"I will never stop until you're mine/ ... Don't you understand/ I'll never stop"

I thought of a good topic to blog about today on the drive home from work. Now I cannot remember. Curses.

This is my 100th post of 2010. Woop woop!

I baby-sat for my three nieces and nephew tonight. I changed the almost-two year old's diaper and was not expecting a poopy. So I exclaimed "AJ, what is that?!" and she simply said "Poop." hahahaha. I laughed so hard. Then she also said humidifier. She is only 21 months people! And my 4 month old nephew was a little grumpy so I was holding him and trying to get him to calm down. I started narrating his thoughts to my 8 and 7 year old nieces and they thought I was hilarious. MG told me I was so funny. Yes. The kids at work think I'm funny too. Clearly I appeal to those under 4 feet tall.

Tomorrow is my work Christmas party. I'm such a fancy adult. Going to work Christmas parties, bringing appetizers, and my secret Santa will be revealed. Even though I am about 99% sure, it's my boss. I don't know why I feel pressure because of this. It's not like I have to give her an awesome gift or I will be fired. I just have to have a good reaction. Fingers crossed.

And that's all. What a random post. But I am NOT giving up now. Go me!

PS That's two N Sync lyrics in recent days. Such a shame since the Backstreet Boys were always superior. Gotta get them in there. But what is with me and the early 2000s pop. Mandy Moore and N Sync. What is wrong with me?

"Hold your tongue and walk away/ Say it's been a heavenly day"

Here are a couple of short family stories that I found funny:

My mom and I went to visit my brother's family in B'ham for a few days. My newly six year old niece ME was telling us some of the Kindergarten gossip. She told us about a little boy in her class and how he was so "annoying" and "silly" and just went on and on about this kid. After a moment, my mom said, "You know ME, it sounds like you like this boy" to which she replied with an embarrassed smile, "I do" followed by a giggle. Man, it starts young doesn't it?

My niece MG went on a field trip to see a ballet a few days ago. She told me how her class got to meet a girl and boy ballerina (/ballerino?) after the show. I asked if they were still in their costumes when she talked to them and she said no. But then she dropped her voice to a whisper and said "And the boy ballerina, guess what? He had a ponytail. hehehe" Guess other boys in her class aren't following the hair styles of Ryder Robinson and Presley Crawford.

It's a pretty well-known fact that when you spend the night at Gran's house, you have pizza for dinner. Special place equals special treat, I guess. Around three o'clock the doorbell rang and it was an AT&T guy but niece CJ (4) asked "Gran, did you order pizza?" It was seriously like Pavlov's dogs. Well minus the slobber.

And I was talking to niece SD who is turning eight in a few months (even though I've placed numerous calls to the Birthday Police asking for her just to turn seven again. They do exist) about how my birthday was on mother's day this year and SD said "Well that's great! You get to honor your mother and she gets to honor you". Well that's an optimistic attitude.

And today at church, I marched all four girls to go to bathroom because when one has to go, they all have to go (and the peppermints in a basket on the counter are probably enticing as well). As they filed in, a girl (who look a little younger than myself) asked me "Are they all yours?" Guess 23 isn't treating me too well already. Super.

"Truth be told I miss you"

What happens when your year old niece, NP, gets ahold of the keyboard while her mom is talking to her sister on video gchat (much better than iChat in my opinion):

LA: .2222-*99*696999-9

++

3.000.665

4

041111123..............................3.20320+

625*998585-+74-+=74=-+/88/5=8=

++

2501

5100118

44

.0201

01

0..............

878

03

.3.........

101.544111.022222220

We will be talking and then you hear the gchat beep but then realize it is the very person you are video chatting with. I don't know why I find this hilarious but I do. Her dad does work for a prominent internet company, maybe computers are in little NP's future as well.

"Some say we're a couple of crazy kids"

A few quotes from the Birmingham nieces who are staying with us for a few days over their spring break.

Niece CJ is four. She recently had her birthday (seriously, like a week ago) and someone said she was four and she got upset and said "No, I'm four and half!" We confirmed that she is indeed four and she almost started to cry because she thought she was four point five. And sometime yesterday she whined that she was "almost five" and I laughed and said "Good try kid. You got about ten months for that to be true."

Anyway, I was watching CJ put together a puzzle one morning. She is pretty fast at it actually. Well she was wearing a cute skirt and heart shirt and I complimented her outfit and she said, and I quote, "Well look how much cuter I am when I stand up" and she hopped off her chair and did a twirl on tiptoes for me to get the full effect.

We stopped by Chickfila on the way back from Bham for lunch. My mom asked ME (age five, almost six) and CJ what they wanted to drink. ME said lemonade and CJ said chocolate milk. The resulting conversation ensued:

ME: And if they don't have lemonade, I can just have water.

*short pause*

CJ: And if they don't have chocolate milk, I'll have lemonade.

Don't know why I found that one so funny, but I did.

Oh and it's always reassuring to awake to a tiny voice yelling from the balcony near your bedroom door: "Gran! ME thinks she is going to throw up." *some conversation with Gran about where ME is, what she is doing* Gran says she will be there in just one minute and CJ's tiny little voice squeaks out, "Gran, please hurry!" with such urgency. Again, I don't know why it makes me crack up but the fact a little four year old was saying "please" and "hurry" it just so cute. She's such a little big kid. Oh and ME was fine. We think there was a little too much excitement from being at Gran's for a few days. But I kept my distance. AJ took me out earlier this year, I'm not falling for it again.

"Don't be afraid/ Just get on the train/ Take it right off the tracks/ And never look back"

The results are in (yes my sister read over 150 pages in a day)! We were actually gChatting as she read the last 50 pages. It was pretty interesting commentary but since LA predicts and gives away major plot points and the ending, that conversation will stay a secret. Here is her reaction after finishing the epilogue:

LA: YAY! YAY! YAY!

THAT'S A GREAT ENDING

me: thanks!

LA: OH, i love it

i'm sad it's over

GREAT JOB LITTLE SIS

me: aw thanks. whew. i am glad you liked it. i was so nervous

LA: i didn't like it, i LOVED it

me: awwwwww

LA: it's so great! oh, i am kinda sad that it's done. write the next one

me: im working on it

So first hurdle, cleared. Now it's time to debate if I should make some changes before sending it off to other family members or send it as is. Or maybe just take a little breaky-break. I might be voting for the latter cause I'm a little sick of this thing. But that's supposed to happen. :)

Oh and special thanks to LA for being the first reader. Especially because we knew we could have potentially been testing our sisterhood if she ended up hating it. But that didn't happen, yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you LA!!! I was hoping she'd do a guest blogging spot on her thoughts but she's if-y about it (as well as busy with little NP's first birthday coming up this weekend). Maybe if you all prompt her? * wink wink nudge nudge *

"Wanna learn from the things that you put me through/ This one's for you"

Hooray!!!!

