Yesterday Was Thursday

Today it is FRIDAY!
We, we, we so exhausted.  But there's no time for exhaustion.  It's time for...

Answer the question in your own blog then link up at Five Crooked Halos.

1. Will you run to the store or to pick up a kid looking a mess?

I'm not running to pick kids up yet, but I look a mess 90% of the time that I go to the store.  If I look awful and disgusting, it ensures that I'll run into somebody I know, because that's just how my life works. 

2. Do you finish a book if it's boring or you don't like it?

My OCD side really wants to finish it.  But if it's that bad, I'll put it down and never get around to picking it up again.  I have so little free time that when I do get a chance to read, I want it to be something I really enjoy.

3.  Beach or mountain vacations?

Beach, beach, BEACH!

 I.

 LOVE.

 THE.

BEACH!

4.  What thing or event says "Winter will end and spring is right around the corner" to you?

In South Louisiana, you never really know what the weather is going to do.  We've had a particularly warm winter and there have been several times this year that I've thought we had seen the last of any cold weather only for the temperature to drop the one day I don't check the weather and wear shorts to school.  

I guess I would consider winter over when I can don't need to wear a sweatshirt outside to stay comfortable the majority of the week or when I it's warm enough to wear shorts the majority of the week.

5.  Would you prefer couples or family vacation?

Now, when you use the plural tense "couples," do you mean multiple couples vacationing together?   Or do you mean going on a vacation with an significant other?  If we're talking about multiple couples, I'd rather go on a family vacation.  But if we're just talking about a S.O., I can't really say because I've never been on a vacation of that sort.  But as I'm growing older, I'm learning to appreciate my family vacations more and more.  I've got a pretty awesome family and I sometimes take them for granted.  So I'd probably still choose family.  Plus, if it's serious enough with the S.O. that we're taking vacations together, he would probably be considered part of the family enough to get to come along on family vacations. 

Monday Games

My friend Mel tagged me in this game a few days ago and it looks like fun!  I'm in one of those "I need to blog!" moods, but my Monday brain is rarely together enough to write a good post (It seems like I always use that excuse! haha).  So, here we go!

The Rules

1. You must post the rules.

2.  Post 11 fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

3.  Answer the questions the tagger set for you in the post, then create 11 new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

4.  Tag 11 people and link them on your post.

5.  Let them know you've tagged them!

*I'm actually going to skip these last two steps, seeing as I'm new to blogging and don't know 11 bloggers well enough to tag them!

11 Fun Facts About Me

1. I am extremely left handed. It's so bad.  I can't use regular scissors,  I can't write in binders or on chalkboards/white boards, and I can't use cutlery to save my life (whenever I try to use cutlery, I always end up pushing my plate to the right, which can be very annoying to any person sitting to the right of me.)

2.  I'm obsessed with food, but I hate to eat.  And I love to cook for others.

3.  I will get way more worked up from an animal getting hurt of dying in a movie than I will from human. (That scene from Up where Kevin gets bit by Alpha?  It kills me every time.)

4.  I secretly want to die my hair brown, but I never will because I'm afraid I'll hate it and never be able to get my natural color back.

5.  I'm a bit obsessive about my money.  I use Mint to track all of my expenses and accounts and I check it at least 5 or 6 times a day.  The numbers almost never change without my knowing, but I'm terrified that it's all going to just disappear or something. 

6.  Once I start reading a good book, I can't stop.  But I have a lot of trouble finding the motivation to read.  I really need to read more often.  I know that once I start, I'll love it.  I just have a lot of trouble getting started.

7.  I absolutely, positively hate fruit.  The texture, the smell, the taste.  Yuck!

8.  I've been in 7 shows at Baton Rouge Little Theater, played a variety of characters and even won an award for one of my roles.  But without fail, the only show that people remember me for is The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.


9.  I would really love to try photography, but I don't have the right camera.  I would love to buy a DSLR and take a photography class one day.  I'd also love to take a painting class and a pottery class.

