Bringin' Back the Mojo

Oh, yeah! I have a blog, don't I? Maybe I ought to post something more than once a month or so, huh?  The thing is, I'm just not feeling the blog writing mojo this year-hopefully I can get back into it.

I decided to participate in My Little Life's Five Question Friday to help get the mojo flowing again.  (Does "mojo" flow, or does it just exist in a solid form? Gaseous vapor, perhaps? Hmmmm....)  Anywho, here goes:

1. Have you ever forgotten your child in a store or at school?

You know, I honestly don't think I have.  I'm not sure why that surprises me so much, either.  There was once, though, when my daughter was about 3 and was throwing a screaming fit through Marshall's that I would have liked to forget her, LOL! I had recently had a baby, and I remember crying all the way home thinking, "Why, God? Why can't I ever have any time for just me?" Ah.....the good old days.....


2. Where did you go on your very first date? (Like...first first, not first with your spouse or current significant other!)

My first date was a double date at age 15.  We went to the mall, walked around the food court, and then saw Pretty Woman.  I was rocking some acid washed jeans, rolled up at the cuffs to show off my neon green scrunch socks.  I topped my stylish ensemble with a fluorescent pink, long sleeved shirt.  I was rocking a spiral perm, complete with curled bangs, and "wings" at the sides.  Seriously-I used to hold my long hair straight out at the sides, douse it with some Lady Breck or Aussie Sprunch hairspray, and then shoot it with the blow dryer so that I got a good 4-5 inches of it to stick straight out.  Lovely.  Combined with the braces, I was one hot mama.  I suppose it's a sign that I remember more about what I wore and how I looked than I remember about the actual date...

3. What's your "silly" fear? (We're not talking water and heights.)

I'm freaked out by images of those green aliens with the big, almond shaped eyes.  Other than that, and sometimes being a little afraid to walk into a dark room, my other fears are less silly-to some people anyway.
4. Confrontation: do you cause it, deal with is as it comes, or run far far away?

I not only run away from confrontation, but I take a cab to the airport and fly away from it.  Just the mere thought of any type of confrontation makes me nervous.  However, if something needs to be said or done, I will do it-if no one else will.  I'm more of a diplomat than a peacemaker at all costs. When I was a kindergarten teacher, I was often the one "chosen" to speak up about some injustice or problem, because I can generally handle situations tactfully without losing my cool.  Although, the older I get, the more outspoken I become...  Then there's that whole "when I get mad I cry" problem, which embarrasses me, so I get madder, and cry harder.  I prefer to take the head in the sand approach as long as possible.

5. Wood floors or carpet?

Wood floors look nice, but I also like the softness and comfort of carpet.   Right now, they both need to be cleaned, so I'm not happy with any of it.  I've always thought that a concrete floor with a drain in the middle would be kind of awesome from a practicality standpoint-hose it down once a week, and we're good to go!

Ok, there we go.  I'm not going to link up at My Little Life this time, but I encourage you to go over there and check out the other posts!

Five Question Friday

Today I've decided to participate in Mama M's Five Question Friday.  Why, you ask? Why not? I like Fridays, and five is a great number-just enough, but not so many that you get bored, right? (Hopefully.)  Also, questions are good, too-unless it is one of my kids asking me to repeat myself for the zillionth time.  Seriously, everything I say lately (whether I'm talking to them, or not) is met with a "huh?".  Annoying.  Anyway-I have a few questions for you, in this post from yesterday.  Check it out if you haven't already, and give me some blogging ideas feedback.

Ok, back on track.  I do love me a tangent.  Click on the button below to visit Mama M's blog and to find more Five Question Friday responses.






1. What is your favorite thing about summertime?
What isn't?! I love summer! The warmth, the sunshine, the flipflops, the relaxed pace that life takes on-it's all good! It's nice having the kids home from school, although I do miss having time alone.  It's great not having to worry about them getting piles of homework done, or going to bed early for school.  Softball and baseball season is almost over, so it will be even better soon!

2. What is your ideal retirement location (if money didn't matter)?
We would probably live the cliche and move to Florida, at least for winter and spring.  We love Florida.  Winters in Indiana? Not so much.  Most likely, though, we will probably live wherever our children end up-you know, so we can hang around and pester them all the time, ala Frank and Barbara on Everyone Loves Raymond.

3. Do you live in the same town you grew up in?
Same county, but one town over.

4. What nervous habit did you have as a child that you kicked to the curb before becoming an adult?
I had loads of nervous habits as a kid, and I'm not sure I've grown out of any of them yet!  I was afraid of everything, I was timid, and I was a major worrywart.  I suppose I don't worry as much as I used to, and I force myself out of my shell more now, and I actually sleep with my bedroom light out now. Imagine that.   Of course, I've manage to replace those nervous habits with all new ones....

5. What is the most embarrassing thing that happened to you while on the job?
The only ones that come to mind are goofy wardrobe malfunctions, because I'm smooth like that.  One day when I taught Kindergarten,  I was wearing corduroy Winnie the Pooh overalls.  (No, wait-believe it or not, that's NOT the embarrassing part-it was, like 1999, and that stuff was in style! Seriously! Sort of.) I had to teach a lesson that was part of a very restrictive, scripted curriculum that was timed.  (Because they assumed that teachers were brainless, untrained circus monkeys instead of educated professionals, I guess.) If I didn't start and stop at exactly the right minute, I could get in trouble-no exaggeration.  (Don't get me started on how much I hated that developmentally inappropriate, educationally unsound crap....)  I was being observed by someone from central office, so I was nervously going through the lesson, praying that no one would take the opportunity to puke or pee their pants (that seems to happen a lot in Kindy) and throw off my timing.  I was moving along well, when the button for my overall strap flew off.  The kids giggled as I caught the button in midair, glared at the kids until they stopped laughing, and continued on, all without missing a beat.   I was newly pregnant at that time, and fairly emotional, so I was trying to hold in tears as I finished the lesson.  The administrator told me later how impressed she was that I was able to remain control of the class and my outfit, and just keep going. 

