21 Questions For A Thursday

1. DO YOU HAVE A PET RIGHT NOW?
     Delilah, but it's always kind of touch and go.

2. WHAT KIND IS IT?
     Pure evil

3. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?
     I know better than to think you can control falling in love.  But I think that would be a very difficult thing to face. 

4. FAVORITE QUOTE?
     "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on."  
           -Winston Churchill

5. FAVORITE PLACE?
       Pretty fond of Gulf Shores.  I would like to go back to Charleston, SC too. 

6. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE USA?
      Never been to Europe or anything like that.  I have been to Puerto Rico, which is outside the continental US, but still a territory.

7. YOUR WEAKNESSES?
       Dessert and procrastinating as long as possible

8. MET ANYONE FAMOUS?
     John McCain said "Hi" to me in the basement of the Capitol Building.  (Met Barack Obama on that trip too, when he was still just a senator).  Met Heather Headley once at a food court in NYC when she was still headlining Aida. 

9. FIRST JOB?
      I was a babysitter, like every other midwestern teen.  But I also worked as an assistant in my Aunt Beth's office during the summers in high school and then was her student worker in college.

10. EVER DONE A PRANK CALL?
      Of course!  A little sad that prank calls have gone the way of the rotary phone with Caller ID and the like. 

11. DO YOU THINK EVERYONE OUT THERE HAS A SOULMATE?
      I do.  But I don't buy into the idea that it has to be a romantic equilavent of some kind.  I think that there are people out there that fill different parts of your soul.  One of those may be a significant other, but it could also just be someone who shares a passion or interest, someone you just click with and know your life wouldn't be the same without.

12. HAVE YOU EVER HAD SURGERY?
       Nope.  I did apparently have special shoes with braces when I was little, however.  (Didn't know this until like two years ago though!)

13. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST?
       My fabulous cooking skills!  HA!!  No, it would have to be my voice.

14. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES?
       Yes, but my orthodontist had a substance abuse problem (seriously), so my teeth haven't stayed straight.

15. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY?
       To become independently wealthy

16. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT AND THEIR NAMES?
       Um, well.  There are several issues with this line of thought.  The first being that I would probably need a husband before I started popping out the kids.  With that said, I do have a thing about names, and have always loved looking at baby books and online sites for that kind of thing.  I mean, you are sticking your kid with this name forever, so you better choose wisely. 

17. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
       My parents picked my name out of a bedside pan because they couldn't decide.  Katherine is a family name, but I don't know that I was named after someone in particular.  Jane is my youngest aunt's first name.  (We almost share a birthday.)  Apparently, I could have been Megan Elizabeth.

18. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST TURN OFF OF THE OPPOSITE SEX?
       arrogance, without a doubt

19. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU LIKE(D) ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL?
       Being allowed to pretty much do whatever I wanted my senior year, since I was a good kid with a light class load.

20. WHAT KIND OF SHAMPOO DO YOU USE?
       A John Frieda root lifting kind from WalMart!  It smells so good!

21. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
      My handwriting is not proper, nor is it always the same, but I love it!

The Story of The Lost Peanut Butter (Or Why I Am Losing It!)

Last night, I was looking for the peanut butter.  I couldn't find it anywhere, but I knew that I'd had it at breakfast.  I checked cabinets (even the ones with dishes), the table, the stove.  Where was the PB?  I found it in the fridge with everything else I'd had out that morning.  And I know some people actually do keep their peanut butter in the fridge (my grandma), but I'm not one of those people.  And it's even more disturbing because I had been in the fridge several times and hadn't noticed it before my frantic search. Just goes to show I really am losing it!  ( I blame the children!)

Things have been amping up around here.  If you are a teacher, May always feels like a marathon run at sprint speed!  (Can't tell it's track season either, can you?)   I can't even begin to wrap my brain around the next few weeks, so I am just trying to knock things down one day at a time.  (Though sometimes an hour at a time feels like a bit much.)  In the next 24 school days I have three track meets, two awards banquets, two field trips, two graduations, an after-grad all-night party that I'm the chair for, oh, and I was called for federal jury duty and may have to serve over the next month in Benton.  And somewhere in there I am still teaching and trying to have some semblance of a social life (Cinco de Mayo looks promising). 

I've decided that I need a personal assistant or a housekeeper or some sort of combo.  I feel like I can't get anything done these days.  When I get home, I'm completely exhausted.  I have school work to do, job work to do, my house is gross.  I think it's a blessing that I just have to take care of myself right now, because I don't know how my friends with a husband and kids do it.  To top it off, I've been having a huge case of the weird mood swings lately.  Pretty sure it's just left over steroids, but for the last few days, I've been on the verge of tears.  About anything.  And if you know me, you know that is SO not me.  I'm not a crier, unless of course, you start crying, because nobody cries alone in my presence!  (Name that movie!)

That's about all.  I have a few hundred things I need to get to work on...

Happy Tears!

I want to say that, first of all, I am better.  Not 100%, but better, totally walking away from the corner of Death and Sickness.  And second, I want to say that today I have been a big ball of emotions.  I have been crying almost all afternoon, about absolutely nothing and about real wonderful things.  For instance, I cried when they said the prayer over the NASCAR boys before the race today.  And I cried during discussion at Bible study.  And I cried during Beth's lesson.  And I cried again after the lesson.  I cried when God touched my heart about someone.  And it's just been downhill from there.  One big sobby mess.  Maybe it's the steroids or maybe it's just being a girl, I wouldn't have it any other way.  Lord, let my heart always be open to your sweetness.

