My Real Life

Friday…Tuesday…Whatever

1. If you had a weekly newspaper column, what would you name it?

I think I’d probably go with “…and THAT’S How I Roll.”

2. Who is your mentor/inspiration?

It would depend on of what aspect of my life you are speaking.

In general, though, I am inspired by those who don’t take themselves too seriously and enjoy their lives.  Who embrace their inner awesome at all times.

3. What is your wake up beverage of choice?

Decaf tea.
Doesn’t help you “wake up” but there’s nothing like it in the morning!
4. Would you wear your mom’s clothes?

No.

Sorry, Mom.

She knows we don’t share style sense.

It’s all good.

5. When you were a kid, did you put posters on your wall? If so, what were they of?

My posters were all out of Tiger Beat or Teen Beat or Young Miss, etc.  I devoured those magazines, and seemed to have passed that on to Monkey Girl.

My earliest poster was Shaun Cassidy.  I covered it in kiss marks.  Then the 80’s rolled around…

Jon Bon Jovi

Kirk Cameron

Michael J. Fox

Scott Baio…cuz Chachi really loved me.

A big, huge one of Dolph Lundgren…you know, the Russian who fought Rocky and said “I will break you.”  I thought he was SO hot.  Now I see him and I’m like “Really, Amy?  Really?”

Hindsight.  20/20 and all that.

Ricky Schroeder…sorry, the Ricker…sorry, Rick Schroeder, sorry…the has been.

Rob Lowe…St. Elmo’s Fire, that saxophone…Lord, have mercy!

Corey Haim…RIP…Lost Boys, Goonies…loved him.

Christopher Atkins…the dude from the Blue Lagoon which I was way too young to see, but we had HBO and I was a latchkey kid for awhile and HBO wasn’t always thinking when they put their “R” movies on.

Donnie Wahlberg.  Loved those New Kids…if you know my friend, Kim, ask her to do the New Kids dance for you.  She used to totally rock it in her basement. With regards to Donnie, though, I would soon trade him for his bro, “Marky” Mark Wahlberg, and never look back.

Oh, and the guy from 16 Candles…Jake Ryan…who never really did anything else, but that was fine with me because I was left with the image of him leaning against his car saying “Yeah you.”

Because, he was talking to me…you know that, right?  He was talking directly to me.

1. Do you close the bathroom door when you are home alone?

This question assumes that I am ever home alone.

Which I am not.

Never.

Ever.

But, yes, I do shut the door in my everlasting battle against potty radar.

Potty radar?  What’s this, you ask?

It means the minute my patootie hits the seat, someone needs something.

Immediately.

And they are right on the other side of the door, knocking, banging, crying, whining, calling for my undivided attention, despite my pleas of “Just a minute!!!  I’m a little busy in here!”

So, I always shut and lock the door, but still, they come.
2. You have to walk around with a word on your forehead. That word describes you. One word. What is it?

One word to describe me?

I’d hesitate to describe anyone with just one word.

And yes, this is my way of getting out of this question.
3. What store do you refuse to shop at and why?

Abercrombie and Fitch.

Any company that won’t hire teenage kids because they don’t “fit the look” doesn’t fly with me.
4. If you participated in arranged marriages for your child(ren), who would you choose for your child(ren)?

Uh…weird question.

My kids are little…hard to imagine (don’t want to imagine) them leaving me and getting married, but if I had to choose, at this point…

Monkey Girl – no one.  She stays with me.

Monkey in the Middle – His friend, Mia, from school.  She is an awesome, sweet girl and she makes me laugh.  She’s a pip and I want him with someone who is full of life, like her.  I want him to be challenged with a wife…someone who makes him think and laugh and really live.

Baby Monkey – Erin’s daughter, Madeline.  Char-ac-ter.  He’s a goof, she’s a goof…what a house of laughter that one would be.

Tiny Monkey – Seems like all of my friends who are currently having babies are having girls.  He’s got a plethora to choose from and plenty of time to do so…time will tell.

Again, tough question…they are too little for me to really think about it.
5. If you could pick how and when you would die, would you?

Oooh…

I think I’d just say when I’m really old.