Another day, at my current job (I'm an Assistant Director of Education for a tutoring company-fancy title that basically means I do whatever needs to be done and they don't have to pay me very much), I was training a brand new teacher.  She was very quiet, and hard to engage in any type of casual conversation, but I noticed she had a slight smirk on her face as she followed me to another room to do some training on the computer.  I just figured she must be nervous-new job, and all, so I walked back to my desk after getting her set up.  When I got there, I happened to look at my chair-there was a big, smooshed in lump of bright pinkish-red lipstick that had fallen out of the tube the last time I had reapplied.  Horrified (and amused, actually), I turned around and looked at the seat of my light khaki pants.  Yep.  That's why she was smirking.  I walked into my boss' office, turned around and said "Does this lipstick make my butt look big?" Oh yes, I did.  We spent the next 20 minutes or so giggling, making bad lipstick/butt/butt kissing jokes, and Googling how to remove lipstick from pants.  Ah.  Good times.

So there we go.  (Heck of a conclusion, huh? Sorry, that's all I got.)

Five Question Friday

Yep, it's meme time again, folks.  I have a bad case of blogger's block (or maybe just a boring, unfunny life lately), so I've been doing these a lot lately, I know.  But, meme's are a great way to meet new blog friends, and to find more blog to read! I love reading, but I find that the older I get, the shorter my attention span is-I think I might have adult onset ADD.  Blog posts are just the right length to hold my atten-OH! Look! George Clooney!! Oh, never mind.  That was just the UPS man. What was I saying?

Oh yeah! Today, I am participating in My Little Life's Five Question Friday.  Click the button below to visit My Little Life, and to find other Five Question Friday posts to read.  Link up, and join in!




1. What is your worst memory of your siblings?
Hmmm.  Hard question.  My only sibling is my brother, Mark.  He is 9 years older than me, and we've always been very different people, so we've never been close.  I remember being little, following him around, trying to get him to play with me, and take me with him to his friend's houses.  Sometimes he would, but not often.  What 14 year old boy wants to drag his 5 year old sister around with him?  Anyhow, he and my parents-especially my Dad- had a rocky relationship.  Someone was always yelling or arguing.  I've always hated conflict, so I remember hiding in my room crying, wishing everyone would just stop yelling.  Ah, memories... Man, I wish this had been a best memory question-I have a funny story for that!

2. What was YOUR naughtiest childhood memory? (Must be something YOU did, no pawning it off on someone else!)
I was actually a pretty well behaved kid.  No-really, I was.  I think behaving well was my way of trying to keep the peace in our family.  Here I go getting all psychological today.   I was born to be mild, baby.  Most of the "naughty" things I did were things that I didn't realize were naughty, until I got in trouble, that is.  When I was about 4 or 5, I looked around the house and decided that there just wasn't enough art on the walls. So, I got out my Sunday School papers that had nice little color illustrations, and cut them out.  Then I got my trusty Elmer's glue, and went to work.  Next thing I knew, my Mom was angry at me, and I was being sent to my room.  I guess she didn't appreciate all of the pretty pictures I had glued to the wood paneling in the dining room and all over the walls down the hallway....

That's the only "naughty" story that sticks out in my mind.  I do remember getting in trouble for things, but I don't remember what for. You may find this hard to believe, but I had a tendency to be a little sarcastic as a teen.  Shocking, isn't it? *batting eyelashes innocently* My parents put up with most of it though, and I think that is when I first learned that I could deflect attention from a tense situation with a funny, sarcastic quip.  If I could make them laugh, then they couldn't be mad, right? Oh my, I'm getting all kinds of deep today....

3. Where do you like to go to relax?
Depends.  If things are calm at home, then I relax here.  But, the whole ADD thing can become an issue, and I get antsy. Truly, the only place I can just lay down and relax for a long period of time is the beach.  Not such a good thing when you live in the middle of Indiana.  Dang, there goes my annonymity.  We've got cornfields and race cars, and some yummy fried cheese at the State Fair, but oceans, we don't have.

4. What was the last thing you won?
I honestly don't remember.  I don't really enter any contests.  I won an art contest for my grade level that was sponsored by Goodyear when I was in the 4th grade, though.  The only prize my art will ever win.

5. If you could be on a game show, which would you choose?
Hmmmm...I don't know.  Competitions make me nervous.  I'm not animated enough for The Price is Right-I don't squeal and jump up and down when I'm happy, and I don't throw myself on the ground like a tantruming toddler when I'm sad.  I only know a few of the questions on Jeopardy, and Deal or No Deal only holds my attention until the second brief case is opened.

When I was a preteen, I used to imagine myself on The Newlywed Game (with an imagined husband, of course).  We would answer the funniest questions, and I would hit my imaginary husband over the head with my answer card when he guessed wrong, and we would kiss passionatley when he was correct.  Then, we'd win some romantic trip to a dreamy hotel in the Poconos.  You know, one of those sleazy places that they would advertise in the back of Brides magazine (I used to check them out of the library and plan pretend weddings), with the hot tubs shaped like champagne glasses and heart shaped beds.  As a naive 11 year old, I didn't quite understand what we'd do there, beyond swimming in our own private, in room swimming pool, but whatever it was, it was supposed to be sexy.

So, five questions, five answers.  My work is done here.  I'm off to go watch the kids who are outside strumming on tennis rackets like guitars, pretending to be popstars.