You're the one that I want

I'm going to teach Crocket how to do this...

Take my quiz.... it'll be fun!

click here

a conversation

A conversation between my mom and me this morning. mom is in yellow, im in red. :)

"Monaca, try this jelly"
"I don't like jelly, mom... but this isn't jelly it's jam"
"Whatever, Monaca"
"ooh, mom, you should invest in jam-off"
"whats jam-off"
"its an AMAZING jam... wanna see a commercial for it"
"oh yeah... get out of here."

Jam-off

I stole this one

I stole this one

1. How old do you wish you were? 21 is a good age
2. Where were you when 9/11 happened? I was in school--in the music department.
3. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? whine and complain
4. Do you consider yourself kind? I hope I am...
5. If you had to get a tattoo, where and what would it be? Why would somebody HAVE to get a tattoo? That doesn't make sense.
6. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? Spanish
7. Do you know your neighbors? Yeah, the neighbors to the right have lived there all my life and to the left have lived there for ten years -- both are pretty great families!
8. What do you consider a vacation? A day of loungin by the pool with wine coolers.
9. Do you follow your horoscope? I think that is against my religion
10. Would you move for the person you loved? Of course.
11. Are you touchy feely? Definitely
12. Do you believe that opposites attract? Sure, on lots of levels
13. Dream job? I would love to write songs for someone else to sing.
14. Favorite channels? I don't really watch tv
15. Favorite place to go on a weekend? Lake Geneva with the boat
16. Showers or bath? I like baths but I never take them. Something about putting my tushy on a dirty tub grosses me out.
17. Do you paint your nails? No.
18. Do you trust people easily? hrm... I never used to but now I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.
19. What are your phobias? Heights. Earwigs. Loved ones dying.
20. Do you want kids? Not any time soon... if ever.
21. Do you keep a handwritten journal? Off and on.
22. Where would you rather be right now? With Ari.
23. What makes you feel warm and safe? When Ari wraps his arms around me.
24. Heavy or light sleep? Depends on the night. I vary between both extremes.
25. Are you paranoid? this is a weird question... why do you want to know?
26. Are you impatient? Very.
27. Who can you relate to? Everyone on some level...
28. How do you feel about interracial couples? Wow, where did a question like that come from? I have absolutely no problem with it and dont understand why there is even debate over it.
29. Have you been burned by love? No.
30. What's your life motto? It changes every week.
31. What's your main ringtone on your mobile? It is Hell's Bells by AC DC
32. What were you doing at midnight last night? Sleeping
33. Who was your last text message from? Celeste
34. Whose bed did you sleep in last night? wouldn't you like to know.
35. What color shirt are you wearing? Tan--I'm wearing my Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt
36. Most recent movie you watched? Friday Night Lights
37. Name five things you have on you at all times? Underwear, cell phone, a necklace, a hair tie, my wallet.
38. What color are your bed sheets? purple
39. How much cash do you have on you right now? oooh - $40 cause I just got done puppy sitting.
40. What is your favorite part of the chicken? I only like the chicken breast if it is marinated and in pasta or salad.
41. What is your favorite town/city? Chicago, no contest.
42. I can't wait till... I move to Spain
43. What did you have for dinner last night? Ari cooked Chicken with mashed potatos and broccoli
44. How tall are you barefoot? 5'6
45. Have you ever smoked crack? Never
46. Do you own a gun? No. Nor will I ever.
47. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water to rehydrate myself.
48. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? uh... I don't lure....
49. Do you have A.D.D? Do you?
50. What time did you wake up today? 7:30
51. What is your favorite candy? Starburst
52. Current worry? No worries.
53. Current hate? steak... but thats a constant hate.
54. Favorite place to be? By the ocean.
55. Where would you like to travel? Ireland
56. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years? Whereever God leads me
57. Last thing you ate? white chedder popcorn
58. What songs do you sing in the shower? whatever is in my head
59. Last person that made you laugh? Ari
60. Worst injury you ever had? Internal bleeding in my left leg after I broke my ankle into a million pieces

Books

My friends, Julie and Mike, tagged me. So... here ya go.

