Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I was re-reading my blog posts (there are just SO many of them to go through...) and I laughed out loud at the survey I filled out way back when I started writing in 2006 (coincidentally, that is also about the time I stopped writing...) Anyway. I thought it'd be fun to fill out another one today. Some of my answers didn't change much at all! So, here ye go.

What I was doing ten years ago:
May, 2000. Wow. I was about to graduate from high school, a time that could not come quickly enough to 18 year-old me. Though I loved academics, I did not embrace the typical high school experiences of dating, having fun with friends, going to prom, etc. I didn’t have much of a life outside of schoolwork and dance rehearsals, but I was happy because I excelled at those things. Still, I believed I needed a fresh start, and the end of high school seemed promising. I had accomplished all of the oh-so important goals I had set for myself: I won my county Junior Miss pageant, achieved success in my dance and academic pursuits, and received scholarships to my top two college choices. I had also very recently lost my maternal grandfather to cancer. His funeral marked the first time I realized that I can be kind of emotionless in the face of tragedy. Months later, I finally cried for him and for my mom and her sisters. Honestly, that whole month of May is a huge blur. What I really remember is that about a month later I would discover that my hair did, in fact, prefer to be worn curly (and not in the strangled, flattened, flipped at the ends way I had been wearing it for years) – just in time for a summer of fun and a college send-off.

Five years ago:
May, 2005. Another wow! I was finishing up my time interning in D.C. and beginning preparations for my BiG Fourth of July move to Nashville. I was really, really ready to find a way to balance work life with personal life. I had no idea how awesome or life-changing my decision to move to Tennessee would be! God was working to prepare the way even then.

One year ago:
May, 2009. I can’t believe it’s been a year, but I was newly married and settling into life as the Bowtie’s wife. We had returned from our Mexican honeymoon and managed to avoid the swine flu in the process. Score one for us! I was also winding down my time in my original position at the University and gearing up for my exciting (and current) position. I was nervous but excited about all the changes going on in my life. I was getting lots of migraines and grinding my teeth down to nubs after several months of wedding stress finally caught up with me. I visited Austin to see my BFF and the newest Kentucky-to-Texas transplant, Sarah M. I wanted to get a puppy but thought better of it.

Yesterday:
May 3, 2010. Let’s see… it was a Monday. I woke up with just barely enough time to get ready, eat some delicious Honey Nut Cheerios, and give the Bowtie a kiss. I went to work and checked email and Google Reader, as is my morning custom (especially on Mondays). I got a frantic phone call from the Bowtie saying that my mother was trying to get in touch with me and that something was wrong with my grandmother. I spoke with mom and got the rest of the story (not to be shared here currently). I prayed a lot. I went to the dentist and was given a grade “B+“ for my general good dental health but continued lack of interest in flossing. I worked some more – emails, meetings, reports. I left an hour after quitting time despite promising myself that I would leave on time. I got caught in a rainstorm. I talked with my mom on the phone for a long time. I saw the biggest rainbow I’ve ever seen. I half-heartedly watched Dancing with the Stars and had a Lean Cuisine for dinner (the Bowtie is on business in Alamo country). I watched Forensic Files in bed. It’s an exciting life – don’t be jealous.

Five songs I know all the words to:
Party in the USA, Miley Cyrus
Shameless, Garth Brooks
My Old Kentucky Home, Stephen Foster
Fantasy, Ludacris
Man With A Plan, Assembly of Dust

Five snacks I enjoy regularly:
clementine oranges
Baked Cheetos
gum
cookies
Viactiv vitamins

Five things I'd do if I won $100 million:
buy a house or a few
quit my job… even though I like my current one
visit my family in Kentucky and my friends that are strewn about the nation
travel through Europe
save, save, save

Five places I would run away to:
Bedford, Kentucky
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Home
Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Five things I would never wear:
a romper or jumpsuit – I don’t care how trendy they are!
socks with sandals
Duke paraphernalia
blue eyeshadow
white patent leather pumps

Five Favorite TV Shows:
Forensic Files
Modern Family
The Wonder Years
Cheers
Murder, She Wrote


Five Favorite Toys:
Fashion Plates and Fashion Faces
plastic food
Skip-it
puzzles
Barbies