I Have Been Tagged!

Well, it seems I have been tagged! Ms. Natalie over at http://bridgetsdaughter5.blogspot.com tagged me. I will follow the rules, post my random things, answer the questions . . . then watch out, I will be off to tag 11 of you!


The rules are:
1. Post the rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them that you tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you are reading this. You have to legitimately have to tag 11 people.


My random things:
1.) I love to read. I have spent a fortune buying books. Luckily now I am a Vine Reviewer for Amazon.com so I get a lot of books free.

2.) I love gadgets. You know weird little things for the kitchen or house? Everyone makes fun of all my junk - but they love to borrow it! Most recent additions: cotton candy machine, Babycakes cupcake maker, Whoopie pie maker, wine glass charms, ice crusher, new lemon zester, and the list goes on and on.

3.) My husband and I met when he rescued me from a dangerous situation. It was love at first sight even though it took another year before we started dating.

4.) I love genealogy. Have one line of my family back to Revolutionary War, and line of Bill's family back to a grandfather who fought for Napoleon.

5.) If I am going to drink a soft drink, it will be either Coke or Sprite, and it has to be in a glass glass (I hate plastic).

6.) I love camping. Tent camping. Of course with all my gadgets it really isn't roughing it. Friends laughed when I took my propane toaster oven, but they loved the biscuits from it.

7.) I think I am addicted to some of the games on Face Book.

8.) I lived in Jackson, Mississippi in 1973/74. It changed my life. Busing had just begun at the school I attended and I got a lesson in Civil Rights in real life. I loved it.

9.) I still consider myself a Southerner and love all things southern: grits, sweet tea, gator tail, grape jelly on my biscuit with sausage, etc.

10.) When we visited Charleston, SC for some reason it felt like I was Home. Makes me wonder

11.) I love the ocean. Everything about it. I love swimming with wild dolphins. Snorkeling for shells. Deep sea fishing. Our last family vacation (with Jessika, Jon and the kids) we went on a full day fishing trip out of Destin. It was perfect.

OK, now for the questions . . .

1.) What is your favorite book? The last one I read! I don't have a favorite book, I have a lot of favorites. I loved Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie, I love all of her books, but that one was laugh out loud funny. I also love Dorthea Benton Frank, all of her books are fantastic (and most take place in the south which is a bonus for me)

2.) Of all your hopes/dreams for yourself, which scares you the most? Fear of failure or fear you won't ever do anything but dream? They both scare me! I want to get my BSN (bachelor in Nursing), I had just started picking up a couple of classes I needed to apply to a program when Jessika got sick. I want to get started again, but I am not sure I would be able to concentrate enough yet. So fear of failure is a definite problem there. I have a lot of dreams, but as time goes by I realize some of them are not going to be attainable.

3) What brings you joy? Hmm, Joy is something I seem to have lost. Spending time with my grand kids is probably what gives me the most joy at this time. Spending time with Bill and good friends and just talking over a bottle, or two, of good wine is also very nice.

4) If money wasn't an issue what one thing would you buy for yourself, no houses, something personal.  Well, I do need a bigger house! I could stand a new car also. But if money was no issue, I would take all my grand kids and their dads, and their families for a 2 week vacation somewhere, maybe Disney, or maybe a tropical island.

5) What do you do when life stresses you out? I escape to the web, or into a good book, or if possible, take off for a couple of days with Bill. We love to go to Memphis (Beale Street) and Tunica, MS. It is a cheap mini vacation, only 5 hours from us and it is hard to be stressed if you're listening to the blues!

6) How do you celebrate when good things happen? Usually with a dinner with friends or family. Bill loves to use his smoker so we are often looking for something to celebrate so he can use the smoker.

7) What do you do in your alone time? Surf the web. Indulge in a bubble bath while reading. In the summer I love to lay in the pool and let my thoughts go where they may.

8) What do you do to honor yourself? Rituals, buy yourself something? I am not sure how to answer this, maybe I don't do it. I don't buy much for myself. It is so much more fun to buy for the kids, or Bill, or friends. I love it when I stumble upon the perfect gift for someone. I guess I would say I honor myself by doing those activities I listed in my alone time.

9)What are you doing right now to make your dreams come true? How are you working towards those goals? For the time being, my dreams are on hold. I am still mourning, healing and trying to learn to go forward without my precious daughter in my life. Once I get back on track I want to get my BSN and then maybe my masters, and become a counselor. I think with everything I have been through in my life I would be able to help others.

10) How do you give back to humanity? What actions do you do regularly? If you don't what could you do? Well, I don't do anything formally. I worked in Special Ed for many years, I loved being able to give the kids experiences they wouldn't otherwise have. Several years we would bring a class out to the farm for a tour. One year we let them plant things in the garden, one year we tie dyed t-shirts, Bill would usually grill hamburgers and hot dogs for the class. We had so much fun doing this. After Katrina, I made contact with a nurse in Lafayette and collected and shipped around 30 boxes of supplies of all kinds to her to distribute. A girl I know lost everything in a house fire, so Bill and I bought necessities for them, as well as Christmas for her kids. We try to give what we can to whomever we can help. It is more fun to do it anonymously though.

11) What do you do that's green? Recycle? Drive a small car? Oops, I am not real green. We do recycle some, and try to buy in bulk packaging to cut down on paper/plastic waste, we don't make unnecessary trips to town. All of our appliances are energy efficient, as are our light bulbs. My car is older but it still gets 24 mpg in town and 28 on the highway, Rase will get it soon and I will stick with my old Durango as long as it runs. We won't buy a new vehicle, and we won't buy anything we can't pay cash for.

That was tough! Now here are my questions for those of you I am about to tag. Remember to read, follow and post the rules above.

1. Who is your secret crush or free pass and why?
2. What is your guilty pleasure?
3. Do you have a special charity or cause? How do you serve it?
4. If time or money was no object, what dream would you fulfill?
5. Best vacation or holiday memory?
6. Do you have any odd or unusual hobbies? Any "normal" ones?
7. Paper or Plastic?
8. Your dream job would be?
9. Do you have any tattoos? If so, what and where?
10. Are there any TV shows you never miss?
11. Favorite movie of all time?

There you go, I look forward to your answers. Now off to tag . . . .