We Want to Know Q and A

Thankfully, Mamarazzi and Queso's Q&A came along just in the nick of time.

{1} If you had an extra hour to do ANYTHING for yourself each day what would you do?
Lock myself in a nice, dark room and meditate to white noise.

{2} Are you a morning person or a night owl?
To answer that let me say this...I try to be a loyal friend and loved one. I will do nearly anything for anyone and because I will do nearly anything for anyone I have only one rule for people wishing to be my friend or family members wishing to remain in my will, and that is this...please, for the love of all that is good and decent, never, ever ask anything of me in the morning. Try your best to run out of gas, need advice on a term paper, have a nervous breakdown, or need someone to watch your children AFTER 10:00 a.m.

{3} How much sleep do you get on an average night?
Between a bladder with a sense of humor and a son who, all too often, winds up in my bed and roots his little legs under me better than any weed in a sidewalk, not a lot.

{4} When do you find the time to blog/surf the ol' interweb?
I get to surf the web quite a lot through work (I'm a librarian). Just today, I read about all sorts of things in helping kids out...the Holocaust, Memphis, news about the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and some really fun things like Bloom's Taxonomy, Tennessee curriculum guides, and evaluation rubrics. Blogging, on the other hand, must wait until I get home.

{5} What is the ONE thing you're never too busy for?
Talking to my friends...so long as it is after 10 in the morning.

Wednesday Q&A: Road Trips

I found out long ago...
It's a long way down the holiday road

Okay, before we get started here, I have to admit I just love the fact that Mamarazzi and Queso sponsor these weekly Q&As. For one thing, it makes for an easy, not-a-lot-of-effort-needed post and that's a good thing when you work full time and still want to blog somewhat regularly. Also, these questions usually bring enjoyable memories to mind again and give me the chance to write them down for my kids. So, thanks!

This week's Q&A focuses on road trips. John and I love, love, love them. Ren? Not so much anymore. And, well, we haven't been on many with John-Heath yet, but considering how he is stimulated by EVERYTHING, he would probably love them, too.

{1} What are 3 must haves for a long road trip?

It’s been a few years since we went on our last true road trip so I’ll give you my past list of “must haves” and, what I’m sure would be my new list.

PAST
Snacks
Magazines and music
Toilet paper

PROBABLE LIST SHOULD WE GO ON ANOTHER ROAD TRIP IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
iPods and headphones for both children.
magazines
earplugs for me
(so that I might enjoy reading above-mentioned magazines in peace and
quiet should my children get bored with their iPods and resort to their next favorite pastime while riding in the car - arguing with each other.)

There would probably be no need to invest in snacks and toilet paper, considering we all would probably need frequent mini-breaks from the enclosed space of a car and John-Heath’s favorite hobby, it seems, is checking out the bathroom of every business we have ever entered.

{2} What was the destination of your most recent road trip?

We headed out west a few years ago and just drove until we ran out of time and needed to head back home. After stopping at different places along the way for a day here and there, we made it as far as Dodge City, Kansas.

{3} What do you miss most about home when on a trip?

Clothes that don’t come from a suitcase and family, of course. You might not think I’d be this way, but I tend to get homesick for my mom, dad, and sister’s family (even at my age) if we are gone for more than a few days.

{4} What is the furthest you have traveled on a road trip?

Several summers ago, the one just before Ren entered fourth grade, we went on what we affectionately refer to as our “New England Blitz.” We went as far as Kennebunkport, Maine, staying in a different place every night.

It was an awesome trip! We visited some great places and saw some wonderful things...Boston (greaaat town), the Liberty Bell (Philly is another must-see), Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA (every child should take a field trip there!), Mystic Pizza (didn’t much care for the house special, but got a t-shirt just like Julia Roberts wore in the movie), and locating and talking our way into the ultra private community of Fenwick, Connecticut to see Katharine Hepburn’s home (John and Ren are big fans and she had passed away just weeks before), and sooo much more. I have wanted to go back from the moment we left.

There were only three things I disliked about that trip...

One, the motel we stayed at during our night in Bennington, Vermont.

Ren: (as we pulled into the parking lot well past midnight) Momma, what is this place?
Me: It’s called a motel.
Ren: You mean it’s not even a real hotel?
Ren: (days later back at home talking to my parents about our trip) ...and we stayed in a MOtel.

Two, all the freakin’ huge mosquitoes in Maine. They were like something straight out of a 1950s Sci-fi movie.

And finally, all the bridges and tunnels we went over and through. NOT a fan of bridges and tunnels. Not a fan, at all!

