enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

25 final secrets.

Secrets

I have an addiction to my car's GPS system.

But somehow still manage to get turned around with great frequency.

I really appreciate that the voice commander refrains from using a judgemental tone.

I have known our baby girl's first name since October 2011.

Paul talked me out of my first choice for her middle name.

He's right…I think.

And we are still tossing back and forth ideas via email.

Nothing is sticking.

My best decisions are made in the moment with little to no planning.

So maybe we'll have a stroke of genius in the delivery room.

I miss red wine.

But not nearly as much as I thought I would.

Those blog comment "are you a robot?" captcha's have got to go.

I hope the baby gets Paul's patience.

And my energy.

And Arrested Development's sense of humor.

And neither of our dancing abilities.

If I could only wear one color for the rest of my life, I pick gray.

It took me longer to come up with that color than it did to come up with the first 18 secrets.

I spent half that time trying to figure out if "stripes" would suffice.

I haven't been able to read a book all the way through since my first trimester.

Which, believe it or not, is an even lamer pregnancy side effect than my daily finger sticks.

I've been watching Downton Abbey and it's good.

But it's not "WOW, I CAN'T BREATHE THIS IS AMAZING" good like I expected based on twitter reactions.

Now Scandal, that is a fantastic show.

see the first set of secrets here (2010), the second set here (2010) and the third set here (2011).

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60 responses to “25 final secrets.”

  1. Natanya Avatar
    Natanya

    Loved this post. And I seem to have the same relationship with GPS. I went to school at Occidental and I think I know what frozen yogurt place you talked about in a previous secrets post. But I can’t remember the name! Something like 21 choices? All I remember was that it was soooo good. 🙂

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  2. Christen Avatar
    Christen

    I haven’t watched Scandal!

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  3. Claire Avatar
    Claire

    love this post and loved reading your earlier posts too. 🙂

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  4. Tara Avatar
    Tara

    It’s so fun to get a peek at secrets now, and before.. and how they all tie together. I LOVE Scandal, and have never seen Arrested Development. Can’t wait to “meet” your little girl, and learn her name(s)! She’ll be here before you know it… 🙂

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  5. Emily S Avatar
    Emily S

    I/we’ve had our baby girl’s name picked out for, oh, 10+ years. It’s always been my favorite name, and my husband was on board very quickly (and he’s very picky!) Can’t wait to find out baby Cripe’s first name!

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  6. Ffion Avatar
    Ffion

    Haha, I love your secrets lists. I really do like how you write Elise 🙂 Very entertaining.

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  7. Jody R Avatar
    Jody R

    If you haven’t, you should check out Call the Widwife. Great show. Can’t wait to watch season 2.

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  8. Alinor Avatar
    Alinor

    this is awesome. and that picture is awesome

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  9. kaylaaimee Avatar
    kaylaaimee

    UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS. It’s an I CAN’T BREATHE kind of good. I think it’s better than Downton. And also, it only lasted two seasons so you can watch it all at once on Amazon. You’re welcome 🙂

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  10. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    We struggled with our daughters middle name too. We ended up combing my mom s middle name (which is also my middle name) and my mother-in-law’s middle name. It honored both sides of the fam and is a pretty name too (or at least we think so!). Lynn + Mae = Lynae

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  11. Val Avatar
    Val

    I’m with ya on the color gray! My middle name is Lane, I’ve always like that. Can’t wait to try the grain-free granola recipe you posted!

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  12. Melissa D Avatar
    Melissa D

    Our first baby got her middle name in the delivery room. In the midst of a scary 26 week emergency c-section, my clearest memory is freaking out that, “She doesn’t have a middle name!!!” My sweet husband, worried about more important things at the time, left the decision up to me. And so, we went with Laurel after my best friend Laura instead of Ruth after my husband’s grandma. Nearly five years later, I call out “Adeline Laurel!!” on a daily basis and pat myself on the back for such a pretty choice. 🙂

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  13. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    21 choices is right!

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  14. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    I like lane! And yes, try it! I just recommend closer to 1/3 c coconut oil instead of 1 c

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  15. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    That’s very pretty! We are on the hunt for a one syllable middle. 🙂

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  16. orange gearle Avatar
    orange gearle

    My middle name is Lee (one syllable). 🙂 My three year old’s middle name is Mae after my mother and her daddy’s grandmother’s middle names. We thought that it matched Beatrice perfectly (Beatrice Mae, isn’t that lovely?). And now I just realized that you didn’t really ask your blog readers to give you ideas…and now everyone (including me) is going to! Argh! 🙂 I so love reading your thoughts.

