Just a Spoonful of Sugar....

Hello from a favorite meme of mine which is sponsored by Wednesday Wickedness. Each week,the lovely Janera posts ten quotes from a well-known celebrity, and then poses 10 questions for us to answer following each quote. This week's celebrity is one of my all-time favorites, Julie Andrews. Her performance in Mary Poppins placed the acting seed in me. Although my life has changed paths, I will always have a special place for her in my heart. Thank you Ms. Andrews!

I hope you enjoy her quotes and my sometimes off the wall responses!


1. “All love shifts and changes. I don't know if you can be wholeheartedly in love all the time.” Have ever felt that you’ve been in love with someone constantly over a long period of time?

Like Brad or George, or maybe even Kevin? Actually, I've been married for 34 years. I think love played a part in that. (And maybe some money, some luck and being in the right place at the right time!)


2. “I am an optimistic lady.” How optimistic are you?

Optimistic about what? That I will win the lottery, that I will lose 100 pounds, that my kids will buy me a beach house? Yeah, it could happen! At this point in my life, I am very optimistic. I spent a good deal of my life with negative feelings, and it was a lot of hard work. It's much easier (and since I like things to be uncomplicated) to think, hope and pray for good things to happen.


3. “I don't think today's younger audience... would even know what 1920s musicals were like.” Do you have any knowledge of 1920 films or musicals? If yes, any favorites?

As much as I love movies and theatre, you'd think I could rattle off a bunch of older movies, but my talents do not include photographic memory. I loved the old musicals and dancing movies. I am reminded of the song from A Chorus Line, "At The Ballet", where everyone is beautiful. Watching those movies, as well as, today's song and dance shows, make me feel a part of them as if I were on stage and involved. That feels good.


4. “I hate the word wholesome.” Play word association. I say “wholesome” and you say:

Hostess Cupcakes.


5. “I have always wished I could learn to be a potter. I love collecting ceramics; it would be so fulfilling to create something lovely.” What have you always wished that you could be?

Thin.


6. “Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.” Tell us about something that you had to persevere through.

Childbirth...but I am not going to do it 16 more times. I'm not crazy!


7. “Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.” How do you define your self discipline?

It can't be defined...I have none.


8. “Sometimes opportunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it.” Have you ever missed a golden opportunity?

Do you have a few hours? My reference above to "being in the right place at the right time" is something with which I am not familiar! I did have an opportunity to apply for a position as a flight attendant, but bailed because I was afraid of losing a boyfriend. I also found myself walking to the admissions office of a law school when I realized that not only did I have no money, I would have to put off having children. I wanted to be a mom without too many other stresses. Oh, and I once auditioned for "The Dating Game", but I tried too hard to be funny, which wasn't really who I was at the time. Moral: Be yourself!


9. “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and... SNAP! The job's a game!” Have you ever had that perfect job that was always entertaining?

Yes. My job as a mom has always been entertaining...not always fun, but always entertaining!


10. “Sometimes I'm so sweet even I can't stand it.” Has anyone ever considered you as sweet?

Yes, the students at the middle school where I work. They think I'm really sweet when I write them late passes to class!

Thanks for stopping by! Please pop over to the Wicked Lady at Wednesday Wickedness and say hello! Just click on the logo below!

Hat Day

October 1st is Hat Day at my school. Normally, no one is allowed to wear hats at school. On Hat Day, however, it becomes a sea of colors and shapes. Who can wear the funniest, most extravagant, kookie, bright, big, small, etc., etc.? For $1, students get a sticker to wear that gives them permission to wear their hat. All of the money raised from the sale of the stickers goes to charity. It's great for the kids to feel a sense of giving, and it's great to get away with breaking a school rule!

I hate hats! I hate the hat hair I get when I wear a hat. I only own one hat, and I've never worn it anywhere. I think I will wear it on hat day! It was made for me by some very special ladies. You may have read about my time as a preschool teacher assistant. One special year, possibly when the planets were all aligned, every teacher and every assistant loved coming to work. We all worked together very well, with no one slacking off. We fed each other with humor, love, empathy and the joy of getting to play with three to five year old children (and going home without them).

