Would You Like To Take A Survey?

As you all probably know, I like to read other people's blogs. A lot of these are written by strangers, so I don't comment and don't follow them publicly or list them in that pretty sidebar over there called "My Friends' Blogs". Everyone listed there is someone I know personally, ranging from my brother who never updates, to one of my oldest family friends whose blog about living in Italy makes me jealous every time I read it, to about a million different friends from college. (And if you have a blog and don't see it listed, tell me and I'll add it!)

Anyway, one of those blogs belongs to Ali, a classmate of mine from Hood. Her roommate was Tricia's little sis, and they both lived in the same dorm I did. Ali writes a spectacular blog about healthy eating. As you all know, I am a big giant carnivore, but if ever there was something to make me want to eat vegetables, it would be Ali's blog. Today, she had a fun survey posted in addition to talking about food. And now, I am stealing said survey, because surveys are fun and I have decided that I need to post more than just a million installments of The Entertainer. That, and this allows me to quote a movie and talk about zoo animals. So, here we go.

A. Age: 29

B. Bed size: Queen, although the full-sized one in the guest room is more comfortable

C. Chore you dislike: Most of them. I really hate dusting, as evidenced by the condition of the bookshelves in my living room. And, strangely, I really like doing dishes as long as no one tries to help me.

D. Dogs: Holly Bug. Who is mine even if she does live with my parents. And I want one to live with me.

E. Essential start to your day: Diet Coke. Breakfast of champions. I can also make a case for hot tea, because that's what I am - a hotty.

F. Favorite color: Green. Preferably hunter or kelly.

G. Gold or silver: Yellow gold. But silver jewelry's cheaper, so I wear a fair amount of that too. But my Hood ring is yellow gold, and it wins.

H. Height: 5'8". Which can go up to 6 feet depending upon which shoes I choose.

I. Instruments you play(ed): Cello, for five years voluntarily and two more involuntarily.

J. Job title: Regulatory Associate III. And according to my resume, also Aquatics Specialist, which is what Don let me call myself back when it was just him and me running the pool. I never updated it after I stopped doing everything except teaching.

K. Kids: Nope. I have a million of 'em at the pool, though.

L. Live: Frederick.

M. Mom’s name: Terri. Or Therese if you want to be fancy. But not Theresa. Unless you want to make her mad and get a lecture about St. Therese.

N. Nicknames: Le. Pronounced with a long E. Also LeahGia. And the wretched little beasts at the pool where I guarded in high school called me LeahTard, which was actually pretty clever, although I never would've told them that.

O. Overnight hospital stays: None.

P. Pet peeves: People who get in my way - especially at airports, on the highway, or in the aisles at Target - and then aren't considerate enough to realize and get out of my way. People who use improper grammar and/or spelling.

Q. Quote from a movie: “If you can’t laugh at yourself, life is going to seem a lot longer than you’d like,” from Natalie Portman’s character in Garden State. And I'm cheating and including my absolute favorite quote of all time, from my beloved Elaine Benes in Seinfeld: "Here's to those who wish us well, and those who don't can go to Hell." A good motto for all.

R. Righty or lefty: Left-handed people are the best handed people. Although I hate the words "righty" and "lefty."

S. Siblings: David, the aforementioned brother who never updates his blog. (Apologies for the sideways video.)

T. Time you wake up: 6:30.

U. Underwear: Victoria's Secret. And that's all I'm telling you.

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Bell peppers. I loathe bell peppers. And also celery, which is the stalk of the devil. Other than that, I'm not picky about them. Roasted cauliflower is one of my favorite things in the world.

W. What makes you run late: When Charlie Sheen's spewing crazy all over the Today Show and I want to watch but I have to go to work.

X. X-rays you’ve had: Teeth. And I think I've had a chest x-ray before.

Y. Yummy food you make: See above about the roasted cauliflower. Also, cupcakes. Many, many cupcakes. (I also hate the word "yummy," for what it's worth, but it fits with this letter, so it shall stay.)

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Prairie dogs. And otters, if they're swimming around and not just laying there tanning like The Situation.

So, there you go. And, fun for you! Steal the list and play with yourself! (That's what she said.) And, stealing from Ali's idea again - if you're bored but not so bored to do the whole survey, just post here with your favorite movie quote, because that will make me happy :-).

Who Let The Dogs Out?

For Memorial Day weekend, Ken and McKenna came to visit. Yay! My parents were out of town (in one of my favorite cities...and they got to see my best friend...which is entirely not fair...not that I'm bitter), so I was dogsitting for Holly at their house for the weekend. So we went on a mini-break, a la Bridget, to Mt. Airy for the weekend. Holly was a bit wary of McKenna's presence at first,

but quickly got used to it, and even allowed McKenna to help her flirt with the young stud next door. His alias is Benjamin, as he is young and Holly (a.k.a. Mrs. Robinson) is not.
Tricia and Kathy came for dinner. We had what I've started calling Lost-a (as I first made it for Carter and me during the Lost finale), as well as cider Ken brought from New York,

and some awesome cookies I made that turned out to be a bit more fluorescent than I intended.

Holly wanted very much to sit at the table with us, although she was none too pleased about being restrained to have her picture taken.

After dinner, we watched Music and Lyrics. We had planned to just fast forward through to the good parts (namely, any parts in which Hugh Grant dances and/or sings), but noticed Matthew Morrison's name in the opening credits. Therefore, we had to watch until we spotted him.

While we were watching, McKenna decided to camoflage herself into the sectional furniture using her chameleon-like skills, and a few throw pillows.

Once she unearthed herself, she let me try on her collar, since it matched my sweater.

