best friend: My RD and the Winner of "I Won ... You Win!"

Well, what do you think??

Just messin' with ya. It's a wig from Kristin's hip hop dance.

Don't worry; I will never, EVER do this for realsies.

1. Tell me something about your favorite teacher.

My 9th grade English teacher inspired me to get a teaching degree. I saw the way she "did teaching" and thought, "I would love to be a teacher if I could be one like her." I did earn that degree (BS in English, 1985, Ball State University) but never taught because I married three weeks after college and began a family the next year. There were a few other good teachers, but she was stellar. She certainly outshone all my professors at BSU. And it is because of her that I use "outshone" and pronounce "when" as "hwen" and not "wen." My kids think it's hilarious. But I don't care because I am correct. I do break some rules here on the blog that she taught us, though, such as not beginning sentences with conjunctions and writing fragments.

2. Tell me about one pivotal moment in your life.

Going back to BSU for this one. Jorge had broken up with me (I know, readers, but you must forgive him. That was a long time ago, and I have made him pay for 24 years, so it's all good.) and I was bereft of any desire to go on in life. It was at that point, though, that I really decided, as an adult, that come what may in life, I would not turn bitter against God but follow Him more intently, not just because I was reared in a Christian home but because I wanted to. I have not always done this to the best of my ability, but it is my goal in life.

And I can thank my 9th grade English teacher for "bereft" and for "reared" instead of "raised." Hogs are "raised." Children are "reared."

3. About favorite colors--a lot of people will ask you what it is, but I want to know why it is. What feeling or memory does it evoke?

I love a shade of lavender that some might call orchid. When I see it, it takes me back to early childhood, looking at the light coming through the stained glass windows in our little church. It's one of the few early memories I have.

4. What's a sure sign that you're getting older?

Good night, Nellie, what a question. I heard once that you can always tell a woman's age by her elbows and upper arms, and I would agree, generally speaking. But I could start from head to toe and describe from experience the mudslide called middle age. The effect I'm hating most right now is the sagging jawline. Check back tomorrow, and it might be nose hair. Friday's answer might be the stupid gray hair around the temple area that is so resistant to color.

Also, I'd like to thank my English teacher because I just edited that last section to exchange the phrase "to tell you about" for "describe" and the nondescriptive "one" for "effect."

5. Please don't sermonize, but Halloween--is it a yes or no for you? Nope, in spite of the black wig..

6. What's your favorite musical?

What? Is this another set-up by myself to stump myself in this meme? Yes, yes it is. I don't have a favorite because I don't like musicals. I started to link to a post or two about this subject but decided I couldn't choose from the 35 posts or so on the topic, so I'll just leave it at that.

But if you tied me down and yanked out my middle aged nose hairs one by one until I chose one, I'd say Oklahoma.

7. Are you more of a city mouse or country mouse?

No "suburban mouse?" I'm a country mouse who likes space and a view with all the amenities of a city at least nearby. I was just thinking last night that I'll never get tired of looking across a field and seeing a barn on the other side. That is my Midwest perspective of beautiful America. But I'm not into well water or gravel roads. It's a fine line for me.

8. Did you know that it is possible, for a small fee, to name a real star after someone? (It's true! Google it!) If someone were to name a star for you, would you appreciate it for its whimsy and romance, or would you say, "Are you kidding me? For $19.95 we could have gone to the movie and actually bought popcorn."

My first response would be the one about popcorn. But as I thought about it, it might depend on who it was and the occasion and how serious the person was about the gesture. After all, a gift is a gift, and one should be gracious even when taken aback by the gift, right Ann Landers?

This question comes from Paula at His Ways Are Not Our Ways.
9. What's the craziest thing you've ever been doing and texted during it? I only thought of this b/c I was about to try to text during my walking video but I didn't.

Paula, you do know that this blog is rated G, right?

I don't text a lot, but once I was stuck on a plane and gave my closest friends and family the play by play in case I never made it out alive. It was terrible!

10. "It's not a party unless _______."

Oh, this question is so loaded. There are a handful of people (tiny people? ha) in my life who are walking parties. The party is wherever they are.

I guess my real answer is "It's not a party unless everybody's laughing." The food and drinks, music, place and reason for being together are all secondary.

11. When you're stuck in traffic or a waiting room, what do you do to pass the time? PS: There are no magazines available.

Well, I usually have something in my purse to entertain me. It's like an adult diaper bag. If nothing else, I'll start writing on a scrap piece of paper. Sometimes I write in my head. (And sometimes I wrong in my head. HA!) For instance, I'll think of questions for this meme. Or I might strike up a conversation or just sit there quietly and count things. I love to count. It's soothing. Why am I sorry I told you that?

12. If you weren't yourself, would you be friends with you?

I've been thinking this question over, and I have come to the conclusion, and I say this in my best Bill Cosby voice in my head: "Theo, that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

But my answer is "yes" because I would give myself space to be alone (not clingy) and because I like to laugh. If I delve too deeply, though, my answer is probably no because I don't work at relationships, and I'm pretty selfish. So I would like me as a superficial friend, I guess. Ouch, that hurts. So here I am with myself just doing superficial stuff like going for a bike ride.