Because My Spirit Is Willing, But My Lungs Are Weak...

1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT?
     I have a scar on the inside of my right ankle that I got when I was seven.  I was visiting my Aunt Goldie and Uncle Gordon in Colorado and cut it on the corner of the screen door.  Even after 21 years, it's still there.

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?
     In my living room, I have a black and white print called "French Doors" of the Eiffel Tower, another one of a building, a David Michael Photography print of daisies and in my office a watercolor of orange tulips.

3. DO YOU SNORE, GRIND YOUR TEETH, OR TALK IN YOUR SLEEP?
     I snore (depending on my level of congestion), and when I was younger I talked and walked in my sleep.

4. WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?
     I'll listen to just about anything.  I find that I don't listen to the radio all that much, because I would rather listen to whatever I have on my iTunes.

5. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?
     12:11 am

6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?
     To stop coughing and go to sleep

7. WHAT DO YOU MISS?
     Being in college.  Not the work part, but the whole being able to spend time with my friends pretty much whenever part.  I miss having that kind of schedule, and I miss some of the people who I don't get to see anymore!

8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION(S)?
     Probably my hard drive because that's where all my pictures are.  Oh and of course, my Coach purse.

9. HOW TALL ARE YOU?
     5' 4 1/4"  (when you are short, fractions matter)

10. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC?
      Sometimes, it depends on the space and who I am with

11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?
      Not typically.  But I don't like it either.

12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
       Technically not a person, but God.  His goodness made me cry happy tears!

13. WHAT'S YOUR WORST FEAR?
       Being alone in the world.  (Which is not the same as being single in the world.)

14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
        Usually dark hair, when they have had any.  I don't really have an eye color preference.

15. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF BEING PROPOSED TO AT?
       I used to have an answer to this question, but I have decided that the question is more important than the location.  It's like the Academy Awards, I'd be thrilled just to be nominated!

16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK?
      neither

17. FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING?
      A ton of veggies!  Especially mushrooms, peppers and onions

18. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
      Honestly nothing sounds good.  But my normal answer would probably involve potatoes.  Or lasagna.

19. FAVORITE COLOR OF ALL TIME?
      Cobalt blue, but most things in my life have been hot pink recently.

20. HAVE YOU EVER EATEN A GOLDFISH?
      That is a definite no.  But I know someone who has. 

21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST MEANINGFUL GIFT YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED?
       Probably my grandma's ring that grandpa brought her back from Panama.  They were only married two weeks when he left and he was gone for two years.  She gave it to me on my 16th birthday, and if I ever have a daughter, I will give it to her on her 16th birthday.

22. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH?
       I'm of the opinion that I am a little old to have crushes on people in my real life, however, I do have several celebrity crushes

23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED?
      Nope.  I am surprisingly flexible though.

24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND?
      My Champion track pants or my sleep pants from Target at the moment.

25. WHO IS YOUR FAV FEMALE/MALE CELEBRITY?
      Male Celebrity: Dermot Mulroney or Jude Law
      Female Celebrity: Sandra Bullock or Kate Winslet

In Case I Left You On The Edge of Your Seat...

I have bronchitis.  And rest assured, it sucks.  I have decided, however, not to wallow.  I am choosing to be thankful that I was able to take the day off work to rest, that this isn't a permanent condition, and that I caught it before it got any worse.  (I have a long history of avoiding that whole dr. thing until things have gotten out of control!)  This may just be the steroids talking but, I am feeling better.

In other news, Sheena is making great progress on the studio.  If you haven't yet, take a look.  It won't be long before I am taking my seat as official gratis secretary at Versatile Vocalists.  Also, it looks like my camera might get fixed faster than I anticipated.  Poor PowerShot has a broken autofocus and that makes me sad.  But the people at Canon seem to think it can be fixed.  And speaking of photos, I'm going to try to share some from last weekend with you later.  But right now, I am going to take a nice nap. 

Because Apparently I'm a Human Petri Dish...

I'm sick.  Again.  And so I find myself taking half a day off work (again), to go to the clinic (again), because I feel something akin to an elephant sitting on my chest.  And that is with the medication I took this morning.  I have been sick so much this school year!  I don't know if it's the kids, or my immune system or some combination of both, but I'm just over it!  I thought exercising and all that stuff was supposed to help!  I'm just more than sick and tired of being sick and tired! 

It's About Time!!

So you heard it here first, volumptuous is the new black.  Christina Hendricks from Mad Men was chosen as Esquire's hottest woman.  If you aren't familiar with her, she's stunning, charming, and not a stick figure.  I hope that this becomes a real trend.  Glamour magazine recently promised to use more models of all sizes in their fashion mag.  Crystal Rehn, a model who chose to return her body to a healthy and gorgeous 12 instead of a starved 2, just recently published a book about this same topic based on her struggles.  This is what girls need to see. 

Now, I say this realizing that I am overweight and that is not healthy.  But I think that it's time that society stopped pushing little girls to be unhealthy in either direction.  Let's encourage health instead of size and see what happens.  Because some people will always be a sample size, and that's beautiful.  However, some people won't, and that can be beautiful, too.  Just ask Ms. Hendricks and Esquire.