Five Things

I've been tagged by Kristin...Here it goes!

FIVE things under $5 I could not live without:
1. Tall non-fat white chocolate mocha from Starbucks
2. Mike and Ikes
3. Frozen Yogurt
4. 1 gallon of gas ;)
5. gum

FIVE favorite movies:
1. Pinocchio
2. The Rescuers Down Under
3. A Goofy Movie
4. Fletch
5. Aladdin

FIVE baby names I like:
1. Isabella
2. Ethan
3. Eva
4. Elena
5. Zoe

FIVE songs I could listen to over and over again:
1. Possum Kingdom-The Toadies
2. Better In Time-Leona Lewis
3. Doxology-The Northern Conspiracy
4. All Creatures-Team Strike Force
5. Hallelujah-Krystal Meyers

FIVE people who have influenced me in a positive way:
1. Jesus
2. Alec
3. Michael
4. My sisters, Lisa and Gayle
5. My sisters-in-law, Kristin and Kristen

FIVE things that are always in my purse:
1. Keys
2. Phone
3. Wallet
4. Lipstick
5. iPod

FIVE dates that changed my life forever:
1. March 3, 1993-Alec's birth
2. March, 1996-The end of my first marriage
3. October, 1998-car accident
4. March 16, 2002-Marrying Michael
5. June 6, 2008-today--who knows what will happen?

FIVE obsessions I have now:
1. Confirmation
2. Youth in general
3. Homeschooling Alec
4. Collecting unpaid balances at work
5. Going Green

FIVE places I would like to go:
1. Anywhere I have nieces and nephews (Alaska, Colorado, Missouri and Northern California)
2. Hawaii
3. South America
4. Greece
5. A very long cruise--anywhere

FIVE appliances/kitchen tools I can't live without:
1. Blender
2. Juicer
3. Refrigerator
4. Microwave
5. Dishwasher

FIVE people whose FIVE THINGS I'd like to see:
1. Lisa H.
2. Gayle H.
3. Cynthia M.
4. Kristen B.
5. Alec B.

My Two Favorite Girls!

I had the pleasure of being invited to two year end recitals this week. The first was for my "daughter," Amy, who finishes her freshman year in choir at a local high school. The show was in the quad (cold!) and was a lot of fun. The show was titled, "Lights, Camera, Action," and featured songs from movies. A couple of soloists braved Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand...personally, I think I would counsel against that...I suggested to Amy that she audition with something like a Judy Garland piece...not that Judy Garland is necessarily easy to sing, just that I think that people aren't so invested in Judy Garland as to have an opinion about the way you interpret her music...you know? You can't really go wrong with Judy Garland...anyway, what do I know, Amy's solo got bumped for the choir teacher's 5 year old daughter's tap class. Maybe Celine and Barbra are the way to go? Whatever, Amy has the most beautiful voice I've ever heard, and we are all worse for not having heard her solo on Friday!

The style was more musical theater than choral, and made for great entertainment. Each skit was brilliant in its choreography and production. The show was entirely student produced, which says a lot about the talent in that choir program! It will be exciting to see what the younger talent comes up with over the next couple of years.

The second show was the next evening, and was for another of our church youth, Ariana, a freshman at the Performing Arts Magnet School. This dance recital featured 48 dances with about 75 performers. The costumes and choreography were truly unbelievable. We knew only 4 of the girls performing, but enjoyed each of the dances very much. It was a thrill to have been invited. Here are pictures of Ariana--

Ariana's older sister, Katie, also performed in the show. Katie is a senior, so this was her last show--

Katie's best friend, Kelsey K, is also a senior--

and finally, Kelsey H is another youth from church who was confirmed with Alec--

After the show we caught up with Ariana and I was able to take this great picture--Ariana and Amy--

two of my favorite girls!! Thanks for a great weekend, girls! I love you!

Testing, Testing...

The life of a student involves much testing, even a homeschooled student. Alec took the standardized tests this March to see how he is doing as far as other students on a national level. We received the results this past week, and I realized that it was a bit of a validation of Alec being able to continue homeschooling as it was a test of his ability to learn...So I was a little nervous to see his scores...In each category, Alec scored a Grade Equivalent of Post High School. He received a perfect score in Language Expression, and Above Average in almost all areas of Social and Natural Science! Way to go, Alec--and, yes, you still have to go to school next year...

In other testing news, Alec and I have been having regular doctor visits this year. We started off in January with checkups, and Alec had a blood workup. This revealed a normal overall cholesterol level, but high "bad" cholesterol. Consequently, we have continued to follow that and work on diet and exercise. It is slowly but surely coming down.

In March I began experiencing a loss of feeling in my left foot. The sensation (or lack thereof) was not complete, affecting only the top and outer side of my foot and not affecting my toes or sole. The concern is that it has persisted continuously since it began with only a slight abatement at all. I mentioned it to my doctor, who suggested I discuss it with my neurologist (oh yeah!) with whom I have an appointment this coming week. Before that, however, I took a two hour glucose tolerance test to rule out diabetes. I guess we've ruled it out, since I haven't heard anything...I'm sure this will lead to more tests!!!