April's A-to-the-Zizzle: H

H is for History.

In this crazy world we live in, some of us are more interested in the past than the present.  Seriously, who wants to hear more about how any day now North Korea will attempt to fire a weapon at the U.S. (only to have it shot down into the ocean before it gets even remotely near us, by the way)?  Not me.

I started college as an English major.  I love stories, I love reading, I love writing.  English seemed like a natural choice for me.  I soon discovered, however, that with each new English course I took, my love for it dwindled a bit more.  Such a disappointment.  There were exceptions, like American Literature and English Literature.  I could take those courses over and over.  Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, anyone? Anyhoo, from that I switched to Education because deep down I've always known I wanted to be a teacher,  no matter the subject.  After one semester I decided to take a "break" which turned into six years.

When I returned to college in 2010 I picked up with the Education major, but deciding to go ahead and get the prerequisite courses over with, I scheduled two History courses and a Political Science.  I LOVED those three classes.  I never missed a day.  I showed up every day, excited to hear what the professors were going to share.  The stories captivated me, the people enthralled me.  After rambling to my husband for the seven millionth time that semester, he said, "Why aren't you a History major?  You obviously love it."  I stared at him for a moment, then the little lightbulb came on and I realized Hubs is a genius.  After spending a few days   letting it marinate, I realized Hubs was absolutely right, and felt like a moron for not figuring it out myself.  I went  to the university and changed my major.  I have never had a single moment of regret or uncertainty since.  History is my niche.

Think about it.  Studying History can take you anywhere in the world, to any time period, or any specific

singular moment that had great significance.  You can find hundreds of books on a single topic, such as the JFK assassination, or a single war, or even a single battle.  You can find dozens of books on a single significant person.  You can learn what made people who they were, you can read about why people made the decisions they made, why someone took that extra step that made them greater than the average person.

My favorite History topics are Colonial American, the American Revolution, World War II and British History.  I'm always amazed that while I cherish American history so deeply, it is such a considerably short period of time when compared to most other nations.  When I was in England and France, it repeatedly struck me that many of the homes and buildings we saw were centuries older than my own country.  Such a bizarre realization to have.

I've been driving Hubs crazy with the construction on my new home office, because before the room was even framed up I had already purchased replicas of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, various paintings of the American Revolution and famous historical characters, a Lincoln bust and other historical knickknacks to decorate my office with.  I just couldn't help myself.  I'm obsessed.   I also drive Hubs crazy whenever we watch anything with historical references because I'm always like, "That didn't happen like that.  That's not right.  No, he didn't say that."  Don't even get me started on Disney films...

My hope is to someday be a professor that, while lecturing students taking prerequisite courses, one of the stories I tell will captivate a student so much that he or she realizes their own love for History.  I've been so fortunate to have several professors who are so enthusiastic about what they teach that it's contagious.  They make you want to learn more.

Moral of the story?  Find something, anything historical that interests you, and study it.  Read about it.  Check out multiple books about it to get different viewpoints.  Talk about it with others.  And for God's sake, please don't believe everything you see in "historical" films.  It still pains me to let my children watch Pocahontas.  She married John Rolfe, not John Smith, Walt!

April's A-to-the-Zizzle Challenge: A-F (playing catch-up)

Apparently April is the month for the A-Z challenge.  This confuses me because there are 30 days in April, and only 26 letters in the alphabet.  Or are we using the Spanish alphabet, what with the double l's and r's and the n with the little curvy dodad over it?  Maybe the challenge just ends on the 26th?  Either way, it's 26 days of predetermined post requirements, and who am I to go against the masses?  Plus, since I'm just now getting back into the blogging habit, I figure it'll do me good having to post every day.  Practice makes perfect, they say.

Since it's already the 6th, I guess I'll have to do letters A-F today to get caught up.  Here we go....

A is for Adolescence

Oh, the misery of it all.  The acne, the hormones, the new hair growing everywhere.  Boys start smelling really bad when they sweat. For girls, Shark Week (that's what Hubs calls it) shows up and becomes a regular occurrence.  Also, Mother Nature, being the mean old hag that she is, decided to play a joke on girls by making most of us grow faster than the boys our age, so we're taller than them for at least two years.  So. Awkward.

Aside from the body changes and the challenges of being unable to wear heels to school dances because you're already three inches taller than your date, I loved those so-called awkward preteen years.  I enjoyed my youth in general.  School, sports, dances, romance (remember spending an hour coloring a note and then folding it in those weird ways? I couldn't do that today if I tried), sleepovers.  I loved it all.  Every moment.  I especially loved being twelve because that's when N'Sync came on the scene and my love for Justin Timberlake was born.  There I was watching Carson Daly on Total Request Live (you know, back when MTV actually played music) when suddenly there were five dudes in color-coordinated outfits, dancing and crooning about wanting some girl back.  Before long my walls were covered with posters of JT and his crew (next to posters of Leo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck, of course).

