AMY'S "YOU ARE" MI-5

1. You are attending a professional sporting event. What sport? Do you go to a specific venue? Who do you root for?

Of course, it would be a Nascar event. I would really like to see the Brisol night race, and I'd be cheering for Bobby Labonte. If Nascar was not part of the equation, I would go see Olympic Figure Skating. The venue changes every year. Honestly, I'm not up on the figure skaters like I was a couple of years ago, but I'm sure I'd root for the Americans.

2. You are quitting your job because your dream job just knocked on your door and fell into your lap. How long of notice do you give? What do you say to your current employer?

I think I would probably give 2 weeks notice, but maybe 4. I think my current employer would be very understanding if I really landed my "dream job". I think she would be sad to see me go, but she would want me to follow my dreams. As far as what my dream job is, I'm not sure right now. I used to think that I'd like to work with Raceway Ministries, but recent events have made me realize that ministry is not for me, at least not right now. I'd love to help brides find their perfect wedding dress, so that might be an option...

3. You are attending a costume party. What do you go as? Will people recognize you (assuming there are people there that you know of course)?

This is a toughie. I'm not much into "dress up". I know it wouldn't be anything scarey. I'd probably go as some sort of princess or something, just so I'd have an excuse to really dress up. I can't see myself really wearing a mask or a lot of heavy makeup, so people would still recognize me.

4. You are going on a road trip. How long do you go? Where do you go?

I'd love to take a road trip. I'm not really sure where, though. Like my brother, I'd love to travel Route 1, and like my sister-in-law, Route 66 would be quite nostaglic too. I don't know---maybe I'll go to the Grand Canyon or to see Mt. Rushmore and other historical/natural monuments.

5. You are the winner of $15,000. Not enough to quit your job or move to Hawaii or anything crazy. What do you do with it? Are you sensible and invest it? Do you buy something you need? Do you buy something you want but don't need?

I think I'd use part of it to simply get away to think for a little while. I need it. I'd probably use the rest to pay down some more debt.

BILLY RHYTHM'S DRUM & FIRE ENGINE MI-5

1) Brake DRUMS wear out on your car. How often do you take your car in for maintenance? Are you fastidious about it, or do you let stuff go?

Fortunately, my husband is "into" all things cars. So, generally speaking, I don't have to worry much about car maintenance. If I was not married to a car freak, I think I would still be pretty fastidious about maintenance. I'm scared to death of being broken down on the side of the road. And, I've blown an engine before because of my failure to check the oil, so I have learned my lesson.

2) A neighbor's house burns down in a FIRE. You have a hunch, but no proof, that the neighbor did it for the insurance. Do you alert the authorities?

No. Not on just a hunch. Solid proof? Maybe.

3) Your ear DRUM is hurting like crazy. Do you bother to go to the doctors?

Nope. I don't go to the doctor's unless I am just about on my death bed. Except for maybe a bad toothache, and that's because I know toothaches generally don't get better unless the tooth is out of my head.

4) Think of song or movie with "FIRE" in the title. What is it? Why did it pop into your mind?

I don't know the title of the song, but it goes something like "Romeo & Juliet, Samson & Delilah....and when we kiss, ooooh, FIRE." Maybe the song is titled "Fire". So as not to embarass my mother, I will leave my comments at that.

5) Remember Stephen King's "The Shining," and the whole reDRUM thing? Have you read much King? Seen his movies? Been by his house? Anything related to him at all?

Never read any Stephen King. Think I've seen one, or maybe two of his movies: Firestarter, and parts of the one about the machines that come to life. I also watched a TV movie about people in an airplane. Can't remember the name of it. I think there were these flying metal balls with teeth. Never been by his house.

Bonus: What color FIRE ENGINE do you prefer: Red, White, or Yellow/Green? Why?

I prefer red, probably because when I was growing up, fire engines were red. Plus, red is the color of fire, so it just makes sense.

NEXT WEEK'S MENUS

I know you all love to know what I'm going to be eating, so here are my menus for next week:

(BTW--I am down 14 pounds since February.)

