200 Things

Got this meme from TXMommy.

You can do it too!

Copy the list, bold the ones you have done, leave the ones you haven't un-bolded (did I just make that word up?)

Things I have done are bold.

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone - verbal not physical
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe.
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunch box
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a camp fire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter


If you copy this, leave me a link in the comments so I can read yours!

I signed up for this meme over at Guess What the Kids Did a little while back. Here's how it works:

The Rules: Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me.” I respond by asking you five questions (left in my comments) so I can get to know you better. If I already know you well, expect the questions may be somewhat personal! You can update your journal/blog/whatever with the answers to the questions (please don't leave your answers in my comments unless you don't have a blog). You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Here are mine:

1) What has been your best ebay transaction--most fun find or greatest profit--however you define 'best.'

Hmmm. Well, I like all of the things I buy and get excited about them, but none of them are really SPECTACULAR finds. So I'm going to choose this pattern. Now, it's not the highest I ever sold an item for, although it was an excellent profit margin, but it was one of the most exciting sales I did because of these factors:

a) Okay, the profit margin. Consider that I got the pattern for $0.25, and listed it starting at $0.99, so if it had gone for that, I would have covered my loss and made about $0.16 profit. Consider also that the envelope was not in perfect shape (although I did personally inspect the pattern and was able to assure buyers that all pieces were intact.) But honestly I expected it to go for around $5 or so.
b) It was a lot of fun to watch that price go up and up and up, most of it happened in the last few minutes so as I was checking in on it it kept going up and up, and then I went to do something I came back and it had ended at $16.50!
c) I know the buyer was just thrilled to find it (based on the feedback she left.) It makes me really happy to make people happy with the things that I find and they buy, that way everyone is happy; I make some money and they get something they really enjoy!

2) What would you do (or do more often) if you had daily access to a car?

Well, I really don't like to drive, especially in L.A. traffic, so we'd still probably stay home a lot. But I would honestly love to be able to schedule doctors' appointments for days when my mom can't take us if I want to, and I'd like to go to the zoo once in a while, and we'd probably go to Descanso more often, and we'd go to Chinatown a lot (I still wouldn't drive and try to park downtown, but we'd go park at the Pasadena train station and take the commuter train there, and/or to Olvera Street, which is a few blocks from Chinatown and right across the street from Union Station.) And we'd be at IKEA and Target (not necessarily buying, just looking) a lot. Also, just being able to do errands once in a while would be nice.

3) If you could hire one of the following, would you pick: Driver, Maid, Chef, or Stylist?

Well, I wouldn't care for a chef or stylist. I like to cook enough that it's not worth paying someone to do it, and *ahem* I'm not into hair or makeup (yes, okay, I'm a slob and I don't care. But it makes my life a lot easier.) Maid or driver is a hard one, but I can live with what's in walking distance a lot easier than I can live with the messes Emma is constantly making and we never seem able to keep up with (the child is a demolition MACHINE; I swear she can undo three hours' work in thirty seconds flat), so I'm gonna choose maid.

4) If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

Green. Just 'cause that's what I always answer to these questions, and it's my favorite, and it seems to describe me; not a hot color, but not too far into the cool spectrum; just kinda mellow. Also I TRY to be very environmentally and socially conscious, so that's what I'd be. Green.

5) What's in your CD player/playlist right now?

Gosh, a whole heck of a mixed up list! We've got some Kate Rusby, some Kate Wolf, some Vocal Point (an a cappella group from BYU), some classic country (think Hank Williams), some assorted pop miscellania from our childhoods ("Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper; "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base), a little Beatles, some funky stuff (TMBG, Cake), a little Iris DeMent, and a few selections from Handel's Messiah as performed by the London Philharmonic.

I've mentioned my taste in music falls under "eclectic", right?



So those are my answers. If you'd like to participate, just leave a comment saying "Interview Me!"

Let me know if you want to play!

A very old meme.

This used to be an e-mail forward, I think. And before that, a game of some sort. Anyway, I hopped over to Millie's and she did it, and I wanted to play, too.

The Rules of the game:
1. Find the nearest book to you.
2. Name the book and author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
5. Copy out the next 3 sentences and post to your blog.
6. Tag three other people.

Mine was See Delphi and Die, the latest Marcus Didius Falco mystery from Lindsey Davis. Here you go:

"'Come on, ladies; this is important. I can't interrogate Milo, by the way, because he's died on me.'
Looking shocked, Cleonyma pressed a hand against her lips then muttered through her fingers, 'He was trying to lure Valeria to the palaestra to hear some poet reading his work.'"

