Insomniac's blog

I borrowed this from my friend Raye, who borrowed it from her friend, who borrowed it from her friend, and on and on...

1. your full name?
Anita Marie VanTil

2. grandparent's first names?
all my grandparents are in the dirt.
3. what songs do you sing in the shower?
Hmmm. I don't sing in the shower but I do have imaginary conversations with people I am intimidating by.

4. what did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
The only thing I remember is after I watched Gremlins I was so scared I wouldn't get out of bed to go pee and almost blew my bladder up.
5. when and why did you last vomit?
Once every year I get food poisoning. May of 2004, food poisoning from Burger King, spent three days puking up the nastiest stuff ever.
6. what's in your pockets right now?
I'm in college...therefore nothing.
7. what color are your bedroom walls?
Ughhh, white. I still need to paint them.
8. last thing that made you laugh?
My friend. He cracks me up beyond belief.
9. nicknames your parents call you?
Okay, here's the list. Penel or Penelope, Sweet Neets, Nita-ree, Nita, Neat-o, and that's all I can think of right now.
10. best bed sheets you had as a child?
These ugly white sheets with little Precious Moments girls on them. How totally feminine of me, 'course I was like 7.
11. favorite childhood pet?
All my Dad's coon-huntin' dogs--Mr. Red, Ears, and Bullshit Belle. And of course the cat Piggy who just recently died after my parents had her for about 15 years.
12. any pets now?
One--my dear little puppy-wuppy-woo Cornbread. He's a blond chihuahua.
13. others describe your ass as?
Big, round and beautiful and more than a handful according to the one that counts.
14. do you like your teeth?
For the most part. Although I wish the gap in between my front top teeth was not so wide.
15. inny or an outty?
I sure hope this is referring to belly buttons. Mine is an inny.
16. things you shout to stupid drivers?
Ha, ha, ha! There are so many to pick from. "Idiot" "Get out of the car and let me drive it for you" "GO! GO! GO!"...
17. favorite bathroom?
Any that are clean and not smelly.

18. bake or broil?
Neither, take-out.
19. black olives or green olives?
Green on pizza, black on Mexican and in salads.
20. what kind of phone do you own?
Cell phone is a Sprint flip thingie--it is red and is a picture phone.
21. what's one of the strangest things you ever chewed on?
When I was last pregnant I had an obsession for vanilla wafers. I got up one night to snack on them and I was eating them while sitting in the recliner watching TV. I fell asleep with a mouthful of vanilla wafers. Ewhhh.

22. is your music kept in a particular order?
No, my daughter steals all of my CD's.
23. where do you get your film developed?
Sam's Club, it is cheap there.
24. if your skin could be any color of the rainbow, what would you choose?
Purple with orange polka dots.
25. where did you go to pre-school?
Ha! No preschool for me, my parents just threw me in and told the kindergarten teacher to spank me if I was naughty. Thanks Mom.
26. strangest drug experience?
Hmmm. Can I still be prosecuted? I swear, I never inhaled.
27. favorite weather?
Fall. I like it cooler but not cold.
28. describe your fingernails?
Short, clean, naked (no polish).
20. last time you went to the hospital?
About a week and a half ago when Myah broke her arm.
30. worst injury you've ever had?
Shattered all the cartilage in my left arm when roller-skating when I was 12. Hurt like hell.
31. how do you like your chocolate?
Mmmmm. CHOCOLATE. I like milk chocolate the most and I love pretzels dipped in white chocolate. No dark chocolate though, yuck.
32. favorite kind of tape?
never really thought about the merits of different kinds of tape. Duct tape is kinda cool though.
33. favorite thing to write or draw with?
I love office supplies. Black medium ink pens are the best. Pencils with natural wood grain are my second favorite.
34. last movie you rented?
Uhhh, for adults, Malcolm X. For kids, Tarzan and Jane and Hercules from Disney.

35. last movie you went to see?
It has been so long I actually do not remember.

36. were you a thumb sucker?
No.
37. how old are you?
I guess I will be honest, I am 30.
38. What are your dreams like?
Usually I dream in like a funky technicolor. They are usually about normal types of things or about people I come in contact with on a regular basis. I never have nightmares and I never have those weird falling dreams. No Freudian bull crap for me.
39. what are you hallucinations like?
I don't hallucinate. I am drug free and I seldom drink, especially not to that extent.
40. worst hotel you've ever been in?
In Mobile, Alabama about 8 years ago. Bugs were all over during the night. Thinking of it still makes my skin crawl.
41. best vacation?
March 2005, Orlando, Florida. Took the kids to Disney World, Universal Studios and had a fantastic time.
42. what languages can you speak?
English.I can speak one cuss word, please and thank you in Russian.

