Know & Tell Friday: Music Edition

Welcome to Know & Tell Friday: Music Edition! I'm breaking the rules this week. Have you ever noticed that KATF is usually seven questions? Well, this week we are going to have ten. You know why? Because I can.

No, really, there were too many questions I wanted to ask and I couldn't decide which ones to eliminate, plus the last one is sort of a bonus helper question for Heather and Reese. If it works out the way I hope, it also lets you participate in Know & Tell Friday at a future date. In addition, I don't like the number seven. I don't like most odd numbers. The only ones I like very much are three, nine, and twenty-seven. Maybe eighty-one, too, but just because it's the multiple of twenty-seven and three. It goes back to the OCD number thing, and if you don't know what I'm talking about, you're probably just better off not knowing.

Last week I mentioned that Heather had been missing-in-action the week before and to give her a little shout out. I think Reese wanted some special attention, because she skipped KATF last week. Shame on that girl! I think I just won't do KATF for them anymore if they can't even answer the questions I've worked so hard to put together, especially when they already know what they are. Hmmm, you say this is my last week hosting so it doesn't matter anyway? You are absolutely right. It is. I hope those girls both show up!

Okay, kidding aside, thanks for letting me help you out and host KATF these last four weeks, you Crazyville girls. I'll quit the gabbing now. Here are your musical questions:

1. Do you play any musical instruments? If so, which one(s)? If not, is there one you always wanted to know how to play?

I know how to play the piano. I started taking lessons when I was five years old. I never was very good at sight-reading music, and that's the one thing I could change if I could. I've also played handbells since I was in the sixth grade off and on. I even played in a bell quartet at our church in Illinois. Now that was a lot of bells to play per person! Since my arm paralyzed in 2004 I haven't played; my arm is still weak and even though I could play the lighter bells, I'm afraid of dropping one.

By the way, I am a great toe-tapper. I do not play air guitar, although a certain Hubby in our house has been known to.

2. Do you sing well? Do you sing along in the car? Do you use head motions?

Unfortunately I only sing well in my dreams. My sister and cousin got the good-singing genes. I would love to be able to sing well!!! I do sing along in the car, and I do use head motions, and Hubby added that question, probably to embarrass me. He doesn't realize it takes more than that.

3. Who was your teen music crush?

My teen music crush (probably pre-teen really) was Shaun Cassidy. I had the poster and everything. I loved the Bee Gees too. Oh, and their brother Andy Gibb.

4. What is your favorite type of music?

Contemporary Christian music is my favorite type of music, although I do like classic 80's.

5. Who are your three favorite musical artists?

I asked for three because it's always so hard to name one, but narrowing it down to three could be hard too. My three favorites are probably Avalon, FFH, and Various Artists. Got around that one, didn't I?

6. Does your church play traditional or praise songs, or a combination?

Our church plays a combination. It's a nice mix.

7. What is your favorite hymn?

If you had asked me when I was growing up I would have said "Because He Lives" or "People to People" because they were unique. I think now that there are praise songs I enjoy the classic hymns more than the unusual ones. I love "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Victory In Jesus," but my favorite is probably "It Is Well With My Soul." If you are unfamiliar with the story behind the hymn, I've taken this from Wikipedia:

"This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Horatio Spafford's life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the S.S. Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with another ship, and all four of Spafford's daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone." Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died."


I've known these questions for four weeks, and I've known that this is the hymn I would put down as my favorite. Sunday night at church, we sang this hymn. How cool is that?

8. What is your favorite praise song?

This one could definitely become a long list because I have tons that I love, but I'll put one down and stick with it. Lord Reign In Me.


9. What is the strangest musician's name whose music you like?

I'll go with Hootie and the Blowfish. Remember "Only Wanna Be With You?" Now there is no need to watch this video unless you either absolutely love the song or want to listen for a second to see what it is. And if you do watch it and see the sports scenes at the beginning — no, I haven't gone back to the Sports Edition week. It's the right video. I'd never seen this video before I looked it up tonight even though I grew up in the MTV generation. I was in high school when MTV first debuted, but I never really watched it because it just wasn't my thing. I did listen to the radio in the car and at work though, so I'm familiar with lots of 80's and 90's music. That disclaimer made, watch by your own choice!


10. Here's the bonus question that you get to answer with a question. What one question would you like for Heather and Reese to ask in a future KATF? Just DON'T answer it yet. It can be something random, something you'd just love to know about everyone else...just whatever floats your boat. Go for it!

What was your first car and how old were you when you got it? How much did it cost?

Well, that's it for this week. Thanks for singing and playing along with us. Hook up with Mr. Linky below. Hope you'll leave a comment too. Don't forget to head straight to Kicking It In Crazyville next week, because the girls get this little carnival thrown right back their way. See y'all around!

