Wednesday Hodgepodge - 11/9

1. Of all the tools and gadgets you own which do you most enjoy using?

     My iPod.  Hands down.  Don't know what I would do without music, and it's something that I truly do enjoy.  However, if it was which was more essential, it would have to be my cell phone, especially since I upgraded to one that does just about anything.



2. When (if ever) is impatience a virtue?

     I don't know when impatience is a virtue, but I figure whenever that happens, I will be first in line for it.  I have no patience when it comes to waiting for things, which is hilarious since it seems like I spend so much of my time waiting for something.  I will be anxious to see everyone else's answers on this one.



3. What temperature do you keep your thermostat set to in winter? Do you have another way to heat your house besides a furnace of some type?

     I keep my house pretty cool, probably 65 or so if I am the only one here.  If I am going to have company I will turn it up some so they don't freeze.  (Especially Lulu!)

4. Do/did you have a close relationship with any of your grandparents?

    I was so spoiled by my grandparents when I was a little girl, and I loved and adored them.  Both of my grandpas passed away the year I turned 16, but both of my grandmas are still alive.  I don't get to see them nearly as much as I would like, but I always enjoy visits with them when I do get to stop by.  I feel so blessed to have known them, because I know that a lot of people don't get that chance. 

5. When did you last have a family portrait taken?

    We had formal family portraits done in the fall before Matt and Mel got married.  Here are the kids (I don't have the one with Mom and Dad here!)

    We had some taken again at the wedding, of course.  (By my friends, Michael and Lauren!)  And this time we got to add in my new sister-in-law! 

6. What does the word patriotism mean to you?

     Patriotism is that feeling I get when someone does an amazing job on the National Anthem.  It's the pride I feel when I see a soldier in uniform.  It's watching scouts lead you in the Pledge with their hands in salute, like I saw this weekend at the Veteran's Day service.  It's even something as simple as reading the Declaration of Indepence or the Constitution with my class.  That feeling of pride in my country is something so special.

7. Do you like to play cards and if so, what's your favorite card game?

     I do play cards, though I haven't in a while.  My favorite game is definitely Texas Hold 'Em Poker.  I'm actually pretty good at it, even though I am out of practice.  I also really like to play Speed with my students when we have a free day.  They like to try to beat me.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

    I have completely become a Pinterest addict.  I love all of the creativity and ideas on there, and even if I never complete a single craft project, I am perfectly happy pinning ever last one!

2 On Tuesday: My Christmas Wish List

I'm trying to be less materialistic.  I really am.  But every girl should have a Christmas list!  And so, here's mine...

DVDs

I have an embarassingly long list of movies and TVon DVD.  Don't believe me?  Here goes:

Bones Season 5

Grey’s Anatomy Season 7

Designing Women Season 4

One Tree Hill Season 7

Glee Season 2

Parenthood Season 2

Lipstick Jungle Season 2

How To Make An American Quilt

Troop Beverly Hills

Newsies

Friends With Benefits

And that's probably not everything.  I haven't updated it in a while.  But I am the kind of girl who loves to put on a good movie again and again, and I do really like to see my collection all pretty on the wall of my office.

Lasagna Pan

I make one thing really well, and that's lasagna.  So I really want this pan to make it in.  (Thank you, Rachael Ray!)

iTunes Gift Cards

Nothing makes me happier than more music.  I can always find something else I want at the iTunes Store!  I mean, there's always a couple hundred dollars worth of stuff on my wish list.

If none of these appeal to you, I could always use a new car, a home renovation, or some jewelry.  I really like this.  (Talk to me, Harry Winston...)

But what I really want for Christmas is to get to hang out with all the people that I love, for everyone to get along, and to have a healthy niece born in January.  That's better than a diamond ring any day.  (Well, mostly.)

Because Sometimes I Forget To Show You The Pictures...

It's Monday.  And as we all know, Monday's are hard.  (Even Mondays after "falling back.")  Instead of rambling on about my weekend, which was actually pretty quiet, I'm going to show you some of the photos I haven't shared with you because remembering to load pictures off your camera is hard, people!  :) 

Here are a few from my 30th birthday.  First up, are Casey and Amber...

And Sheena and Crys

And me in a breathtaking self-portrait.  I had forgotten how light my hair was before I died it (twice).

All the girls....

Revealing their true selves...

