Week 9: 81-90

81) How could you reinvent yourself?

Not a clue. I tried being someone else on a chat loop once, but the real ME soon filtered back in.

82) What is the name of the 1st album you bought and who was it by?

Dynamic Sound-various (LP)

Abracadabra-DeFranco Family or Dark Lady-Cher (45)

Styx-Kilroy Was Here (Cassette)

Melissa Etheridge-Yes I Am (CD)

Reason To Live-Kiss (1st video looked up on YouTube)

83) What is your Chinese Zodiak sign and is it accurate?

Snake....sort of. I just want to hibernate in winter until the sun and warmth returns.

84) Do you have any prejudices you've admitted to yourself?

I do find myself being apprehensive when people of a certain ethnic group are acting loud and I'm alone.

85) Who is the first friend you remember making and how old were you?

Kim or Tad, age 5; Tim, age 2 or 3 (I have vague memories of us playing on my swings)

86) What makes you lose sleep?

Too much caffeine late in the day; stress.

87) What are 3 phrases or sayings you say every day?

Hello...did you find everything okay?

Are you a rewards member?

Thank you and have a good day!

88) Do you floss or use a toothpick when something is stuck in your teeth?

Both. It depends on what it is and where it is.

89) Have you ever swerved off the road to avoid hitting something?

Yes, when the car in front of me slammed on its brakes, I had to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid rear-ending them.

90) Compare Your driving skills to something:

Indy 500, rofl!

Week 8: 71-80

71) Do you think a fling could be a good thing?

Mine was....I always dreamed of a summer romance, and it arrived June 1986.  Wonderful 2 weeks, then back to the Real World.....

72) What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?

Cleaning!

73) What inspires your ideas?

Life!  And 'what if....'

74) What do you frown upon when it comes to raising kids?

"I wanna be their friend"

"My little darling would NEVER do that! What did YOU do to provoke him/her?"

"Their pronouns are (insert)" * only if they're under the age of 12.....unless you make a big deal of this crap, they'll discover for themselves.*

75) Have you ever been professionally photographed?

Does my head shot count? Owen Mills? Glamour shots?

76) Where or how do you find serenity?

I know where she lives, hee hee....seriously, in my Quiet Time, reading, or needlework. Or getting immersed in my ficitonal worlds.

77) Do you influence people more than they influence you?

I'm probably easily influenced, since I'm a chameleon, a peacemaker.

78) What can you do to make your life better?

Aside from going back in time......or winning the lottery, do a better job of marketing my books, or if my spouse had his way, give it up altogether and go full time at my Evening Job.

79) Do you buy anything organic? If so, what?

No....too pricey. Unless you count eggs.

80) Describe yourself in terms of food.

To quote a friend of mine...."Reeses Cups"

I joked that meant I was sweet on the outside and a little gooey on the inside??

Week 7: 61-70

61) Who's your favorite movie director and your favorite movie from them?

Most likely Steven Spielburg, and Star Wars

62) What's the furthest you've gotten a paper airplane to fly?

Halfway across the room

63) Do you like the person you're becoming?

Sort of; I don't like that I'm the 'mean' grandma to Alex, but that's what happens when your grandchild lives with you for 10 years, and her mommy worked nights for most of those years.

I'm also not happy with the fact I've woken up the past two days saying, "Yup....gonna rain today."

Seriously, I rarily get headaches, but woke up with a mild one Monday; Tuesday, I didn't want to get out of bed, but knew if I didn't, the pain would be worse; Wednesday, I talked myself out of the bed because I had a meeting to attend at 9:30. Normally I sleep until 9 or 9:30, so getting up to an alarm was met with my brain saying, "How badly do you want to go?"  I'm glad I went, because we were talking about websites, and received some valuable insights to mine!  Verdict:  I need to make some changes to my Home page!  It's not been updated since 2023.  Yikes!

64) What's the highest you've jumped into the water from?

The 5 meter board at the pool.  I refuse to go off the high dive.

65) What do or did you hate the most about the dating process?