LA: Oh, man, I'm flying through it now. I'm on page 218

me: haha yay. well i hope that means its good

LA: and I'm MAKING myself stop because I HAVE to do laundry. it's awesome

me: YAY! thanks

LA: seriously, you HAVE to pursue getting this published. HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO

me: awwwwwww. you're nice. i like you

LA: well, i am nice, this is true. but even if i weren't, i'd tell you to go for it

Now some of you might just think, "Come on, it's her sister, of course she is going to say nice things about it" but my sister and I went into this agreeing that she was going to be honest with me even if she had not-nice-things to say because why would I want to make a fool of myself trying to get into the publishing world?

And I would also like to thank all the friends who have been extremely supportive. To the ones who say "You wrote a book! That's something less than .25 of the population can say they did" (NV) to "Cheers to your budding writing career" (TW) to "I'd really love to read your manuscript" (NE) , it really does mean a lot. Good thing I found a way to squeeze some characteristics/ quotes/ names of all of you in there. :)

"And you can tell me that you're sorry but I don't believe you baby like I did before/ You're not sorry"

I swear, it's not favoritism but here is a niece MG story. In my defense, she is one I see the most since she is done with Kindergarten at 12 and stays at Gran's house for five hours every Wednesday. Well today was Grandparents' Day at their school so while Gran was off for SD's program, I was babysitting MG. She requested we play Sorry (The Disney version)! Now, the kid might only be six but she has been playing this game for at least two years. She knows what all of the special rules are on the cards and has known them since before she could read. She even understands that if she ever needs to move forward four to get in home, that a four doesn't exists so she has to hope for a combination of 1, 2, 3 cards or move backwards once so she can get a five. She also knows that there is no nine card. There is also a scorecard of how games many each person has won:

MG (age:6): 12

Gran (she's a Grandmother): 3

SD (older sister, age 7): 2

AE (my sister, in her 30s): 2

Myself (age 22): 2.

What I am trying to say is the girl knows what's up. And trust me, we don't let her win. We are pretty merciless in Sorry! Can't raise em to be soft, I say.

So we were playing today and the kid kept getting move backwards 4. She had two of her guys home and the other one was about halfway around the board. She moved about 12 spots with this last piece but kept having to move it backwards four. Well then she started getting "Move forward ten or move backward one" Well little MG decided, hey I am going to try to make it backwards all the way to my safety zone. And boy did she commit. She was getting move forward 12, 11, and 8 but she didn't take advantage of the higher number cards. She just kept waiting for those move backwards 4 and 1 cards. And sure enough the little booger did it. She got her last piece into her safety zone only by moving backwards.

So then we were tied with one piece not in our home and we both needed a Move Forward One to get the win. We were kept taking turns in hopes of the much desired card when MG announced she had to go to the bathroom. I actually had to go as well so we agreed on a time out. So I started to walk out of the room when I noticed MG was still lingering near the cards. I jumped back into the room to see her looking very guilty. So I took the pile of cards and put them up on the bookshelf figuring it would take her longer to get a chair and climb up there than it would for me to go the bathroom (also figuring that she wasn't lying and had to go herself). So I leave and come back a minute later and MG is up on the top bunk that is directly next to the bookshelf that I forgot to factor in as a way for her to reach the top. Luckily, I wasn't born yesterday so I took the cards and hid them in the hallway on my way out of the room the second time so that way she couldn't find a one and place it on top since her turn was next (I'm not calling MG a cheater either. But I think that kid loves the taste of victory and wanted to see another mark next to her name). Busted!

Oh and I ended up winning. You don't mess with Aunt Annie. Now I just have to win nine more times to claim true victory over a six year old.

Oh and a little bonus SD story: Her gift to Gran on her special day was a book where SD filled out what she thought all of Gran's favorite things were. The girl knows her Gran. For favorite TV show, did SD put Survivor or American Idol, two shows she hears her aunts, uncles, parents, and Gran discuss at dinner? Nope. She put the news. And she was correct. The only way it could have gotten better would have been if she put Fox News but in her defense she probably doesn't understand network names. I got a good chuckle. She also knew Gran's age, her favorite sport (the olympics, go figure), and even almost got the state right where Gran was born. Granted she put the state Gran grew up in (Indiana) instead of the state where she was actually born (Illinois) so props to the seven year old (especially since I might even make the same mistake. And they do both start with the letter "I").

"Someday you'll sing it out loud/ One day this will make you proud"

Sometimes I am a little immature. But at least I can admit it. And plus I think my friends really ruined me senior year. Thanks guys. :) But anyway, that being said, I always love a "that's what she said" joke and here are the top two I have been a part of:

2. I was helping my mom put together some bunkbeds from IKEA for my nieces to sleep in when they spend the night at Gran's. IKEA is the devil by the way and this supposedly "easy" task took well over three hours. The tools they provide are not the best nor does everything line up the way the directions claim. Anyway, you basically set up the frame with the bolts loosely in place and then once everything lined up, you used the little bracket thingy to screw everything in tightly. (You already see where I am going with this don't you...) So I got to work on the first bolt and my mom said "If you can't feel it screwing in then you know it's not going in the hole.*" I then said TWSS and I wasn't looking at my mom but I could tell she was silent. I thought I was in big trouble because my mom is a well-mannered, polite woman who doesn't appreciate my sense of humor a good majority of the time. Well the reason why she was silent was because she was laughing so hard she literally could not make a sound. It was awesome. And I'm a dork because my first thought was "That's going on the blog!"

*It should be noted this is not a direct quote. It was one of those times that was so awesome and amazing you want to remember it perfectly but then you completely forget mere moments after it happens. It's pretty close though and you get the main idea. :)

1. This happened a few years ago and again involved my mom. She bakes these awesome oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies. People really freak out when she brings them to family gatherings and whatnot. Some people like myself prefer them fresh out of the oven, gooey and warm while others prefer for them to "set" before taking a bite. My sister AE said, and this is a direct quote, "I refuse to put that into my mouth until it's hard." Again, it was an easy lay up, I had to take it, I said TWSS and all three of us were cracking up. Giggles, snorts, hyena laughs. It was awesome.

Oh and in other news, I cannot even tell you how many sentences I have had to reword because my first thought is "That's what she said!" after initially writing it. Darn you The Office and BJ Novak for ruining my thought processes and seemingly innocent sentences.

"Christmas children live in a Christmas daydream/ Waiting for the magic to unfold"

Last family post today, I swear. But note I said today, not forever. :)

Last Thursday evening I went to my nieces SD and MG's Christmas program at their school. I heard the program the year before was about two hours long so I was not looking forward to going. But I had already skipped MG's Thanksgiving program so I felt like I had to go. I mean it was good (as good as these things can be) and at the very least I got a blog post out of it so here are my thoughts:

The principal. Now I am sure she is a nice lady but I really wanted her to be quiet and sit down so we could get the show on the road. Plus her little speech was filled with cliches and I mean I use them too but not all in one sentence. And she was also mispronouncing words. And I don't mean names in the Bible with thirteen consonants but regular, average, every day words. Maybe she was just nervous but the amount of time she spent with the mic in her hand, I don't think so. Sorry, that was judgmental.

