Things I've Done

Here's another good meme... this one via Pica:

Things I’ve done are in bold.

1. Started my own blog (obviously!)
2. Slept under the stars (church camp, on the beach, actually)
3. Played in a band (band, orchestra)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (I promise this is not on any life-list of mine!)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch (I'm counting knitting -- my mom taught me as a kid, so I had a general idea when I picked it up again, but pretty much everything this time around comes from reading/watching online)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (huge fear of heights -- no thanks!)
18. Grown my own vegetables (but my mom did when I was young)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (there was one when I was in elementary school; I remember looking through a pin dot in a piece of construction paper...)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia (in June, 1990, with a small group of people from high school)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (and my mom was the cookie chairman one year...)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (honestly, just the Holocaust Museum was probably enough for me... I've actually been there twice, although I didn't do the full experience the second time. The first time was so hard.)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (but I have seen them change at Lenin's Tomb in Moscow...)
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (almost, but I couldn't get through Psalms. I just don't get poetry. Sorry, Cindy)
86. Visited the White House (actually, I'm not 100% sure on this one... I don't *think* we did when I was in DC with Close-Up in high school, but I could be wrong. That was a crazy week.)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

Hmmm... wonder what this all means? Some of these things I don't ever want to do ;)

Deck the Halls meme

Christine did this, so of course I had to, too!

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate.

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? Santa's are unwrapped, of course.

Colored lights on tree or white? We had colored when I was a kid, but my mom prefers white now. So do I :)

When do you put your decorations up? Um, am I supposed to do that?!

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? We don't really have any major Christmas food traditions... breakfast used to always include those Pillsbury cinnamon rolls that come in a can -- yum!

Favorite Holiday memory as a child: I don't know about "favorite" -- a lot of them blend together! I do remember one year, I must have been about 8, my mom had bought me a "Ginny" doll, with clothes, and a storage wardrobe... she numbered the packages so I would be sure to open the doll before the accessories!

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? The only thing I know about Santa is that he's awesome. I have no idea what other "truth" anyone might be asking about.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Nope. We celebrate with my mom's family on Christmas Eve, so there were presents from extended family when we were younger.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Well, the last time I tried, it fell down. (The integrated plastic stand was a dud.) Luckily I hadn't decorated it yet! Anyway: my mom always gives my sister and I a new ornament every year, reflecting a special event or trip, special interest, whatever. When we each moved out, our ornament boxes moved with us. I have a great -- and eclectic -- collection of things I love to see on my tree.

Snow! Love it or Dread it? The only good thing about it is that it reflects sun, so it can help brighten a dreary winter.

Can you ice skate? Sure! It's been a long time, though.

Do you remember your favorite gift? Wow... that one's tough. I remember lots of great gifts, but it's hard to pick just one.

What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with family and friends.

What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I have a couple of good cookies -- a shortbread that you twist and shape into candy canes, peanut butter kisses, and buckeyes, for example... (yum!)

What is your favorite tradition? Hmm... now that I live far away from my family, I don't get to do this very much, but I used to wrap almost every single gift we gave. My mom would box up gifts for my sister and I into plain boxes, and just tell me to wrap them -- she wouldn't even tell me who they were for! (Mostly, she remembered who got what by the shape of the box... except when she forgot.) I used to love having my own little wrapping station set up, choosing the perfect paper, tying a beautiful bow... now, it's more of a chore, unfortunately!

Which do you prefer, Giving or Receiving? I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it may incriminate me!

What is your favorite Christmas Song? Adeste Fidelis, sung in the original language; Un flambeau, Jeanette Isabella (that one's stuck in my head lately, although I can only remember the first line); and pretty much most of the rest of them. For Advent: O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Mostly yuk. Although Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses are a total YUM!

Ever recycled a Christmas present? I remember re-gifting something, but I can't remember if it was originally a Christmas or a birthday gift. I've also recycled gifts to Goodwill from time to time. But if you're reading this, I promise none of these were things you gave me. Honest. No, really.

Go forth and meme :)

Flickr Game

The Game
Originally uploaded by AJB30
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

1. Pleated Purse in Amy Butler Acanthus, 2. No-knead bread, 3. IMG_9317, 4. Gizmo, 5. Alpha List, 6. Icy Coke, 7. Tulips and Windmill in Holland, 8. 14th August 2007 / Day 226, 9. Blessed Are The "Piece"makers, 10. The Old Library, 11. Lazy Cow - Flatford, Dedham, Essex, England - Sunday June 10th 2007 - Highest Explore position - #1 on June 14 2007.WOW!!.:O):O):O), 12. DM nine

A fun flickr game, via Jane. 12 questions, a little flickr search, and a great mosaic-making tool. Enjoy!

