Finding My Way...

P is for...

9/6/06 was the last time I posted in this category.  I got halfway through the alphabet and just lost steam.  Recently I read an article or a blog post or something about a woman who created a scrapbook from her entries like mine.  She passed away too young from cancer, and her husband really cherished this album about the little details of his wife's ordinary life.  So I am inspired to finish blogging my ideas so I can create my album in 2008.

Penmanship - I have neat writing.  I have teacher writing, which is fitting.  I joke that we had to take a course in it in college to get our teaching degree.  I didn't always have great penmanship though.  In third grade I adored my teacher, Miss Capwell.  I did all I could to make her pleased, but the one area in which I could not excel was penmanship.  I would always get the dreaded check, or even the ghastly check minus!  Kevin Gillespie had perfect penmanship.  He always got a check plus.  One day I figured out a way to get a check plus and finally impress Miss Capwell with my penmanship.  When I went to the folder to hand in my penmanship work for the day, I removed Kevin's paper, erased his name and put mine on his sheet.  I then put his name on my sheet.  Being a foolish 8 year old, I didn't realize how unique handwriting is.  Miss Capwell, of course, saw right through my ruse.  Not only didn't I impress her with my handwriting, but I disappointed her with my sneaky beahavior!  This was an utterly traumatic event, as is evidenced by the fact that 30 years later I can recall the memory like it happened last week.

Pickles - I adore Bread and Butter Chips.  They elicit memories of childhood summers, and family barbeques.  Paper plates loaded with a burger, potato and macaroni salad and a pile of pickle chips.

Purple - This was my favorite color for decades.  I always remember my favorite color growing up was purple.  In high school my favorite sweater was a purple crew neck that I wore way too long, even after it had a hole in the sleeve, and the neck was all stretched out.  If there was a color choice to be made, it was purple.  I wanted a purple volkswagon bug to be my first car.  Sometime in my early 30's, I grew out of purple.  I decided to change my favorite color.  Since then, it's been red.

Pajama Pants - I have a growing collection of pajama pants.  Most are flannel.  Many have matching shirts, but sometimes I will just throw on a t-shirt...or a tank shirt if I am hot.  My favorite pair are pink plaid from an LM Crop.  Strangely enough, I don't sleep in them.  I just wear them around near bedtime, and lounge in them on weekend mornings.  Then get twisted around on my legs in bed, or they ride up above my knees and drive me crazy.  So I usually take them off just before bed and leave them on the floor until morning.  That doesn't stop me from buying new pairs all the time to add to my collection!

Panera - This yummy cafe-style restaurant/bakery is a favorite of mine.  My favorite breakfast is an Asiago Cheese bagel, toasted with butter and an I.C. Mocha (in summer) or Mocha Latte (in winter).  Free Wi-Fi and my little breakfast was a regular occurance when we first moved back from Japan and waited weeks for Cox Cable to figure out their @$$e$ from their elbows and get my internet and TV hooked up.  For lunch, my favorite is broccoli and cheddar soup in a sourdough bread bowl with a Caesar side salad.  Yum!  I am getting hungry just thinking about it!

Pompano Beach, Florida - One of the first vacations B and I took after we got married.  We knew we had vacation time coming, but had no plan.  We waited until the last minute, then booked a last-minute vacation through RCI.  We had a time share condo that was part of a group of resorts.  Our resort backed up to the intra-coastal waterway, and we took an evening cruise on it one evening.  It's sister resort up the street was on the beach, and we spent a day or two over there laying on the sand under their umbrellas, cavorting in the water, taking photos with our underwater camera.  Sadly, we set the camera in the spokes of the beach umbrella to dry so it wouldn't get sandy, and we left it behind.  I'm still sad not to have those photos.  We also took a day trip to Miami, which included a walk along South Beach, and a cruise around to see some of the beautful houses in Miami on the water.  We finished the evening with dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Just the following week, Gianni Versace was shot outside his home.  We had stood on that very spot outside his gate when we visited on our trip.

O is for...

I haven't continued this alphabet exercise in months.  I think it's because I am intimidated by the letter "O".  Today I decided to meet this challenge head on and brainstorm a few "O" words.  Well, I came up with 36 words that begin with "O" that have at least some meaning to me.  I won't use them all in my album, but since I was so daunted by this letter, I thought I would post a bunch of them for your enjoyment.