There was this one girl in the front row of the center and she was just distracting. She was in maybe the fourth or fifth grade, wearing this pink sweater, and she was just moving around, awkwardly bopping to the music. You could try to argue she was overtaken by the music but she wasn't moving in time with the music at all. In fact, she was extremely off and it was distracting.

But man some of those kids could sing! It actually made me hate myself a little because I have no singing talent in comparison to some of those kids in like the second grade.

Oh and smart move who ever staged the nativity scene in the center of the stage and had half of the kids sit on chairs or stools and therefore blocking 45% of the other kids on stage. Glad the parents of those nine kids got a good look the entire time, and the parents of like twenty-five other kids missed out on filming opportunities during their kids' single one minute long song.

Now I'm not a parent and maybe I'll be the same way but you just have to laugh at some of them. Especially when you look around the room at all these video camera displays that are zoomed really close in on their kid, but their kid is just standing there, staring off into space, or picking their nose. Really? You aren't going to film the kid singing a solo or reciting a bible verse but your kid just standing there? At the very least film the whole stage.

This one little girl, she was probably in the first or second grade, was dressed to the nines. Sparkly outfit, bows in her hair, and I think she had on quite a bit of makeup since I could make out her features from the third row from the back. But she sang her little line in the song and as she is walking back to her spot (in the middle of a song) her family broke out into whoops and hollers and then it all made sense why she was so dressed up. I wouldn't be surprised if she has been featured on a season of Toddlers and Tiaras.

We were required to stand and sing carols while the classes changed on the stage. I did not enjoy being forced to engage in the christmas program. But this old man behind me, boy oh boy could he sing! It was like he took it upon himself to carry the slack of everyone else like me who refused to do anything beyond mouthing the words.

And I have good things to say about it too: The 7th and 8th grade did a nice little rendition of "Silent Night" (at least I think that is what it was. I don't remember and I didn't receive a program upon arrival so my memory will just have to do). And I remember thinking "Man there is one girl up there who can really sing!" And they had probably eight or ten kids do little mini solos and some of them sounded really good but none were this great voice I was hearing in the background. I kept wondering why they didn't give that girl a solo and so I made it my mission to figure out which one it was. After several minutes I realized it was the adult piano player chiming in. I felt so cheated.

They did a cute little number of the twelve days of christmas. And got creative like when it was "four calling birds" they had a girl yapping on a cell phone with a feather boa. Little things like that, it was cute. And the kid giving out all of the stuff to his "true love" totally reminded me of my friend AW and was probably like him when he was eleven. It was a little mindtrippy.

Oh they also used a real baby for baby Jesus in the nativity scene. "Jesus" was pretty upset towards the end. She was crying a lot. And the angel definitely wasn't supporting her neck when lifting her out of the manager. I cringed and I bet her mom did too.

And of course my nieces did a great job. As did family friend LRT, a fellow kindergartner in MG's class. SD knew all of the motions to "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and she has memorized a long, and I mean LONG, Christmas Bible verse so I don't know why she wasn't chosen to recite a line. I might have to place some calls tomorrow. And niece MG did a great job ringing the "magenta not purple" bell whenever her teacher held up a sign telling her to do so. Oh and they both looked adorable in their dresses and tights and cute shoes. And it was only a little longer than an hour so a win for everybody!

"And I'll be perfect in my own way/ When you cry I will be there/ I'll sing to you and comb your hair/ All your troubles I will share"

Because of Thanksgiving break and since she is only in school until 12, I've been spending a lot of time with my niece MG. And I gotta say she is a cute, funny kid. And here are some reasons why:

MG scared the crap out of me the other day. I was in my room with the door open and my back was to the door. I had my music playing on my laptop so I was blissfully unaware of little MG creeping up behind me. As I am dancing along to the Glee soundtrack in my chair, she got just out of my peripheral vision and yelled "Boo!" I turned and I processed "Oh it's just MG. She's six. She's not an axe murderer" but I still screamed like a little girl. MG found this to be hilarious.

So hilarious that she was bragging to Gran a little bit later. I told MG I was going to get even but she said she was just going to "keep [her] eyes on the door" of the playroom. So, she was in the bathroom that connects the playroom and my sister's room so I snuck into my sister's room, listening to MG brag to Gran how she scared me. I started to yell but it came out in a laugh but she still got upset. Well, she claims she wasn't crying, but rather "[her] eyes were just wet".

My mom got MG and her sister SD each an advent calendar for Christmas. You know, the little calendars where you open a little slot/opening/box each day and get a piece of chocolate in a fun christmas shape. I love em! And so MG explained that she accidentally opened the 21st slot on the 2nd because "I didn't see the one". So then my mom asked if she was going to open the 2nd on the 21st and MG gave a very "You're a silly Gran" look as she said "No, I'm going to open the three". I think she thought Gran was asking what she was going to open next as opposed to how she was going to correct her mistake.

MG and I watched The Wizard of Oz together. I told her little facts like how the horse of a different colors is really painted with Jell-O powder and how in the book the shoes are silver but since it was (one of) the first movie in technicolor they changed the shoes to red so everyone would think they looked really cool. She didn't care for these facts but she did explain to me how the soldiers didn't like the witch and when she melted, they jumped up and down like this (complete with a jumping demonstration since apparently I don't know what it is).

MG is only 6 but she has a real appreciation for word play and I LOVE this. However, sometimes I am unaware of what she picks up on. We were on the way to the Mexican restaurant near our house and niece SD brought a flashlight with her in the car. SD was shinning it in baby sister AJ's eyes and I told her to stop because it was probably hurting AJ's eyes. And then SD said it didn't hurt and starting shining it in her own eyes. I then said "SD, that's not a good idea either" and MG started cracking up next to me in her car seat. "That's funny cause you said EYE-ther and you were talking about eyes. You're funny Aunt Annie". Good to know I am funny even when I am not trying to be.

The other day, I had to go check on Baby AJ to see if her leg was stuck in her crib because she's started rolling over in her crib and she was crying. MG wanted to go with me and I said AJ could not hear us because then she would want to get up and play but she needed to finish her nap. I guess I didn't clarify that AJ couldn't see us either, because MG marched right into AJ's room but she didn't make a peep. I had to grab MG and pull her back but it was all for nothing because AJ saw her and lost it. She eventually fell asleep but not after being really mad that Aunt Annie and sister MG tricked her into thinking she was going to be rescued from her nap.

Randomly, MG told me she had a present for me. She handed me a balled up piece of computer paper that she had decorated with my name and Georgia G's (I told you, I really tell her how much I love UGA). And I unwrapped it to find this little Bernese Mountain dog figurine I had when I was little (I don't remember the company, but my sister and I collected them all so clearly they have been passed down to the nieces by this point). I told her thanks and put the dog down on the table. I guess my mom put in their playroom because several days later, I looked on my nightstand and found the little dog once again. I asked my mom if she put it there and she said no. So then I asked MG and she said yes. Well, she didn't say yes but MG lacks a poker face. You family members know what I am talking about: The shrugged shoulders, the closed mouth smile, the eye roll to the ceiling all as if to say "Gosh darnit, I'm so cute, you can't possibly be mad at adorable me!" Not that I would be mad for any reason, but it's always easy to tell when MG is guilty.