10.  I'd also really love to take a blog design class one day (do those exist?)  I'd like to customize my blog and maybe even (eventually) buy a domain name, but I have no clue where to begin!

11.  The words I most commonly misuse when writing are Knew/New and Know/Now.  I know the difference and can use them properly when speaking a sentence, but I use the wrong word all the time when writing.  For example, you know the song Need You Now by Lady Antebellum?  It's in my iTunes as Need You Know.  It's been like that for months and I'm too lazy to change it.

Questions and Answers


1.  What are your biggest pet peeves, not including traffic issues?
People who walk around campus or stand right outside of the entrances to buildings smoking.  It drives me nuts when I'm walking through campus and I get stuck behind a smoker because it all ends up in my face! And there are some building that seem impossible to walk into without hitting a wall of smoke.  Thanks for the cancer, guys.

2.  If you could go on an all expenses paid vacation and take one person, who would you take and where would you go?
Well, I know who I would WANT to take.  *sigh* But as for the where, it's a tie between Disney World and England.  I would probably do Disney World though because it can get so expensive so easily.  If someone else is picking up the tab, Disney world could be really awesome.

3.  If you could do anything you wanted for your next birthday, what would you do? (Money is no object and everything is ok to eat)
I've haven't really been interested in parties or big to-dos for my birthday since early middle school.  But I would love to buy an iPad with the smart cover.  And maybe a shopping spree? :)

4.  What is your favorite play or musical?
Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim.  It's just wonderful.  And it's the show that made me want to try theater.

Mel apparently loves the number 4 so much that she gave me TWO #4s! :P
4.  What are some of your favorite girl names? Favorite boy names?
For a girl, I really love Charlotte Grace. Or Catherine Grace.  And Harper.  And Genevieve.  And Lucy.  And Lola.  And I have a whole list of other names that I love.
For a boy, I love Noah Thomas (but my brother says I'm not allowed to name my son Noah because he thought of it first. I say whoever pops a boy out first gets it :P )
I also like Milo, Finn, Luke and Logan for a boy.

5.  What is the biggest lesson you have learned in life?
It is ok to not be ok.

6.  What is your favorite recipe?
Probably the cabbage rolls my mom makes every year for New Years Day.  I don't have a link for it, sorry!

7.  What is the last book you read? Did you enjoy it?
A Friend Like Henry by Nuala Gardner.  I loved it!  It's about how having a dog really helped a boy with severe autism.

8.  Who is your favorite author or speaker?
I don't really have a favorite author or speaker.  But I've recently started listening to Ted Talks on my iPhone. They're these short (20 minutes max) speeches by all sorts of people on all sorts of topics and they're really interesting.  You can download the Ted Talks app on the iPhone for free.  My favorite so far has been a talk on what babies learn or can learn while they're still in the womb.

9. Which bloggie friends do you hope to meet in real life?
I've never communicated with her, but I would love to meet Katie from Marriage Confessions.  I love her blog and her kids are ADORABLE.

10.  What is your nervous habit?
Biting my nails.  I've discovered that really the only way to stop me from biting my nails is to keep them manicured, which starts to get a little pricey after a while.
I also subconsciously clench my jaw a lot and grind my teeth at night.  I have to sleep with a mouth guard in at night or else I'll destroy my teeth.


11.  What do you hope will happen (that could happen) in 2012?
.....No comment.

11 Questions for You!


1.  Besides wallet, keys, or phone, what is the one item that you absolutely cannot leave the house without?
2.  You're at the grocery story and are allowed to get one treat for yourself.  What is it?
3.  If money or stability wasn't an issue, what career would you like to have?
4.  Are you an early bird or a night owl?
5.  You have a chance to go to dinner with any celebrity/famous person, alive or dead.  Who is it and what restaurant do you go to?
6.  What is your favorite thing about your appearance? And what is your favorite thing about yourself as a whole?
7.  What is your absolute least favorite food?
8.  What is your favorite birthday memory from your childhood?
9.  What is your favorite font?
10. What do you do to wind down at the end of a long day?
11.  What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Since I didn't tag anyone in the post, I'm inviting all of my reader to play this game!  I really would love to know your answers and 11 random things!  If you have a blog, do this on your blog and post a link to it in the comments for this post!  Or if you don't have a blog, just answer the questions or write your facts (or BOTH!) in the comments!  I love comments :D