Monday: Chicken Orecchiette (pasta, tomato, green onion, chicken, parmesan), Sliced Tomatoes, Italian Bread with Dipping Oil

Tuesday: Waffles, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon

Wednesday: Sloppy Joes, Tater Tots, Green Beans

Thursday: Breaded Pork Chops, Au Gratin Potatoes, Spinach

Friday: Sloppy Joe Pizza (layer leftover Sloppy Joe mixture with corn, green onions, and Colby/Jack cheese---not sure I'll like this), Jello Parfait

THIS WEEK'S MENUS

I think we finally caught up with all of the "leftover" recipes from previous week's menus, so we're off with a fresh one for this week:

Monday: Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce (breaded boneless chicken breasts in a cream sauce, served over angel hair pasta)

Tuesday: French Dip Sandwiches (from a home-cooked beef roast), Homemade Macaroni & Cheese, Broccoli

Wednesday: Homemade Pesto with Angel Hair Pasta, Peas & Carrots, Crusty Bread

Thursday: Tacos

Friday: Honey Pecan Chicken (grilled bone-in chicken breasts, basted with a butter, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, then served with a honey-pecan sauce), Salad (probably a BLT salad)

SOMETHING RADICAL

I am doing something radical. I mean, I am doing something REALLY radical. In fact, it is so radical, you probably won't even believe that I am going to do it. You better sit down. (Sue did.)

I am going to a Women of Faith Conference. ALL BY MYSELF. IN FLORIDA!!!! I told you that you wouldn't believe it.

Dwane has been very fortunate to be able to go to Virginia a couple of times, and also to Colorado. I figured that I needed to go ahead and plan a trip for me. As much as I have always loved traveling with my family (and still look forward to doing more of that in the future), there are things that I want to see and do that are just more conducive to being alone.

The Women of Faith Conference I am going to is June 8-9 (my birthday weekend). What really excited me about the whole thing is that the preconference, which is all day on June 8, is by BETH MOORE!!!! Beth Moore is the woman that writes all of the Bible Studies that I do (including the one I recently finished on Daniel). Even if for some reason I couldn't go to the Saturday session, I would still be entirely thrilled to just have the opportuity to listen to Beth Moore. But--on Saturday, Sandy Patti will be a featured performer! What more could a girl ask for????

The conference will be in Ft. Lauderdale, and my plane ticket is all bought. I'll be leaving Portland on my birthday, around noon. I'll have a 2 hour layover in Philadelphia. I'll come home on Sunday, arriving in Portland around noon. For that trip, I have only a 29 minute layover in Baltimore. That's a little tight, but if worse comes to worse, I still should have plenty of time during the day to make another flight. Although I haven't flown by myself since 1989, I'm not nervous about that. I think I can handle that ok. I think my biggest "fear" will just be arranging transportation to get around. But Dwane says that I am a "smart girl" and can figure it out. And Sue said that most hotels in the area will have shuttles to and from the conference, so that put my mind at ease too. I'll just double-check with my hotel to make sure. I did splurge to have box lunches given to me at the convention, so that I won't need to worry about coordinating that.

I'm a little nervous, of course, but I told Dwane that there will be 40,000 Christian sisters in Ft. Lauderdale that weekend, and I'm sure that someone will be willing to help. And, I am not one that is afraid or embarassed to ask for help. If anything, I might be too quick to ask for help. I don't want to waste time figuring it all out if there is someone right there that already knows the answer.

Because this is going to be a birthday gift, Dwane was really sweet and offered to make all of the arrangements for me. I told him that I really wanted to do it, though, because this is going to prove to me that I can. If it goes well, I think it will be really great for my self-esteem. This is a chance to take some of my fears (being on my own, for example--which I have never, ever done), and face them head on. Hey---maybe I'll take on beekeeping next--bees are another fear of mine.

Since I am taking care of the travel arrangements, I have left the planning of child care up to Dwane. That is the part that probably stresses me most, because I really hate to ask anyone. Dwane's weekend at the Samoset is going to be one of the busiest ever, so don't be surprised if you get a call from Dwane for some help. We were just going to ask his Mom to come stay here while I'm gone (which she did when I went to Tennessee, and everything went very well), but Normand had hip replacement surgery on Monday. He will be laid up for 5 weeks, and my trip is in 4. So we don't know for sure yet whether or not she'll be able to come, if at all. Sue has offered to help, and Alice has offered to help some too. I haven't even had a chance to tell Mom my news yet, but I'm sure that she would help when she's not working, and maybe Ma and Aunt Ginny might help with Eben on the weekend, just to keep Eben and Caleb apart as much as possible. Dwane has also left messages for Sandra (his step-mom) to see if she could help out. If anyone wants to volunteer for a spot---let Dwane know!!!

I am so excited about this. I can't believe I'm really going to do it.

Radical, huh????