Intrigued? You very well should be. I adore the Falco mysteries. (They're set in Ancient Rome and thereabouts, if you couldn't guess. The characterization is wonderful.)

I tag Dawnyel, Suzanne, and Guinevere.

Fifty Cheap Dates

This seemed like a fun idea from Shalee's Diner, so I thought I'd participate! Here are some of our ideas for cheap dates. Some of them are L.A. specific, but let them inspire you to find similar things in your community!

1. IKEA. We love IKEA. If you live near an IKEA, you have got to check it out. The food in their restaurant is delicious and cheap. You can spend hours "window shopping" the store, and even if you do pick up something small, it's not going to be a lot of money. It's fun just to walk around, try out the furniture, laugh at the more outlandish stuff, spend time with your spouse. And if your kids are 3 or over and potty-trained, they provide FREE BABYSITTING! That's right, leave your kids in "Smäland" and they watch the kids, there's a ball room, usually craft tables or other activities, and they've got water and snacks as well. If your kids are younger, not potty trained, or not up for that, and you can't get a sitter, take the kids with you and just hang out while they play in the toy area in the Children's department.

2. Picnics. Picnics may seem trite, but they don't have to be! Don't limit yourself to the normal sandwiches in the park (although that can be fun, too-- bring a kite and have fun giggling, cuddling, and reliving your earlier years!) Go to the beach, the mountains, the public courtyard of an art museum where you can sit surrounded by beautiful sculptures, anywhere that you like that is a little shut off from the outside world, bring a blanket, and feed each other while you lounge on it. Some ideas for picnic food: soup in a thermos; appetizers; spanikopita, pita, hummus, canned giant fava beans and olives; or pick up take-out from an inexpensive local restaurant.

3. Olvera Street. We love to take the train down to Olvera Street (it's right across from Union Station; you can park at your local train station for free and a day pass on the train is only $2.50 a person, I think.) We walk around, enjoy the noise, the smells, get some candy from the little cart with the good dulces de calabasas, there are often free art exhibits to go to, and if not, the folk art all around is fascinating in itself, my husband holds up dresses or points them out and tells me I'd look sexy in them, we listen to the street musicians and hold hands. If you go on Saturdays, there are usually folklorico or Aztec dancers performing, all for free. And if you get hungry, no need to do a sit-down restaurant, there's a taco stand there or just hop across the street to a cheaper Mexican place. If you really want a sit down meal, I suggest walking a block or two to Pollo a la Brasa, a Peruvian place where you can get a whole chicken for less than $10 and sides for a few more.

4. Chinatown. L.A. has a great Chinatown district, with cheap delicious food, fun architecture, fun little shops, historical sights, LOTS of cultural interest, and is also accessible by train. Don't think you have to buy anything, although if you do haggle for it and it won't cost you much at all. Grocery stores in Chinatown have all kinds of fascinating snacks to try, or there are Vietnamese-Chinese noodle shops, or restaurants where the cost per person is usually less than $5. As an alternative, check out the Little Tokyo district just a few blocks over.

5. Free night at the art museum. Most major cities have a decent art museum-- and most of them have a free admission night. I know LACMA does, although I have not personally taken advantage of it and I'm not sure exactly when it is. In Dallas we used to go Thursday nights because Thursday nights at 5 admission starts being no charge, and they're open until 8 so you can get a good 3 hours in.

6. Historical sites. There are a ton of historical sites in California, and I love visiting them with my husband! So many fun things to look at and talk about, whether it's a mission (San Fernando is the closest to us), the Mormon Battalion Visitors' Center (about 20 minutes from us), or El Pueblo (on the afore-mentioned Olvera Street; the oldest surviving house in L.A., I believe.) They have given rise to many of our family jokes, and we love to just wander and feel the sense of history. Admission is usually either free, a voluntary donation, or less than $5 each.