Orange - Let Go Orange!  *clap* *clap* *clapclapclap*  I think I have chanted that about a thousand times in my life.  I went to Syracuse University, and I was a part of "The Pride of the Orange" and the "Sour Sitrus Society."  I attended dozens and dozens of football games and basketball games.  I loved being in the band.  I played the baritone horn.  Syracuse has an awesome marching band, and we learned complex routines for each performance.  We practiced almost every night through the fall.  Check us out to the right there, waving the flag!  I'm in that picture somewhere, though I couldn't tell you where!

Orangutan - Since I was a kid I pronounced this animal's name or-ang-uh-tang.  It wasn't until I went to the Singapore Zoo as an adult that I noted that it's actually pronounced or-ang-oo-tan.  Nothing earth-shattering, but that's what I always think of now when I see that word.

Obtuse - There's a certain irony to the fact that most people you would tend to call obtuse wouldn't understand why you were calling them some sort of triangle...

Organized - I have a thing about organization.  Mainly...well...I love it.  I love order.  Visual order, mental order...that feeling you have of having it all together when things are organized.  I love organizational tools also.  Trips to Ikea or Office Depot make me positively giddy.  Bins, baskets, and racks.  Hooks, shelves, and dividers.  All of those things make me smile.  I'm also a list maker.  I feel like my head would fall off and I would forget everything if I didn't have my lists!  see:  Office Supply Stores

Olives - I am 1/4 Greek, but that has done nothing to reduce my distaste for olives.  I don't know what's nastier, green olives or the big, ugly black ones.  When I was little, my family would go visit some college friends of my parents' in NY.  Their daughter was wild about olives, and her Mom would put her in the high chair and she would put black olives on all of her fingers and eat them off one by one.  It made me absolutely nauseous.  It's one of my earliest memories.

Oatmeal - I love a good bowl of Quaker Instant Oatmeal on a cold morning.  Maple Brown Sugar is my favorite flavor, with Cinnamon coming in a close second.  One packet is never enough though, I always make two.  You need to be sure to rinse the bowl well and leave it filled with water.  Leave a bowl on the counter that's half-full of oatmeal and you're guaranteed to have stuff stronger than wallpaper paste by the afternoon!

Ocean - I grew up very close to the Atlantic.  We went to the beach a lot each summer.  It drives me crazy.  It would be cool if it weren't for all of that dang sand getting into your bag, your towel, your toes, your bathing suit!  And being in New England, the water wasn't even warm to swim in!  Talk about torture!  I still remember my Granny and her sisters at the beach with us.  They'd walk in up to their knees and just rub the water on their arms to cool off.  I'm still surprised she died of a stroke.  I was sure skin cancer would've taken her (well if the lung cancer hadn't gotten her first...).

Oddities - I have never found the highly strange and unusual fascinating.  Little known facts?  Sure, great.  Freaks of nature and things that belong in Ripley's Believe it Or Not?  Not so great.  When I was in elementary school I once borrowed the Guiness Book of World Records.  I vividly remember being SO grossed out by the longest fingernails in the world.  Not to mention, are they independently wealthy or something?  Because you know with nails like that they can't do anything for themselves.  You can't cook with those, you can't get money out of your wallet, heck how do you sleep?

Office Supply Stores - Me in Staples is like a kid in Toys R Us.  I love it all from the marker sets and funky paper clips to the bins to organize paper and other things that clutter your desk.  I love the desk collections and the promise of a sleek, uncluttered look of one area of my home.  *sigh*

Oklahoma! - It was the musical production of my high school drama department my junior year. I was in the chorus. Oddly enough, I remember almost nothing about this production...who was in it, anything that happened...anything.

Onomatopoeia -  Don't you just love this word? I pride myself on being a good speller, but I can NEVER remember how to spell this word. As a pre-school teacher I used it a lot, and I continue to do so as a Mom.  Ok, are you running to the dictionary yet?

Orchids - Orchids make me think of the best vacation of my LIFE.  The first year we were in India, we took a vacation over the school Spring Break to Singapore.  What a beautiful place!  Maybe it was that Singapore was very Westernized and quite clean, which we were missing in India, but we had SUCH a nice week.  It was before Emily was born, and we spent one weekend of the trip in a posh resort on Sentosa Island.  One of our field trips was to the Botanical Gardens where they have a large garden of Orchids.  Barry got a beautiful Orchid tie, and we got a coffee table book on Orchids there.