1.One book that changed your life: After Silence by Nancy Raine

2.One book that you’ve read more than once: The Brother's K by David James Duncan

3.One book you’d want on a desert island: The Message by Eugene Peterson

4.One book that made you laugh: Revenge of the Paste Eaters by Cheryl Peck

5.One book that made you cry: Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park

6.One book you wish had been written: I dont know...

7.One book you wish had never been written: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

8.One book you’re currently reading: The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

9.One book you’ve been meaning to read: Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

10.One book you’d like to write: I don't have a title yet but I am in the process of writing a memior.

Now tag 5 people: Troy Cady, Heather Cady, Kelly Wills, Amy Baas, Ami Godoy

Left-handedness

Ari is left-handed and he wrote this thing when he was in high school and he wants people to read it cause it is really good (in my opinion) so I am posting it. I think you should read it... if you don't I'll come after you...

THE DECLARATION FROM LEFT HANDEDNESS

Action of Ari Leo, September 17, 2001

The unanimous Declaration of the Left-Handed Community

WHEN in the Course of Writing Events,

it becomes necessary for all people who write with their left hand to say enough is enough, and to dissolve the genetic bonds which have made them left-handed, and to assume the equal opportunities and chances afforded to those who are right-handed, the reasons and causes for this must be declared.

WE who are left-handed hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are not created equal, that their left-handedness did not give them the same rights given to those among us who are right-handed. All children from henceforth shall be forced to become right- handed, resulting in a future society of only right-handedness. It has become impossible for the left-handed to function properly in our right-handed society. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.

Left-handedness has kept us from writing smudge-free on poster boards, which is a necessity for school.

Left-handedness has refused us the use of normal scissors and one can never find left-handed scissors when one needs to.

Left-handedness has refused to allow people to see what they are writing as they write, forcing one to write in an ungodly, twisted manner.

IN every one of these cases the left-handed have attempted to solve these issues: Ned Flanders attempted to open a store for the left-handed, but it was crushed.

No left-handed person has been unreasonable in trying to fit into society. We have very nicely vocalized our hatred for the inconveniences of left-handedness and on every occasion we have been repeatedly blackened by the ink or lead on our left hand.

I, therefore, the Representative of the LEFT-HANDED PEOPLE OF AMERICA, in my ROOM, By myself, appealing to the General Public of the World to save their kids from the horrors of LEFT-HANDEDNESS, do, in the name of the respected Ari Leo, declare that all ties are, and ought to be hereby dissolved between the LEFT-HANDED PEOPLE OF AMERICA and left-handedness, and that as a free and independent people have full power to levy war on left-handedness, and all other rights of the Right-Handed. We pledge to fully support each other in our quest for equality.

Tuuuuuushy update

Well, after I declared to everyone present that July 4 was the national day of the word 'tushy' we had a lot of fun with it. For those of you wondering who was present - Mom, Dad, Aunt Nonnie, Uncle Don, Cousin Karen, Karen's granddaughter Carmella, Andrea, Michael, and Nicholas. Just for clarification, Michael and Nicholas are the boys that I nanny and Andrea is their mom.

It's not hard to try to find ways to use the word tushy. For example, Michael's swimming shorts were falling down and he said "my tushy!" and mooned us all. My dad came home from his morning stroll on the beach to tell a story that went something like this:

"Remember how I lost my sunglasses in the ocean yesterday? Well, guess what I saw... I saw a shark wearing my glasses! And I said, 'hey give those back' and you know what he did? He turned around and showed me his tushy!" So the rest of the day we were hearing about how the shark showed Billy his tushy.

Along with overusing the word tushy I've had some awkward moments. Like when maintenance came to the door and Andrea and I were in are bathing suits playing in the tubby with the boys. Or when housekeeping came to the door to give me sheets and Andrea didn't hear the doorbell ring so I answered the door in my towel (I was just about to hop in the shower). There were more awkward moments, but I will leave it at these for now.

We went to Disney World today. The boys were so excited to see Mickey and Minnie and Daisy and Pluto and Donald! Our favorite was Donald -- he kissed me on the cheek! But shhh... don't tell Ari. Tomorrow we are driving back out to Cape Canaveral so that we can go on a pontoon boat with Christopher and Erika (bro and sis-in-law) and my aunt and uncle and mom and dad and Karen and Carmella. We'll see how that goes. It'll be fun to see the boys on a boat for the first time. I can't wait!