7. The library! We have a HUGE central library in L.A., and they (as well as some of the branches) often put on events with low or no cost admission. From cultural events such as folk music or dancing to "history of food", local history, or other fascinating lectures sponsored by local societies, they can offer a world of low-cost and no-cost entertainment. Last year we enjoyed a bagpiper in full Highland dress, no cost, at our local branch, part of the cultural awareness program, they have one event every month. Plus it's fun to just wander around afterwards and maybe find some new books to read (free, of course, as long as you remember the due date! ;) )

8. Santa Monica Pier. What is more romantic than a ride on the Ferris Wheel at sunset, followed by ice cream at Ben and Jerry's a few blocks down? After a certain time of day most days of the week, parking is free. My dad sometimes comes with us so he can stay with the kids while we get a few minutes alone together on the Ferris Wheel while he spends time with his granddaughters. This idea, I think, could carry over to other activities-- do a "group activity" with someone you trust watching your kids for a little while here and there and the pressure is off for both of you-- they don't have to babysit all night, you don't have to be with the kids all night.

9. Hanging out at a relative's house. My aunt lives in a "planned community" with nice paths to walk and a swimming pool that's open in the summer. My kids love playing there and she has toys and videos and books for them. She's always happy to watch the kids for an hour or so while we walk, swim, go to the store, or whatever we want. It's good for quick "alone time." And let's face it, sometimes it's just nice to get out of the house, even if it's just someone else's house and you're in the same house as the kids-- at least you don't have to be in the same ROOM and there's someone to watch them!

Finally, don't forget to take advantage of the little moments here and there when the kids are occupied or somewhere else, and you can just hold hands and sneak a kiss. It may not be a real "date", but it sure makes for good memories. I cherish those little moments when I find them, and I hope you can too.

Christmas Meme

TxMommy issued an open invitation to do this MeMe, so I'm taking her up on it.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? First egg nog, then hot chocolate-- but only if it's my super special Best Hot Chocolate Ever. No powdered stuff for me! And no marshmallows, only whipped cream. And not icky stuff, but ReddiWhip Extra Creamy, or home-whipped. And also, the egg nog has to be Alta Dena. Okay, I'm a snob. Sorry.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps them.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Well, right now we don't have a place big enough for a tree other than our almost 3 foot fiber optic one. But if we did, colored for the tree, for sure. Inside house lights can be white or colored; outside, I'm partial to colored, and no outside decorations too ornate.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? If the local Cub Scouts (who go up to the Angeles Crest and pick it and bag it for a fund-raiser-- not LDS troops, obviously) hit me up for it. My dad has some fake but I think that doesn't count.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Decorations? Huh, what? *blank stare* Seriously, we have two crèche scenes but with the cats and the kids, we don't put them up until a week or two before. I want to get a Playskool plastic one like my mother-in-law has so it can be out and be none the worse. We have a garland to hang our ornaments on but last year never got to it. We have lights, ditto. We have that little tree, which goes up when presents start accumulating. Last year we really didn't get to anything but the tree because we were going out of town for Christmas, and, well, it's not safe to leave them up with the cats home alone. Plus I was busy. Someday I want to have a place big enough to really decorate and get things up the day after Thanksgiving, which was always our tradition growing up.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Grandma Norma's Jell-o, which I talked about a bit in my Thanksgiving post; I WILL have that recipe!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child: I have so many... I remember one year my mom dropped us off at my dad's for Christmas Day (we alternated who had us on the Eve and who had us on the Day) and my dad had cooked, for breakfast, scarlet runner beans that we had grown in our own garden that winter. They were so tasty and warm that chilly morning as we opened our stockings. I also just remember the traditions; when we were with my mom on the Day, we would go to my Aunt Linda and Uncle Brian's house for Christmas brunch. It was always the same menu and I still love to think of all those mornings. And I remember getting dressed up for church or Mass or sometimes also Midnight Mass (my mom was Presbyterian, what we were baptized, and my dad was a "cultural Catholic".) It was extra-special at Christmas. I sometimes miss Christmas morning church now that I'm LDS. I was thrilled when it fell on a Sunday last year.

8. How and when did you learn the truth about Santa? I believed in Santa, but I didn't believe in him, if that makes any sense. I had much older sisters, and Santa in our house was always kind of an... in-joke. We all knew that he wasn't really real, but the tradition and the spirit of it (like my sisters would always get up early and we would try to sneak things in my mom's stocking that she wasn't expecting so she could have a surprise, too) was really special, that was what we believed in. But everyone "knew". My dad used to sign some of the packages from "Sandy Claws", Santa's lobster helper, instead of Santa, for laughs. Actually, he still does. :)

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Not in the way I think the question means; growing up with divorced parents, we always had at least two Christmas celebrations with family, sometimes more, and so often one of them was Christmas Eve. But in my family, it was always: when the kids are up, open stockings together Christmas morning. Then when parent is up, open Santa presents and presents from each other (people living in the house.) All other presents are taken with or saved (depending on where it's to be held) to be opened at the big family celebration.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Right now, like I said, we don't. We have a fiber optic tree that makes pretty colors, no decorating really to do. But we do have a garland on which to hang our rapidly accumulating collection of ornaments-- gifts, crafts, buys at Cost Plus or craft fairs, rejects from parents' collections that we can't let them throw out...

