Our babies take flight

In the past week, so many things have changed.

Our oldest daughter has moved, and will be attending graduate school, our youngest has graduated from preschool, and as of tonight, our middle daughter has graduated from high school.

How's that for a busy week? 

from here^

I always say that I could not possibly have more wonderful children. It's true.

They are all beautiful, smart, funny, clever, kind, sharp, witty and talented.

 from here^

For the week preceding graduation, Clementine told me in solemn, quiet  tones that  she did not want to graduate and leave her friends. She loves her teachers, and didn't want to leave them either. She insisted that she didn't want to leave the goldfish or the butterflies, or the ladybugs, or anything at her school.

We tried to reason with her.

 from here^

  
But your new school with have those things and so many more, and you loved it when we visited. She did not want to hear this.  

Your teacher is retiring this year, so even if you were there next year, she wouldn't be. Clementine did not want to hear this, either. No thanks.

from here

So we told her that we knew that moving was scary and that leaving was scary. But that if we never moved, we'd never see or do anything new. That she couldn't read well at the beginning of the year, but she could now, and she needed to move to a new school to get a new teacher who could teach her even more. And that we'd make sure she saw her friends and got to make new ones.

That seemed to help, at least a bit. But she still didn't want to go, and the night before, told me that she was afraid to go. I held her and we hugged. Dan held her and they hugged. She decided she would try to go after all.

from here^

The next day, she went to school and bravely walked across to get her diploma. She was happy to see her teachers and her friends. She was happy to have graduated.

We were so proud. She is so brave.

from here^

As we were proud last night when Caroline graduated from high school. She was accepted into the college of her choice, and will be attending in the fall. It requires a little bit of travel, and this is the first time she'll be living away from home for any period of time. We could not be prouder or happier that she is getting this opportunity. She has always been our sunniest child, and I hope that the students and faculty at her new school know just how lucky they are to get to see her every day.

from here^

And we are so proud of our oldest. She is going to be going to graduate school and has a job working with children, the most important sort of work there is. She has always been my toughest-yet-most-tender, always helpful, pragmatic, and sensible in the best way possible. She is funny, wry, and loyal.

I consider myself the luckiest mommy in the world, because anything I can say about any one of my daughters I can proudly say about all of them.

from here^

Our daughters are the never-ending joys of our lives and we are so proud and happy and blessed to be their parents.

Let's all sing like the birdies sing...

We've been talking about taking Clementine to Disneyland at some point. I  would love for her to be able to go. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law just got back from Disney World with their kids, and it sounds like they had an wonderful time. I grew up near Disneyland and have been too many times to count. My dad always took me, and aside from being one of my favorite places, I was one of my favorite places to go with him.

Sleeping Beauty Castle at night, Disneyland

from here, used with permission^

When my dad was still alive, he and I took my older daughters to Disney World. Looking back, I know the girls will always remember the time they spent there, especially time with their grandfather. We had a blast.

My dad is gone now, and one of the few regrets in my life is that he never got to meet our youngest, Clementine. I became pregnant with her a year after he died. I know he would have loved her, and she would have simply adored him. There are so many things I'd like her to know about him. I hardly know where to start, but share everything I can think of.

I was looking around on YouTube tonight, and came across a video of the original Enchanted Tiki Room show at Disneyland and watched it a few times. The video included the talking statues of the Oceanic (island) Gods and Goddesses that are outside situated around the waiting area. I could still recite almost all of their rhymes, which surprised even me.

Toward the end of the show, the Tiki Gods came alive and sang an ever quicker song and beat drums. When I was little, they scared me to death, and I always grabbed onto my dad.

I can't be sure, but I think that the God Tangaroa was voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft. He voiced Fritz the parrot inside the attraction, and did numerous other voices throughout the park. You might know him because he sang the song You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch in the cartoon How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Most people think it was Boris Karloff, but while Boris Karloff narrated it, he didn't sing the song. Mr. Ravenscroft may be best known to most people as the voice of Tony The Tiger. They're Grrrrrreat! He did many other voices for Disney, too. Some of the pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean, ghosts in the Haunted Mansion, and probably too many others to count.

