99 (Not Luft Ballons)

I saw this on my friend Funny's blog, and since I am supposed to be working on class prep and because we've just had a few days of snowocolypse (I am sure you have heard the news of the debacle of our weather out here in the good ol' south), I am just not 'in the game'.  In much of anything.

So since I love these crazy questionnaires and since I am procrastinating like nobody's business, here goes:

1:Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? 
 
It generally remains closed but it isn't a top priority on the way to bed at night.

2:Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels?
Yes - they are great when you have traveling kiddos and they need teeny tiny toiletries.
 
3:Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?
weird question - tucked in at the end but generally balled up somewhere at the bottom of the bed.

4:Have you ever stolen a street sign before?
Nope
 
5:Do you like to use post-it notes?
Oh my word.....I need an intervention.  Yes.

6:Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?
Notorious.  I have best intentions.
 
7:Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?
Bees - I think I could survive it.  Bear?  Not so much.

8:Do you have freckles?
They are like constellations in various places on my body
 
9:Do you always smile for pictures?
Not always

10:What is your biggest pet peeve?
Many of mine relate to driving.  Slow drivers, left lane hoverers, slow drivers in the left lane...

11:Do you ever count your steps when you walk?
Why?
 
12:Have you ever peed in the woods?

13:What about pooped in the woods?
The two above questions will remain blank.  I am an advocate for the art of mystery.

14:Do you ever dance even if there's no music playing?
yep 

15:Do you chew your pens and pencils?
Ew, no.

16:How many people have you slept with this week?
one 

17:What size is your bed?
king 

18:What is your Song of the week?
Stompa by Serena Ryder

19:Is it okay for guys to wear pink?
Why not?
 
20:Do you still watch cartoons?
No.
 
21:Whats your least favorite movie?
of all time? GROUNDHOG DAY

22:Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some?
If I told you, it would no longer be 'hidden', now would it?
 
23:What do you drink with dinner?
water

24:What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
On the rare (lately) occasion I might eat one, Zaxby's sauce
 
25:What is your favorite food?
Anything Mexican

26:What movies could you watch over and over and still love?
Serendipity, When Harry Met Sally, .....I am sure there are more I just can't think of right now.
27:Last person you kissed/kissed you?
husband 

28:Were you ever a boy/girl scout?
Brownie

29:Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?
See #12,13...mystery, people.  Mystery.
 
30:When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?
To my daughter
 
31:Can you change the oil on a car?
No.  My dad taught me but it has been a long time and a skill I have used never.

32:Ever gotten a speeding ticket?
yes 
33:Ever ran out of gas?
nope 

34:Favorite kind of sandwich?
Generally don't eat them but love turkey rolled in provolone at the beach 

35:Best thing to eat for breakfast?
coffee, eggs
 
36:What is your usual bedtime?
Lately I've been trying to get there between 10 and 11.

37:Are you lazy?
No but I have days where I am.
 
38:When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?
I think I was a punk rocker once.  I don't know. 

39:What is your Chinese astrological sign?
I have no idea.

40:How many languages can you speak?
Sadly, just one.  Would love to learn another one. 

41:Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
No.  Just clutter up things too much.

42:Which are better legos or lincoln logs? 
Legos

43:Are you stubborn?
I don't think so but probably a question you'd better ask someone that knows me well. 

44:Who is better...Leno or Letterman?
I would prefer Letterman. 

45:Ever watch soap operas?
Only when I spent summers at my Granny's.
 
46:Are you afraid of heights?
Admittedly, yes.

47:Do you sing in the car?
Of course! 

48:Do you sing in the shower?
Rarely.  That is where I solve all the world's problems.  
 
49:Do you dance in the car?
Yes, safely.

50:Ever used a gun?
Yes.
 
51:Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer?
Two Christmases ago
 
52:Do you think musicals are cheesy?
Yes 
 
53:Is Christmas stressful?
Just the scheduling of all the gatherings.  I have let go of a lot of the pressures that I no longer espouse to surrounding the holiday.
 
54:Ever eat a pierogi?
A whatiogi?
 
55:Favorite type of fruit pie?
If I had to choose, blueberry
  
56:Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?
Teacher and then later, a journalist
 
57:Do you believe in ghosts?
Em, my thoughts on this go further than just a yes or no.
 
58:Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?
Yes, but it has an explanation likely physiological.  Read here:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/extrasensory-perceptions/question657.htm

59:Take a vitamin daily?
I take a few supplements
 
60:Wear slippers?
Not really true slippers but various clog-like things in the house in winter, a heeled flip-flop in the warmer temps.
 
61:Wear a bath robe?
Just right after a shower

62:What do you wear to bed?
Long sleeved shirt, socks and leggings in winter and tank and boxers in summer.

63:First concert?
Bon Jovi
 
64:Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?
Lately, none of the above
 
65:Nike or Adidas?
Nike 

66:Cheetos Or Fritos?
neither
 
67:Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?
Sunflower seeds 

68:Ever hear of the group Tres Bien?
nope 

69:Ever take dance lessons?
No but I would enjoy latin lessons.

70:Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?
Huh?  Probably should ask #92 first.  

71:Can you curl your tongue?
Yes.

72:Ever won a spelling bee?
I honestly don't remember.
 
73:Have you ever cried because you were so happy?
Upon seeing the ocean

74:Own any record albums?
yes 

75:Own a record player?

yes 
76:Regularly burn incense?
On very rare occasions
 
77:Ever been in love?
yep 

78:Who would you like to see in concert?
Too many to name 

79:What was the last concert you saw?
One Republic 

80:Hot tea or cold tea?
Generally cold, occasionally hot

81:Tea or coffee?
coffee 

82:Sugar or snickerdoodles?

