When I started this blog, I intended it to only be a place where I could process my thoughts, practice some writing, and record memories or cute things my kids said. Then I told a friend (who had been blogging for a while) that I had a blog… and then another friend started one, so I told her about mine… and then somehow I heard about Works-for-Me Wednesday…and started participating… and before I knew it, I had stumbled into this great big blogging world. And I love it.

I’ve gone through blogging slumps. I’ve wondered at times if I should just quit the whole thing. I’ve been obsessed with my sitemeter stats, and I’ve been at the point where I could care less what those stats say. But this blog remains a great outlet for my thoughts, a way for friends and family to see a different side of me, and a fantastic way to be part of a community.

I hope this Bloggiversary is just the first of many!

And now for your questions. Some were fun, some were challenging, and one completely ignored my suggestion to not ask me about historical matters, but I enjoyed them all.

What is your all time favorite comfort food(s)?

Well, the food I turn to most often for comfort would have to be chocolate. In pretty much any form. Some other favorites are ice cream, mashed potatoes, pizza, a good steak, and chili.

I would like to know what you order at Panera–when you go for breakfast, when you go for a break, and when you go for lunch.

Mmm…one of my favorite topics — Panera! Without fail, breakfast at Panera consists of a bagel with cream cheese and a coffee. My all-time favorite is their cranberry walnut bagel (with honey walnut cream cheese), but it’s only available around Christmas time. For lunch or a casual dinner, I’ll often just have their tuna salad sandwich (with a sourdough roll on the side – love their rolls!), but sometimes I have a panini (like the chicken bacon dijon) or salad (their tomato mozzarella one is yummy). If I’m meeting a friend in the evening, I’ll usually get a mocha, and sometimes split one of those huge cookies with that friend. (Clearly, this is a topic on which I could write for a long, long time!)

Do you like escargot? Well, have you ever tried it?

Nope, I’ve never tried it, and yes Barb, it’s probably because I know what it is. I just can’t quite work myself up to eating snails. I’m not the most “outgoing” eater to begin with. I think the most adventurous thing I’ve ever had was frog legs. And, not to be cliche, but…they did taste a bit like chicken.

Tell us about your early car experiences. Was your first car a clunker or did you get the new car in the driveway?

As a teenager, I never had my own car, but I was allowed to use either of my parents’ cars, provided that they didn’t need them at the moment, and that I kept them filled with gas. “Back in the day,” the cool thing was to go cruising up and down Broad Street (with music blaring, of course) and that sucked up a lot of gas. When I was first starting to drive, my dad had an old Chevy Impala that had a number of “issues.” During the winter, I would have to start it up a loooonngg time before I was ready to actually drive it, because if it didn’t have enough time to warm up, it was bound to stall as soon as I pulled away from the curb. It wasn’t my favorite car to drive, but it did the job.

Have you ever had a driving mishap – ticket or fender bender, etc? Do tell!

Um…ahem…uh, that is to say… Okay, I’ll start with the easy part. I have never, ever been in an accident, fender bender, scrape, or any other such mishap while driving. Now as for tickets, I must confess I’ve had a few. I got one when I was 16, then none for many years, then two within 6 months shortly after we moved to this area (one of which was dismissed when I went to court, so I say it doesn’t count), then none for 9 years, and then one more. Confession is good for the soul, right? I sure hope so.

How do you fit reading for yourself into a busy mom schedule? I have tried but It’s so hard.

Well, the first thing you have to do is to stop doing housework. Then you have plenty of time for reading! But if you find that you simply must keep up with the housework, then you have to find other places to fit it in. We don’t watch much TV here in the evenings, so that’s my prime reading time. I always, always read before I go to bed. But I also try to fit some reading time in throughout the day — such as while the baby is playing happily or while I’m out on the front step waiting for the school bus. Even five minutes at a time will slowly get you through a book. I’ve even been known to keep a book on the kitchen counter, to read a little here and there while I’m getting dinner ready. However, I would advise not reading while you’re chopping vegetables. I’m just sayin’.

Which romantic hero of literature is your favorite? And here is the clincher – you can’t pick Mr. Darcy…. mwah ha ha!

Oh Beck, I hope you’ll still talk to me after I give this answer. The truth is, I’m one of the least romantic people ever, so I don’t even know if I have a favorite romantic hero. When it comes to literature, I always tended to like books such as Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying… and those types of books don’t lend themselves to romantic heroes. I will say that I had a soft spot in my heart for Professor Bhaer from Little Women — will that work?

What was your favorite book that you’ve read in the last 12 months for the first time?

Hmm…another hard question. It may be a tie between The Thirteenth Tale and The Cold Moon (I’m a sucker for a good suspense book).

If you could only read one chapter in a book per day, which book would you choose to read?

Only one chapter from one book each day? Oh, the horror!! But if this state of affairs were a reality, I’d definitely have to pick the Bible. I become a pretty not-so-great person to hang around with when I’m not spending time in that particular Book. If you’d let me get away with the Bible plus one other book, I’d pick whatever novel is on my nightstand, because it’s almost impossible for me to fall asleep without reading some fiction.

When will there be a Katrina Novel, so we can all rush to a book signing?

H
a! Unfortunately, I don’t know if I’m disciplined (or talented) enough to actually write an entire novel, let alone one that’s good enough to get published! But if I ever do, I’m sure all my blog readers will be among the first to know. And then I’ll have to plan my book-signing tour so that I can travel the country and stay with each of you as I go!

In the meantime, my in-laws people I know in real life better watch their step. Because I’m always taking notes on people so that when I do finally write my novel, I’ll have plenty of good material. And if you get on my bad side, you may just find yourself getting killed off in my first book.

Where’s some place you’d like to visit/travel to that you’ve read about? Have you been overseas?

Yes, I have been overseas. Chad’s parents were very generous and paid for the two of us to go to Israel in 1996 with our college — Chad got college credit, and I just went along for the ride. It was an amazing trip, and I’m so glad we went.

I’d love to visit Germany someday, and I would take along my sister-in-law who moved here from Germany when she was 10. That way, she could make sure I got the most out of my trip and handle any communication issues. I took six years of German in school, but I believe I’ve forgotten most of it. I can, however, still say things like: “Where is the airport?”, “The airport is over there.” and “I would like a piece of paper.”

Besides your family (because that is a given) what is your greatest accomplishment?

Tough question. I am much better at talking about my failures than my accomplishments, but that’s not what you asked…

I guess, aside from my family, I’d have to say that one of my greatest accomplishments would be the articles that I’ve had published. Not only has that fulfilled a dream of mine (“writing for publication”), but the articles I’ve written have been about things that are important to me: faith, family, etc., and it’s been wonderful to be able to share those things with others.

What is the most momentous thing that you’ve have learned from this phenomenon called blogging?

This was a hard one. I always have trouble narrowing things down to my “favorite” or “most momentous.” One thing I have learned is how many wonderful, articulate, intelligent, hilarious, deep-thinking, faith-filled women are out there in the blogosphere and how honored and blessed I am to have become part of this incredible community.

Where was this Magna Carta signed and who was the king forced by his nobles to sign it?

And finally, to my dear, historically-minded husband who asked this question… I. don’t. know. All I know is that it had something to do with England and that it was signed in 1215. Luckily for me, there is this website called Wikipedia, so I will direct you HERE where you can read all about the marvelous document about which you ask. Of course, I know you don’t actually need to read that because you already know this stuff. Which is one reason I keep you around — to answer all the historical questions.

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Thanks for playing, everyone! And thanks for being part of what makes blogging so much fun.