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Um, it needs to stay up on the mountain tops where it belongs. I don't mind going to visit it and playing a bit in it, but it should stay AWAY from my house, please! I Don't Do Snow. That's one of the reasons I love L.A.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, actually I can! I'm always amazed because my ankles are prone to popping out of joint, but I can. I can't do fancy tricks or jumps, but I can go around the rink pretty well.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My husband proposed to me. That was a pretty awesome gift. Okay, it was a little early, but he did it by the tree and had a present and all.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? The joy and caring and tradition of the season. It eases that something in me that I miss without having ever known it (which I have been told is saudades.) My saudades are apt to be worse at Christmas time, and yet more easily soothed; they are happier than they are the rest of the year. Sometimes when they're really bad I just have to listen to Christmas music, even in May or August. I think it comes from the wonder of the thought of Christ as a baby; as a mother, all those stories and songs have taken on new meaning for me.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Pumpkin pie, hands down. Home-made, not too much spice, vinegar pie crust. Well, that and egg nog ice cream!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Trader Joe's chocolate Advent calendars, which my sister used to always buy for me and which I now buy for my daughter, and caroling, especially at the convalescent home.

17. What tops your tree? Well, right now, a fiber optic star. But I have a crocheted angel for when we get a real tree.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving wins by a tiny smidge.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? I have too many. I will list them all, though. Favorite non-religious carol: "Good King Wenceslas." Favorite hymns: "Adeste Fidelis/O Come All Ye Faithful" (yes, I actually understand and sometimes sing five verses in Latin), "Angels We Have Heard on High", "A Child is Born in Bethlehem." Favorite classical work appropriate for Christmas: "And the Glory of the Lord" from Handel's "Messiah", followed extremely closely by "For Unto Us a Child is Born" from the same. These are just my very very favorites, though; I have lots of really close runners-up!

That's it! I hope you are now more in the Christmas spirit. ;) I tag Rayann and Mean Mommy for this MeMe.

A Halloween MeMe

I've been tagged for a spooky "MeMe" (which I gather is a kinda-meme answering questions about myself) by No Cool Story at More Cowbell. So here goes:

1. What's the scariest movie you've ever seen?
Hmmm. I'm not into scary-scary movies. No blood-filled slasher films for me. But every once in a while there's a sci-fi or psychological "scary" film that I do see (I Netflix them, though, 'cause I just couldn't handle them in the theater, not that I ever get out for a real movie anyway.) There are two that always make me scream and hold my husband even though I've seen them multiple times and know exactly when the scary parts are: Signs, which makes me scream at three predictable points and the end of which, as a long-time asthmatic, horrifies me, and The Others, which is not scary to me, I think, in the way it's supposed to be, but the old medium lady's face freaks me out SO MUCH especially when she comes to the kids hiding in the closet, and the ending is soooo chilling to me. And, well, I'm always scared by things about mothers killing their children.

2. What was your favorite Halloween Costume from childhood, and adulthood?
Oh, that's hard. I'm going to count childhood as under 18, and adulthood as over 18 for this one. In that case, hands-down my favorite childhood costume is when I re-created a Rogue Squadron pilot outfit from Star Wars. I freeze-framed the movies and also scoured the books for details, right down to making and sewing on a name patch with Aurabesh lettering of the name of the pilot (from one of the books) I was going as, sewing on gold star buttons for the proper "rank insignia", and making a Rogue Squadron patch as described in the books. I worked for four months on that costume. As an adult, mmmm. I think that would be last year, when my husband and I went as a Christmas present and a Christmas tree.



3. If you had an unlimited budget, what would your Fantasy Costume be for this Halloween?
Oh, goodness. I got so caught up in letting Ems choose what we're going to be and going from there, I haven't even though of it. Something quirky, of course. And I get more pleasure from making clever costumes than from spending a lot of money; in fact, spending the least money possible is part of the fun for me. So if I were going to have an unlimited budget, I think I'd do something like period Renaissance garb that I could wear to Faires and other places, not just once.

