G Is For Games

Yes, as in The Hunger Games trilogy.  I'm normally not one to jump on the bandwagon when it comes to these books for a couple of reasons:  1) I don't particularly care for fantasy and 2) I don't enjoy reading something just because everyone else is.  And I'm pretty serious about this.  I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books or the Twilight series.  (And while I might someday read Harry Potter, you can't count me out on the sparkly vampires.)

I've had the books on my shelves at school since last spring, and from time to time someone would check them out and tell me I should read them.  But I didn't.  In fact, it wasn't until a week or two ago, when the build-up to the movie was at fever pitch that I really even gave it a second thought.  So, I picked up book one, The Hunger Games, and preceded to read it in slightly less than 24-hours.  Let's just say that despite the gore level a little beyond my comfort zone (I'm kind of a wimp), I love it!  I've finished Catching Fire since and am almost done with Mockingjay.  I can't get enough.  And I managed to start a bit of a family reading thing, because my dad and my SIL have both read the whole series as well.  (My SIL may have even read them aloud to my niece.)

They are well-written, vivid, with just enough twists and turns to make you want to keep reading.  Of course, most of you probably know this because I feel like the last person alive to discover how good they are.  The only thing that has me annoyed is that everyone is trying to make this a story about a love triangle, when that not really the point.  To do that takes away from the real story, one of Katniss Everdeen, a literary character worth looking up to.  (And we could use a few more of those!) 

Have you read the books?  Is there some other series you absolutely love?  (I will say that P just might be for one of my other favoritesm Percy Jackson!)  Let me hear all about it in the comments.

Wishing you a great Easter weekend!

F Is For Fair

This has been the first post all week that I had no clue what word I was going to use.  I had several thoughts, ranging from Faith to Frustration to words that are better left unsaid on a blog that's trying hard to stay PG.  But like all good ephiphanies, the word finally came to me in the middle of my morning shower--Fair. 

One of the mantras on repeat at school is that equal isn't always fair.  And while I know that this is intellectually true, some small part of me screams "And why not?"  I want things equal and fair.  I want my friends who are praying for a baby to get one, those who are sick to get well, and the answers to a million big and little prayers to come in the just the way that I have been asking for them because goodness knows that I have all the answers.  (ha!)  But at a conference that was not at all about religious matters, the speaker said that fairness is everyone getting what they need to be successful and that means everyone's paper looks a little different.  There's no place for comparison at the table because what is best for one is not necessarily best for another.  And it is not the students' job to make that call.  It's the teacher's.  Hmmm...couldn't possibly be a lesson in that right?  (God's sense of humor is sometimes too much for me!) 

So on Good Friday, as we mourn the death of Jesus Christ, we wait with hope.  Hope for Sunday morning, for something better, for something more.  And we remember that the cross wasn't a place for fairness.  Jesus died sinless and blameless for our sins, for my sins.  There's nothing fair about that.  But the Cross was necessary for our survival.  If there had been no death, there could be no resurrection. 

One of my fondest childhood church memories is of the Good Friday mass.  If you've never been to one, it's somber and a little strange, but I always waited for the ending with baited breath because I knew that meant Ms. Lewis was about to sing.  And when the time came, her notes rang loud and clear in the pin-drop quiet church:

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh, oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Almost ten years later, I can still hear her voice so clear in my head that it gives me the chills.  No, I wasn't there in the physical sense, but the beatings, the exhaustion, the cruel torture of the cross, He would have done all of that just for me.  Jesus would have done it all for you, too, even if you were the only one to be saved.  Fair didn't even cross His mind. 

E Is For Easter Break

By the end of today, I will officially be on break.  We didn't take a Spring Break because our school is getting out in early May, but we are at least getting a little extra time around Easter.  And I have big plans for my days off. 

It seems like most everything in my life right now is running just a little bit behind.  My to-do list is piling up in a way that makes me wake up in flop sweats in the middle of the night.  It's like I can feel it staring at me with its ticking clock and mounting demands.  It's really kind of annoying.  I mean, if I am going to have a million things to do, the least my brain can do is give me a good night's sleep, right?  But instead I wake up at 3:00 thinking about work stuff and and side job stuff and just life stuff in general and it's all starting to push me just a little to close for the edge for someone with six weeks left in the semester...

What was I saying?  Oh, yeah.  I really need a break.  I'm hoping to not just do the laundry or scrape the hairspray off the bathroom surfaces.  I want to take pictures (it's supposed to be pretty this weekend), and hug on my niece, and just breathe for a minute with no other plans or intentions.  And I want to especially celebrate what Easter stands for with my family.

