One Hundred Minus One

I can almost never resist a good meme, and as usual, Joyco does not disappoint!

Items on the list that I've done are in bold:

1. Started your own blog: Umm, yeah.
2. Slept under the stars: Yep, although I am not a huge camping fan.
3. Played in a band: Two, actually. I played the clarinet in the sixth grade band. I played the tamborine one night in college at the Black Cat for a band whose name I can't for the life of me remember. Ahh, good times.
4. Visited Hawaii: Maui, on my honeymoon. Would love, LOVE, to go back.
5. Watched a meteor shower: From the roof of the house I lived in with three girlfriends after college.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world: Multiple times; my aunt/godmother has lived in Florida for 20+ years now, and one of their homes is in Orlando.
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo: Once, in church, I kept on singing even though the song had ended. Surprise solo!
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning: Ugh, yes, and it's the worst!
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables: Used to grow tomatoes. My thumb has turned brown since.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight: Yeah, I have a brother!
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill: And usually ended up working a little from home anyway.
24. Built a snow fort: When I was in the sixth grade, it snowed in Austin. The neighbors a few houses down and across the street instructed all of us younger kinds to collect up snow from yards up and down the street and they built an igloo. It was AWESOME.
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping: More than once. At least two of those instances are pretty good stories.
27. Run a Marathon: I try to only run when chased.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice: somday!
29. Seen a total eclipse: Pretty sure I watched one in a box "camera" in elementary school. Remember those?
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset: I haven't seen a sunrise in a while--I used to see them from staying up all night!
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors: someday!
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language3
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied: I feel comfortable, but one day I'd love to have enough money to not worry so much about budgeting.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke: No, and I consider that I public service.
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: Once right before/after doing something else on this list. hee!
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted: A friend of our family had my brother's & my portrait painted from a photo. Didn't look like us at all!
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: Snorkeled in Maui. That ocean is cold!
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie: MrMonkey has!
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class: if Krav Maga counts, then yes. (Could also check off "accidentally punched self in face" after that class.)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason: MrMonkey likes to surprise me from time to time.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter: In the 3rd grade. It nearly crashed, but I never knew that until years later.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy: I have a whole toy chest full of favorites at my mom's house.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square: Love NYC, don't love Times Square. Too crowded!
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle: If I was the passenger, how would I know if we were speeding? Any speed felt too fast!
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car: On the list for 2009! So far I've only owned used cars.
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper: When I was a kid, the Austin American-Statesman had a Cooking for Kids club where they published recipes for families to cook together. Somehow, my family was chosen for an interview & they took pics of us making BBQ chicken.
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House: I haven't been inside, does posing in front count?
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating: I have eaten a fish that I caught, but I didn't clean it (though I had to watch), so I don't think this counts.
88. Had chickenpox: Jr. High. No fun.
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous: Met several someones famous. I acted like the biggest dork when meeting Jason Patric. He's so handsome! I got flustered.
92. Joined a book club: I think it's been three years since I joined.
93. Lost a loved one: More than one. :o(
94. Had a baby: 2009 will be my year.
95. Seen the Alamo in person: Seen it, toured it. Own a flag that flew over it. Have a husband who was in the movie.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit: Sortof. Car accident-related. I was a passenger in the car of the person who was involved in the lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone: Not 'til after college!
99. Been stung by a bee: ouchie.

I think I need to get out more.

Six is Enough

Thanks again to Joyco, I am unable to resist a blog game!


Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you: Joyco

2. Mention the rules on your blog.

3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.

4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking to them. (Tag, you're it! If you haven't played already, now's your chance.)

5. Leave a comment for each tagged blogger to let them know that they have been tagged


Six Quirks about me:

1. Six is my lucky number. I don't know why, specifically, it just always has felt lucky for me. However, the fact that my anniversary is on November 6 is actually a coincidence--it wasn't our first choice of dates, just the date our reception location happened to have available. Turns out it was a perfect day to get married!

