Who Am I?

Who Am I? My favorite T-shirt from college has this phrase written across the front. The back declares "Generation X, Freed Hardeman U, I am many attitudes, many styles, many beliefs."

The shirt is from the Student Alumni Association retreat my sophomore year and I've always loved it for many reasons. And even now, 12 years later, I still wear it and it's still relevant for me.

Not only is it a great conversation piece--I've traveled all over the world in this shirt and in every country, every language, people will read the front of my shirt, laugh, and say "Who are you?"

And many days I ask myself that same question. Who am I?

The reason it stays relevant is because who we are is always changing. Years ago, people graduated from college and said "I am an accountant" (or teacher, or whatever) and they were, forever until they retired. But today, people change careers at the drop of the hat. They try something for awhile, then try something else.

In fact, I sort of wish my shirt said "Who am I TODAY?" And I know this might make me seem a little odd, but really, I think we all wear a lot of hats. I know I do. Some days I'm a writer, some days I'm a consultant. Some days I'm a gardener and others I'm a couch potato. I try and be a good daughter and a good friend every day, but sometimes I know I fail.

But you know, I think as long as every day I am a Christian, everything else will just fall into place. In fact, sometimes we try and let too many other things define us. If God is the constant in our lives, all the other stuff can change and grow, and it will all turn out fine. When I wonder "Who Am I?" as long as the first answer is "I am a Christian" then even if I don't know what my career will be in 5 years, or where I'm going to move next, everything is still okay.

And just for fun, here's a picture I dug out of me in Turkey, circa 1997, wearing the T-shirt.

And the song of the day--Who I Am, by Jessica Andrews. No random stories about this one, just thought it fit.

Happy Friday!

Finally!

I've been so caught up with work stuff I haven't given a thought to my blog lately.

The project I'm working on is a summer program (Summer Scrubs) for high school students who are interested in health care careers. When I first started coordinating it 3 years ago, I accepted 100 high school students into the program, and had 6 health care facilities participate. This year, I have 190 students and 13 health care facilities! It's grown by leaps and bounds, and some of the students who have participated in the past are now enrolled in health care programs in college. One hospital told me recently that they had just made their first hire of someone who went through the program! It is rewarding work, but keeps me buried in paperwork, e-mails, and phone calls. When I agreed to take the project on this year as a consultant, I didn't consider that the past years I've had 2 full time staff members helping me. Now I'm a one woman show. Hence the work that's kept me from blogging. :)

I spent last week in Mobile, Alabama for work. I worked 12-15 hour days all week, but still managed to find time to go out to dinner with friends for yummy seafood at the Gulf. And I got some great news while I was there! I finaled in two categories in the 2008 Genesis Contest! Contemporary Romance and Chick Lit. Winners will be announced in September at the ACFW Conference.

And now, introducing my new blog feature....the Song of the Day! (my life definitely has a soundtrack, so I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite songs)

Nightswimming by REM....is one of my favorites. In fact, for the past 10+ years, I've always said that if I ever get married, my bridesmaids will walk down the aisle to an instrumental version of this song. Fun fact...I went to see REM in Bologna, Italy. Amazing concert. What I remember from that night--we went to eat at McDonalds beforehand. That was a real treat because for the most part we tried to stay away from "American" stuff while in Europe. After the show, we got back to the train station only to find that there wasn't a train going anywhere we needed to go until the next day. And because of the concert, there wasn't any room at any of the hostels. So we slept at the train station. It was cold and I found a cardboard box to lay on. (ahh, the glamour of backpacking...)

And The Oscar Goes To...

Yes, it's time for the Academy Awards! I'm one of those award show junkies, so with the whole writer's strike, I was afraid the Oscars would go the way of the Golden Globe and be a press conference.

A girl needs a red carpet every now and then!

And speaking of red carpets, let me just say that I LOVE to see the dresses, shoes, and jewelry. So much that I'll actually endure the horrible interviews by the E network or TV Guide Network just so I can get a better view of the fashion. At least they've gotten rid of Joan Rivers. (I'm hoping Joey Fatone and Lisa Rinna won't be as annoying, but I won't hold my breath!)

But what I don't understand is those stars who wear completely unflattering gowns. Many, many come to mind from years past. Remember when Gwyneth Paltrow chose a goth inspired look? Or when Uma Thurman wore some kind of crazy Swiss Miss outfit? And don't even get me started on Cher.

I guess I find it hard to believe that they really thought those outfits looked okay. So I'm interested in seeing who made bad choices tonight, and who actually had a little sense. (or at least a good stylist)

As for the awards themselves...there really isn't one I'm too excited about. I'm much more interested in the red carpet this year, although I would love to see Ruby Dee and Hal Holbrook win their categories. Hal Holbrook especially--I remember him as Reese Watson from Designing Women (my all time favorite show, which incidentally is now on TV Land!). And of course, I love Johnny Depp, so I guess I'm pulling for him too.

