Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Five (or, really, Ten) Things
One of the bloggers I follow, Nicole did a fun little post yesterday that she found on another blogger's site. It was fun to read, and I thought I'd do something similar. The original tag was Five Things You Didn't Know About Me, but both Nicole and the woman she saw the idea from posted ten, so I thought I'd do the same thing.
1.) My Food Can't Touch ever...We're talking even at Thanksgiving, corn and mashed potatoes....if they touch, I don't eat that part. OK, so if you know me, perhaps you already did know that. At one point, my friends threatened to give me a lifetime supply of the Styrofoam divider plates as a wedding gift if I got married....did y'all ever wonder if that's why I'm still single :-)
2.) As a child, I hated my name. I mean, HATED it.... When my brother was born, he was named for my mom's dad, who had passed away three months before JT was born, and I was jealous. John was named for someone, for Grandpa, and, really, for Great-Grandpa. He had tradition behind him. Me? Apparently I was named for a character on a movie that my parents watched when my mom was pregnant. Dad liked the name and it stuck. Of course, as my mom once pointed out, there weren't great choices for me. After being presented with the options of Verona (Mom's Mom), Mildred (Dad's "foster" Mom), Bernice (Mom's Mom's middle name) or my great-grandmothers Olga or Ida, I decided Staci was just fine.
3.) I really, REALLY, want to trace back my family ancestry. This probably has to do with the item above. I want to know some family names. My dad was in foster homes most of his life, and I know his dad's name, and have actually been able to trace that arm of the family back to when they came to the United States. Mom's mom's side I can also trace back pretty far; it's the other two sides I can't. I found a census form that was completed when my uncle was a baby, so I have a first name (Although it doesn't match what I'd been told at one point), but can't trace it back any further. Then, there's my mom's dad's side...yeah, NOTHING, zilch, nada. Grandpa's parents were gone before he married my grandmother, and back then people just didn't talk about those things; so we're kind of at a stopping point. I guess I was hoping for some exciting name that didn't sound too old fashioned, but no such luck.
4.If I were picking my career today, it would likely be in law enforcement. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, it's fun, challenging and I get the opportunity to meet a lot of new people. Being on the road like I am, I don't get sucked into the "day in day out" routine. That said, what I do isn't "life altering." I don't save lives or protect people from harm, I just help people with ways to calculate taxes....pretty dull, huh
5.I am NOT a morning person. I'm told as a baby I had my days and nights mixed up, and I'm not sure that I ever truly outgrew that. I'm most productive late at night; whether it's something for work, baking cookies, cleaning, I can get more done after 10PM than I can before 10AM.
6. I'm afraid of Thunderstorms. Well, the lightning more than the thunder, but the whole storm. Growing up, my parents house was struck 13 different times, and most of those times I was actually a witness to the ball of fire. Now, when there are thunderstorms, even if they're not severe, I'll camp out in the basement (which is a big part of the reason that I finished part of mine up....sitting on a piece of carpet wasn't exactly a really great place to wait out storms).
7. I can't drive a standard transmission. My parents are still arguing (20+ years later) about who spent more time teaching me how to drive, so they never tried. My brother tried once or twice, but the left side of my body (i.e. the clutch foot) and the right side of my body (i.e. the shifter hand) just don't work together.
8. I still remember the first thing I got wrong in school. I was in first grade, and the assignment was to color the pictures of all of the "short vowel" words. I didn't color the bag...because I don't say bah-g...I say BAG. Long A. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
9. When I make a mistake, even a small one, I beat myself up over it for a long time. I'm far from perfect, but when I make a mistake that someone else catches, I dwell on it and confidence in myself takes a hit. So much so that, at points, I've refrained from doing things simply because, once upon a time, I screwed up.
10. I haven't given up on my dream to have kids. Growing up, my career changed many times (although I always knew I never wanted to be a bus driver)...n first grade, I wanted to be an astronaut, in fourth, a teacher; n middle school, I wanted to be a nurse and then a lawyer; by the time I got to high school, I knew I wanted to be an accountant. Throughout all of this, I knew I wanted to be a mom. In fact, part of the reason I opted for accounting is because it offers flexibility. I wasn't going to be burned like my mom was when she took a few years off of work to have kids; at least in accounting I knew there would always be a job for me. Now, as I'm pushing 40, the odds of me having kids are getting slimmer, but I haven't given up on that dream yet.
