We've all got our junk...

Remember the blog project I did last year with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, I picked the topic: What is your biggest addiction or vice?

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

My subject line comes from the song "My Junk" from "Spring Awakening." I thought it was an appropriate title for this topic.

I have quite a few addictions and a couple of vices, as well.

My latest addictions are:

"How I Met Your Mother": I started watching this show through old episodes on Lifetime, shortly after my daughter was born. It was really funny to me and I wanted to see more. So a friend loaned me some DVDs and my husband and I started with season one and are now on season four. We'll watch four to six episodes in one sitting. However, the lack of time to watch these days is more apparent and I go through withdrawal until I can see more! I also think about it all the time and make references to it through stuff that happens in real life. I find myself singing "Let's go to the Mall" every so often, as well. HIMYM is a comfort show to me and has definitely eased the emptiness I felt when "Ugly Betty" was cancelled. It's like a steaming cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter day (topped with whipped cream and marshmallows...ooh, Marshall would like that reference to his nickname). It's been compared to "Friends" (a huge addiction for me in the past and something I still love) and yet, it's even better!

Special K Vanilla Almond cereal: I have to have this every day for breakfast. When it's not available and I am forced to choose something else for breakfast (even Special K with strawberries), it throws off my day. I don't even eat it with milk. Just dry with a glass of orange juice or a cup of tea. I got my husband addicted and now I have to share my cereal with him. So we go through it even faster, as a result. If there's a sale on this cereal, I will buy as many boxes as possible! A friend of mine even got it for me as a gift because she knows my addiction to it is strong. I call it my "crack." (It's like pancakes were to Stewie on "Family Guy.")

Exercise: I have to work out every morning before work. I am super cranky if I don't. Elle Woods is right...exercise gives people endorphins and endorphins make people happy. Right now, I've been using an exercise bike, but I hope we get our treadmill fixed soon. I miss it!

The Internet: I kind of have to be, with running a book blog and all the other communicating I do. I fall so behind on e-mails if I don't check my accounts every day. And even when I do, I still manage to miss some here and there.

Reading: Like this wasn't obvious or anything. :) If it were possible to sleep-read, I would totally be doing that. I can't even count how many books I've read over the past year alone, never mind my entire life. I think my older son shares my interest in reading, but time will tell.

There's also my constant need for music, chocolate and ice cream. I'll save those for another time though.

My vices (which are defined as flaws...see #5) are:

Being disorganized: If you thought I was perfect, see all the clutter I manage to accumulate at home and work (and even online) and then think again. I don't even remember the last time I was organized. Probably because it never was the case. I manage to just put things into piles, lose stuff all the time, etc. I can't even organize for my kids. I get frustrated by a mess and toss it all into one box. (I have a friend who would be completely appalled by my lack of organizational skills when it comes to cleaning toys, as she is the exact opposite.) I try to find ways to keep myself organized, but then give up on them after a while. I did FlyLady last year for a while and gave up on that when I lost the motivation. I keep saying to myself that I want to get more organized, but procrastinate on that all the time. And that's another vice, right there..being a compulsive procrastinator!

Being miserly: It's more because I'm spoiled by Freecycle and really really REALLY low prices at the thrift store. I have a hard time paying retail prices. Going to the mall is out of the question. I only browse clearance racks at Target. I become like those people in the store that I can't stand...challenging salespeople over the smallest price differences! I could either be seen as a good shopper for how much I save or a bad shopper for how much I skimp. I don't do coupons though. I'll go to stores that have deals from the cards, but I don't have the patience to sit around clipping coupons. And the coupon websites annoy me after a while.

Being a procrastinator: I work well with deadlines, but I like that extra pressure of the last minute to light a fire under my behind. And if there isn't a deadline, it ends up getting pushed off for a LONG time!

Hope this gives you more insight to who I am and how I operate.