AuburnChick's Adventures

I knew I liked Linda for a reason…she’s a fellow Lostie!  For those of you who’ve been living on another planet for the last several years, what I mean is that we are devoted fans of the television series, Lost (only one of the best shows evah…said with a New York accent).

So, this week’s questions are geared toward the Lost theme.

You know the drill…answer the questions on your blog and link back up on Linda’s.  Simple as can be!

1. Have you ever been so lost that you were really afraid?

Oh baby, have I been lost?  Ha, Ha, Ha!

More times than I can count!

I lived in LA (Lower Alabama, not Los Angeles) where every dirt road looked the same!  I once got lost driving home from an away football game (while I was in high school).  I wound up in Montgomery, an hour and a half away from home.  That was one long night!

I’ve also gotten lost going home for lunch.  This was when the Mr. and I had just gotten married.  We were living in an apartment a stick’s throw away from Auburn University, and I only found my way home for lunch each day by chance.  One day, I got turned around and drove in circles until I finally found the library (where I worked)…just in time for my lunch time to be over.

Oh yeah, and I once got lost in Miami…wound up in Little Havana with two very little young-uns in the back seat.  The Mr. was not amused at the thought of my endangering the innocent (not me, but the babes).

2. Have you ever been to an island?

Having been on three cruises, I can answer this in the affirmative.  Islands are heavenly!!!!

3. Are you more of a thinker or feeler?

Ok, see, the thing about Linda’s meme is that if you read the questions ahead of time, you actually have time to THINK about the answers.  So, while I was never a thinker before I started participating in the Random Dozen, I think I should now qualify as one.  In fact, I believe I could do a very convincing imitation of Rodin’s The Thinker.

Work with me here (I don’t have time to PhotoShop).  Envision that man fully dressed, with long, naturally curly hair, and a chocolate bar in one hand and a Nintendo DSi in the other.

AuburnChick…the Thinker.

Seriously, I think I am becoming more of a thinker the older I get.  I’ve discovered that being a thinker is hard work!  That’s probably why I love my Excedrin Migraine.  Cures the thinking headaches I get.

4. Do you tend to see issues or situations in life as black and white or shades of gray?

Black and white totally.  It’s either wrong, or it’s not.  Nobody better try to get me to stand in the middle, cause I’m having none of that!

5. If you were stuck on an island, what book would you hope to have with you (Let’s pretend the Bible is already there, so you can’t say that.)

Ok…I thought too much on this.  My first instinct was to go with a favorite book, like The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom (the second person I want to meet when I get to heaven).  This book would remind me that God always provides, even in the most impossible of situations.

But then, I started over-analyzing the question and thought the most practical thing would be to select a book on how to build a boat.  However, I quickly realized, when doing a search on Amazon, that I probably wouldn’t have such items as carbon, teflon, and other materials needed for a boat, so this type of book would do me no good!  So, I’ll stick with my first choice and leave the rescuing up to the rescuers.  I might as well relax while I’m on the island.

6. What are you most afraid of?

Tornadoes.  I don’t know where this fear came from, but I think it’s the unexpectedness of them that paralyzes me with fear.  Once, about six months after my dad died (and a couple of weeks after September 11th), we were having a volunteer breakfast at my children’s elementary school.  An announcement was made about a tornado warning, and I sat shock still at the table with tears running down my face…petrified.  Tornadoes also have the nerve to invade my dreams.  Good gravy!

Sheesh!  I need counseling worse than Kate Gosselin!

*Bad AuburnChick*

7. Would you rather lose all of your old memories or never be able to make new ones?

Oh gosh, Linda.  Why the tough questions this week?

If I lost my old memories, I wouldn’t remember the joy of being pregnant and being force-fed pizza and peas (the Mr. wanted to ensure I was eating a balanced meal).  I wouldn’t remember the thrill of my babies kicking while in the womb and the inexpressible rush of emotion the first time I held them after giving birth.  As they near adulthood, I would miss the memories of watching them grow and mature and become fine mini-grownups.

However, if I lost the ability to make new memories, then that would mean that I would miss becoming friends with a daughter who’s been pushing hard for independence against my desire to hold tight.  I would miss the moment of forgiveness that will surely come one day.  I would miss watching my babies grow, meet the loves of their lives, and have their own babies.

Nope.  I’m not gonna do it.  I can’t choose.

I have to run get a kleenex before answering the next question.

8. Pretend I’m looking at a scrapbook page about you. There are three spaces for you to drop in individual pictures. What are those pictures of, and why did you select them?

Whoa…I need a whole box of kleenex now!

Picture #1 – The picture I took of Chicky and Rooster on the first day of school this year (sorry I can’t show you but you know the rules…no pictures of my babes on the blog).  What strikes me about this photo is how tall Rooster is…towering several inches over Chicky.  I see her maturity and his laid-back attitude.  This picture is a glimpse into the most important things I feel have come from my life.

Picture #2 – My knitting

That is the table I decorated for last year’s women’s retreat at my church (I blogged about it here).  All of the tables were themed, and I picked knitting.  Knitting has become an important outlet through which I give to others.  It has also become the avenue through which I have made very close friends.  I always tell people that I don’t have real-life friends but internet knitting friends.

