25 Things About 25 things

1.I always wanted a big lavish wedding. Flowers (white roses, orange and cherry blossoms) flowing from every single surface and the smell to just envelope you as you walk in. Flowers are the main thing. I don't mind how I look or anything else. I just want the flowers to be PERFECT.

2. I am a complete sugar addict! My favorite are Jellybeans. I could LIVE off of Jellybeans. Not the plain ones that you get at Easter time, I'm talking about the gourmet kind. Strawberry Cheesecake jellybeans are to die for! I think LemonHeads come in a very close second though. I would never have made it through algebra in college without lemonheads.

3. I can't sleep. Ever. It takes me forever to fall asleep because I can't seem to stop thinking about things. When I finally do fall asleep, I wake up at least twice a night. Usually, I average about 3-5 hours of sleep a night. Sometimes it'll take me a day or two to finally wear down enough to fall asleep. The doctors are no help. I am an insomniac. I've grown accustomed to it.

4. I love to sing! I sing in the car, the shower, heck I've been known to burst out singing in the middle of a sentence. My most favorite place to sing is SingSnap.com. It's a wonderful online Karaoke site with the most fantastic people on it. I'm not the best of singers though, but I try and have fun doing it.

5.I'm a pretty laid back person. I used to let things bother me way to much, but I've gotten over it. Making people laugh comes naturally to me. My mom is always telling me " take it on the road Jenna!" which either means she thinks I should be a stand up comic or I should go play in traffic... I'm not sure which.

6. I am the quintessential redhead. When I get mad, I get infuriated. When i get crazy, I get wild. When I get horny, I get..... well, we wont go there. I LOVE being a redhead... most of the time. Which is a good thing, because when I try to color my hair something else, it just comes out a different shade of red. I was once told that everyone should avoid redheads. God made us redheads because red is a sign of danger. I think I have to agree with that lol.

7. My mom is my best friend. She's the one person that will not put up with my crap and will tell me when I'm being stupid. Which I need sometimes. She also happens to be the most caring, loving, patient person I have ever met. She also annoys the piss out of me at times. Some days I don't even want to see her, but after spending 5 minutes with her I don't want her to leave my side.

8. I miss my nana. Some days it hurts so bad that I can't help but cry. She was sooooo funny! Her and my uncle would sit there and fight over the most meaningless things and I couldn't help but laugh. Or she would launch into a story about something that happened with someone 40 years ago and I was supposed to know who she was talking about. And she was the best cook EVER! Even if it was just my family that was over to see her ( 4 of us), she would make enough food to feed a third world country for a year. God, I miss her....

9. My daughter, Erin, is the most beautiful person I know. She is growing up so fast that it makes me dizzy just to think of it. We were talking the other day about how now that she's 9, she's half way to becoming an adult. I was shocked into silence that my little baby girl is halfway through her childhood already. She's so smart too. Top of her class in everything. She's sweet, appreciative of the things in her life, caring towards others and basically the most perfect daughter any mother could ever hope for. Her teachers praise her and cry at the end of the school year to see her moving forward. I'm truly blessed to have her in my life and to have so many others love her and care for her as well.

10. Logan.... oh.my.God... Logan is pure boy. He runs around like a maniac, hates taking baths, loves to play with rocks and bugs, tears the heads off his sisters Barbies, whines when he doesn't get his way, never cleans his room when asked, always wants the same thing for dinner ( spaghetti ), will wait till I'm busy doing something to ask me for a drink... he infuriates me!! But one "Super Logan Hug" is enough to make me forget everything and remind me how much I love that little stinker. His smile is the sweetest smile you will ever see. You can't help but to smile back. He's the most perfect 6 year old little boy I know.

11. I hate going shopping by myself. I don't know why, but I either have to have someone with me or on the phone with someone. If I don't, I just feel.... weird.

12. I'm obsessed with my eyebrows. I dont pluck, comb, tweeze or otherwise mutilate them in anyway, and they still are perfect. I love them lol.

13.I abbr evthing and at timez muh punctuation is crap lol oh and i use lol way too much all n all muh typin leaves somethin to be desired most of the time... but idc :)

14. After 10 years of raising kids and crappy jobs, I've decided to go back to school. I thank my mom for pushing me into going back because I don't think I would have had the strength and the courage to make that decision. After my first semester, I realized something.. I LIKE school! High school was crap... but college is an adventure! I think this is because I waited so long to go. I grew up and realized that an education is so important in todays world. I'm also able to focus more than I did 10 years ago. For the first time in my life, I can actually say, " I'm proud of myself for something I am working hard to accomplish. This achievement is going to be wonderful because I've worked hard and DESERVE it!"

15.I'm horrible at returning phone calls. Or really, answering my phone in general. I have a cell phone that is never outside a 10 foot radius of me, but yet I still never answer it. No offense to those that call me... but I really don't like talking on the phone sometimes!

16.I'm a sarcastic twit. No really. I've been described as someone that can insult a person and make them think I was giving them a complement. It's a natural gift... ok, it comes from watching too much M*A*S*H... but I digress.