Otter - One of my favorite pictures ever of Emily is at the Otter Tank at the Melbourne Zoo.  That would be the one in Florida, not Australia.  She was sitting and watching them slide down their slide into the water, then climb out and go slide again.  One time through, the otter swam right in front of her face, just on the other side of the glass.  The look of surprise and delight on her face is PRICELESS!

Ottawa - The only time I have ever been to Canada was a BRIEF trip during college.  The Marching Band played at a Canadian Football League game.  We drove to Ottawa and back.  I am not even sure we stayed overnight.  I want to visit Canada properly, and I have plans one day to visit Halifax and Prince Edward Island.

Ozzie Rolls - A little piece of heaven baked in Northern Virginia.  There is a chain of restaurants here that get their bread from Best Buns Bread Co.  That bread company features a little fried bun called the Ozzie Roll.  Part doughnut, part dinner roll, they are simply DELISH!

 

N is for...

Normal - Something I have never purported to be.  When I was in college I was in the pep band and it was common to wear pins on your shirt and hat.  I had one that said, "Why be normal?"  I have gotten more and more normal as I have gotten older, though I am sure there are many who will comment to this blog to the contrary.  Of course the logical question is, "What is normal?"  My answer: "I dunno, but I ain't it."

Night Person - You know, some people are morning people, and some are night people.  I am a night person.  I can linger in bed forever in the morning.  When I was a student, I could stay in bed until noon easily.  Now it's harder, because while I enjoy the extra sleep, the aches and pains from staying in bed that long aren't worth it.  It's quiet at night.  My daughter never wakes up needing attention when it's night.  There's nowhere you should be at night, no-one you should be calling, because everything's closed.

Nature - Sometimes I think it's overrated.  There are parts of it that are beautiful, sure, like sunsets and flowers and waterfalls.  But all that beauty is booby trapped.  With things that sting, things that bite, things that make you wet and cold, and things that can give you a terrible rash.  My friend Franny goes camping with her family frequently.  She has been able to get past the landmines of nature.  Me?  I'd come home needing an entire pharmacy to get my poor body back to normal. 

I feel this letter isn't finished, so perhaps there will be more later...

M is for...

Massachusetts - The state where I was born and raised.  I am a Yankee through and through.  When I take that silly online quiz with local colloquiallisms, I'm the one calling a water fountain a "bubbler" and a sub sandwich a "grinder".  I don't have much of a "Boston Accent" though true New Englanders can usually detect a trace.  Every once in a while I slip and exclaim that something is "wicked awesome."  Though I am not much of a sports fan, I smile when I hear on the news that the Patriots, Red Sox or Bruins won a game.  I grew up on the South Shore, so I have been to see Plymouth Rock so many times, but oddly enough I can count on one hand the number of times I've visited Boston.  see Accent, Drivers Ed and Island, The

Motherhood - Things did not work out according to my plan in this arena.  When my husband and I were engaged we discussed kids.  We both wanted to adopt one and have two biological kids.  One out of three isn't bad!  We adopted our daughter before we even knew anything was wrong in the fertility arena.  She has been the joy of our lives, but we all feel that our family is not quite complete.  "Baby brother" has been on her last two birthday lists, as well as her last Christmas list.  She tells me often that she dreams I am pregnant, and prays for a baby brother.  I think I am a good Mom.  I certainly am very proud of my daughter, and I know that I can take at least some credit for how delightful and clever she is.  I am enjoying this job called motherhood, but I have this simmering feeling that I ain't seen nothing yet.

Minivan - Some wouldn't be caught dead in one, others can't believe they ever drove anything but.  I am somewhere in the middle.  I never had a big problem with taking the step to get a mini-van once Em came along.  I really like how much I can haul, and how many friends I can load up for an outing.  The other day I was asked what I would drive if I didn't have kids, and I think I would still drive a bigger car - an SUV perhaps - because after being up in the minivan for several years, I can't go back to rolling along so close to the ground in a regular sedan.

L is for...

Remember this?  Well, I have gotten as far as "K" and it's time to move on to "L" today.