2. My knees are double-jointed. Well, I don't know if that's the exact term for what they do, but I can straighten my legs out so that they are bowed backwards. I should take a picture some time; it's hard to explain. My brother can do the same thing. We get it from my mom. I wonder if his boys have the knee gene?

3. My maiden name and married name have the same number of letters, and end with the same letter.

4. I've never tried eggplant. It creeps me out for some reason! I have a feeling it would be spongey, like flan, and that would make me gag. Flan makes me think of eyeballs.

5. Nearly every work day at 3pm, I walk over to the cafeteria in the building next to mine and get an iced tea. Sometimes, I am bad and get one of those little glass bottles of starbucks mocha frappuchino, instead. Yet, on the weekends, I'm almost never thirsty for tea at 3pm. Maybe because I sleep later?

6. I don't like different kinds of food to touch on my plate. If foods are intended to mix (like peanut butter and jelly, for example), that doesn't bother me. But I don't like my corn juice leaking into my mashed potatoes (for example). I love divided plates for this reason, and I always bring my own to my family's holiday gatherings. My brother is the exact opposite--for example, at Thanksgiving, he piles his plate with everything he wants to eat (all smushed next to each other), and covers the whole plate with cranberry sauce (the kind from a can) and gravy. Naturally, his seat at the table is across from mine. Ugh! My non-touching food preference extends to items of different flavor, like candy. I eat one flavor at a time; I would never just throw a random assortment of Jelly Bellys into my mouth. Yet, that's my husband's favorite way to eat candy. Bleah!

Your turn!

Like An Onion

I can always count on Joyco and MrsMillerTime to have a good meme on their blogs!

LAYER ONE:
Name: MrsMonkey
Birth date: October 19
Birthplace: Huntsville, Alabama
Current Location: Austin, Texas
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blonde
Height: 5' 10"
Righty or Lefty: Righty
Zodiac Sign: Libra

LAYER TWO:
Your heritage: Scottish/Irish/English
The shoes you wore today: Black peep-toe wedges. One of my favorite pairs.
Your weakness: Dairy products
Your fears: The unknown.
Your perfect pizza: italian sausage, mushrooms, extra cheese
Goal you’d like to achieve: #1 on the big list is #1 for a reason!

LAYER THREE:
Your most overused phrase on AIM: I use AIM for work, but not like a typical AIM user. (i.e., no abbreviations or catchy phrases)
Your first waking thoughts: More sleep please
Your best physical feature: I have nice eyes.
What you miss the most: All of my best girlfriends living in Austin.

LAYER FOUR:
Pepsi or Coke: Coke
McDonald’s or Burger King: Neither
Single or group dates: I like single dates for going out, but group dates for things like game night or dinner at someone's house
Adidas or Nike: Neither. DH would pick Nike.
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Lipton.
Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate
Cappuccino or coffee: Cappuccino. I prefer my coffee beverages to taste like things other than coffee.

LAYER FIVE:
Smoke: No
Cuss: Sometimes
Sing: In the car, if I'm alone
Take a shower everyday: Pretty much
Do you think you’ve been in love: I know I am
Want to go to college: Graduated from UT
Liked high school: Didn't hate it, didn't love it
Want to get married: Already done!
Believe in yourself: Usually
Get motion sickness: Nope
Think you’re attractive: Sometimes
Think you’re a health freak: I wish!
Get along with your parent(s): Yes
Like thunderstorms: Not while I'm sleeping, driving, or in an airplane
Play an instrument: I took piano lessons for years as a kid.

