap ever…”

I eventually went in to wake him up, which he was not happy about, and we went to the mall to visit Kyle. She wanted to stop at Dunkin Donuts and get coffee, and something for Kyle and I. I told her I didn’t want anything, which set her off on a pissed off rant about how she brought hundreds of dollars that she wanted to spend on me, and it made her angry that I didn’t let her buy me everything, everywhere. So I told her I would get a smoothie, since that is really the only thing at DD that I like.

Guess what? They were out of yogurt. Yup. My mom was not happy with this at all, and said some snide comments about how, “that never happens at my Dunkin!”. I opted to not get anything, but she got a medium coffee… but then, she didn’t get cream or sugar in her coffee (she didn’t ask for any, she forgot, it was her fault), so went inside in a huff, and ended up getting a large coffee as an apology.

We got to the mall, just as Kyle was taking his lunch break, and the four of us headed to the play area, which was packed with kids, mostly over the age of 5. Almost all of them were too big (according to the height rules) to be in there, and most of them also had their shoes on, and were running around and being a bit reckless. Two moms actually left in a huff because their little ones kept getting bumped or knocked over by these bigger kids, whose parents were paying zero attention to them.

Liam was perfectly content standing by us, as he normally does when there is a lot going on, and watching the other kids. He loves it. He ventured out a few feet at a time, surveying the area, while Kyle told us about his day thus far. Then he had to go back to work, and we were back to three.

Then… this.

A family came in with two young girls, both about 6 years old, and a toddler boy. One of the little girls was in a motorized wheelchair, which she got out of once they were in the play area. My mom, who has zero filter on her mouth, or any idea what is and is not appropriate to say out loud, said the following:

Mom: I see a wheelchair, but there is no one in it.
Me: One of the little girls was in it.
Mom: One of those two in the dresses? They look fine to me.
Me: Just because she looks fine doesn’t mean there isn’t something wrong, mom.
Mom: I’m just saying, don’t spend all your money on a wheelchair like that if there is nothing wrong with your kid.
Me: You don’t know what’s wrong with her. Stop it.
Mom: What? I’m just saying. She looks fine.

Then she proceeded sip her coffee in silence. I was annoyed, and thoroughly embarrassed, because while I don’t think the girl and her parents had heard her, I was certain that other people had.

I cheered on Liam while he climbed around the play area, and my mom continued to sit in silence, watching everyone but her grandson.

The family with the girl in the wheelchair got their stuff together to leave, but as she were leaving, the young girl accidentally bumped another young boy with her chair. He was fine, and didn’t even cry, but her and her parents were very apologetic, even as the boy’s dad comforted them and told them it was perfectly fine. They were all smiles. Everything was fine.

Well, for them. My mom was upset about the whole thing, of course.

Mom: That wouldn’t have happened if they didn’t have their daughter in that unnecessary chair.
Me: Stop.
Mom: What?
Me: Just stop. That’s a very ignorant thing to say. It’s none of our business.
Mom: Fine.

Then we sat in silence, until I picked up our stuff, thoroughly frustrated, and proceeded towards Sears to say goodbye to Kyle. On our trek to the other end of the mall, we passed by several stores again, and she tried to force me to let her buy me stuff, when I had already told her when we passed by the stores the first time that they do not carry my sizes. She was not pleased.

I swear, I’ve had to repeat everything that I’ve said to her at least three times, and answer every question twice. I don’t know if she just isn’t paying any attention to what I’m saying, or she is forgetting it all immediately. Either way, it keeps making her angry with herself, which puts her in a worse mood.

We went to Subway for dinner, the first thing she agreed to eat all day, which was uneventful enough, but then we ended up going back to the mall afterwards, because my mom lectured me again on wanting to spend all her money on me. I tried to look for a pair of decent sneakers that didn’t cost a fortune, since I’ve had mine for years and they are totally worn out, but didn’t have much luck, which only seemed to aggravate her further. It feels like she has been upset with me for no reason on this entire visit thus far. We left empty handed.

She didn’t stay long after dropping Liam and I off back at the apartment, and I am trying to limit how much time we spend together today, because honestly, I think I need a break. I need some space. I politely told her that we could meet up later in the afternoon, after Liam’s nap, because I had some things to take care of. I haven’t cleaned anything in my apartment, or spent any alone time with my son, in days. I just want to sleep, and snuggle, and relax, and breathe.

Hopefully today is better… we’ll see.

Thanks for reading, friends.

Jan