List of the Week, v2

What do you want to be when you grow up?

(Who am I - Brenda Starr or Dale Messick ?)

Today I'm neither girl reporter nor famous artist. But I've wanted to be both. See, I've wanted to be a lot of things. I actually spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be, supposed to do. I think there's something BIG out there with my name on it. But I don't know what it is. Or how to figure it out. Someday (when I grow up), I might figure out which one of my ideas is right for me. Someday I'll figure out what exactly God made me to do. Until then, I'll just keep adding to my list...

• Teacher (What teacher's pet doesn't want to be a teacher? Of course, I'm still a bit jealous of those summers off!)
• Lawyer (I have to admit, this one still comes and goes occasionally.)
• Cartoon artist (I went through this phase in middle school. I thought I was the next big cartoonist. It may have had something to do with the TV show, "Caroline in the City.")
• Animal rights activist (My seventh grade civics teacher showed us a video about cock fighting. I was appalled and briefly determined to do something about it.)
• Novelist
• Journalist (I went to college with this idea. I was very close to going to a large university specifically for this major, but ended up going to a smaller school. Good thing, since I changed my major after first semester when I learned that being a reporter isn't exactly like being Brenda Starr or Lois Lane!)
• Rock star (Right, like you don't have this dream!)
• Music teacher
• Photographer
• Psychologist (This was my next bright idea in college - spent a couple semesters thinking I would be a counselor. Not a bad idea, but it wasn't the right one, either.)
• Small business owner/entrepreneur
• Event planner (This is where my career began. It was a good place, but not the ultimate place for me.)
• Fundraiser
• College professor (Turns out it only took two hostile golfers in my Speech 101 class to change my mind about changing young lives this way.)
• PR specialist (Okay, so nobody really dreams of being a "specialist," but it's my title for now.)
• Book editor
• Book publicist
• Party planner, photographer and scrapbooker (surely there's a market for this?!)
• Writer (Some days, I really think I have a book in me. What kind of book, you ask? I don't know yet...but I'll let you know when I do!)

I've thought for more than a year (way more than that if you go back to when I originally thought of it in college) that I should be a Christian book editor. It's possible that this is "it," what I've been looking for. What I'm made to do. For the record, I don't know how to get into this career, since I'm fairly entrenched in another career path. But I do know that if this is God's plan for me, we'll figure it out somehow!

What kind of job dreams do YOU have? What will YOU be when you grow up?

List of the Week, v1

I've decided that I need a list of the week. However, I should caution you at this point not to set your watches by my lists. I have in the past - twice, actually - attempted to send a "Tip of the Week" to my co-workers, and both times it ended up being more like a "Tip of the Every Once in a While When the Mood Strikes Me."

That being said, this week's list is ever-growing and ever-evolving...and begins with Everwood. Without further ado (I am big on ado, aren't I?), here it is:

TV Shows I Plan to Watch on DVD

(a.k.a., shows I missed the first time around or don't have time to watch now)

• Everwood
• West Wing
• Friday Night Lights
• Brothers & Sisters
• Wonderfalls
• Veronica Mars, season one
• So You Think You Can Dance, season one
  (Do they put reality shows on DVD?)
• Arrested Development

Now, in order to watch these shows, I will have to actually purchase the DVDs (not likely, as I only own two TV shows on DVD - The Office, season one, which was a gift; and Home Improvement, which was free and I took it for my husband) or break down and get a membership to Netflix, which I've been avoiding especially since discovering Redbox.

You know, now that I think about it, this is a pretty lofty goal. Because it's not like watching these shows in their entirety will be a short thing. No, it's going to take time. And dedication. I probably better put it on my summer projects list. (Yes, the same place my "read some classics" goal has been for years...)

So - what about you all? What's on your list?

A Battle of the Wills

You know those forwards that ask you lots of personal questions and tell you to pass it on to your friends? Like, chocolate or vanilla? Hugs or kisses? What are you listening to right now?

