Ask and ye shall receive

First, thanks for those of you who came out of lurkdom to say hi. Second, thanks for those of you who have been commenting in the last few months. It helps to feel that I'm not alone. Third, thanks for those of you who keep coming back and supporting me through the rough spots - for Toni, for Dee, for the rest of you. It's people like you who make this so much more bearable.

Now... on to your questions.

The Lovely Pru asked whether I have "big hair." Growing up in Texas (and *gasp* I cannot even believe I'm admitting this) being an ex-pageant queen, you learn that a woman's hair is capable of enormous proportions with a little coaxing with hot rollers and hair spray. If you knew me in real life - that would be terribly funny, as I am about as far away from the typical "pageant" zombies as you can get. Unfortunately, I have a tremendous amount of hair - I have to get it significantly thinned every time I get it cut, and it's wavy/curly so it appears larger than it is. So, in a way, yes, I have big hair. I do not however own hairspray anymore, so my hair is pretty tame and is not purposefully large. It's sort of a running joke though, that when we go home to visit my family that my hair starts expanding in girth.

T also asked about the big hair, and asked if I'm an Astros fan. I grew up outside of Dallas, so I was raised a Rangers fan. I went to high school with one of the pitchers for the Cubs, and ended up married into a Cardinals' family. Living in Miami, we had season tickets to the Marlins - and went to a World Series game - which was very exciting. But I probably consider myself a Cardinals fan more than any other team.

T also asked if I was related to or affiliated with the Insane Clown Posse. No. Underwater Clown Conspiracy was just a name that Michael and I came up with.

Donna asked why we moved from TX to the midwest. I actually did so via a 5 year stint in Miami. Michael wasn't thrilled about moving to the midwest, but it was for family reasons and the opportunity to work for a great firm, and to buy a much larger house. Days like this though, where it's 36 degrees when I leave for work make it difficult to rationalize why we left living on the beach and 75 degree year round temperatures.

Sadly Nico, I am definitely not a golfer. If anything I am the "anti-golfer." I have never even so much as picked up a set of clubs. Michael would love it if I would pick it up, but then again, he would probably also love it if I hadn't sold his clubs! (I may redeem myself by buying him new ones for the holidays).

Sassy asked (1) what the happiest moment of my life is. Michael and I eloped, and were married in St. John barefoot on the beach at sunset. I had the big princess poufy dress and he wore a tuxedo, but we were all alone on this little cove in Hawksnest Beach. We told no one what we were doing, and it was wonderful. While we were saying our vows (which is sort of funny, because neither of us have any idea what we said because we were so nervous) a brilliant rainbow arched out over the water. At that time, I thought never in my entire life had I been so happy. But every single day, I find something else to fall in love with him for all over again. And nearly every day that I've known him - he asks me to marry him. And every time, my answer is yes. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Sassy also asked if I won a million dollars what would I spend it on. Definitely a house. We're still looking for the "right" house, and I'd love to be able to upgrade, or buy a vacation home. Or - buying a boat would also be nice.

VHM Princess made a comment about southern sweet tea - which reminded me to pass along this little tip. If you're trying to make sweet tea, make it with simple syrup - granulated sugar doesn't dissolve well into tea without a little coaxing and simple syrup makes it so much easier.

Erin, I didn't win the lottery either, after searching for 40 minutes for a gas station that had tickets. I hope whoever won it in Oregon enjoys it.

Blue asked if I enjoy John Grisham novels, or if I have trouble with suspension of disbelief. The Grisham novels tend to be stuff that is outside of my practice, so it's interesting to me because I know little to nothing about the area. If you like Grisham, I'd also suggest Scott Turow - he has a new book coming out this fall.

As far as legal t.v. shows, we're somewhat addicted to Law and Order. In fact, watching nearly back to back episodes of Law and Order is partially how Michael studied for the bar exam - and it worked, he passed (of course, being valedictorian of his class probably had a smidge to do with it too). The funny thing is, I had never seen Law and Order before maybe 2 years ago, but I think I've seen nearly all the episodes now. Every once in a while, both of us will yell - "that's not admissible" or "you can't do that" but for the most part, Law and Order tends to be pretty good as far as the actual law being portrayed accurately.

Cricket asked if I was born in April or how I got my name. Actually, no - I was born in July. My mother (and this is a really cheesy story) and father couldn't agree on a name for me. When I was born, I was very ruddy complexioned (still true - the joys of being a redhead) and my mother said that I reminded her of her favorite flower, which bloomed in April. And thus, my name. Growing up I lived on May Lane. (Yes, the next street was April)

Leggy asked if I am in a better place - and the answer to that is an undoubtedly yes. Don't get me wrong, there are times when it's incredibly hard to deal with infertility (and life in general for that matter) but I am much happier than I've been in a long long time. Leggy also asked how Michael and I met. I was a year ahead of him in law school, and met him there. I was a Dean's Fellow and was teaching classes twice a week to the class under me to prepare them for exams. He came to both sessions, every week - and with a 4.0 g.p.a. he certainly didn't need to. We were friendly - and then around March or so started talking more. At the time, I was dating someone else, but realized that I kept thinking more and more of him. I broke up with the guy I was dating after final exams, and we started dating in May. Less than a week later we were engaged. By August we were married. I feel in some ways that I've known him my entire life, and he's the best friend I've ever had. He's wickedly funny, the most brilliant man I've ever met, and just a genuinely good, honest person.

Millie asked what I like to read. As I scratch my head and realize she means something other than blogs, I guess I'd have to say my favorites are: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (Tom Robbins), One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez), Oranges are Not the Only Fruit (as well as Written on the Body and Sexing the Cherry) (Jeanette Winterson), hmmm.... also a big fan of poetry - e e cummings, Sylvia Plath, Amy Lowell, Rita Dove, etc. I love to read, but just haven't alloted much time to it lately.

Dee asked if I like my new midwestern locale better than my old one, and whether I will ever return to Texas for good. In some ways, yes. I do love where I'm at now better than Miami. The housing market is much more affordable, the people are genuinely nice (I've been here three months now and haven't had anything stolen, a definite improvement from Miami), the weather is seasonal (although the jury is still out on that one), and I am entralled right now with seeing the leaves change. The neighborhoods are full of charm and I'm also in love with having a basement. I horribly miss the beach though, and palm trees, and last night Michael had to bring in all the plants because there was a freeze warning. I also miss black beans and plantains and Too Jays' Killer Cake. And yes, I still obsessively check on those of you in Florida whenever a hurricane is near. I doubt that I'd ever move to Texas (all of my family is there) but I think I'm pretty content where we are right now. Of course, ask me that again in January, and I may have a different answer.

So there you have it. Ask and ye shall receive.