&

Know & Tell Friday: Decorating Edition

The Decorating Edition...this one is going to be fun! It's going to be a stretch for me since I'm not in my house yet, and I won't get to take pictures of all my pretties. But before it's all said and done I'm going to do as many internet searches as possible for the things I can.

Now before we get started I have a little business to take care of. Last week you might have noticed the absence of one of our Kicking It In Crazyville Know & Tell Friday Corporate CEOs. You'll remember that I'm just the little mailroom clerk that's helping out for a few weeks. The CEO that was conspicuously absent was Heather. Now why didn't Heather participate? She said in an email to me on Friday night, when we were corresponding about a book we both disliked, that she was going to do it later that evening or on Saturday. But she was a no show. RSVP'd but didn't come to the partay.

Well, I know that Heather has been busy with her work, and her kids are hogging her computer at home, and she's just generally stressed out and tired. That's part of the reason that I've been helping out. That and Reese is stressed out, too.

So just to be different this week, let's have a pre-question, which really isn't a question, but more of a comment. If you want to do it, just number it zero. Then you don't have to mess up your numbering if you don't want to do it. Because I'm all about orderliness, but you already knew that, didn't you?

Enough mumbo jumbo - let's get on with it!

0. If you want to, leave a comment for Heather to let her know how much you missed her last week and wish her well.

Hello, Boss. I hope you took everything I said with the proper respect in my typing voice. I missed you last week and I hope to see you here this week. Maybe you'll beat out Boss Reese and be number one on Mr. Linky, assuming he's agreeable again.

1. Do you have fake plants in your house? Do you like them?

I have fake plants in the apartment we're living in right now, and I don't particularly care for them. This one has a Mr. Potato Head accessorizing it. He's a little nekkid and embarrassed right now so he took off his face. That's naked for Southerners. See that phone? He was going to call 911 and report me for his nekkidness.

This one got moved from somewhere else to the top of the entertainment unit to get it out of the way.

This is a big tree in the corner of the living room. This is as much of the tree as I could get in the picture. That's how little the room is or how big the tree is. You know on those staging shows on HGTV how they tell you to stage a room and a house to make it look bigger? Well, somebody didn't teach that to the people who put the things in this corporate apartment. Our dining room table would be another example, but that's another post.

This is on top of one of the kitchen cabinets. I moved it up there from one of the countertops along with some of the accessories that are up there.

It's not that these fake plants look super bad. It's just that I'm not a super big fake plant person, and considering that there really isn't room for them, I don't like them.

2. What is the oldest piece of furniture you have that is not an antique? Describe it.

Our piano is the oldest piece of furniture we have that is not an antique. It was the one I had when I was growing up that my mom bought when I was about five and started taking piano lessons. It is an upright Everett piano. This is NOT my piano, but it appears to be the same style as mine.

3. Do you have any antiques?

We have several antique pieces we bought before we had children. We have an antique sideboard which is probably our favorite piece, a lowboy, and a secretary. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures right now.

4. What type of dishes do you use? China, stoneware, Corelle, Tupperware, paper plates?

We use a combination of stoneware and melamine/Tupperware. For lunchtime or casual we use the melamine/Tupperware. The Tupperware square plates can go in the microwave. The melamine are three-way divided plates the kids use. My stoneware are "spongeware" in several different colors. I went online and copied some pictures to show you.

I have blue spongeware:


I have salad plates only in this spongeware pattern:


I have a few pieces (these aren't mine) in blue and green double spongeware:


I have cranberry spongeware:


Can you tell I'm kind of a jewel-tone, Americana-color girl? I love my stoneware. I have no china. Since we got married young, when we registered for things, we picked out towels and appliances and obvious items, not china. We didn't even pick out glasses or silverware. I had used Betty Crocker points and gotten myself some Oneida Community Stainless. I also think I've done my usual and digressed, so I'll get back on track and go on to the next question.

5. What is your favorite thing in your house?

Hmmm...I'm not in my house, I'm in an apartment without my own things, so this might take a minute for me. I would have to say it's a toss-up between my antique sideboard, my Nancy Drew books, and my stoneware. I have already bought two "nightstands" for my master bedroom in my new house along with lamps and shades. I got them at Target. They may be my new favorite things. The tables are actualy black round footed tables and they were exactly what I was looking for. I can't wait to show you a picture of those in my house someday!

6. Do you like to use lamps or overhead lighting?

I like to use lamps unless I need the overhead lighting for the brightness.

7. Are you a pristine white wall person or do you love color?

Well, since we've almost always lived in military quarters or rentals, we've pretty much lived with pristine white walls. In the first little house we had in Mississippi, which we only lived in for about nine months, we repainted the entire inside white to brighten it up. The morning we sold the house in Mississippi, we drove to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and bought our house there that evening. That house had fairly pristine walls, except for the master bedroom. It was pink. Yep, pink. At least we had some pink flowers on our comforter so it matched, because in the two years we lived there we never painted it.