LAYER SIX: In the past month…
Drank Alcohol: yes
Smoked: no
Done a drug: not an illegal one
Made out: Yes
Gone on a date: Yes
Gone to the mall: No
Eaten an entire box of Oreos: Bleah, no.
Eaten sushi: Yes.
Been on stage: No.
Been dumped: Nope
Gone skating: No
Made homemade cookies: I've made desserts other than cookies from scratch
Gone skinny dipping: Nope
Dyed your hair: No
Stolen anything: No

LAYER SEVEN: Ever…
Played a game that required removal of clothing: Yes
If so, was it mixed company: Yes
Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yes. I like to call those times "1996." ;o)
Been caught “doing something”: Doing something, yes. Doing it, no.
Been called a tease: Not to my face
Gotten beat up: No
Shoplifted: No
Changed who you were to fit in: (Sigh) Unfortunately, yes.

LAYER EIGHT:
Age you hope to be married: Growing up, I wanted to get married at 24, like my mom.
Numbers and Names of Children: None so far
Describe your Dream Wedding: My wedding was pretty much my dream wedding.
How do you want to die: I probably wouldn't turn down immortality.
Where you want to go to college: If I went back to college for some reason, I'd still pick UT
What do you want to be when you grow up: happy with my life
What country would you most like to visit: Italy

LAYER NINE:
Number of people I could trust with my life: 4
Number of CDs that I own: About 175
Number of piercing: One in each ear, plus a third in my left ear that has grown closed
Number of tattoos: None
Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: I'm guessing less than 5. I haven't kept track.
Number of scars on my body: Lots. But only a couple have a story. Most are old kitty scratches.
Number of things in my past that I regret: Because I can not go back, I live without regrets.

Hit me in the comments if you try this out, too, so I can read your response!

List O' Questions

Whoops, yesterday was Wordless Wednesday. While I technically was wordless, I didn't participate with a photo and follow up. So today, I have a meme from MrsMillerTime:

WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My first name is the same as my mother's younger sister. My middle name is the same as my Dad's youngest sister's middle name. I go by a nickname that comes from my middle name.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Hmmm. Yesterday morning, I think. Something about the Olympics on the Today Show. The Olympics always make me cry!

DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Pastrami.

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Not yet. Just a kitty.

IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Of course!

DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? I wouldn't say "a lot" but yes.

DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope, had them taken out in elementary school.

WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? NO! I'm afraid of heights.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Kashi Go-Lean.

DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Yep.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes. But I also think I'm kindof a trash-talker.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Mmmm. Anything but coffee-flavored ice cream. I also don't really like nuts in my ice cream. Otherwise, yes please!

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? This is a tough one. Depends on the situation. I often notice heights, since I am on the tall side.

RED OR PINK? Red.

WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I have a tendency to be controlling. I prefer to think of myself as particular and decisive. ha!

WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Living? Suzi. Dead? Memaw.

DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I just want to read this on other blogs!

WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Brown.

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Toast w/ peanut butter (breakfast).

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? I'm at the office, so. . .coworkers talking in the hall outside my office.

IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Red.

FAVORITE SMELLS? Clean laundry. Baked goods.

WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Husband.

DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I like MrsMillerTime, whose blog I stole this from.

FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? College football.

HAIR COLOR? Blonde.

EYE COLOR? Blue.

DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Not anymore; I had LASIK surgery in 2007.

FAVORITE FOOD? Too hard to pick just one! Maybe gelato. Or cheese. Dark chocolate?

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I am a sucker for happy endings, although I don't usually enjoy "chick flicks."

LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Dark Knight.

WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Brown.

HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs.

FAVORITE DESSERT? I think I've covered this in a couple of other responses.

MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Who knows! I don't have a lot of blog readers.

LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? People who are as busy as I should be today.

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Mountains Beyond Mountains.

WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I'm at work, so it's a D3ll mousepad. (Note: I do not work at that company.)

WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Project Runway. Part of CSI:NY.

FAVORITE SOUND? Laughter.

ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.

WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? England, when I was 12.

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I have several. Most unusual: figuring out the best name for a pet.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Hunstville, Alabama. We moved away when I was 2.

WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Everyone!