Thurl Ravenscroft as Tony

When we took my older girls, Caroline, our middle daughter, then around 5 or so, spent most of her time in the park dragging my poor dad between Tropical Serenade (which is what a show similar to the Enchanted Tiki Room is called at Disney World) and It's A Small World, while my older daughter and I went off to ride the "big kid rides" (Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, etc). My dad was always a very good sport.

Attraction poster from here, 

used in the same manner as described^

The original is perfect, still there at Disneyland, and it holds so many good memories for me. Memories with my dad, and memories with my two older daughters. All good. All happy. How many things can most people say that about anything?

All happy. 

All good.

Perfect.

And someday, I'd very much like to opportunity to make new memories with Clementine and Dan. 

Here is that video of the original Enchanted Tiki Room Show at Disneyland. It's 17:00 long, but well-spent.

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room 

at Disneyland

Trivia: This was Walt Disney's first and original audio-animatronic project. There are about 150 different audio-animatronic characters in this show alone and the success of this show paved the way for Pirates of the Caribbean, the Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress (my other favorite with my dad), and so on.

Since all of the characters were controlled by big computers, and computers back then ran very hot, they had to air condition the building to keep the computers in working order. Thus, this was the first air conditioned attraction in the park. So, when I was little, this was where you went when it was super hot outside in the park. It was sooooo cold. Brrrrrrrr.

And yes, I probably do know a pretty ridiculously huge amount of Disney-related trivia. If one could make a living playing trivia games, I'd have it made.

(but you can't). 

Food for thought...

I'd love to be able to tell you that I know what we spend on food every month, but I don't, because we don't separate the food portion of receipts out from the total which includes everything from shampoo to dog food to tires for the car. This is about to change, however, because for the entire month of June, we're counting every penny spent on groceries. 

One of my favorite bloggers (and fellow Compactor), Katy Wolk-Stanley at the Non-Consumer Advocate (^), recently announced that she was planning to have a Food Stamp Challenge (^) during the month of June. Participants will try to stay within the budget and guidelines set for the federal food stamp program to feed their families for one month.

Always willing to challenge ourselves, we've decided to give it a try. We started on the 1st and will do our darnedest to make it till the 30th on what we'd be allotted by our state (Colorado) if we used food stamps. Not only are we going to try to stay within the budget, we're going to try to eat as close to "normal" as possible.  

According to what I've read, the amount a family gets in food stamps (officially called SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (^) in government-speak) varies depending on several factors, including the number of people in the family, the amount of money they make outside the home, and possibly other factors. Women who are pregnant or nursing, infants, and children under the age of five would further qualify for WIC (Women Infants Children). WIC covers dietary basics (^) like milk, juice, cereal, dairy items (eggs & cheese), fruits, veggies, beans and peanut butter. From what I've read, WIC would add another $44.00 to our monthly total since we have a child under the age of five.

Now its time for a little math...

The average monthly food stamp benefit per person is $101.00, which would be $303.00 for the month of June, plus $44.00 from WIC, which would bring our total to $347.00. The maximum amount allowed in our state for three people is $526.00. Adding in $44.00 brings that total to $570.00. Our middle daughter will be here in a few weeks (she's back east at the moment), and I'm not sure how to count her, so for the moment, I'm not going to.

So, somewhere between $347.00 - $570.00 is what a 3-person family would expect to spend on food using food stamps and WIC in the United States. We're going to do everything within our power to keep our spending on the lower end of that range.

As noted above, there are things that food stamps don't cover. They don't cover pet food, toiletries (shampoo, razors), vitamins or medicine. They don't cover hot food. So, you can't go out to eat with them, you can't order in Chinese or pizza, and you can't buy a cooked chicken at the grocery. Alcoholic drinks are not covered.

You can shop at most warehouse clubs (Sam's, Costco), and you can shop at farmer's markets. You can purchase plants which grow food with food stamps, which is nice. Sweets (cookies, ice cream, soda) do seem to be covered.