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  17. orange gearle Avatar
    orange gearle

    Hmmm….Bea….also a one syllable (could be) middle name. I’ll stop now. 🙂

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  18. Melissa Sharp Avatar
    Melissa Sharp

    How do you feel about making the middle name very sentimental? Each of my 4 children sports a family moniker as a middle name: Robert, Barrett, Evelyn, Knox.
    My daughter’s first name is Paige. Many people tell me “that’s supposed to be a middle name”. So there you go, my suggestion. 🙂 Unless you take my first suggestion, and use a family name. 😉
    p.s. Totally with you on the gray!

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  19. Megan Anderson Avatar
    Megan Anderson

    I thought of you when I read about Netflix buying a new season of Arrested Development in last month’s Wired. I’ll bet you’re counting down the days!

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  20. Melissa Sharp Avatar
    Melissa Sharp

    I have more to say. I love your middle name, Joy. All my kids actually have two middle names, a family name followed by a biblical name. But when it came to my daughter I really was stuck between Faith and Joy (after finally admitting that Paige Evelyn Tabitha was a bit much). I went with Faith, but often wish I had gone with Joy. It would suit her. Maybe a similar type name would suit your little girl – such as Hope, etc. Those fruits of the spirit are a sweet bunch of affirmations.

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  21. Miranda Avatar
    Miranda

    Scandal! Yes!! My new favorite show. I want to BE as cool and collected (and connected) as Olivia Pope. I got sucked in at first by rooting for she and Fitz, believe it or not.

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  22. Johanna Avatar
    Johanna

    Exciting name business! I always wondered – is it VERY uncommon to just give one name in the US? Here in Germany, I couldn’t even say if there is a “standard” – one name or mutliples. I only have one 🙂

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  23. Andi Avatar
    Andi

    I started watching Downton Abby during the holidays, and I noticed two things…one, it’s not pronounced “Downtown Abby” 🙂 and two, it’s starts off slow, but trust me it gets better. And I totally agree with you on Scandal. The best show on tv!

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  24. Vanessa Avatar
    Vanessa

    Loved this post! I too love, love, love Arrested Development and Downton Abbey so will have to check out Scandal. We’ve had our baby boy’s name picked out since month 6 of the pregnancy and finally just picked out the middle name last week. Such a relief to have the “complete” name done. I don’t think middle names are that important these days though.. just pick something that balances the other two names syllable-wise and makes the initials cool.

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  25. Stephanie Howell Avatar
    Stephanie Howell

    I can’t wait to hear the name you chose. I know it will be just perfect. I think you and Paul are SO cute and even more so after spending time with y’all. You are the real deal, Elise Cripe. Your baby will be amazing. AMAZING.
    p.s. Downton Abbey has never been “I CAN’T BREATHE” good to me. Just a slow, steady, good solid narrative.

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  26. Amanda Abernathy Avatar
    Amanda Abernathy

    It took me a bit to get in to Downton Abbey. I started the first episode, wondered why anyone liked it, and stopped half way through. A few days later I finished it. I still didn’t understand the fuss, but wanted to see if it got better. After the 2nd episode I still didn’t think it was that great but I wanted to watch more. That’s how they suck you in! haha

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  27. Elise M. Avatar
    Elise M.

    I absolutely love Downton Abbey. The end of the most recent season (well most of season three for that matter) was of a “Wow, I can’t breathe” caliber. I’ve never watched Scandal… maybe I will start!

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  28. Lori Avatar
    Lori

    Paige is one of my all time favorite girl names and secretly I just wish it was my name! 🙂
    We also use family/sentimental names for all of our children’s middle names.

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  29. Lori Avatar
    Lori

    My husband and I went through the motions of trying on all kinds of girl names through all three of my pregnancies, but I think we really knew all along that if we ever had a girl we would name her Audrey. And now, we have a beautiful daughter with that name. Every single time I say it, I’m grateful. For her, for her name, for the opportunity to use that name we loved so much, just all of it. 🙂
    Also, her middle name is Ellen. My aunt, my cousin and I (and now my daughter) all share that middle name, which is after a Great-Grandma. It’s very special to me. 🙂
    Names are so much fun. I figure there is a lot of stuff that isn’t AS much fun during pregnancies, but naming…That’s fun.

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  30. Giulia Avatar
    Giulia

    Elise I loved that post! I love how you write! I don’t have a middle name, no one in Europe does, even though I wish I had, it’s like the secret name no one knows about until you are old enough to choose whether and how you want to use it:)

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  31. Sarah {Finding Abundance} Avatar
    Sarah {Finding Abundance}

    Elise, I love reading your blog. Such fun.
    We couldn’t agree on a middle name for our firstborn either. The first name was easy, but we argued about the middle name right up until the moment she was born.
    But the first time I saw her face and held her in my arms, I knew what her middle name had to be. It just came to me, and wasn’t even a name we had been considering. And seven years later, I am still realizing how much meaning that name has for us.
    You’ll know, when the time is right.