We painted the girls' room in our rental house in Illinois. We painted it a very light pink. Sounds like we have a thing for pink, doesn't it? We painted it back the pristine color before we moved. Other than that, I've had bare colored walls. We'll just be consistent for the day and call them nekkid.

When I get in my new house, I want to paint my bedroom Cloudy Day by Behr. My friend in Virginia had her living room painted that color and I loved it. It's a very light blue. I'm a blue girl.

We are going to paint Sparky's headboard wall a green color to match her duvet cover and the other three walls a blue color, again to match the blue in the duvet cover. You can't really see the lime green that's in it, but it's there. Sparky's all about green.


Chatty wants her walls to be some type of stripe with light pink, light orange, and yellow. We're still looking for covers, so that could have a slight change, although she seems pretty firm on that.

I want to paint my other walls, especially in my living room, dining room and kitchen, but I don't want to pick the wrong color. I'm wondering if the Nester's Tobacco Road would look good. I'll have to see because of my cabinet colors and everything. I keep telling myself I have time to decide.

The funny thing is, I'll probably get there and be scared to death to lift a paintbrush. I've lived with pristine white for way too long.

Hope you had fun this week! Link up your post with Mr. Linky so we can come find you, and leave me a comment if you'd like. Be sure and come back next week, because since it's my last week of guest hosting I'm going to be a rule breaker!

&

Know & Tell Friday: Animal Edition

It's time for the next installment of Know & Tell Friday over here at my blog while Heather & Reese are kickin' back over at Kicking It In Crazyville. Just in case anybody wondered, the girls had prior knowledge of all four weeks' worth of questions I'd be posting over here, so hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as they thought you would. We're going with the Animal Edition this week, and we've run the gamut of the animal population with these questions. Have fun!

1. What dog do you most resemble?

I pick the Coton de Tulear, primarily for the appearance in hair type. I was going to go with the Afghan Hound, but since I'm a super shorty, and the Afghan Hound isn't, I went with a smaller dog.


On the TerrificPets dot com website where I found this picture, here's some of the information I got on the Coton de Tulear:

"The Coton de Tulear is different from most breeds of dogs in that the cotton, dry textured coat is more like hair than it is like a traditional dog fur. This makes the coat appear very fluffy and light, almost tussled in appearance. This dog has a wonderful, lively and intelligent personality that makes them ideal for any type of home or family situation. Training the Coton de Tulear is a very pleasant experience although they are occasionally a bit headstrong and stubborn. They are quick to learn both good and bad habits and will find many endearing little things to do when they think they may be in trouble."

Sounds like I picked the right dog.

2. What is your favorite zoo animal?

Hands down, the giraffe. Every single one of my kids and Hubby could even answer that question for me. I don't know if somewhere along the way I did some subliminal "I'm short, I like the tallest animal" thing, but I just love that animal.

3. What zoo animal reminds you most of yourself?

Well, I'm thinking the giraffe is obviously not going to be the answer. And although I need to lose some weight, it's not the hippo, rhino, or elephant. I'm a loud-mouth. My voice carries really well, especially when I want it to. I used to get shushed all the time when I was growing up, and Hubby still shushes me sometimes when I think I'm talking soft and I'm not. So I'll go with the lion, because their roar is loud and you can hear it throughout the zoo. Although if you happen to be at the zoo when the Galapagos turtles are mating you can hear them throughout at least half of the zoo, too. True story. Philadelphia zoo. The kids still think they were spitting on each other. Um-hmm. And they're going to read this. I'm going to have some 'splaining to do.

4. Do you have any pets? If so, how many, what kind, and what are their names? If not, would you like one?

We have one cat whose name is Peka. We got him at PetSmart in May, 2003, a few months before Hubby left for Kuwait. He was about a year old when we got him. His name was Topeka, like in Kansas, and Caboose could only say "Peka" or "uh-Peka," so we shortened it to just Peka. We all liked it better anyway because it seemed to fit him without completely changing it, and four kids were never going to agree on a name I would like. Especially when one of them was only three and his world revolved around different Thomas the Tank Engine trains. Peka likes to drink water from the sink in a Dixie cup. Fresh.

5. Have you ever ridden a horse?

I rode a horse a few times when I was in fourth grade with my best friend. She was really into horses, so we went out to a local horse stable and went on a trail ride, just the two of us with the leader person. When I was leaving the house I made a conscious decision to go back in my room and grab a baseball cap (the non-hat head girl). That turned out to be angels watching over me.