Food is expensive in our area of the country, and since we try very hard to eat healthily, ours may cost a little more from the get-go. We try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, lots of sugar, and trans-fats. We eat organics wherever possible, especially when it comes to the Dirty Dozen (^). We eat as few canned foods as possible, because cans are often contaminated with Bisphenol-A (^), a potentially dangerous additive. If we purchase sandwich meat, its nitrate and nitrite-free. With children in the house, we always have fresh milk, fruits and veggies. Finally, I eat a gluten-free diet, which can be ridiculously expensive without a lot of advanced planning.

To counteract all of that,  we try to make as many dishes as possible from scratch (for example, Sunday night, we made bagels). We have a membership to Costco, and buy in bulk whenever we can. My husband hunts, which gives us an annual supply of organic meat. Hunting isn't free, once you factor in the cost of the license and processing, but it ends up being much less than we'd pay in the grocery store. I make my own laundry and dish washing detergent, and apply the savings to the rest of our household budget.

Our family is very fortunate. My husband has a great career with an excellent company. We don't live beyond our means, and we have everything we need, including our health and each other. We have thoughtful, kind and intelligent children. We consider ourselves blessed beyond words.

With that in mind, I want to note that this is a choice our family is making to see what we can accomplish in a month - to see if it is possible to feed our family on the money allowed by food stamps, and to do so in a healthy way.

For too many parents, food stamps aren't a choice, but are the main way of feeding their families right now, which is something to think about.

Namaste.

d

Thursday Thunks on Friday Night

Always At Least A Day Late is my new motto when it comes to completing writing prompts, but I really couldn't step away from my family on Christmas Day to write, so being late this week was inevitable.

As inevitable as taxes, the passage of time, and not being able to find your keys when you're in a hurry.

That kind of inevitable.

I didn't want to miss a single moment of our lovely Christmas. So I simply didn't.

Christmas Day was a quiet, slow sort of day. We didn't start opening presents till almost noon; later we had a wonderful dinner (turkey, pumpkin and apples, delicious homemade stuffing, cranberries, with a crust-less pumpkin pie for dessert). The in-between time was spent playing with the SuperCat and enjoying each other's company. It took SuperCat hours to open her gifts; she needed to play with each thing extensively before she could consider moving on to the next thing. It was great watching her play, showing us how things worked.

The last several Christmases have been difficult. My Dad's health was going downhill around Christmas of 2003, he died a month and a half after that. Because of that, and for other reasons, Christmas has been difficult to celebrate for a long time; some years I've had to force myself to do anything at all.

This year, for the first time in a long time, mostly in response to the unbridled joy that the SuperCat has brought to us and continues to bring us every single day, I did quite a bit more, felt quite a lot better, and have been pretty happy the whole season.

Life goes on, as they say. So...

From the Thursday Thunks(^).

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen, the color white and the number 78.

1. Have you ever started your Christmas tree on fire?

No. And how scary is it that that even happens? Can you imagine sitting there, watching the lights twinkle, and all of a sudden, whooosh?

2. How many rings do you wear?

Always the first two, and in various combinations the next three:
* my wedding bands, which started out as two rings, but were connected by the jeweler after our wedding. I'll count those as one.
* a tanzanite and diamond ring given to me by my husband the Christmas after we were married.
* a silver ring with feathers on it that I wear on my thumb.
* a silver poesy ring that my husband gave me.
* a silver ring with a Greek meander (aka key) pattern which looks like this:

3. I say "dog barking", you say _________ ?

He doesn't. My dog almost never barks. He just stands there and looks at you. He growls at people in this really low voice if he doesn't know them at the door, but almost never barks.

4. How many pictures are in the room that you are in.

Two on the wall; old Chinese paintings of birds. Too many to count elsewhere, on shelves, etc.

5. Do you decorate the outside of your house for Christmas?

Some years, yes. Three or four inflatables, lights around the front of the house and in the bushes, a retro plastic Santa...

plus mechanical deer illuminated with white lights, blue and white flowers in the flower boxes, and a winter-themed flag. It's a regular Winter Wonderland.

6. What's your favorite Christmas song?

Carol of the Bells, Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, 1916.



