Day 42: Knowledge Makes Us Stupid

First off, knowledge is a wonderful thing. That is sort of the point of my post. And I, for one, am glad that knowledge is so easy to find today. My generation seems to be pretty much the last to have used things like Encyclopedias to find information. I remember using an Encyclopedia to research countries for schoolwork. And it wasn't that great... by the time I was reading it, some of the info was already out of date, and I couldn't look for more information. For example, if I was researching Mongolia, I would have to go to the library to try to find a book on the horse culture of Mongolia. The encyclopedia would probably mention it, but only have a sentence or two. And usually if I was interested in something, by the time I got to the library, I'd moved on to something else. Not that I wasn't still interested, but you can only get so many library books for research.
Now we have Google. I say Google because I despise Bing. Just my opinion. I do know people who use Bing and love it, but I'm not a fan. Though, as long as you use something, you're doing ok. When I'm curious about something, I Google it. It isn't that I am addicted to technology, it is that I want to know. My Grandparents were talking about a poem one day. They remembered it was a poem about a man named Gunga Din, but didn't really remember much beyond that. I grabbed Grama's computer, and within 5 minutes, pulled up the Rudyard Kipling poem, titled Gunga Din. Which was, of course, the poem they were talking about.
Any time there is some conspiracy/weird story going around (for example, the story a short time ago about Aldi selling horse meat), I go to snopes.com. And I find out immediately (most of the time, on occasion, Snopes doesn't have a definite answer) whether the story is true or not. The one with the horse meat was something that happened a while back, in Germany. And they dealt with the problem. So people in the States were freaking out and talking about boycotting Aldi were simply going nuts for no reason.
Sometimes it seems like people forget that they're on a computer when they're on social media. There are so many people asking questions on twitter/facebook/yahoo answers that they could easily find answers for on their own, just by typing in google.com. And, as an added bonus, the more often you go to Google, the more you'll see the Google doodles, which are both neat and educational.
When you're curious, use Google. Don't just sit there wondering. We have a greater ability to learn quickly than anyone before us. And we just waste it.
Here's a challenge. When you have a question, or something you'd like to learn to do, write it down. Even if it's something goofy like, "I wonder how to make a dragon..." Then, when you're on the computer, cut your social media time in half. If you're gonna spend an hour on facebook, twitter, and pinterest, just spend half an hour on there. Spend the rest of the hour Googling those things you want to learn. Another option would be to spend half of that hour doing some of the projects you've pinned on pinterest (and no, the time it takes you to figure out the right pin to choose does not count as part of that half hour). See how much you improve your knowledge of the world, or your ability to do interesting things such as baking or making dragons. Research places to go on a vacation. Then go, Use the internet to improve your life instead of just wasting time on it.
Let me know how it works out. And if you make that dragon :~) I may give that one a go.   

Day 41: Well That Was Embarrassing...

I don't really have embarrassing stories. I get embarrassed of course, but those moments don't usually come with fun stories. This is one of my embarrassing memories. And because my knees are in pain right now from falling on the ice, I was thinking about it anyway.
Last winter, around Christmas time, there was actually snow, unlike this winter. And with snow, you typically get ice. I'm usually pretty good at not falling on the ice. I either see it or I'm just able to catch myself before I wipe out. Sometimes though, I get distracted.
We were having family Christmas with my Mom's side of the family. All the kids (I will be included with the kids til the day I die...) were going out to sled. I walked across the sidewalk and I guess it was icier than I originally thought. I was walking fast so we could get started sledding, and paying attention to what the others were already doing (I swear, I'm like a puppy when it comes to paying attention to the correct thing), and I hit a patch of ice and slammed down on my hip. Of course, I was right in front of the window, and figured everyone inside had seen it. I jumped up and continued on my way as though nothing happened. And when I got back inside, I was right. People had seen my little crash. But hey, it was ice. Everyone in northern IL slips on ice at some point during the winter. It's not a big deal. That wasn't the embarrassing part.
Later that afternoon, we (the kids again) were going to play spoons. I went into the kitchen to get spoons for the game. Next thing I knew, I was flat on my back on the kitchen floor. I was wearing socks, but I walk across the kitchen floor in socks all the time without any problems. And I was only walking, not running. I didn't really even have a chance to try to catch myself. I was on the floor too fast. And all I could do was lay there laughing. Carla stood there, also laughing, saying, "Laura is on the floor again." So, of course, everyone knew what happened. I refused to stand up again in the kitchen, so my cousins finally came and drug me out of the kitchen. And then I was a lot more careful about where I walked the rest of the day.