When we were going back up the gravel hill to the stables, the other two were leading the way and started their horses into a gallop or something, and my horse followed. There was a turn in the gravel trail, and as my horse and I made the turn my saddle started sliding off towards the down side of the hill. My right foot, which was also on the down side of the hill, was stuck in the stirrup. It came out about when my baseball cap bill hit the ground. I wore glasses then too, and they didn't hit the ground only because my bill hit first. They slipped off somehow in the first bounce, and then my right eyebrow hit the ground. I still have a scar in my right eyebrow and the hair won't grow there, so it makes the shape of my eyebrow a little funny. It could have been so much worse than it was if I hadn't had that hat on. I think the stable people were afraid we would sue, so they told us we could come back out and have a free trail ride another day. So we did, because apparently we were fearless and so were our parents. Or crazy. Yes, Mom, I said that. Did you remember about that?

6. Have you ever milked a cow?

My Great-Uncle Bill had a farm in Missouri, and I know he had milk cows, and I know I used to spend time out there with him and my Great-Aunt Ola, and I know he had unpasteurized milk in his refrigerator that we had to drink when we were there, and I know I thought that was gross, and I know he used to tell me not to stick my fingers under his garage door when it was cracked open just a little bit and his guard dogs were inside or I would get bitten, and I know he bandaged me up when I disobeyed and stuck my fingers under his garage door and one of his mean dogs bit my finger, but I don't remember if I ever actually milked one of his cows.

7. Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Several answers from my kids:

Only the wool should shrink, not the whole sheep, because the whole sheep isn't made out of wool.

Because sheep aren't jackets.

I say, "How do you know they don't."

Spoiler alert: I sort of cheated and did a google search, so if this is accurate information, this could actually be why:

"When the wool is on a sheep, it's full of oil, and this oil is replaced by the skin of the sheep if it washes off. Once the wool is cut off and washed, the oil is gone and no longer repels water."

Mr. Linky gave me a little problem last week, but hopefully he'll show up when I hit the publish button. If he doesn't, I'll do like last week and add him in his own special post. Maybe that's what he wanted all along? Or if he just never shows up, leave your link in the comments so we can find you. Happy Friday!

&

Know & Tell Friday Mr. Linky

Since he was being ornery earlier, here he is now, I hope.

Know & Tell Friday: The Famous Edition

Heather and Reese are stressed out and are going so far as to post pin-up pictures on their blog. Okay, now that I have your attention, welcome to Know & Tell Friday: The Famous Edition. Heather and Reese truly are stressed out and busy and I was crazy enough to help out again. Must have been visiting Crazyville a little too often! They have been there too long themselves, because I wasn't kidding about the pin-up pictures either.

Now I hope everyone realizes that the same thing holds true as the first time I did this...please play...otherwise not only will I feel bad, Heather and Reese will feel bad, and they will be in trouble with me...and they have asked me to do this for the next four weeks to give them a temporary break. So now, off to the races red carpet...

1. If you could meet one famous actor, who would it be and why?

I would love to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger. I love him in the movie Kindergarten Cop, and I also like Total Recall, except for the part where he pulls that thing out of his nose. I'd be curious why he chose to act in a movie like Kindergarten Cop, because even though he was a police officer and there were parts of the movie where he was rough, they were minimal. It seemed like it was really one of those "out of the box" choices for him.

2. What one question would you ask him?

I would ask Arnold if he wished he were an American-born citizen so he could run for President of our country.

Hubby was just watching a commercial on tv during Monster Jam and Mr. T was on it, so now he's doing an impression of "I pity da fool," so maybe I should want to meet Mr. T and ask him why he wears all that bling. Because really, why?

3. If you could meet one famous actress, who would it be and why?

I would probably have to say Julie Andrews. I just love The Sound of Music, and then Victor, Victoria was also a movie I really liked that she was in with James Garner. Then as she has gotten older she has been the Queen in the Princess Diary movies, and I loved her in those, especially her interaction with Hector Elizondo's character. Goldie Hawn runs a really close second though.

4. What one question would you ask her?

I would ask her if she regretted having her throat surgery, and if the prognosis was completely different than what she expected.

5. What is your all-time favorite comedy movie and why?

Since Veggietales probably don't count, I'd have to say National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. And I have a special relationship with that movie since I've now had a squirrel in my house, although we were fortunate to keep it confined to the small room off the kitchen. That movie is just a classic for Hubby and me.

6. What is your favorite all-time tv show and why?

Hands down, Seinfeld. If you'd asked me when I was 12, it would have been The Brady Bunch. But as for Seinfeld, I get it...I get them. I could be Elaine. Enough said.

7. What is your all-time favorite action or drama movie and why?

If I go with a current movie, I'd have to say the National Treasure movies. I think they did an excellent job with those, and to come up with such a successful sequel really took some creative imagination and writing. I also loved Helen Mirren in the second one. I also love the Chronicles of Narnia series. If I went with an older movie, I have a lot of trouble picking between Total Recall, Double Jeopardy with Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones, Deceived with Goldie Hawn, and Harrison Ford in the Jack Ryan movies. (Hubby was surprised I didn't want to meet Harrison Ford. I went out of my box.)

