Thirty-five years...

Wow. I remember when my dad turned 30. He had a wife, four kids, a house, two cars, and a career in a tire factory... He felt old, and my mom threw him a surprise party to which all the guests brought gag gifts like denture cream and "old people" vitamins and such...I thought it was so funny 'cause "Daddy was old!" Yep.

When I turned 30 five years ago, the memory of dad's birthday was bittersweet. I realized my dad was NOT old when he turned 30. He's not old now! I realized that I was still in an apartment, not married, no kids...but I had a college degree and a office-job career. My dad celebrated his 30th birthday with friends and family at our house; I celebrated my 30th birthday on Bourbon Street in NOLA with my boyfriend (now husband).

I've come a long way in 35 years...and I still have a long way to go.

Here's to all the 35-year-old girls who just aren't ready to be grown-ups yet...

Answers from God

You don't always get the answer you want, and you don't always get an answer WHEN you want it. However, God always does answer your heart-felt prayers.

Think back on your youth when you thought life was hard. What did you pray for? People at school be your friend? The cute boy to ask you out? Good grades? A new bike or car?

What did you get? Not then...but since. What prayers from your youth have been answered SINCE your youth.

I wanted people in school to like me. I was awkward and nerdy and what I call a "floater." I could talk with any clique, but I only had a few really close friends. Over time, however, I have built relationships with new people, grown as a person, and seen how others from my past have grown and redeveloped relationships. I thank God for inspiring facebook so that I can enjoy new-found friendships with long-ago acquaintances and classmates.

I wanted the cute boy to ask me out...Sometimes when the cute boy asked me out, his personality wasn't that cute. My prayers for a life-long companion changed so many times...God was giving me the opportunity to really understand for myself what it was I wanted in a spouse. He helped weed out all the close-but-not-quite-right fellas. Some of them were great guys; they just weren't for me. It may have taken me almost 30 years to meet my forever, but I can't imagine that there is anyone else in the world who is a more perfect match for me. We share a bond in God, which is something I honestly was never really looking for (until God sent him to me).

I always prayed for good grades, and most of the time I got them. College was harder, but that made me work harder to get the grades. God pushed me and gave me a drive that holds true now - I work hard for what I get.

Oh man, did I want a car...I drove my dad's 1977 Bronco in high school, complete with a gun rack in the back window (we all had gun racks...). I called her "Baby," and she was good to me. I really wanted my own car, though...I've had a number of my own cars now, and I worked hard for them, as well. And you know what? All that hard work gave me the strength to get bigger things, like our new house!

God helped me by pushing me in the right direction. He let me fail occasionally so I would understand and value hard work and real love and lasting relationships. He may not answer my prayers when I want or give the answer I am looking for, but He is always there.

Sports

With the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup win last night, I have been thinking about the impact sports has had (or not had) on my life.

Growing up in the middle of four fields in Northwest Tennessee did not lend itself to being a real sports fan (at least of professional sports). Sure, I was very into the Obion County version of Friday Night Lights in high school, even if we did not win very many games. I went to all the basketball games, too. I didn't have a professional team close enough geographically to get too excited about.

Football: The Titans didn't make their debut until I was on my way out of Tennessee. When I was about 13 my dad let me pick which team I would support with the caveat that I stay loyal to that team through thick and thin. I picked the Green Bay Packers. I like green and yellow together. Did I know I would move to the heart of Bears country at the time? Um, no. Upon learning early in our dating life that I was a Packers fan (which he can almost forgive, being his dad is from Wisconsin and is also a Cheese-Head), he looked me square in the eye and said, "Please tell me you are a Cubs fan. I don't think I can date a Packers fan who roots for the White Sox. I said, "Sure. I'm a Cubs fan."

Baseball: The closest team for me growing up was the St. Louis Cardinals. I didn't really care that much about baseball, so I was never a fan. Thank goodness for that - if I had shown up in Chicago as a Packers fan AND a Cardinals fan I never would have married my husband. If there is one other team that is the bane of a Cubs fan besides the White Sox, it is the Cardinals.

Basketball: I thought the Lakers were cool during high school, but I was honestly more interested in my own high school team and some college basketball. I have no qualms in calling myself a Bulls fan today. None at all.

Hockey: Um, yeah. There's only ice in Tennessee about every 4 years, in the form of a massive ice storm...I went to a few hockey games while I lived in Nashville, and I found it very violent. My only earlier exposure to hockey was Mighty Ducks. Yep. A Disney movie. I can say firmly now that I am a Hawks fan (and a Wolves fan), and have been since I moved here. I wouldn't say I am a big fan, but I think it's awesome a Chicago team won a title.

In the last ten years, mostly thanks to my wonderful sports fan of a husband, I have been to professional baseball games (in multiple parks), a professional football game, professional hockey games (Wolves and Blackhawks), professional arena football games (Chicago Rush), a professional soccer game (Chicago Fire), and a professional basketball game (Bulls).

That's pretty good for someone who is a marginal sports fan at best.