Oh and MG also admitted whenever you have her trapped and are tickling her, she lies and says she "just pooted" so you will let her go. She's a clever girl that one.

So just some little MG stories from the past few days. Don't worry parents of other nieces, your other girls will get a post about them sometime soon. Especially since all 16 of us will be together for Christmas!!! Hooray!

"Happy birthday/ Happy birthday/ Happy happy birthday to you!"

I just put people who forget to tell people happy birthday to shame. I told my sister, LA, happy birthday twelve, that's right twelve, different ways. So if you need any help coming up with some ideas, here they are:

1. I gave her a shout out on the previous blog post. Which she didn't see cause apparently she was delirious when she read it. Still counts though.

2. I told her happy birthday on gChat at approximately 1:40 this morning. So since she lives in Seattle it was technically East Coast time and not her birthday yet. But it still counts since Georgia is her true home.

3. Obligatory (inside joke. haha!) Facebook wall post.

4. I sent her a card (along with a gift card) in the mail and it got to Seattle before her birthday. I could count the gift card as a separate happy birthday but I won't.

5. I tweeted a happy birthday to her on good old Twitter.

6. Along with a link to her family's website, I wrote happy birthday to her in my gchat status.

7. I told her happy birthday on the phone. Like the good ol' days.

8. My mom and I talked to her on gmail's video chat this afternoon and sang happy birthday.

9. I texted her happy birthday!

10. I sent an e-mail saying "Happy Birthday!!!" with each letter in a different pretty color.

11. I sent an e-card that sings, dances, and is interactive.

12. I posted a comment on her family's blog.

I contemplated making it my facebook status, sending her a message on facebook, and hiring a skywriter but it's raining in Seattle today (go figure) so that'd be a wash.

In all honesty, I had done about six of the things when I talked to her on the phone so we joked about how I was winning at telling her happy birthday (I'm competitive). And then we came up with the idea of me coming up with as many ways as possible. I think 12 suffices. She also said I would spend the rest of the day coming up with ideas. Well it's only 5:30, maybe I can get to fifteen....

Actually this entire blog post in itself is a big old happy birthday so it's thirteen! Booya!

"Say what you need to say/ Say what you need to say"

I've been volunteering at an elementary school in downtown Atlanta once a week and reading to the kindergartners or first graders. I was signing up for dates yesterday and I hate going on Mondays so I opted for December 4th. Then I signed up for the 8th, and finally the 15th. 4, 8, 15. If you're a LOST fan like myself, you probably know what I'm trying to say. 16, 23, 42. I hope this doesn't mean I'm going to have bad luck like Hurley.

Also, if you're an Obama fan, you might want to stop reading right now:

I was playing "Loaded Questions" with my family last night and my sister AE asked the question "If you could control someone else's mind, who would it be?" And my mom, sister MR, brother-in-law BR, and myself ALL put Obama. So AE got a freebie since she didn't have to match who said what. But it was pretty hilarious. And what are the chances? Especially since my mom said she almost put me and my sister MR jokingly said she almost put her husband.

P.S. No Survivor Recap this week since it was a recap show. Sure they showed some new stuff but nothing groundbreaking. And 2) I'm not gonna do the Amazing Race anymore. I tried, it's just too long of a show for me to do a short recap. But I am cheering for the Globetrotters!

"1, 2, 3, 4/ Tell me that you love me more"

A quick family story:

I went out to dinner with my mom, sister AE, sister MR and her three daughters SD, MG, and AJ. My sister AE was saying how much she tips her hairdresser and long story short, she was saying she tips 10% and I thought that basically meant she paid $200 to get her hair done. My sister then quickly informed me how I was off by a good amount. I said, "I've never been good at math."

And then my seven year old niece SD turned to me and said "Doesn't Georgia college provide math?" clearly implying that if I have a degree from UGA I should understand basic math.

Now I really translate my love for UGA to my nieces and try to convince them that their dad's alma mater GA Tech is stinky and UGA is superior. Well, since SD enjoys math and science and I apparently can't do that, I may have given UGA big strike in her book for her future college choice. Whoops! Hey, I'm an english person and I'll always admit it!

"Mmm whatcha say"

A little family story:

Two of my nieces, SD and MG, come to my mom's house every Wednesday after school for "Gran's Day". And they usually stay until 5 or 5:30 when their mom comes to pick them up. Today I asked my mom what time my sister MR was coming over and she said that she was just going to drive the girls home instead. I was sad cause that meant I wouldn't get to see niece #3 AJ. I said this to my mom and she said that I could go with her to drop the girls off and then that way see AJ. In my head, I thought eh I don't want to have to go and do all that but I do want to see AJ so I reasoned I would go. I said nothing-- I didn't commit, I didn't reject. I said nothing.

Later when my mom was getting ready to go, she told me how to finish making dinner while she was gone. I objected since I thought I was going all along and my mom said that I had whined or something implying I didn't want to go. This went back and forth for a few minutes until my six year old niece MG popped her head into the kitchen and said "Aunt Annie's right! She didn't say anything. I heard her!" That's right Gran you just got pwned by a six year old. Conclusion: I didn't get to go since dinner was cooking and so I did not see AJ. :( But I'll remember this come MG's next birthday and maybe get her a little extra something.

"They know just where I stand/ It's all a part of me/ That's who I am"

Isn't it funny how it can take you a long time to figure out something that defines you and it's always been right in front of you? I experienced this freshman year in my english class.

Our first assignment was to write a personal narrative about an experience that truly defined us. My teacher said she didn't want it to be something cheesy or cliched like getting your license or graduating but rather something that really affected us in our past. So I went back to my dorm room and pounded out a three page paper (oh how lengthy those seemed then. Now I think that would be a piece of cake) on when my dad passed away when I was thirteen. And surprisingly that's not what I discovered as truly defining me (even though it obviously did but that's not the point of this post). Anyway, so I wrote this paper and brought it to the next class meeting where we had a peer review session. So I'm reading some random girl's paper making some comments and then switching papers every few minutes with the people sitting around me. Keep in mind this is the first week or two of college so we had no idea who anyone else was. So at the end of the fifty minutes, we are all scrambling around trying to find our papers so we're not late for our next class.

"Annie?" this nerdy, talkative, CNN-obsessed, preppy kid called out, holding up my paper.

Great, I thought to myself. Of course that kid is going to be the one to get my paper. He probably ripped it apart. I shuffled over him to grab it and get out before he launched into explanation correcting me about how I used who when I should have used whom.

"This is one of the best papers I have ever read," he told me.

