Fun Friday Question!

Confession time: I watch a lot of TV. I've always watched a lot of TV. I remember my parents watching M*A*S*H and The Andy Griffith Show and Barney Miller and The Bob Newhart Show and I would sit and watch with them, but I didn't get every joke since I was still pretty young. Still, I loved it. And on Thursday nights in the mid-80's, our whole family would eat dinner and then watch The Cosby Show and Family Ties together.

My very favorite show when I was about ten years old was Growing Pains. I was so completely in love with Kirk Cameron. I had posters of him in my locker at school (yes, I had a locker when I was ten years old). We share a birthday, with him being five years older. There was a boy in my class who smiled just like him, so of course that was my big crush. I was sure that I was meant to be with Kirk Cameron, but I could not figure out how I was going to get to Hollywood and meet him.

I know that there are aspects of television that are negative, and that I could definitely do without it. But I have so many great memories, like I mentioned, of watching shows with my parents and family. There are still episodes that we laugh about, and now Casey and I have our favorite episodes of Frasier, Seinfeld and The Office.

A few years ago after one of our students got us watching The Office, we started inviting whoever was interested to come over on Thursday nights to watch that and Lost. Yes, we are also big Lost fans. I remember taping the pilot and Casey saying, "I don't want to start watching another show!" and I said, "Let's just watch the first one and see if we like it." And of course we did.

But for more than two years now, our school-year Thursday nights entail me making semi-sweet Hershey's chocolate chip cookies for the students who come over, and everyone has milk to go with them. It was just something I did once and kept on with it, and now it's tradition. The group changes here and there, but we have fun every single time. Last week they were playing tennis against Miles on the Wii, and I think he was frustrating a couple of the guys by beating them!

There is so much laughter. But most of it comes after the TV is turned off.

Here's the Fun Friday Question: Do you have any fun 'TV memories'?

Fun Friday Question!

When I exercise, I try to choose that which I will enjoy most. Okay, sometimes exercise is just tough and you're going to seriously hurt later...but some things can be work and fun.

Back in the day, I was a rollerblading fool. I got my first pair of rollerblades in high school, but I didn't use them too much. The day after high school graduation, I went with three marching band friends (no band geek jokes, please!) to a park where all but one of us promptly slid down a hill and skinned up our knees and elbows. The one guy who didn't fall watched the whole thing and said, "That was so awesome!" Meanwhile, we're lying on the ground bleeding. Ah, memories.

Anyway, when I was in college I decided to invest in some more expensive 'blades. (I don't know if anyone calls them that, but maybe I'll start something.) This was the real beginning of my love for in-line skating. At one time, I think I was about 21 years old, I was skating roughly nine miles a day. And this was before iPods, so I would attach the extremely cool Walkman or Discman and go. And I would go fast. I fell only a couple of times over many years, and I was afraid at times that I was really going to hurt myself with how fast I was going. But the music powered me and gave me a sense of daring that I usually didn't possess. So off I went, zooming down the sidewalk or -- when it was completely empty -- the middle of the road. Sorry Mom!

There are other forms of exercise I enjoy: power walking, yoga, ultimate frisbee, weightlifting. Running? No. Jogging? Nope. Stair-climbing? Uh-uh. I mean, I can do those things, but if there's another option that is more enjoyable, I'm choosing that instead. And I almost always need music in my ears. With the music, I can get completely lost in the fact that I'm even working up a sweat!

So finally, to the 'Fun Friday Question': If you exercise, is it something you find enjoyable? Is there a specific form of exercise that is easier for you to do because it's more enjoyable? Do you also require music when you exercise?

Okay, that was more than one question...you can answer one or none or all of them!

Wordless Wednesday

Fun Friday Question!

I loved going to the library as a kid -- still do! I remember learning the way there (and it really wasn't far since we lived in a small town) so that I could put on my backpack and ride my bike there without having to wait for someone else to take me. I wish I had a picture of the place, because you wouldn't believe me if I tried to explain how tiny this library was (Joy can back me up on it), but it was tiny. And it seemed that when I was there, hardly anyone else was -- in some ways that seems sad now, but to me it was awesome because it meant having the library all to myself!

The librarian was a little woman (is there a theme here?) who was so kind each time I visited, even though I was painfully shy and hardly spoke to her. I don't even remember her name. But nearly every time I was there, she would show me a new book or series that came in if she thought I would like it. That's how I came to own the Love Comes Softly series by Christian author Janette Oak. Those are some of my most treasured books to this day.

Now it's your turn. What are some of your best memories of visiting the library as a child?