7. What do you fill your Christmas stockings with?

I don't. My husband fills mine, and I fill his. Dan grew up in Holland, so I fill his stocking with candy from there like salted licorice (yuck yuck yuck) and marzipan (yummy).

8. How many times a week do you charge your cell phone?

Every night and I usually top it off during the day. I have the G1 Android, and the battery life isn't great, but the phone is beyond spiffy, so it's worth it.

9. Do you own any exercise equipment? What are they?

A treadmill, an elliptical, and those plastic stair stepper thingies used in aerobics class. Plus two of those rubber balance balls, a yoga mat, and some small weights. A bicycle I almost never ride, too, but I'm not sure that counts since (as I said) I almost never ride it.

10. What's your cookie jar look like?

I have 30 or so. Which one would you like to know about?

This is what my favorite cookie jar looks like

Namaste.

currently listening to: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, the theme from Casino Royale:

current mood: contemplative

Snap! Crackle! Pop! It's Christmas!

According to the SuperCat, the favorite food of pink ponies everywhere is Rice Krispie Treats. And since she has a stable full of pink ponies, she asked me to make some.
You know. For the ponies.

How could anyone say no to that kind of request?

For me, hot dogs and watermelon slices are the Fourth of July. Jiffy Pop popcorn is what we had on the nights we had a babysitter. Caramel corn and orange cream filled chocolates will always be Halloween. And Rice Krispies Treats and Divinity Fudge are Christmas.

Rice Krispies Treats remind me of Christmas at my aunt and uncle's house, where we'd go after we'd visited my grandparents on the other side of the family on Christmas Eve. People don't seem to talk the way they did when I was a kid; I recall my mother, aunts and grandmother sitting in the kitchen during the holidays, smoking, picking at food, and sharing bits of information sotto voce, so the children wouldn't hear. I would often sit quietly and read; if I sat quietly enough, they'd eventually forget I was in the room and you'd hear the good stuff about anyone who happened to not be there at the moment, about people you may not have known, but who seemed to lead scandalous lives. Days of Our Lives had nothing on my family.

I no longer have a large family; I live far, far away from most everyone I knew back then. The family I do have doesn't sit around and chat that way, but I still make certain dishes to remind myself of earlier times and to help create memories for my own children.

Before I stopped eating wheat, if I wanted to make Rice Krispies Treats, I bought a box of Rice Krispies, and followed the directions on the back of the box. Ten minutes or so later, I'd have a pan of hot treats, and the hardest part would be waiting for them to cool.

Now it's not quite so easy. Rice Krispies contain gluten in the form of barley malt, which is a natural flavoring.

So, I go to the health food store and get Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal(^). It's sort of expensive, but tastes good. It's nutty versus the blander taste of Rice Krispies, but I like it, which is surprising. I'm not really a brown rice sort of person - I can remember eating whole wheat bread for the first time when I was maybe 10 or so and thinking that it was terribly exotic, by which I mean it was terrible, period. I'm still pretty much convinced that a mayonaiise and tomato sandwich on whole wheat may be illegal. It's certainly immoral. I really disliked whole wheat then and even now, whole grains bring to mind the lady that lived next door when I was little. She watched Jack Lalanne(^) every morning, did calisthenics in a black leotard, and earnestly gave the neighborhood kids ice cream served with toasted soy nuts on top in an attempt to make it healthy.

Of course, regardless of my feelings, my own children don't know any better; refined white bread has never been an option in their lives. It's been whole multi-grain bread or bust.

Bu back to the sugary sweets at hand: here is the original recipe for Rice Krispies from Kellogg's website, RiceKrispies.com(^)

Kellogg's Rice Krispies

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
• - OR -
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 6 cups Rice Krispies®

Click on the website link above for directions.

If you simply substitute the Erewhon for the Kellogg's, it doesn't turn out quite right; it'll be dry and crunchy, not moist and chewy, so I change the recipe a bit. Here's mine:
Brown Rice Marshmallow Treats

• 5 ½ cups of gluten free brown rice cereal (Erewhon is my favorite, but there are others)
• 40 regular-sized marshmallows I have never seen marshmallows that have gluten in them, but anything is possible, so it's always a good idea to check.
  