So was this more fun than all those sports questions for all you non-sports lovers? You know the drill: link up with Mr. Linky to your post, and be sure to leave me a comment. Hope you enjoyed KATF this week.

Until next time, hasta la vista, baby.

&

Know & Tell Friday ~ Quirky Things Edition

Instead of questions today, we get to list six random, unspectacular quirks about ourselves. Our family went on an overnight trip so I'm getting around to this later than usual, but it gave me a little time to think about them on the drive home. I honestly don't know that it helped one single bit.

1. I always wear some type of shoe in hotel rooms, either my regular shoes or my "in the house" shoes. They are waiting for me when I get out of the hotel shower, when I step out of the bed, and I will even stand on the top of them while I'm changing my socks if I'm not sitting on the bed doing it.

2. I take all my pillows with me when I go on a trip. I am choosing not to tell how many that is, but I will say that it takes two garbage bags to cover and carry them to protect the pillow cases, because if anything touched the pillow cases, I couldn't use them. Things like shoes, or the floor of the vehicle where shoes might have been, or the seat of the vehicle where kids have put their shoes and a lot of other gross stuff...you get the picture.

3. I lived in Gretna, Louisiana, right outside of New Orleans, when Hurricane Camille hit in 1969. It's one of my earliest memories.

4. I alphabetize my spices.

5. My right arm paralyzed in February, 2004, suddenly for seven weeks when Hubby was overseas in Kuwait. He'd been there since the previous August. Even though I was able to look back at the previous couple of days thinking that my arm was tired, I woke up on a Tuesday morning and the arm was hanging. I was eventually diagnosed with Parsonage-Turner Syndrome. My right arm is still a little weak and will probably never regain full strength.

6. I'm very particular about my laundry, including the washing and drying as well as the folding. I like my towels and washcloths and kitchen things all folded a certain way, and it's always the same way. They all face a certain way in a closet, on a shelf, or in a drawer. The only time I didn't let this bother me was when my arm was paralyzed and my mom came to stay with me for four weeks. She folded my towels all wrong, but I didn't care one bit. I just let it go.

That wasn't too bad once I got started. I didn't even have to use my notes! I could have even listed a couple more, but since I'll have to do a 100 things post within the next couple of months, I'd better save something. Go over and check out all the quirkiness at Kicking It In Crazyville.

Know & Tell Friday: Sports Edition

Well, hello out there! I hope that some people have joined me from Heather & Reese's blog, Kickin' It In Crazyville. They're supposed to, you know. If they don't, I've told the girls that they are in b.i.g trouble. And just so you other girls know, girls covers ladies too because I'm originally from the South, so we're all just a bunch of girls.

So now that we've had a clear definition of what girls are, let's talk about why you're here. Reese is sick with a cold. Heather has had a long and busy week at work. I stuck my neck out a few weeks ago and offered up some KATF questions. So here we are again, but this week I'm in a little hotter spot just north of you-know-where having to be responsible for posting the questions, answering the questions first, getting Mr. Linky up and running (if Reese gets out of her sick bed and tells Heather and me how to do it). Oh, the pressure. But don't let me fool you. I'm having fun here too. And the girls needed a break. I even got to pick the theme. So please play...because otherwise I'm gonna feel real bad.

In honor of last week being the opening weekend of college football, and this weekend being the opening weekend of professional football, our theme is Know & Tell Friday: Sports Edition. Now if you're not a sports lover, don't bail out here. You'll still be able to play.

1. Do you live for the start of college football? professional football? Does anyone in your house? Do you know anyone who does?

College football, yes. Professional football, not so much anymore. Hubby and Buddy, all of it. I'll tell you what I do love about professional football though. Monday Night Football ~ the theme song (when Hank Williams, Jr. sings it), the helmets crashing, and the announcers they used to have. Overall, I prefer college football to professional football.

2. Did you go to college? If so, what was your mascot? Was/Is that your favorite team? If not, what was/is your favorite college team?

I went to a small college, Ouachita Baptist University. They were the Tigers. I transfered "across the ravine" the last year to Henderson State University (the Reddies) to complete my degree because I preferred their accounting program at the time.

But my family's favorite college football team:

When you grow up in Arkansas, it doesn't usually matter if you go to the U of A or not. You are still usually a diehard Razorback, or Hog, or Hawg, fan. Wooo Pig Soooie! Can I hear me some people callin' the Hog's out there?

3. Have you ever embarrassed yourself at a sporting event? Have you seen someone else embarrass themselves at a sporting event?

I have not personally embarrassed myself at a sporting event. Someone I personally know has embarrassed himself at a sporting event, but Hubby shall remain nameless, and his embarrassment shall remain undisclosed.