43. favorite house?
My current house. It is perfect for our family.
44. favorite mode of transportation?
Motorcycles, but I don't own one.
45. favorite place to swim?
Pools. West Michigan beaches are nasty.
46. last porno you saw?
Whoa! No comment!
47. last song you listened to?
Something on 97 WLAV.

48. favorite kitchen utensil?
A white Pampered Chef rubber spatula thingie. Works wonders and doesn't melt.
49. favorite driving songs?
Anything from the rock scene from the 60s and 70s.

50. what will you be doing tomorrow?
Sleeping. Baking a cake and cookies. Cleaning the house. Trying to finish up my homework.

I have realized that I have a slightly obsessive/compulsive/addictive personality problem. Well, maybe not exactly a problem...that may entail therapy someday. I smoke cigarettes like crazy, drink gallons of coffee a week, and as of this weekend I realized that I collect purses. I know, I know. How old-lady-ish of me, but I can't seem to help myself. I love purses, bags, packs, whatever...anything to put my schtuff into.

My fantastic husband decided that our bedroom closet needed to be rearranged and cleaned out. I agreed and we proceeded to spend about two hours dumping things out the the little pit. I left for a little while to run some errands and when I got back I was met at the door with an irate spouse.

Spouse: "How many purses do you have?"

Me: "I don't know, a few. Why?"

Spouse: "A few!? I counted them...you have 26 purses and bags."

Me: (feigning innocence) "Really? That many? Hmmm, maybe I have a few more than what I had thought. Are you sure you counted them right?"

Spouse: "Yes. 26."

Me: "Hmmmm, how many black ones do I have?"

Spouse's face begins to contort and get slightly red around the eyes and nostrils begin to flare. "Anita, why do you have so many purses?"

Me: "Oh, that's not so much. At least I don't have a shoe collection."

Spouse: "Fifteen pairs of shoes, not counting the ones you have on."

Me: "Oh."

Spouse: "You need to get rid of some of those purses. There is no reason to have 26 purses. I have only one wallet."

Me: "You are a man. You only need one wallet."

The conversation continued but I eventually won the disagreement over purses. They are crammed into a very large and very ugly bag in the corner of the closet (I didn't want to throw the ugly bag out either). I was a little surprised to discover how many bags I owned. I do have a small obsession with them. I think it is a girlie thing. Shoes are fun, but eventually they wear out or start to smell and you have to throw them away. Purses you can keep forever. I do notice that when I am a little down or pissed off or just plain bored I seem to buy a new purse or bag. I consider it a harmless obsession. I hurt no one and I don't buy the Coach purses. I pay very little for them, usually under ten dollars. I adore purses. Anyone out there who would like to buy me a Christmas present, please send me a purse!

Anyhow, I thought I may start to feel guilty if I admitted my obsession. You know what? I don't. I will keep my purses and even add one every so often to my collection. Although, I may have to take over Myah's closet if I do.

Inspired by a recent magazine article I read in Good Housekeeping...I have decided to make yet another list for my two faithful readers. The article in the magazine had a list of ten things that either you do or that happen to you once you are over the age of 40. Since I have not hit that magical age as of yet, and since I turned 30 in April, I decided to revise their list to reflect the changes that happen once you hit 30. Here is my list, please feel free to post any other reflections on 30 in the comment section.

You know you are thirty when...