I didn't really date. I never went out with more than one person at a time.  I didn't get 'playing the field', because how are you supposed to get to really know someone?  Mine on average lasted 3 months, with the exception of 5.  Those lasted a year or more, and I ended up marrying #5.

66) How emotional are you?

VERY!

67) Have you ever had an internship, and if not, what would be your ideal intern job?

I sort of did, at Head Start my senior year of HS. I went to school part of the day, and worked for 3 hours every day my senior year. It taught me that I'm a TUTOR, not a TEACHER.  My ideal internship would probably be in a library.

68) Do you prefer chicken, beef, or seafood?

Yes.  LMAO!  Actually, I eat more chicken.  But I love hamburgers and crab meat.

69) Have you ever had a health scare?

Sort of. Had a lymph node swell up; turned out I have an underactive thyroid. Also found a lump in my breast, but that turned out to be a reoccurring cyst.  For the record, I have ZERO breast cancer in my family.  Only heart disease and lung/esophogeal cancer (my grandparents smoked)

70) What do you love most about the holiday season?

Honestly? When it's over.  Prior to getting married, I loved Christmas. But then I married a seasonal worker who was always on unemployment by December, and didn't understand why I felt the need to buy presents for my extended family (his didn't).  It began stressing me out, even when we began drawing names.

And losing my dad right before Thanksgiving 2019, I've discovered I go into a slight depression Nov 1st until New Year's Eve. This year was the worst; I cried every day; forced myself to put up the tree and decorations, and was only happy when I was at work or baking cookies.  I WANT to make my house festive; I WANT to put up the outside lights, but when it comes to doing it, I just don't want to.

I'm slowly turning into my MIL, who always had my spouse put up her decorations the day after Thanksgiving, then take them all down again on New Year's Day.  I'm not that drastic; if I get them up after Thanksgiving, great, but they don't come down until Epiphany (2nd or 3rd week of Jan).

Ugh.  Maybe it's time to get rid of my large, prelit tree and go with a smaller, tabletop version?  I did go through and 'cull' my ornaments.  Some I set aside for Adult Son; some I put in the donation bag.  Daughter didn't want any, and the Gentle Giant still lives with us.  I just can't bear to throw away the handmade ones from their elementary years.

I said this a couple of years ago; my favorite holidays now seem to be 4th of July, Memorial Day, and Labor Day, because they don't require any special effort on my part. Right now, I generally have to work, then can come home and relax.

Week 6: 51-60

51) What personality trait in a person raises a red flag for you? 

Overly opinionated; racist remarks; closed mind

52) Have you ever resented someone?  If so, what for?

Yes. The people who ridiculed me in the 4th grade and middle school.

53) How have you changed over the past 5 years?

I've become my mom's caregiver; I write less.

54) Have you ever painted a house?

I've painted the INSIDE, not the outside.

55) Have you ever had a surprise party (that was an actual surprise)?

Once. My 1st college b/f threw me one.

56) What makes you feel miserable?

Sinusitis; ear infections; general sickness

57) What's the best costume you've ever worn?

My Scarlet O'Hara/Brett/Glinda The Good Witch dress

58) What's been the hardest loss you've had to take?

Losing my dad; having files crash on my computer w/o backing them up.

59) Do you like sunny days or rainy ones better?

Depends on my mood and if I have to work. Sunny days are nice, but a rainy one when I don't have to leave the house and curl up with a good book is cozy also.

60) What does your typical Friday Night look like?

I've become a very boring person. Normally I'm at work, but if I'm off, then watching TV at home or reading, or working on the computer. Once in a great while we'll go out to eat somewhere, and I'm generally in bed around midnight,

Week 5: 41-50

 41) Have you ever eaten an entire tube of Pringles by yourself? (or GS cookies)

Pringles:  Yes, the sour cream and onion ones

GS Cookies:  I'm addicted to Thin Mints, and by the time this blog airs, I'll probably have eaten all 6 boxes, even before the check clears!

