Random Dozen

Second Cup Lid- Linda hosts this getting to know you meme. Click on the doughnuts in the button to link up.

1. Tell me the absolute best way to watch a movie.
At home with a bowl of popcorn, in my favorite chair with an afghan around me! It's even better if TT is with me. We don't talk during movies. The kids learned early that movies are silent times. You can ask anything AFTER the movie, but I look for pure escapism in a movie and I can't get that if someone is talking.

2. Do you ever think about your own funeral? If so, do you have specific ideas about how you would like it to be?
Only a little. I would like to be cremated and then you can do what you want with the ashes. And I would like music at the memorial with people singing. But since I will already be is the best place, the survivors may do whatever makes them feel better.

3. Are you more of a giver or a taker?
Probably a little of both. As a parent, I think we become givers. It seems like I am always giving - money for this need or that want, but also support and love and hugs. As a person, I try to be giving and think about the other person, but I suspect that I only think about them in terms of my own needs and wants. So that would make me a taker, huh?

4. Vacations: planned activities and schedules, or play it by ear?
Definitely a winger! I like to have a general guide line - like 'back in 2 weeks and I'll stay inside the lower 48' or 'OK, I have my passport, and $xxx, let's see where that will take us' TT is more planned oriented. So when we travel together, I tend to plan an outline and then leave as much open possibilities times as I can.

5. What is one often overlooked item in your home that needs to be cleaned regularly?
The refrigerator - enough said.

6. Name a cause that means a lot to you.
Girl Scouts. I have been involved for 34 years as both a girl and an adult. I love watching the girls become young women with goals and directions in their minds.

7. Do you eat a regular old peanut butter jelly sandwich, or do you customize it? And by the way, jelly or no jelly?
Crunchy, plain peanut butter. I will occasionally add applebutter, but usually I prefer it plain.

8. If we were having a conversation in person, how would I know if you were nervous?
There is a tightening around my mouth. Also my sentences, answers, become shorter and more succinct.

9. Do you have an elaborate bedtime routine, or just the basics of tooth brushing and jammies?
Well not really a routine, rather a 'this is what needs done' sort of thing. TT will say it he's heading to bed and I'll say 'me too.' Then I go put the remains of dinner in the refrigerator, bring the dog inside, water the pets, clean the litter boxes, turn off all lights, try not to get caught by the computer (who really wants me to play just one more game of WordDrop or read one more blog) brush my teeth and hair and undress and get into bed! About a half an hour after TT is in and asleep!

10. Have you ever regretted something you wrote on your blog?
Yes and no...I erased something once, almost immediately after I posted it. Otherwise, I am still so new to this that there aren't a lot of regrets yet.

11. Has anyone ever told you that you look like a famous person or celebrity? Did you agree?
Can't think of anyone ever saying anything. Course if they did I wouldn't believe them, so I might have put it from my mind.


12. If you were going to dedicate a song to a loved one or friend, what would the song be and to whom would it be dedicated?
When my dad died, my sisters and I sang the Quaker hymn, 'Tis a gift to be simple' at his memorial. It was beautiful. We also sang a camp song that he loved, 'Little Drop of Dew'

Memes

I found an interesting meme at 2 Thinks to Share who found the interesting meme at Heart2Heart, who found the interesting meme at My Little Corner of the World....and it goes like this: Teresa gave me five words, each of which I am going to expound upon, so you can get to know me better. If you'd like to play along, leave me a comment with your e-mail address included and I will send you five words to expound upon, so we can get to know you better. Here are my five,

Trust This is a word I take very seriously. My hubby has been un-employed since the first of the year. His place of employment just closed. No severance of any kind, but he did qualify for unemployment. We have been living on my part-time income and his free-lance income and so far all the bills have been paid and we have more than enough food on the table. The electric company overcharged us for May through July by estimating our usage. Then when they finally read the meter, they owed us so there was no bill in August and September - when we really couldn't afford it! I said this morning that it was almost as if God had planned it that way, and hubby said "He did!" We have trusted God and He has been good.

Low I have to admit the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this word, was "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot coming for to carry me home." One of my all-time favorites. I think I will just let that stand.

Memory I have been blessed with an aunt who is an A-type personality. She plans things to the nth degree and really over does some things. But because of her we have RIFF RAFF (Ride In Fun For Relatives And Family Friends) and Cousins Camp and many other memories. She calls them 'memory-makers.' She made a point of reminding us that these were tomorrow's memories. And because of that I tend to try to suck every memory I can from any event. I try to 'freeze-frame' it in my head to share at a later date. And the sharing is an important part of the memory - otherwise it is selfish collecting. Memories are shared. They need to be shared to remain fresh, to remind us of those persons who have gone on before us.

Giant Big, huge, enormous. I never seem to think of them as evil or monstrous - just big. Like the Jolly Green Giant or the Giant Sequoias. I wonder if the giant in Jack and the Bean Stalk just got bad publicity?

Baby I desperately wanted a baby. I wanted a whole slew of them. But in His infinite reason, God only gave us 2. And it took 6 years to get the first one and 5 for the second. And they have been worth EVERYTHING it took to get them. I know many people who have adopted because the desire for children is so strong. I understand. I wanted a baby. I wanted to hold that infant and see he/she grow and introduce him/her to the wonders of the world. Thank you Lord, I was granted that wish.
Now they are young women, and I wonder if babies are again in my future. Not too soon, but maybe I will again get to hold a child and marvel at all the trust he/she has in me, as I bend low to pick them up, as I share memories with them in a giant way. Thank you.

Heros

I had a visit with my BF from college last night and we got to talking about our parents. She was saying that my parents were the only ones she knew among her friends to go to college. Her father had gone to college, but none of her friends in school had come from that background and only when we met in college did she meet anyone else whose parents had entered the hallowed halls.
She was very proud of her dad for going on the GI bill and getting an education. And rightfully so.
I, on the other hand, came from a long line of academics. My grandfather was superintendent of schools and several great aunts or uncles had been to college, as well as all my mother's sisters. My parents met in college, but married when mom was a sophomore and she quit school and began the process of raising babies and keeping house. I don't think this is what she really had planned. But she did it magnificently. Then in 1968 her mother-in-law made it possible for her to return to college and finish her degree. It took her 4 years, but she graduated with her Bachelors degree the same day I graduated from high school. Long day.
My BF comments got me to thinking. I have never told her how proud I am of her. It can't have been easy to return to college at 33 - this was not the time of the 'non-traditional' student. She worked hard and our dinner conversations included philosophy and Beowulf. It was wonderful. I have bragged about her ever since, but I don't think I ever told her how wonderful it was to see her happy and enthused and because of that somehow we were more liberated than many of my peers. Thank you, mom.