10. The newest song you heard was by the band Winger.

9. Gray hairs are no longer viewed as being old, now they are a sign of wisdom.

8. You actually calculate your gas mileage and try to figure out a way to drive less.

7. Red and purple hats and purses are suddenly just too cute.

6. Anyone under the age of 25 is now referred to as a kid.

5. Heels that are higher than 1.5 inches are considered to be a potential health hazard.

4. Staying up past 10 at night is considered as partying.

3. You won't even think about wearing a bathing suit unless it has a skirt on it and a support bra built in.

2. You actually think skirts that are above the knee look a little too hoochy-koochy.

1. You get both wrinkles and pimples at the same time.

For the last few weeks I have been adding books to my personal library. The University Bookstore has had some fantastic bargains on books. The books I have picked up have been mostly literature books. The ones I have added are: The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, John Keats's Lyric Poems (the only English poet who I actually like), Shakespeare's Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and MacBeth, and Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Some of these books I bought for as little as 80 cents! I also decided to save some of the books from my summer classes. I saved John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country. So far I have not had the time to devote to reading outside of schtuff for classes, but hopefully in my 19 day break in between summer and fall classes I can get a few things read. I did of course read Of Mice and Men and Cry, the Beloved Country during my classes, but now I think I would like to re-read them both. I kinda sped-read them the first time through and I think I missed a lot of the more subtle schtuff. Oh, and I also have a running book list on the 'fridge of books and articles to read in my lifetime. Needless to say, I don't think I will get them all read even if I live to be 100! I might have to shed the techno-peasantness and actually create a list of books on Excel or something. Ughhh. We must pick and choose what literature we read, but I know I won't be reading any sci-fi anytime soon. It is very low on my list (sorry Jon, Becky and Rob!). Although I almost did buy 1984 today. I think I will get it from the library for free first and if I like it I will buy it later. Feel free to drop me any suggestions for my library.

Every summer for the past ten or so years some tragedy has befallen my household. Tonight was our summertime tragedy...

My oldest daughter, Myah, was outside playing hide and seek with the neighbor kids. She ran around the neighbor's house, tripped on a landscaping brick, and fell on her left arm. Myah broke both the bones in her left forearm. I was inside on the phone with a friend when one of the neighbor kids came over and said, "Myah hurt herself". Me, in one of my classic Ma moments told the kid, "Well, I'm on the phone, so she'll just have to wait". The kid replied, "No, she hurt herself real bad". Well, that got my attention. When I went outside Myah was laying on the neighbor's sidewalk hollering and holding her arm. I took one look at it and said, "Yep, I think you broke your arm". Red Cross first aid training can be handy at times. Anyhow, she has a hard splint on it until tomorrow morning when the bone specialist sets a permanent caste. The official prognosis is: one bone broken all the way through, the other is a buckle break, which means that the bone is bent. I must admit though, Myah is a tough kid. When the nurse asked her what level the pain was on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being the highest, Myah replied, "Well, it isn't too bad, probably a 5". Holy Crap! I would have been like, "It is a 20, give me drugs!" She is a trooper. What a good kid I have.

Last year, both my youngest daughter and my son made the summertime trips to the emergency room. Maggie fell on a toy stroller after her 3rd birthday party and split the underside of her chin open. She ended up with seven stitches for that one. My son, Caedmon, fell off the bench at the zoo and cracked his forehead open. The doctor just put some sort of bonding glue on that one. Ahhhh, the joys of klutzy kids. But, you know what? Everyone one of them are pretty tough little buggers.

To sum up the last ten years, we have had: severe sprains, stitches, bonding glue, staples, a partially hacked off finger, a shattered adult front tooth, and now two broken bones for the price of one! People are going to think that I run a hockey team around here!

So, I am hoping we are done with the summertime tragedies for this summer anyway. Hopefully next summer the kids will give me a break from injuries...

Ahhh. Classes are finally getting better. My independent study is going fantastically. I'm having a lot of fun and reading some fabulous material. It is as good as filet mignon. Mmmmm. Plus, there isn't a whole lot of work involved, just a lot of reading and discussion. But, the prof I have for it is a blast to hang around with and we have a good time discussing the materials.

Child Psych(o) class is even getting a bit better. Maybe I am just getting used to it, I don't know. I am proud to say that I haven't fallen asleep in that class as of yet. My pal Lucky is in that class with me which does help. Although today I did have to poke him when he started doing the sleepy-head jerk.

Thank God things are going better. For awhile there I was almost ready to throw in the towel. I think I can make it through now though. Four more weeks y'all and then I get a little vacation before the fall semester starts. Yeehaw! I'm geeked about my fall classes though--Psych 325 (Educational Psych), Hist 380 (WWII Documentary course), and my last semester of foreign language, Russian 201. Those classes should hold my interest and I think I will have fun with them. Anyhow, just wanted to let my two faithful readers know that my summer classes are going better...

Yes, all you fellow GVSUers out there...tuition is going up again starting the fall semester. The GVSU Board of Trustees decided that a hefty 7.6% increase should help the university line their pockets a bit better. This just plain pisses me off. I know part of it is that the wonderful state of Michigan decided that they simply pay too much to help students attend universities, but still, GVSU decided to jack our tuition up and I want to know what they are planning on doing with it. We have beautiful landscaping, coffee joints, comfy couches, and pool tables, yet we have barely any grad programs and our profs are getting paid, well...shitty.

Right now I am taking an independent study and I found out that the prof I'm taking it with doesn't even get paid to do it! But, I still had to pay over $800 for the course! Where in the hell does that money go?!