Are any of you getting a little extra time off?  Got big plans?  Well, let me hear all about them in the comments!  (I am hoping to have a little time over break to spend more time visiting some of your blogs too!  I've gained ten followers just this week, and I haven't done a great job keeping up with everyone!  But I promise I will get there!)

D Is For Divine

During last year's A to Z Blog Challenge, I did little introductions of some of my friends who are frequently mentioned on this blog.  It's my habit to talk to you, my people, as though you are a part of my life, even though most of the people in my real life don't read my blog.  (I'm quite serious.  My mom doesn't even read it!)  Well, since most of the introductions of my friends were done last year, that leaves only the newest people in my life to introduce, and today's is simply divine.  Or to put it more precisely, The Divine Miss M!

I've never waited for anyone in my life with as much anticipation as I did the birth of my niece this January.  And like any true diva, she made as grand an entrance as possible.  When she finally arrived just short of midnight on January 22, I knew that I had never seen anyone quite as perfect as she was.  Though I have already written about my own plans for children (or lack there of), it doesn't mean that I don't love babies.  There's nothing as sweet as cuddling a newborn and from the moment I held her in the middle of the night in that hospital room, I was hooked. 

If you know me in real life, or even have been reading very long at all, you know that I am a camera person, and Miss M has become my favorite subject.  I get a little grief over it, for sure.  My grandmother swears that she won't know her Aunt K if I don't have my camera in front of her face, but all I can think about it how amazing it's going to be to document her life.  I want to take all these pictures because one day, she will be big enough to want to see them.  And photographing people I love is kind of my love language.  (Trust me, you should see how many years of pictures I have on my hard drive!)

I'm already planning all the things we will do together.  I have wonderful aunts who spoiled me in a million different ways, and I can't wait for the day when she will be big enough for sleepovers and movie nights.  I've pinned a whole folder full of craft projects and special things we can do together.  I'm already anxious for the day when she's big enough to take to the theater to see her first musical.  We have plans.  Though she's too little for them right now, I have no doubt in a blink of an eye, she'll be big enough for all our adventures.  And I, for one, can't wait!

C Is For Curious

I've seen this little meme going around so, in case you are new here, or if you are just curious, here's a little more about me!  My friend, Crys, answered it last week!  You should stop in and tell her "Hi" too!


I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments. What do you pick?

Produce: Bell peppers (orange/yellow/red)

Bakery: A fancy bread with all kinds of grains!
Meat: Um...you probably don't know this, but I am freaked out by raw meat.  But I have handled chicken breasts with varied success, so probably that.

Frozen Foods: Ice Cream
Dairy: Cheese

Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what's in your bag?

Well, your question seems to be flawed because there's no way I am going somewhere with only three articles of clothing!  I don't leave the house for a regular day with less than three articles of clothing.  But, if I had to choose, I would say jeans, a t-shirt and flip-flops

If I was to listen in on your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?

• "Please keep your hands to yourself"
• "Really?"
• "Lilah, stop it!"
• "So, do you understand what I am saying?  Or are you just staring at me for fun?"
• "Run!  Push all the way to the line!"  (track coach)

What three things do you find yourself doing every single day? What things would put you in a bad mood if you didn’t get to do them?

Setting my alarm for a half hour before I have to get up so I can afford to snooze, eating breakfast (which I used to rarely do), and checking Facebook.  (Sad, but true.)

If I didn't get to have an hour or so to wind downat the end of the day, time to check my blog, or a chance to talk with my mom or one of my friends during the day, I tend to be in a bad mood.

If you had a three hour block where no one was around, what 5 things might we find you doing?

1. Watching movies
2. Checking Pinterest or my blog
3. Reading
4. Scouting new music on iTunes
5. Taking a nap!

You are headed to the zoo, but it looks like it might start raining. What three exhibits do you rush to see first?

This would be tragic because I love the zoo, and always have!  We went there all the time growing up! At the zoo closest to me, I would want to see the giraffes, the bears, and the gorillas.

What four (live) television shows do you wish would gift you free tickets?

1. Ellen 
2. The Voice
3. Dancing With the Stars 
4. So You Think You Can Dance

If someone offered to buy you a triple dipper ice cream cone, what three flavors would you choose?

I’d pick dark chocolate, strawberry, and rocky road!

Imagine you lost your purse at a retail store. When you go to pick it up, the cashier asks you to name five things that are inside it to prove it is yours. What do you say?

1. Black and pink floral pouch with a pink zipper from my SIL 
2. Green faux gator wallet
3. Pink polka dot makeup bag with a cupcake on the zipper 
4. "Shopping Is My Cardio" notebook
5. 1000 ink pens loose in the bottom

Imagine you are at a job fair. You’re asked what careers you would like to pursue. Assuming you had the talents for said careers, how would you respond? (List four.)

