More than you ever wanted to know.

Okay, so many of these questionnaires have arrived in my Inbox lately, in various forms, that it just seems more time-efficient to post the answers to the last one received (Melanie's) here.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Well, "Kristy" sounds exactly like "Christi," the Latin name of our Saviour; I'd have to check with my parents to be sure, but that's probably NOT mere coincidence!

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Last week, while reading Same Kind of Different as Me. (My alma mater, Abilene Christian University, will be giving every incoming freshman a copy of this powerful book this fall!)

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? No

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Seltzer's Lebanon bologna (and if you're thinking of the icky "baloney" kind of bologna, then you've never tasted the lean, smoky DELICIOUSNESS of Seltzer's Lebanon bologna...worth driving to Central Market in Fort Worth for! Worth driving to Lebanon, PENNSYLVANIA for!)

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes...thank God.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? No. I can't imagine why anyone would ever befriend me (I'm exhausting & will try your very last nerve) or ride in a car which I am driving (I'm awful & will test your very last nerve).

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Definitely more than I should.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes. (Perhaps sarcasm is rooted in one's tonsils?)

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Maybe...it's possible. If it weren't TOO big of a drop...and if the water below were REALLY deep...and if the bungee platform were engulfed in flames.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Uncle Sam's. The cereal I likened to "lawn trimmings" the first time I tasted it. (It grows on you. Like lawn trimmings.)

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? 92% of the time

12 . DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? No

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Blue Bell's Tin Roof Sundae

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Hmm...approachability? The *friendliness* of someone's face, maybe.

15. RED OR PINK? Pink. The only family member who looks good in red is Mom.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? Like I would post that.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Nanny. I think of her every day and still dream about her.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? N/A (posted on blog rather than sent to Inboxes)

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? black pants & no shoes (kicked them off after work)

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? chili con frijoles AND green beans = late lunch after Summer School today ("I love beans!")

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Director Patricia Rozema's audio commentary to the film Mansfield Park (a bonus on the DVD)

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Goodness. I have no idea. Perhaps dark purple, like a bruise?

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Mademoiselle by Chanel, the woods, hair salons, the ocean, a load of towels fresh from the dryer, and my daughter (she smells like apricots)

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Tech Support (You don't even want to know. It was a Summer School re-imaging/printing fiasco involving two classes of kids simultaneously.)

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Absolutely!! Melanie is the first friend I ever made in Mrs. Turner's kindergarten class...the last kindergarten class to meet on the campus of Plymouth State University.

(Here we are in third grade, both on the second row.)

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? the Winter Olympics

27. HAIR COLOR? Whatever comes out of Amber's bottle of dye.

28. EYE COLOR? dishwater

29. WEAR CONTACTS? Sometimes.

Hey, someday ask my mom or sister about the time we all went to Allentown, Pa. for a good deal on contact lenses, and Karen ended up being punished for laughing hysterically at me as I tried to learn to put them in. (She had to go sit in the Ford Pinto. Parked next to a deep snowbank. In a dark, cold Allentown parking lot--a punishment *not nearly as severe* as it should have been; Karen nearly ruptured internal organs as she choked and gasped with laughter.) Truth be told, Mom did only marginally better at reining it in. The whole drive home, they shrieked with glee as they recollected my hateful glances in their direction when the lens would pop out of my eye (yet again!) and muffled hysterics would fill the clinic...

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Thai, Italian, & salads

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Jane Austen's Mansfield Park is playing at this very moment!

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Um...it's summer in Texas. It's "shirt optional" weather here.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Yes, please!

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Caramel pretzel Klondike bars, baklava (with a cup of coffee), cookie dough, or brownie batter

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The Good Book...looking for a Scripture selection for this week's church bulletin

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Mouse pad? Huh? Is this 1998? (I use my leg or the arm of my recliner.)

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Mansfield Park--without the bonus commentary (Good grief. How boring. This movie has served for THREE of my answers so far.)

42. FAVORITE SOUND? the singing at Camp Manatawny or babies belly laughing





43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Stones...except when "Hey, Jude" comes on.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Hollywood, I suppose. Not much of a world traveler.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Eating Klondike bars, watching Mansfield Park (that's FOUR!), forwarding email, and avoiding cleaning

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Corpus Christi, TEXAS!!!

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Hmm. Posting them on the blog means I may not see answers.

48. WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? 5:25 p.m.

Wait a minute, Melanie...48 questions? What kind of interview is that? Here's some bonus navel-gazing to round it out to 50:

49. ANY INTERESTING TRIVIA ABOUT YOU? Every time that KACU announces that one of their underwriters is "Dr. Sandi Mathur, gastroenterologist," I always complete that phrase with "...to the stars!"

50. WOW. THAT'S WEIRD. ANYTHING ELSE? Yes. According to a link Kirsten posted, there are 31 "Kristy Fowlers" in this country. I wonder what they're like! (Remember when the comedian Dave Gorman went around the world looking for other Dave Gormans...and 73 of them met for a party in Washington, D.C.?)