Interview Jill - Part I

This week is the answer portion of Ask and You Shall Receive. Thanks for all the great questions! I now have enough to inspire a few posts and touch on some topics I wouldn't have otherwise covered.

Without further delay:

Karolee asked: Do you play a musical instrument and if so what and how often?Though I don't currently play a musical instrument, I took up the alto saxopohone in 4th grade, the first year we could join band in school. I loved it. Mr. Holtz, the band teacher, also happened to be my 4th grade teacher's husband, and I loved her. As I progressed in school, however, I grew to dislike playing the sax. I lost the passion somewhere along the way; my heart wasn't in it. I was always 3rd or 4th chair, and that was good enough for me. I played in concert band and jazz band. One thing I really liked about the whole band experience, though, was being the marching band majorette all four years of high school. Today, I honestly couldn't carry a tune if you handed me a sax. Nor could I read the music.

Mike asked: What is the first thing you say to yourself when you wake up in the morning? What a great question. Have y'all ever thought about this? After I establish what day it is (weekday or weekend) and what time it is, I guess the first thing I say to myself is "Come on! Get up now or you'll be late!" I'm not a morning person; far from it. It's not necessarily getting up that's hard, it's getting going. I'm a dawdler, a yawner and an all-around feet dragger in the morning. People at work know I don't really "arrive" until after 10:00, even though I am sitting at my desk.

Leigh Ann asked: Are you planning any more projects at your house? Most of you probably went on the Porch Project journey with me this spring. Technically, that project is still not complete since the newly added keeping room is not painted, nor fully furnished. But, after trying nine of those little Benjamin Moore paint samples, we decided on a color for the walls last night (Lenox Tan in case you're in the market for new paint). Also, the sectional I agonized over for weeks arrived Saturday and we love it. Now there are rugs, pillows, artwork and window treatments to choose, and I can check that off my list and move on to MORE PROJECTS! The upstairs of our 30-year old house has not been touched by the decorating wand. Every morning, as I'm yawning and dawdling, I stare are big - BIG! - flowers on the wallpaper surrounding the old, cruddy vanity in our room. Adam will soon venture down the road to a big boy bed, which involves moving him to one of the larger bedrooms, and we think that's the perfect time to start a new phase of projects.

Sandy asked: Have you, as a blonde, ever wanted to dye your hair brown? (Sandy, who has brown hair, says she would like to try blonde, but is too afraid.) Oh, Sandy! Thank you for calling me a blonde. I spend lots of money and lots of time in the salon maintaining my natural blondeness! In fact, I could probably own a second home free and clear on the money I've spent staying a natural blonde. As a child I was a tow-head and stayed blonde until mid-way through college. My hairdresser says my natural color now is "light brown", though I've never seen my natural color, and don't plan to. Before I had Adam I did try to go darker with some blonde highlights, but the dark color oxidized over time and took on a reddish cast. I like reddish hair, just not on me.

More answers tomorrow! See y'all then!