Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - K

Knees - I have bad ones. It all started at the end of my sophomore year of high school. My youth group was playing volleyball one night after church and I landed badly. For weeks I limped around and it felt all wobbly and if I tried to get into a car on the passenger side I would collapse. Finally got around to checking it out and they said there was just fluid built up. I lived with it for years...the limping improved and it would only occassionally "wobble" and I was able to get in and out of cars with ease. Athletic would never be an adjective to describe me, but I played racquetball and tennis and even more volleyball with the bad leg. Sometimes it was okay, sometimes not. Many years later I decided it would be a fantastic idea to play intramural football in my old age. We played in the rain one evening and I heard a pop in my other knee! I limped around for days and when I finally went to get it checked out I was certain I had a torn miniscus. Got an MRI and everything. They said it was fine. I beg to differ. Alas...perhaps when/if I drop some much needed weight my knees will improve but I guarantee you there is something wrong with them!

Kristin - I met her my freshman year of college and lived with her my junior year but it wasn't until J-term of our senior year that we became close. She's creative, has great taste, loves to think and continue learning, is passionate about giving back, has the best advice and knows just what to say, and is one of the most amazing people I've ever know. BFF!

She's Back...

and, no, I'm not referring to myself. Although, yes, I'm back at the posting again...finally got Internet in the new house!

Who I am in fact referring to is Little Miss M. Four weeks ago I drove to Tulsa and picked up my current (and former) roommate. The past month has been riddled with a lot of laughs, a lot of shopping, a lot of Dora the Explorer, and a lot of temper tantrums (and not just from her!). It has been quite the adjustment as I had much less time to prepare for her arrival this time around. I'm unsure as to how long she'll be with me this time around, but I'm fairly positive it will be less than the year and nine months she was with me before.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - J

Japan - my grandmother is Japanese, born and raised in Tokyo. She met my grandfather when he was stationed there during the Korean War. A couple years later, he brought her to America. I hope to travel to Japan with her one day.

Jargon - okay, I actually prefer the term "lingo" but I'm searching for Js here. I love the jargon and acronyms that come with different jobs (take, for example, my job: EOIs, IEPs, AYP, API, ACE, NCLB, etc.), hobbies, and 4-year-old children. Here is what I've decoded so far...
"bweeto" means "burrito"
"cheater" means "cheerleader"
"getty" means "spaghetti"
"mudder" means "mother"
"pock pock" means "backpack"
"pooh-ding" means "pudding"
"scissor" means "sister" and yet "zizzers" means "scissors"

Jeep - still missing Geronimo, may he rest in peace.

Jobs - I just counted and I've held 16 jobs over the years. Not since graduation, mind you. Several were parttime jobs held at night (nothing risque!) for a little extra cash.

June - my birth month. Growing up I always felt jipped because 1) school was out so fewer people came to my parties and 2) the pearl seemed like the lamest gemstone ever. I mean, it's not really even a GEMstone. But now I love that it's the most unique one. Go figure.

Jury Duty - I've never been asked to serve and part of me is very grateful but another part really wants to sit in on a super exciting trial and determine someone's fate. I know...gotta watch what I wish for!

Procrastinator...moi? I think not!

Here's my latest and greatest home project. You may remember this headboard rescued from a family estate sale (for free!):

After letting it sit in storage for over a month, I was finally able to begin its facelift...

a coat of primer...

a couple coats of gloss black...

and a few finishing touches!

The height of it is fairly deceiving. It's taller than me by at least a few inches. Just need to glam up the rest of my room now...

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - I

Iams Dog Food - Healthy Naturals. Weight Control. On sale at Big Lots...$12 a big bag. When I brought home my first dog (a beautiful chocolate lab) I swore I'd feed him nothing but the best and bought Eukanuba. When the one dog became three beautiful labrador retrievers the pricey stuff went out the window. Downgraded to Iams and have bought it ever since. I don't know if this Healthy Naturals is for real or just a big marketing hoax or what. I've been buying it for about a year now and as long as Big Lots has it on sale I'll keep biting.

Incontinence - I fear this may be a problem for me in the future. Just this past weekend I waited a little too long to take a bathroom break. I had been warned that the restrooms at our football stadium were less that sanitary so I thought I could make it home. But before leaving the game I headed over to another friend to chat for a bit. En route to my house I made the executive decision to stop at Arby's and use their facilities. I am ashamed to admit that as I was getting out of my car I may have leaked just a tiny bit. This normally wouldn't concern me too badly as I did have several glasses of sweet tea at dinner and I did spend too much time visiting with my friend. Unfortunately though, I experienced a very similar incident just a few weeks ago on my way home from the family reunion. Depends, anyone?

