It's Sevens Ev'ry Roll

Let's say blogging is that proverbial wagon you fall off.
Let's also say that wagon is on the Oregon Trail.
Well, yesterday, I broke my arm. But no worries, I paid a fellow traveler $25 dollars to help me, took one day of rest, and awoke today, ready to hit the trail again. I am, however, a day behind, so I'll have to double time it to make it to Oregon before winter.

Day Four: A Habit I Wish I Didn't Have

-I correct people's grammar. All the time. It's a sick compulsion. I should really stop. But there are few things that assault my ears like the misuse of "me" and "I" (think: Brandi and I went to movies or Would you like to go to the movies with Brandi and me?). This extends to Facebook and texts (there, their, they're; your, you're and shorthand such as u, thx, ur welcome, plz, etc.)
**Also, Hillary and I are always sending each other examples of people making words up (What exactly is a "worldwind?"). I suppose, though, that is a habit I like because stupid people, while infuriating, are hilarious.

I feel certain there are plenty other habits I should get rid of, so feel free to leave me a constructive comment should the mood strike you.

Oh, wow, the reason I'm writing this blog: I procrastinate.
This is my general attitude toward deadlines: "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." -Douglas Adams

Day Five: 15 Songs That are the Soundtrack of Your Life

I have such a RANDOM taste in music. And I in no way profess to be one of those people who is cool enough to like random indy bands. My Pandora stations include Cabaret, Cher, Ray LaMontagne, and Miles Davis. Here is my paper-writing Grooveshark playlist:

(1)  Don't You Want to Stay -- Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson
(2) Wilkommen -- Cabaret
(3) Forget About the Boy -- Thoroughly Modern Millie
(4) Club Can't Even Handle Me Right Now -- Flo Rida
(5) Start Me Up/Livin' On a Prayer -- Glee Cast
(6) Valerie -- Amy Winehouse
(7) Poker Face -- Lea Michele and Idina Menzel
(8) Time Warp -- Rocky Horror Picture Show
(9) Sweet Transvestite -- RHPS
(10) I Can Make You a Man -- RHPS
(11) Hot Patootie -- RHPS
(12) 'Long As I'm Here With You -- Thoroughly Modern Millie
(13) Candles -- Hey Monday
(14) Jolene -- Ray LaMontagne
(15) Raise You Glass -- Pink

And one bonus:
(16) Rollin' in the Deep -- Adele

See? It's not great taste, but it's my taste. So get over it.

Day Three: In which the blog challenge gets the Easter treatment

* I realized that while I made a sarcastic comment about the meaning of my blog title in yesterday's blog, I did not address the quote underneath the title. In the spirit of doing this challenge right, here goes. I have a love/hate relationship with F. Scott Fitzgerald -- LOVE Tender is the Night; HATE The Great Gatsby (this may entail some residual hate for the movie). The quote is from the book I love. I think I have to love it because I still don't know what I want to "be" when I grow up. I mean, obviously, I'm going to be a lawyer (or do something law-related. Those loans do NOT pay themselves back). But I think I like the idea that maybe, just maybe, I'll just constantly be becoming something, constantly changing. Yeah, I like that idea a lot.



Onward...


Day Three: A Picture of Something You Can't Live Without

This could get complicated.

First, somebunny I can't live without:

Beckett's first Easter, 2006 (3 weeks old)

Easter, 2007 (My favorite Easter pic of all time)

As far as things I can't live without? Hmm....

Coffee

Stilettos

Dirty Martinis

Books

I'm sure there are a few other things, but if asked with a gun to my head, those are the (person) and things I can't live without.

Happy Easter, blog world!

"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." -John 20:29

What's In a Name?

Blog Challenge: Day Two
What is the meaning of your blog title?

Due to the incredibly transparent nature of my blog title (it's my name and my son's name...see how I did that?), I'll take a moment to wish Shakespeare a happy birthday!

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself."

-Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, II.ii.45-51.

A Year Isn't That Long, Is It?

Talk about a blog hiatus. In order to get myself back on the blog bandwagon, I'm going to try out a 30 day blog challenge I found on another blog. I don't believe I've ever blogged for 30 days straight, so this will, indeed, be a challenge. Here's what I will be blogging about for the next 30 days:

Day One: Introduction, a recent photo of yourself, and 15 interesting facts about yourself.

Day Two: The meaning behind your blog title.

Day Three: A picture of something you cannot live without.

Day Four: A habit you wish you didn't have.

Day Five: 15 songs that represent your life's soundtrack.

Day Six: A picture of somewhere you've been.

Day Seven: A hobby you have.

Day Eight: A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.

Day Nine: Short term goals for this month and why.

Day Ten: Something/someone you're proud of.

Day Eleven: A story about a past relationship.

Day Twelve: A picture of something you dislike.

Day Thirteen: Share a secret.

Day Foruteen: Write a letter to someone telling them something you could never tell them.

Day Fifteen: A picture of something you ate and 10 confessions.

Day Sixteen: Put your iPod on shuffle and post the first 10 songs that play.

Day Seventeen: Something you could live without.

Day Eighteen: Someone you would want to switch lives with and why.

Day Nineteen: Plans/dreams/goals you have.

