Friday, February 25, 2011

My 5 Question Friday




1. Can you drive a stick shift?
Yes, I learned on a stick shift when taking driver's ed. Although....I remember going out to the driving range and asking for the red car, which had an automatic transmission. They gave me the keys for the darker red car...which was a stick. My partner did not know how to drive a stick either, so we opened the textbook and figured it out that way! *lol*

2. What are two foods you just can't eat?
beef tongue and habanero (sp?) peppers

3. Do you buy Girl Scout Cookies? What is your favorite kind?
Usually...all time favorite is the Thin Mint, although some of their newer ones are quite tasty too.

4. How do you pamper yourself?
What is this pamper you speak of?

5. What is your nickname and how did you get it?
Well, my given names are "Lucille Anna". I've always gone by LuAnn. I've also been called (at different times): Lulubelle, Lu-A, Lucy and Lulu. So now I just tell people I answer to anything that starts with "Lu".

Friday, February 18, 2011

Five Question Friday


1. Have you worn the same outfit more than one day in a row?
Sure. I mean, I don't make a habit of it, but sometimes it happens. Especially if I wake up late and have seconds to get ready before I have to be out the door.

2. If you had to choose any LARGE city to live in, which would it be?
I can't think of too many circumstances under which I would feel compelled to live in a large city. Is Edinburgh, Scotland big? I could live there. :O)

3. Fly or drive with the kids on vacation?
After the last time we flew with the kids (to California over the holidays) I swore never again ... at least at a high-traffic time. We drove to DFW over Thanksgiving, and thanks to FIL we had his passenger van with enough seats for all the kids to sleep on their own bench seat. We could have never done it in our little 2-door Ford Fiesta.

4. What is your idea of "spring cleaning"?
That it's always spring somewhere and adding a few monthly (etc) chores makes for not such a big choking wad of cleaning in the (local) spring.

5. What is the best book you have ever read?

Sunday, February 6, 2011

The Last Place We Stayed



On December 3rd (or 4th), my family were on the way back to Kentucky from visiting MIL in Haslet, TX. We had spent Thanksgiving and DS1's 14th birthday there. We were in the middle of our 900 mile trip and even though FIL (here in Kentucky) had lent us his passenger van, we needed to stop for the night rather than try to push on through.

Our buddy Tom left the light on for us at the Motel 6 in Jackson, TN. It's really a great deal for a family. The price was reasonable; if I remember correctly, we paid under $50 for all 5 of us. And, they did not charge extra for Sneakers, our dog. The staff was professional, yet 'down home'...just like us.

Other than that, there's not really a lot to say...but I would stay there again, and I would recommend it to friends and family.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Valentine's Day - Bringin' the Festive Back



Since 1979, Valentine's Day has been a double-edged sword for me.

On February 15th of that year, my father passed away due to a stroke and heart attack. He was 47 years old at the time. I was a senior in high school. Coincidentally, I was in the play "Lazarus Laughed" at the time, the theme of which was "there is no death". I was kind of numb until we went to sit down for his memorial service, when I broke down. The directors asked if we wanted to have the curtains drawn and I did not.

Anyway, from the evening before (February 14, 1979), it was obvious that my father did not have long to live. So...Valentine's Day has that little tinge for me.

But now that I have children of my own, I try to be a little more cheerful for the day. My daughter, who just turned 8, especially loves holidays...the decorating, making crafts, celebrating, etc.

And I recently joined swap-bot.com, and am doing a couple of Valentine card/craft swaps with folks, which also brings a little more sense of the festive back.

DH helps, too. He got me a medium-sized fuzzy ladybug (think pillow size). He's a true country boy, and this effort of his is SO appreciated. The only trouble was is that our daughter assumed it was for her, has named her "Spots" and uses Spots for a pillow at night. *lol*

So, while 32 years has passed, and I still miss my father, I know he is in a better place, and I know he knows his grandchildren. And that is all good.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

OK..What Impressed Me Was...

OK, what really impressed me about Jacqueline was the amount of love she shows to other blogger's giveaways. So, it was beholdin' upon me to show some love back and pimp her Very First Blog Candy Giveaway!

So, go see her blog, pick up a lot of great ideas, and maybe some candy that won't hurt your teeth! *lol* And while you are there, check out some of her cute designs!

*+*+*+*+*


The Blog Dare for today was giving props to one's best friend. Well, I don't really have a "best" right now, although I do have a number of good friends, but I wanted to show that I had actually written today, because it's the longest streak of blog writing that I've had in some time! Yay me!!!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

What I Do and Do Not Miss About High School




This one is kind of tough for me. Sometimes I can hardly remember last week, or yesterday, and they want me to remember high school? Yikes!

I miss some of the people (both students and teachers). I think it's kind of strange that some of my classmates have grandchildren that are the ages of my children (yep, I was an older first-time mom). I miss the feeling that I had more days ahead of me than I do behind. In my senior year, I was on the school paper staff...that was fun.

I don't miss being overweight and painfully introverted.

However, something happened in high school that probably overshadowed anything else "bad" that may have happened. About four months before graduation, my father came home sick from work one day. That was unusual because he was so type "A". A week later he passed away (stroke/heart attack) at the age of 47. I was in a play called "Lazarus Laughed" by Tennessee Williams (I think?) at the time, so the whole theme was like, 'there is no death'. Even in our church community at the time, social invitations kind of dried up after that...like people were afraid death was catching or something.

Yup, I could've done without most of that.

I'm not usually this maudlin, so I'm going to close out this post and go think about my daughter's 8th birthday on 2/2.

Hey, Younger Me!


February 1, 2011

Dear Younger Me,

I'm you from...oh, a couple years in the future. Thought I'd pass along a little information and some tips I've picked up over the years. I just hope it doesn't screw up the time line, KWIM? *lol*

Have a good relationship with God. This is probably the single most important and far-reaching thing you can do to have a good life. The sweetest peace you will ever know will come to you after accepting God's will the morning you think you are having a miscarriage. BTW, the child resulting from that pregnancy will be 8 years old tomorrow. (It's really a coincidence that her initials are TAO.)

It's ok to step outside your comfort zone every once in a while. It will not kill you. I am living proof of that. I'm not saying it won't be scary and uncomfortable but the rewards are great. Being the only non-line officer to compete in the MUJD contest in 1980 and winning, finally auditioning for a play and getting a role, going to the lawyer and finding out that MIL really did not have standing to try and get custody of the boys...you'll be walking on AIR that day.

Appreciate your Mom and Dad more. They won't be with you forever.

You are a valuable, talented person. It is possible to believe in yourself when others don't, and to show them you are right. To quote Shakespeare, whom I know we both love, "To thine own self be true, and then it follows as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." It's ok not to follow the herd.

Love yourself, your family and your friends.

Oh, and brush your teeth. And floss,

Love,
Me