I had perfect spelling in 3rd grade - I remember that because I got blue ribbons for it and my name was in the local paper.
By 2nd grade I knew the capitals of every state and could locate the states on a map. It's because I loved looking at maps - still do.
I had bleached blonde hair in high school.
I have had the smallpox vaccination 3 times and it would never form a scab and so I don't have a smallpox vaccination scar. I don't know anyone else my age who does not have a scar from this.
I was once married to a Jimmy - I am now married to a Jimmy who prefers me to call him Jim (everyone else calls him Jimmy) - he has a son named Jimmy - it gets confusing sometimes in the conversations.
My big toes are double jointed.
Some people consider me ambidextrous, but I just think my brain is confused. I write and use a fork and spoon with my left hand. I still haven't figured out which hand works best with a punch ladle so don't like to serve punch. Everything else.... I do right handed. No one tried to change any of it. Thank you.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
I got this from Patti - I removed some of the questions in which I could not think of a response. If you choose to play, let me know. You might want to look at Patti's post to see the rest of the questions I omitted.
What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
Rented a place at the beach for a week with the whole family invited - Not everyone could come, but many did. If I do it again this year, I want to do it for two weeks - the first one with the family, the second week for ME. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I really don't have New Year's resolutions, but I set a challenge to read 50 books - didn't make it, but that's ok, I read alot anyway!
Did anyone close to you give birth or adopt?
We have had a few teachers who have given birth. My peers are becoming grandmothers.
Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, Betty, from church. I do miss her.
What countries did you visit?
Good old USA - specifically didn't go any place really.
What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
I would like to have LESS STUFF.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I lost 30 pounds.
What was your biggest failure? Not keeping up the walking in the summer and letting it lapse in the fall too.
Did you suffer illness or injury? No, but went to physical therapy for a knee injury in 2006 - and got satisfactory results. I can kneel at work and church.
What was the best thing you bought? Time at the beach - oh yeah, a pair of shoes at the beach that are in the style of a Birkenstock sandal but the material of crocs. I would wear them EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE YEAR IF I COULD - I need to find another supply. Price? 9.99.....
Whose behavior merited celebration?
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Those who have made TONS of money in the entertainment industry that can't seem to keep their nose out of trouble and keep digging deeper in their doo. Also the amount of money that folks in the entertainment and sports industry demand or expect. Pure greed.
Where did most of your money go? Living expenses, but each month I attempted to give to some charity, some off the record (as in those around me in circumstances beyond their control and grassroots collections) -- please note, most of my money did NOT go to charity, but I did try to be more intentional in giving to non profit groups.
What did you get really, really, really excited about? Being more intentional in eating local foods
What song will always remind you of 2007?
Maybe discovery of a group - Adiemus
Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? about the same
b) thinner or fatter? thinner
c) richer or poorer? hmmmm, depends on what kind of wealth or poverty one is asking about! Money wise, I know our money does not go as far as it did last year!
How will you be spending Christmas? - well, hopefully the rest of Christmas I can uphold the last few days up and continue to listen to the music of the season, as well as enjoying fewer THINGS and more memory makers.
Did you fall in love in 2007? I continue to love many and be loved by many.
How many one-night stands? uh - I don't think so!
What was your favorite TV program? I still am the creature of habit and enjoy Jeopardy.
What was the best book you read? Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver had the most impact on me this year.
What was your greatest musical discovery? Adiemus as a group - Youtube as a place to listen to performances of certain songs or groups.
What did you want and not get?
Materialistically? Popeye's DVD set of cartoons 1933-38.
What was your favorite film of this year? Miss Potter
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? - I believe I went to church. I was 51 and that was almost a year ago now.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Having more time with my husband -- he works many long hours!
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Comfortable and utilitarian - I don't wear anything that I would get upset if I got anything on it that would make it unwearable.
What kept you sane? Music and Meds
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I do sort of fancy Hugh Laurie.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007: Giggling in the car with a bunch of girls is very good medicine.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: This does not sum up my year, but it sums up what I am thinking - and we sing this alot in our classroom. This Youtube video is the song - watching the little girl in the white dress sums it all up. The video is certainly amateur quality, but hey it's a kids' song!
I think I can remember the words of this so I will type them in, but not sure if they are exact:
Everybody has music inside, especially for you,
Don't be afraid to let it out, it isn't hard to do.
You don't have to be a virtuoso, it doesn't matter if you sing just so so
it's a feeling down inside your soul, so come on you can do it. Everybody has music inside, so let a song ring out.
Just let it come right from your heart, that's what it's all about. Music is the sound of life, reaching out for love
Everybody has music, everybody has music, everybody has music, inside.
Presbyterian Gal tagged me for this, so here goes -- thanks Presbyterian Gal!
Now that the dreaded Black Friday has come and gone, here is a short little Meme to properly kick of the holiday season.
Name five of your favorite all time gifts. Either given or gotten.
I could go into intangibles (and I do with the music), but I will post about tangible gifts in this meme.