Words

One rule - one word, that's it. I wasn't going to do this, but every time I read one, I learned something new -- and saw questions I hadn't seen before!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your significant other? none
3. Your hair? colored
4. Your mother? helping!
5. Your father? home
6. Your favorite thing? quilting
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your favorite drink? lemonade
9. Your dream/goal? happiness
10. The room you’re in? dining
11. Your ex? sweet
12. Your fear? many
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? smarter
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you’re not? nice
16. Muffins? yum!
17. One of your wish list items? sanity :)
18. Where you grew up? Michigan
19. The last thing you did? cleaning
20. What are you wearing? jeans
21. Your TV? off
22. Your pet? George-the-cat (hyphens make it one word, right?)
23. Your computer? Dell
24. Your life? crazy!
25. Your mood? overwhelmed
26. Missing someone? family
27 Your car? Saturn
28. Something you’re not wearing? contacts
29. Favorite Store? LQS
30. Your summer? working...
31. Like someone? yup
32. Your favorite color? red
33. When is the last time you laughed? constantly
34. Last time you cried? recently

Thanks to Kate, Colene and Dorothy

PS - the shreds add up to 8 grocery bags, one shopping bag and the box my Christmas tree came in. Plus a laundry basket and trash bag full of the paper that didn't have to be shredded. Why-oh-why do I procrastinate?!

Tagged

... by Tammy (Ideagirl). Gee, thanks ;) Actually, I'm pretty slow at getting to this, but I'm trying... EIGHT things is a lot! This is the best I can do...

Eight Passions in My Life

1. Family
2. Quilting
3. Reading
4. Grammar (weird, I know)
5. Learning (I should "practice" that more)
   

Eight Things to Do Before I Die

1. Figure out what I want to be when I grow up
2. Grow up (or choose not to)
   
3. Get rid of the bats in the attic
   
4. Have a quilt juried into some kind of show
5. Be healthy (heck, healthIER would be acceptable!)

Eight Things I Often Say

1. No (seriously)
2. Um
   
3. God Bless America (not in the patriotic way, but in the substitute-for-a-swear-word way)
4. Whatever
5. Dude
6. Can I just say / Can I just tell you
7. Hey
8. Oy (hey, dude, can I just say that I got to eight on this one?!)
   

Eight Books I Have Read Recently

1. Stone Cold - David Baldacci
2. Two or three books by Iris Johanssen
3. The new Dick Francis book
   
4. Bread Alone - Judith Ryan Hendricks
5. Next on the list: The Watchman by Robert Crais (I misplaced this -- it was a birthday present!)
   
6. Sheesh... I'll read ALMOST anything, so why is it so hard to remember? Oh yeah, because I read everything!
   

Eight Songs That Mean Something to Me

1. "Nimrod" from Elgar's Enigma Variations
2. Brown-Eyed Girl
3. Remember (a sorority song)
4. It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
5. The theme from I Dream of Jeannie
6. Friends
7. One Tin Soldier
   

Eight Qualities I Look For in a Friend

1. Sense of humor
2. Comfortable "give and take"
   
3. Creativity
4. Understanding
5. "Interestingness"
   
6. Makes me think, in a good way

Eight People to Pass This On To

1. I started making a list, and then decided not to. Boring, I know.
   
2. If you've read this far, consider playing along -- comment here with a link to your list!
   

Image Meme

Via Jane and Kate:

Here’s what you do:
1) Answer the questions and type into Google image search
2) Post a picture from first results page

Age on your next birthday:

A place you'd like to visit:
One of your favorite places:

Your favorite object:
Your favorite food:
Your favorite animal:

Your favorite color:
Name of a past pet:
Where you live:
First grade teacher's last name (this is a problem... I know her first name, and I know my sister's first grade teacher's name, but I can't come up with MY first grade teacher's last name. I think it started with W, but honestly, I mostly remember that she didn't like me! I guess I'll go with the first name for now, and amend if I can remember...)
Your middle name (not really, but this represents the middle name I offer when asked!):
A bad habit of yours (safety pins instead of sewing on buttons):
Your college major:
Your favorite holiday: