Q&A Part Trois: "Love, love, LOVE"

::sings:: "And so we've come... to the enddddd of the road."

Like my Boyz II Men vintage cut?  Ok, so maybe not.  But we are at the end.  Big round 3.  The final round.  Get PUMPED.

Round 3:  Love Questions

1.) Why is Bumbee called Bumbee? (asked by Indiana Girl and Megan AND Re:Becca)

Sorry to disappoint everybody, but there is no uber cute story to that one. Bumbee has a huge fascination, appreciation, love, whatever you want to call it, for Ernest Hemingway. (He was afterall an English major.) And so Ernest had one child during his first marriage, his name was John “Bumby” Hemingway. One day out of the blue, while calling each other “poopie” back and forth, Bumbee decides to call me this dumb word and I hated it. I was like “Nooo how can you change nicknames on me? I could never get used to calling you Bumby. That just sounds stupid and ridiculous.” But of course, Bumbee was persistant and I caved in and we just wound up changing the spelling.

Other variations of the word include: Burpee, Boopie, and Chumbu. But nothing else sticks quite like Bumbee.


2.) Which leads us to Becca’s question: Does Bumbee have any habits that drive you crazy?

Of course. Where to begin? No just kidding. Umm the strongest one that comes to mind are his brushing habits. He brushes his teeth OBSESSIVELY. When he was little he never took care of his teeth and had to get a root canal. The experience was traumatic so he went in the complete opposite direction and now takes care of his teeth far too much. The annoying habit? Brushing his teeth in the bed WHILE I’m still in the bed sleeping. He does it loud. And he does it for a really long time. (Anyone know what the average amount of time should be? He bypasses that times 3.)

3.) What do you do on bad deployment days?  (Asked by Uncommon Life, Uncommon Joy)

These usually happen once a month or every 2 weeks.  I cry for no apparent reason. Always sporadic too like in the Doctor’s office, in the middle of dinner, and the worst ever was at work.  Which is definitely out of character for me because I never cry in front of people.  (Not some of my finest moments.)  Solutions? Taking a personal day or talking about it with my mom or a best friend. Usually telling them “alright I’m gonna get really emotional right now so just deal. I need you to listen about what Bumbee told me.”

A "fun" way to handle the deployment thing is to compliment yourself: “God only gives you what you can handle.” Right? So if He didn’t think very very highly of you, He wouldn’t have given you all this! (Sounds really crazy but it has worked.)  You can make it through.  Church always helps too, even if you're not a real church-y person.  (Trust me I was one of them.)  Since Bumbee left I've been going, and even became a lector this past month.  I’d also be lying if I didn't say my husband has been THE best throughout all this.  I complain about bad students and he never complains about bombs exploding or working 24 hours straight.  (I so need to learn.)  My love for him and knowing that it’s all going to be worth it in the end, is what really gives me my strength.

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Bonus Round:  The Fun Stuff!

1.) Have you/do you sing in a choir because you have an amazing voice (loved those youtube videos!)     asked by Tania

First of all – thank you!!! Second, those youtube videos aren't my best, since they were filmed very late at night/early in the morning just a few days after Bumbee deployed to Iraq. I was beyond depressed and could not eat or sleep so his best friend JD came over to cheer me up. Music has always been the perfect remedy for everything in my life. Without music I would have never been able to handle my parents' divorce.  Music was absolutely my first love.

As for choir?  The first time I sang on stage was when I played Annie in a high school musical - I was in 3rd grade. Then I was in Chorus from 5th grade – senior year in HS. In 5th grade my music teacher, picked me out and put me in solos. Thanks to him, I had a solo in every Winter and Spring concert.  My sister is really who started me on the whole singing thing.  She’s one of those people who can “sang.”  Random lil factoid: My sister and Bumbee's sister were in “The Wiz” together in HS.  She was Dorothy and my SIL was the Tinman.

