Katie's 99 in 999 (currently 55 in 555!)

(prompt from here ) A place you’ve traveled to and where else you want to travel. When I first moved to Florida, I mentioned to someone that I had lived in four states.  She responded (sounding surprised) with, "Wow, I didn't realize you had lived in so many places!" Her reply caught me off guard, probably because I'm pretty sure I've moved the least out of all the other military families I know, so I don't consider four states "so many places." But because we moved between South Carolina to Virginia four times before I started college, it feels weird to consider staying put in any one place, especially since we've really got our fingers crossed for some extended quality time with Florida.  I consider living in one place for more than five years a seriously long-term commitment.  How do I get people to stay friends with me for that long?  Do I have to address embarrassments instead of hiding behind the knowledge that I'll be leaving ...

(I've given up on trying to make this consecutive weeks, but I'll still count it if I get 27 journal-type entries in.) My good friend Alaina posted these questions on her blog for people to answer, so I'm stealing them!  We know how I feel about middle-school-type surveys. 1. What makes you cringe? Angry confrontation.  I'm happy to engage in open, respectful discourse, but as soon people start using "attack language," I literally shrink down in my seat.  It makes me uncomfortable, like when your friend's parents yell at her in front of you. 2. How do you eat an Oreo and what do you think that says about you? I eat mine the same way Alaina eats hers--I eat the filling, put the two cookie parts back together, and eat them.  I'm also the kid who eats all the marshmallows first and then has to eat the cardboardy cereal bits by themselves.  I think this says that I'm not very good at rationing out the extra-good parts. 3. Are you a procrast...

I'm realizing now that I have a LOT of posts to catch up on--I'm nearly halfway done with my list (!!) and don't have near enough posts to show for it.  So here's an old one: Last November, my awesome friend and former roommate Elizabeth met Ricky and I in Sarasota for their annual chalk festival (think 3D street art and such), and then she came to spend the weekend with us in our apartment.  She's the first person to sleep on our couch!  (That doesn't sound like as big of a deal as it feels in my head.)  Anyway, while she was visiting, I told her about my lasagna goal, and she waved her hand dismissively like the pro she is and said she could help me whip something up.  (She was actually was more supportive and enthusiastic about it, but I like the mental imagery of Lizbeth scoffing sophisticatedly at my cooking peasantries.)  So we went to the store!  And we cooked things! I hope it counts even if I didn't make the noodles from scratch, but who e...

DAY 5 - FRIDAY, MAY 18TH Friday began slowly and painfully.  Somehow we made it off the bus and managed to stagger all the way to the metro terminal opening before collapsing on the floor.  No, seriously.  I didn't get any pictures of it, but there were people sleeping up against the walls/pillars waiting for buses and trains, and since it was 5:30 and Ricky looked like a character from The Walking Dead , we staked a claim on one of the huge pillars and took a nap.  Ricky's nap was deliberate--I had every intention of staying awake, but I eventually dozed off and was woken up by a concerned man who pointed out that my iPod had fallen on the floor and might get stolen.  Whoever said New Yorkers aren't considerate was lying. Around 6:30, after Ricky had sufficiently power napped on the floor of a bus terminal (we're super classy, guys), we took the metro to 5th Ave. for early-morning mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral .  But first, Starbucks: It was fr...