Day 40: Lies We Believe

 

 

Sayings like this really irritate me. There are so many stereotypes about women, and men have a tendency to buy into them. This one goes a little  farther:

 

There is nothing like having a conversation with a guy and having him suddenly ask why you're being quiet, and asking if you're mad. If you say "Nothing is wrong", they assume that there is something wrong. If you say everything is fine, that apparently means you're furious and simply trying to make a point.   

It is very hard to talk to people who makes assumptions about the things you say based on crap "facts" like this. I've known people who believe this list of words so deeply that after a while, I don't even care to talk to them anymore. I have to try to remember what list of words has secret hidden meaning to their twisted brains. I try to say what I mean, so if I say I'm fine, I usually am. If I say I'm fine and I'm not, it means the person I am talking to can't do anything about it, so for all intents and purposes, I'm still fine. If I tell someone to go ahead and do something, I couldn't care less if they do it or not. And then of course, there's the fun time when I say that nothing is wrong, and the person keeps pushing it, insisting that there's something wrong, because a woman never means nothing when she says nothing.
Being introverted, I am often quiet, especially in social situations. It seldom means that I am mad. It means that I am listening and observing what is happening. I get mad when someone informs me that, because I am quiet, I am mad. Let's all listen to Stephen King in this situation. Quiet people (and that includes women) are usually thinking. They're not thinking about how to kill you (unless you've just asked them 20 times why they're quiet, and if it's because they're mad at you).

 

Women lying in social situations has become such a stereotype that even other women think that these things are true. I usually see women posting the 'deadly terms' image. It makes it so that we have to look even closer at the things we say. We're not censoring so that we don't offend, or to be sure we're saying what we mean to say. We have to see if we're going to be looked at as liars when we're being absolutely honest. Seriously, it gets to the point where I wonder why I even talk to people. It takes way too much time to figure out what the other person is going to think I'm saying.

 

Day 39: Back in My Day.

I'm old enough that I could be one of those people who says, "You know, when I was your age, people didn't take so many pictures of their pets, and they certainly didn't take pictures of their food." But oh my goodness, it drives me nuts when people say things like that. So, just because several years ago it was harder and more expensive to take pictures, doesn't mean that no one should take pictures of super random stuff now that it's so easy to do. I mean, why on earth do we have cameras on our phones, and cameras that are so flipping easy to use? Because people wanted to be able to take pictures without spending a boatload on them. And without spending a ton of time posing for one.
Guess what... go back a few more years, and even your family shots every time you get together wouldn't be happening. In Victorian times, photos often had one or more dead people. It was so expensive to get a photographer to come and do a portrait that they only did it when they absolutely had to in order to have a remembrance of the person who passed.

 

I know that in the whole realm of things, what we take pictures of is really not a big deal. But really, why on earth should we not do something simply because it wasn't done 20 years ago? If we did that, nothing would progress in the world. We'd still be saying, "Well, back in my day, if we wanted to cross the country, we hitched up our oxen, got in our covered wagons, and hoped no one wound up with cholera or a snake bite."

Yes, I am using Oregon Trail II as my historically accurate picture :~) 

Whether it is something as simple as taking pictures, or something that actually has a real impact on your life, don't let anyone tell you how to do something just because it wasn't done when they were your age and they think it's silly. I'm single, I travel and haven't held a job longer than 10 months. I take selfies and I frequently post pictures of my food. And I don't care what people think. If I can't call myself a "photographer" because a proper photographer wouldn't post things like that, I really don't care. I'll do what I want and what makes me happy whether it is old fashioned, new fashioned, or completely out there. And you should as well.  