4. What is your favorite spectator sport (the one you love to watch live)?

Believe it or not, hockey. Before they tore down The Arena in St. Louis, there wasn't a bad seat in that place! Best spectator sport ever, even when you don't completely understand the game.

5. Do you have a sports hero? If so, what makes them special?

You know, I think Mary Lou Retton is pretty neat for a female athlete. But most of my association seems to come with baseball, or at least with male athletes. Buddy's middle name is Osborne for Ozzie Smith of the St. Louis Cardinals. He is Hubby's favorite all-time baseball player (we met him in his restaurant when Buddy was four...super neat guy). Bob Forsch and Lou Brock, both former St. Louis Cardinal players, run a close second behind Ozzie. We met Bob Forsch at the Cardinal's Winter Warm-Up a few years ago, and he signed Buddy's copy of his book. He was an extremely gracious man, and I was personally impressed.

I think you can't beat the sportsmanship shown earlier this year in a collegiate women's softball game, when one team handed victory to the other team by doing the right thing. I am often heard saying to my husband, "Why doesn't that coach just say that the call was obviously wrong and take the out?" Or whatever it is at the time. Because I still am of the firm belief that coaches are role models, and when they know something is wrong, they should do the right thing. But I'm obviously in a distinct minority. So anyway, if you haven't seen this story in completion, watch this video, because it's really touching.


6. What's the most memorable sporting event you have ever watched on television? watched live?

I remember watching Muhammad Ali fight when I was probably about seven or so. I saw the boxing match on tv when Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini knocked out the Korean fighter (Duck Koo Kim or something along those lines) who later died of brain injuries. I saw Nadia get the first perfect 10 in Olympic history. I watched Kerri Strug make history in the 1996 Olympics. I saw the race where Dale Earnhardt died in the crash. There are so many television opportunities these days.

But live, that's different. There is one that sticks out. Father's Day, 2004, we had tickets for the Cardinals' game against the Cincinnati Reds. We usually bought tickets based on when they had special giveaways, especially for the kids or for everyone who entered the gates. That particular day they were giving away Lou Brock bobbleheads for the first however-many thousand people that entered.

So to start the day off, I gathered all the kids together and said, "Go tell your dad Happy Father's Day together." To which Caboose, then three, says, "Mom, it's not Father's Day. It's Lou Brock Bobblehead Day." That day Ken Griffey, Jr. was going for and hit his 500th home run. Every time he got up to bat I took pictures with my zoom lens. I have pictures of him running around the bases after he hit it, taking his encore, hugging his family. Super cool day. Even if it was just Lou Brock Bobblehead Day.

The girls and I also had the privilege of going to the finals of the women's U.S. Championships in ice skating prior to the last Olympic games. It was held in St. Louis. During the intermission, they had every prior Olympic gold medal winner from the United States come out. I'd always wanted to see live ice skating, and I couldn't have gone at a better time.

7. If you have kids or grandkids, do they play sports?

Sparky plays fast-pitch, Buddy plays baseball, Caboose did play baseball but decided he didn't want to anymore. At least not now. I think he felt like nobody wanted to watch him as much as the others. Chatty doesn't play sports anymore. She played one year of tee ball and one year of coach-pitch softball. She likes to play in the backyard though.

This is where I would normally tell you to go visit Heather and Reese and play along and see what others are saying, but instead...hey, play along with us (you too Mari) and link up with Mr. Linky (providing I actually did this right and he shows up). Don't forget to leave your comments either.

And remember, you need to play, because otherwise the g.i.r.l.s are in b.i.g trouble.

&

Know & Tell Friday: Back-to-School Edition

In honor of kids everywhere, Heather and Reese have decided to mark this week's Know & Tell Friday with a Back-to-School Edition. I'm sure that there is much weeping and gnashing of teeth going on all over the country about now. Some kids like school, some kids love school, some kids despise school, and some don't care. But it's definitely a privilege that children, both boys and girls, get to attend school in our county. I wish they all realized that. It's not everywhere in this world that it would be happening in this day and age, and less than a century ago it wouldn't have been a given in our country, not even necessarily a likelihood.

Heather and Reese said that if we didn't have kids, to answer the questions for ourselves. Well, I have kids, but I homeschool, so some of the questions may be difficult to answer. So I may just answer the questions for both my kids and myself. We may end up with a jumbled up hodge-podge of writing with lots of digression, so prepare yourselves. Oh, sorry, you're used to that.

1. How far in advance do you start getting ready for back-to-school (whether for your own kids, or for yourself when you were in school)?

We don't do back-to-school clothes shopping, because it's simply not a necessity. I just have to get ready "school" wise. Let's just simplify things by saying I am starting next week and I don't even have everything I need yet. And what I don't have has to be ordered. The Big (Albeit Temporary) Move threw me a Big Loop. I usually start preparing when school is done from the previous school year and spread it out so I don't have to stress out right before it's time to start. Like now.

