I've lost count of how many of my Facebook friends have posted their "25 Random Things." I gave in and used our "ice day" as an excuse to add my own list. Here it is in its Facebook form. I'm including the instructions since I reference them in #1.Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.
(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)
1. The parentheses within parentheses in those instructions really bug me.
2. I'm one of those grammar freaks who will notice errors like that, but I'm not going to call you out if you make that kind of error because we all make mistakes. And sometimes I like to break rules. Like putting periods at the ends of my blog post titles. And intentional fragments. So there.
3. However, I reserve the right to cringe if you misuse to/too or your/you're.
4. Outside of my classroom, I hate to correct people, even if they're mispronouncing my name.
5. My kids have easy names because I wanted to spare them the hassle of hearing their names mispronounced their whole lives.
6. My name is the Greek word for grace, and my dad picked it out after attending a sermon seminar about grace.
7. I miss Daddy.
8. We named Ryan after Ryan White, the kid with hemophilia who tried to enlighten people about AIDS.
9. We named Katie Katie just because we liked the name. (It also didn’t come with any negative connotations. You’d be amazed how many names were off the table because of former students who misbehaved!)
10. My mom is my hero.
11. I’ve been lucky enough to marry the man of my dreams twice. (Yes, both times I married the same man!)
12. Brett is an extraordinary husband and father who never fails to support me and the kids in our many endeavors. He saves my life every single day. And he cooks!
13. He also indulges my football addiction (or would that be enables?). In 23 years of buying season tickets for UT football, I’ve missed only four Longhorn games in Austin and one Texas-OU game. (I missed that game only because Katie was born five days prior.)
14. I still get goosebumps when everyone in the stands sings “The Eyes of Texas.”
15. I’ll never forget playing in the Erwin Center as a member of the Longhorn Basketball Band. I’ll never forget playing “Stars and Stripes Forever” for Parisians who remembered that tune from when allied forces liberated their city. And I’ll never forget playing “Mele Kalikimaka” with my high school band in the Aloha Bowl in Honolulu.
16. I was valedictorian of my high school class of 545, and I mention it here because being able to SAY I was valedictorian is about the only benefit that has come from that honor. (Well, there was that tuition-free year at UT.)
17. In 1986 I was the state newswriting champion. I won first place in the UIL 5A newswriting contest and “Tops in Texas.” I also placed fourth in the state feature writing contest. Because of that, I won a $4,000 college scholarship. Pretty cool.
18. I love planning trips almost as much as I enjoy taking them.
19.
The Brady Bunch is my all-time favorite TV show. Seeing the Studio City home that was used for the show’s exteriors was one of the highlights of our California trip.
20. Lyle Lovett. LOVE him.
21. It freaks me out a little to see friends from all my "worlds" listed together on Facebook.
22. I love blogging. Since I spend a good chunk of each day reading others’ writing, it’s nice to get to express my own thoughts. And it’s so therapeutic! My scrapbooks may be woefully behind the times, but at least some of the thousands of photos we take have a home on the blog. While I keep the blog for my family’s sake, it still tickles me when someone mentions something they read on See-Dub.
23. I’m rooting for the Steelers in the Super Bowl because that team has three Texas Exes (Casey Hampton, Limas Sweed and Tony Hills) and the Cardinals only have one (Lyle Sendlein).
24. I’m a Christian and a Democrat, and I resent it when people assume you can’t be both.
25. I thank God for my church family, and I pray that someday we’ll find ways to employ everyone’s spiritual gifts to work together for God’s glory.
Leave it to my students to sweeten my day with cupcakes! "The orange is for UT, and the blue is just blue," my student told me. When I suggested maybe the blue could be FOR OUR SCHOOL, she quickly agreed. Too funny—and too sweet of her to bring the treats!
Katie's team won one and lost one. With her two games complete, she was ready to conduct a little business. Last summer, inspired by Brett's fanzines, Katie created her own magazine. Today was its long-awaited release, and she sold three copies!
Her Retro Magazine was a hit! It includes several of her own articles and games/activities plus a couple of features submitted by her dad and Nana. Copies are only $1 if you'd like your own!
Ryan's team won their game by a lot to a little.
Originally Brett and I had planned to go out for a date, but because the rest of the day had been pretty crazy, we instead opted for a family outing.
After dinner we went back home for cake.
My sweet kids, husband and mom all had special treats for me.
Does Brett know me or what?
And this? This cake made me laugh out loud! As a lifelong Cowboys fan, I never thought I'd see a Steelers cake in my house! (It's true, though; I'm rooting for the Steelers in the Super Bowl but only because of that team's three former Longhorns!)