Well, this picture tells you what I'm listening to right now.

Apparently, this is the torture I've heard other parents speak of called "crying it out." It's pretty bad, I will admit. The doctor told us yesterday that yes, she can learn to eat more formula during the day if we don't feed her at night. And that no, she won't remember that I let her cry and hold it against me when she's 16.

The best (and by "best," I mean "worst") part of it all is that until the past couple of weeks, PhotoBaby has been sleeping like a champ. And then we added solid foods. Oh, she loves her solid foods, that PhotoBaby. Rice is yummy and carrots, well, they're the best thing since....ummm...rice. But now she thinks she's a big kid and only wants to eat solid foods. No more bottle for her.

Unfortunately, kid needs that bottle for another six months. This is evident by the way she's been waking up in the middle of the night and yelling until I feed her.

But the doctor says to stop doing that.

So here I am, at 4:42 a.m., listening to an angry, angry baby. Please, kids, don't try this at home.

Can We Have Class Outside Today?

I know it's been a few (okay, seven) years since I was in college. But beautiful spring (or fall) days always remind me of the times we would beg our professors to have class outside. I think it only happened once (the actual class outside, not the begging) - and the windy environment wasn't really conducive to note-taking. But still, it's days like today that make me want to ask my boss, "Can we work outside today?"

(By the way, this picture was taken out at my father-in-law's farm. Pretty, huh?)

And I Could Not Ask for More

Last night I watched Monday's episode of How I Met Your Mother. (I taped it so I could watch Bones.) The basic premise is that Marshall quit his job at a corporate law firm because it was sucking up all his time, making him miserable, and forcing him to sell out to the man. Umm, The Man. Anyway.

For those of you who don't watch, you should. But since you don't, I'll tell you about Marshall. He's married to Lily, and they're an almost sickeningly sweet couple. Some would debate the "almost" part, but I like them so I don't. Lily has a billion dollars of credit card debt, plus the couple just bought an apartment they can't really afford. So Marshall felt like he had to take the higher-paying corporate job instead of pursuing his dream of using his law degree to save the environment.

After he admitted to Lily in this week's episode that he had quit his job, he swore he would go back and beg for hisjob back. But Lily said, "No, you won't." And when her friends asked her if she was upset, she said she was just glad to have her husband back.

You might be wondering why I'm telling you this. Well, it's because that very scenario occurred in my life about four years ago. I was in a very bad job situation, completely burned out and miserable and spending all my free time on the very job that was driving me crazy. Like Marshall, I felt like the job was chipping away at my soul. Okay, that may be a bit dramatic, but it was definitely hammering away at my sanity and peace of mind and happiness. So, again like Marshall, in a fit of well, not exactly rage but close enough, I also quit my job. Without another one lined up. Knowing full and well how much debt we had and how my paycheck paid exactly half of all our bills.

And when we told our small group at church about it, all my husband said was, "I'm just glad to have my wife back."

One More Thing I Love...

...and then I'm back to very serious, mature topics.

But first: musical animals. Singing, dancing, live action, animated - I pretty much love them all. But here are my two favorites.

• Blockbuster's Carl & Ray are dancing maniacs.
• Advantix's singing puppy has no bugs.

All right, it's your turn. What crazy or embarrassing things do YOU love?

Things I Secretly Love

(I tried to think of a clever title for this post, but came up empty. I blame it on lack of sleep - thank you, PhotoBaby - and having just finished my taxes. Blech.)

So, I started thinking today about all the silly things I love. Things that most people don't appreciate. Things that I'm a little embarrassed to admit I love. And then I thought, 'Hey, Photoqueen (that's what I go by back home is Photoqueen...name that song reference), you shouldn't be ashamed of what you love. Well, maybe you should. But blog it anyway!'

So here it is. My list of things I secretly - or embarrassingly (is that even a word?) - love, in no particular order.

