Get Off My Lawn!

20. When I Was Your Age

I'm not sure who "Your" is supposed to refer to so I'm going to make it refer to my daughter. She just turned 12 about two weeks ago and she is in 6th grade.

I was still in elementary school because our schools went K-6, 7-9, 10-12. (Apparently that is no longer the case at the schools I attended. It looks like it now matches my daughter's school: K-5, 6-8, 9-12.) It was around this time (5th-6th grade) that I stopped getting so terribly sick on a regular basis.

Sixth grade was also when I got to be on the Safety Patrol at school. That doesn't exist at my daughter's school. The Safetys wore belts (ours were bright orange) and were basically crossing guards and hallway monitors for the younger students. We would be stationed at major intersections inside the school and crosswalks for a few blocks around the school. Our jobs were to make sure the kids weren't running in the halls, crossing the road safely, and just basically making sure the kids got home OK.

This was the year I got glasses.

I think this may have been the first year we had official computer classes in school.

I was a junior in Girl Scouts and I helped my mother with her Brownie troop.

Hm, everything else is a bit of a blur. There isn't anything big that jumps out. I was a normal kid living a normal suburban life. Nothing spectacular.

Just Pin It!

19. "Pins" To Try

I did sorta did this awhile ago. Let's see if I can find some new stuff to try.

I'm not usually a big fan of painting my nails but this is really cool:

Ooh. I love blueberries. A lot. Like, a LOT a lot.

And I really do need to organize my kitchen pantry.....

This just might be absolutely delicious. My daughter wouldn't eat it but I could eat her share!

Playing Host

18. Where I Take Out of Town Guests

We don't get a whole lot of out of town guests. I can only remember having one in the past 12 years. So I guess I'll have to talk about where I would take someone if they came to visit.

I guess the Philadelphia Zoo is a given. And the Adventure Aquarium is a pretty fun trip too. The Franklin Institute can be a good time for geeks like us but the exhibits are frequently broken. Or at least that has been our experience in the past decade or so. The Pagoda in Reading was cool when we took our daughter a couple of years ago. I'm not sure how interesting that would be though. It's basically just a mountain-side view of the city of Reading.

Anything beyond those few would depend on the interests of the guests. I wouldn't take someone who hates art to the Art Museum, for example. Besides, sometimes just cruising around the countryside is a better trip than checking out the tourist spots.

My inspirations

Today was a little bit ridiculous. Let's just get to the list:

17. People I want to be like when I grow up

I feel like this list grows every day. In no particular order (because there is no way I could put them in an order):

Aisha Tyler (@aishatyler) - She is smart and funny and geeky and you should read Self Inflicted Wounds because then you'll want to be like her too.

Misha Collins (@mishacollins) - He is witty and thoughtful and has a kickass charity Random Acts and he's just such an inspiration to be a better person.

John Green (@realjohngreen) - DFTBA! (Don't Forget To Be Awesome!) Do I need to say more? Oh, and um, The Fault in Our Stars.

My mom is also pretty cool. I wouldn't mind being a bit like her.

Hmm...there's a couple of cosplayers that I admire.

Overall, I'd like to be just like me....but cooler :)

My To-Do List

16. This week's to-do list

My schedule is always crazy. This week starts off with my husband's birthday. (Happy Birthday, Hon!) Besides that, my daughter had a World Thinking Day event to attend with her Girl Scout troop. After the event, we took my husband out to dinner at Applebee's for dinner.

Monday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM (including the commute) with the evening spent doing whatever chores I couldn't finish over the weekend Tuesday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, take daughter to dance classes from 6:00PM to 7:15PM. Wednesday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, start the week's chores Thursday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, try to finish the week's chores Friday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, take daughter to dance rehearsal from 5:30PM to 7:00PM, take daughter to Girl Scout sleepover event immediately after dance, go to Brandon Sanderson book signing with husband Saturday - Get a much-needed massage with the husband, pick daughter up from Girl Scout sleepover, take daughter to birthday party sleepover, try to clean the house Sunday - Laundry, pick daughter up from birthday party sleepover

Yes, most of my schedule involves taking my daughter to various events. I'm a mom. It's what we do. At least I get a massage this weekend :)

Travelin' Treats

14. Favorite Treats When Traveling

I almost forgot to do today's prompt! But I'm getting it done in time...

