And Now For Something Really Important . . .

How often do you wash your hair?

I am a sweater. 


Allow me to clarify.

Not a---



(though I wish it were in my closet in case Florida ever has a real winter.  Here's hoping it doesn't.)

But a--








A sweat-er.  One who sweats.

I love Florida!  It is in the 70s or 80s everyday.  I do NOT like cold weather, so this is the perfect place for me.  However, I do sweat pretty much everyday.

So my deep question of the day is--do you sweat?  And how do you cope with said sweatiness?  Do you wash your hair everyday?  Do you use baby powder or dry shampoo to soak up the grease?  Does your hair cover it up well?

I realize that this is a weird question for January--most people are cold.  But think to summer and let me know.

Leave a thought if you would like.  I'm always interested in the tips of others.

Finding My Niche

I go through a phase every few months where I research all different types of graduate programs and try to figure out what I want to do with my life.

I know I definitely want to be a mom (which is great because there has been a baby wandering around here lately), but I also recognize the need to have marketable skills.  Also, constantly learning is incredibly worthwhile.  I miss school a lot!  I always loved it.  Always is a stretch.  I hated biology and social dance.  What is the connection there?  Mating rituals?  Social dance was talked up so much at BYU as Da Best Class Evah.  And then I absolutely hated the whole experience. 

My problem is that I don't have my thing.  You know, that thing everyone else seems to have and that they obsess over and are passionate about.

I once went on a date with a guy who was over the moon about being a paramedic.  All of his stories had to do with calls he had taken that day or driving the ambulance through red lights.  He even had the paramedic symbol tattooed on his arm.  It's a good thing he was a paramedic.  That's really one of the only symbols that can be pulled off as a tattoo.  What if he had been an accountant?  Or a grocery store manager?  I can't imagine a calculator or check stand appearing quite as fierce.

I have often wondered since, if I were the tattooing type, which I'm not, what would I have tattooed on my arm?  What is my passion?

You might say music, and that is true.  I do love music.  And it is one of my talents.  But I most likely wouldn't get into a grad program for music.  And besides what would my fierce-looking tattoo be?  A  a snake-laden musical staff?  A piano engulfed in flames?

I have also considered linguistics.  Programs require intense study of a second language, which I have.  Besides, my second language is the ever-obscure Romanian, so no one would even know how unskilled I am at it.

So I am still trying to find my niche.  Maybe I should start with---how does one pronounce niche?  Is it "neesh" or "neetch" or "nitch"?

Thank you and good night.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned from AOGG. And Latimer's American Heritage.

 

I have the type of husband who loves making his family happy.  I am the type of person who loves making me happy.  So my birthday is always great.  This past birthday (two months ago . . . dang gina, it's about time I got my write on), my husband asked what I wanted.  I told him that this year I wasn't asking for anything material but instead wanted him to watch the entire Anne of Green Gables movie series (9 hours) with me.  Every few years I get the itch to watch Anne.  I think it mostly hits when I think the world is going kaput (2012 election anyone?), and I want to escape it by visiting  simple Avonlea with its one-room schoolhouse and where the biggest concern is passing the entrance exam for Queen's or dealing with the snubberies of Josie Pye.

So we watched Anne of Green Gables and fell in love with Anne all over again.  Then we watched Anne of Avonlea and yelled mean things as Anne rejected Gilbert (what the whaaaa girlfriend?  He's perfect!), developed feelings for Captain Morgan Harris (ew! so old!) and finally realized her true love for Gilbert as he lay in his bed, dying of scarlet fever (man that close-up of his sick, washed-up face is baaaaaad.)  Then we watched Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story and wanted to chuck it out the window.  That whole movie makes me mad, not only because it is based on nothing LMM ever wrote but the characters don't even resemble themselves inside or out. 

Daniel was a good sport.  He's more of a romantic than I, so even though he groaned at the length of the movies and rolled his eyes at many of Anne's shenanigans, he was also happy to see that Anne and Gilbert end up together.

The whole thing made me crave to read the books again, and I ran through AOGG in four seconds flat.  I became a part of myself that I left behind long ago--reading every spare second, late into the night, and getting fully wrapped up in a book.  I honestly haven't felt that way in years, and it made me realize how important reading is to me and my health.  It made me realize how fake and awful television and internet-surfing can be.  A poor man's literature.  A counterfeit copy of true entertainment. 

Reading the book was so enjoyable to me that I here I leave you with some gems from AOGG.  Drum roll, please.

"I thought nothing could be worse than red hair.  But green is ten times worse."  I have often thought about this storyline this past year when I battled pink eye (read: no contacts, no make-up) for three weeks and accidentally colored my hair orange which then I had repaired to platinum (read: major hair breakage).

About Rachel Lynde:  "I sometimes think she'd have more of an influence for good if she didn't keep nagging people to do right." 

"How do you vote, Matthew?"
"I'm a conservative."
"Then I'm a conservative too."

"That is one consolation when you are poor--there are so many more things you can imagine about."

Please leave your fave Anne line or scene in the comments.

Resolutions.

For me:
1.  Work out 5 times a week.
2.  Half Marathon.  This is the year!
3.  Scripture Study 30 minutes a day.
4.  Blog at least one time a month (trying to be super realistic).


For the Fam:
1.  FHE every week.
2.  Every night--one minute of as many crunches as we can do!  And one minute of as many push ups as we can do!
3.  Do some sort of race together.

The goals are simple this year.  My theme is "Back to the Basics."  As much as I wish I were doing bigger and better and more exciting things, I am working to improve my basic spiritual/physical/emotional health this year.