1.) My Food Can't Touch ever...We're talking even at Thanksgiving, corn and mashed potatoes....if they touch, I don't eat that part. OK, so if you know me, perhaps you already did know that. At one point, my friends threatened to give me a lifetime supply of the Styrofoam divider plates as a wedding gift if I got married....did y'all ever wonder if that's why I'm still single :-)
2.) As a child, I hated my name. I mean, HATED it.... When my brother was born, he was named for my mom's dad, who had passed away three months before JT was born, and I was jealous. John was named for someone, for Grandpa, and, really, for Great-Grandpa. He had tradition behind him. Me? Apparently I was named for a character on a movie that my parents watched when my mom was pregnant. Dad liked the name and it stuck. Of course, as my mom once pointed out, there weren't great choices for me. After being presented with the options of Verona (Mom's Mom), Mildred (Dad's "foster" Mom), Bernice (Mom's Mom's middle name) or my great-grandmothers Olga or Ida, I decided Staci was just fine.
3.) I really, REALLY, want to trace back my family ancestry. This probably has to do with the item above. I want to know some family names. My dad was in foster homes most of his life, and I know his dad's name, and have actually been able to trace that arm of the family back to when they came to the United States. Mom's mom's side I can also trace back pretty far; it's the other two sides I can't. I found a census form that was completed when my uncle was a baby, so I have a first name (Although it doesn't match what I'd been told at one point), but can't trace it back any further. Then, there's my mom's dad's side...yeah, NOTHING, zilch, nada. Grandpa's parents were gone before he married my grandmother, and back then people just didn't talk about those things; so we're kind of at a stopping point. I guess I was hoping for some exciting name that didn't sound too old fashioned, but no such luck.
4.If I were picking my career today, it would likely be in law enforcement. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, it's fun, challenging and I get the opportunity to meet a lot of new people. Being on the road like I am, I don't get sucked into the "day in day out" routine. That said, what I do isn't "life altering." I don't save lives or protect people from harm, I just help people with ways to calculate taxes....pretty dull, huh
5.I am NOT a morning person. I'm told as a baby I had my days and nights mixed up, and I'm not sure that I ever truly outgrew that. I'm most productive late at night; whether it's something for work, baking cookies, cleaning, I can get more done after 10PM than I can before 10AM.
6. I'm afraid of Thunderstorms. Well, the lightning more than the thunder, but the whole storm. Growing up, my parents house was struck 13 different times, and most of those times I was actually a witness to the ball of fire. Now, when there are thunderstorms, even if they're not severe, I'll camp out in the basement (which is a big part of the reason that I finished part of mine up....sitting on a piece of carpet wasn't exactly a really great place to wait out storms).
7. I can't drive a standard transmission. My parents are still arguing (20+ years later) about who spent more time teaching me how to drive, so they never tried. My brother tried once or twice, but the left side of my body (i.e. the clutch foot) and the right side of my body (i.e. the shifter hand) just don't work together.
8. I still remember the first thing I got wrong in school. I was in first grade, and the assignment was to color the pictures of all of the "short vowel" words. I didn't color the bag...because I don't say bah-g...I say BAG. Long A. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
9. When I make a mistake, even a small one, I beat myself up over it for a long time. I'm far from perfect, but when I make a mistake that someone else catches, I dwell on it and confidence in myself takes a hit. So much so that, at points, I've refrained from doing things simply because, once upon a time, I screwed up.
10. I haven't given up on my dream to have kids. Growing up, my career changed many times (although I always knew I never wanted to be a bus driver)...n first grade, I wanted to be an astronaut, in fourth, a teacher; n middle school, I wanted to be a nurse and then a lawyer; by the time I got to high school, I knew I wanted to be an accountant. Throughout all of this, I knew I wanted to be a mom. In fact, part of the reason I opted for accounting is because it offers flexibility. I wasn't going to be burned like my mom was when she took a few years off of work to have kids; at least in accounting I knew there would always be a job for me. Now, as I'm pushing 40, the odds of me having kids are getting slimmer, but I haven't given up on that dream yet.
Fun Finds!
I've got a cold, one of those knock-you on your backside colds where you just want to lay around and do nothing....and, I still have spring cleaning to do. I took it a bit slower this weekend than I wanted to, but at least I got the worst remaining sections done - the walk-in closet and dressers in my bedroom are now cleaned. As a result of my efforts, I have several bags to take to Goodwill next Saturday when I meet my best friend and her two kiddos for lunch.
Cleaning my dresser drawers is kind of like putting on a coat for the first time in the fall and finding a $10 bill that was left in the pocket. When I'm in a hurry to clean, I tend to toss things in the drawers...out of sight, out of mind. Tonight I found all sorts of treasures...some money, a gift card, and probably the best surprise of all..some memory cards from my camera (ones that I thought had been lost).
Sure made for a fun evening to look back at....
My trip to Brazil
A preseason game in Houston to see my favorite QB (from the year I defected to the Vikings in protest of Ted Thompson, hmmm perhaps I should consider that once again)
My fur child welcoming the Newman Pup Crew (from NASCAR driver Ryan Newman's charity) members the day they arrived. Krissie Newman, Ryan's wife, actually tweeted me back when I made this my picture on Twitter, cool, huh?
