Annissa Rae over at A Page In My Book was dying to learn all about yours truly (and seven other people, but mostly me) so she asked me to do this taggy thingy. Since I'm recovering from a fever - and no other symptoms, which I think is rather odd - and don't feel like doing much else, I figured I would indulge her. Besides, as a mom I'm forever focusing on the gremlins. What about The Maven? Let's talk about me, dammit.

8 of my most favourite foods:

1. Poutine. It's like a heart attack in a styrofoam cup.
2. Along the same line: chip truck fries.
3. The warm scones my neighbour just dropped off are officially on my list.
4. Old cheddar. The older the better.
5. Chocolate. (I'm starting to see where my weight problems come from)
6. Coffee. Did you honestly think I would leave out coffee? Do you not read my blog?
7. Vanilla chai soy drink. Seriously. It's freaking delicious.
8. Samosas. The vegetarian variety, obviously.

8 things I cherish:

1. Time to myself.
2. Time to myself.
3. Time to... Wait. I think I said that already.
4. My family, of course. When they're being quiet and letting me watch a movie, which they are not right now. We've had to pause Australia seven times in an hour. I think we've all but given up. So uncool.
5. The planet. Yes, I'm a tree hugger. Call me crazy, but breathing is a priority for me.
6. My grandmother's ring, and her fine china, too, which I now own.
7. My wedding ring. I always say it's ugly and we bought it second hand (budget wedding) and I would love a new one, but I thought I lost it once and was practically in tears at the thought of never wearing someone else's broken dreams on my finger again.
8. Watching the ducks waddle through our front yard, and the brown bunny who visits the back. Also, the squirrel orgies are interesting. Some call it territorial fighting, I call it the group dance of lust.

8 Ways I Kill Time:

1. Posting crap on my blog.
2. Posting crap on Facebook
3. Posting shortened crap on Twitter ( StayAtHomeMaven - feel free to follow me and my shortened crap)
4. Taking Gutsy to the doctor so they can diagnose him with pneumonia - which is what happened, yet again, yesterday
5. Renting or buying console games for my children so I can stay up late playing them.
6. Giving people unsolicited advice - one of my all time favourite pastimes.
7. Checking myself out in the mirror and finding the best angles to hide my double chin.
8. Walking around the yard (if you've ever been in my yard you'd understand why I like to kill time out there. Fixer-upper house, sweeeet backyard)

8 Shows I watch

1. House, because he's a crotchety old bastard and I love him.
2. Doctor Who - I am a complete junkie.
3. Torchwood. If you haven't watched it, do so right now. I command thee.
4. The Tudors, because it's history mixed with smoldering plot lines.
5. Dogtown, because I'm always rooting for the underdog.
6. Paranormal State. Nothing paranormal ever happens but they make it seem like it does so I keep watching.
7. Buy Me, a Canadian show about real estate featuring real suckers selling their real houses. It reminds me why I never want to move again.
8. Property Ladder, because I love seeing people without clue wasting their money.

8 Things to do before I die:

1. Get really, really fat. Check.
2. Finally be a popular bitch. Check.
3. Own a vacation home in Spain. Check. (Just seeing if you're still paying attention.)
4. Hang out with Oprah. I don't know why, exactly. Maybe just so I can say 'O - that's short for "Oprah", by the way - she said to me the other day...'
5. Get healthy - this is a long term goal, apparently.
6. Go to a place where no one has ever been to Canada so I can start talking about highway snow tunnels and summer igloo maintenance work.
7. Become an author with oodles of readers. At least two dozen.
8. Spend as much time with the gremlins as I can, because nothing, absolutely nothing, is more important than my little horned ones

Ways to make me happy (Geekster, please pay attention):

1. Random gifting of coffee
2. Random gifting of chocolate
3.Taking the kids out so I can have a couple of hours to myself. Being in the house alone is a rare treat. I might get scared the first couple of times, but eventually I'd adjust.
4. Laughing at my jokes, even when they're lame.
5. Telling me I look amazing on days that I'm not even trying. You might be lying but it's still nice to hear and I'm vain enough to believe you.
6. Flowers. I've come to realize that flowers make me happy. How girly and disgusting.
7. Giving me a hug. Egads. I'm suffocating on my own estrogen right now.
8. That thing you do when you... Oh, wait. My mom reads this. I'll tell you later.

I'd tag 8 people like I'm supposed to, but I have to go finish watching Australia now. We've been trying since around lunch. That's 10 hours for a two hour movie. Besides, tagging 8 people does in no way compare to Australian cowboy Hugh Jackman. Drool.