In my sleep.

1. Bully, teacher’s pet, geek, shy kid in the corner, or something else?

When I was in school I was a geeky kid.  I think I was friendly to everyone, but I wasn’t a cool kid in any way, shape or form.  In high school, I managed to get to some cool kid functions as Kim, Erin and Michaela were way cooler than I, and I was happy in my role as “her friend, Amy.”

In my little group, I was always good for a laugh because I wasn’t afraid to make fun of myself or let others do it for me.  I got bullied a bit in middle school (the table of boys who threw bread and me and quacked because they thought I looked like a duck) and kind of disappeared in high school, but that was fine with me.

I was in the smart classes, but never really felt smart.  I liked the routine of school and as an only child, loved being there with my friends.

What did/do you usually eat during lunch time at school?

In elementary school, I got whatever the hot lunch was.  Same, I think in middle school.

In high school, there was more variety and the choice was all mine, so I am pretty sure that for four years, I had a hot pretzel and chocolate milkshake for lunch, every day, with a Bahama Mama slushie thrown in there for good measure every now and then.

What did/do you normally wear to school? Thinking back to what you wore(if you’ve already graduated), do you like it?

In elementary through middle school, I wore jeans, sneakers, shorts, etc.  Nothing special.  Hair in barrettes or a pony tail.

The summer before high school started, I thought I’d transform myself into this way cooler version of myself and got a perm and a new wardrobe.  From then on, I wore a lot of jeans skirts, slouchy socks, tank tops under button-ups, etc.  Remember…I was in high school from 1986-1990.  Perhaps this photo can explain:

Any sports/activities/clubs you participate(d) in?

In 7th grade, I made the softball team.

I don’t know how.

I sat the bench the entire season, and even in practice, managed to annoy the coach enough, with my non-athleticism, that he threw a glove at my back, as I was running to first base, and knocked the wind out of me.

So, that was it for me and sports.  Until college, when I played rugby, but that’s another story.

In high school, I joined Key Club.

I was the Secretary to Kim’s Vice-President in our Junior Year, and then the Vice-President to Kim’s President during our senior year.

Any worthwhile friends you (would) still keep up with after graduation?

As regular readers know, I married my high school sweetheart, and I’m still tight with my 3 besties, Kim, Erin, and Michaela.

However, through Facebook, I’ve reconnected with people I knew in high school and actually become closer to quite a few of them.

Not thrilled with the phrasing of this question…I think we’re all “worthwhile.”

Every other week.

Since I had no connection this past Friday, I figured, we’ve done it on a Saturday…why not a Sunday???

1.  Do you think cursive writing is overrated? (Schools in Indiana have now voted to take teaching cursive writing out of their curriculum.)

I do.

In the digital age, I don’t think that what your writing looks like is important, rather the content of what you write.  We need to focus on WHAT they are writing…not what it looks like.

Monkey Girl has terrible handwriting but is remarkably creative.  She writes a phenomenal story and loses points for handwriting?  Why can’t she just type the darn thing?  As an adult, how much handwriting do you do, anyway?

2.  Do you still use a pocket calendar or notepad or do you keep your info on your smart phone?

Given my answer to Question #1, I find it funny that I use both.

I enjoy writing things down on my pretty calendar I bought from Barnes and Noble, and I have a family calendar that we keep in the kitchen with everyone’s info, however, it all also gets stuck in my iPhone, and I have a Google calendar that I share with Real Man.

What we’d like to have, and have talked about many times, is a digital family calendar in the kitchen.  We’re working on it…maybe in the new house.

3.  What 3 things would you save if your house was burning down? (family & pets are already safe)

The CD’s that have our family photos on them.  Aw, heck.  Probably the computer because we haven’t downloaded them all to CD yet.

I guess our old photo albums, as well.

Other than that, I guess my laptop or my phone.  I’m not a very sentimental person, so the only thing that I have that can’t be replaced would be the photos.  So, other than those, I guess my laptop, since it has other photos of the monkeys and my work stuff saved on it.

I’m wondering what this answer says about me.  Am I going to read other responses and smack my head and say “Oh…I totally should have said that!”

