Ramblings of a Thirty-Something

As most people know by now, the NFL teams have started training camp. I have friends who have visited Packer camp, Bears camp, and Steelers camp, and may I just say that I'm jealous (not of the Bears camp visitors obviously). Training camp marks the beginning of the NFL season, which means the Most Wonderful Time of the Year has arrived! Because football season means fall is right around the corner, and everybody knows, fall is my favorite season (and if you didn't know before, you know now). Why am I so excited about fall? As I said, football is a big reason. I am not a sports person per say. I don't do stats, and I can't get into professional basketball or watching baseball on television. I could care less what the other 31 teams in the NFL are doing--all I care about is my team (and whether the Bears lost). When it comes to my team, during the season, I'll be able to give you a few stats, like how many sacks Clay Matthews has or how many touchdowns Rodgers ha

I feel like "introvert" has a negative connotation. Even as an introvert myself, I still get this horrible image of a person curled up in a blanket in a dark room, refusing to mingle with the outside world. Sometimes that is what I feel like doing. Those days, however, are rare. I do get the impression that sometimes my actions befuddle people. If they could see into my hardwiring, I feel they would be even more befuddled--gobsmacked, even. Hopefully, this helps with some misconceptions people might have. I am very socially anxious. I don't know if that is because my brain is wired introverted-ly or if I am an introvert because of my social anxiety. Who's to say? I'm not terrible--I don't have panic attacks when I am forced to socialize. But it is difficult sometimes. When I am around a group of people I don't know, I get very quiet. I am one of those people that half the world thinks is quiet and the other half (the half that really knows me) think

I know, I know...this is a strange title for an otherwise not-strange post. But I'm thinking I would like to have some semblance of order to this rambling blog, and I thought a weekly Friday list would be fun. But "The Friday Five" is overused in the blogosphere and in general, not very exciting. And what if my list is more than five things? It doesn't allow for whim and fancy, so a title is still in progress. This is also where I would like to have input from anyone who reads this. Give me ideas for future lists! Again, "five" does not have to be part of your idea. You could suggest "7 ways I would use my lightsaber" or "15 places I would visit if money were no object." Just keep the number reasonable, alright? I will not be able to tell you "77 words that don't make sense to me." And if you ask me to, I might have to hurt you... Just in case you were wondering:  "Penultimate" means near the end, and Friday (w

Everyone everywhere seems to be talking about the Royal Baby. Some people positively, some negatively. As you know, I must get my two-cents in (when it doesn't involve politics), so here goes: My Thoughts on the Royal Baby First of all, I want to say that I, personally, am excited by the arrival of the Little Prince. I love babies! Who doesn't? It doesn't matter to me who the baby's parents are--any birth is a reason for celebration. To be honest, I was more excited when I found out William and Kate were expecting than I was that Kim Kardashian was expecting, but I was happy that Kim had a healthy baby (named North?) I feel like this baby, of all the children of stars who grow up in the spotlight, will grow up well. I don't mean well off--I mean will grow up "normal," whatever that means. Kate's parents seem to be very hands-on, and I don't think Kate is going to be that person who lets a nanny raise her child. I mean, even look at how well W

As a teacher, I am familiar with the phrase "lifelong learner." We encourage it in our students--the idea that no matter how old you are, you should continue to learn new things and improve yourself. And as teachers, we try to be an example in this to our students. After all, who wants to be a hypocrite? And so this summer, I have undertaken a few new things, trying to improve upon myself as I ask my students to do the same. I've read at least one book a week--sometimes three--but that isn't exactly out of the norm. I have finally begun work on my Europe scrapbooks (only two years have gone by...and I still have things from high school I need to finish!). And I have done something that I have always wanted to do:  learned how to play the violin. I'm still learning, clearly. The violin is not as easy as those orchestra players make it look. It is difficult! It requires a finger strength I was unaware of--being a piano player, I have fairly flexible fingers. Fle

Okay, here is the thing with blogging...it's kind of hard. And I don't mean it is difficult to write blog posts or to find the time to do it--that's the easy part. The hard part is sitting at your keyboard, watching the cursor blink at you because you , Miss I-Decided-to-Start-a-Blog, don't know what to write. Writer's Block. The Kryptonite to my Superman. The Precious to my Gollum. The ysalamiri to my Jedi (yeah, that's an actual thing...read the books). This isn't so much a problem if you have a themed blog, such as recipes or photos or movie reviews. But I am not that person. I have way too many interests to tie myself down to a topic, or even a general area. I'm all over the place, like the Winchesters hunting demons. Thankfully, though, I am not the only blogger to have this problem. During my quest to find a topic for today's post, I came across several lists of good blog post ideas. And that's where I got this idea. One blogger s

First of all, slight disclaimer here--this idea is not an original. I borrowed it from someone else. There are actually way more blogs called "Dear Future Husband" (or something similar) than you would think, so in all honesty, I don't think this is any kind of copyright infringement, but I'm throwing this out there just to be safe. Now, although the idea is not mine, each of the following items is specific to me. After I first read that blog some months ago, I started jotting these down in my journal whenever they popped into my head. Some other people might find relevant. Some you might read and say, "Yep, that's totally Kaitlin. No other person in their right mind would feel the need to warn their future husband about that." The basic idea:  these are things that are likely never to come up during dating or a date-like scenario. They are simply things that I  feel my future spouse will be thankful he knows before taking the plunge with me. (And ju

Hello out there! I'm back, world of blogging, and better than ever (well, that remains to be seen). My last blog, which I believe has a link on my profile somewhere, had a specific purpose and theme. None of that nonsense will be held here. I have opinions (odd ones, yes, but opinions nonetheless). I enjoy things. I dislike things. I feel neutral about things. And you, dear reader, now get to see what is going on inside that more-strawberry-than-blonde head. If you know me personally and think that this blog sounds nothing like me because it's, well, eloquent and makes sense, you have caught on to my big secret. My fingers work better at putting together complete thoughts than my mouth does. I think there is a blockage between my brain and my mouth--a swinging door that occasionally lets something good out but mostly lets out nonsense. I can't always think of things to say but I can always think of things to write. And please keep in mind:  these are RAMBLINGS!