During the summer, we agreed to meet at least once for a movie or a meal. One of the movies we saw together was the "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood." We loved the movie, and would relive some of the funny scenes while we were at work. We also loved to celebrate each others birthdays with cards and surprises. That year, the surprises were hats. I can't remember who received the first Ya Ya hat, but it was a hat that had been covered with small trinkets representative of the different parts of our personality, as well as, special occasions in our lives. Everything was hot glued to the hat. The items included pictures, jewelry, small toys (boats, horses, cars, babies), and pieces that represented our dreams. Eventually, everyone had a Ya Ya Hat!



If I decide to wear my hat, I know I will be setting myself up for snickers, finger pointing, and the kind of laughter that starts way down in the gut and works its way up and out of the mouth, along with what ever food and/or beverage was recently consumed. But, hey, it is just a hat, and I will have paid my one dollar. If this post is still the most current post six months from now, you will know that I suffered immense humiliation and have been committed to an institution with years of therapy ahead of me.

It's probably a good thing to keep this all hush-hush from my family... I hope to be able to let you know how much I enjoyed Hat Day!

Spring Break - Partaaaaaay!

Today was the last day of school for us. We have ten days of NOT having to schedule my morning shower around everyone else; ten days of crawling back into bed after the bacon-bringer-home leaves for work; ten days of off-and-on computer play; and ten days of keeping the food on track.

Oh heck, I can do that! I spent seven hours today passing by boxes of donuts, cookies and cupcakes. Since I knew that if I had one, I would then have to have all of them. It is so much easier to not eat forbidden foods, than to try to monitor or make portions. I'm not very good with numbers; words are more my style. I have a tough time counting calories, points, grams, etc. What has been working for me is to decrease portion size. Instead of one pound of M&Ms, I limit myself to 1/2 pound. Arent' I the clever one?

I suppose I will now have to walk Tootsie a few more times each day in order to make up for the walking I usually do at work. She is going to be very confused as to why there are so many people home during her "special" alone time! I think she will forgive us as long as we include her in our conversations. She still does the 3:45am thing where we go out to check the "boat house." Sometimes, she just likes to sniff around to see which friends have been by lately.

My "random act of kindess" deeds are coming along fine. Sometimes, just a little "hello" to someone will brighten their day. It takes a lot less effort to smile than to frown, and since I'm a lazy person, it works very well for me. I'm always waving to cars passing by the house. My kids are humiliated because most of the time I don't know who is driving the car. I just wave in case it's someone who knows me...if I don't, I will have to apologize later for being a snob.

My plans for spring break include cleaning out cupboards and closets, and getting rid of all the Girl Scout art projects, swaps (I have two million safety pins if someone needs them for swaps!) and a ton of papers. Anyone in scouts knows that there are a lot of forms, letters and yellow "Troop" copies of every cookie sale and registration, and don't forget all of the leftover "April Showers" bags! I have ten years worth of stuff. I think it's time to say goodbye to a few things. I will be strong!

Or, I just might bail on the house stuff and go to the movies with the girls!

You're My Hero, Tink!

With the movie coming out this week, it seems like Faeries are the buzz. To me, Tinkerbell is the most famous and likeable.

I grew up about a half hour from Disneyland and would visit once a year. We didn't have all the wonderful advertising products that they have today, so I patiently waited for the trip to see all of my Disney Hereos. My favorites were Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbell. I would always visit the Castle and couldn't leave until after the Tink's flight from the Matterhorn to wherever it was that she landed. I wanted to be at that spot, but my parents kept me close at hand. The fireworks were the highlight of the whole day. (Little did I know that my future husband would watch those fireworks from his backyard about two blocks away from the park!)

My Faerie interest grew once I had my girls and we would play pretend. With the ability to own movies and watch them anytime, I collected as many as I could that included Faeries: Hook, Peter Pan, Ferngully, Fairy Tale: A True Story, Neverland, etc. I lead a unit for a Girl Scout Day camp where the theme was movies. I chose Ferngully for my group of 2nd grade girls. We made wings, wands and pouches to hold faerie dust. (We couldn't use real faerie dust due to eco reasons, so we used birdseed instead!) We went on hikes to look for faeries and we would fly to the other units and put spells on them. We really did a number on the boys' unit because they were so obnoxious!

I find that keeping the magic alive does wonders for my well-being. I would love to hear your faerie stories!