 

Day 38: qotd

Long before I even started using Twitter and doing the whole #qotd (quote of the day) thing, Dad and I were texting quotes to each other. Sometimes they were things from books we read, sometimes things we heard on tv. Anything we thought would be a quote that the other would like. Sometimes we end up reading something the other has been reading, because there are interesting quotes that make us curious about the book.
I (obviously) use Twitter now, and Dad gets my tweets as texts, so he gets any quotes I post. But there are still some that I text to him instead of posting. Some that I don't think anyone else would get (or approve of). There are also random quotes that we text each other if we're rereading certain books. There's one especially that is texted back and forth, or sometimes just said if we're in the same room when reminded of it, fairly often. I have no idea why we choose that quotes that we do, they just catch our fancy for some reason.
I think it's silly when people ask, "what's your favourite quote?" I feel like, if you have a favourite quote, you don't read enough. I can choose a quote that fits my mood/feelings at the moment. I can pick a quote that fits the conversation that I am having. Heck, I can usually find a song quote for those things as well. My brain is a mess. But I can't honestly choose a favorite quote. There are so many that I love for lots of different reasons. Some make me laugh, some make me think, some make me realize that I'm not as messed up as I think, and lots of people feel the way I feel.
Here, in no particular order, are a few quotes that I like. I could have done so many more... what are some of your favourites?

 

Day 37: This Year, I am Proud That I...

Didn't punch anyone in the face...

You probably think I'm joking... but I'm not. I really am not sure that I did much this past year that is worth being proud of. This past year wasn't the best...I suppose there are things that I could be proud of, but I'm not so sure of that. I have (as I've mentioned in at least 75% of my blogs) rescued 2 animals, and I suppose that I am proud of that to a point. But it wasn't something I really decided to do. In both cases, I just sort of did it and didn't think. So I'm not really sure that it's something to be proud of. It also wound up causing a lot of issues with my parents (though those were ultimately resolved and it actually ended with my Mom coming to India...).
It felt like a 'no good deed goes unpunished' sort of year this year. I'd go into something, thinking I was doing a good thing, and for whatever reason, it just didn't go well.

The one thing I actually felt proud of was the horse therapy crash course I taught in Pune. But even with that, I haven't heard back from anyone involved, and I don't even know if therapy is continuing. So I really don't know that I did anything lasting. I guess that's out of my hands though. All I can do is my best, and if others don't continue what I hate started, it's out of my hands. I taught them how to use horses for therapy, which was all I could do at the time. So I suppose that it is something I'm proud of.  

 

Day 36: I'm Not Interested in Your Causes

What causes do you support?
Despite the title of this blog, I do have causes that I care about. The main causes I care about are abortion (well, a stop to abortions...), horse therapy, women's rights, and responsible animal care. But within those, I hate 'shock value' campaigning. This especially happens with animal abuse.

Cosette was pretending to be so very abused...I think she was
trying for a starring role in a commercial.

The commercials on TV, or crap on Facebook where they show pictures and videos of animals being abused. I skip past them on fb, and mute the commercials. If people post such videos and pictures, I either hide all of their posts, or unfriend them. Maybe they're effective in some cases. Maybe people see it and it reminds them that they should adopt, or that they should support organizations that rescue these animals. But really, they just annoy me. I mean, I'm sitting here with my rescued animals (those that I currently have, though I have had many others over the years), and I'm sure that during the rest of my life, I will rescue many more animals as I have opportunity. But then this stuff pops up, and I have to see these animals and feel as though I am not doing anything to actually save animals, because there are still so many more that I haven't picked up. I do what I am able to, and I am happy with the rescues I have done, and I'm pretty sure they're happy (Leaf is snoring beside me on the couch, Cosette is curled in "her" chair, and Marius has commandeered the chair closest to the fire... pretty sure they're all pleased with what I have done). So I don't want pictures of animals that I can't do anything about stuffed in my face. If you want a good animal rescue to check out, Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation, Inc. is a great one. They post photos of the horses they have brought in, and sometimes they're in pretty rough shape. But then they show the transformation, and how a bit of love can make a difference to these animals. And if you follow them on Facebook, you'll see photos of past adoptions, and there are a lot of happy horses with their new (very happy) people. It make you want to adopt instead of making you want to tear out your hair because the plight of all of the abused animals in the world is simply impossible to do anything about.