Indecisiveness - It's a curse. Right now I'm all moved into my cute new house but I have no seating in my living room. Can't decide on the gorgeous white velvet couch or the more durable (and affordable) chocolate brown one. I've known this pesky decision was lurking around the corner for almost two months now but I still can't choose. Going to the video store is a chore. I almost always come home with more than one movie simply because I get tired of trying to pick just one. But going out to eat with me is the worst. Even if I knew I would come back to the same restaurant the next day it would still be difficult for me to pick an entree. Inevitably the server makes at least one decision for me. Really? Am I that immobilized by decision making? Apparently so. And, yes, I do own a Magic 8 Ball.

Insubordination - my last boss accused me of blatantly refusing to follow her directions. That was at the end of our working relationship, thank goodness. I can assure you that I have never blatantly refused to do anything a "superior" has asked me to do. Superior, ha!

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - H

Halloween - my favorite holiday. Not sure exactly when it happened but at some point in my adult life I decided that Halloween was the greatest thing ever. Well, not so much the pagan origins and everything, but to dress up and play pretend. And to decorate the house with dim lights, dust, and cobwebs. I mean, come on! It's the one month I don't feel so domestically-challenged, you know? And I love all the vintage-y halloween decorations out there. Some glittery, some paper mache, none too scary or cutesy-crafty. I've rocked some smokin' costumes in my day...the standard stuffed pumpkin as an infant, both a Snoopy and Witch costume (the kind with the face masks and entirely plastic jumpsuits), a princess with the most amazing hat ever (although now I think it probably just looked like a sparkly dunce cap!). In the mid-80s I'm pretty sure I dressed as a punk rocker three years in a row. And in college my friends and I went as the cast of the Wizard of Oz. I've been a geisha girl and a bag of jelly beans. A couple years ago I won first place in a costume contest for being the Corpse Bride (Tim Burton, anyone?). And just this weekend I came up with an idea for this year's costume whilst sitting in a movie theater.

Harry Potter - Okay, I held out as long as I could before jumping on the band wagon. A friend began reading the series when JK Rowling started putting them out all those years ago and he swore they were amazing. My response was always, "You've got to be kidding me...they're, like, children's books." And then I started working with kids again and a couple of years ago I borrowed each and every book from one of my counselors' aides. And I'm not ashamed to admit that by the fifth book I had myself a little crush on Harry himself.

Harwelden Mansion - this is the fabulous venue where I've wanted to get married forever. Ever since I attended the Pep Club's Spring Fling in the ninth grade. I want a small gathering of my closest friends and family there with a touching (but short) ceremony as the sun sets, a champagne toast, hors d'oeuvres and dancing, followed by a sparkler send-off. Interestingly enough, a good friend of mine had a similar wedding there several years ago. Crazy how great minds think alike! Of course, at this rate I may never get married. So I'm thinking maybe she should just make an extra copy of their wedding album so I can paste my head and that of some gorgeous underwear model's in their pictures and just pretend...

Hiccup Hiccup In My Teacup - So I really just felt like I needed an extra entry...When I got a severe cases of the hiccups a few years back a coworker walked up to me, extended her arms out, offered me an invisible cup of tea, and said, "Hiccup hiccup in my teacup." And the hiccupping ceased. Since then, I've used it on everyone I've run into (with the exception of strangers, of course) and I would say it has a 95% success rate. Try it; you'll like it!

Hooters on Scooters - the baddest, most fabulous gang of scooter gals around! The largest all-female scooter riding group out there. And I'm a part of it. Just one of the HOS. Well, at least I was. Got a couple rides in with those lovely ladies. And a cool t-shirt. But more importantly, their cause (breast cancer research and awareness) is close to my heart (figuratively and literally, I guess). I lost a very dear woman in my life to breast cancer three years ago. And my stepmom has been in remission for a number of years now.

Home Sweet Home

I'm sure you've guessed by now that I'm an ace in the procrastination department. One of my areas of expertise.

So to catch everyone up I got the house (cheers!), the inspection went well, I'm in the new town couch surfing, and now I'm just counting the days until closing (27 to go)...tick, tock, tick, tock.

I attended a computer training a couple of days last week and discovered I'm to report to work, get this, on Tuesday. Where did my summer vacation go? That means tomorrow is the only day I have to get my new office ready. Guess I have to put the zebra stripes on one wall on hold for now. Alas.

But I have had some success in the shopping department and can't wait to start decorating my new digs (in 27 more days, that is).