I actually laughed in the kid's face as I said "You're kidding right? I know it's crap."

"No, I'm serious. This may be the best paper I've ever read and I'm so honored I got to read it," he told me as he touched my arm.

I mumbled out a thanks and ran out of the room was completely dumbfounded (okay, and maybe I called my mom freaking out. It was my first paper in college! Give me a break! I was still baffled).

ETA: CNN-obsessed kid is one of the nicest guys ever and if he runs for president, I will vote for him. Fellow UGAers, yes you are thinking of the right person.

Even today, reading through that paper I think I sound like a complete 8th grader but his reaction had an impression on me (plus I think that contributed to my writing style. I prefer the simple and straightforward. No one is studying for the SAT while reading my book so no need for overly grandiose vocabulary and perplexing syntax). My teacher, a grad student, also had good things to say about it and suggested I include it in the portfolio we had to submit at the end of the semester including two revised works and a biography. She wanted us to have a theme that tied everything together so I stumbled across mine when I met with her for the required one-on-one conference. She said she could tell how much my family meant to me so I should incorporate that into the rest of my portfolio. And boy did I ever. My picture (required in the bio) was one of all of us (12 at that point in time) on the beach trip from that year. And I wrote about myself through the lens of my family in the biography and I learned, wow, my family really defines me and I didn't even realize it. It's like it was just such an obvious and given thing that I never actually noticed it. But I ran with that theme in a couple more personal narratives and required journal entries I had to write in college. So it shouldn't be a surprise that....

My family is going to be a part of my book! Because like I've said a million times, I've really come to define myself through them, ALL of them, so I have to include them, right? I've always identified with the girl I am writing as my main character and so I am sort of modeling her after myself. Now that in no way means this is an autobiography. I've accomplished nothing. Who wants to hear about my life (...then why are you writing this blog? Good question, reader! I'll get back to you on that. Maybe...)? So I always think well, I can do the opposite of what I know or I can write what I know. And I think the paper on my dad showed that I should write what I know, to a certain extent at least. So let's run with that.

Initially I thought, eh I don't want to have to keep track of 4 siblings plus spouses plus children. So I thought about changing it to one brother and one sister. But then that's only three kids and that's not really "a big family" (though today, that is starting to be considered a big family. I don't agree. Big is five or more) so then I thought about upping it to a brother and two sisters and combining my actual three sisters into two girls but then I knew my sister AE would automatically assume I lopped her off. So then it was back to square one with three sisters and a brother. Oh and then you add in spouses: Two brothers-in-law. And a sister-in-law. Oh but we can't forget about the nieces. Maybe I could downsize the seven of them into like... three or four girls. Which may or may not be my current plan now. I did tell my family members about my plan on the beach trip but don't want to give away everything involving them so my lips are sealed about that from here on out. But hey, you got a little bit of info about the book. A girl is the main character and she has... many family members. All I know is that I hope no one announces a pregnancy anytime soon cause I don't know if I can cram anymore characters into this thing (That's a lie! The little ones are already almost a year old. We need more babies!)!

And for some reason my family thinks in spite of the fact I've chosen to include each and every one of them in my book, that I hate them and I am looking for ways to get rid of them (even though that would cut down on the dialogue and detailing I have to pass around among ten adult characters). My brother JP and sister AE asked if their characters are mean and nasty. My brother asked me if I was going to have his character have an affair or something (My response: Nope. Not with a woman anyway). I went with my mom to visit previously mentioned brother and his family last weekend in Alabama. He flicked my ear for saying something rude or something, I don't recall those details, but after he did it, he said he was worried to say/do too much to me because he is scared of what I am going to do to his character in the book. But I don't know why they are all concerned about something bad happening to their character. I mean this is a post about how much I love my family so their fears should be put to rest now. :)

And I leave you with this snipet of a gChat conversation with my sister LA when I was explaining my "name dropping" technique:

LA: It's quite a complicated system you have there

Me: Not really, it's pretty simple. And it's a guaranteed crowd. Mwhahaha.

Me: Don't make me kill off Ren

LA: I'm just glad the power hasn't gone to your head

Me: ...... not yet.

Oh and just a fun little easter egg for those who really care (Hi, mom and LA!) I actually used the title of my book somewhere in this post. Happy hunting! Feel free to post your guess in the comments section. No promises about confirmation but if someone actually guessed, I might actually have to fess up. Key word: might.

P.S. I know I've written several times how I am worried about using the word "just" too much but I would like to point out at least three of my posts' titles have used the word "just" from various songs. It's more common of a word than you think, that's all I'm saying!

'And I could a book/ The one they'll say that shook/ The world... and I could write it down or spread it all around"

27,251.

Does that number mean anything to you? It wouldn't to me either under normal circumstances. But as of right now, that's how many words there are in my book. Ha, my book. I feel lame saying that. And let me repeat: I fully expect nothing to come of this. But at the same time, absolutely nothing will ever happen if I don't ever try. And for some reason, some people believe in me (mom, sis, Miss K) so that makes me at least believe a little bit in myself so why not try?

So that being said, I have written 92 (double spaced) pages in Microsoft word. It's funny because I mainly work on it at Starbucks or Panera (I get too distract if I work on it in my house) and I'm drinking coffee and I'm there for a couple of hours so inevitably, I have to go to the restroom at some point. I usually ask a respectable looking person (usually one who is typing away on their own computer) to watch mine while I'm gone (for all of two minutes). But as the document gets longer and longer, I really contemplate taking my flash drive with me in the event that someone does steal it or if it gets knocked off the table by some hyperactive child. And fears about my laptop completely crashing have become more frequent. It is pretty old. Please hold on, Mac. I did just buy you a new battery and hard drive last summer. You can do it!

(Sidenote: I shouldn't write this cause my mom will kill me, but really, it's four years later, it never happened so it's okay. Much like writing this book, I wrote papers or studied at Starbucks/ JJs/ the SLC when I was still at UGA. I would be there for hours so yes, I would have to go to the restroom. Sometimes I would ask someone to watch my computer, sometimes I didn't. But I would always take my iPhone with me to the bathroom. I'd leave my computer (cause it would look silly dragging it along) and my iPod but never my cell phone. And then I noticed everyone does this. Even people who had non-smart phones (not to sound like a snob, just saying, they are not as expensive) will take theirs with them. That just shows how much we have come to depend on cell phones. Your laptop is a couple hundred bucks, nearing the thousand dollar mark, and has all of your music, photos, and documents on it and you take your phone. Just sort of funny. Sidenote to the sidenote: Do you ever worry that the very person you ask to watch your computer will be the very one to steal it? It really is the perfect crime. You sit in Starbucks or Panera and look like a nice, friendly, respectable human being, and wait for someone to ask you and once they are out of sight, you swipe it and sell it on eBay. Not saying I will ever resort to this or anything. Just makes me rush in the bathroom that much faster.)

