Wednesday Medley: What's in a name?

Playing along with this week's Wednesday Medley!

1.  Today is "National Joe Day".  Who is your favourite "Joe/Jo" and what can you tell us about him or her?
It is funny, I've been thinking of my grandmother this morning (today marks 8 years since she passed away), and I was remembering how if she was fond of someone, she would speak of them with such a smile and twinkle in her eye.  One name she used in such a manner was "Joe Smiley".  I can't honestly tell you who Joe Smiley is/was other than he was a relative, and she obviously was very fond of him because I can just hear her voice saying the name "Joe Smiley."

2. Who were you named for and do you or did you know that person?
My first name is just a name my mom liked, I guess.  My middle name is my mom's name.  More on that below!

3. Do you have a middle name and do you like it/use it?
Yes, my middle name is my mom's first name, Elizabeth, and I do love it!  It's apparently a popular middle name; I've heard many who have the same middle name as me.  My mom is really the only one who uses it though, if she's scolding me she'll say, "Jillian Elizabeth!!"  Some of my fellow curling buddies were trying to figure out my middle name last week, and I have no idea why lol.  They were guessing whether it was my mom's name or my aunt's name.  One of them just called out, "Jillian Marion!"  And I was like "huh?"  And he said, "No? Is it Elizabeth?"  Jillian Marion doesn't sound right together, so I guess I'm glad it's Elizabeth. haha!

4. Have you ever named your car?  Tell us about it!
My dad had a ritual of naming his vehicles after the people he bought them from - in later years, he had second-hand trucks named Jimmy, Maurice, and Neil, respectively. lol!  So I bought a Toyota Rav4 from my aunt and uncle, and named her after my Aunt Linda.  Then with my current car, the saleswoman I dealt with had the last name "Purdy" so I named my car that.  It's tradition!

5.  Tell us the name of a fictional character you have never forgotten and why you remember it so well.  
Despite the fact that I read a lot, I struggled to come up with an answer to this one.  Apparently I forget characters' names easily?!  I'm going with Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  I remember reading the book in school as a kid, and then re-read it last year for our book club.  I hadn't remembered a lot of what happened, and I couldn't have told you the names of the kids or their father, but I remembered Boo Radley.  As a child, he struck a sense of fear in my heart, this spooky mystery man who never left his house.  (I guess I'd forgotten that he actually did nice things for the children, and ended up being the hero in the end!)

6. Share something random about your week.
I've been feeling so much better about myself since I started getting up early to do a little workout and getting my 10K steps each day, but I really seem to have started to take notice this week.  It may not be all about moving more - it may be because the sun is shining, and it's starting to feel more like spring out, and I'm in spring cleaning mode, and I'm feeling good about the purging I've been doing lately.  But I do think that extra half hour in the morning, when I get up and stand in front of my TV and walk along with the DVD, is helping me feel better, BIG time.  I'm still not noticing any weight loss, but just that feeling of being more active, my joints feeling better, an extra pep in my step... it feels good!  Hallelujah!!