42) Do you like Champagne?  If so, what's your favorite brand?

I'm not particularly fond of Champagne, but I'll drink a glass at weddings.  I'd love to try some really expensive ones, like Cristal or Dom Perignone.  One glass of Martini and Rossi just isn't that great.

43) What nervous habits do you have?

My one bad habit is, I'm a nail-biter. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

44) What do you do when you and your BFF get into a fight?

Sulk for a day, then make up.  I'm a peacemaker; I get over things and apologize for careless words.

45) What do you think should be a wonder of the world that isn't?

No clue....Niagra Falls???

46) What comforts you on bad days?

Doggy snuggles on the couch, a good book, and a glass of wine. Also singing angry songs at karaoke, or just singing karaoke, period.

47) Do you treat yourself and your body with respect?

Probably not as well as I should.  I'm in debt up to my eyeballs, so I'm pushing myself to earn $$.

48) What's something you eat that others find gross?

Raw potato; dry cereal.

49) Have you ever broken the law and didn't get caught? If so, how?

When I was 10, I stole a candy bar and did not get caught.  I've also accidentally gone through a couple of 'pink' lights.

50) What is something you fear might change you?

Losing my mom or my husband.

Week 4: 31-40

31) Have you ever won a contest?

Does winning MBA in 1983 with my fellow bandmates count?

32) What gives you cheap thrills?

Singing karaoke; trivia night; playing trivia at BW3; hanging out with friends.

33) What do you think is worth waiting for?

Anything desired or attaining a goal is worth waiting for.  Delayed gratification makes it sweeter.

34) Are you an organ donor?  Why/why not?

Yes. I'm not going to need my body after I'm gone.

35) Should parenting classes be mandatory for new parents?

In some circumstances, yes. There are girls having babies who have never changed a newborn, never baby-sat; never took Childhood Education, or who don't have good role models.  My daughter was lucky; she lived with us for the first several months and years of her daughter's life, and we helped her.

36) What is the #1 thing people are always asking for your help with?

Up until 2019, child care. Now, I'm always the 1st person called into work if they're short-handed and I'm off that day.

37) What movie did you love, but hate the sequel? (Or remake?)

I honestly had no desire to watch the remake of Dirty Dancing, or even the updated Miracle on 34th St. I also haven't watched the Lindsay Lohan Parent Trap or Freaky Friday.

As for sequels.....Superman 3??? (I'm not even sure I saw it!)  The George Clooney Batman???

38) Are you more talk, less action or vice versa?

It depends on the issue. If it's a problem with a solution, then for God's sake, quit talking and DO something!

39) Have You ever given someone a handmade present?

Yes. I bake cookies every Christmas and give them away. I've also made cross-stitch items; pillows; and candy.

40) Do you think Great Britain should be part of a united Europe?

I have no comment on this.

Week 3: 21-30

 21) What Is Your Most Marked Characteristic?

Toss up between the scar on my forehead, the one on my chin, or the one on my left arm.  Or my graying hair....

22) What Do You Value Most In Friends?

Loyalty; honesty, sense of humor, and to agree to disagree on certain subjects.

23) Who are your favorite writers?

Louisa May Alcott; Danielle Steele; Barbara Taylor Bradford; Lavyrl Spencer; Jean Joachim; Tessa Bailey; Katie Cawood; Robin Cook; Michael Crichton; Stephen King; Michael Palmer; John Saul; John Irving.

I'm very eclectic!

24) Who Is Your hero of fiction?

Alex Cross, Toby Holt, all of mine.

25) What historical figure do you most identify with?

Jane Addams, Molly Pitcher

26) Who are your heroes in real life?

My mom

27)  What is your greatest regret?

Not pursuing my writing career sooner; not standing up for myself sooner in 1989; breaking up with Steve S before he sent me plane tickets to Hawaii over Spring Break.

28) How would you like to die?

Peacefully, and in my sleep

29) What is your motto?

Never give up on your dreams.

30) Do you like to watch reruns?

OMG yes!