Florida and Tushy

So. I am in Florida.

This week came up really fast. All of a sudden Saturday night came and I realized I had to pack since I was leaving Sunday morning.

The twins are great travelers. We arrived in Florida around 9:30pm after a delay and a long layover. Then we had to wait for the luggage and get the rental car and then make the 45 minute drive from Orlando to Cape Canaveral. We didn't get to the condo until almost midnight.

Yesterday we woke up early and spent the entire day at the beach. The boys were so cute! I'll have to post pictures soon. They loved the waves. Then we went to the pool when we got tired of the sand. Then spent some time with my Aunt and Uncle and cousin for a BBQ.

Today we were back at the beach all day. We saw the space shuttle Discovery go off... that was amazing.

Sorry this is such a play by play post, just typing it all out quickly before heading out for dinner.

Just so you all know... Troy has offically announced today, July 4, as national "tushy" day. To find out why check out Troy's Blog. And I highly reccomend that you check it out! :)

I took an IQ test!

Your IQ score is 129

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.

Your Intellectual Type is Visionary Philosopher. This means you are highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways. Like Plato, your exceptional math and verbal skills make you very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns. And that's just some of what we know about you from your IQ results.

WHAT?? Where did this come from? Why am I good at the things I hate?

Googleness

I found this on Heather's blog. Since I am a follower, I followed. Apparently you have to type your answers into google image search and then pic the picture that you like the best off the first page. So, read mine and then go do yours... Oh yeah.. and read the post before this to see pics of my new dog!!!! :)

First name: Monaca

Middle name: Marie

Last name: Thomas

Age on my next birthday:21

City I grew up in: West Chicago

Favorite color: blue

Favorite food: manicotti

Place I'd like to live: Madrid

Place I live now: Glen Ellyn

A habit I have: cracking my knuckles

Favorite animal: dog

Religion: Christ follower

Dream Job: Social worker

Grandmothers name: Fortunata LaMonaca

Favorite smell: homemade food cooking at my mom's house

NEW PICS!

I just uploaded a bunch of pictures onto my website. To view them click here -- my photos

The new albums are:
New Years Eve--I went to a a family party at Aunt Cheryl's house which was, as always, really fun. Goodbye Ann--One of my best friends, Ann, went to Yemen for language school. This was her last night (well, her last night was spent with family, this was the night before her last night)
Fun times--These are mainly pics of fun times shared with my friends. From Ari and me just being us to a group of us driving up to Wisconsin for dinner to random pictures of random people. But it's fun! :) check them out

Blonde joke of the century!!

OK-- I am not a fan of blonde jokes but this one had me laughing all morning -- not even joking... I found it on Julie's blog. To read it, click here.

Heather Cady sent this to me in an email and since I have nothing else to do except for homework (which I have been doing all day)... enjoy.

1. What time is it? 3:51pm
2. Your name: Monaca
3. Nickname: Mon, Mony, Italy
4. Piercing: Lots in my ears
5. What is the most recent movie you've seen in the theatre? I saw Narnia on Christmas
6. Eye colour: hazelish
7. Place of birth: Winfield, IL
8. Favourite foods: Any type of pasta, chicken parmesian
9. Ever been to Africa? No, but some day
10. Ever been toilet papering: yeah, back in the day... which was a wednesday by the way. Any time someone is talking about back in the day it was always a wednesday. Take that home -- chew it. It's delicious.
11. Ever love someone so much it made you cry: What am I? In eighth grade?
12. Been in a car accident: Oh, lets not go there.
13. Croutons or bacon bits: Like all foods, it depends on my mood
14. Favourite day of the week: Saturdays -- I get to sleep in, then Celeste and I make homemade waffles and then Saturday nights Ari and I usually get to go out because neither of us have to work on Sundays.
15. Favourite restaurant: At the moment I am craving Chili's boneless buffalo wings. So I will have to go with Chili's
16. Favourite Flower: White daisy
17. Favourite sport to watch: futbol (aka soccer)
18. Favourite drink: Hot: coffee with baily's irish cremem in it Cold: water
19. Favourite ice cream: Breyer's vanilla bean
20. Disney or Warner Brothers: Disney without hesitation
21. Favourite fast food restaurant: Arby's or Fazoli's
22. What colour is your bedroom carpet: Carpet in my bedroom? that's unheard of! I am a hardwood floors kind of gal!
23. How many times you failed your driver's test: I didn't
24. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail: Ann Milauskas
26. What do you do most often when you are bored? If I am home, I get online and see if Heather or Ann are online. If they are not (which is pretty likely considering the 7-9 hour time differences) then I read or watch a movie or fill out stuff like this...
27. Bedtime: between 11pm and 1am
28. Favourite TV shows? ALIAS
29. Last person you had dinner with? Last night Celeste, Gerry, Josh, Charles, Ari, and I drove two hours to eat dinner at Prime Quarter in Wisconsin
30. Book you've read most recently: The Brothers' K by DAvid James Duncan
31. What are you listening to right now: The Rent Movie Soundtrack
32. What is your favourite colour: Blue and purple
33. How many tattoos do you have? just one
34. How many pets do you have? My fish Vaughn -- but I actually had a dream last night that he die

