100 things

Borrowed from Epi, who borrowed it from Breda. Feel free to borrow it from me, so I can be nosey and see what you wrote!

1. Started your own blog. Yes, I have. I started blogging on Valentine's Day '04 and have had a blog ever since. It's therapeutic, and I've made some really good friends via blogs.

2. Slept under the stars. I slept in a tent with the rain fly open so I could see the stars....does that count? :D Prolly not, huh. In that case, no, I never have.

3. Played in a band. Yes. Sang, and played percussion. We didn't have any original songs, and we never got paid...but it was fun nonetheless. That was before I got my tonsils taken out, back when I could actually sing. Nowadays I can't carry a tune to save my life, but I still sing when nobody's home.

4. Visited Hawaii. I wish! One day......me and Urbaner and Epi and her man are going to go off to Hawaii and lay on the beach, eating seafood and pork and drinking exotic drinks out of coconut shells.

5. Watched a meteor shower. No. Seen a shooting star, but no meteor shower.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity. Yeah, I have. Nowadays the only thing I have in abundance is time, which seems to be the LAST thing some charities want. That makes me sad.

7. Been to Disneyland. No, and I'm not sure I want to. Kids are too old now, and I don't do well in crowds.

8. Climbed a mountain. Yes, Mt Snowdon in Wales.

9. Held a praying mantis. Uh huh. And a tarantula, despite my not liking spiders much.

10. Sang a solo. Yes, when drunk.

11. Bungee jumped. Not just NO, but HELL NO, FUCK NO!!! Don't like heights, so I doubt it will ever happen.

12. Visited Paris. Yes.

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. Nope.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. Yes, charcoal sketching.

15. Adopted a child. No, but I'm adopted myself. So is my little brother.

16. Had food poisoning. Yes, a couple of times...and it sucked both times.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. No, but I've seen it from the bottom.

18. Grown your own vegetables. Every summer. Herbs and flowers too. And fruit. I'm getting Urbaner to build me a 'square foot gardening' box for the patio next spring and I'm going to be growing pretty much all of our vegetables then.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France. Not yet, no....but one day.


20. Slept on an overnight train. Yes, Florida to NYC.

21. Had a pillow fight. Yep, and it was fun!

22. Hitch hiked. Yes, when I was younger and very, very stupid.

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. Oh no, I've NEVER done anything like that. Ever. Really. (rolls eyes and tries to look innocent).

24. Built a snow fort. Hell yeah...I lived in South Dakota for 9 years and built snow forts every single season. I got to be pretty good at it - if you've never done it, I highly recommend it.

25. Held a lamb. Yes. I grew up in a small Oxfordshire village and was lucky enough to live right down the street from a working farm. I got to see calves and lambs and piglets be born and I also got to bottle feed the lambs who were rejected by their mommas or who were orphaned. I absolutely LOVED it and am very grateful for the experience.

26. Gone skinny dipping. No. Haven't had the opportunity - yet. ;)

27. Run a Marathon. No, but Urbaner has challenged me to run a 5k and then perhaps a half marathon in the next couple of years. The 5k I can do. The half marathon...yeah, not so sure about that.

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice. I wish.

29. Seen a total eclipse. Partial yes. Not a total.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. I watch the sun rise a few times a week. It's my favorite time of the day.

31. Hit a home run. Nooo. Never.

32. Been on a cruise. No....maybe one day.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. No...but Urbaner and I have a dream of buying a Vanagon when he retires f0rm the AF and driving around America for a few months a year...Niagara is on our list.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. Yes. We have a derelict castle that was our ancestral home.

35. Seen an Amish community. Yes, and I loved it. I have a lot of respect for the Amish and Mennonite communities....they walk the walk, you know?

36. Taught yourself a new language. Yes, American Sign Language.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. I'm not very materialistic, so as long as the bills are paid, everyone has enough to eat and everyone has what they NEED (not necessarily what they want, but what they NEED), I'm happy. Consequently, I feel like I have enough money to be truly satisfied pretty much every payday.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person. No....I'd LOVE to one day, though.

39. Gone rock (wall) climbing. No, for much the same reason I haven't gone bungee jumping.

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David. No.

41. Sung karaoke. Yes, when drunk.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt. No, but Yellowstone is on the 'Vanagon' list.

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant. Yes, and one of my proudest moments as a parent was seeing my child buy a total stranger a cup of coffee and a breakfast without being prompted to.

44. Visited Africa. No, but I'd like to....

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. Yes.

46. Been transported in an ambulance. Yes, and it was scary.

47. Had your portrait painted drawn. Urbaner and I had our caricatures done in St Louis...does that count?

48. Gone deep sea fishing. Yeah, when I lived in NC I went out for a day. It wasn't as exciting as I had hoped.

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person. No.....