I gotta say, for me, adolescence wasn't all that bad.

B is for Bacon

The obsession with bacon has me completely bumfuddled. I mean, what's the big deal all of a sudden?  Why is everyone so infatuated with fried pig? It's not like this is a new invention. The hooplah is absurd.  Bacon socks, bacon wallet, bacon band aids, I heart bacon t-shirts? You can even buy bacon flavored toothpaste.  Disgusting.  And then there's the memes.  My God, the memes.  They're everywhere.  I can't even go on Facebook anymore without seeing some bacon-related photo.   I'd blame Lady Gaga for starting it with that hideous dress, but I don't think she can take full credit for the fad.

STOP THE MADNESS.

People, don't you know this greasy food made from a nasty animal is a major contributor to heart disease? It's bad for you.  Bacon = bad.  I think we need to apply some Pavlovian techniques and do negative association with bacon for people.  Maybe taser them every time they eat bacon, or poke them with needles each time we show them a picture of a bacon platter.  I'd head this operation up. I'd start with my teenage cousin and her best friend, who lead the pack in bacon debauchery.  They have bacon tube socks, earrings, shirts, wallets and bacon flavored popcorn. I think I'll use the taser on them...

C is for Craig Ferguson

I've mentioned this good-looking Scottish funny man previously because he's on my List.  You know, the list of celebrities I'm allowed to hook up with without Hubs divorcing me? Yes he's a bit older, but I think it just adds to his attractiveness.  The man is fun to look at, and even more fun to watch.  He's hysterical.  I watch his show every night. Some people don't get it, and I understand that.  You either love him or you hate him (kind of like Jim Carrey).  Hubs and I went and saw him in Gulfport, Mississippi last year.  He puts on a fantastic show.  He's a little dirty, but what Scotsman isn't?

I also love the fact that he lends his voice to animated films.  Guys who are children at heart are even hotter to me.  That's why I love Hubs.  He's just an overgrown child. (Don't tell him I said that, though I suspect he already knows.)




D is for Degree

As much as I desperately wanted to go straight for the obvious, easy topic - Downton Abbey - I would really rather dedicate an entire post to this most beloved series.  As such, I chose to go with something a little more personal.

I will graduate in May (42 days to be exact) with my Bachelor of Arts degree in History.  I am SO excited to finish this degree.  After a 6-year hiatus from college, I feel so proud of myself for going back and completing it.  Many people doubted whether I'd be able to do it with two small children, a husband, a house and a job to keep up with, as well as the many duties I have with my church, but I proved the naysayers wrong, and have managed to do fairly well; I've made the President's List every semester.  Mostly I'm thrilled to end this chapter because I will be beginning a new one in the fall:  Graduate School.  My new goal is a Master of Arts in History, along with certification to teach.  With that degree I'll be able to teach high school level or college courses while I go on to complete my Ph.D. later on.  Here's to progress!



E is for Europe

I went last summer on a study abroad trip, and loved every minute of it.  Our trip was called "Operation Overlord," and was an 8-day adventure beginning in London and ending in Paris.  We followed the path of the WWII Allied forces from London down to Portsmouth where we crossed the English Channel into Normandy, toured the beaches and cemeteries, then made our way into Paris.

I plan to give y'all a full recap of the trip in the near future, so I won't divulge too much right now, but I can say that it exceeded every expectation I had, and I made some fantastic friends on the trip.



F is for Family

Mine is crazy, frustrating, hilarious, ridiculous and the most precious thing in my life.  Hubs is my Prince Charming, for sure.  He and I have a marriage that many of our friends envy.  You always hear horror stories about marriage, and the list of marriage jokes is endless.  We truly do have a fantastic relationship, though.  Of course I nag him here and there, but the man has the patience of a saint.  He just says, "Okay, sweetie," then goes back to whatever he's doing and does whatever it is I was fussing about later.  Sometimes he drives me crazy because he leave his dirty clothes and towels on the floor of the bathroom and I'm starting to think he actually forgot where the dishwasher is, but other than that he's golden.  He's always kissing me, and we laugh together all the time.  We're best friends, and I know that's a lot of why we're so solid.  Also, I'm pretty hot.  Who wouldn't want this?

My daughters are a handful.  They're loud and hyper and so demanding of my time, but I treasure every moment of it.  I love every hug and kiss, especially since I've noticed that the older they get, the less inclined they are to voluntarily give them out.  The sweetest words in my world are, "I love you, Mommy."  They get along really well, which is odd for me because my older sister and I fought constantly as children. For real, like 24/7.   It was awful.  My girls are always playing together, and though they do get into little arguments here and there ("Don't touch me! Mom, she's touching me!"), for the most part they have a great time together.

Alright, enough of the sap.  Moral of the story: my family is precious and I am blessed to have them.


Well there you have it.  Days 1-6 of the April A-Z challenge rolled into one.  Later taters!