One of the local wineries has the sweetest Great Pyrenees that roams around and greets the patrons.  Here's Casey giving him a hug...

Obviously, he's thrilled.

Here are a couple more gems from the weekend of Sheena and Ronnie's wedding.  We met for lunch and to watch them open presents the day after the wedding.  There was leftover cake involved.  Here are the siblings...

And this was one of the coolest wedding presents ever.  Okay, maybe not ever, because sometimes people get houses or cars or stuff, but it's one of the neatest things I've seen.  A friend of theirs dates an artist who made them a one-of-a-kind statue, Sheena and Ronnie as Superman and Lois Lane!  I wish I would have gotten a close up, but you get the idea.

Here's another pictuer of me, sporting yet another hair color.  October was hard on the hair follicles.  I also have signifcantly less hair than this now. 

And here is one of Mom and Dad's new outside cats.  I think this one is named Butch.  (They have two that look almost exactly alike.)  But isn't he the sweetest thing ever?

Have a great Monday!!

Kelly's Show Us Your Life: Non-Mom Bloggers

If you are stopping by for the first time from Kelly's--this is for you.  If you come here often, please hold....

Even though most of the bloggers I read are mom bloggers, I am certainly not one.  I'm a single, 30 year-old Midwestern middle school teacher with a love for pop culture, pretty things, and most recently a Pinterest addict.  I love photography, music and going out on the wine trail with my friends.  I love God and am saved by Jesus Christ, but am in the process of finding a new church home after leading worship with two of my favorite people for almost ten years.  (When God says go, you go, right?)  I like books, movies and beaches!  Nothing makes me feel more at peace than the sand and wave, which is funny since I've lived nowhere near beaches my entire life.

While I have love and respect for all the bloggers I have "met,"  I'm excited at the idea of connecting with some who are maybe more like me (God help you!)  For instance, being single used to scare me, but it just doesn't anymore.  I have lived on my own entirely too long, and it's going to take someone special to get my attention.  I am totally open to the idea that he's out there, somewhere, and at the right time he will turn up, but I think I am finally in the place where I will be okay if that's not how it goes.  Anyone else feel me on that?

I plan on checking in on the posts over at Kelly's, but I would love to hear from you in the comments, too.  Even if it's just "Hi and come check out my blog!"  I'm not picky!  I can't wait to meet you!


And as for the rest of you----I'm thisclose to getting my act together.  (Which means you should be watching the horizon for some horsemen. The end is near.)   Which means you should expect a whole new slate of posts next week, some with 30% more pictures!  I can't wait!   Thanks for always being a loyal and awesome audience, even when I am lame and whiny.  XO!

Movie Review: Footloose

I have been looking forward to seeing this movie since I saw the first trailer at the beginning of the summer if for no other reason than morbid curiousity.  The original Footloose was one of the first movies I remember seeing (I was maybe five) and I have loved it ever since.  I was ready to hate the new version if it wasn't respectful of the "real" one.  Thankfully, I had no reason to be concerned. 

Judged on its own merits the Footloose reboot was a good movie, but judged against the original it holds up just as well, which was a pleasant surprise.  Kenny Wormald was a good fit for Ren, better even than some of the previous candidates might have been (Zac Efron and Chace Crawford were both attached to the role at one point).  And while I doubted that a Footloose without the guiding hand of original choreographer, Kenny Ortega (who was set to helm the reboot), would work, it did.  Julianne Hough was sweetly vulnerable as good-girl-goes bad, Ariel, proving that she might just be as good of an actress as she is a dancer.  Dennis Quaid, while much more aesthetically pleasing than John Ligthgow, also holds his own as Rev. Shaw Moore.

They did update the plot a little (they now race school buses instead of tractors), and they altered a few of the scenes, but overall the reboot is simply a homage to the original's finer moments.  Ren still dances away his rage in unnecessary, choreographed perfection.  Ariel still has red boots and a penchant for rebellion after the death of her brother.  They drop some of the discussion of censorship that the original touched on and the dancing is a little more, shall we say, intense.  It's obvious that this one is intended to be a little more of a romp than its predecessor, and it's so much fun that you don't even mind.  I give it four out of four completely arbitrary stars!  (But look, so did Entertainment Weekly!  And check out the Rotten Tomatoes score here.)