• 2 tsp vanilla Vanilla is normally gluten-free since the alcohol base is distilled, not brewed.
• 4 tbsp (½ stick) butter I don't use margarine, but if you do, it works just fine. The only thing that doesn't seem to work is the diet margarines and spreads.
  

1. Melt butter over medium-low heat in large skillet.
2. Once melted, add marshmallows and stir occasionally until melted.
3. When the marshmallows have melted, add vanilla.
4. Stir briefly, then add rice cereal.
5. Stir until coated with spatula.
6. Turn out into a buttered pan, or onto a Silpat. If a Silpat is used, use the spatula to mold into desired shape.
   
   
   On the Silpat, a silicon embedded baking mat that pretty much nothing sticks to.
   
   
   
7. Once cool, cut into whatever shape you like, or if you'd prefer, once it is cooled a bit, press into molds using cookie cutters or sushi molds.
   
   
   This is a flower-shaped sushi mold.
   Cookie cutters work fine if you don't have one of these.
   
   After they've been molded.
   
   The completed treats, minus the ones that were eaten when they were still warm and gooey.
8. Enjoy!
   
   He's happy to be a guinea pig for once.
   
   Yummy
   
   The smile makes it all worthwhile (not that marshmallow treats are super difficult or anything).
   

And that's it. Allez Cuisine!

I found this today, from the fine folks at Quick Stop Entertainment(^), and the staggering talents who create The Venture Bros(^)., Henchmen 21 & 24 singing Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime(^). Links to songs from previous years can be found here.

I can hear sleigh bells in the distance, so I'd better close for now and rush my gluten-free cookies and a glass of milk to the hearth for Santa.

Until later, have the Merriest of Christmases!

Namaste.

Current Mood: festive

What Have I Done?

Nothing bad, I hope.
Nah.
It's a list of experiences I may (or may not) have had.
Things I've done are in bold; things I'd like to do are in italics.
From Lea Is Gluten Free(^), an awesome GF blog.

1. Started your own blog?
Obviously.

2. Slept under the stars?
Many times. I was a Girl Scout!

3. Played in a band?
Badly and briefly, but yes. My school's 4th grade orchestra.

4. Visited Hawaii?
I've always wanted to visit Hawaii, especially since my Dad was once stationed there.

5. Watched a meteor shower?
Many times. At least annually for many years.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity?
Yes.

7. Been to Disney World?
Many times with my dad & the girls. Dan and I need to take the girls & the Supercat.

8. Climbed a mountain?
Not in a long time, but yes.

9. Held a praying mantis?
They have scratchy feet.

10. Sang a solo?
You wouldn't want me to, as I have an awful voice.

11. Bungee jumped?
My husband has bungee jumped (from a hot air balloon, no less), but I would never ever do it. Ever.

12. Visited Paris?
I would very much like to see Paris. My sister went a few years ago & loved it.

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea?
I wasn't at sea, but the storm was. Does that count?

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch?
I taught myself to knit. And I taught myself how to use polymer clay. And a bunch of other artsy/crafty things.

15. Adopted a child?
Thought about it a bit; but I'm not sure it's feasible.

16. Had food poisoning?
I was green

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty?
No. Not for lack of trying, though. Every time I've been to NYC, its been closed for one reason or another. I did walk to the top of the Washington Monument a couple of times.

18. Grown your own vegetables?
Many times.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France?
I'll have to see her on my trip to Paris.

20. Slept on an overnight train?
Two different trains. The California Zephyr from Denver to Chicago, and the Cardinal from Chicago to West Virginia. The train is a wonderful way to travel. Dan & I are taking the other half of the California Zephyr route next year when we travel to San Francisco, so I will be able to add several more nights spent on trains then.

21. Had a pillow fight?
Many times. See Question #2 (I was a Girl Scout)

22. Hitchhiked?
Sorta, once.
Bad: it's a really bad idea and don't ever do it.
Good: a friend picked me up.

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill?
Ya. Naughty naughty naughty.

