Okay, it's time to do this. In a random order [even though I know which one of these will have you saying,"Really!!??"], here are my ten things that you probably wouldn't know about me:
1. I can be a
procrastinator, which is why it has taken me this long to compose this list. I used to think that I worked best under pressure...but now I think that's just what I wanted t
o think. I can recall[once] finishing the written comments on report cards as the buses were about to be called! I do, however, get things done. And as random abstract as I am, despite how things may look, I pretty much know where everything is!! Heck, if everyone did things exactly the same...life would be boring.
Oops...I said the "B" word. The kids in my classroom knew not to say the "B" word! {boring, not that other "B" word.]
2. Speaking of 'b' words, I can be quite the competitive person. One of my favorite games is
backgammon. Backgammon is 50%luck [dice are involved] and 50% skill [knowing how to strategically move] . I entered
a double elimination tournament many years ago, and after I lost 1 game, I managed to fight my way to be the winner of the loser's bracket. Onward!! I pursued the first place award by challenging the winner of the winner's bracket. I had to beat him twice since he had not lost a game. He lost a game...but not 2 games. I took second. I used to teach my students how to play this game, and held tournaments in school. Good fun...and problem solving thinking.
Another confession would be that I am a cut-throat
hearts player. And darn good at it! The other three hearts regular players [of our foursome] also
thought they were the best. To the point that we began saving the score sheets in a 'tin saltine cracker can' and at the end of the year, we crowned the champion hearts player. A custom tee shirt was made announcing it to all
exactly who was the grand winner when the chant went up to,"Count the can!!"
3. I am a card carrying
leftie, which of course means that
I am in my
right mind, and generally see thin
gs from a different perspective than many, many of you folks. One year I even organized a ' southpaw 'tee shirt purchase in school for staff lefties!!!Just trying to raise awareness! An unusual talent is my ability to be fluent in writing
backwards... and from the right side of the paper to the left side. Creative ideas come easily to me as well as ways to associate things in an effort to remember them.[like in plotting a point on a graph...{3,8 } which way do you go first: vertically or horizontally...I would tell the kids that you crawled
across the floor before you stood up , so 'horizon'tal first and then vertical. I must have a million associations in my head!!
Probably tied right in with the 'leftie' thing is....
4. I am 'rainwoman' with
phone numbers! It is like the equivalent of havin
g a rolodex stored in my head. And the same is true for songs. It is an involuntary reflex[like breathing or blinking] that when I hear a word...it will prompt a song...and I can burst into song quite easily. It isn't easy to squelch a
song, and I've been known to change the lyrics to popular songs and sing my own 'topic of conversation'.
To quote a Four Tops song..."Can't Help Myself"
5. Here's an interesting fact. I do not own a
scale. At some point in my life, I decided that it had a negative effect on my persona. I have also given up dieting forever. I have lost and regained the same thirty pounds five times. Let's see: Weight Watchers, Diet Workshop, a Hypnotist, a Nutritionist, and the Atkins Diet[which, by the way, after day12 of no carbs...I wanted to dive into a bowl of macaroni salad face first!] I now accept that whenever my body thinks a 'diet' is on the menu...it just is counter productive. I'm over it. Would I like to weigh thirty pounds lighter? Sure...and yet I accept the fact that...
6. I have a confession to make...I have never made ...
sauce
...or canned anything...or made jam... or jelly. I can remember the fallen faces and wide-eyed reactions of my colleagues at the lunch table when I nonchalantly shared that I had never made sauce. What? Really. I felt unamerican! My sauce looks like this:
7. Okay, hold onto your hat!
The appliance to the left...well...it
left my kitchen. That's right. At this point in my life, I do not own a
stove. Oh how I wish that I could see your face as this concept sinks in!! Usually, it's predictably priceless!! A couple of years ago, I realized that I really didn't cook as much as in my former life. 'The Joy of Cooking ' lost its appeal to me. And the stove was taking up space that I could better utilize in my kitchen. I do have a microwave, toaster oven, crockpot, electric fry pan, electric water pitcher thing, etc. When Jer went to college, cooking for one was no fun. I have really only missed it once. Flo and I eat good food. There are meat, potatoes, pasta, vegetables, etc in our menus. It seems that my microwave is what I couldn't live without! And there might be a stove in my future sometime...it's just not there now.
8. I love to shop and find a
bargain. I love to find unique and different things. For me, I do not have to know exactly what I am going to do with my 'find' or to whom I will give it to or when. This concept is foreign to some people who have to follow a plan. I can operate in the 'fly by the seat of my pants' mode quite easily and often things will fall into place for me. Occasionally, I've been known to orchestrate a practical joke or two, and having random things available helps this cause. I am Lucy.
9. I love, love, love to drive a
stick shift car! Now it's a very rare occasion that I still get to drive one, and yet I find it should be on my list of 10. At one time, I remember trying to teach my mom how to do it, but a slight hill with a stop sign at the top ended that experience! I think that cars handle better in snow since you can downshift instead of stepping on the brake. But truth be told...for me, it is fun. In my next life, I'll be purchasing one...with a sunroof...and singing along with the radio...and having a grand old time. And there will be NO ROADMAP aboard...hate 'em...mental block about them!!
10. I am a big time
animal lover. Whenever we had assemblies where animals were brought in, I would be more fascinated than the kids. I enjoy learning about the endless variety and specialty of Mother Nature's unique and awesome menagerie. Being an
environmentalist at heart, I have a respect for the animal kingdom. I find it all so amazing. But then again, I am one who stops to smell the roses and can see the wonder in things. I'm thankful for this gift.
I am an eclectic kind of person who really wishes people would act
kinder.
And there you have it!! I won't ask what surprises you most because I already know which one would win!!!
This kind of sums up how I am feeling right now. If I were to think about it, I probably would say it is the case much of the time. So I am taking a poll. How many people talk to themselves? And how does that train of thought go? Not meant to sound like complaining; it's just that occasionally my positive nature tends to crash on weekends. And I get more introspective. Oh well, life goes on. And that's a good thing. So...what's happening???
streaming online [on my computer]from Alabama, and it is a high scoring game with the 3rd quarter being quite the roller coaster of lead changes! It is 5-5 with one minute left! And, yes...we are going into overtime! You can hear the enthusiasm in Jer's voice. He absolutely loves what he is doing!! It is fun to hear him start to talk faster and faster as the action starts to get in front of the net. And when someone takes a shot...oh my God!!! Well, it is going to end in a tie. Better than a loss.
And why is there a radio talk show host[whose name I won't even say] making $100 million dollars a year to stir up controversy and publicly hope for our new president to fail...what major in college prepared him for that powerful job?
Are ya kidding me? Orion? And his dog is where? And the seven sisters are over there???These sky gazers probably were the actual inventors of the "Rorschach tests!! 
What I really can't grasp is how these hallucinations caught on enough to make it into a science curriculum. I never raised these questions or shared my opinions with my students. I went along with the program. But I have to ask: Does anyone else believe the 'connect the dots' constellation maps? If so, let me know because...[you knew this was coming.]..I have some land in Florida for sale...cheap!!
As a kid, every year we went to the Jersey shore for a week to my Great Aunt Emma's house. She lived 2 blocks from the beach and my grandparents lived there for the summer. We'd go to the beach, make sand castles, play miniature golf, walk on the boardwalk, and feed the ducks. When it rained, sometimes we would go to the movies for something to do. I remember that I was thirteen when we saw 'Days of Wine and Roses', but mostly because it was raining and Mom and I were huddled together under the umbrella on the inside of the theater. [Must've needed a new roof, or something!] 
