(Not so) Deep Thoughts

Time for some Friday Fun!

The lovely Rachel, has bestowed upon me a prestigious award, known as a Liebster. Ok...it might be more of a chain letter than an award, but she still bestowed it upon me. And when someone bestows something upon you, you don't unbestow it. Or ignore the bestowing. So Rachel, I graciously accept. And for my acceptance speech, I will answer the 11 questions she's posed to her honorees. I figure it's a fun follow up to my effort to be less meticulous at times, and just share some randoms from our life. So here goes: 

1. In what type of car did you take your drivers test? (and, did you pass the first time?)

My choices at the time were my parents car- a Toyota Four Runner (try to get that beast through the maneuverability portion? No thanks!) and a Honda Del Sol (I could drive manual, but didn't need that kind of pressure on my big day.)

Tangent rant: my mom taught me how to drive stick before I even had my license, and I'm so grateful. When people tell me they don't know how to drive manual, vi kind of want to punch them...and then teach them to drive. In my opinion, there's no excuse for not knowing that. I mean, you don't have to want to do it everyday (that's my makeup applying hand!) (kidding) (kind of). But to say you'll never need to know that is just not true. What if your friend has too much to drink and you have to drive them home in their 5-speed? What if you're stranded in the woods being chased by an axe murderer and you stumble upon an abandoned truck with the keys in it? (It could happen!) What if you win a tropical vacation complete with house rental and a free dune buggy? See? It's a matter of survival. 

Long story long- I borrowed a Toyota Camry from my Young Life leader and passed on my first try. Though I learned a valuable lesson about stop bars. They're a thing...if you're under 16, I suggest you look it up. 

2. Where would like to spend your retirement years?  Hometown? Exotic location?

Can I cop out and say both? In my imaginary retirement years, we are fabulously wealthy, so we have a house in my hometown, near all of my family, and a vacation home someplace warm (for when we tire of all that family). I'm thinking a Caribbean island, or maybe somewhere with a bit drier heat, like Arizona or Palm Springs. Or maybe we'll finally make our dreams come true and move to The Villages (aka Disneyland for "active adults"). Now I just have to make sure my kids know they have to live near me, but something tells me if I have all that money, and we offer to babysit once in a while it won't be that hard of a sell. 

3. What's your favorite vacation memory?

I couldn't possibly choose. I've had the incredible fortune to go too many places to pick a favorite. I have fond memories of road trips as a kid, adventures as a teen and romantic getaways as an adult. Now we're back in "family vacation" mode, but this time we're in charge instead of along for the ride. I'll definitely miss the days of just Dustin and me frolicking on the beach (he's an excellent frolicker!) but I'm really looking forward to forming traditions with our kids and helping create favorite memories for them.   

4. Who was your favorite teacher (any level of education)?

There was my 7th grade pre-calc teacher who wore short sleeves dress shirts with pocket protectors. And my 9th grade geometry teacher with a bowl cut (and she was a woman!) and was missing the end of her pointer finger. Or my sophomore year chemistry teacher who serenaded us on the guitar to "stairway to chemistry". And my junior year physics teacher who made a hovercraft out of wood, duct tape and a shopvac, and let us ride it to "I believe I can fly". 

Or what about in first grade when our teacher dressed up like viola swamp to scare us a little? And my second grade teacher who was so short she had to stand on her desk to get our attention. Or my fifth grade teacher who took three of us on a biology/snorkeling trip to the Bahamas. And my 7th grade health teacher who played the video of a birth backwards while yelling, go back in!! 

Not to mention my college design professor who is still pretty much my life role model (I want to be her when I grow up).

Yeah...I had some pretty good ones. 

5. What's your least favorite household chore and why?

Cleaning. That's the worst. Oh- was I supposed to be more specific? Cleaning my house. Worst. (Tied with garbage, bill paying, and basically any other activity that isn't eating or sleeping.)

6. If you could go back to high school, would you do things the same or vastly different?

Woof. Please show me someone that would go back to high school and do things the same. I submit that you cannot. (or really: should not.)

7. What sports did you play?

The usual:

Rowing

Bowling

Power lifting

(Seriously.)

But don't ask me about basketball. I got cut in the last round of tryouts in 7th grade because I wasn't "aggressive enough" and I never really got over it. Though it did allow me the chance to become their official statistician. All of the responsibility, none of the cool-factor. That's me in a nutshell.

8. What's your beverage of choice?  Pop, tea, coffee?

Coke aka Sweet nectar of the gods. (Seriously- enter "coke" in my sidebar search, and you'll get 4 pages of results.) I have never been a coffee drinker, and don't plan to start (I don't need another vice.) I definitely need some caffeine in my life, but too much makes me feel like a crazy person, so a can (or 2 if I'm getting really wild!) of Coke Zero a day is my (literal) sweet spot.

9. Music or talk radio?

Talk radio is my nightmare. I can't have one more thing yapping at me. I listen to the radio in the car, and play pandora in the evenings, but if the kids are around, even that is a bit much sometimes and I just need some quiet. 

10. How many shows are saved on your DVR right now? (or Netflix queue or whatever space age contraption you use)

Zero. We gave up cable over a year ago and haven't looked back. More on that saga here.

That being said- I catch up on The Real Housewives (all but Miami) online (call me if you need help finding a way to watch bootleg shows on the web. I may or may not know a trick or two.), and Dustin and I just started watching Friday Night Lights through Amazon Prime. (Love it! The show and prime!)

11. What's one movie that you have to stop and watch if you see it while scrolling through?

Oooh...tough question. I don't think I have one, but I can quote Bring It On verbatim after watching it on VHS several hundred times. Maybe that counts? (See also: Coyote Ugly, and Zoolander).

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Thanks Rachel!
(part of the deal was I was supposed to post a bunch of rules, and nominate 11 other bloggers....But...um...I'm not going to. Commence with my 11 million years of bad luck, or whatever my blog penance shall be. But if you're reading, and dying to join...consider yourself nominated and leave me a comment so I can scoot over to read your 11 tidbits.)

**I really wanted to call this entry "Ours go to Eleven..." but I had already used that for a post. Real original, Courtney.