Wow, I diverted so much that I just had to make that sidenote its own paragraph. Sorry! See I ramble. This is one of my main concerns when it comes to writing. I am trying not to ramble which almost makes me skip over and skim stuff even more. This just might get interesting is all I'm saying.

Oh yeah, I still won't tell anyone the plot of the book. I almost broke down and told my sister LA on the beach trip but alas she never asked so I never confessed (Way not to be pushy LA, especially if you purposely were trying not to be. But maybe you were just distracted by the fun and the sun. So close, yet so far). It's funny cause I really could care less about what people I don't know think about my idea. But my family, my friends, knowing, that kinda scares me. This book is my little creation, what if the people I love absolutely hate it? I know I am going to have to get over that but no one can read it until it's done.

That is what everyone asks (all ten people that know about it). "Can I read it?" My answer: "Well, um, uhhh, maybe. When it's done. Maybe. Don't hold me to it though!" I'll tell you this much: I essentially think of the book as being two acts. The second act is the part that I came up with six years ago. And while I am itching to start writing that part, I cannot write out of order. I can move stuff around somewhat once I write it (meaning switch a paragraph up or down a few spots so it makes more sense), but I have to go in order for the most part. So right now, I'm writing act one which is, in my opinion, the foundation and background for act two. I sort of feel like I am wasting my time since act two is completely etched in my brain but at the same time, since I have known the second act for so long, I am unintentionally and subconsciously dropping hints in the first act. So that's sort of awesome. Good job brain, didn't know you could do that. Granted they could be hints that only I get but maybe other people will too. Let's hope. But I'm about 3/4 of the way done with the first act. I think the second act will go faster but I am so particular about it, it might take even longer. So, who knows?

The fun part about writing: It's my book so I can do whatever I want. That being said, I've almost started to bribe people about it (I figure it's the best way to get future readers/buyers if it is ever published). My family knows about it but very few of my friends do, minus those who read this blog which I am willing to bet is all of two of them (Hi, friends!). And since I am still unemployed, everyone keeps asking me how the job hunt is going. I kind of mumble an answer about how I'm still looking and the economy is terrible. But I have discovered that guys will really press the issue and want an explanation as to what exactly I have planned for my life (... like I even know). So after a lot of vague answers and persistent questioning, I have confessed to three guy friends that I am in fact working on a book. The reaction has been pretty consistent: Surprised with some variation of, "Wow. I didn't know you had that in you. But that's pretty cool. Can I read it?" One boy is one of my best friends so I had thought all along that there would be some sort of character based on him. There is. I told him. He was psyched and had a great reaction. Awesome. Boost of confidence? You bet!

So I've learned this is a good tactic. The other two boys, both messaged me within a few days of mentioning it, one (jokingly) offering to edit and the other asking if he could read it before it was released to the general public. As a result, I've decided when you show support, you get name dropped. Well one of two things: I'll use your name somewhere in the book. It might just be a "oh so and so's friend, [fill in the blank] was at the party too" or you might get a random line or two of dialog (this is the case with friend VM. For now. He might get tossed a few more lines cause he's been way supportive). Boy who asked to read it, TW, got a character named after him and is going to have a way bigger story line than I initially thought. See, when you show support, big things can happen! Or option two: You get a character that is highly based on you. Formerly mentioned best guy friend, RY, has a character based on him but with a different name. Oh and if you're super supportive you can name the character based on you. This honor has only been bestowed upon my mother (since she is financially supporting me at this point in time) and my sister LA (she also encouraged this blog. So if you don't like it, you can take it up with her). So maybe this can be a little incentive not to laugh in my face when I say I am working on a book.

In relation to naming characters, it can be tough so feel free to donate some names. I have discovered I have some, let's call them issues, with name association:

1) I don't want to play favorites with my friends' names too much. "Oh I named that character after my friend I met junior year. But what about the friend I've known since high school, he/she might get offended". I know that's dumb reasoning but it worries me.

2) I struggle with the names of people, hm, how do I say this, that I don't especially care for. Like I could never name a character [this girl's name] because she dated the guy I liked senior year. Immature, sure. But at the same time, it's just like hearing a particular name and a face immediately coming to mind. I just don't want to glorify or literally put someone's name in black and white that I don't really want to... commemorate? honor? That sort of thing. Or it's like not wanting to name a character Angelina because who popped up in your head? Angelina Jolie. I would never. (Team Aniston!) Besides, I don't want you to picture some "reformed" goth girl, with an army of kids trailing behind her in third world countries. There are even "bad" characters in the book but that doesn't automatically mean that they get the name of the girl/ guy I didn't like in high school/college. Like they'd even read the book, but I'm not giving them any smug satisfaction. I've really over analyzed this but names can really make or break a character. So now do you understand my somewhat scattered logic?

3) I no longer have names for my future children, that is if I ever have any. I have used up the entire name bank at this point. And if this book ever gets published and if I ever have children, and said child one day asks me how I picked his/her name, I'll have to mumble some nonsense involving "Well honey, it's the name of the character in Mommy's book". It'd kind of be like how Gwyneth Paltrow named her son Moses after the song that Chris Martin wrote about her. A little self indulgent maybe?

So please, offer up some names you like. I don't think I'll be adding too many more, but a stockpile never hurts!

So yep, book writing is still going on. I finished chapter nine on Friday. It gave me some problems but ending up being the longest one yet. I say it "gave me some problems" but granted I did start actually looking for a job so that's cutting in on my writing time. I just feel like it took me a week or so instead of a day or two cause I wasn't writing consistently.

That being said, I might try to increase the amount that I write on here. If nothing else, my mom and sisters will be more so informed about the book cause I sorta clam up about the details when verbally asked. So... win for them? And you? Maybe?

P.S. In relation to the post's title: I totally do not think that is going to happen. I am not writing anything revolutionary here. As my brother JP so aptly put it, it's a "summertime read for the beach-going crowd". It also adds to the irony that only guy friends really know about it so far because it's completely not their cup of tea. Hence my scheme of naming characters after them. :)

"With your ear to a seashell/ You can hear the waves in underwater caves/ As if you actually were inside a saltwater room"

In t-minus two hours the whole family (all sixteen of us- including seven girls under the age of seven) are departing for our annual family vacation in Destin, Florida. So in honor of family, I want to jot down a quote from my oldest niece, SD, the seven year old from earlier this week:

Background information: The room that the girls play in is upstairs in my mom's house. The adults spend the majority of their time downstairs. The girls always need stuff and going up and down the stairs got really old, really fast. It started off basically as a joke but then the nieces became obsessed with it, so tied to a banister post on the second floor balcony overlooking the downstairs living room is a bucket that the girls hoist up and down to get whatever the adult places in the bucket? Lazy? Sure. But the nieces are obsessed. Like they will run upstairs to get something only to bring it back downstairs but they will still lower it down in the bucket.

Unfortunately, the bucket's path is over half of one of the couches in the living room if you don't control the bucket and purposely swing it over to the side (oh yes, there is an art to the bucket). One time my niece ME threw the bucket over and it hit me on the head while I was sitting blissfully unaware on the couch. It hurt to say the least. So that bring us to the story.

