Blog Challenge Flashback: Days 1 through 13

This may be very narcissistic of me, but I'm gonna torture you with my Blog Challenge responses from Day 1 through Day 13.  Those were the posts I shared with my family via email, because I hadn't gotten brave enough to start my own blog yet.  So, just in case you don't yet feel like you know more about me than you need to (or WANT to!), here are my unedited initial responses from the first two weeks of the challenge.  (In descending order!)  

Day 13: Favorite Quote

I have 2 that I refer to often:  both from favorite books, and both related to agency....our ability to make the best of the situations in our lives.

#1:  

“So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.
- Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

#2:

“It is our choices, Harry, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Day 12: Money, money, money by the pound!

(I'm copying Lisa's method of clever captions....although hers are far more clever than mine!)

First of all, I will never win the lottery, cuz you can't win if you don't play.  BUT, IF I did, the first thing I'd do is pay off your grandparents' homes/cars.  Then I'd get us out of debt, and most likely put a healthy down payment on a home of our own.  THEN I'd give each of my kids a set sum to do with as they pleased, and create some kind of trust fund/college fund for the grandkids.  Oh, and go to Hawaii for a week....or two.   Aloha.

Day 11:  Most proud moment

I'm assuming this should be a proud moment involving ME, but all I can think about are the proud moments I had concerning my children.  Huh.  Well, I do remember feeling very proud of making it through the district spelling bee in the 8th grade and winning that $100.  That trip to Denver for the State contest was one of the most fun weekends I ever had, my mom and I went with her good friend and some of her family, stayed with some of HER friends in Denver, and I went shopping at a Target store for the very first time in my life!  All truly momentous events!  Oh, and we used the money to buy me a 10-speed bike, which I rode for MANY years.

Day 10: First Celebrity Crush

Believe it or not, Donny Osmond.  I was about 9 years old, and I loved the Osmond Brothers' music!  Our friends across the street had their album, and I remember looking at the photo of him and his brothers a LOT!!!   "One Bad Apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl...."

(Donny's in the red shirt, in case you couldn't tell)

Day 9: Piercings/Tatoos

I have my ears pierced, just one in each, and I'm glad I do.  However, if a friend hadn't given me a gift certificate to get them pierced as a graduation gift, I probably still wouldn't have any piercings, because I'm such a big chicken!  But since it was a gift, I felt obligated, so my Aunt Joan went downtown with me while she was here for my graduation, and I got them pierced!

Day 8:  Old Photos of Me

Cindy, age 9 months Cindy, age 17 1/2 (TOLD ya I was blonde!)

Day 7: Food, Glorious Food!           

My 10 favorites (as of 2012, not in any particular order of preference)--macaroni and cheese, french dip sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips, my lasagne, rib eye steak (medium), shrimp, that appetizer with the flour tortillas rolled up with cream cheese and stuff inside it, Chili's chips and salsa, twice-baked potatoes.

Day 6: 3 Personality Traits that I Am Proud Of

1.  Friendly

2. Nurturing

3. Honest

--Hopefully I don't need to provide examples, because if they truly ARE part of my personality, they would be obvious.  

Day 5: My Guilty Pleasure:  "Toxic" by Britney Spears.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcLy9FFssP8

Day 4:  Earliest childhood memory

Well, my earliest memory is at the age of 4, when I got to go see Mary Poppins with my mom and at Aunt Patti, at least, although I can't imagine that Aunt Linda wasn't there, too!  I remember leaving my Grandma Bland's house, being told to be very quiet because Cathy was sleeping (Grandma was babysitting her), and walking over the small grassy lawn to the car!  I was SO excited!  As far as I know, this was probably the very first movie I'd ever been to...when we went to the movies as a family, it was usually the drive-in, with blankets spread across the back of the station wagon after the back seats had been lowered!  But I digress....I honestly can't say I specifically remember being AT the movie, just the thrill and anticipation of going....all by myself!  SUCH  a big girl!

 P.S.  Guess what?  When I looked up this picture, it was on IMBD, which lists the original release date as Sept. 11, 1964!  I'll be doggoned......