4. When was the last time you went Trick Or Treating?
Well, I took my daughter last year. ;) I know, I know. Actually went, not taking one of my kids, when I was 14. Technically I thought I was a little old, but I was taking my brother who was 11. The year after he was allowed to go alone, but that year I was okay with giving one last hurrah (and getting candy!)

5. What's your favorite Halloween Candy?
Favorite candy to be given, or favorite candy only available at Halloween? I've always been a fan of Three Musketeers, Almond Joy, 100 Grand, and the like, but I am also a fan of candy corn, which is only available this time of the year. Pure sugar, mmmm!

6. Tell us about a scary nightmare you had.
I have a lot of nightmares, and sometimes do some scary sleepwalking (trying to harm myself or others in my sleep, and the like), but I don't remember them, usually. The last nightmare I remember, I had when I was pregnant with Bridget. In my dream, Bridey was breech, and the doctor said, "So, we're going to schedule you for a c-section." I said, "Well, I'd prefer to try version first, I really don't want a c-section." My doctor (who was NOT like this in real life, holds the mother's wishes in highest esteem, is a fan of version and has even delivered breeches vaginally several times in the last five years, and sees c-sections as a last resort) said, "No, I won't allow that. When would you like your c-section?" It went on like that for a while, and then I went out to call my husband in to try to get him on my side (which is strange because my mom took me to all my appointments this pregnancy, but in my dream for some reason my husband was there) and my HUSBAND said, "Honey, aren't you being a little unreasonable? If the doctor says a c-section is best, you'd better schedule a c-section." (Again, my husband believes that I need to do whatever is right for me when it comes to childbirth and trusts me to make the right decisions for myself and my babies. He'd never say that.) So then I called my mom, who even though I have differences with her has ALWAYS been my advocate in situations like that, and is a registered nurse and also sees c-sections as a last resort, and SHE said, "Well, Anne, you know, breech births can be pretty risky, it's better for you to have a c-section if that's what the doctor says you need." And I was going out of my head because no one would listen to me when I was listing all the other things we could try BEFORE that last-resort c-section, and they were dismissing my wishes like they were not important or relevant. *sigh* It was a very scary dream, I woke up crying and angry and terrified.

7. What is your Supernatural Fear?
I don't really believe in most supernatural things... I guess if they were real, vampires would be the scariest because 1) they "infect" you when they bite you, turn you into one of them, which I find incredibly creepy, and 2) I do NOT want to live on this earth forever in this mortal body without ever passing on to the next life. *shudders*

8. What is your Creepy-Crawlie Fear?
You know, when I'm pregnant I get really easily grossed out and afraid of spiders, bugs, etc., but when I'm not, they're not that bad; the only ones that really bother me are bees (afraid of getting stung), maggots (eeew; 'nuff said) and scorpions (again, afraid of getting stung.)

9. Tell us about a time when you saw a ghost, or heard something go Bump in the night.
I don't feel it's appropriate to share my experience with spirits, I hold them as sacred and am not gonna talk about it here.

However, once when I was little, we had a raccoon in the attic and it seriously sounded like a big ol' man walking around up there and it was creepy as all get out.

10. Would you ever stay in a real Haunted House overnight?
Hmmmm. Assuming they existed, it depends what I was getting out of it and how dangerous the "hants" were.

11. Are you a traditionalist (just a face) Jack O'Lantern Carver, or do you get really creative with your pumpkins?
Pretty traditionalist. In fact, we have our own traditions; growing up my dad always had at least one "ghost" pumpkin, which was white and we carved a "ghost face" on, and a skinny tall one and a short round one that we made into Bert and Ernie.

12. How much do you decorate your home for Halloween?
Decorate? What's decorate? ;)

Some years we have a few Jack-o-Lanterns or decorated pumpkins outside. Somewhere we have a witch that's supposed to hang on the door that my mother-in-law gave us, but I don't know where it is and it's kinda cutesy for me.

13. What do you want on your Tombstone?
The works-- pepperoni, sausage, onions, bell peppers, all of it. ;)

Seriously, besides name, dates, etc., maybe a verse from Scripture:

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

Hopefully I will have that peace in my heart my whole life, so I think that would be appropriate for my tombstone. And it's from the Bible, not the Book of Mormon, so my non-member family won't feel alienated. ;)


So, that's it! I am going to tag happy mommy and Titus Todd for this MeMe, if they will deign to participate. ;)