SEVENS

So, Troy tagged me for this a long time ago.... So here are my sevens

Seven Things to Do Before I Die
1- Go to Kenya
2- Write a book
3- Learn sign language fluently
4- Swim with a dolphin
5- Visit every state in the US
6- Run in a marathon
7- Help plant a church

Seven Things I Cannot Do
1- Draw
2- Eat steak (or any meat on a bone)
3- Lie to my mom (not that I really try to...)
4- Flip a skateboard over on a jump and actually land on it
5- Read mystery novels
6- Make homemade meatballs (they never come out right)
7- Fall asleep with a pillow under my head

Seven Things that Attract Me to My Boyfriend
1- His faith
2- He has the utmost respect for women
3- He is spontaneous and random
4- He is witty
5- He has an ability to make whoever he is talking to feel like they are wonderful, even if it's for just that moment
6- His passion
7- He sets goals for himself and doesn't give up on them

Seven Things I Say Most Often
1- No, no
2- Seriously
3- Okay so...
4- Hillarious
5- It was pretty great
6- I'm sorry
7- Pretty much...

Seven Books I Love
1- Brothers' K byDavid James Duncan
2- After Silence by Nancy Raine
3- The Giver by Lois Lowry
4- Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff
5- Every Young Woman's Battle by Shannon Ethridge and Stephen Arterburn
6- A Child Called It by Dave Peltzer
7- Amazing Grace by Jonathon Kozol

Seven Movies I Would Watch Over and Over Again
1- Dead Poets Society
2- Shawshank Redemption
3- Power of One
4- Return to Me
5- Italian Job
6- Pay It Forward
7- Notting Hill

Seven People I Want to Join in Too
1- Ariel Leo
2- Matthew Wendling
3- Mike Clawson
4- Wendy Taylor
5- Julie Clawson
6- Brienne Leo
7- Jodi Ippel

My life is so dumb

Well, there isn't much else to do with my life right now... SO.....

The ABC’s of Mon

A - Age of your first kiss: 14
B - Band you are listening to right now: the rent soundtrack
C – Crush: how old am i?
D – Dad’s name: Billy
E – Easiest person to talk to: Ann Milauskas
F – Favorite Ice Cream: vanilla bean
G – Gummy worms or gummy bears: worms
H – Hometown: west chicago
I – Instruments: guitar
J – Junior High: Benjamin (I was a Bengal!)
K – Kids: don't have any
L – Longest car ride ever: the car ride home from Florida with mom, dad, christopher, joe and me and I had to sit in between chris and joe... ugh
M – Mom’s name: Patty
N - Nicknames: Mon, Mony, Grace
O – One wish: i know this is cheesy, but peace on earth... seriously
P – Phobia [s]: heights
Q– Quote: do not worry for tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about itself; each day is sufficient for it's own.
R – Reason to smile: Jesus
S – Song you sang last: 1,000 sweet kisses (from rent)
T – Time you woke up: 7:00am I can't sleep in! I hate it!
U – Unknown fact about me: I don't have it as together as people thing
V – Vegetable[s] you hate: CORN!!
W – Worst Habit: cracking my knuckles
X – X-rays you’ve had: ankle, knee, back, wrist, CAT scans on my stomach, back, head, kneck, MRIs on my back and knee
Y – Years since you’ve been to church: uh... I was at church two Sundays ago (last Sunday I was sick)
Z – Zodiac sign: taurus

Now I need to go back and lay down. I will get up to type up another health update a little later today.