Don't bother asking the university where all our tuition dollars go...they will give you a long litany of reasons why they are up-ing the operating budget by $12.9 million over last year. $12.9 MILLION people! Coming straight out of us! If you want more info on the university's reasoning check out GVSU's homepage. Of course, they will tell you how fine of an education you are getting financially raped for, but hey, what are we to do? It is not like many of us can just throw our hands up and say, "That's it! I quit!" And, the university knows it. Please read up on this. I think a few of us should finally complain, even though I don't think it will do any good. For more info from the Grand Rapids Press on the in-state resident tuition hike, click here.

Yes my dear friends, beauty is pain. I was feeling a bit down-in-the-dumps about my looks as of late, so I decided to do something about it. I painted my toenails which is a difficult process when you are not a thin woman. Plus, I am old which means I am not as limber as I was when I was a young'un. I have to tie myself up like a human pretzel in order to access my toenails. I got it done and they do look pretty.

Then, in a fit of momentary impulse, I decided to get my bushman eyebrows waxed. OH MY GOD! I have never cried like that before in my life. I have had my eyebrows waxed several times, but this time I got the eyebrow waxing Nazi. She smothered on enough wax to remove pig bristles and then ripped those puppies off with fanatical zeal. I thought she was going to do the wicked witch of the west laugh at me. Holy crap. My eyebrows are still beet red. It is a good thing that I have no place that I have to be at in the next 36 hours or everyone would ask me if I have been crying. Hey, my eyebrows look pretty damn sexy though. Weird that eyebrows can be sexy, yes?

Oh, and just for my female readers...I cut myself shaving again. In my armpit of all places. Ouch. But I would rather shave and risk the nicks rather than have 'em waxed. Just the thought makes me cringe.

I think that I may just dye the hair on my head next. Perhaps a flame red or streak it purple or something. Hmmmm. That shouldn't be too painful as long as I don't get the dye in my eyes. Ahhh, the things we do for beauty!? Men wonder why we do all these bizarre things to ourselves. Well, you guys out there, don't you appreciate a pretty woman? Men complain about our use of makeup and all of our hair stuff, yet how many men drool over women with frizzed out hair, plain faces, hairy armpits, and bushy eyebrows? If us women were not willing to suffer the pain, men would have to get used to much uglier women walking around. Beauty is pain...

Do you think it is legal to sell your own children to the gypsies? I am just kidding. Kids are fantastic little creatures...they have the ability to drive us pecking insane and yet look so cute doing it. I love being a mom, some days. Today is not one of those days. My son is stomping around the kitchen in my heels and making a lot of racket, but he is so cute that I simply can not yell at him. My youngest daughter is chasing the dog around the house which is also loud but cute. My oldest daughter is trying to play mom and yelling at the other two. She is trying to be helpful but is coming off as more than a little annoying. Hmmm...after listening to her for a few minutes I wonder if that is really what I sound like.

I'm also trying to play catch-up with readings. Unfortunately I can only read about 3-4 paragraphs before someone has a crisis that I need to resolve. I am desperate sometimes for an emotional outlet. I need other moms around me to listen to my gripes, offer advice, and be able to understand the complex situation of being a student and a mom and a wife. I know that I am not the only one at GVSU dealing with multiple hats. Desperate for a little help or information, I decided to check out the GVSU Women's Center. They do have a lot of links to other sites, but none that I found helpful. I would love it if GVSU Women's Center offered a support group for us parents. Just an hour or so once a week to compare lives and get some advice. Anyhow, today has been difficult, but I can always lean on the few other moms I know out there for help. I'm not the only one like me.

Well, now that I am firmly entrenched in my second six weeks of classes, I can honestly say I miss the first six weeks. The first six weeks was like an intellectual extravaganza. I dined off of the buffet line of expert teaching, well-planned classes, and insightful information. Now, I feel like I am eating out of the garbage cans. My child psych(o) class is the absolutely worse class ever and my independent study, while entertaining, is more like eating fast food--filling but the experience of dining isn't there.

Child Psych(o) class is god-awful. If it wasn't for a few people in that class I would probably just curl up and die of boredom. And, the thing is, the teacher seems like a very nice and friendly woman. I think it is just because the material is dry and so much of it just doesn't seem to be pertinent. Plus, she does talk at a super fast speed and uses the dreaded PowerPoint for lectures. Ughhh.

My independent study is okay. I haven't been able to get into it too much just because I haven't had the time to do all the readings I should. So, now I am playing catch up with readings. Sucks to get behind, no? I'm hoping to get more out of it when I get caught up on the readings.

Oh well. Not every class can be as good as French cuisine. Sometimes we just have to grin and bear it. Anyhow, hope all of my fellow GVSUers are having good classes.