Speaking of awards and contests, the ACFW Genesis Contest entries are due next week. And I'm still on the fence about entering. I have 2 WIPs that are basically ready for entry, I just have to decide to do it. We'll see. I was a finalist last year. Really just getting the feedback from the judges makes it worth it. So I'm probably going to make my submission in at least one category soon.

Thoughts on a Random Wednesday

Where to start?

First off, this year, my birthday, Super Tuesday, and Mardi Gras all landed on the same day. Then came the devastating storms, and it became a birthday to remember.

Thankfully, we were spared. Our tornado siren went off at least 3 times, but none touched down. My prayers go out to those who weren't so fortunate.

My thoughts on Super Tuesday? Well, I'm a political kind of girl, so I had a lot of opinions, of which I will spare you. It was an exciting night though. And I'm proud of Mike Huckabee.

Mardi Gras...well, since I'm no longer in Mobile, Alabama (which has the oldest Mardi Gras in the United States...even older than the one that happens in New Orleans), there wasn't much hoopla. In Mobile, the parade route went right by my office building. So nearly everyday for 3 weeks, we had an excuse to scoot out early. We were actually off work more days for Mardi Gras than we were for Christmas. Does anyone else find that as odd as I always did?

My birthday...was okay. My family had a little surprise party for me last Saturday, which was nice. No candles though! :) I did get myself an early birthday present. A Nissan XTerra! Yay! I've been driving a Honda Accord Wagon for the past few years. And they stopped making those in 1997 if that tells you anything. Let's just say that a single girl driving a wagon, has to really fight to remain cool. But no more! My XTerra is perfect. It sits up high and there's plenty of room in the back for my dogs or my shopping bags, depending on what kind of trip I'm on.

And in other news...I send off a proposal on Monday for a series I'd discussed with an editor at ACFW conference. It was a s-c-a-r-y one to send, because it's the story I feel like I was born to write. Hopefully the editor will agree!

2008 Presidential Quiz

Not really any big surprises here, but I took a Presidential Candidate Quiz to see which one has views most like mine:

70% Mike Huckabee
69% John McCain
62% Mitt Romney
62% Tom Tancredo
59% Fred Thompson
51% Rudy Giuliani
50% John Edwards
49% Hillary Clinton
46% Barack Obama
46% Chris Dodd
44% Joe Biden
43% Mike Gravel
42% Ron Paul
41% Bill Richardson
35% Dennis Kucinich

Here's the link in case anyone wants to take it for themselves:
2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

New Year, New List of Things To Do...

Well, Happy New Year!

I'm certainly hoping that whole myth about whatever you are doing at the stroke of midnight being an indicator for the rest of the year isn't true, because I was asleep when the clocks chimes/bells tolled, or whatever.

On second thought, considering that I probably still have a lack of sleep to make up for from college (and that summer I spent in Italy) maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing so spend a bit of time in 2008 in slumber.

But seriously, I love the idea of a new year. A clean slate. And my favorite thing, a blank day planner. I'm one of those people who refuses to give in to the more technological planner/calendar systems like Blackberrys or whatever. I prefer my old standby--a Franklin Covey planner.

I've been a planner girl for years. I love to make my daily to do list (and yes, I sometimes even do this on weekends and vacations, and I make no excuses for this habit because without it, I doubt I'd ever get anything done). I love to write down birthdays, anniversaries, meetings, and such in my planner.

And I hate to reveal this particular idiosyncrasy, but I also like to write down what outfit I wear each day. I've done this since high school. That's right. I could go back in my planners (which I keep) and tell you what I was wearing on this day in 1994. I don't do this so much now that I work from home. And I know it's strange, but it helps me to make sure I'm not just wearing the same thing over and over! :)

Anyway, I have high hopes for the year that is 2008. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Well, it's about that time! I LOVE Christmas. In fact, I even have a special Christmas section in my planner that starts in August and helps me make sure I do all the "Christmasy" things I want to do. Yep. I'm one of those kind of people. I like to do crafts (paint ornaments, make wreaths, etc.), bake (I'm having a marathon cookie bake tomorrow), and shop for just the right gift.

But this year, since all my belongings are in storage, I only pulled out my very favorite decorations. And rather than pull out my tall pre-lit tree from the storage building, I opted to put up 3 small pre-lit trees. Small, but still very festive.

I finally got my cards mailed out this week--I did photo cards this year. I couldn't resist. Every card I got from my college friends was a photo card, usually featuring their small children. Since I don't have any children to feature, I figured I'd put me and my dogs. And of course, me being me, I printed a few different cards just for some variety. I won't actually post the cards, but see the pictures below!

Merry Christmas!