Bagels are Good.

So, I neglected to finish my summer Happy List. Oops.

I could write my thoughts for new (and old) college students, but I am not as eloquent as Miss Davis. Sooooooooooooooo, instead I will write this...

People talk about how much I do, but I actually spend a lot of time neglecting stuff. Sad, really.

About an hour ago, I was actually doing work when I felt the immediate need to eat a snack. It had been a whole five hours since I had last eaten, so obviously, I was famished. Thankfully, I had made a quick run to Kroger after play practice (what do you do when you realize that you are completely out of toilet paper while going to the bathroom?). At Kroger, I decided that I needed to buy bagels. Yum. I had a little leftover cream cheese from bean dip. Double yum.

Bagel toasting and scarfing (I hate seeing that word spelled out...it should not be spelled the same as the item of clothing) ensued.

While I was spreading the cream cheese, I thought to myself...

"Do I like anything more than a bagel and cream cheese?"

I immediately answered...

"Of course. I love tons of food. This is why I am fat."

Thus, the need to pick my Top 10 Favorite Foods arose. A bagel doesn't even make the cut.

In no particular order:

1. Alie's apple snicker yum yum.
2. Bean dip--Thank you, Sarah Kjeldsen. Thank you.
3. Chicken Enchiladas--Is it a Sara Lee recipe? Becky Gearhart?
4. Cheddar Munchies
5. General Tso's Chicken from China Garden (rice included)
6. The Hazelnut Raspberry Chocolate cake from Bone Fish
7. Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream
8. Cornbread casserole
9. Guacamole (The best ever? Made fresh by the lovely women in Reynosa...)
10. Chicago's breadsticks with nacho cheese and/or Chicago's barbecue chicken pizza

Honorable Mentions: Either an everything or an asiago cheese bagel (toasted) with cream cheese, Bonefish's Florida Cobb Salad, Max and Erma's tortilla soup, Adrian Orchard's apple cider slushies, steak, baby back ribs, chicken salad, Sara Lee's potato salad, Poo Shingles, watermelon, asparagus, popcorn, and Brie cheese...with pretty much anything...okay...cheese, period.

You try it. It is really hard to choose.
(Especially if you have papers to grade and can make a list such as this to waste as much time as possible.) Instead of sleeping tonight, I will probably try to figure out what I have forgotten. It will plague me.

No, seriously. Respond with your favorites.

Summer, cont.

4. Dancing

This summer has been filled with so much dancing.

We line-danced multiple times.
We danced in celebration of a good meal in Ocean Springs and of our independence on the streets of Birmingham.
We danced when Dana and Zach tied the knot.
And we danced even more when Ben and Hannah said their vows the following weekend.

Dancing and I have not always gotten along, mostly because I can't do it if it isn't choreographed. (This summer, only two years late, I fell in love with the "Cupid Shuffle." I thought it was the "Cuban Shuffle" for a while.) But, and this might sound creepy, I love watching people dance. I love how much laughter it invokes, how much personality. I love that people surprise me with their outlandish moves. I love that, despite it sounding so cliche, it seems to free people as they get lost in the beat of some stupid song.

There have been moments this summer when I felt sick to my stomach because I was laughing so hard while people danced. I LOVE that kind of stomachache.

Why don't we dance more often?

(Insert comment: I am NOT speaking of the kind of dancing that happens at most high school dances. That is called humping, and it is not freeing, fun to watch, or surprising...except when I see students who I respect in the middle of the mass of nastiness.)

Happy List, cont.

3. Returning Home
There is a little place in Eastern Kentucky called Breathitt County. There is a little road called Morris Fork, where the little brown church on the hill resides. When I am there, I am home. Because life changed in many ways, I had not been there in what seems like a lifetime. Leading up to Bible School, I didn't know if maybe my time as music leader at Morris Fork was over. Something had changed, mostly me, I guess, and my boys have all grown up. Things there have changed so much; yet, maybe they haven't really changed at all. The point? I was more worried about the Habitat trip, and I was feeling quite strange as I traveled on 64 and then the Mountain Parkway. When I hit Booneville, my nerves actually started to awaken. Why the anxiety? Then, I drove through the familiar terrian of 28, and when I drove past the church, I saw the sign. "Welcome Southport. (And Jacqui)." That was Saturday afternoon. By Sunday, Biloxi was a lifetime away. I was home. No, things will not remain the same. Not in Morris Fork or anywhere, but there is simply a part of me that belongs there in the hollers of Eastern Kentucky. I can't really explain it, but I know I was so glad to be home.

(I cannot figure out why this keeps publishing in two different sized fonts. Oh well.)

Summer, Summer, Summertime

I want to bring a classic back.

In order to capture this summer and what it has meant to me, I feel the need to bring back the Happy List.

