The post where I finish answering questions

I asked you guys to ask me questions and some of you actually did. Apparently I don't tell you everything. And it was so long ago now, and the guilt of not answering the rest after the first 3 is weighing me down. And there I was thinking it was just the fat that made me feel heavy.

Joy said this: "Tell me what makes you happy Emma. Tell me a little or tell me a lot. I want to know the things or people or places that bring a smile to your face."
Standard answer: my kids make me happy. Mostly. Some days, I want to murder at least one of them. Like today. I went in to clean Taylor's room because she hasn't done it all summer long and it is driving me absolutely batty. Thank God she was well on her way to Calgary because do you know how many dishes I brought out of that room? 6 bowls, 1 large spoon, 3 glasses and 1 travel mug. There is still a tea mug up there too. Had she been home I would have been screaming bloody murder. I think tomorrow I will take pictures just so you can all see how horrid her bedroom is. I've done it before and, unfortuantely, shaming her on the internet did not work.

Oh right, I was supposed to be talking about what makes me happy. ALONE TIME. Alone time makes me absolutely freaking ecstatic. What else brings a smile to my face? A clean house, my friend Shelley who is the most fantastic friend ever, the hill where my brother and I used to go sledding as kids (where I now take my kids when we are at my mum's), the poster of Giant's Causeway that I yet to have framed. But if you looked at the link is that not the most gorgeous spot EVER? I wish I had spent more than 15 minutes there.

Frannie asks what she says is a "light" question: "if you had more free time--- how would you spend it?"

I currently spend the majority of my free time blogging cleaning. Honestly. Which doesn't really make it free time at all. So my actual free time is spent blogging and reading blogs, reading and not paying attention to what I am watching on TV. Sometimes I even make a card or two. And, sometimes, when it's really and truly free time, I go out with a friend or two. But mostly I read blogs.

Lisa says "since I have a (mostly) food blog, I'll ask about the best meal (food, company, etc.) you've ever had. Details, please!"

I always loved childhood Christmas dinners. We'd get together with my dad's sister's family, who at the time where our only other relatives in Canada. It is amazing what you don't realize as a child- that my mum and aunt hated each other, that my mum was missing her family in England, that my dad spent the entire day drunk. We had the usual Christmas Day fare...turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, gravy, the vegs I never ate, trifle (ick!) for dessert. Odd that I don't remember the food better. I do remember my cousin Kieran doing a lot of cooking, he is a chef today and a fantastic one at that. When I was 13 my dad's brother's family moved to Canada, and the next year so did my mum's sister's family and Christmas was never the same again.

And M, the girl of many questions, asks all of these ones:

"What's your fave breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? Beverage? Extreme detail please."

Have I never said how much I hate cooking? My favourite food is anything not made by me. I really do wish I could cook well, which automatically seems to lead to entertaining, but I just can't. My favourite breakfast is Sunday morning french toast made by William. If I'm making it myself- it's cinnamon toast with raisins or white toast (very lightly toasted, I don't even like a bit of brown on it) with strawberry jam. Or cereal. I love oatmeal, but here is how truly pathetic I am- I can't even make a decent bowl of oatmeal. I usually used the prepackaged stuff (maple and brown sugar if I could only choose one.) But I do love a bowl of plain oatmeal with sugar. My dad used to make me eat it with salt. I hated it until someone put sugar on it instead.

I don't do lunch. And if I do it's something boring. Chicken on a bun or something.

Dinner. With the heat around here, my current favourite is salads. Anything that does not require turning on the oven. And my favourite salad is a salsa salad.

Beverage. Tea of course. Hot tea. I always have to point that out because of you Americans who drink cold tea. I only drink the powdered sort of ice tea. And it's completely different that the iced tea I was once served in LA. Imagine my 14 year old shock when I discovered I was drinking cold tea with a lemon in it. I'm still not over it. And water. Again the heat. The pounds should be melting off my body with the amount of water I am drinking and all the crap that must be getting flushed out of my body when I pee 25 times a day due to all the water intake.

"Share your favorite pic of each of your kidfolk. One at any age. One current."

I'll have to do this later because I don't have any pictures of Taylor and Liam when they were little on the computer. And I have no scanner. I'll have to take a picture of a picture.

"How much cash is in your wallet this moment?"

There's a handful of change, but not a loonie or a toonie in the bunch. So almost nothing. If I had answered this the day you sent the question I would have told you I had $100, all in fives. My dad had just given me some money as he has been staying with me during the week for the last month (and I am so ready for him to go home!) Normally I will have a couple of small bills (5's and 10's) and a ton of loonies and toonies.

"Do you say 'eh' often? (I ask because I got into a discussion with a girlfriend of mine who thinks that Canadians don't REALLY say eh. But cod knows my dad and grandma and their family did...and I freaking do because I'm a wanna be. lol.)"

Sorry to disappoint but I don't say 'eh' at all. I don't know many people who do. I say 'aye' an awful lot, but I use that at the beginning of a sentence not at the end like one would use eh. I think eh is more of an east coast thing. Could be wrong though, I am going to have to listen to the Newfies around here talk. I'll ask William, his boss is one.

"Tell us more about that man who resides with you. The fullgrown one. Not the child. (though I realize the two terms can intermingle when discussing significant others.)"

I will direct you to this 100 things about William post I wrote last September. It explains him very well I think, and the only thing that is different than least September is that his sister who lived in Scotland now lives in Australia.

"When you were a child who did you think you would be at this age? Do you remember if you expected to be wed or divorced or with kids or such a freaking awesome crafter?"

As a child I thought I would go to University and become either a teacher or a forensic pathologist. I was a bit odd. I knew I would have kids, at one time I wanted 8 boys. Like I said, odd. By the time I reached high school and had to say where I would be at 21 I said I would be a single mother of at least one child. High hopes! I wasn't single, but I did have one child. I also thought that I would be working my way through school to become a social worker. I would still like to do that.

And haha! to the awesome crafter. In kindergarten I got in trouble for colouring a horse purple. I think that srifled any creativity I may have had. As I have said numerous times the majority of things I make are copied. Example to come in next question.

"Oh. Speaking of. Where do you get your inspiration for your crafts because dude. You have talent. And how long have you been such a crafty girl?"

I have the ability to copy, which it totally different than talent. I decided I would start scrapbooking in 1997 and to date I have maybe done 30 pages. Seriously. There is not a single page for Sophie. Taylor has a handful. Liam has a handful. Saoirse has 5. I did make a fantastic 8x8 album for my nan of her then 6 great grandchildren before she died, which is now in my possession. I really need to do more.

I started stamping about 2 years ago. I went as my friend's guest to a party, with the intent to NOT get into it. Went to another party. Then I was a hostess and had a great party, getting free stamps, 12 ink pads and $90 in free product. I did 2 years of the stamping club and now I am deciding whether or not to be a demonstrator myself. But as I've said I just don't have the ability to think up stuff on my own. I am much happier copying other people and I don't think that makes for a good demonstrator!

A couple of months ago, I made 2 clipboards for a blogger. I had started one and my friend came over and pretty much told me what to do with the second. She has ideas, I don't. Though frankly, I like the one I started on my own better. So maybe I could do it, who knows. But even the clipboard idea is borrowed.