Another Cosette commercial. Though this was actually her being taken
to the US to live as a totally spoiled puppy, she looks pretty pathetic, doesn't she?

 
I feel the same about a lot of pro-life sites. Most of them post photos of babies who have been aborted, and graphic descriptions of abortions. There is, however, one that I like. Save the Storks is a pro-life group that (so far) has not posted graphic images or descriptions to drive their point home. Instead, they share stories of people who were saved when their parents decided against abortion. They help the mothers and really make a difference instead of simply saying "Don't have an abortion" and leaving it at that. I seldom follow organizations on Facebook, because I get tired of the negative posts, the ones that try to guilt you into supporting them. But Save the Storks is one that I love, because their posts are pretty much always encouraging. You should check them out...

Anyway, if you have a negative post to share with me, don't. No offense, but it just makes me mad, and the shock value doesn't make me interested, it just makes me think that they have no positive stories to share, and therefore, why the heck would I want to support them? There's enough negativity in the world. And here's another fricking commercial on TV. Show pictures of the kid you adopted, or the puppy you rescued. It doesn't always have to be the one that didn't make it. Make a difference and then show the difference you've made rather than showing pictures of the kids/animals you couldn't make a difference for. Then I'll think you actually believe in your cause enough to do something about it beyond posting and hoping to guilt some other poor sap into doing what you're too lazy to do.

Just so you don't accuse me of trying to play the guilt card, here's one where Cosette was definitely not trying for sympathy. Just belly rubs...

   

Day 35: It's Getting Close to Christmas, Right?

What is my favorite holiday? Christmas. I love Christmas. So much. The anticipation and the excitement. I love the music and the decorations (though I don't see why they start putting Christmas decorations up around Halloween. I mean, really, just let each holiday have its moment).
I used to think that I'd do homemade gifts for Christmas, and save money. Then I realized that if I made gifts, I'd actually end up spending more money. And a ton of time. But it is well worth it. The last couple of years, I've had a difficult time doing homemade gifts because I've not been in the country enough. So I've had to make them last minute, staying up all night in the week or 2 before Christmas to finish presents. But I still prefer doing homemade gifts. Although, there are certain things I do still buy. Things that have become a tradition. Like Cracklin' Oat Bran for my Dad. Weirdest Christmas present if you really think about it. But he really likes it, and it's fairly expensive for a box of cereal. We used to also get him maple syrup. Then Aldi got maple syrup, and it became something that he gets more often. We get him coffee and coffee cups. I think he got 3 or so coffee cups this year. Which is fairly typical. Christmas is the only holiday our family spends together, since I've been out of the country for most holidays lately, and Carla is in UT, and doesn't come home for every holiday. So we spend the day just sort of hanging out, playing games, having our grandparents over, and going to a movie.
To be honest, I'm not sure what exactly I like so much about Christmas. I hate how commercial it is, but I love seeing the decorations and hearing Christmas music in stores and whatnot, so it's sort of a toss-up. I guess that, in a way, I should be glad that it is so commercial. Makes the Christmas season longer. I like eggnog and Christmas candy. I like the snow, and Christmas trees, and wrapping presents. Oh my goodness...I love wrapping presents! I hear people griping about wrapping presents, and I just don't get it. I am always sad when I have finished wrapping my presents because I want to wrap more. One of my favourite things as far as Christmas prep goes :~)  

Day 34: Barbie is Beautiful Just the Way She Is

I'm not going from any challenge for this blog. I'm just venting because I'm kinda peeved.
I hate the "normal" Barbies. I realize that, especially as far as Christian women go, I am vastly in the minority. But I'm not concerned about that.

 First off, in order to make a truly "normal" Barbie, every woman in the world would have to have their own personal Barbie. That changes as they age and their body changes. Aren't we actually doing more to damage a girl's body image by saying, "Ok. This is what a healthy girl should look like." I never thought I'd look like a Barbie. I never thought my horse would or should look like the pearly unicorn Breyer I had. Or even like the gorgeous shiny "Carpe Diem" Breyer, which, while it had the shape of a normal horse, had a colour it was impossible to find in a real horse. And you know why? Because they WEREN'T REAL. Should I not have played with a model unicorn because it gave me unrealistic expectations for what my pony would be? No...(I really hope that no is your answer as well...).