Laughter - It's such a sweet, sweet sound to me.  I am such a clown.  I always have to go for the laugh.  If I were funnier, I might have to try my hand at stand-up, but for now I will be satisfied with a well-placed witticism, or a quick retort that sends my friends into fits of laughter.  My daughter is my easiest audience.  When she was a baby, her sweet laughter was like a drug to me, I always needed more.  She's inheriting my tendencies to joke though, and likes to get a few laughs herself.  See Nature vs. Nurture

Laundry - I despise it.  I am never completely finished with it.  I could spend an entire weekend working on it, and still there would be that tablecloth that needs a cold cycle, or the sweater that needs a handwashing in the sink, or the shirt that my daughter stained with who knows what.  When we lived off-base in Japan I had what I referred to as my "Barbie Washer and Dryer."  I think it held three pairs of jeans at a time.  The dryer would take 4.5 hours to dry those jeans.  My husband travelled a lot while we lived in Japan, and I hated that he was away, but I consoled myself with the fact that I just might be able to catch up on laundry.  Well...until he came home and dumped his suitcase out in front of my Barbie Washer...

Lollipops - I have never seen the point of lollipops as big as the head of a small child.  Of course, these coiled confections are always displayed prominently near the door of the candy shop or the register of a gift shop, and catch my daughter's eye every time.  One time I finally broke down and gave in to her pleading and bought her one.  She didn't even make a dent in it.  It was a sticky mess.  Why do Americans need everything in such gargantuan proportions?

Liechtenstein - Do you know where it is?  I didn't...well not exactly.  I knew it was in Europe, but not just where.  It's sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria.  A fabulous location if you ask me.  I never been to Europe though, so ANYWHERE in Europe would be a fabulous location.  Well, for a short vacation anyway.  I don't think I could move to just anywhere in Europe.  Like in the northern countries...Norway, Sweden and Finland...I've heard they have reallllly short days of sunlight in winter, sort of like Alaska.  I would SO not do well there.  I get snippy on a cloudy day around here.  By the time February rolls around, and we've had months of dismal winter weather, you need to keep me down off the book depository.  I wonder if they have book depositories in Liechtenstein? 

Lists - I make 'em...all the time.  Lists of things to do, lists of things to buy, lists of places I want to visit, lists of random facts about me, bucket lists,  lists of random things pertinent to my life by letter of the alphabet.  I love blank books and pretty pads of paper, especially if they are designed to hold lists!

K is for...

Kickball - I was horrid at soccer, hated running races, wasn't so hot at baseball, but I loved it when we played kickball in elementary school.  When a girl came up to the plate, the team on the field all moved in, expecting a weak kick.  But I could send that ball sailing over their heads.  I always loved the first game of a new year when everyone didn't know yet how I could kick.  I would relish the moments as I watched them all groan and wave to each other to move in close.  Then watch the surprised looks on their faces as they scrambled after the ball rolling rapidly towards the fence at the back end of the field.  I have discovered nothing more satisfyng in my life than totally defying stereotypical expectations.

Kahlua - I have never cared for beer.  Wine tastes gross to me.  However, Kahlua has always been a favorite.  Usually I am just up for a simple Kahlua Sombrero.  If there's vodka on hand though, a White Russian is in order.  I rang in 1988 in New Orleans, marching for the Syracuse Orangemen, who were there to face off against the Auburn Tigers.  Partying with friends at a Bourbon Street bar, I discovered a daunting layered shot called the B-52.  I loved the band, and it included a layer of Kahlua, how could I *not* try it?  I think it's strangely curious that at this moment I can't remember how that turned out.  Am I a victim of aging memory, or were those B-52's that debilitating?  I guess no one will know for sure....

Kettle - My Dad is a hot tea drinker, and growing up he always boiled his water in kettle on the stove.  The whistle of a tea kettle is such a pleasant sound to me.  He drank Salada tea for years and years.  When I was little, I loved to read the backs of the tabs on the tea bags.  Now in the days of microwaves, it could be a lot faster and easier to heat up the water with modern technology, but I prefer to listen for the whistle of my little red kettle on the stove.

J is for...

Juggle - I wanted to learn to juggle when I was younger.  My parents got me Juggling For the Complete Klutz, and I spent months with those beanbags trying to juggle.  It was the beginning of my discovery that I simply cannot do two different things with two different hands at the same time.  It was about this time that I kissed goodbye any hope for a future as a piano player or a violinist.

Jennifer - My cousin.  She's about a month younger than me.  We were quite close when we were young.  We used to sleep over and stuff a lot in the summer.  We even somehow managed to have the same wallpaper and quilt in our bedrooms.  Jennifer is beautiful.  High cheekbones...long, gorgeous hair...slim figure...I've always been a little jealous.  Somewhere around high school she stopped coming around to family functions, and we drifted apart.  Now it's been at least 10 years since I saw her.  You know that sometimes distance comes between the best of friendships, but you never think that you will actually lose contact with someone in your family...

