Eleven

My friend Katrina tagged me in her post, so here goes.

First Things First… The Rules:

• You must post the rules.
• Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
• Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
• Tag eleven people and link them on your post
• Let them know you’ve tagged them!

Eleven Fun Facts:

 

1. I'm learning to sew.  I got a sewing machine for Christmas and I've been playing with it ever since.  I've wanted to learn to sew for a while, and since I'm now pregnant I figured I better get started.  In my world, moms should know how to sew.  

2. My first instrument was the piano.  I started when I was 5 at the beginning of kindergarten.  I decided I wanted to play the piano the Christmas prior to that when we were at my grandparents' house and most of my cousins could play the piano.  I wanted to play, too.  So, several months later, my parents procured a piano and found me a teacher.  Thus began my musical career. 

3. I make my own yogurt.

4. I often wish I had the ability to teleport.  I don't think I'd like to be able to read people's minds, but teleportation would be an extremely handy skill.  I used to think the Star Trek method of beaming people would be nice, but after reading The Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy (in 5 books), I'm not so sure that would be such a nice way to travel after all. 

5. I like seeing new places, but I don't really like the actual traveling part.  Whether it's flying or driving, it's just not that much fun.  With flying you have all the airport security silliness and you're at the mercy of the airline for the entire time.  With driving it takes longer and I can't read because I get carsick.  I suppose that's why I fantasize about #4.

6. I make my own soap and lotion bars.  I'm trying to find a good shampoo bar recipe, but I haven't found one yet.

7. I'm a hermit.  I don't leave my property very often.  I go outside pretty much everyday because I have animals to take care of, but I can go for days without getting in a car and going anywhere.  If my students didn't come to my house, I'd also go for long periods of time without seeing anyone except Michael.  Probably once the baby comes that will happen, since I will be taking time off from teaching.

8. I'm excited about having a kid to do all the things that are fun to do, but not so much fun as a childless adult.  Like going to the pumpkin patch, trick-or-treating, sledding, building forts, and so many other things.  It's difficult for me to imagine what life will really be like, and it's strange to think it won't just be Michael and me in a few more months, but I think there will be a lot of fun stuff.  I know it's not all rainbows and unicorns, but I'm excited about the fun stuff to come.

9. I still like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  And I still eat them sometimes.

10. My favorite part about college was finding people who got me.  I never tried to be anyone other than who I am, but I didn't really fit in very well growing up.  I had some friends, but even they didn't always really get my sense of humor a lot of the time.  It was nice to find people who I could be goofy and quirky with and they didn't give me weird looks because they were the same way. 

11. I'm a voracious reader.  Sometimes I go through spells where I don't read very much, but then a switch flips somewhere and I can't stop reading.  I'll easily read entire novels in a day or two (of the 300-500 page variety) and just keep going until I've fulfilled my need for books.  I'm in the middle of one such spell right now.  Though it has calmed down the last couple of days.  I'm currently finishing Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams.  It's the 5th book in the aforementioned Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy.  And, for the record, if you've seen the movie and haven't read the books, you should read the books, they're way better. 

 

Here are the questions Katrina posted for me:

1. If you won a gift certificate good for a year’s service from either a maid or a private chef, which one would you choose?  I would get a maid.  I hate cleaning.  I can deal with cooking, but cleaning is awful.  What would be better though is if I got both, even if it were only for 6 months.

2. Name something you’ve done that was totally out of character for you. 

3. Imagine we discovered a life-sustaining planet and a way to get there in a five year space journey. If invited to go, would you be willing to leave behind your life on Earth to explore a new world? (Your family can go with you, of course.)  It depends, really.  What's the condition of the Earth at the time of discovery?  I'd say probably not.  Mostly because I'm a hermit and don't like to go anywhere.  And 5 years is a long time to travel to get somewhere.

4. If someone gave you $500 on the condition that you somehow use it to help someone in need, how would you spend it?  I'd probably sit on it for quite a while looking for someone specific to help.  While I think charitable organizations are great and serve a definite need, I would want to find a person or family that I could specifically help.

5. What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen?  The Ninth Gate.  It started out interesting and about halfway through it starts going downhill fast.

6. If you lost your U.S. citizenship and had to relocate permanently to another country, where would you go? Why?  I've actually thought about where I would go if for some reason we felt the need to leave the country.  The United Kingdom is appealing because they speak English and I've always wanted to spend a lot of time there.  Chile is an option because I've actually spent a fair amount of time there and would be happy to go back.  If we had to flee or leave quickly, we'd probably go to Canada first, then decide on where we really wanted to be after that.

7. What’s your guilty pleasure?  The book equivalent to chick flicks.  They're like candy for your brain.

8. Who would win in a street fight between the Black Eyed Peas and the Fugees?  Umm...your mom?  I have no idea. 

9. If you could go back in time and change just ONE decision that you’ve made, what would it be? (I’m not talking about mistakes, but about a time you had to choose between two or more paths.)  I honestly can't think of anything.  I'm pretty happy with my life and where it's going.

10. What superpower would you like to have?  Teleportation.

11. Do you have a weird body quirk? What is it?  I have a birthmark on my right knee.  It's actually darker now than it was when I was little.  When I was a kid and played in the dirt a lot, my mom used to try to scrub it off in the bath because it was light enough to pass for dirt.  It never did come off.

Since the very few people that I might tag have already been tagged, I will not participate in that aspect of this.  You're welcome.