17. I adore writing and art. I took every single art class in high school and even a few classes that the teacher made up for me. It's my one true everlasting passion in life. My new found joy though is writing. I accredit this to my Composition teacher last semester. She was so incredibly supportive and taught me not to conform to the standards of writing when I free write. When I learned to just write what I wanted to, I couldn't stop!

18. Speaking of writing, I can't stand when people type "alot" instead of the correct way, "a lot". It's two words people! TWO! A .... LOT!

19.I'm a teen book fanatic. I loved the Twilight series!! I've read it more times than I can count and I've actually had to rebuy the first book cause I'd read it so much that the pages were starting to fall out. I also adore Ann Brashares! I giggled and cried my way through all four of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books and have read The Last Summer (of you and I ) about a dozen times. There's something about the innocence of the stories and the subtle hint of passion without the gory details that I really enjoy.

20. I've never met a fruit I didn't like. Wait... that sounds bad....

21.I am in love with a man that makes me smile everyday. He's perfect, even though he doesn't think so. I fall asleep thinking of him, dream of him at night and wake up thinking of him ever morning. My heart skips a beat every time he says I Love You. Even as I write this now I smile. To me... that's true love.

22.I'm the most impatient person in the world. I HATE to wait for things. Especially when I'm driving! It's the pedal on the right people! Use it!

23. My dad and my brother are something else. My dad works too hard and I feel bad because of it. He's always out to teach us kids a lesson, but I know he has our best interests at heart. I adore watching him play with my kids. When I was growing up, he worked so long and so hard that he never had time to play with us. But now I see him playing with Erin and Logan and am so happy he's in our lives. If I could chose my dad in my next life, I would chose him again. I worry all the time about my brother. Although he brings a lot of it upon himself, life has dealt him a pretty crappy hand. He works so hard and gets so little in return. But he's got 4 beautiful daughters that he loves with all his heart so he's happy. And I'm happy for him. But I still worry.

24.I have a billion and one facial expressions. I have a feeling some people talk to me just to see what my next facial expression will be. Kinda creepy...

25.I have a cat. She's a black and white tuxedo cat. She was the runt of the litter so she's so tiny but somehow when she's sleeping on me at 3am, she weighs a ton. There seems to be a new ongoing debate over who named her. It was either my niece where we got her or my daughter. They both blame each other. Either way, one of them has a very sick sense of humor. I have a feeling sooner or later I'm going to have to pay for kitty therapy. Oh... my cats name.... is Mouse.

An Assignment of Observation

Below is my first writing assignment in Sociology. The only instruction we received was to watch people and write a paper about it.

My teacher is still laughing...

*********

This should be entertaining.

I walk into the grocery entrance at the Ames Wal-Mart with my mom lagging behind me, under the heaters of the entrance. Our destination is the corner table in the McDonalds in the front of the store. Mom sets her things at the table and joins me at the counter to get some snacks while we observe the crazy people around us.

The lady that takes our order greets us with way to big of a smile. One that says,” Hello, I hate my job, but I must be nice to you because the guy in the blue shirt behind me is my boss.” I order my food while mom stands there and looks at the menu like she’s never been to a McDonalds before. After an eternity, she orders and turns to walk back to the table. Wait a minute… how did I get stuck with the bill?!

We sit down at our table after I fill our drinks and pull our notebooks out. Mom has situated herself so her back is to the entrance and she’s facing the checkout lanes. I’m guessing her plan is to check out the hot guys that are coming through the lanes. Darn it, I was going to take that spot! I grudgingly place myself opposite her facing the vast produce section and the entrance.

From here I see a surprisingly almost empty section of Wal-Mart. Apples, oranges, limes, lemons and a huge variety of veggies are in sight. Thinking that it might be too empty to do my observations on, I let my eyes wander to the Wal-Mart greeter. He’s a short Asian guy with overly spiky hair, but dressed rather nicely. Not bad looking I suppose. Nice enough to stare at for half an hour I guess. Well, I’m already seated here, might as well stay.

I check my phone for the time. Mom gives me a dirty look, like I was about to make another phone call. I’m way too addicted to this thing. It’s already replaced my watch, IPod, home phone and laptop. But, I digress…

Time: 5:10 pm

I start to write.

5:10 pm

· ....Two women who must know each other stop to talk in the middle of the produce aisle. I hate it when people do this! One taller lady is wearing an incredibly puffy green jacket. I’ve no clue as to her shape underneath it. How unflattering. She’s talking with her hands, waving them around so much I’m half expecting her to take flight.

· ....The greeter stands by the theft detectors watching people as they walk in and out of the store. Um, isn’t he supposed to be talking to them? I thought that was the point of a greeter…

· ....A really tall guy with messed up hair (do people not look at themselves when they leave the house?) picks up an apple from the bin. He holds it to his nose and takes a huge whiff. I wonder what he expects it to smell like? Chicken maybe? Some people…

· ....Glancing back at the two women, I see a guy stops behind them waiting to go around. They totally ignore him. The lady talking with her hands just about smacks him in the face. Ok, that would have been hilarious! I see him mouth the word “Whoa!” and they turn to look at him like he was rude for the interruption. The lady in the middle of the row moves over what I’m guessing was half an inch and the man shoves past.