I don't remember how old i was but I know that there was a toy store by the library in downtown Tallahassee. The Little Folks Store had a pinball machine that caught my eye. I remember that and wanted it so badly. I have no idea why I wanted it, other than I knew it was pricey in those days 14.95. I am assuming it ran on batteries because I remember playing with it on the carport. Anyway, I got it and I don't remember the occasion. I loved that pinball machine.
One of the fun gifts a couple of us friends put together was for the time one of our girlfriends decided to go iceskating. She went with her daughter, both of them adults. Well, her daughter fell, she did not UNTIL she tried to help her up and she hit the back of her head and split her noggin. So.... the good friends we were, we found an army helmet to put flowers in to deliver to her. After she killed the flowers, she had good protection for her head.
I remember being at a neighbor's house - and they had an old piano. I picked out by ear "My Country Tis of thee and added the chords to it" -- I don't know how I knew to do that. It wasn't long after that we got a piano and after years of piano lessons and playing, and singing, the gift of the love of music continues to this day.
Last year, my husband went back home to bury his grandmother. He brought back a coffee mug which was hand thrown and fits my hand perfectly. Coffee doesn't taste the same if it isn't in that cup.
For a couple of years, we did this with the children. I know the 12 days of Christmas begins on December 25, but 12 days before Christmas, we would pick a family or individual, and for 12 days we would drop a gift at their front door - the first one would be of one item, the 2nd day - 2 items, 3rd day - 3 items, 4th day - 4 items (we always gave a 4 pack of toilet paper for laughs) - we had to pick someone we didn't know really well and it was usually either an older couple or someone that we knew needed cheer. We kept pretty anonymous as we could, but I think we would get discovered towards the end since they anticipated the gifts and would try to find out who we were. It was a ton of fun for the kids, helped us get through the days before Christmas and brought a ton of joy to all of us.
No one asked, so I tagged me. Does that mean I'm it?
Ten things about me, in no particular order....
I still watch the same local station news show that I have been watching since i was a little girl.
I remember when television stations signed off with the National Anthem and showed a test pattern afterwards.
I don't chew gum.
I rarely drink and only if I have to drink out of an aluminum can -- no way....
During my childhood, I hated...hated elevators. Then one day I no longer hated them. Don't know why.
I remember when our milk at school was 2 cents for a carton - I remember using a mercury dime and buffalo nickels to pay for my lunch.
I remember playing out til dark and parents ringing bells for their children or hollering for them.
This is the first year I have been teaching in my job that I have had knots in my stomach when i come home because I have REALLY worried about some of them. For a very good reason.
I always wonder why we read books about winter covered with snow to our kids when most of them have not seen it and never will. I'm still waiting....and I am 51.
In 2nd grade, I decided to learn all 50 states and their capitals. I thought I was pretty smart until I had a three year old come into my class several years back and knew them.
Pretty random stuff, some nostalgic - nothing earth shattering, and I had a hard time pulling this together. Not sure why. I know I still need to do the Beatrice interview with Tillie and a kitchen shot with Mary Beth. Soon, folks.
employed in highschool at the Golden Arches (where one could buy 2 hamburgers, 1 small fry, an apple buy and small drink for 99 cents (that was with tax included))
college - worked at student union and information services (I KNEW A TON OF PHONE NUMBERS!)
(a) Those tagged will share "Five Things They Dig About Jesus". (b) Those tagged will tag 5 people. (c) Those tagged will leave a link to their meme in the comments section of this post so everyone can keep track of what's being posted.
1. He was into foot washing.
2. He was the best Christmas gift and it lasts the year round.
3. He broke bread with everyone, including his enemies.
4. He answered with the greatest "touche" answers.
5. He loves the children -- ALL the children of the world.
I have been tagged by two people (Grace-thing and Sally) to do this -- so here goes
Okay, first the rules:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. 2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. 3.At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. 4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
8 Random things about me:
1. I twirl my hair when I go to sleep - sometimes I end up with a knot in my hair. I have been doing that since I was a little girl.
2. I can do at least 5 somersaults in the water without coming up for air.
3. My mother has told me I was potty trained at 15 months.
4. I have eaten armadillo meat and possum meat and lived to tell about it.
5. I rarely lose my temper.
6. I remember when a carton of milk cost 2 cents at school.
7. I remember using mercury dimes to buy the milk.
8. I taught childbirth classes and was a LaLeche League Leader back when my children were young.
RULES: People who get tagged need to write a blog post of 6 weird things about them as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names.
1. Like Mary Beth, I am an excellent speller - and I can spell just as well backwards as i can drawrof forward. Good for the game Cranium. I can also mirror write.
2. The genres of music I like are on the bottom of the heap for popularity with the general public. I really like Choral Music, organ music, and early music (meaning Baroque and before). I also like music from the 30s and 40s of the 20th century. Oh yeah, I like to contra dance, speaking of music.
3. I would be pretty much content without a tv, as I am a radio listener as well as a internet junkie and I love to read.