2.) You're a self-proclaimed BR(Banana Republic) fanatic. What are your other favorite clothing stores you like to hit up?

Ahh yes BR is my fave but I’m also an equally huge fan of the White House Black Market.  Others: Ann Taylor, Express, Guess, Ruehl, sometimes Bebe and Anthropologie, Victoria’s Secret of course, and anywhere that sells Seven’s. I blame my metrosexual father for all my label whore-ness.

3.) Any more puppies in the near future?

Maybe in 2 years Piper will get a Westie brother.  To fit in with our "How to Kill a Mockingbird" theme, we would name him Scout.

4.) Which leads to... What is your favorite book? (asked by MTM-to-Be)

Though I’m not as big of a reader as all my bloggy friends, my favorite book of all time is Le Petit Prince. (French, go figure right?) I even have the best quote from it on the wayyy wayyy bottom of this webpage if anyone has noticed:  Voici mon secret. Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L' essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. “Here’s my secret. It’s very simple. What is essential in life cannot be seen with the eyes. One can only see with the heart.”

5.) If you had to have one last meal on earth, where would it be or what would you eat?  (asked by Lacey Bean) 

I LOVE food. I would have to have a smorgasborg of chicken parmigiana, baked clams, (my sister’s) chicken francese, crab cakes, linguini with tomato sauce, lobster in butter sauce, (my mom’s) baked ziti, ribs, a side of lamb curry, buffalo wingssss, and to finish some tiramisu and one of Bumbee's homemade pies.  Mmmmmmm.  His pies are out of this world.  (Ok you need to come home now and get in that kitchen!)  

If I had to pick a place though, it would be Carmine’s in NYC.

6.) What is your favorite kind of wine?

You mean to go with all that food? I love every type --- blush, red, and white. Depends on what goes best with the meal. But I do admit to ordering my usual Pinot Grigio when in doubt. It never fails. And my favorite drink drink is an amaretto sour.  (DAR, we need to do drinks together one day.)

7.) What is your favorite movie? asked by Rebecca (wow I have a lot of Rebecca bloggy friends. Ok 3, but still.)

I’m an old soul. I have a die hard Audrey Hepburn obsession and love all her films. My favorite being Roman Holiday followed by Sabrina. I also like Grace Kelly films like Rear View Window. For an inspirational film, I loved Into the Wild. I’m also a girlie girl so I love anything with my favorite following actresses: Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Natalie Portman. I have a huge indie obsession (besides the mainstream indies such as Juno and Garden State.) Anything playing at the IFC or foreign films such as Three Times, L’auberge espagnole, et Jeux d’enfants.   (Yeah, so as you can tell I hate all films and music.)   :) 


8.) Re:Becca asked if I would continue to blog once the hubbs comes back home?

We will still have about 2 years in the Army left when he comes back and I’m sure our lives will remain adventurous. We’ll be back and forth from Jersey to Texas or wherever else the Army takes him!  So in short, the answer is yes.

9.) What do you enjoy to do on a rainy day?

Rainy days never really affect my plans. I still like to go out, shop and catch a good film. Sitting at home and playing with Piper is always an option too.

10.) Favorite season?

After some thought (can you believe I had to think about that?), I choose Summertimeeee. Summer = having off and not having to work + swimming (love to swim, was a lifeguard for 4 years) + going down the shore and getting a tan (or mostly freckles in my case.)

11.) And finally Jay asked…. Why am I the only guy commenting on your blog, and what exactly do you suggest I do to ensure it stays that way?

Sorry to disappoint you Jay, but you are not the only male out there that reads this blog. My husband reads this every chance he gets and likes to make “guest appearances” as I call them. He laughed when he read your comment and totally digs the beard. (Asians can never quite pull off the whole facial hair thing.)

Woof.  Ok, I think you picked my brain completely now.  The Bonus Round totally threw you off guard, didn't it?  ;)  

Until next time.  As much as I heart you...  I need to go prepare for The Bachelor.  Season premiere tonight!!