Day Twenty: Nicknames you have and how or why you have them.

Day Twenty-One: If you had 3 wishes, what would they be?

Day Twenty-Two: Share a picture from your day.

Day Twenty-Three: What makes you different from everybody else?

Day Twenty-Four: What is something you crave?

Day Twenty-Five: What would I find in your purse?

Day Twenty-Six: Places you want to visit before you die.

Day Twenty-Seven: Why are you doing this 30 day challenge?

Day Twenty-Eight: A picture of you last year and a picture of you now - how have you changed?Day Twenty-Nine: In the past month, what have you learned?

Day Thirty: A picture of you today and 20 goals you wish to accomplish.

Here we go:

Day One: Introduction, a recent photo of yourself, and 15 interesting facts.

If you need more introduction, you're in the wrong place. See above.

Also see above for a recent photo.

15 Interesting Facts (Well, interesting to me):

(1) I am on the downhill slide of my last year of law school, and by "downhill slide," I mean I had my LAST class yesterday. Graduation is May 21st. I can honestly say that going to law school was NEVER the direction that I thought my life would take, and yet, here I am -- a mere 29 days away from my J.D.

(2) Literature means more to me than I am really able to express. Someone once told me that there was no point in reading fiction because those things never happened. I couldn't believe it.

(3) I have a beautiful, hilarious, and brilliant 5 year old son, Beckett. Biased? Sure. But anyone who knows him knows that I am really not exaggerating that much :)

(4) Speaking of B, those of you that know me really well know that this past calendar year has been the hardest of my life. I'm not going to get into any details, but let's call it "Betsi's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year." That about sums it up.

(5) I have recently learned that I am the kind of person who is (relatively) quick to forgive. I like this about myself.

(6) That being said, there is a line you can cross and karma is a bitch.

(7) I can quote Shakespeare and Dumb and Dumber.

(8) Much like Ross on Friends, I will correct your grammar while we are having a conversation. I'm sorry. I know it's annoying, but I really can't stop.

(9) I am a daydreamer. A bad daydreamer. Well, maybe that's a good thing.

(10) Starting May 1st, I'd like to be more vigilant about my health.

(11) It has to be May 1st because we are living between two apartments right now and everything is a little chaotic.

(12) I'm moving!

(13) I believe that a good, I mean really good, dirty martini is sometimes all you need.

(14) I believe I will start writing letters again. Who doesn't love to get mail?

(15) I believe I will starting writing again in general. I have missed it so much.

If Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Marry Brunettes, Where Does That Leave a Redhead?

Well, it's been forever since my last post and there is really no way to give updates on everything we have been up to lately. So, I'll just give a quick recap. Beckett turned FOUR a month ago. This is beyond my comprehension. I was warned it would go fast, but I never imagined it would go this fast.

School is going well, but will be better when I get my rigorous finished and finals are OVER. One month to go. Then maybe I can start reading what I want to read again :0) Dusty gave me Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on Friday, and I started reading it last night.

Big news on the horizon, I'll keep you all informed!

Worst Blogger EVER.

Yeah, that's me. So much work right now. Eventually, you will all get caught up. I swear.

Life's Little Instruction Book

Recently, I found this book among the, um, we'll say DISASTER that is my room. I can remember having looked through it years ago, but couldn't remember anything it said. It's a book of "511 suggestions, observations, and reminders on how to live a happy and rewarding life." It began as a gift for the author's son, who was leaving for his freshman year of college and I love what he has to say about parenting in the Introduction:

I read years ago that it was not the responsibility of parents to pave the road for their children, but to provide them with a road map. That's how I hoped he would use these mind and heart reflections.

I thought maybe I would post a few of them everyday. There are 511 and, as the author points out, there are many things that got left out and many that you might not agree with.

One: Compliment three people everyday -- This seems so easy, but I know I tend to get wrapped up in me a lot, so I'll have to work on this.

Two: Have a dog -- How about "Move out of parents house" first.

Three: Watch a sunrise at least once a year -- Personal addendum: More than once if you can.

Four: Remember other people's birthdays -- I'm actually scarily good at this. Seriously, I have really made some people question my sanity because I remembered when their birthday was. And Facebook as really made forgetting someone's birthday about the crapiest thing you can do (they only remind you for an entire week prior to the actual birthday).

Five: Overtip breakfast waitresses -- YES.

In other news, Beckett wakes up in the morning feeling life P. Diddy apparently. He is also awesome at Wii bowling and "hoop-a-looping" (hula hooping). He also thinks that "Dusty's friend" (Ben Preston) is the person in a one hundred dollar bill.

Conversation from Monday:

Background: I pick B up from school at 1:00. In an attempt to get him to go to sleep in the car and stay that way for his nap, I turn the radio to Public Radio, which plays classical music starting at 1:00 (It's like they know).

Beckett: (over classical music) Mom. Mom. MOM.

Me: Yes?

Beckett: Will you please turn that music off? It's girl music.

Me: (laughing hysterically and yet, slightly offended) Why is that?

Beckett: Because it's HORRIBLE.

Me: (now completely offended) WHAT? So all girl music is horrible and all horrible music is for girls?

Beckett: Yes. Now will you please turn it off?