I don't remember ever doing any advance preparation for back-to-school when I was in school. I grew up way before the time when Wal-Mart dedicated a whole little cardboard bin thing for school lists. Shows my age?

2. Do you have any picky eaters who need special considerations for lunches? What does a typical bagged lunch look like in your house?

Well, no bag lunches for the obvious reasons. When we lived in Illinois and went on Fridays to co-op we would sometimes take a bagged lunch. But I honestly don't even remember what we took now. Lunch is often "if you can find it, you can eat it," but I will help out those that need it or offer to make something. I need to add my lunches to my menu planning, but then I will probably end up with kids that are unhappy with those choices and they'll end up fixing something else for themselves anyway. I might give it a try when we get moved and settled, oh, about next year sometime.

I didn't take bagged lunches very much when I was growing up, but I honestly don't know why, because I am a picky eater. In junior high I ate a bag of Chili Cheese Fritos every day with a diet soda (probably Tab) because they still let you have the machines with the junk food in them. In high school I would go through the hamburger line every day and eat a hamburger, ketchup only, every day, with fries. I'm slightly a creature of habit. Not that you hadn't maybe figured out that I might be.

3. What school supply items do you skimp on and what are you willing to shell out the big bucks for?

I skimp on notebooks and three-ring binders. I buy tons of the 10 cents, which are now 5 cents, notebooks for my three right-handers. I will spend more and buy top-ring notebooks for Chatty, my lefty. I buy the plain white D-ring binders with a drop-in front, so they can be customized. If I need a lot for a new school year and I don't have some cleaned out from previous years, I will buy a bulk package at Sam's Club.

I am more willing to shell out the big bucks for textbooks, or more specifically books. We use Tapestry of Grace, which is a literature-based curriculum, for History, Literature, Worldview, Geography, Writing (it can also be used for vocabulary, art enrichment, etc., but I haven't figured out how deep I'm going with it yet this year). We basically have to make sure we have something else for Math, Grammar/Spelling, and Science/Health, plus electives. You don't have to buy the books that are used, but some are used for more weeks than you'd be able to check them out of a library. Plus you repeat the curriculum every four years, and since I have younger boys that will use books I buy for my girls now, I'm willing to purchase. That's where my splurges are right now...books.

Showing my age once again, I don't remember having many special choices when I was growing up. If I had the 64 box of crayons with the sharpener, I was in heaven.

4. Do you get your kids up, or do they get up on their own? Any snooze-hitters that have trouble waking up? How about the opposite, any kids that are up at the crack of dawn?

My kids will usually get up on their own. I'm the snooze-hitter that has trouble waking up. Now that they're older, none of them are usually up at the crack of dawn. Of course, when they were little and required constant care and couldn't fend for themselves, that's when they were up at the crack of dawn.

5. Any cafeteria horror stories? Is school food as bad as they say?

I remember in elementary school spitting my milk right back in my carton when I realized it was soured. Then in high school there were two lunch hours. The one I wasn't in had a food fight, and my English teacher who was eight or nine months pregnant got hit in the stomach with one of the plastic trays when the lights got hit. I have no idea what school food is like now. I have no frame of reference.

6. How important is it to you to make sure your kids have the latest styles and trendiest accessories?

It's not. And I think that I would answer the same way even if they went to public school. They go to church and I don't worry about them wearing the latest styles and trendiest accessories. I just want them to be dressed modestly, but age-appropriately at the same time.

7. Remember the movie Kindergarten Cop? If Arnold Schwarzenegger was your child's new kindergarten teacher, how would you feel?

When I saw the picture, my first thought was, "I love that movie. It's one of my favorite movies." And it really is. When I saw it on a used copy sale table at a video store many years ago, I bought it. Because I loved it that much. That was before DVDs. Then I saw it on DVD in a $5 bin, probably at Wal-Mart, and snatched it up in something like two seconds. I love Arnold in that movie. The first time I saw it I just laughed and laughed.

Then I read the question. Wow. Stereotypes. If I walked in and saw a big, burly guy like that, I might be slightly worried. Okay, really worried. But I have the benefit of knowing how the movie turns out. And if he was like the character in the movie, he'd be okay in my book.

That's it for this week's questions. I know how I'm spending my weekend. Opening up boxes in the garage. Figuring out what I need to copy at the copy store. Ordering textbooks/workbooks. Pulling my hair out. Well, I'll try to be selective and just get the gray ones. PRAYING! Because that's the way any of this is really going to work out where we can actually have any semblance of order come Monday morning. Oh, and I'm not doing any of this, except the praying part, until I finish The Shack.

If you hung around this long, go check out all the KATF fun at Kickin' It In Crazyville. I'm sure everyone else is a lot more prepared than me. It may relax your nerves to read theirs.