5:20 pm

· ....The two women are still talking. The other woman, wearing a green jacket, shifts her weight uncomfortably as if she wishes to escape the conversation. I don’t blame her in the least.

· ....A red headed woman stops at the apples. I’ve noticed many people stopping by the bin and realize it’s because they are only $1/pound. Oh! That’s a good price! I might have to stop to buy some before we leave. The redheaded shopper walks over to the limes next. Apple and limes? Memo to self: Don’t eat at her house. She then proceeds to wander around as if she’s lost. Probably trying to find something that goes with apple and lime.

· ....My little greeter friend is still standing there watching people walk by. He’s yet to say anything to anyone. I chuckle as I relate this fact to mom.

5:30 pm

· ....A very well-to-do looking woman dressed to the nines rams her cart into the apple bin in her attempt to get closer to them. In the process, she knocks 4 apples to the floor. She swings her head around fast and bends over to pick them up. She better not… Oh my god, she put them back in the bin! Well, so much for me buying apples before I leave.

· ....An elderly couple starts their shopping by walking past the vegetables. They are currently arguing as the woman waves a bunch of broccoli in front of the man’s face. I’d bet five dollars that he doesn’t want to eat it.

· ....The “greeter” was forced to speak to someone after they asked him a question. He didn’t look enthused about the idea. At this very moment, his back is to me facing the baked goods with one hand in his pocket and the other poking at the top of some cupcakes. I laugh out loud at this as I again relate this detail to mom.

5:35 pm

· ....The produce department is shockingly devoid of people! How surprising!

· ....My eyes wander across the table to mom. She’s wearing my favorite light blue sweater of hers. Her glasses are perched precariously at the tip of her nose. She looks over them at the people in the checkouts, trying ever so discreetly to observe them without drawing their attention. She reminds me of a cute little ninja in a flower patterned outfit I saw in an anime once. I duck my head and write some more as I try to hold in my laughter.

· ....Uh oh. Someone’s in trouble! Here comes the “greeters” boss. He asks the kid to help a customer out with a brand new, rather large, entertainment center. I’m guessing someone got tax money back! The “greeter” looks at the box, looks out the door, looks at his boss and gave him the biggest cheesiest “Oh course!” grin I’ve ever seen. Again, I laugh at the guy.

5:40 pm

· ....A short guy in a Navy Pea coat is picking through the apples now. Um, I wouldn’t take that top one, guy…

· ....A very tired looking woman pushes a cart with a crying baby past the oranges. She turns her back to look through the apples and the baby reaches out of the cart and grabs an orange off the shelf. I wait with bated breath as I see in my head the oranges all tumbling off the shelf. Unfortunately they stay where they are. Mom places the apples in the basket and starts pushing the cart again. I wonder to myself how long it will take her to notice the kid has an orange in her hand.

· ....My “greeter” friend is back inside looking like he’s frozen. He had come back just in time for the alarm to go off. He looks rather annoyed that he had to do two things in a row. Now he’s back to not greeting people, although, I thought I saw him smile at a good looking girl that walked out. Well, at least the cupcakes are safe for the time being.

· ....The two women that were talking in the middle of the aisle…. Are still talking.

· ....I start to tell mom about my observations so far. I look up at her and she’s shoving fries into her mouth. I have the irresistible urge to tell her that the FDA called, there’s no fry shortage today, but since she’s my ride home, I resist.

5:50 pm

· ....Wow! Where did all these people in the produce department come from?

· ....An older woman in a coat that’s so checkered it’s almost painful to my eyes, picks up an apple that was on the floor. I cringe at the thought and hope to myself that she washes her produce before eating it.

· ....I watch as a middle aged woman in a long tan coat walks around a display 4 times. Is she lost too? How do you get lost walking around…. Never mind, I don’t want to know.

· ....A short Chinese lady is digging through the limes in a frenzy. She’s so short, I half expect her to fall into them with her little legs kicking in the air as she tries to get that perfect lime from the way bottom.

· ....My new friend, the Anti-Greeter, has noticed me watching him and is staring back at me with a puzzled look on his face. He starts to look a little nervous as he sees me writing and watching him. He suddenly starts greeting people. Four people in under a minute. I think it’s a personal best for him. He looks back at me, greets someone, looks at me, greets, looks, greets… I chuckle and think about telling him that I was from immigration or something. I should probably tell him what I’m doing before I leave… that would be a whole other paper though.

Mom clears her throat and says she’s had enough of these crazy people. I on the other hand, I’m feeling perfectly content watching the Anti –Greeter. She starts putting her things away and I fold up my notebook. The Anti-Greeter talks to a lady coworker and then turns around and starts walking towards where mom and I are sitting. I utter a tiny gasp as he walks past us with a confused look to me. Oh my, I thought he was going to say something! Well, so much for telling him about the paper. Mom breaks through my thoughts with a single word – Shopping! - and the only thing I want to observe now is my money getting spent.