When I was younger, I used to do a lot of traveling. One of my favorite things to eat when I was on a road trip was beef jerky. It is a good source of protein and chewy so it would keep me full and awake. The down side is that the jerky would get stuck in my teeth. But it is still delicious stuff.

If I was taking a plane, I preferred to just chew gum. Since I have issues with my ears, the pressure from the altitude would make my ears hurt a lot. I found that if I chew gum or something similar, it wouldn't hurt as much.

Generally, I'd only eat treats when I was traveling with other people. Then I'd share their treats. I am not a good traveling companion. I eat your stuff :)

Where I grew up

13. Describe Your Childhood Home

My father actually still lives in my childhood home so this one is quite easy!

I grew up in a Jubilee in the Highland Park section of Levittown, PA. The house has four bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. There is an attached garage and a good-sized fenced-in backyard. The front yard is perfectly sized for children to run around without having to play in the street.

Now that the technical details are done, here's the fun stuff!

In the backyard, we had a chestnut tree. (I believe my father has since removed it.) For those of you that don't know, chestnuts don't come in a ready-to-roast-on-an-open-fire state. Oh no. Chestnuts come in a spiky ready-to-kill state. You have to risk life and limb to open those suckers to get to the actual nut part. As a result, our backyard was frequently filled with the devil fruit. Running around in bare feet was an act of insanity. We had a Slip N' Slide for one whole summer before the damned things ruined it. Yeah. I hate chestnuts.

The front yard used to have a huge oak tree. My father had painted the trunk white, though I don't remember exactly why. I seem to recall something about bugs. Anyway, for a little while, we had a tree swing tied to it. It also played "Home Base" to many games of tag. This tree was removed many years ago due to disease. I mourned the loss of that tree. It was awesome. (Much better than the stupid chestnut tree.)

Despite having four bedrooms and only four members of the family, my younger sister and I frequently shared a room. When we were small, we shared the small room downstairs next to my parents' room. When we were older, we moved upstairs to share the larger bedroom. (While that room is awesomely huge, it has sloped walls. One can't stand up straight to lean on a wall...unless you are like three feet tall. It made furniture placement a pain.) At some point, I moved across the hall to the smaller upstairs bedroom. I don't have a lot of memories there so I don't think it lasted very long.

The house actually has not changed much in 30*cough* years. It is still filled with many funtastic 70s things like dark blue carpeting in the upstairs bedroom. I believe the kitchen cabinets are still avocado green. Maybe one day I can talk my father into updating the house a bit more. Then again, maybe pigs really will sprout wings and fly.

Who? Me?

12. Things I Always Do For Myself

I am a pretty dedicated mother and wife. There aren't a lot of things that I specifically do for myself. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the things my daughter and husband do. It's not like I'm being dragging along unwillingly. I just wouldn't categorize it as doing it "for me." But there are a few things I do....

  • Get massages (though I wish this would happen more often)
  • Listen to music
  • Watch a couple of TV shows (Supernatural, The Originals, and a couple of crappy 'reality' shows like Diggers)
  • Attempt to sleep more (this one is rarely accomplished)

I kinda prefer the things we do together as a family - watch funny YouTube videos, go driving around, or even just hanging out. I enjoy spending time with my family.

Foc-SQUIRREL!

11. When I Need To Focus I

Yeeeeah. I'm not so good at the focusing thing. I don't know that I have ADD but I do have a difficult time not multi-tasking. When I'm making jewelry, I'm usually watching TV too. When I'm sewing plushies, I'm listening to music. I'm not sure if I have a good reason for it. When I'm doing something that only requires my hands, another part of my body needs to be engaged as well.

That doesn't necessarily mean I am paying a lot of attention to the TV or the song. It's more like background noise. Too much quiet is creepy.

I will say that I don't turn anything else on when I am trying to read a book. I can't focus on the characters and story with something else going on. I guess that is the answer to the question. When I need to focus I read a book.