Things I LOVE

Brad and I went to Panama City Beach this weekend with the lovely Jo Ann Waldrop. Since we had not journeyed outside of the Greater Atlanta city area since over a year ago (except to visit my parents at Christmas, which, believe me, does not count), we eagerly sprang from bed Friday morning (or as eagerly and as close to morning as we could--read previous blog) , pointed our car in a southernly direction, and tore away from our little world. This journey provided me with both rest and prime thinking time-- a six-hour car ride. The prime thinking time led me to my current topic-- Things I LOVE

1. Semi-long car trips with Brad
I love semi-long car trips with Brad because we have the best conversations in the car. We laugh, cut up, talk about philosophy and the nature of good and evil, discuss books, and plan our future. There is something about a car trip that creates terrific conversation, and there is nothing I enjoy more than terrific conversation with Brad. Oh, and we HATE books on tape. We tried that once. We ended up fast forwarding through most of the book-- I have never felt so incredibly cranky.

2. Convenience stores
Not only do I love convenience store names (we saw some great ones on the way down--Hop in!, the Dodge, Money Back, The Golden Gallon, The Big Small Store, Kangaroo), I also love the people and paraphernelia (this is really spelled right; I looked it up) in convenience stores. Have you ever looked at the "impulse buy" rack at a convenience store? Have you ever bought anything? I think the "impulse buy" rack markets to giggly teenage girls, perverted truckers, and me. I am a sucker for felt roses that smell vaguely of pine. And don't get me started on ginseng products and lighters. I also love canned ham (I have a collection thanks to the many Valentine's Days I have spent with Brad Denton. Who needs flowers? Canned ham lasts longer), beef jerky, pork rinds (do people outside of Atkins dieters and travelers buy these?), and the odd cigarette, hand-soap, air freshener smell all convenience stores have.

3. Parenthesis
I have forbade my eighth graders to use parenthesis because, quite frankly, they can't handle more sophisticated methods of punctuation, but as my above posting conveys-- I LOVE THEM!! I also love the dash, the hyphen, and the semicolon. Sometimes I invent reasons to use them. To me punctuation is not just utilitarian--it is fun! (Notice the use of the exclamation point. Didn't it give you joy?)


4. Bubble baths, showers, face soap, facial masks-- anything to do with being clean

I entered college in the midst of the grunge period. This was a sad, sad period in our nation's illustrious history where it became cool to be dirty. During this period of time, girls and boys alike tried to see how long they could go without bathing or washing their clothes. Unfortunately, this trend prevented me from achieving optimal coolness. Sadly, I can go no more than a day without washing my hair or my body, and I prefer bathing more than once a day. Even more sadly, the cleaner my body is the better I can think and the more content I am. I have found ways to do everything while cleansing myself: I can read and take a bubble bath; I can plan a paper and take a shower; I can cook while waiting for a facial mask to set; I can dress myself while brushing my teeth. My life, quite simply, is better when I am in the midst of cleansing my body, face, or hair.

5. Magazines
My magazine subscription total alone can meet a GACS student's magazine sale week goal. Ashley Wilde came in first place in her magazine sale group when she turned in my subscriptions alone. A good magazine, a cup of coffee, a bubble bath, and a facial mask--one word, heaven.

6. Keds
Need I say more? Was there a more perfect shoe ever made? Birkenstocks, Doc Martens, Timberlands, blech! Give me a simple canvas tie-up shoe. People Magazine said they were going to be back in style soon. Cleanliness and feathered hair came back; can't Keds? They really are great shoes.

7. Anne Tyler novels
Read one (not Slipping Down Life, it's a little weird) NOW!! Try it in the bath tub. You won't be sorry. I promise.

That is enough for now. I figure I will have to write the "Things I HATE" companion piece soon.

Oh, I almost forgot (because it is a given). . .

8. Sleeping in on Saturdays (or really any day) with my husband (hey, it's allowed; we're married--or at least I think we are. Did we sign that license?)
Nuff' said.

The softer-side of self-definition

I think there is going to be a theme to my blog (and maybe my life right now?)--Who, in the heck, am I? (I have to tell you that the use of "heck" right there was a silent, yet forceful rebellion against my mother. Sometimes I just love to color outside the lines.) I figure that this self-definition passion of mine stems from one overriding truth--in 2005 I will turn 30-years-old. This is the only age I have neared that has caused people to ask me, "Oh, you are turning 30 this year. How do you feel about it?" The irony, of course, is I don't think I thought about until I was first asked this question.

So here are the things turning 30 has forced me to think about

1. Should I continue to sleep past noon on Saturdays? Don't I have some type of pressing activity that I should be doing besides sleeping?

This is the type of question that I begin thinking about and then Brad and I have this "conversation" (usually around 1:10 p.m. on a Saturday)--
Jami (while quickly springing to an upright position in her very comfy new mattress): Brad, it is nearly 1:30. We are complete losers. What a horrendous life we are leading!
Brad (grunting): Huh! We (snore) are not (snore) losers.
Jami (flinging backward and knocking Brad in the eye with her elbow): Oh, I am so sorry. Are you O.K.?
Brad (holding his eye and limping to the bathroom): Just don't touch me. Do not touch me.

I still haven't figured this one out. Am I wasting my life my sleeping incredibly late? What do those morning people do that I should be doing?

2. I am nearly 30 and I do not have children; shouldn't my house and car be cleaner?

I am sure that if woke up earlier on Saturday I could clean my house and my car. But I really don't want to--Does that make me an irresponsible child?

3. Tonight I had Chex mix, ice cream, French fries, and a Coke for dinner.

This is really just a confession. I figured I would throw this one in here since I just told you my house and car are filthy.

4. And, drum roll please, shouldn't we have started thinking about children by now? Shouldn't we already have a few? Everyone else does.

See above. I think I live like a child. In order to have one, Brad and I would really have to clean up the spare bedroom. I mean, really clean it. Are we ready for that much work? Especially when I damage his retina almost every Saturday morning. Wouldn't a child require like clean clothes, and like good food and stuff? If I can do that much damage to Brad's eye, think of what my clumsiness might do to a child!

So this is the mess of me. Always nearly falling apart at the seams--yet somehow keeping it all together. Organized and unorganized at the same time (I'll discuss my obsessive compulsive tendencies later--yes, I am a slob and an obsessive compulsive--it can happen). I guess I just thought by 30 I would be different--together somehow. Maybe 30 will not change me--Maybe I am just going to have to love myself as is, clumsiness, sleepiness, and sloppiness and all.