{5} Will you "stop for the largest ball of twine, etc" or are you a "hurry and get there" road tripper?

Ohhh, yeahhh. We could be related to Clark Grizwold, so we’ve seen our share of twine, wax figures, reptiles, meteorites, and deep, hand-dug wells, at least during the going part of trips. Once we head back home we kinda get in the “hurry up and get there” mode.

What about you? Are you a fan of road trips?

P.S. Before anyone out there gets all up in arms about the motel reference, let me clarify. I have stayed in many a motel in my life. There are some wonderful little ones that are quite near and dear to my heart. However, the one mentioned above was not one run by a local mom & pop. Instead, it was rather dilapidated, looked as if it could be the place of business for ladies practicing the world's oldest profession, smelled, and was poorly furnished. In fact, I spent what was left of my entire night hanging on to the mattress for dear life in an effort to keep from falling out of the lop-sided bed onto the nasty floor. Bennington (at that time) was a one horse town when it came to chain hotels, and on that night that horse happened to be full!

We Want to Know. Q and A.

{1} Did you live in the same town or move around a lot as a child?

I surely did, and still do. I am 100%, Grade A, homegrown small town. Living in a town like mine has its good points and bad. A plus... we have few traffic jams, unless you get behind someone riding their lawn mower to the grocery store. I tell you no lies, people. Negatives? Well, I can’t mention them here. People know where I live and I don’t want my house to get egged or something. Seriously, though, I live in a pretty swell little place and there are only a few things I’d change.

{2} What were your parents like?

They were and are the salt of the earth. I thank God they’re mine every day, although, my mom needs to chill a bit. Nobody’s house has to be THAT clean. A little dirt is good for you... builds your immunity. No wonder I came down with tonsillitis every year as a child.

{3} Do you have any siblings? What were they like growing up?

I have one sister and I haven’t a clue what she was like growing up because she was almost 17 when I was born. I do know that she was a majorette in the high school marching band (that means she twirled a baton -heehee-) and pretended to play the saxophone in concert band. Oh, and she wore these really funky, pointed, dark-rimmed glasses. I’ll post a picture sometime. Then she’ll be sorry she never reads my blog.

She has also always been my second mother and is my daughter’s second mom, as well. I thank God for her, too.

{4} Share a short story from your childhood.

Hmmmm. Okay, I have two that have just come to mind…one about a chicken and another about being a chicken. I’ll have to go with the story about being a chicken. The actual chicken story just makes me sound like a serial killer in the making, so I better leave that one alone for now. Calm down, PETA people. I wasn’t very old at the time and I did feel remorse for what I almost did.

Anyway, back to the story about being a chicken. I was afraid of the dark. I was 5. No wait, I was 6, 7, 8, 9, ...15, 16, 17,.... Again, I tell no lies. Just ask my mom who still slept with me (at least until I would fall asleep), even until the night before my wedding. When I was but a wee chick I would start the night off by myself in my own bed. Once my parents were asleep, I would crawl out of my bed and across the floor until I reached their room (we lived in a small house, so it was a short trip), where I would pull my mother’s robe, also called a housecoat, off from the end of their bed to use as a blanket. Then I would settle in to sleep on the floor at the foot of their bed. I did this most every night. And every night I was caught just after I covered myself with my mom’s robe. I think that’s why she just started sleeping with me until I would fall asleep. It was easier on them, and definitely easier on my knees. And should I ever wake up in the middle of the night? She was always on call. “Maaamaa.”

{5} What did you look like?

Mostly, I always looked like I was up to something. My son has inherited this quality.

Me, circa 1973 or '74

Possibly in some early form of "time out".

This post is participating Mamarazzi and Alicia's "We Want to Know" series (#18)

We Want to Know. Q & A.

{1} Who would you call if you had to get bailed out of jail?

No one. I am a mother and a teacher, which means for the past two months I have been cooped up at home mediating the arguments of my two children. A weekend in jail would be a nice reprieve. At one point I even hatched a plan. Ride through town. Spot a patrol car. Toss out my milkshake in plain sight. Resist arrest.

{2} If you were a superhero what would your hero name be?

Professor Poopypants!!! Dang those cow pies!!!

Oh, wait. That's already taken.

{3} What do you think is one of your best qualities?

My agility, of course.

{4} What song would you pick to be your own personal theme song?

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". It's as eclectic as I am.

{5} What celebrity do you think is most over rated?

All of them. Okay, maybe not Andy Griffith.