Ten on Tuesday

Check out Roots and Rings for other Ten on Tuesday posts.

1. Cost aside, if you could go (back) to college for anything besides what you currently “do,” what would you study?
I'd take the Baking and Pastry Arts course at Sait. If money really was no object, I'd find the best school I could afford and take the course there.

2. What do you do for a living? Do you love it/hate it?
I'm a nanny for 4 kids. This job truly has its ups and downs. Not only do you have to make sure that you have a good relationship with the kids, you also have to make sure that you have a good relationship with the parent(s). Right after high school, I became a nanny for 10 year old twin girls. While I generally enjoyed my time with them, I found that the mother and I didn't get along to well. I quit about 10 months in. Now with my current family, things are much different, I love the kids and I love the parents. Even though I love the kids, we still have our ups and downs. There are days when I can't wait to hand the kids back over, and I go home swearing I'll never have kids again. Other days, I go home wanting to have 4 kids. Over all, I'm incredibly lucky to have this job.

3. What is your favorite Christmas ornament? If you don’t celebrate Christmas, what is your favorite holiday tradition?
This is a tough one…I don’t have a lot of ornaments yet, since this is my first Christmas since I’ve moved away from home. I did make a pretty sweet wreath though that I totally love.

4. Name something you could literally do without for the rest of your life.
Snow and cold weather. (The go together, so really, it’s only one thing.) It was almost –30C when I left for work this morning. I’m currently wearing fleece pj pants, fleece socks and my housecoat, and I’m wrapped in a blanket, yet I’m still freezing. At my parent’s place, my room was in the basement, so often times I would go to sleep wearing fleece pj pants and a hoodie. Seriously.
And this isn’t even the coldest that it will get this winter. It’ll inch closer to –40C. And if we’re lucky, we may see a repeat of -50C.*(These are all with wind chill, by the way.) I hate winter so dang much, and it’s probably because I live in Calgary. I’d gladly trade in the snow for the rain of Vancouver. Winter isn’t this cold the entire season through, but I just like to complain.
*I should probably point out that –50C doesn’t happen as often as the others low temps, but I have seen it happen.

5. If you were going to have any kind of “cosmetic procedure,” what would it be?
Honestly, I can’t even pick one. It freaks me the heck out.

6. Do you have any “collections”? (comic books, shoes, etc.)
I collect Paris related items. Pictures and little Eiffel Towers mostly.

7. At what age did you get your first cell phone?
I was 18. I cry myself to sleep at night when I hear that 8 year olds are getting cell phones, and 10 year olds are getting iPhones. Uggghhhhh.

8. What is currently in your purse (or pocket or backpack if you’re a guy)?
I have so much junk in my purse that it’s ridiculous (keep in mind that I am a nanny):
Hand sanitizer, Tide to go pen, Lip chap x2, A book, Martha Stewart Magazine, Band-Aids, Wallet, Keys, iPod, Gum, Reactine Pills, A cookie cutter (um, what?), Drawings from my nanny kids….and probably a few other things that I can’t see.

9. Are you a neat-freak or a slob ? *this applies to house, office, car, etc.
I’m somewhere in the middle. During the work week, I hardly clean at home. But on the weekend, I usually do a good clean up. Luckily Stephen and I aren’t overly messy people.

10. What kind of parent do you think you will be? If you’re already a parent, what is your style?
This is a tough one. Thanks to being a nanny, I’m already full of ideas for how I’ll do things different when I have my own children, but to be honest, it’s hard to say what kind of parent I’ll end up being. Hopefully a loving and caring one.