Summer of 2009 Happy List, part 1

1. Eddie
Eddie was the cook at Camp Victor, the place we stayed on the Habitat Trip. On our first night, we were introduced to him as he was standing behind the glass of the serving line. Next, I saw him walking over to the dish table, parading Jamie around the dining hall with a huge smile on his face. To define Eddie in one word? Exuberant. To add a few more? Joyful. Service-driven. Hilarious. Kind. Humble. For some reason, upon our first meeting (when I insisted that he not give me TONS of red beans and rice when I went back to get seconds), he took to calling me Miss J. He never once called me Jacqui for the rest of the week, and I loved that. I don't know why, but he decided before we ever met that he was going to like me. Actually, that seemed to be the way he worked with everyone. It is a breath of fresh air to meet someone who seeks to serve on a daily basis with thunderous laughter and a knack for remembering names. The team looked forward to getting to spend time with Eddie in the kitchen. He cried when Gabe wrote him a poem. Eddie made a huge impact on me, and I only knew him for a few hours over four days. The power of attitude is extraordinarily strong; I am really thankful to Eddie for that reminder.

2. Gina's Life One of the biggest joys of my life as a teacher is that I get to live (just a bit) vicariously through the creative minds of my students. I am passionate about many things, but I don't have time to "do it all," but I have (or had) students who will embrace something that seems silly and run with it. I love that I often get to be there for the ride. For instance, why not make a movie version of "Gina's Life"? Why not go all out, with DVD cover and premiere party and boom mics held together with tape and paper towels? Why not? It just makes me smile SO MUCH to know there are people like Gabe out there who will actually follow through on something seemingly ridiculous. You know...liking dressing up as the Golden Snitch for the Harry Potter premiere.

More to come...

Last summer was not what I was expecting. My mom got sick, and all other plans changed because of that. I did a lot of grad school work, and each morning, I would wake up trying to figure out what would make for dinner that night that was healthy and without dairy products. I did the dishes after each meal. I didn't really go anywhere, save a bummer-of-a-trip to Turkey Run. Yet, I think I will always remember it fondly. It was the last summer I spent with Nana, and it will forever mark a time in my life when family became more important. Even though I was not always happy, it was meaningful.

This summer has been a bit of a blur. In an effort to "suck the marrow out of life," I have been many places and have stayed busy throughout. I guess I don't know how to have a relaxed summer where I don't feel guilty because the days spent without plans (like today, for instance) have almost always involved sleeping in way too late, eating unhealthy food, and vegging on the couch watching Law and Order: SVU re-runs. I don't know how to function if I am not planning an event or planning for one. Really, I don't. That aspect of who I am freaks me out. How do people who don't have busy lives live on a day-to-day basis? That question might sound condescending, but I am being sincere.

I realize now that these words sound very similar to those I wrote on June 5th. It is now July 19th. Since June 5th, I have gone to camp, led music at VBS, taken a group to Mississippi, spent a day at the lake, tubed at Turkey Run, watched loads of movies, and I had the privilege of being in Dana and Zach's wedding. I have experienced so much, yet here I am, on this random Sunday afternoon, stuck on the same questions. This particular way I am wired tends to bother me a lot, I guess.

The Strange Beast of Summer

As the title mentions, I find summer a strange beast.

I have so much time.

That is both a blessing and a curse.

It is a blessing because I can breathe, take a look around, go places, spend unlimited time with my friends, etc.

It is a curse because I find myself getting less and less productive the longer it lasts. Today, I took a "What is your petronus?" quiz. Seriously, world.

I do love how whacked I am because of my schedule after Spring Break. I wonder how many people out there live like that year-round. If it weren't for help from friends and students, I might not have made it this year. I certainly won't make it out of my tenth year teaching alive at this rate. For about six weeks, all I do is think about what I have to do, but I love the stress, save the few moments when I actually feel overwhelmed. I am programmed to work on deadlines. I like the energy of working something until it is finished, despite the hour of the day. I feed off of it, no matter how gross that makes me sound.

And then, like ...gosh...I have just tried to think about a good simile, and after six tries, I will relent to nothing...

And then, bam...summer.
For the first few days, I don't even know how to handle it. I am a bit confused. Graduation parties and room cleaning aside, I turn my attention to the great expanse of time ahead of me. I start reading. I sleep. I spend too much time on the computer, and this summer, I have taken up the strange habit of watching Law and Order: SVU re-runs. Is that show still on? It is pretty good.

After a few days of that, I start to feel restless. I start planning again...I just can't help it.

Maybe it is a good thing. I leave for camp tomorrow morning, and then I am home for six days before being gone for two weeks. It will be busy and amazing, I am sure. At least I won't have time to take the "what wife of Henry VIII are you?" quiz on Facebook.

Even I have my limits.

I really loved that curb.

So, I was going to write a post about the power of quality storytelling in regards to Up (and all Pixar movies, really), but Eric did a fine job of it. Read his.

http://risiblepeople.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-hid-under-your-porch-because-i-love.html

In other news, I am about to do laundry.