1. Singer
2. Writer (of what, I don't know)
3. Interior Designer 
4. Psychologist 

If you could speak with your 16 year old self, what four things would you say?

1.  You are going to be a teacher, no matter how hard you try to say you're not.  And it will be one of the best decisions you will ever make.

2.  You aren't fat now, but you should probably get into working out.

3.  Your life is not going to turn out how you plan, but that's what makes it beautiful.

4.  Don't worry.  You won't peak in high school.  Your best years are yet to come.

B Is For Bravo

I miss performing.  I have been a singer all my life, and outside of singing the National Anthem for my high school from time to time, this is the first time in a very long time that I haven't had a place to sing for people.  I know what the girls and I used to do was worship and not performing, but it filled that place for me.  I'm not supposed to say that, it's supposed to be all about worship and it was, but I took pleasure in the idea that we sounded good, too.  I miss applause.  And even compliments, though I am terrible at accepting those.  I am actually a little shy, especially one on one, and I always get embarrassed.  Give me a whole room, and I will be nervous, but get passed it, though.  Give me one person paying a compliment and I duck my head like a little girl. 

I miss the atmosphere, too.  Not talking really talking about the worship setting here, but even farther back, to my actual theater-style performing roots, which I did as a child and through my teen years.  I love that feeling of butterflies right before and that glorious moment right after when you know that you nailed it just like you'd practiced!  The laughter of the crowd or the tears, and that wild applause after the final number.  If you've ever done it, it's easy to see why they call what you catch performing a bug, and why it is so hard to get out of your system.  There's no real cure for it, even time does't do it for some of us.

I guess that's why teaching appealed to me, partly anyway.  Between the hours of eight and three you may finding me singing or doing goodness only knows to gain the attention of my fickle audience.  And what worked for the last show may not work for this one.  But when you have them, when they settle in and really listen and beg for one more chapter, it's pretty great.

But I will always cherish the years of my life from seven to twenty, when time was something there was to spare and the stage was the most comforting place I knew.  And I will always, always think life needs just a few more opportunities for applause.

A Is For Answers

First off, hello and welcome if you are stopping by from the A to Z Challenge!  Second, I did not win the Mega Millions even though I'm sure I would have been the best millionaire ever.  All my big plans will just have to wait....but onward to today's post...

So, Wednesday night, I had dinner with one of my oldest friends.  We had a wonderful, funny time catching up (two glorious hours of uninterupted dinner conversation) and went on our merry ways swearing we would get together more than just once every six months or so.  This is especially sad when we live just miles apart, but we both agreed to try to do better.

Old home week continued on my trip to WalMart, when I ran into another woman that I went to school with.  She works there and we tend to chit chat anytime I'm there, but as she was checking out my assorted items, she asked the question that most people tend to ask someone of my age, "So did you get married?  Do you have kids?"  My standard answer to the kids thing is, "Yep.  I have 80 of them and I get to send them home at 3:00 pm and do whatever I want for the rest of the day."  And that's true enough.  My students are like my children.  I love them with all I have.  I adore my niece, and my friends' children, and have great plans for all of the fun things that Aunt Katie will do with them.  But, I've said it before and I will say it again, I don't know if I want kids.  I would never say never, but the older I get, the more I feel like maybe that's not the life I am supposed to lead. 

The marriage thing is a little trickier.  I mean, to put it bluntly, it's not like any guy has asked me to marry him.  I've  never been the kind of girl who has suitors a mile wide and twice as deep.  I'm more of a "I can count them on one hand" sort of girl.   And besides, rumor has it, that unless you are some mail-order bride, a la Sarah, Plain and Tall (Katie, Short and Round does not have the same ring to it), you have to date someone first and I am not exactly great at that part.  That whole situation used to bother me, as well, but it's not really something I think about all that often anymore.  Sheena told me once that any guy who decided he wanted to be with me would have to be pretty great, because living alone as long as I have makes it hard for me to want to give up that level of independence.  And she was then, and is still, completely right.  I know how to live alone.  I am not bothered by it.  Sure, I have lonely times, but doesn't everyone?  I would never say I didn't want to get married.  If that man came along, I would jump in with both feet, but I am not waiting for it to happen either.

I love my life, crazy and funny and busy and full of all the things that life brings.  I love it just as it is, but am open to whatever comes.  And I wouldn't trade it for anything.  (But I'm pretty sure I would've been so much better at it with the MegaMillions!  HA!)