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  32. Brianna Avatar
    Brianna

    I love these secrets posts. I still haven’t gotten on the Downton Abbey train. I don’t usually get on TV show trains until they get canceled.

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  33. Michelle @ our dog dillan Avatar
    Michelle @ our dog dillan

    Currently having the same dilema with picking out a middle name for our baby boy due in 4 weeks. Middle names are tough!

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  34. Valerie Avatar
    Valerie

    Scandal is my obsession… i watch reruns on netflix all the time. I’m so in love with Huck and wish I could BE Olivia Pope. I would say more but who knows how far you are in it…. the finales are killer…

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  35. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    I am totally caught up. 🙂

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  36. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    Haven’t seen season three! Just 1 & 2.

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  37. goshery Avatar
    goshery

    I always think of a middle name as a name with meaning. When my daughter was born I chose a first name just because I loved it and then a middle name that was very meaningful to me and my family. I like the thought that although it’s not secret it’s not just “out there” for everyone either. They only know my middle name if I want to let them in on it!

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  38. Marissa Avatar
    Marissa

    Love this!
    AND get ready for Arrested Development’s NEW season on Netlix (with all the episodes at once!)!

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  39. Karina Avatar
    Karina

    Not reading during pregnancy sucks! I never realized it was a pregnacy “symtom” until my last pregnancy.It was the worst! I also didn’t realized how much I read until I no longer read daily. Good news…nursing is a perfect time for reading. My baby is 5 months and I have probably read 15 books since she was born. Yay! Enjoy the last little bit of your pregnancy! 🙂

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  40. Thao Avatar
    Thao

    I really like this post. Just had to comment even though I normally just lurk over your blog. It’s inspiring me to write some secrets too.
    And did you hear about the rumor of an Arrested Development movie?? And yes! Scandal is so good!

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  41. Carrie K Avatar
    Carrie K

    ha! yes…this…me too!! lol…

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  42. Caroline Avatar
    Caroline

    I’m jumping on the name bandwagon. My daughter is Grier Catherine. Grier is a feminine form of Greig (my husband) and I don’t think is as unusual here in Scotland as in the US, although lots of people tell me they have never heard it before. I really wanted a strong, one syllable name. Catherine is for my Grandmother, but she was born in the same year as the Royal Wedding so I’m sure that’s what people will assume……(!) My point is go with your heart, you won’t regret it and someone, somewhere will have somethings stupid to say about your choice:)

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  43. becky h Avatar
    becky h

    When my oldest was born we picked her name the day before my C-section, but I wanted to see her first to see if she looked like a ‘Courtney’. My doctor who delivered when she was born announced in the OR that he thought she was a ‘Courtney’, we knew she would have a middle name of Marie from my grandmother who has passed the month before.
    Scandal is awesome.

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  44. Jo Avatar
    Jo

    As a midwife, I spent many agonising weeks waiting for parents to decide on names so they could register their baby in time. A few just got baby xxx on the birth certificate. Others were graced with the most awful names ever like Storm. Hope that’s not one of your choices, heehee.
    Love your secrets,
    Jo xxx

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  45. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    I think the lack of ability to read anything of substance may be the hardest part of pregnancy for me. Your brain will come back though! Six kids later…I still feel so much better after the pregnancy fog lifts 🙂

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  46. Thea Avatar
    Thea

    CAPTCHAs were also used in pairs to help decipher and digitize old manuscripts in the effort to get all books printed on line. The computer had the answer for one word the other was a word that had been scanned from an old text and which the computer could not decipher. It was assumed that if you got one of the words correct you got the other one right as well and your answer was used to replace the scanned word.

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  47. J3SS1C4 Avatar
    J3SS1C4

    Hmm, I’ve never heard of Scandal before, but it does sound interesting! I’ve been watching Criminal Minds from the start while I knit at the moment, but once I get through, I might check that one out! Also, those captcha code things suck! Half the time they can’t be read properly, the sound to listen to it instead rarely works for me, so they annoy me greatly!

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  48. Cerise Avatar
    Cerise

    Oh thank goodness. I thought I was the only one that felt that way about Downton. Really enjoy watching it, but don’t completely understand the hype.
    We went with family names as our boys’ middle names, so those were easy. I’ve had a complete girls name picked out since high school. :o)

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  49. Giuseppina Avatar
    Giuseppina

    This is so fun! I agree with Downton but still love it. 🙂

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  50. Jenny Avatar
    Jenny

    *I’ve had a girl’s name picked since I was 10. We had 4 boys.
    *My middle name is Sue, my mom’s is Lou and my mother-in-law’s is Mae. My grandmother’s is Ida Alma (her first name is Hertha 🙂 )
    *I watched the Sixth Sense (“I see dead people”) when I was pregnant with my first. I cried through the whole thing. Now I can’t read a sappy book or watch a sappy movie without sobbing.

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