4.  Country Mouse or City Mouse, err Person?

Honestly?

Country Mouse.

I want to live in the country.

Wide open spaces and all that jazz.

I have always wanted to live in the country.  There is something very attractive about living out in the country with dirt roads and nothing to see for miles on end.  Slower pace.  Quieter life.

I want that.

5.  If you could pick ANY reality show to go on, which would you pick?

Oh, I don’t know.

I’m not really interesting enough to be picked for any reality show, so I guess I’d go with American Idol, if I didn’t already WAY exceed the age requirement.

American Idol for Moms.

That’d be my pick.

And I’d rock it.

First of all, this week has gone WAY too quickly.

I feel as though I was just writing my responses to last week’s Five Question Friday.

Time needs to seriously slow down, as we all know how I feel about the passage of time.

Anywho…

I found two different sets of questions for today’s installment of Five Question Friday, and rather than choose, I figured I’d give you double the insight into my soul.

Or, double the answers to strange, random questions about my life.

Anyway, here goes…

1. Of the five weekdays, which is the easiest to get through?

Now that summer has arrived, they are all fairly easy to deal with, so I guess I’ll answer with a school year answer.

I’d have to go with Thursday.  It’s not Monday, which is just tough for everyone, nor is it Tuesday which holds a lot of promise after Monday, but then you realize that you are still in the first part of the week.  It’s not Wednesday, which everyone hails as “Hump Day” in the middle of the week, but it’s kind of like the Summer Solstice of the week…the longest day.  Friday is exciting because, well, it’s Friday, but there is always a lot to get done on Friday so it isn’t hanging over into the weekend.  Saturday and Sunday seem like they would be givens, but weekends are usually full of errands and playing and parks and while most of these days are fun, they are also exhausting.

So, yeah, Thursday.

2. Which of the five little piggies is the most bizarrely characterized?

Seriously?

The one who ate the roast beef.

Is this even up for consideration?  The pig is eating cow.

No contest.

3. Of fire, earth, metal, water, and wood, from which do you draw your power?

Hard to say.

My gut tells me to go with fire, because I have a fiery temper, however, I love the ocean and could spend all day in the waves, just moving with their flow.

Don’t like metal.  Hard.  Unyielding.

I’m going to go with wood.  I never feel more peaceful or get better thinking done than when I am hiking in the woods.  The trees, so tall above me, providing shade, have been there for hundreds of years and I think they are just amazing.  I love the woods and always feel refreshed after spending some time there.

4. Haribo Gummy Bears come in five flavors: pineapple (white), strawberry (green), raspberry (red), lemon (yellow) and orange (orange). Which is your favorite?

My favorite flavor of anything is raspberry.

My answer is always raspberry.

5. Which of the five basic tastes (sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and savoriness) best describes your personality?

I’m not sure I understand the taste of “savory” so I’ll go with that, as most of the time, I don’t really understand myself.

1. If you had the opportunity to bungee jump, would you?

Absolutely.  If I could find someone to go with me, I’d go in a heartbeat.

I’m also hoping to go skydiving someday, as well.

2. Would you rather go to the movie theater or to the drive-in?

Movie theater.

I’m all about the comfort.

3. Do you have your groceries delivered?

No.  It goes completely against my frugal nature to spend extra money to have them delivered.  I’ve ordered online before, and gone to pick them up, but even doing that made me feel terrible.  I can get through the store with 4 kids, stick to my list, use my coupons, and get out with everyone alive.  Is it the most fun I’ve ever had?  No, but it’s doable.

4. Eyebrows: Do you wax, thread, pluck, or stay au naturel?

I pluck, however, I like to have my eyebrows waxed, because it just looks so much better than when I do it myself (with the exception of the 2 hours directly afterward when my ridiculously sensitive skin gives me away with redness and swelling).  I have only done this twice, though.  Again, seems silly to spend money on something I can just do myself.

5. Would the people you went to high school with be surprised by your life today?

No.  I’m friends with most of them on Facebook and those that I’m not didn’t really know me anyway.

I married my high school sweetheart and teach at the middle school I attended.  Not a lot to surprise anyone.