Know & Tell Friday

I think this could be titled a random edition, even though Heather and Reese didn't officially do that. Be warned, you might see some pictures that will give you the heebie-jeebies if you continue reading. I'm also going to spoil my reputation by answering this week's questions, but since I can't skip a week, because that goes against the whole nature of my OCD obsessive nature, I'm ruining it. It's a catch-22.

1. Are you right- or left-handed?

I am right-handed. Chatty is the only left-handed person in our immediate family.

2. Any nicknames they have (or have had) and the story behind them?

The only one I had growing up was KK, which came after my boy cousin was born when I was almost 10 years old. Since I have a hard name to pronounce, that was easier for him and it stuck. My Hubby actually calls me that occasionally, but usually when he calls me by a nickname it's Sweetness. That ones been around so long and I don't know for sure where it came from. I'd say "Days of Our Lives" with Patch and Kayla, but that's not when it started. And no, I haven't watched a soap opera in over 10 years.

3. Do you need to do laundry right now?

Keep in mind that I've been gone a lot doing house stuff. Also keep in mind that even though the apartment has a full-sized washer and dryer, full-sized varies. This one is for a couple who has no children that lives in the tropics and wears bikinis and swim trunks all the time. See:

Yes, I need to do laundry right now. The picture from our bathroom floor is the least of the problems:

This next picture shows where everything gets thrown, and I mean thrown, when I tell the kids to carry things down to the laundry room. It's on the bottom floor (there are three floors: entry floor with garage and laundry room, living and kitchen on main floor, and bedrooms on top floor).

This is behind the laundry room door. Frightening, isn't it?

I don't even want to think about how many loads this is.

4. What CD is in your CD player/music on your iPod right now?

I have to answer this based on what is in my vehicle's CD player. I have Avalon's Greatest Hits, undone by mercyme, one of Chris Tomlin's CD's, Somewhere More Familiar by Sister Hazel, Greetings from Imrie House by The Click Five, and PureNRG by PureNRG. I'd love to have an iPod because I don't listen to all the songs on any CD. I flip around like some people flip channels with a remote control. My girls have iPods, but that's it in our house right now. Someday...

5. How/When did you learn to ride a bicycle?

It's funny, I can see the picture my Grandpa took of me the first time, but I'm trying to remember what year it was. It was either 1970 or 1971, so I was either getting ready to turn five or six, since my birthday is five days after Christmas. Actually, the picture was probably not even taken on Christmas day, but a few days after. I learned right there in the driveway/grass by the "try, try again" method, and my Grandpa was the one who taught me. My mother's second husband that she had married right before I turned three had died in a motorcycle accident in May, 1970, when I was four and she was a couple of months pregnant with my sister. He had legally adopted me when they got married. My mom and I moved from Gretna, Louisiana, back to Arkansas where she grew up and where I had been born and we had lived with my grandparents and aunt (since she was still in high school) until she remarried. That's why my grandpa was the one teaching me to ride my bike.

6. What is your favorite weird food combination?

This comes courtesy of my mom, and this is the one that might make you squeamish. If it's any comfort, I haven't eaten it in over 10 years. I don't even know if I'd like it anymore. Okay, I probably would. It goes in the "dairy and potato" family ~ you know, how you go to McDonald's and get a cone and french fries, or a shake and french fries? Am I right? So without further ado, I present you with

potato chipsand cottage cheese.

It has to be Ruffles to hold up to the cottage cheese, because regular Lay's aren't strong enough. I also have to say that I am an extremely picky eater. I do not like food in my food. The fact that I will eat this says nothing of my food personality. It is completely outside the realm of my food personality. I eat one thing at a time. I do not let my food touch. I don't eat raisins in anything but raisin bran, because that would qualify as food in my food. I don't eat nuts in my cookies or brownies for the same reason. But I will eat this. I know you're scratching your head, or covering your mouth, or doing both at the same time. I can't explain it. We all have one little thing that's outside the box, right?

7. What is something you have that is of sentimental value?

One thing is my maternal great-grandma's ring that was a gift from my great-grandpa. It has our birthstone in it (not a real stone; her birthday is the day after Christmas), and I was the first great-grandchild on top of that. My mom was also the first grandchild. I think that probably had something to do with the fact that I got her ring. Plus, when I was about five, apparently I told her how pretty her ring was. She told my great aunt that when she died I was to get her ring. She died the same day the Challenger crashed.

This is my doll collection. Many of these dolls I've had since I lived at home growing up. I took these pictures prior to moving "just in case." They are also sentimental to me. They are from all over the world. Hubby and I have added a few Hummels along the way, but the one in the second row on the far right is an original plastic one from Germany when I was very little. I also have a gigantic Kewpie doll I got for Christmas when I was in the second grade.

Well, that's it for this week. You probably learned way more than you wanted to with this week's answers. To go play along or see what others answered this week, go to Kickin' It In Crazyville.