I watched Disney Princess movies and never once thought that my eyeballs should take up 2/3 of my head...

And never once did I say, "I wish I looked more like this Barbie." I didn't really care. I dressed her in her different outfits (mine could turn into a mermaid. I'd have chosen that over a tiny waist and big boobs any day. Heck...given the option, I still would).
But when you make a Barbie that is "normal", you set that up as the ideal. You say, "This is what a healthy girl should look like." And what does that say to the girl who is overweight and can't do anything about it? Or, on the flip side, to the girl who really is a little twig. I got so much crap when I was little for being too skinny. Still do even now that I've filled out to more of a "normal" shape. It's just as bad for a little girl to hear "You're too skinny" as it is to hear "You're too fat." Whichever it is, it tells her that there is something wrong with her.
Maybe a little girl does need to gain or lose some weight. But that is between her, her parents, and a doctor if necessary. There is no need for a toy company to get involved.
If ever I have a daughter, I'm sure she'll play with Barbies. I'll even pull my old Barbies out of the attic and she can play with those. But they're not going to be her role models. Playing Barbies shouldn't be realistic. It's not school. It's play. Have your Barbies go to Narnia. Have them meet dragons or swim to the bottom of the ocean. Let them be fake. And let your daughter have a positive body image while she can. Have you ever told a little girl that she's pretty? She can be covered with dirt, or wearing mismatched clothes, and she'll still say, "I know." They don't even understand what causes fat, or why they don't have boobs like the older girls, much less like Barbie. I don't even remember noticing things like that when I was playing with Barbies.
I guess my bottom line is this: Let your little girls be little girls as long as they can be. Answer the tough questions about body image and why people are different when they come up. But for goodness' sake, let playtime be playtime.

This was one of the first Barbie I ever had. She was my favorite.

 

Day 33: To Hell in a Handbasket

Today's subject is "what do you think is the biggest problem with the country?"
Well... so many things. But really, I think the biggest thing is the fact that we have no idea how our fears and prejudices affect not only our personal lives, but the whole country.
When I hear the phrase 'to hell in a handbasket', it reminds me of Toto from the Wizard of Oz. You know, the part where the witch (before she's actually the witch) takes him away in the basket on her bike, and he's just kind of like, 'eh, whatever.' Yeah, he does eventually escape, but it is more that he just gets bored and jumps out. He doesn't really seem to have that much of an idea what will happen to him if he doesn't run away. It looks more like he realized that his food bowl was left behind.

I was listening to a Twilight Zone radio drama, called The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street. It is about aliens beginning to destroy the world by simply kicking off small fears. They turn off power and cut off the ability to communicate, and send a UFO flying overhead. And that is all they need to do. The fears and prejudices that the people of Maple Street have been pretending don't exist suddenly come to the fore. This person is a little different, of course everyone has noticed. That person has a radio in his basement, and spends time outside looking up into the sky in the wee hours of the morning. Lights start flipping on just in one person's house, and soon that person is shot dead. Then lights flip on in another house, and there is even a point where the people, just regular people in any average city, are trying to figure out what to do if a small child on the street is actually an alien. It cuts away to the aliens, discussing the "invasion", and the fact that the humans will probably destroy themselves with just the slightest nudge in that direction.
This is a bit of a roundabout way to reach the point I am trying to make... but here is the point. Our fears and prejudices are what is wrong with the world. Every country, every race, every people group, every family, every single person... we all have some sort of prejudice, and if those prejudices are put into the right (or wrong, depending on how we're looking at it) situation, they turn into fear. Fear can become dangerous, especially when herd/mob mentality takes over. And the worst part of it is the fact that, in order to be PC, we claim to not have any prejudices. And pretending to not have prejudices is often more damaging than having prejudices in the first place. Because if you never admit to having them, you never deal with them. If you never deal with them, you never know when they will come out as fears.
Our country is being torn apart by fears of this group or that. And we are riding along in that basket, pretending that nothing is happening, and acting like we are going on a bike ride. We think everything is someone else's fault, so why would we have anything to worry about?
This blog feels really scattered to me... but I'm not sure how to bring it together more than this. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Day 32: Favourite Book of the Bible