I'm being vulnerable now...

Two Names You Go By
1. Mon
2. Monaca

Two Things That Scare You
1. Guys
2. The dark

Two of Your Everyday Essentials
1. Prayer
2. Deep conversations

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now
1. My epilepsy bracelet
2. My favorite jeans

Two Things You want in a relationship
1. Honesty
2. Communication

Two Truths
1. God is love
2. Jesus saves

Two Self-Truths
1. The idea that I have it all together is a complete act
2. I am really scared of getting hurt in friendships

Two things You hate:
1. Gossip
2. Lies

Two Physical Things that Appeal to You
1. Warming/welcoming smile
2. Athletic looking

Two of Your Favorite Hobbies
1. Riding my bike
2. Learning about people

Two Things You Want Really Badly
1. To be a social worker
2. Free time

Two Places You Want to go on Vacation
1. I want to go to Florida and swim with the dolphins
2. Ireland
3. I want to LIVE in Spain (does that count?)

Two Things You Want to Do Before You Die
1. Write a book
2. Learn sign language fluently

Two Ways that you are Stereotypically a Girl
1. I like boys
2. I worry about my weight

I promise -- one day I will actually write something of substance... just give me some time to get my life back together.

QUOTES

I was thinking about Spain today and I remembered some hillarious quotes from my time there, so I thought I would share them with you...

1- I don't understand how you think people don't understand what's going through your head, you say everything you are thinking - Troy to Monaca

2- There's even salami on the wall! - Troy

3- Why don't we have any salad? - Troy, Heather and I had said that at some point.

4- Heather (talking about her theory on what happened in a movie) - "I did research to back up my thesis"
Troy - "did she just say thesis?"

5- Mon - "I'll help you get revenge"
Teresa - "I bet you would. You're evil."

"find the card that fits your life"

I found this in an advertisement for American Express so I am stealing it and filling it out for myself.

My name: Monaca Marie
childhood ambition: going to the olympics
fondest memory: sitting on my papa's lap while watching the rain/lightning storm
soundtrack: bon jovi
retreat: florida
wildest dream: living in Spain
proudest moment: i know this is sad... but getting an A in Chemistry... i have my reasons
biggest challenge: becoming the person God has created me to be
alarm clock: the most annoying ring on my phone
perfect day: I would be in Spain and I would be able to spend quality time with all of my family, my closest friends, and Ari all in the same day.
first job: babysitter
indulgence: food... isnt that sad?
last purchase: Ari's christmas present
favorite movie: shawshank redemption
inspiration: my friends
My life: is crazy and yet so fun
My card: is mastercard!!
the end

Highlights of the Week

10- Finally catching up on sleep this week
9- Fulfilling my craving for chinese food... mmm crab rangoons
8- Hanging out with Kendra and Matthew at 9am
7- Listening to A Capella Christmas music
6- Going to the mall with Ari and the twins
5- Playing cards with Aunt Maryann, Aunt Lou, Uncle Tom, Celeste, and Ari
4- "Performing" a dance to It's Gonna Be Me by *NSYNC at the reception
3- Taking a shots with my mom and cousins
2- Finally getting to spend quality time with Ari
1- Seeing Christopher and Erika unite together as one

Monaca needs...

I stole this from Julie Clawson's blog (ps- to see really cute pics of Emma, check out Mike's blog):

So there is this blogger game I saw recently. You google your name followed by "needs" and post what comes up. I changed Monaca to Monica since nothing came up as Monaca... but its surprising (and hilarious) what the internet thinks I need!

1- monaca needs a job
2- monaca needs another dress washed
3- monaca needs a communicative parent who is skilled at listening and probing for feelings
4- monaca needs a permanent family who will be involved in her therapy
5- monaca needs to go to work for a rest
6- monaca needs special mention
7- monaca needs the gift of love to help steer her in the right direction
8- monaca needs to move in a new direction
9- monaca needs distraction
10- monaca needs a time out

wow -- those are weird...