Three Things

If you’ve known me even a little well over the last ten years since my move to Chicago, you probably know that I am a Kevin Smith fan. Kevin Smith is the writer, director, and actor of such great films as Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II, etc. Mr. Smith plays Silent Bob – the character who speaks very seldom but always with profoundness.

A few years ago, I wrote a speech to deliver to my Toastmasters group about the three things I have learned from Kevin Smith movies. While I am at a point in my life in which “professional adult” outweighs “fan girl” a little too much for my liking, I still hold true to myself these lessons. Here’s a recap:

Reading Makes Me Happy

I have a degree in English, with an emphasis in writing. I took several different types of writing classes because I didn't want to chain myself down to one genre. Business writing, novels, short stories, poetry, research writing, and technical writing were among the many different classes. I think because of the varied writing styles I studied I am drawn to many different genres for my reading as well.

When we moved into our new house, the first book I could find not packed away was Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs (the Temperance Brennan series from which the t.v. show Bones is derived). It is an intense novel with lots of intrigue, suspense, horrific real atrocities, and even some hot romance.

My fabulous husband JR gave me the book as a gift a while ago, and I read a chapter or two before I became too busy to sit down and finish it. With the new house, I decided to designate a place to read and devote just a little time each week. Having finished that first book (very proudly in only a few weeks), I was eager to pick up another.

Sticking with the plan of finding whatever was the easiest book to get to (since the book cases and boxes and boxes of books are not yet completely unpacked), I reached in and pulled out Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Having watched the mini-series long ago and reading the books as a child, I find this re-reading quite fulfilling.

It is a new experience to read a childhood book as an adult. The stories mean something completely different. I see things in the characters I never realized existed before. My own life experiences relate in new ways to the development of the story.

I am about one-third of my way through Anne of Green Gables. I wonder what magnificent find I will pull out the box next...

Finally!

I am suffering withdrawal! Blogger was down this morning when I tried to post, and I am now trapped with nowhere to put my thoughts for an indeterminate amount of time!

I’m typing in Microsoft Word just to keep the thoughts rolling! Oh, the humanity! Will I be forced to *gasp* WRITE my thoughts with a pen or pencil?



I am quite obviously addicted to technology. However, I don’t feel it is a detrimental addiction. I can (and do) still write with a pen and paper. I like the way that feels. I have an iPod, but not the newest one. I have one that I got at an event. I did not even pay for it. I bought my husband and iPod because he kept borrowing mine, but we haven’t upgraded to the latest model. We do have an iPod stereo set up in the kitchen. We like to listen while we cook, eat, and clean. I now have noise-cancellation headphones so I can listen to the iPod in peace on my flights, thanks to my awesome husband. I love the headphones - I can still hear things around me, but they are muted compared to the music...addiction is in full swing with the headphones.

I have a home computer, but not a personal laptop. I’m still working on that. We did opt for the 22 inch flat screen monitor when we upgraded a couple of years ago from my 1999 Gateway...yep. I had a great system at my previous job. I had full Adobe Professional. I could turn ANYTHING into a PDF, and the editing tools were phenomenal. I had Publisher and PowerPoint and Access and the latest and greatest of so many things...When I started my current job, I still had a gigantor monitor. I do not have Publisher or full Adobe, despite needing to create things in both. I thought I was going to have a meltdown. I’m over that now. I have learned to adjust, but I long for the fix of a beautifully created PDF with interactivity and graphics...

I have had a PlayStation 2 for almost ten years – I used it as a DVD player and gaming system for quite some time, before I had cable. Yes. I previously lived a life with only a few channels. I played a lot of video games. JR and I just upgraded to a Wii, with thanks to our friends Jeremy and Lee Ann. They got tired of hearing us say we were thinking about getting one and got the system as a house warming gift. Now, we are addicted to it – working out on the Fit, playing Mario Brothers, dancing our butts off to Just Dance...

The cable thing – The first time I had cable was in college, in 1993. Yeah. This crazy new thing called MTV (well, new to me) played music videos, and I thought they were awesome! When I moved into an apartment, I opted for no cable – food was more important. I went on that way for YEARS! I was fine with no cable. I could see the shows I really liked; I had a VCR for recording if I was not going to be home. Then, I met JR. He freaked out over my not having cable. He did not want to visit my place because he had cable at home and I did not. So, I got cable. With DVR. Guess what? Addicted!

So, now on this day when I cannot immediately give you this message, I am anxious, hot, and worried. I have been doing this blogging thing for only a few days, and I am already hooked. It is a good drug...

I attempted to do yard work this morning...

...mother nature had a different plan.

After a very sweaty Wii workout with my husband this morning, I decided to use all that energy to get the yard work out of the way. It is Saturday morning, after all. I walked out to the garage, pulled out the weed-eater/edger, and made my way up the driveway to the front yard. I started by checking the mulch around the trees and picking up rocks and sticks when it started to sprinkle.

*sigh*

I tromped back to the garage, equipment in hand, and tromped back into the house to close windows. Then the bottom fell out. It's pouring outside.

So, I am inside typing instead of outside enjoying being a home owner with a yard! Oh, well.