4. If I go to any town, one of the first things I look for is to see if they have an Episcopal Church. When I went on the cruise, and stepped off to one of the ports, I would look for Episcopal/Anglican Churches.
5. I don't have perfect pitch, but if I am looking at music and hear it being played in a different key than what is written, I know its not the same as what as written on the page.
6. When I get up in the middle of the night, I still worry about the little gremlins under my bed who might pull my leg and trip me.
Consider yourself tagged if you play this. Let me know if you played and I will visit your golb blog!
I am not sure of how this collection of books came to be, as it seems to be an wide assortment of books, some classics, some not. I found this meme on this Carmen's blog, a fellow RGBP.
Here’s what you do:
Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you’ve read (I highlighted mine in red, since I couldn't see the bold), italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a 10 foot pole, put a cross(†) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk(*) the ones you’ve never heard of. [I left untouched those I've heard of but don't necessarily plan to read.] 1. †The Da Vinci Code(Dan Brown) 2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) 3. †To Kill A Mockingbird(Harper Lee) 4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell) 5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) 6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien) 7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien) 8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) 9. *Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) 10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry) 11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling) 12. †Angels and Demons(Dan Brown) 13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling) 14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving) 15. †Memoirs of a Geisha(Arthur Golden)(part of it) 16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling) 17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald) 18. *The Stand (Stephen King)(of course I have heard of this author) 19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling) 20. Jane Eyre(Charlotte Bronte) 21. The Hobbit (Tolkien) 22. The Catcher in the Rye(J.D. Salinger) 23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) 24. †The Lovely Bones(Alice Sebold) 25. †Life of Pi(Yann Martel) 26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) 27. Wuthering Heights(Emily Bronte) 28. †The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe(C. S. Lewis) 29. East of Eden(John Steinbeck) 30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom) 31. Dune (Frank Herbert) 32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) 33.Atlas Shrugged(Ayn Rand) 34. 1984(Orwell) 35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) 36. The Pillars of the Earth(Ken Follett) 37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay) 38. *I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb) 39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant) 40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) 41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) 42. †The Kite Runner(Khaled Hosseini) 43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella) 44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom) 45. †Bible 46. †Anna Karenina (Tolstoy) 47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas) 48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) 49. The Grapes of Wrath(John Steinbeck) 50. *She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb) 51. †The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver) 52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) 53. *Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) 54. Great Expectations (Dickens) 55. The Great Gatsby(Fitzgerald) 56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence) 57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling) 58. The Thorn Birds(Colleen McCullough) 59. *The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) 60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger) 61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) 63. War and Peace (Tolstoy) 64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice) 65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davies)(have read another of his books) 66. †One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) 67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares) 68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) 69. Les Miserables (Hugo) 70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) 71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding) 72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez) 73. Shogun (James Clavell) 74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)(seen the movie!) 75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett) 76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay) 77. †A Tree Grows in Brooklyn(Betty Smith) 78. The World According To Garp (John Irving) 79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence) 80. Charlotte’s Web(E.B. White) 81. *Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley) 82. Of Mice And Men(Steinbeck) 83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier) 84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind) 85. Emma (Jane Austen) 86. Watership Down (Richard Adams) 87. Brave New World(Aldous Huxley) 88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields) 89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago) 90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer) 91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje) 92. Lord of the Flies(Golding) 93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck) 94. †The Secret Life of Bees(Sue Monk Kidd) 95. *The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum) 96. *The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton) 97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch) 98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford) 99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield) 100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
Yes, it's true. Songbird has been watching Season Six of American Idol with my daughter, our first time dipping into this particular well of pop culture. In the spirit of believing you can do anything, as the auditioners so clearly do, please fill in the following five blanks.
1) If I could sing like anyone, it would be ________. There are one voice in particular I would like to be able to sing like and she sings in the group I sing with on Thursday nights. And that is Heather - y'all don't know her, but she has one of the most beautiful voices I have heard. But to give a name that might be better known, I wouldn't mind being able to sing like Sarah Brightman
2) I would love to sing the song _________________.
Hmmmmm - Exsultate jubilate, K 165 (158a): Alleluia by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - if I could sing that and sing it well, then I would feel like I would be on top of the world! That ain't going to happen - so I will be content with hymns :)
3) It would be really cool to sing at ____________.
I think it would be cool to sing at the National Cathedral - Nope, I just checked - I'm not in their line up of upcoming performances.
4) If I could sing a dream duet it would be with with a dream group it would be ___________.
5) If I could sing on a TV or radio show, it would be __________________. I have a feeling that Prairie Home Companion is going to have a lot of RGBP folks being singing wannabes on that program. So since there will be fierce competition there, I think I am going to say I would like to sing on the TV show Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. That would not be possible since Fred Rogers is no longer alive, but this is dreaming. I think it would be cool to sing on his show!
But, I am quite content singing with the group which I sing with every Thursday night :)
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