My favorite moment from the new movie was actually musical in nature.  During a scene, a song started to play, and my sister and I immediately looked at each other and asked, "Who is that?"  Ella Mae Bowen's cover of "Holding Out For A Hero" is outstanding, and I willingly paid $10.99 for the soundtrack on iTunes just so I could have that song.  It is slow and aching and just beautiful.  The rest of the soundtrack isn't much to write home about, but you should definitely check out this song!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 11/2

1. Who taught you how to cook?
Bah-hah-hah-ha!  I'm not a good cook at all, and I'm not sure who gets the blame for that.  No one really taught me how to cook formally.  My mom and dad both have their speciality dishes, and my grandmas do too.  (This weekend, my mom made an crumb-top apple pie that was SO delicious that just reliving eating it makes me smile!)  I have probably learned as much from my friends and from cooking shows as anywhere else.  But I am not exactly a wealth of knowledge.

2. Have you been told you think too much? Are too much of a perfectionist? Are too sensitive? Were they right?

I am not a deep thinker.  In fact, sometimes I worry that I don't put enough thought into my decisions.  I am also not a perfectionist.  I want things to be done well if I am in charge, but I am willing to accept that sometimes close enough works.  I am probably as little too sensitive, though.  I tend to take things to heart, even if they weren't really directed at me.  (This goes all the way back to childhood.  I used to cry when other kids got spankings.)

3. As a child did you have a favorite blanket or toy? Tell about it.

I had a favorite blankie that had a rabbit face and ears and a little blanket for a body.  In fact, I talked about it in this post for 2 on Tuesday not that long ago!

4. What 'institution' do you have the most faith in?

I think marriage.  And when I say that, I'm not talking about the Hollywood kind, which are really more about the wedding and less about the marriage (Looking at you, Kim K. and Kris!).  I'm talking about the relationships that outlast the hard, overcome the sad, and make happy look like the best thing out there.  My grandparents had that, my parents and aunts and uncles, too.  I know it exists.  And if I ever join that particular institution, I will join it wanting no less.

5. Chrysanthemums-pansies-burning bush-ornamental cabbage...your favorite in an autumn garden?

I love pansies!  I think they are so pretty.  It helps that they are hearty too, because I have a tendency to kill anything that flowers.

 

6. What superpower do the kids in your neighborhood seem to posses?

 Well, there aren't really a lot of kids in my neighborhood.  My house isn't really on that kind of block.  And as far as the kids in my life this week, I don't know what power they have, but it is totally fueled by candy!  :)

 

7. Are you a fan of the cranberry?
I used to hate cranberries, but I have learned to like them.  I enjoy craisins.  I also really like cranberry juice, but if I were being completely honest I like it better when it's dressed up and served in a cocktail glass.

 

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Thank you for all your sweet thoughts last week!  I am feeling a lot better.  Overwhelmed seems to come in waves.  This week, I'm trying to take things in stride a little better, even when I found out that the repair to my furnace is going to be expensive.  Things could always be worse.  And sometimes perspective is all we need.  (And love and encouragement from a bunch of great bloggers!)

2 on Tuesday: Halloween Costumes

Tell me your 2 favorite Halloween costumes! Did you celebrate Halloween this year?

I was the kind of kid who was always playing dress-up, so I don't necessarily have a lot of difference between what was a halloween costume and what wasn't.  But I will gladly show you a few pictures.  This one is of my first Halloween where I was big enough to participate (about 13 months).  I like how unsure I look about all of this business.

If I were to pick a favorite costume, I would have to say it was this one.  I was Cyndi Lauper, circa 1985 (which made me five).  My mom cut the wig, I got to wear makeup and fishnets, and I don't even look skanky.  (Take note, child costume makers!) 

And this is your bonus picture, not because I was a particularly good clown (this was before Mom did the face painting), but because all I really remember about that year was that when my little brother saw me in my costume (his matched), he was so scared of it, Mom left him at Grandma's while I trick-or-treated.  (He was only two, so there wasn't a lot of psychological scarring or anything from not getting to go!)

 As far as this year, I celebrated the traditional way--you know, passing out candy to kindergarteners in the hallway before their costume parade and then going to a junior high basketball game last night.  I'm kind of over the whole costume thing, so this made for a perfectly lovely evening.  Both teams even won!  I do have to say that I can't wait until next year when my niece will be here and in costume!