I have always been the weird kid who likes the book of Revelation. I never understood why people mostly tried to avoid talking about the book, and when they talked about it, opened with an apology or a comment about how awkward it would be. I found it fascinating. Mostly because I never got caught up in the whole “pre-trib?” “post-trib?” “holy crap, am I gonna be stuck here during that insanity???”. I wasn’t scared of the whole rapture thing, and the seas turning to blood and all of that.
Actually, I think that my reasoning for not being worried was because of all of the fantasy books that I read as a child (and continue to read now). Not that I looked at Revelation as fantasy. I’ve always believed it is real. And I don’t look at it to find hidden meaning, or think that it’s all word pictures that represent something else. So it doesn’t feel like a confusing book to me. I look at it as a fantasy book come alive. I mean, if you read the end of C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle, Narnia ends in a very “Revelation” manner. And I, don’t know, I guess I have always thought that if Narnia could end like that, so could the earth.

Now, I could be totally wrong. Every single word of Revelation could have hidden meaning. But I would think that in that case, it would have a name more along the lines of “Haha...I’m Gonna Keep All of This Hidden From You and Make You Go Mad Trying to Figure it Out. Suckers...”. Revelation sounds to me like things are being revealed. I don’t understand why God would reveal things only to keep them hidden.

I do not talk about Revelation with people very often. Most of the people who will even consider mentioning Revelation are the people who just want to spend hours on pointless arguments about what the book means. I pretty much just say, “Eh, it either means what it says or it doesn’t. If it does, then it’s self-explanatory. If it doesn’t, arguing isn’t gonna make it any clearer.”

Day 31: What Are You Looking Forward to This Year?

That's actually a super hard question to answer. A short time ago, I'd have said that I was looking forward to a big road trip this summer. But I'm not sure if that is going to happen. Partly because I was planning to take Cosette, and she is terrified of the car. So I may end up doing some other shorter road trips to get her used to the car.
I really want to plant a garden this summer. I've wanted to the last few years, and I've not been home for enough of a summer to actually do anything with a garden. So I really want to this year. Even if I am gone for part of the summer, I will at least be able to plant the garden, and then perhaps my Dad will do some of the harvesting if I'm gone when things come ripe.
I'm looking forward to seeing Leaf in the creek for the first time (well, she's technically been in the creek, but only about 2 feet, and she was terrified). And getting Cosette more used to it. And kayaking and whatnot. Maybe even when it floods.
Honestly, I'm looking forward to spending some time in the summer at home. I'm hoping there's a decent amount of time that it's hot enough for me to lay out in the pool in a bikini to get a little bit of a tan on my lily white stomach, arms, and legs, which have not seen sun in about 2 years :~) And I know my Mom is looking forward to having me around, playing baby shark in the swimming pool. That pretty much consists of me jumping on the float she's using while she's dozing in the pool. Or splashing water around til she yells at me and threatens to ban me from the pool. Yes, I am really 27 years old. Scary, isn't it. Parents, don't expect your kids to mature all that much :~P  

Day 30: Time for Beddy-Bye...

I don't exactly have a bedtime routine. I don't have much of a routine for anything. But lately, my bedtime "routine" has been really messed up. I usually contemplate going to bed for some time before I actually do. Often while drinking coffee and reading a book/watching Supernatural or Community. 
Then I brush my teeth, and somewhere comes a thought of actually going to sleep. Instead, though, I typically curl up on the couch with one or more sleepy animals to watch some Night Gallery or Twilight Zone, or some such thing. It's rather hard to remain awake when snuggling  with a sleepy, very warm little munchkin. So I usually drift off,  using  one of the puppies as a pillow. With the tv still on. I don't sleep so well with that much noise, so I usually wake up after about 10-20  minutes and shut the tv off if I didn't shut it off before laying down to snuggle (if I did shut it off, that mostly means that I'm reading instead, and I wind up with an open book in my face...). Then, about 3 hours later, I wake with a freezing back (because I wasn't ready for bed, so I didn't grab my blankets. My  front and legs are often warm because I have a dog snuggled against my belly and one on my legs). I get up and shut off all the lights and get my blankets. Then I  stumble back to bed, still about 85%  asleep, but now with warm blankets along with the warm little critters. And, as snug as a bunch of bugs in a rug, we all drift off.

