MI-5
1. The weather has been way too hot for me this week. What is something you currently think is "really hot"? It could be a book, a movie, a song, an athlete, an artist, or anything.
~A burning marshmallow placed on your tongue - Thats a heat you don't soon forget

2. Eben is going to camp this week. The camp focuses on games, arts, and cooking. Tell us about the last game you played, the last thing you created, or the last meal you cooked. For extra brownie points, tell us all three.
~The last game I played was "80's Trivia" with my friends Kari, Mike & Greg. The last thing I created was the MI5 Poem previous to this. Well, I did create a mess in the kitchen after that and I created an opportunity for a BBQ tonight with friends. Take your pick. The last meal I cooked was the reason my kitchen became a mess. I made green beans, grilled country ribs and Santa Fe Style Rice & Beans that was oh so yum.

3. Caleb thought he wanted a swimming pool. We bought him an inflatable pool with a small slide and a built-in sprinkler. Caleb won't go near it. Have you ever wanted/needed something really badly, and then when you had it, you decided you didn't really want/need it?
~So many things over the years but I think I would have to say my biggest investment remorse, "my ex-husband" I'm not saying it as an attack on him. It really isn't but more of a dumb move on my part. I remember just after H.S. he had decided to join the air force & I was so depressed and cried for days over it because I could not imagine being without him. It was that day that I honestly believed that I needed him to have my fairytale future. He failed his physical and as a result never ended up enlisting. The air force for him was his fairytale future and not getting in broke him. We were married not long after holding on to the belief that we were each others only chance at future happiness. Looking back, I see our foolishness so clearly. He was a swell guy but we were kids. When we were married and faced with grown up decisions, together we were a horrible match. Many things that we "WANT" so badly or think we "NEED" are a direct result of personal greed. We think "Oh if only.... then I could... I would... And it would be better, make me better, fix things" yadda yadda yadda. All too often those regrets come from not looking at the possibilities that it might do nothing at all or perhaps even make it worse. If it did have the opposite outcome we were hoping for. Could we manage and deal with the consequence? I think we'd make better decisions if we were willing to look at both scenarios. Or at the very least test the waters before making the plunge. In my case, I saw the warnings and ignored them because I didn't want to accept it might be reality. Interestingly enough, I am trying to apply this very line of thinking to my house shopping. It's probably the biggest reason that I haven't decided on one. I should have answered this question about a car instead LOL

4. I have been doing a Bible Study about idols (No Other Gods by Kelly Minter). Is there something in your life to which you give more time and/or attention than it deserves? Tell us about it. (This doesn't have to be deep and personal if you don't want it to be.
~Lately its been movies. I get home at night and have been worn out by a busy stressful day and I want to give my brain a break so I veg out to movies. I need a new hobby! My Ballroom dancing class is only once a week and possibly coming to an end soon because my dance partner is moving down south. I need to find a new hobby or a new dance partner soon. That has been my favorite form of re-energizing.

5. Who or what is "Polycarp"? If you don't know, give us your best guess. Then, you can go ahead and google it if you'd like.
~As for the what, Polycarp is that class you should have taken in collage. Its a behavioral science course having to do with Fish & Fashion. You see there was this eccentric professor who believed that the biggest and strongest could influence the weaker to do things outside of their normal patterns of behavior. He tested this theory by placing a polyester skirt on a small carp & put it back in the tank with the other much bigger fish. Well what resulted was the smaller fish got pecked and beaten on & eventually died. So the professor put the skirt on the biggest fish and the others flocked to him but did nothing. One by one in order of biggest to smallest the professor placed polyester skirts on all the fish in the tank and miraculously none of the fish attacked each other. The professor decided to apply this theory to other behaviors primarily human and decided to call his discover "PolyCarp" which is probably a load of crap. PloyCarp/ProlyCrap
However the idea is not so far fetched if you take out the fashion & fish part.
There is no bigger fish in the pond than God. For those of us who know Him, we can allow Him to influence our lives so that we may do things that on our own we might not have normally done. Such as reaching out to a stranger in need. Curbing our tongue when we really wanted to let them have it. Or even putting our worst fear aside and standing up for what we know is truth. Polycarp.net