Japan - My most recent overseas home.  The place where my six year old has lived half her life.  The place where for the first year I felt lonely and isolated.  The place where for the last year I had some of the best friends of my life.  The place where I learned how a population of over 127 million live together on a land mass that is roughly the size of California.

I is for...

Ice Cream - There are days when I wish I didn't love the stuff so much.  When I was little there was a little Mom and Pop place called Erickson's on the other side of town.  A couple of times each summer we would drive over after dinner and get a big ol' sugar cone.  My favorite was butter crunch.  I can almost never find that flavor any more.  I am also a big soft serve fan, courtesy of years and years of visits to Dairy Queen.

Icarus - You may be familiar with the story of Icarus from Greek Mythology.  His father, Daedalus, made him a pair of wings from feathers and wax.  Daedalus warned his son that flying too close to the sun would melt the wax, but Icarus forgot his father's warning in the excitement of flight.  When I was in college I joined the honorary music sorority, Tau Beta Sigma.  Along with the band fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi, we had a scavenger hunt each year.  On campus was a popular eatery called the Varsity.  They served great chicken and pizza.  One of the scavenger hunt items to be collected one year was a recording of the guy from behind the counter at the Varsity announcing on the P.A. "Icarus, your wings are ready."  That had to be about 20 years ago, and I still find it hugely funny.  See Syracuse.

Island, The - That's what it was called by those familiar with it.  To tourists and others it's Martha's Vineyard.  My Dad moved there for a job shortly before I started college.  It was a fantastic source for lucrative summer income, so I was there every summer between years of college.  I worked several different jobs, kissed several different boys, and made more than several fond memories.

 

G is for...

God - God is good.  He is in my heart and part of my life.  When I complete this project for my album, I will elaborate more privately.

Giggles - Specifically, my daughter's giggle.  It is one of the sweetest sounds on earth.  When she was a baby, it was a deep throaty giggle.  Once she got older it became more of a squeal of laughter.  It is so pure and so fun.

Grandpa - My Grandpa, my late maternal grandfather, was my most favorite person in all the world.  My brother and I would go to spend two weeks with Grandpa and Yea Yea every year.  Grandpa would take us out for doughnuts, then a playground behind a local school.  He taught me so many things from how to blow my nose when I was little, to how to shoot a BB gun, to how to fold and store the American flag.  He died far too soon, when I was just a sophomore in high school.  I miss him all of the time.

Goofball - I can safely label myself a total goofball.  My sense of humor is so odd.

Giving - This is a trait I aspire to have.  I think I do fairly well with it.  I am glad to give to my church and special charities.  I am happy to give of my time and myself to my friends and family.  I am proud to give my time and service to my church and my daughter's school.

Glasses - When I was younger, I wanted glasses.  I don't know why.  I was a bit of a geek, I guess.  I didn't need them though.  That changed when I was about 25.  I would drive through this intersection on a regular basis, and there was a sign across the intersection that I couldn't read.  Finally, I went to the opthomologist and got my first pair of glasses.  I like wearing glasses, and I like being able to see.

F is for...

Flowers - I am one of those freaky women in this world who doesn't really love to get flowers.  They are certainly pretty, and I like flowers in gardens and stuff.  I just have such a problem with a gift that is so expensive, and will only last a few days before you have to get it into the trash without coating your house in dropping seeds and pollen.

Freedom - It's a powerful word to me.  Until I had the opportunity to live outside the USA, I don't think I truly understood just how much freedom we have in this country.  For my freedom, and for the people who protect it every day, sometimes at great cost to themselves, I am extremely grateful.

Fluff, Marshmallow - Sticky white heaven!  Kraft Marshmallow Creme won't do, either.  It has to be the REAL stuff.  The Fluffernutter: peanut butter and Fluff, a perfect food.  Though my favorite way to enjoy Fluff is by dropping a big spoonful into my hot chocolate on a cold day.

Friends - When I was younger I didn't always know how to treat them.  By college they were mostly guys.  In my 20's I had a hard time making new ones, and I had moved away from and lost touch with any old ones.  I had one very good one who broke my heart.  Finally in my 30's I am figuring out this friend thing, and for the first time ever I have some true friends that bring so much to my life.

Forever Family (see Adoption)

Father - I've been blessed with two.  Not sure where I will go from there.

Fear - Unclear about what I want to say here yet.