Picture #3 – Me and my sunflowers…

The teensy bit of gardening I am successful at is growing sunflowers.  I love them, and I think they know that (hmmm…kind of like the students I work with…must be a parallel).  Sunflowers are bright and cheery and make me feel like God is smiling back at me when I gaze upon them.  My kids are used to me planting them each year and look forward to how tall they get.

9. If you were re-doing your wedding, what would you do differently? (If you’re single, tell me one thing you would do if you were planning a wedding OR huge party.)

I would have picked out comfortable shoes…maybe even flip flops of some sort.  Things have loosened up a lot since the 80’s!

10. Tell me one thing you know/believe about forgiveness.

We are commanded to forgive just as Christ forgave us.  Forgiveness is an act of the will, not a reaction to something your heart tells you.

Forgiveness is hard…something I struggle with.

11. You’re waiting in a doctor’s office. What is your favorite way to pass that time?

Knit, of course!

12. If there were a clone of you in a parallel universe what is one way you hope she/he would be the same as you and one way you hope she/he would be better?

Oh, I discussed this with a friend, so I am prepared!  In a parallel universe, I would want the other “me” to be the same go-getter, no waiting on somebody else to do something kind of person.  As far as better, how about if the other me could be a better cook.  At least her family would eat decent meals each night!

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: Random Dozen | 14 Comments »

I don’t know about you, but each week, I eagerly await Linda’s list of questions for the Random Dozen meme.  I just love reading others’ responses!

If you choose to play along, make sure you go back to Linda’s blog and link up!  Don’t forget to say hello to some fellow bloggers!

Onward…to this week’s questions!

1. Ever had any run-ins with the “library police?”

Not very many.  I am such a rule-follower.

One main time I remember is when we were moving from Coral Springs to north Florida.

The movers packed Chicky’s room before I could get in there to retrieve a school library book.  When I called the school, the librarian must have been having a bad day, because she was not very nice at all…totally not empathizing that we were leaving everything we had known for the last seven years and moving away.

I found the book a few weeks later and sent it back.  I can only imagine the look on her face when she received it.

2. Do you have a special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper, gift bags, etc., or do you just purchase whatever you need as you give gifts?

I have two wrapping paper containers that fit under the bed.  I typically do not buy paper for special events, except Christmas.  I only buy that kind of paper after the holidays when it’s marked for cheap, cheap, cheap.  I only buy it every few years…when I’m almost out.  For birthdays, we use gift bags, which you can get at the dollar store.

3. Have you ever been in (first-hand witness) a natural disaster?

I have run from hurricanes a few times, toting a glass fish bowl during one trip.  The kids and I have sat through a few hurricanes as well.  The worst one was a Category 3 that didn’t, at first, seem to do much damage.  When we walked outside the next day, the bushes than ran down the side of our house were tilting sideways.  There was a lot of debris in the streets.  It was an interesting experience, let me tell you!

4. What’s your favorite Barry Manilow song?

Copacabana.  I don’t think I know any others!!

5. What’s the best costume you’ve ever worn?

My best costume was the one I wore for a play I was in my junior or senior year of high school.  I was playing the role of a grumpy old lady – no comments from the peanut gallery.

I struggled with getting the nuances of the character…until my teacher, a spry old gal herself, got up in frustration and acted one scene.

Being the tenacious person that I am (even at a young age), and also being a somewhat angst-filled teenager with an attitude, I mimicked her actions…to make fun of her.  That’s when she hollered, “Yes!  That’s it!”

I decided then and there to copy everything about her, including the skirt hiked up to my boobs, old lady shoes, and rolled-down stockings.

Best costume ever!

6. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?

Dictionary.  I cannot stand not knowing how to pronounce things properly and frequently use one for phonetic spelling!

7. What’s your favorite breakfast food?

I am not a big eater period, much less breakfast, which I skip most days.  I can’t have milk, so cereal is out of the question.  The last couple of days, I’ve eaten an over-easy egg with one piece of toast.  I love dunking my toast in that runny yolk!  YUM!

8. Have you ever purchased anything from an infomercial?

Nope.  I don’t have the patience to even sit through one, much less buy anything from the TV!

9. Have you ever crawled through a window?

Hmmm…never snuck out as a teenager, never snuck out as an adult.  Hmmm…no fires (thank heavens) to escape from.  So, no.  I’ve never crawled through a window.

10. Do you believe in love at first sight?

No.  I think most people mistake lust at first sight for love.  I think love takes time to grow.

11. How man pairs of jeans do you own?

Four or five, but only one pair fits semi-properly.  I really need to get some new jeans!

12. If someone were going to bake a cake to honor/represent you, what would it be? (Think creatively, like Duff and Crew on “Ace of Cakes.”)

Oh man, but I love Ace of Cakes!  For my cake, I envision two children – boy and girl (representing my role as a mom) – pushing a shopping cart (representing my couponing/shopping deals) filled with the following items:

• An apple – to represent the teaching profession that I am privileged to be a part of
• A cross – to represent my relationship with God
• Knitting needles or a skein of yarn – no explanation needed if you read my blog regularly
• A Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit – to represent my determination to win (see this post)
• A soccer ball – One of the activities that has taken center stage in my family’s life
• The mirror ball trophy from Dancing With the Stars – The only thing that gets me through Mondays and Tuesdays

Sounds like tall order?  Duff and his crew could do it!

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: Random Dozen | 20 Comments »