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. No, but my brother took my mother there for her 65th birthday. He's a good son...

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. No.

52. Kissed in the rain. In the rain, on a train, in a boat but NOT with a goat.....:)

53. Played in the mud. Yes, and it's GREAT fun. If you haven't done it yet, you should try it.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater. Yes.

55. Been in a movie. Been on TV, but not in a movie.

56. Visited the Great Wall of China. No, and unless I win the lottery it's unlikely that I ever will.

57. Started a business. No. I don't think I'd be good at owning my own business.

58. Taken a martial arts class. Yes, I took Judo classes when I was a teenager.

59. Visited Russia. No, that's another lottery list location as far as I'm concerned.

60. Served at a soup kitchen. Yes. I think everyone should do it at least once...it's a god character building exercise and it makes you appreciate people and life much more. It also changed my attitude towards homeless people.

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies. No, I was a Girl Guide (English Girl Scouts) and we didn't sell cookies. I organized a few rummage sales instead, though.

62. Gone whale watching. That's another Vanagon list thing. So's seeing Steinbeck and Kerouac country.

63. Got flowers for no reason. No. :(

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma. No. I can't; I lived in the UK for too long and the threat of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease) is too great. Urbaner can't, and neither can 2 out of our 3 'lings.

65. Gone sky diving. No. Why the hell would I want to throw myself out of a perfectly good plane? I have flown a plane, though. That was fun.

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp. I haven't. Lottery list destination.

67. Bounced a check. No. I've come very close - have had less than a nickel in the back after the check had cleared.

68. Flown in a helicopter. Yes.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial. No.

71. Eaten Caviar. Yes. It's fish flavored grit, Epi. You're not missing much.

72. Pieced a quilt. Yes, when Numbah Two was in utero I made a quilt for him. I'm not very good at it...my mother in law is the quilter in this family.

73. Stood in Times Square. Yes!

74. Toured the Everglades. No, but I went out on an air boat a little north of there and saw 'gators all over the place.

75. Been fired from a job. Yes, when I was 15 I had a part time job as a cashier in a local grocery store. The manager at the time was a total bitch who wouldn't give us girls breaks at ALL. I got fired after my mum came into the store and found me at my register in tears - I had got my period and had been denied a bathroom break and had bled through my underwear and skirt. Mum found the manager at told her that I WAS going to go to the loo and then home to change my clothes, and the manager said that if I left the store I could consider myself fired. Mum said "well, then you'd best start looking for another cashier" and we left. I've always been grateful to her for doing that.

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London. Yes, lots of times. I lived 50 miles away from the city center, so it was a routine thing for us to go to the capital (not capitol, not in England).

77. Broken a bone. Uh huh.

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. Yes, with no sissy bar on the back and I was scared I'd fall off!

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. No. Another Vanagon list destination!

80. Published a book. No, I'm not that talented.

81. Visited the Vatican. No.

82. Bought a brand new car. Yes, this past summer. It's the first brand new car I've ever owned.

83. Walked in Jerusalem. No, and I have no desire to.

84. Had your picture in the newspaper. Yes, a couple of times.

85. Read the entire Bible. Once.

86. Visited the White House. I haven't been inside, but I've stood outside and seen it.

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. No. I don't think I could. I watched my dad cull chickens and rabbits and couldn't eat them afterwards.

88. Had chickenpox. Oh yeah. It sucked.

89. Saved someone’s life. Yes. Well, I can't say that *I* saved them, it was a team effort.....but they lived and I know my actions helped them not die.

90. Sat on a jury. No.

91. Met someone famous. Yes, when I was a teenager I met Howard Jones and curtsied for the Queen.

92. Joined a book club. Yes.

93. Lost a loved one. Yes. Most recently my cousin, Scott. Before that it was my dad.

94. Had a baby. Yes, three of them!

95. Seen the Alamo in person. Nope, but it's on the Vanagon list.

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake. No, and I don't have any desire to.

97. Been involved in a law suit. Nope.

98. Owned a cell phone. Yes; I've had a cell phone since 2000. I don't know what I'd do without it now. I have a BlackJack that I synchronize with my laptop...it's great.

99. Been stung by a bee. Yes, and I didn't react well to it. I didn't get anaphylactic or anything, but it made me feel quite ill and I broke out in urticaria around the sting site.

100. Read an entire book in one day. Yes; the last book I read in a day was Elie Wiesel's 'Night'. It gave me nightmares about Nazi soldiers with machine guns using infants for target practice for days afterwards.