24. Built a snow fort?
Yep. The first time was at Big Bear Lake(^) when I was a kid.

25. Held a lamb?
When I lived in West Virginia, once a year in the Spring there would be a petting zoo outside the grocery store & I always took the girls. My oldest loved sheep - her "lovie" was a lamb. Anyway, we always held the babies. They are so soft and sweet.

26. Gone skinny dipping?
(blush) yes (blush)

27. Run a Marathon?
Yes. Exactly one. I did very poorly, but I did finish it. Yay, me.

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice?
never been to Venice, though it is probably higher on my list than Paris.

29. Seen a total eclipse?
No. Many partial, annular & lunar eclipses. One hybrid, iirc. No total eclipses, though.
Speaking of which, you know the Carly Simon song You're So Vain?

Well I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won Then you flew your Lear Jet up to Nova Scotia To see the total eclipse of the sun

That eclipse took place July 10th, 1972 and a friend of mine was there. He wasn't the subject of the song though. How spiffy is that?

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset?
Over the Pacific and the Atlantic

31. Hit a home run?
No, but I got to 3rd base once on my own at-bat. Considering how sports-averse I am, that wasn't too shabby.

32. Been on a cruise?
No. My husband and I have talked about the Alaskan cruise thing, but I don't know if I would like to spend that much regimented time or not, and neither does he.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person?
It's always been on my 'to-do' list.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors?
That would be Scotland and/or England. No, I have not yet.

35. Seen an Amish community?
Many times. I lived near some Amish folks for a long time, and we'd see them in town from time to time. There were Mennonites in the area, too. They all seemed very nice. Dan & I recently watch a documentary about the Amish Rumspringa (called Devil's Playground(^) that really raised my eyebrows in relation to what I thought I knew about the Amish.

36. Taught yourself a new language?
No. I keep meaning to learn some Mandarin before we go to China, but haven't gotten around to it. I speak a bit of Spanish, but I didn't teach myself (a series of teachers did), and an even smaller bit of Japanese.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied?
Yes, but probably because I'm not a money-driven person

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person?
::sigh:: not yet.

39. Gone rock climbing?
I used to rappel in high school.

40. Seen Michelangelo's David?
not yet

41. Sung karaoke?
No, but Dan has and he sings beautifully.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt?
Yes, it was very cool, but I liked the volcanic paint pots better.

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant?
Yes.

44. Visited Africa?
not yet. I really want to see Egypt. My husband has been, though.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight?
Many times.

46. Been transported in an ambulance?
Once, when I was hit head on in a car accident when I was 6 months pregnant.

47. Had your portrait painted?
No. I don't know if I would like that or not. I'd have to think about it.

48. Gone deep sea fishing?
Sort of. On a boat where others were fishing, but didn't fish myself.

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person?
Another "not yet"

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris?
Nope. Gah! What's with all the France questions? If I haven't been to Paris (see question above), then I haven't seen the various things in Paris.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling?
Yes. In a pool, in a lake, and in the Bahamas.

52. Kissed in the rain?
My husband. He's a good kisser.

<3 style="font-weight: bold;">53. Played in the mud?
As a child.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater?
Many times. We talked about going again last summer, but never got around to it. Hopefully we'll make it next summer.

55. Been in a movie?
No. How cool would that be, though?

56. Visited the Great Wall of China?
The restaurant or the Wall?
We're going abroad for vacation in the year or so, and China is very high on the list.
I hope to see it soon.

57. Started a business?
No, I'm not a very entrepreneurial minded person.

58. Taken a martial arts class?
No, and it really doesn't interest me much, though my husband seems to be thinking about learning Krav Maga, which would be pretty cool.

59. Visited Russia?
Not yet, but I would like to see Saint Petersburg.

60. Served at a soup kitchen?
Sort of. I volunteered in a battered women's shelter for a while., and I used to give out food from the food pantry at church.

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies?
Yes, several times. Would you like to buy some Thin Mints?

62. Gone whale watching?
Yes. We saw whales and dolphins.

63. Got flowers for no reason?
My husband is the most romantic person on the planet and often surprises me with flowers for no reason ::sigh:: I'm very lucky that way.