• Plastic cups
• Free t-shirts
• Wife Swap, the TV show
• Tostitos cheese dip (I fully blame T-Rex for this one.)
• My husband's shot glass collection (No, we don't drink shots. We just collect them as souvenirs for some reason.)
• Recipes that I look up, copy down, and never, ever use
• Reading blogs - often written by people I don't know (I'm not nosy, just extremely interested in people. And their lives. In detail.)
• Cheesy chick flicks/romantic comedies (Never Been Kissed, I'm talking to you. How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, this is for you.)
• ALSO - teeny-bopper movies (She's the Man, Clueless, Drive Me Crazy) and dance movies (Save the Last Dance, Step Up)
• Romance novels (I'd like to tell you all about the classic I'm reading right now...or even the political thriller...but...it's a romance novel.)
• Air Supply (I blame my mother for this addiction. And sadly enough, I have already tried to pass it on to PhotoBaby. For about a month, I fed her and rocked her to sleep to the beautiful soft rock sounds of All Out of Love and Making Love Out of Nothing At All.)
• Looking up celebrities who look alike on imdb.com.
• Taking personality tests to learn how cool I am. (Okay, I said it. I love those tests because I get so excited when the results sound like me - as if I'm so cool that someone has written about my personality - as if I'm the only person with this personality. Hm.)
• Smelling library books (I don't know what it is. But I love the way they smell. And for the record, that's all books, not just the fluffy romances.)

Well, that's it for now. As you can see, I'm not very cool. I also have started to like Taylor Swift. For those of you unaware, she's a teeny-bopper country singer who plays a sparkly guitar. Yeah. A sparkly guitar. And I like her, okay?

Take care that you never spell a word wrong…It produces great praise to a lady to spell well.

Thomas Jefferson reportedly said that to his daughter, Martha. I like it. Mainly because I'm such a geek. And because I just recently learned some great news. Are you ready for this? There's an organization in my city that puts on a corporate spelling bee every year as a fundraiser for a literacy program.

So, just to make sure you get the whole picture. This is a spelling bee for grown-ups! And it's for charity! Does it get any better than this? It's already happened for this year, but you better believe I'll be signing up next year!

If I were a real nerd, I would note here that this gives me 11 months to practice. But I'm not saying that. (Although I will admit to being totally blown away by the way they studied in Akeelah and the Bee. Who knew there was a way to study spelling that's so much better than rote memorization?!) Yeah, I love this movie. But I won't actually be studying for next year's spelling bee. Well, you know, not for several months at least...

Now, for those of you who aren't spelling-obsessed like I am, you'll be satisfied to find that you're not alone. In an effort to find support for my belief that spelling is of utmost importance in this world (I know - who needs more support when you've got Thomas Jefferson on your side?), I found a few people who don't think spelling is, well, the bee's knees. (I couldn't help it!)

First we have another president, Andrew Jackson, who said, "It's a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word!" (This reminds me of my friend, Kimi, who, when caught singing the wrong lyrics along to the radio, said, "I can't believe they [the actual band] don't know the words to this song!")

Also opposed to spelling rules is Mark Twain, who said, among other colorful things, "I never had any large respect for good spelling." (That might explain the tricky-to-read dialect of Huck Finn!)

And then I went to another Martha, someone who appreciates the finer arts of grammar and spelling, someone I was certain would back me up on my belief that correct spelling is crucial. I went to Martha Brockenbrough. She's a columnist for MSN Encarta, she's had a blog about her daughters on the Cranium website, she created the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG), and she wrote an article called, Tips from a Former Spelling Champion. Surely Martha B (also self-proclaimed "Grumpy Martha" when it comes to grammar issues) would back me up on this one.

