I'm It

This time I was actually tagged! Thanks Myndi

10 Years Ago I Was...
beginning my 8th grade year. My favorite sport was volleyball and I was becoming successful at consistently getting my overhand serve over the net. Exciting stuff. I was entirely too skinny, had long blonde hair and braces. I hung out with the same 5 girls every day and every weekend from my small private school. We were the "cool girls" or so we thought. I was torn between being cool and still being nice to all of the other girls in the class. Katie Kowalik was my best friend. Alanis Morissette with her Jagged Little Pill was my new music hero and I also enjoyed the Offspring, Stone Temple Pilots, and anything else with a rockin' guitar and depressing lyrics that expressed my newfound teenage angst. I pretty much still have all of the songs from these days memorized- especially by Alanis.


5 Years Ago I was...
a freshman at Mizzou! I was in Tiger's Lair which is the pep club at the football games. We stood the entire game and during half-time would make pictures by strategically holding up squares of black and gold. I was getting to know my fabulous potluck roommate Myndi Meyer. She had as many cd's as me and we connected most through music and downloading songs on Napster together into the wee hours of the morning. We IM'd each other from across the room, we left our door open so people would stop by. We talked about our classes, boyfriends and our lives until 4am even though Myndi had an 8am math class. I learned how to unicycle in the hallway and performed a Fiona Apple song at "Spotlight" in the FARC lounge. I was in two choirs and voice lessons and majoring in music. Music theory was a thorn in my side and I only survived because of my dear friends Chris and Kevin and with the help of Marc Andre Bouji, the French master's student who did tutoring in our dorm. Needless to say I lived on entirely too little sleep, had to eat dorm food every day, and loved every minute of my newfound freedom.

1 Year Ago I was...
wrapping up my life in Nashville and moving to St. Louis to be a live in nanny/chaufer in Ladue with no rent as our pay. I had been a nanny all summer in Nashville for a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old girl. Jason had been working in an outdoor store and we were both ready for a change. Moving to St. Louis was exciting but also not what either of us expected to be doing. I started a job in October as an Administrative Assistant for a counseling center and Jason did some as-needed production work for the Pageant, a theater in town. We got to live on a golf course and experience a small taste of what it is to be the wealthiest people in St. Louis. The best part was rediscovering the city I grew up in. St. Louis has experienced a substantial amount of rejuvination and has become a city I actually enjoy living in. There are tons of rehabbed areas with shops and cool old houses. It was fun to experience the comforts of the familiar but at the same time to discover what was new and improved. We were experiencing change, but in a good way.

Yesterday I was...
helping my dad, Jason and a friend complete the new wooden fence in my parent's backyard. I now know how to set posts, make sure they're level, build a frame and put up the boards. I feel so skilled now. Truthfully, the guys did the majority of the work. I was more of a helper/drink getter/sandwich-maker/hose turner-onner/measurer/wood buyer... When it became apparent that the men had it all under control I decided to get my oil changed. Then I got to visit baby Claire next door who is 3 weeks old now. I wasn't lying about my ability to make babies stop crying. My mom held her and she cried. I took her and she was happy as a clam. I think it's an aura thing. Anyway, my brother Chris and his girlfriend Lauren came in from Columbia and Jason and I joined them for the Coldplay concert at the outdoor ampitheater. We actually had seats rather than sitting on the lawn, but they were a little far to the right. Rilo Kiley opened for them and I enjoyed about half of the songs in their set. The lead singer has a great voice though. She's the background vocalist on the Postal Service project. Coldplay put on a good show complete with giant light board in the background. It was a good mix of their older songs and their new album which I appreciated very much. Chris Martin of course was all over the place on stage and actually came out very far into the crowd on one song which was very fun. All in all, it was a fun night. I heard they were donating all of the proceeds from their t-shirts to AIDS relief in Africa and I thought that was very cool of them. After the show we hung out and talked with Chris and Lauren until 1am. It was great to catch up with them. I'm so excited for them- they're where I was five years ago!

5 Snacks I enjoy:
Chips and Guac
Pita chips and Hummous of any flavor
Yogurt and granola
Dried fruit and soy nuts
Balance Bars, honey peanut flavor

5 Songs I know all of the words to:
"Trouble" Coldplay
"Terms of Endearment" Sarah Mclaughlin (along with every other song she's written)
"Art Teacher" Rufus Wairight
"Gracie" Ben Folds
"Like Eating Glass" Bloc Party
and many, many more including, "Since You've Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson - guilty pleasure of the year.

5 Things I would do with $100 million:
Give Ten percent to Green tree Webster
Set aside enough to support Jason and I in ministry for the rest of our lives
Invest 25%, including a house
Start a dive shop in Indonesia
Adopt a baby from Mongolia

5 Things I will not wear:
Jeans with rips or holes in them or with really faded spots and really dark spots
headbands
high hell, I mean heel shoes
panty hose
foundation

5 Places I would run away to:
Palau
Vancouver
France
Seattle
San Angelo Texas

5 Favorite TV Shows:
24
Seinfeld
Will&Grace
Wheel of Fortune
Golden Girls

5 Bad Habits:
Hitting the snooze for 30 minutes or more
picking at zits (ewww)
leaving the door open when I go to the bathroom (at home that is)
never working out anymore
not blogging consistently

5 Biggest Joys:
seeing a baby smile
going for a long run and not walking once
completing a project
singing
really good quiet times with God

5 Favorite Toys:
iPod
iBook G4
my car
mp3 player to run with
digital camera

5 Fictional Characters I wish were alive and in my life:
Harry Potter
The Cat in the Hat
Hugh Grant's Flatmate in Notting Hill
The cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz
Phoebe from Friends