Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly).

Jukebox In My Mind - Alabama, I sing happily for a while but before it's over my throat always has a lump in it and tears are welling up in my eyes.

In the corner of my mind stands a jukebox
It's playin' all my favorite mem-o-ries
One by one, they take me back
To the days when you were mine
And I can't stop this jukebox in my mind.

I don't need no quarters, don't need any dime
You filled it up forever
When you said good-bye
Heaven knows I love old melodies
They were meant to ease the pain
But the kind that's playin' on my mind
Are drivin' me insane.

In the corner of my mind stands a jukebox
It's playin' all my favorite mem-o-ries
One by one, they take me back
To the days when you were mine
And I can't stop this jukebox in my mind.

Song by song, those melodies
Were meant to ease the pain
But the kind that's playin' on my mind
Are drivin' me insane;

In the corner of my mind stands a jukebox
It's playin' all my favorite mem-o-ries
One by one, they take me back
To the days when you were mine
And I can't stop this jukebox in my mind.

Day 13 — How do you think others view you?

I would hope others view me as genuine.

Day 14 — Talk about the cuteness of your pets.

I have no pets, but my children are just adorable! I thank God every day that I was blessed with my blue-eyed babies.

Day 15 — A poem you wrote.

A while back, I read a writing challenge here on Xanga and thought about doing it. It was a little too intense, though, so I opted out. However, I did do one challenge which was to write a Haiku with alliteration. I jotted this down one evening:

Wailing and whining

Constant, ceaseless crying

Teething is torture

Night-night needed for

pitiful, pouty poppet

bathtub, book, and bed

I'm not sure what's up with the spacing on this Xanga post.

Some of things that have been going on: Finished A&P II with a 94! The next day I got a cake order, finished it, got another, finished it. Got kitchen ready for big cake order which was due yesterday. I hadn't really had a day "off". Anyhow, Monday (my 30th birthday), Mattie was sick. I took her to the doctor and got a Tetanus shot so my immunization records would be in order for the nursing program. Tuesday, morning I woke up feeling pretty bad, but kept on. By Tuesday night I was in serious trouble, I had a pretty bad reaction to the shot. Temperatures reached 105, throat was sore and felt like it was closing, numbness in my arms, chills, you name it. I honestly thought I might die. My mother-in-law took me to the ER while my Mom stayed home with kids. The drive to the ER took 30 minutes, had the ac blowing in my face and started sweating about half-way there. My fever broke and throat immediately started feeling better. Needless to say, Wednesday and Thursday I felt pretty bad. Thank goodness for my mother, who spent the majority of last week taking care for me and the kids. She also was instrumental in whipping this weekend's cake together. She worked very hard on it. I might also mention that Wesley went to work Monday, didn't come home until Tuesday night. He also was gone most of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. It's been hell-week. Last night, while getting ready for Mikka's party I left my curling iron on. Caden set it in the floor, Mattie picked it up, burned her precious baby hand. I quickly went to the party and left, because poor Mattie was terribly upset and couldn't sleep. Borrowed burn gel from Tabatha at 10:00 p.m., left for Seminole by 11:00. She's all better now, though. My kitchen/house looks like a disaster area. I just don't have the heart to tackle it right now. My feet are sore and I'm just kaput. This is starting to sound like I'm whining, so I'm going to "stop whining!" - That's for you, Mom.

Love to all!

Day 12 — Explain how you got one of your scars.

I am stealing this description of how I looked attaining a scar from my cousin who mentioned it in a Xanga post:

"And once at the cabin, Whitney took off on a Fat-Cat motorcycle and crashed into the barbed-wire fence! Remember that Whit??? All I remember is her hauling ass with her legs outstretched sideways, with the rapid back and forth weave, and her screaming at the top of her lungs! We were yelling at her to hit the brakes, but she hit the gas full throttle instead! I shouldn't laugh, but man the memory I have is hilarious! Poor Whitney had a huge gash on her upper arm which required stitches! It was really deep! and she was totally freaked out! We had to drive to Santa Fe that evening to have her stitched up... Wonder if she still has the scar... Geez, It is a huge wonder why she loves me still."

I was seven. Of course I love her still. I told her everyone should have a big cousin like her!