Niece SD wanted a flashlight to look at books before she went to bed last Saturday night when she was staying over. I was sitting on the couch and asked her to be careful when she lowered the bucket because ME hit me in the head on accident one time and it really hurt. And little precious SD (she is only seven mind you) said, "Aunt Annie! I would never do that. I love you too much to hurt you." Let's all say it together: Awwwwwwww. Warmed my little cold heart.

Here to wishing for good weather, sunny skies, buckets used for their actual purpose of transporting water and building sandcastles and lots of fun on the beach trip!!!!

"And these days/ I wish I was six again/ Make me a red cape/ I wanna be superman"

Two funny niece quotes from this week:

My sister-in-law's Facebook status about her 5 year old daughter, M.E.:

"We were talking about her day at school and M.E. asked me if there were witches in our part of the country. What? Why do you ask that? She said, "Well, you know that part in the Pledge of Allegiance where it says "...to the Republic where witches stand..." Hilarious.

Yesterday, I went to lunch with my mom, sister MR, and niece MG. Niece MG is always excited about what is going to happen next: "Can we watch a video when we get home?" "What are we doing on Saturday?" etc. So towards the end of lunch, she asked her mom/my sister if she could watch a video when they got home. My sister, being a fun and involved mother, replied, "How about a Special Moment with Mom?" causing my niece to become very excited as she exclaimed she wanted to play with play-dough upon their arrival home. I said, "Aw. It will be a special MOMent" because I'm a dork and enjoy a play on words (which some claim is the lowest form of humor. This maybe be confirmed in the following sentence). My five year old niece then cracked up saying "Hey! You took moment and put 'mom' in it because it's the same". Oh boy. While my niece is extremely smart for figuring this out since she is only in kindergarten, I'm not sure how I should feel since she is five and I am twenty-two and we came to the same conclusion. I'm chalking it up to she's brilliant and going to be quick with the wit when she's older. Like maybe next year when she's six.

You were a child/ Crawling on your knees towards it/ Making mama (not) so proud/ But your voice is too loud

So my adorable niece, SD had her birthday party last week. Simple concept: Party at the pool in my mom's neighborhood and then back to the house for cake and games. Oh how I wish things would have been that simple.

The guest list was small considering eight kids from SD's class were coming so including the birthday girl and her little sister MG, there would only be ten kids. Yeah but hop those kids up on cookie cake and it seems like there are a lot more running around and screaming their heads off. (The cookie cake was the true highlight of the party for me and the other adults. Sidenote: This is the second year in a row I have picked up the cake for my sister. Both years as I am waiting in line, I seriously have to fight the urge to buy a "Double Doozie". They look amazing. One day, one day. You know, when I have 13,000 calories to spare.) But seriously, is this what I was like in the first grade? Did I repeat the same joke as the funny kid twenty-five times along with everyone else (Example: My brother-in-law, BR, arrived at the pool after the kids had. SD and MG, excited to see their father, ran up to hug him saying "Hi Daddy!" and then the one class clown.. oh yes they have already fallen into these stereotypes in the 1st grade... ran up and did it too. This caused the seven other kids to start yelling, and I mean yelling "hi daddy" to each other for five minutes and hysterically laughing. Do I get why it's funny? No. Is it cause I'm not six years old? Probably)? Did I make gross noises along with the rest of the class? Did I smear icing on the other kids' faces in front of 10 adults? I just don't think I did. I was a well-behaved kid in the realm of school and parties and stuff like that. But who knows? Maybe mob mentality kicks in and you just start going crazy. But if I did act like this back in the day, I sincerely apologize to Mrs. Moore and all of my other elementary school teachers.

And it's not like I don't like little kids. I always have. I use to beg my sister to let me go with her on baby-sitting jobs when I was younger. I worked at a camp for three summers with kids ranging in age from 6 weeks to 10 years old. I have nieces. I like little kids. Well maybe I should rephrase that to "I like well-behaved little kids". My nieces are well-behaved. They don't cause scenes in public places. But these kids-- goodness. I understand it's summer, a birthday party, and they are 6/7 years old. But come on! The pool part wasn't too terrible. Minus the fear of a child drowning on your watch (I did find it funny that the rest of the adult family members supervising were extremely focused on which of the fifteen or so kids at the pool were in our group. Cause if you see a kid drowning but he isn't a part of the birthday party, you aren't going to jump in and save him? We shouldn't discriminate). They played some games like seeing who could jump the farthest and took turns pushing BR into the pool. Good times all around. Little did I know, this was the calm before the storm...

Then we walk the short distance back to my mom's house for lunch and cake and a game or two. My mom has a pretty well-stocked playroom upstairs for my nieces and the girls were told to go and change in there while the adults set up lunch (pizza and fruit salad) for the kids. So a couple of minutes later I noticed some of the little girls were missing from the table when lunch was being served. So I go upstairs and find the Mean Girls trio in-training playing with "The Littlest Pet Shop" and Disney Princess toys (Sidenote: I don't get the deal with Littlest Pet Shop. My nieces are obsessed. Maybe I would have been too at their age. But I don't get it. They are so freaking tiny! What's the point when you lose the things half the time?). I put on my excited aunt/camp counselor voice and told them that it was lunch time and they needed to come downstairs. So the girls started whining and complaining about how they wanted to stay and play. I then told them (nicely) it was time to eat and they could play afterwards. The girls tried to bring the toys downstairs and I told them to leave them upstairs because there was no point in making a big mess upstairs and downstairs. Then one little girl turned to me and gave me a look as she snidely explained, "That's the whole point of birthday parties. To make big messes". There may have even been a "duh" attached. But most certainly there was an exasperated sigh as she had to explain this to an obviously incompetent twenty-two year old. Well, excuse me for not knowing that was the whole point of birthday parties these days. I thought it was to see friends, eat cake, and play some games. But apparently, according to Little Miss Priss, times have changed since I was a kid. It took some (read: a lot of) effort to not quip "Well then I am sure you won't mind coming back upstairs with me later and helping me pick up all of the impossibly small toys you have strewn about the room in the five minutes you've been in here" and simply said they could come back and play after lunch. That didn't stop them from hiding a few choice princess dolls in the dress-up box to ensure that no one else would get a shot at playing with them. Oh and when it was decided by other adults that it would be best for the kids to play outside rather than upstairs (because the room would have been demolished in 38 seconds flat) Little Miss Priss was annoyed that I did not fulfill my promise of returning to the playroom. And she let me know it by trying to call me out like I could get in trouble or something. Kids today, sheesh.

