March 21, 2007

Everything you wanted to know. . .

You may all be asking what that new thing in the sidebar is over there on the left side. My friend has a son who has Type 1 Diabetes. You can visit his website at Kroll Books. He is participating in a School Walk for Diabetes and is hoping to raise $500 that will go towards research in the fight against Diabetes. My Mom is a Type 1 Diabetic so his daily struggles hit close to home for us. We are planning on sponsoring him. He is a fabulous kid, and if you’d like to donate, click on Chase’s name in the sidebar and you’ll go directly to his donation web page. I’d love to see his $500 goal blown out of the water. If you have an extra $5 laying around, please consider donating to Chase. If you do, shoot me an email so I can properly shower you with love.

And now, back to business. . .

The questions have been rolling in (or not). Scott, my new friend, from Forging Ironman asked these questions.

What is your favorite "karate movie"? Least favorite? And why?

Although it’s been a while, my favorite karate movie is probably The Karate Kid. My least favorite? I’d have to say that any of the more recent martial arts movies that incorporate all the wires and artistic stuff that looks beautiful, but is in no way realistic. I remember watching The Karate Kid for days at a time when it was on the channel Prism. My parents had to turn the TV off and make me go outside. I loved that movie. I guess I liked it so much because it showed that hard work pays off and that the good guys can and do win.

I assume you plan to teach or assist the instructor when you reach black belt. What are you most excited about with teaching? And least?

I would LOVE to teach someday. Although many probably think that my M.S.Ed. degree is wasted since I’m not in the classroom anymore and wasn’t for very long, I have been looking at that degree as a stepping stone to knowing good teaching techniques to one day teach karate. I am probably most excited about teaching kobudo (weapons). I am probably least excited about teaching sparring. I think I’d like to try to teach the Little Dragons some day, just to see what it would be like. I don’t know if I could take that for long though.

Have you ever competed in a tournament? An out of state tournament? An international tournament? What events did you do?

No, no, and no. I have absolutely no interest in tournament competing. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with entering tournaments; it’s just that it’s not for me. I’m not interested in the trophies or the competition. For me, it’s always been much more of a personal thing. If I were to enter a tournament, I would compete in kata and weapons, but I highly doubt I would compete in sparring. I’ve heard horror stories, especially about sparring against woman, and I am not interested at all in that aspect.

What is your favorite book?

I absolutely loved The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I think it’s one of the best books of all time and that it will become a classic. I also loved Suspect by Michael Robotham; and for a nail-biting, stomach-churning thriller, Intensity by Dean Koonce was a fabulous read.

What was your favorite subject in school?

It was not math or science, that’s for sure! I’d have to say English. During my senior year of High School, I took three English classes: 12th grade English, Journalism, and World Literature. World Literature was an amazing class. On the first day of class, my teacher slammed a copy of War and Peace on each of our desks and that was what we read until November.

What do you like most about being a mother?

There are so many things I love about being a mother that it’s difficult to choose just one thing so I won’t. I love staying at home with my girls and watching them grow and change. I love all the new little discoveries, like when Lil C says a new word or tries to jump for the first time. I love seeing the lightbulb turn on when Big I sounds out a new word or ties her shoes for the first time (which happened last week). I absolutely LOVE when one of my girls curls up on my lap with a book or snuggles up to me when they’re sleepy. I could go on, but you get the idea.

PSU Mommy wants to know: I know you love the city I live in now…what’s keeping you from moving back?

The city she’s referring to is Pittsburgh. I lived there for seven years. Towards the end of our stay in Pittsburgh I had a lot of complaints: the weather, the distance to my family, and I wanted a change. But since I’ve moved away, I find myself missing so many things about Pittsburgh: the fact that I could walk around downtown and feel completely safe, Johnny’s Place on Craig St.(amazing wings and burgers), the Mexican restaurant Cozumel, the Union Grills’ garlic mashed potatoes. . . O.k. I admit it; I mostly miss the food.

What my husband does for a living now isn’t a big industry in Pittsburgh. The job market was not what we wanted it to be when we lived there, and so we moved. Something tells me he’d have a hard time finding as good of a job out there in his industry. And, my entire family currently lives in the same county I do, including my soon-to-be 90 year old Grandmother. As much as I’d like to pack up and go somewhere else sometimes, it’s very hard to do that when you know that you have fabulous babysitters surrounding you.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a question to help get me out of my writer’s block! I have some of the best readers on the planet!