Saturday was a very eventful day. We went to the first wine festival of the year, and Tricia graciously agreed to provide transportation. And entertainment, as we located a number of random items in the backseat of her car.

The wine festival is an interesting place...in addition to the tasting areas and the tour, they have tons of vendors. Some sell food, some sell hats, some sell crafts, and some sell random crap that we were scared to investigate.

People also make some interesting accessory choices at the wine festival. We were hoping that these people were using their umbrella as a parasol, as there was a very small chance of it going to rain.

After the wine festival, we returned to Tricia's house for dinner, where Kathy tried to tame the savage beast that is Lucy.

After dinner, we parted ways to prepare for the next day's activities.

Sunday, I decided to have a party. I had a number of good excuses (graduation, having a bigger yard for the weekend, Ken being in town), but really, I just wanted to play lawn games. The party started with food, which pleased Holly, who spent the better part of the evening playing her "I'm so pretty, don't you want to feed me human food?" game with people.

McKenna was also happy about the party, as there were many people there to pet her.

We also accomplished my goal of playing lawn games. We played Scatch, which may be one of the greatest games known to man,

as well as bocce ball.

As the night progressed, there were two very tired dogs in the house.

Monday morning, we decided to start our day with a bit of irony.

McKenna started her day by taking over Holly's bed and making her mad.

Highlights from Monday include eating our weight in party leftovers, and visiting Sara and Grant, who were visiting from New Jersey. Josh had gone home, as had Penny, so we didn't get to see them, but we had fun anyway.

On Tuesday, the highlight of the day was getting pedicures. We took our bright, shiny new pedicures to Tricia's for dinner again, too, where we set about tiring out Lucy the Beast.

We also made sure she didn't help herself to a sink snack.

After we returned to Mt Airy, Holly tried to lay claim to Ken's laptop while we watched Dynasty, so she couldn't leave the next day.

But, alas, she did, leaving McKenna behind to finish her vacation with me. We spent the week watching Will Ferrell movies,

and getting hair on furniture. McKenna was a bit forlorn when we returned to Frederick,

but brightened up when she saw Aunt Kathy that weekend.
The rest of the week went by rather quickly and uneventfully, with the exception of Friday night. But that, my dears, is a story for another day....

Get On the Bus, Gus

So group swim lessons started this week. It has been Eventful already. Thunder and lightning cancelled the first two lessons last night (although I still had to sit there in the overcrowded office, and I ended up having to teach the third one, which will really suck when it gets to the last few weeks and I have to give cookies to one class, and do a makeup day for the other two).

Then this evening, as I was walking from the outdoor pool (where I was searching for a beach ball) to the indoor pool where my lessons were to be held, I noticed a very large bus carrying another school's volleyball team. Said bus was trying to park on the grass outside of the gym, and wasn't doing such a good job with it. I hear a loud crash, and look up to see the thing backing into a sign. I laughed really hard. Sign is pictured, as photographed from the window of my car on the way out. Still standing, but definitely a little...crooked. And the funniest thing I've seen all evening.

IDK, my BFF RJV?

So last night at the pool, my new BFF RJV (names and most identifying details omitted, but chances are you can figure out who I'm talking about) drove by the pool to say hello to me. I was in the pool, teaching a lesson to this kid who doesn't listen to a word I say, and I hear this, "Hey, Leah!" from the direction of the street between the pool and the gym. I look up, and it's him, waving from inside his car. What he was doing driving by the pool and the gym, I'll never know. (Actually, I had told him my schedule when he e-mailed me to tell me that he had been investigating The Matter I cornered him about at Reunion Weekend, so it wasn't a total surprise).

But anyway, he definitely tried to strike up a conversation with me while I was teaching. He was mostly asking about the class I'm taking, when it was, who was teaching it, etc. I'm assuming this was so he could stop by there, because he said he had learned things about The Matter that he wanted to explain to me. But while I'm talking to him - from in the pool - the kid has climbed out, is jumping in, splashing me, etc., and the mom is looking at me like I've gone crazy. I finally grabbed the kid and made her stop jumping, and I made her wave to him, and of course she wanted to know who he was, so I told her he was a very important person who worked for the school. Which he then rebuts by saying that he's not important at all, he's just a regular guy. Because THAT makes the fact that I interrupted my entire lesson to talk to a random guy in a car driving by look so much better. I did explain to the mom when we got out that I don't generally interrupt lessons to talk to strangers, and who he was, and she understood and was fine with it (she is not one of the standard obnoxious parents that I complain about). And I am very pleased that RJV remembered me enough to actually investigate The Matter I mentioned at Reunion Weekend. But yeah...I felt like an idiot. And I'm fairly disappointed that he didn't tell me to "stay cool" again.

On a related note, the following conversation took place during that same lesson, when I was trying to get the kid (who is notorious for not listening and talking her way out of doing things) to do a front glide or, as I call it, fly like Superman. I tell them that Superman is my friend, and he taught me to fly, so they want to learn to fly too.:

Miss Leah: OK, let's fly like Superman now.
Child M: Is Superman your friend?
L: Yes. Let's practice now.
M: Are you going to marry him?
L: Yes. Let's practice now.
M: Why aren't you married to him now?
L: Because he's off fighting crime. Let's practice now.
M: Oh. Why is he fighting crime?
L: Because there are bad guys. Let's practice now.
M: When are you getting married?
L: Tomorrow. Let's practice now.
M: Oh. Will he be done fighting crime then?
L: Yes. Let's practice now.

And then she finally did what I wanted her to do, only to be interrupted by RJV a few minutes later. Good times.