10 Questions

You know the show "Inside the Actor's Studio?"  Sadly, I've never seen it.  It's not for lack of wanting, it's just that I really don't watch tv that often.  And when I do, I always seem to catch a "Storage Wars" marathon, and once "Storage Wars" is on, there's no turning it off.

Despite never having seen "Inside the Actor's Studio," I do know enough about it to know the 10 Questions that James Lipton asks.  And because my brain shut off as soon as I got home from work tonight, I am going to answer those questions here and pretend it's an adequate blog post.

What is your favorite word? 

Bubbles. 

What is your least favorite word? 

Goodbye.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? 

Talent, Passion, A Sense of Humor

What turns you off? 

Ego, Being Selfish, Short Tempers

What is your favorite curse word? 

Sh** is what seems to come out most naturally.  But I'm trying really hard not to curse.

What sound or noise do you love? 

Gulf Shores Waves.

What sound or noise do you hate? 

Several people talking over each other loudly.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? 

Photographer.

What profession would you not like to do? 

Garbage Man.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? 

You've done well. Would you like a hug?

Source: laurenconrad.com via Sam on Pinterest

Struggles and Love

I have a lot of trouble accepting when things are out of my hands.  I have a hard time accepting that things aren't my fault.  It's one of my ISFJ quirks.

For example, my break-up (Yes, I'm talking about that again, I'll try to keep it short).  I've been told that there's nothing I could do to change the outcome, that I can't fix it.  I've been told that it had absolutely nothing to do with me. But no matter what I do, no matter how many people tell me otherwise, I simply cannot believe that this break-up had absolutely nothing to do with me.  I won't go into detail, but this break-up was unexpected.  Like, out-of-the-blue, blindsided, "Where the hell did that come from?!" unexpected.  I can't get it out of my head that I must have done something to make the other half want to step out of the relationship. What could I have done differently? Should I have been more attentive? Where there huge, flashing signs that I just didn't see?  How could my relationship just end so abruptly and it have absolutely nothing to do with me?  How can someone choosing to cut me out of their life have absolutely nothing to do with me?  

I struggle with this so much.  It consumes me.  It's the last thing I think of when I go to bed and the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning.  I see things that remind me of him and all I can think is, "What did I do to make the relationship not worth the time or effort anymore?  What did I do to make someone think that their life was better off without me? What did I do to drive him away from me?"  I try to distract myself.  I try to ignore these thoughts.  I hide them and ignore them and keep myself busy until I just can't take it anymore and I start sobbing while I'm brushing my teeth or sitting in class or folding my laundry because I just don't understand.  I hide it until it hits me like a wall and knocks me out.  I keep asking, "When will this start to get easier?  Why isn't this getting easier?"  But I know it can't get any easier until I can get these thoughts out of my head.  And as much as I try, these thoughts don't look like they plan on leaving anytime soon.  It's hard to not just give up and let them take over.  

No revelations.  No ideas.  Sometimes, you need to just write your emotions out and put them out there.    Because hiding emotions is definitely not working for me.

Well, oops.  Well, I did only say I'd TRY to keep the break-up talk short.  I didn't make any promises. 

Let's move onto something more positive, shall we.  Perhaps something like....

Day 5: Someone I Love!

Blogisphere, meet Papaw.  Papaw gets more than one picture because I love him that much.

I have a special love for and bond with all of my Grandparents.  But Papaw is the one most involved in my day to day life.  I've lived within a block of him my entire life.  I can see his pride in me in his eyes every time I walk in the room, but he won't hesitate to call me out when I'm being irrational.  He's my Papaw and he is someone I love.