Time spent with my great-aunt. Side note, Aunt Moise's one of only two family members shorter than I am. Her husband (my grandma's brother) was a carpenter, and he built the cabinets in their house to be just a little lower than normal. Smart idea...wish I'd have thought of that, then I wouldn't have to tote around my little two-step ladder to every freaking room (or, as too often is the case, try to reach that extra inch or so only to make a bunch o' crap come falling down on me - hence why Spring Cleaning is taking such a blasted long time).
A picture of my mom and brother at a wedding he stood up for (Mom is probably going to kill me for putting this one in here, I think the sun was in her eyes so that's why she's got such a silly look on her face)...
Christmas at my cousin's house near Chicago. Apparently, whilst we were blissfully taking pictures, singing carols and eating WAAYYYYY too much good food inside, we didn't notice how much snow we were getting outside. I was driving, so no pictures of the "make your own lane" freeway near Wind Point, but let me tell you it wasn't fun.
I also found a couple of pictures that made me reflect. The woman pictured on Santa's lap with her two grandchildren became close to our hearts when she and my brother were involved in the same volunteer organization. She passed away the May after this picture was taken, but she'll forever live in our hearts. R.I.P Dee...
And this one... My mom went to Sheboygan County Teacher's College with the women pictured here. They all settled down in Sheboygan County, but were pretty spread out. As I got older, I often ended up at their children's weddings as my mom's guest so I got to know them as well. They lost their first member earlier this year, an energetic woman who never let her health battles bring her down, and embraced the challenges set in front of her with the knowledge that at the end of her journey she would be met by her Savior. Pretty sure that if Jesus wasn't a Packer's fan before, Diana will have him converted before this pre-season. R.I.P. Dianna.
Well, time to close this post. I have one other I want to make tonight, something that I'd seen on a fellow blogger's page, and then I think it's time to go to bed. Those of you who know me know I'm a night owl, so being in bed two nights in a row before 9:00 is unheard of....I sure hope this dang cold leaves soon.
Cleaning my dresser drawers is kind of like putting on a coat for the first time in the fall and finding a $10 bill that was left in the pocket. When I'm in a hurry to clean, I tend to toss things in the drawers...out of sight, out of mind. Tonight I found all sorts of treasures...some money, a gift card, and probably the best surprise of all..some memory cards from my camera (ones that I thought had been lost).
Sure made for a fun evening to look back at....
My trip to Brazil
A preseason game in Houston to see my favorite QB (from the year I defected to the Vikings in protest of Ted Thompson, hmmm perhaps I should consider that once again)
My fur child welcoming the Newman Pup Crew (from NASCAR driver Ryan Newman's charity) members the day they arrived. Krissie Newman, Ryan's wife, actually tweeted me back when I made this my picture on Twitter, cool, huh?
There were also some family pics from a few years back, including our trip to NYC. I'm thinking John probably could kill me for this first pic...
Time spent with my great-aunt. Side note, Aunt Moise's one of only two family members shorter than I am. Her husband (my grandma's brother) was a carpenter, and he built the cabinets in their house to be just a little lower than normal. Smart idea...wish I'd have thought of that, then I wouldn't have to tote around my little two-step ladder to every freaking room (or, as too often is the case, try to reach that extra inch or so only to make a bunch o' crap come falling down on me - hence why Spring Cleaning is taking such a blasted long time).
A picture of my mom and brother at a wedding he stood up for (Mom is probably going to kill me for putting this one in here, I think the sun was in her eyes so that's why she's got such a silly look on her face)...
Christmas at my cousin's house near Chicago. Apparently, whilst we were blissfully taking pictures, singing carols and eating WAAYYYYY too much good food inside, we didn't notice how much snow we were getting outside. I was driving, so no pictures of the "make your own lane" freeway near Wind Point, but let me tell you it wasn't fun.
I also found a couple of pictures that made me reflect. The woman pictured on Santa's lap with her two grandchildren became close to our hearts when she and my brother were involved in the same volunteer organization. She passed away the May after this picture was taken, but she'll forever live in our hearts. R.I.P Dee...
And this one... My mom went to Sheboygan County Teacher's College with the women pictured here. They all settled down in Sheboygan County, but were pretty spread out. As I got older, I often ended up at their children's weddings as my mom's guest so I got to know them as well. They lost their first member earlier this year, an energetic woman who never let her health battles bring her down, and embraced the challenges set in front of her with the knowledge that at the end of her journey she would be met by her Savior. Pretty sure that if Jesus wasn't a Packer's fan before, Diana will have him converted before this pre-season. R.I.P. Dianna.
Well, time to close this post. I have one other I want to make tonight, something that I'd seen on a fellow blogger's page, and then I think it's time to go to bed. Those of you who know me know I'm a night owl, so being in bed two nights in a row before 9:00 is unheard of....I sure hope this dang cold leaves soon.
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