Day 29: A Long Time Ago...

I have no idea what my earliest memory is. I've never understood people who could say without doubt what their earliest memory was. I have lots of memories from when I was little, but I don't know what is the earliest. So I'll just tell a few of them.
I remember learning to blow bubbles with my bubblegum. I don't think Mom expected it to be quite the hassle that it was. I sat in her lap, facing her, while she showed me what to do. We were sitting in the rocking chair. Not sure why I remember that, but I do. Anyway, I kept laughing. I guess I thought it was super funny for some reason. And, come to find, laughing and blowing a bubble don't go well together. Meaning that I kept spitting my gum out onto Mom's lap. And (surprise, surprise), spitting gum at my Mom made laugh all the more. It was a vicious cycle. To be completely honest, I'm not entirely certain just how I managed to learn to blow a bubble. But I'm pretty good at it now :~) Everyone should be so fortunate to have a Mom that they spit gum at.
I would get out of bed late at night (well, late for me. My parents were still awake), and I would go out into the hallway by my room to pet my Mom's cat Chelsea if she didn't come into my room to visit me. She often came and jumped on my bed, but I sort of needed to pet her before I went to sleep. I had this pattern where I would scratch her head, run my hand down her back and scratch her butt, then slide down from her butt to her belly and rub her belly (I have no clue why she tolerated that...she was not like Marius who likes having his belly rubbed...). Then I would run my hand up her stomach/side, gently so I didn't muss her fur, give her a scratch under the chin, and then  go up to her ears and start over. I had no idea at the time that it was probably a sign of OCD. It was just what I did with Chelsea. And she patiently let me do it as many times as I wanted. It was always the best during winter when the dry air made her fur spark. It was like little fireworks in her fur. The first few times it happened, I worried that the sparks would light my blanket on fire and burn the house down. The I learned that the sparks were not dangerous, and I loved it. It was so pretty.
I used to have a very hard time saying the name Carla. Why the heck my parents had to choose such an impossible name, I'll never know. I started out saying something along the lines of Doila. Not sure why I couldn't handle the C, but I've struggled with the rl sound in words my whole life. I finally managed her name, after quite a lot of mini speech therapy with my Mom (I remember saying the word "door" a lot to get my mouth used to r). But then I learned that Carla passionately hated it when I called her Darla. Especially since I didn't have to anymore. So I did it frequently.
I have lots of good memories from when I was little. Can't even put these in order though. Any one of them could have come first. Who knows. But I'm ok with that. I still remember them, so that's enough for me.
 

Day 28: These Are a Few of My Favourite Things

Song:
At the moment, I love the song Wake Me Up by Avicii. I like the music and the lyrics. The whole thing is just amazing.

Book:
Les Miserables. Especially this copy, which has been on 4 different continents with me.

State:
Maine. It has been a while since I have been there, and I've only been twice, but it remains one of my favourite states I've visited.

This is a photo from 2008, the last time I was in Maine.

Author:
C.S. Lewis.

 

 

Actor:


David Tennant

Never would have thought I'd say Leonardo DiCaprio was a favourite...

 

  

Actress:

Maggie Smith

TV show:
Serious with a bit of comedy---Supernatural

Comedy with a bit of serious---Community

Movie:

If you don't know what this movie is, you should probably go back to

your childhood and redo it because it sucked.

 "Ryan, some things in here don't react well to bullets."

"Yeah, like me. I don't react well to bullets."

The Hunt for Red October 

Colour:

Restaurant:
How lame is it that my favourite restaurant is Taco Bell? Very lame, but I don't care. And I especially like going to Tbell with my Mom.

Drink:
Thai iced tea. So incredibly bad for me, but whatever.

Food:
Pecan pie. And cheese. Not together...

Quote:
I actually posted this once, and had someone mock me for posting it. No surprise, he was the main person who would shhh me, or try to get me to pretend I wasn't affected by things. Needless to say, I ignored him.