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma?
Yes, and I would still be doing it except that my veins collapse and they can't get enough to make it worthwhile anymore.

65. Gone sky diving?
No, and I never will.

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp?
No, but I'd like to, although "like" and "Nazi Concentration Camp" hardly go together.

67. Bounced a check?
No. How boring am I anyway?

68. Flown in a helicopter
No, and I'm pretty unlikely to ever wish to do so.

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy?
I have a stuffed sheep and a stuffed Dancing Bear from Captain Kangaroo, both from childhood. I don't have a lot else in that regard, so they are very important to me.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial?
Several times.

71. Eaten Caviar?
No, but I'd like to. I've been in the room with it, and don't know why I didn't try it. I will try pretty much anything, food-wise.

72. Pieced a quilt?
I've made several quilts. I'm going to start another after Christmas.

73. Stood in Times Square?
Many times. I ♥ NY

74. Toured the Everglades?
Yes. Lots of alligators, really pretty birds, and mosquitoes the size of small aircraft.

75. Been fired from a job?
Never.

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London?
Not yet. See: all other questions pertaining to Europe.

77. Broken a bone?
Many. Mostly in my hands. I found out last year why that was happening, so it shouldn't happen again.

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle?
Yes.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person?
Yes, and it looks a lot like the pictures. By that I mean that it's so huge and so expansive, that standing at the rim, it almost seems flat and not-quite real somehow. Amazing.

80. Published a book?
Not my own all-by-myself book, but I have had my writing published in a book. Does that count?

81. Visited the Vatican?
My sister went a couple of years ago, but I haven't been yet. I'm Catholic, she isn't, so I guess I'd better get on that.
She brought me a rosary, though; she's very thoughtful.

82. Bought a brand new car?
Yes. It's a vastly overrated option. Used seems to work better for me.

83. Walked in Jerusalem?
No, but my sister has. I sort of want to go someday, sort of not.

84. Had your picture in the newspaper?

85. Read the entire Bible?
Yes.
Twice.

86. Visited the White House?
It's lovely.

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating?
Yes, but only domesticated farm animals. My husband hunts.
I'm taking hunter safety classes this winter, so I plan to join him next autumn.

88. Had chickenpox?
Yes, in 6th grade. I started getting sick at school on Valentine's Day, and tried to stay because I didn't want to miss the party at the end of the day, but I didn't make it. I have a small scar near my collar bone.

89. Saved someone’s life?
Perhaps. I gave someone CPR once.

90. Sat on a jury?
In early 2005, I was one of 200 or so people called for jury duty. It was my first time. It got narrowed down to about 4 dozen people pretty quickly, half of which went one place, half the other. Lawyers from both sides talked to our group (and I assume the other group, too). Then we were given a questionnaire to fill out, which we turned in & waited. Eventually, we were brought back in numbered order to the courtroom. I was # 13. Some of us were questioned again, and I guess they decied to keep things the way they were because they eventually chose numbers 1-12, and the rest of us were allowed to go home.
So, I missed it by >< that much, which was sort of sad, because I would have like to have served and will be happy to do so if I'm ever called again.

92. Joined a book club?
No. I read alone, baby. I'm a rebel.

93. Lost a loved one?
Terribly, horribly, yes.
I lost my Dad almost five years ago.

94. Had a baby?
Yes, several babies.

95. See the Alamo in person?
Yes, it's spiffy. Stay out of the basement, though. Bad jou-jou.

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake?
No. First, can you actually swim, or do you just sort of float due to all the salt?
And second, ewwwwwwwwww. Have you smelled the Great Salt Lake?
Icky.

97. Been involved in a law suit?
Yes, for my former HOA as an officer. We won 7/7.

98. Owned a cell phone?
My current phone is a G1 Android (the Google phone), but I've had cell phones since they were huge hulking things in bags.

99. Been stung by a bee?
Yes. But not until I was in 5th grade. A bunch of us were sledding on a hill of mud at Girl Scout camp we ran into a wild bee's nest.
Ouchies.

100. Read an entire book in one day
Many, many times. I'm a readin' fool.
Namaste. =^..^=

Current Mood: (geeky)