Neither 
83:Can you swim well?
Okay enough 

84:Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?
yes, but I am a nose holder.  Goofy, I know. 

85:Are you patient?
Very 

86:DJ or band, at a wedding?
It really depends 

87:Ever won a contest?
No 

88:Ever have plastic surgery?

No 
89:Which are better black or green olives?
I like both on pizza but otherwise - eh.

90:Can you knit or crochet?
nope

91:Best room for a fireplace?
any room 

92:Do you want to get married?
Check.  Got the certificate. 

93:If married, how long have you been married?
Coming up on 23 years

94:Who was your HS crush?
I don't know

95:Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way?
Oh good grief, no.

96:Do you have kids?
yes
97:Do you want kids?
See above 
98:Whats your favorite color?
blue- turquoise, robin's egg, sky, cobalt  - I agree on Funny's choices here.
99:Do you miss anyone right now?
Yes - my daughter and my grandmother.

Stillness and Celebration

The threat of impending weather is always exciting around these parts.  I understand the temptation to mock and make fun, but folks...let's be a little bit more gracious and know that OUR perspective is not necessarily someone else's.  Yes.  Those in the northern region scoff at our panic at the possibility of a 'flake' or two falling.  Schools close when not a single flake has fallen.  Businesses send employees home early.  Employers nervously send messages to bosses, uncertain at the commute the next day or that night.

It may be nothing to you.  But it is something to someone.  Can we TRY  to see life from others' vantage?  You may be northern and savvy to the roads coated with ice and snow.

You know what?  Most 'inclement weather' threats go unfounded here in the lower region.  The warning is issued, and yes, cautious systems and companies cancel classes and operate shortened hours.

And then sometimes the roads are more than we can handle.  We aren't used to ice-coated roads.  We do not have the resources and equipment to manage this situation.

Is that a weakness?  Surely not.  It is what it is.

Give Grace.  And when you think you have run out.  Give it more abundantly.

I know.  I 'braved' the quickly accumulating roads today.  Fell in the door of my class, snow adorning my hair, and just recently melting on my nose as I entered and proclaimed, "happy snow day!!', knowing that most of the 75 minutes I would see my fresh-faced charges turning their gaze toward the windows, watching the white confetti fall, hearing the echoes of peers peeling their exuberation across the hills of campus.  'IT'S FREEZING OVER AT THE FALLS!!"

I heard this, as I jumped out of my car to head into the building and realized - we are ALL just children, precious in His sight.  From the sight of Hubs jumping up and down, "It's snowing!" to the voices of students ringing out across the blanketed field - "It's snowing!  Meet me at the Falls".

There is so much more to this life than the bottom line.  The report.  The 'end of the day'.

Folks were trying to get home.  Walking miles if they had to.

TO GET HOME.

Home.

That place where warmth meets the 'world' behind you.

It is up to YOU if you invite the world in or kindly ask 'it' to make a place on your stoop, curl up in a towel, covered from the falling snow.

Today I closed the door on the world.

The stillness is unprecedented in awesomeness.  In quiet.  In 'the world isn't invited here.'

Yes.

I shut the door, and encouraged others to do the same - get out the sled.  Have a movie night.  PUT AWAY the lessons and standards for one night because you aren't going to get this moment again.

Just be and ENJOY.

Celebrate the minor moments.

They really are the major ones.

A Good Name

'A good name is more desirable than great riches'

Proverbs 22:1

Linking up with Monday Listicles this week and the topic is 'Names You Would Have Named Yourself'.  Very interesting choice!  Many go through varying degrees of like or dislike of their own names, and 'dream' of what they would choose instead, if given the opportunity.  I am sure that I have thought of it some, over the years, but I don't know that I have ever come up with TEN alternatives to my given name at birth.  As usual, a post idea reminds me of a song, debuting just a couple of years after I was born:

I've always loved this song.

Now for the names - a little history on mine:  I owe some lady in a phonebook for my first name. Yep.  When my parents finally decided NOT to name me what I will list as #1, they searched, of all places, the phonebook.  

1.  Sunshine - Yes, they really did contemplate naming me 'Sunshine'.  Consider the era.  When I was told this story, I wondered what it may have been like to go through life with that name.  Would I go by Suni for short?  How difficult would it have been, going through school?  Did it even 'fit' my personality?  Still, I think it would have been kind of neat to have had an unusual name like that.

2.  Alex - Yes, I have always liked the idea of the name 'Alexandria' and then go by 'Alex' for short.  I like it.

3.  Elizabeth - This is my grandmother's name.  She is my hero and I would be honored to have her name.  We gave her name to Daughter as a middle name.  I would not, however, want to be called Liz or Lizzy for short.  No.  

4.  Ciara (pronounced KEEra)  a beautiful name from the Irish Ciar - meaning 'dark', implying 'dark hair and dark eyes'.  I think that fits.

5.  Anna - I have always liked this name.

6.  Jamie - True story:  One summer I went to band camp (Yes, band camp) and we were there at the same time as a high school soccer camp.  My friend and I decided to change our names and 'be' these really 'cool' girls, be someone different when we met some of the soccer players staying there on the same campus.  That whole week I went by Jamie.  

Okay, from here on out, I am drawing a blank.  I really don't think I have desired to be many other names than the ones I have considered above.  So how about an indirect story of names that I can tell on my brother?  He dated some gals with some unusual names.  

There was KiKi.

He took a Florabelle to prom.

He is now married to Bleu.

So there you have it - a mash up on all things 'names'.