I'll never forget the feeling of panic when that thing took off even faster when I wanted it to slow down! I remember looking to my left towards Katie & Terry and they couldn't help me...which really made me scream. I looked straight and saw this gap in the fence where the barbed wire fence met in the corner. I figured I would be able to get things slowed down if I could be out in the meadow, not having to worry about hitting the fence, the cabin, or my cousins! I just couldn't think fast enough with all of the obstacles! It seems like there was a big telephone type pole there. Again, this is from my 7 year-old perspective. Anyhow, I was "riding" next to this fence, screaming, and doing my best to make it through the gap. I ended up riding over some wood and lost control. The bike and myself fell into the fence. I'm really not sure if I made it to the gap that probably wasn't big enough to allow a bike through or not. I hit my head on the handle bars, but I was wearing a helmet and it was okay. I just remember laughing from relief. Then Katie and Terry were at my side in a flash. We were all laughing it up. I now understand that they were laughing AT me not WITH me, but I would have, too. In the midst of great laughter, and I'll never forget this, Terry looks at my arm and screams "Oh my GOD, Whitney look at your arm!" Yeah, the screaming immediately commenced again. I'll never forget how I didn't feel the pain until Terry pointed it out. I can hear his voice like it was yesterday, I can see the look of fright and disgust in his eyes, his hands were halfway to his mouth when he yelled it. You know like you do when you're surprised? That image and sound are forever burned into my memory. That and how the flesh of my arm was kind of peeled back. I was awfully scared Aunt BB and Uncle Jerry were going to be mad at me, or worse, at Katie & Terry when it was my fault. Uncle Jerry & Aunt B, were both really nice on the ride to Santa Fe and in the hospital. I never did find out if my cousins got in trouble. I really hope not!

So that's it, the scar has moved down as I've grown and is just above my right elbow.

Day 11 — Share a story from your childhood.

I think the coolest thing about my childhood was having the ability to start all over again. When I was about 10 or 11, I performed in a piano recital. I only got a few bars into the song before I made a mistake. So, I did what I always did at home while practicing: I stopped playing, looked out at the audience, and said "hold on, let me start over." I got a chuckle from the crowd and started over and did just fine.

Then, later in the recital my Mom and I performed a duet "On the Wings of a Dove." No, not on the wings of a snow white dove...but that would've been cool. Anyhow, waiting in the hallway, I told my Mom I was nervous. I could tell she was nervous, too. Anyhow, long story short I learned a good lesson that day. She told me "if we mess up, we've just got to keep playing." We went on to play. It was really great sharing that piano bench with my Mom. I think one of us might have missed a note or two, but we both kept on.

That day was just one of the many times my Mom taught me to keep on keeping on. She taught me by example and through encouragement to pick up the pieces. To hold it together. To buck up. My Mom taught me how to keep my cool in the toughest of times. My Mom taught me the fine art of perserverance and I love her for it.

Day 10 — Talk about a regret you have.
Honestly, this song sung by Willie is the first thing that came to mind when I started to think about this question. I immediatly started to sing "regret is just a memory written on my brow". So, I'll share the words of the song with you. Because I'm not going to "waste the time and tears" writing about regret. I can do things in the now, not undo or do things in the then.

Day 09 — A photo you took.

Day 08 — Describe the style you had 10 years ago.
I had no style 10 years ago. I wore cheap clothes and cheap shoes. I totally qualified for the show What Not To Wear with my safety pinned tops and shoes that I would take a black marker to when the black wore off of the plastic. I've learned that it's much more practical to spend good money on a good pair of shoes that will last a long time, than little money on cheap shoes from Payless that not only stink, but wear out after you wear them a time or to. Now, I would rather have one or two good pairs of shoes than a closet full of cheap ones.

Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy.

Today this photo made me very happy, for so many reasons. Mainly because I love this chick!

Day 05 — Your favorite quote.

As of right now, my favorite quote is "KEEP MOVING FORWARD."

I also like "Chattahoochie" by Alan Jackson and "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer. I think because I got a kick out of how my Mom enjoyed the first and my Dad enjoyed the latter!

Day 04 — Your favorite book.

The Chronicles of Narnia