3. Meaning of my business name - 

  To answer this, I'm going to share a story about the name of the 'business' I work for...which is ______ Elementary.  It's a tale that shows how a name can be had for good OR ill, and how difficult it can be to change from the latter to the former.  When I worked for the other school in this district, I got the impression from people, including families that transferred their kids from _______ , that it was a cold, unfriendly place with sub-standard teachers.   So then, lo and behold, my classroom para job disappears, and the best way for me to stay employed is to interview for the librarian job at that school!  So, now, after 18 months, here's my first-hand take....to some degree, the opinions I had heard were correct.  The building itself, although only 10 years old, is a cold and sterile (hospital-like, one co-worker said!) environment.  There are pale tiles on the floor and white brick on the walls, so it's loud and blah.  And yes, there are some staff members that are difficult to approach, but that's the same everywhere.   The teachers there work just as hard on behalf of the kids as anywhere else.  So the problem is the NAME.  My husband even says that realtors and other business members will tell people, "Oh,  you don't want to live there, that's _______'s district."  Yikes!  How do we combat that?  When a name has had a negative reputation for so long, it's an uphill battle to change people's thinking!  I don't have the answer, I just know that I'm doing my best in my little corner of the world, to make it a warm and welcoming place.  My ideas?  Put carpet in the halls and change the name...give this building a fresh start!  But then, I'm not in charge of such things....  So, children of mine, let's always remember what the name Mahan means, and do our best to uphold our honor!  After all, as Kelli so aptly put it, "We're kind of a big deal."    (Note:  I actually did edit this post, I removed specific names to protect the innocent!)

Day 2.  20 Facts about me

1. I'm blonde  (really!  --check out my school photos--)

2. I'd rather read YA literature than most anything out there written for adults

3. I married my high school sweetheart...sorta...after making a huge fool of myself over him.  Lucky for him, he fell for it.

4. I have a 'Rain Man' sense for birthdays and phone numbers...but the phone number thing is fading, thanks to modern technology.

5. I used to be pretty good at tennis

6. Favorite color is green, mostly because...

7. I love summer

8. I make friends easily

9. I was never one of the popular kids, but I didn't care.  I have plenty of other things to worry about.

10. I like my lemonade with thingys in it, but I like my orange juice pulp free.

11. My favorite animals, besides dogs, are panda bears and penguins.  Guess I have a thing for black/white critters.

12. I can sing the old McDonald's Big Mac theme song backwards...I once won a contest on the radio doing it in less than 10 seconds.

13.  I've also won a getaway weekend and $1000 in different radio contests, and held on for almost a whole week in a Men vs. Women contest on the radio.

14.  I went to the State Spelling Bee in the 8th grade, though I didn't make it past the written round.  I know for sure that I misspelled "marshmallow"...I put -mellow.  That's probably what did it.

15.  I have only been out of the country one time...a Spanish club trip to Guaymas, Mexico my junior year.  I got severely sunburned and my camera stolen.

16.  I have several gold medals that I won in archery tournaments as a kid....but that was just because I was usually the only girl there.

17.  There's this scene in the movie "Peggy Sue Got Married" (Kathleen Turner, Nicholas Cage) where Peggy Sue has gone back in time, into her high school body, and she realizes that being in that time means her grandparents are still alive, and she books it over to see them..I would love to do that.  I miss my Grandpa and my Grandmas still.

18.  I hate balloons.

19.  I intensely dislike the word "hate".

20.  My favorite movie of all time is Mary Poppins.        

 Day 1. Hi, my name is Cynthia Joan (Gray) Mahan, pleased to meet you.  I was born in MI, moved to CO at age 11, and have lived here almost the whole rest of my life.  I enjoy reading, crocheting, my dogs, and mostly, my FAMILY.  My children are the greatest contribution I have made to this world.  I also kinda like their dad.  My faith and testimony are very important to me, since my heart's desire is for us all to be together in the eternities.  I also like music, and I tend to sing a lot and have a verse for just about any situation.  I'm marginally good at lots of things, but not an expert on any one thing.  I'm OK with that.