So lunch and cake finally started. Honestly, I have no words. It was so loud and so chaotic, I had to walk away after a few minutes. The noises and the yelling: the completely typical behavior of 6/7 year olds I'm sure. I feel sorry for the teacher (saint?) that had to put up with this for an entire school year. That's another thing! These kids all go to a relatively small private Christian school in the atlanta area. Two of them were the Pastor's kids! And this is the behavior they exhibit? It was unbelievable. Oh and one boy had a punctured eardrum so he had to have wax in his ear in the pool. That's cool. What's not cool is the fact that he changed in our downstairs bathroom and then... oh I cringe as I write this... apparently pulled the wax thing out, rolled it up in a ball, and threw it on the floor near the mat in the living room where my three-month old niece was happily playing. I walked over thinking it was a ball, stooped to pick it up, realized what it was, and recoiled in fear as well as disgust. And while my siblings made fun of me for freaking out, none of them were willing to pick it up either. We had to call my mom in to handle it since she wouldn't be fazed and is a professional in all things gross after having five kids and seven granddaughters.

Then they played a version of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey where I did feel bad for the second kid that went because he got it close to the right spot and then all the other kids used his as a guide to get even closer the correct spot. But there were no prizes so no tears were shed. And then the best part of the whole ordeal-- the parents came! But man, some of those kids are sassy to their parents, so of course why would they be any better in the presence of absolute strangers? That's another thing: When I was little I can remember being in absolute awe of people older than me. I idolized the 6th grade safety patrols when I was a mere first grader. Anytime we had a special helper who seemed to be a high schooler or, gasp, a college student, I would try to be on my best impressive behavior around them. These kids couldn't have cared less. They also thought my 30 year-old sister was my mom so they might be bad at guessing ages. Not saying they should worship me or my siblings but maybe try to, you know, not act like a little hoodlum.

Now I know I shouldn't judge so much because I don't have kids of my own but I do have brothers and sisters that are raising well-behaved kids so I can use them for comparison. But attending a variety of parties for my nieces over the years, has made me realize that my child will be having one kid over for their birthday parties. I will also ask who is the quietest and shyest kid in their class and he/she will most certainly be the sole guest. And best case scenario (for me), the kid will be mute.

Disclaimer: The party was an overall success. The birthday girl had a wonderful time, the cake was delicious, the decorations were topnotch, and my sister MR sure does know how to throw an eventful and memorable party.

"Getting to know you, getting to know and to love you"

Remember those "25 Random Things About You" lists/notes that were popping up like crazy on your Facebook newsfeed a few months ago? Well I never did one then. But something similar seems to be appropriate for a first blog post. So I present to you: Fifteen Random Things About Me.

1. Like the header says, my name is Annie and I just graduated from the University of Georgia on May 9th which coincided with my 22nd birthday. Quarter-life crisis? Almost. However, was UGA one of the best experiences of my life (with some of the worst moments thrown in)? Absolutely.

2. I come from a big family (what can I say? We're Italian). I am the youngest of five and have three in-laws thus far. We are growing quite rapidly and that brings me to my next point....

3. I have seven nieces under the age of seven. SEVEN. They are beautiful, precious, amazing girls and I love each one of them an extraordinary amount. They are also hilarious so don't be surprised if stories about them pop up on here.

4. Since I was an english major at UGA, it shouldn't be a surprise that I love to read. One of my favorites is "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin. I think I have read it four times in approximately a two year time span. My mom recently moved to a new neighborhood and we heard that one of our neighbors had written a book that was being made into a movie for the Hallmark channel. My sisters and I freaked thinking that it could be Emily Giffin since she lives in the Atlanta area but we have since been disappointed. Somehow we found out that wasn't the woman's name.... unless Emily Giffin is her pen name. Here's to hoping!

5. I am a little bit of a celebrity gossip guru and I don't know why. But when my friends have questions about the cast members of "The Hills" or my mom wants to know the latest scandal with "Jon and Kate", I am the one they ask. And I usually can deliver a recent update from a supposed credible "inside source" (aka whoever emailed it to US Weekly or Perez).

6. I am obsessed with the show LOST. I got into the game late (during the hiatus between the 3rd and 4th seasons) but I have more than made up for it. Between watching all three seasons during my three-week Christmas break junior year and scouring the internet after episodes simply to be amazed at what people pick up on that I completely missed, I can say that I absolutely adore this show. If you're a fan of LOST, you're a friend of mine and I won't mind speculating and discussing with you like I already do with numerous friends and family members.

7. I like making lists (obviously) and ranking things. I annoyed my roommate more than once by asking her to rank her top moments of college throughout our four years together.

8. I only cheer for UGA when it comes to college sports. Sometimes I'll root for the underdog, the team that will help our BCS ranking, or if I am watching a game, bored, and have to pick a team to root for in order to stay interested. I've cheered for UGA since the 4th grade and that's not changing anytime soon. That being said, meeting David Pollack the weekend of the UGA/Auburn game in 2007 was one of the highlights of my life.

9. Do you ever find you look at a certain time on a clock a lot? For me it is 12:34 (am and pm). I especially noticed it this past semester. Maybe that was the point in my entomology class that I'd get a little fidgety and check the time but I swear it was ALWAYS 12:34. And I've noticed it on the weekends and at night too. Just strange.

10. I am addicted to Reese's peanut butter cups. I am certain there is nothing better on this earth. My mom said she ate them a lot when she was pregnant with me so I am blaming it on genetics.

11. I think I could be very good friends with Taylor Swift. And John Mayer. I think we have a lot in common. If the two ever collaborate on a song: a) it might be the best (and most depressing) song ever. b) I might explode from excitement. So maybe... this shouldn't happen in order to prevent that from occuring.

12. Editing has always been a problem for me because I sort of, well, love it. I would spend almost as much time editing a five page english paper in college as I would actually writing it. But a disclaimer: that might not apply to this blog. I'm not getting a grade on this, the HOPE scholarship isn't dependent on it, and I think a lot faster than I type. So while I am a bit of perfectionist and it will probably bother me if I discover an error after I've posted something (for example, I've already edited this post about three times), I just ask that you don't jump on me if there are grammatical errors or comma splices.

13. I already said I was an english major but I was definitely the atypical english major. William Shakespeare doesn't send me into a tizzy, I don't get Faulkner at all, and I haven't read every single Jane Austen novel (but Sense and Sensibility is one of my favorites. Oh Edward...). I love to read but definitely more contemporary stuff and english was always my strong suit in school. So a love of reading and the ability to write a decent five page paper resulted in my Bachelor of the Arts in English from UGA. Thanks Franklin College, preciate it.

14. I am a little obsessed with being organized. It's not so much that everything has to be clean (though it doesn't hurt) but everything has a place and it should stay there. Once I got my own room in the 3rd grade when my messy sister moved out, everything in my room found a place and stayed there. I always straighten up before I go to bed. But this rule mainly applies to my room and living space since I'm sure my family would argue they cleaned up quite a few of my messes back in the day (like maybe last week).

15. iTunes and Target greatly profit from me. I should really be a shareholder and get some of that money back.

Well, there you have it. That list should give you an idea of what to come on this blog. Some family stories, a list here and there, reasons why UGA and Athens are amazing, and probably some LOST and other pop culture speculations and observations.