But that was not the case. Though her article implies, by its very existence, that spelling is important, she also has some pointed comments that say otherwise. She admits that our society tends to assume people who can't spell aren't intelligent (okay...guilty...), but she apparently doesn't agree. Her argument is that English is just a darned tricky language to learn properly! She even calls the language "promiscuous," because it continues to adopt words from other languages...and rappers. (Exhibit 1: bling. Exhibit 2: jiggy.) Finally, Martha says that the English language is a nightmare. Encarta even includes a sidebar to guide us to a whole organization dedicated to revising our spelling system to using more phonetic (fu-nett-ick?) system.

She does go on to then share some spelling tips. And even Grumpy Martha can't resist telling her readers that she dominated her school's spelling bees and almost made it to the national spelling bee. So maybe I'll join Martha and admit that maybe (MAYBE) spelling isn't the most important thing in the world and may not be the only or best way to determine a person's intelligence.

But can I also tell you about the time I won the county spelling bee in sixth grade?

Isn’t it Ironic?

Last night on American Idol, one of the contestants sang, "You've Got a Friend," by Carole King (or James Taylor, depending on which version you're familiar with). She called it a song that "makes everyone feel good" or “a happy little song” or something along those lines.

The ironic thing is that this song makes me sad. It makes me think of a friend who, for lack of a better term, dumped me. Without going into detail, she was one of my very best friends in college. One time when I was upset over my boyfriend, she wrote me a note and included lyrics from one of her favorite singers. You guessed it – James Taylor. In the years since college, we’ve not just grown apart like so many do. We had a misunderstanding, and we were both hurt. I’ve forgiven her and want just to be friends again. Suffice it to say, she doesn’t feel the same.

So now, lyrics like, "You just call out my name and you know wherever I am, I'll come running to see you again" and "Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend? People can be so cold. They'll hurt you and desert you" make me think of someone who has decided to never speak to me again.

I miss my friend. (Darn that happy little song by Carole King and James Taylor!)

"Nothing is really real unless it happens on television."

No, I don't really agree with this quote. But as I designed my blog and considered answering all the questions in the "My Profile" section, I was bummed that there's not a spot for my favorite TV shows. A spot for movies? Yes. Books, yes. TV, no.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love movies, and reading is my favorite thing to do. But TV? Well, sometimes it's what gets me from Monday to Friday. Sometimes, and I'm only admitting this to you, it's what tells me what day it is. (What's today? Oh yeah, it's Office-Day, I mean, Thursday.) So, in order to share this part of my life with you that should not be so important...but really is...here are my favorite TV shows.

New shows:
Chuck
NCIS (no, it's not new, but I just discovered it last summer)

Not-new shows:
The Office
Grey's Anatomy
Bones
So You Think You Can Dance

Cable shows:
Monk
Psych
My Boys
What Not to Wear

Old, canceled shows:
Gilmore Girls
Veronica Mars
Ed
Friends
JAG
Felicity

So, that's it. That's what I had to say today. I wrote a page about multitasking, several paragraphs about irony and friendship, and this is what I came up with. TV.

What are YOUR favorite TV shows?

I'm Just Sayin'...

I found this quote online today: "Whenever I found out anything remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper, so that all ingenious people might be informed thereof."

When I read that, I thought, "Yep, that's it. That's why I need a blog."

Now, I should admit at this point that for the last several months, about 47 different things have made me stop and say, "And that's why I need a blog."

But this quote (from a Dutch biologist named Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, for those of you who care about that sort of thing) reminded me of the greater purpose for writing. See, I almost always have something to say, but it's not always - or even often - deep or thought-provoking or significant. Every once in a while, though, something remarkable happens. And as van Leeuwenhoek said, in those cases, ingenious people (hey - that's you!) need to be informed.

So, here I am. Blogging. Sharing my thoughts. Telling it like it is. And, okay, since the remarkable doesn't happen all that often, I'm sure I'll be talking about whatever comes to mind, whether it's a quote from a biologist (yeah, like that will happen twice) or the meaning behind my obsession with So You Think You Can Dance (I can admit it. I love it. So what?).

Let the blogging begin.