Five Word Meme

Before I do the meme, I want to update a bit from the last post. I just finished reading this book by Nicholas Sparks. I love his books. I've seen some of the movies that were spawned from the books, but I never like movies made from books - well, rarely. I do have to say that the only really good movies that I've ever watched that I felt did tremendous job of following the books were the Anne of Green Gables movies.

But - back to this book. I finished it this morning and shed more than a few tears at the end. Very well written - especially the end. They are already making the movie, which amazes me. Nicholas is writing the screen play. I have to say that I don't like the choice of Miley Cyrus as the main character, Ronnie (Veronica). I may be wrong, having only seen her on brief looks at Hannah Montana, but I can't see her in this part. And I probably won't. What do you think?

The pictures of the two girls in the previous post - the upper one is Care Bear and the lower one is Katie. We think they look remarkably alike. What do you think?

Mary, from Mary's Writing Nook, sent me these 5 words to write about. I've been short on ideas of late, so this should give me a boost. Mary knows me pretty well from our years of blogging together, and chose these words that would be just up my alley. So here goes.


Granddaughters. If you've read even one of my posts, you know that four little special girls brighten my life, and make me tired! I've been privileged to be at the births of all 4. Many of you lived through the twins' arrival vicariously with me. There's probably not much I can say about them that I haven't said before since, after all, you and they "Call Me Grandma Dawn."

My favorite things about each of them:

Care Bear: She is an amazing little girl. I can never understand how she knows what she knows. She has an inherent understanding of how life works. She has amazing insight. She is an artist, who loves to write and illustrate her own books. She is smart. She has worn glasses since she was the age the twins are now and is just fine with that. She can be very bossy - she is kinda like her grandma, who was always the self-proclaimed president of every club she started. Grandpa loves her can-do attitude and doesn't want anything to stifle it.

Feisty: She is a beautiful little girl with a smile that just brightens your day. She kind of got lost in the shuffle - she was born when Care Bear was 20 months old, and was only 3 1/2 when the twins came along. She has a very soft and kind heart. She can be very ornery. She is very smart, too, but gets overshadowed by her big sister so often. Right now she's coming into her own in kindergarten and in the neighborhood and it is delightful to watch.

Katie: She is one minute older than her sister. She is the bigger one. She has the greatest laugh. She can be very clingy at times, but on the other hand she won't let you hold her hand when she really really needs to! She can be a bit of a bully - she's a lot like Care Bear, which is as it should be, since Care Bear claimed her as her own before she was born - and named her.

Emma: Feisty named her long before she was born. They were supposed to be Victoria and Samantha, but Feisty wanted Baby B to be Emma so badly that Kristen let her have the privilege of naming her. Emma's the one who tore the oxygen out of her nose the morning after she was born, and they never put it back in. She has been first in many of the developmental steps. She talks constantly, and is saying more real words every day. She is bitty and mighty.


Colorado. I love living in Colorado. I love the seasons - especially this one. Spring's a bit iffy, but it can be lovely, too. I don't even mind the snow most of the time. I wish there weren't so many other people who keep moving here, because we're getting too crowded here on the Front Range. But I love it here.

I was born in Minnesota. We moved to Arkansas when I was 4, back to Minnesota when I was 11, to Nebraska when I was 16, to Oklahoma for college, to Kansas as a teacher for a couple of years.

My parents moved here when I was a junior in college. I think I've written about it before, but I'll never forget my first trip here for Spring Break. My dad bragged that the sun shines every day here in our town. We had to tease him mercilessly when we didn't see the sun for 3 days after we got here - we might as well have still been in Kansas or Nebraska or Minnesota - couldn't see a mountain anywhere.

But when the sun came out - it was glorious.

I moved here from Kansas in 1971. That's a long story which I've told before, but suffice it to say, I am glad I did. I had some heartbreak at first, but God had a plan - and it included meeting DC who had moved here from Illinois not long before I got here.

My kids and grandkids are natives. We have deep roots here. Come and visit any time!


Childhood. My childhood memories are wonderful. My dad was a pastor - we didn't have money. There were 5 of us kids and we had fun. I was the eldest, and I was given a lot of responsibility.

I loved being the preacher's kid. Sometimes PK's have a bad reputation. But we felt like it was a privilege. We got to know the evangelists who came and ate at our house and stayed with us. We became acquainted with the missionaries who also stayed with us. I loved moving from place to place - I considered it a great adventure.

My sister was born two weeks before my first birthday, so we had a great time being "twins" for two weeks every year. I loved it when someone found out we were sisters and said, "Oh, I thought you were friends." We were. We still are.

Travel. We have done our share of traveling, nothing like a lot of people. I'm not fond of the actual trip, but love getting there, wherever "there" is. I get claustrophobic in airplanes these days, but don't mind flying otherwise. We haven't taken a long road trip in awhile, but I wouldn't mind doing that again.

When I was a kid, we mostly went to our grandparents' in Minnesota for our vacations. We did take a trip to the North Shore camping - that was an adventure with a large family. We went to California when several of us were in college, for my brother's wedding.

DC and I have had some nice trips. When the kids were young, we visited grandparents as well. But we did make it to Disneyland and Yellowstone. We took a fabulous trip to England to visit my brother and his family when Kristen was 13 and Kev was 11. What wonderful memories we made there.

I've been privileged to go to Washington DC with my DC on several business trips. We finally made it to Hawaii for our 25th anniversary, then back for our 35th. We are craving another trip back there as soon as possible. We have really enjoyed our times in Georgia, North and South Carolina with DC's brother and SIL.

We did make it to Boston area when Kev was in TC the first time - I told him that I didn't like the reason, but I sure enjoyed the trip.

I'm planning to get out east to see Kev this fall. I also plan to get to my 40th college reunion in Oklahoma in November - yikes! 40th?? How can that be possible??

We hope someday, when we are truly retired, to take a road trip to every place we've ever lived - he is a PK, too, so that'll be alot of towns all over the country.

Hobby. Awhile back I did a series called "I Used To. . . " where I showcased all of the many creative things I used to do when I was young and energetic. I sewed like crazy, crocheted, knitted, embroidered, crewel embroidered, cross-stitched. I don't do any of those things now. My main hobby now is reading, strictly for enjoyment. Nothing very mind-stretching. I get most of my reading in while I am on the exercise machines at the gym. I guess it's called multi-tasking.

Fall is coming in with a cool start - we had a huge rain this morning and it's been very cool all day. I enjoyed a quiet day with myself!

Memes and Awards

I have to interrupt the regularly scheduled anniversary adventure series to do a bit of housekeeping. I have been honored with two awards, which I appreciate so much. One of them involves a meme. On top of that, I took on the challenge of Hootin' Anni's interview. Wow, did she come up with some interesting questions!

I had to laugh out loud (LOL, you know) with Jessica's comment to me today - that if there was an award out there for the longest posts, I would win hands down. Hey, ladies, they didn't call me "Mouth of Third South" in college for no good reason! I am a woman of many words - ask anybody who knows me IRL.

So - here goes - - -



Honorees are to list 10 honest things about themselves-and make it interesting, even if we have to dig deep! This is going to be a challenge. Thank you, dear Laurie, for this award.

1. My dear husband and I are both eldest children in pastors' families. As such, we felt as if we knew each other very quickly, because we had shared many of the same things in our growing up years.
   
   
2. As Laurie shared, I too am a non-swimmer. I almost drowned at age 10 when I hit a drop-off in one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes. I have never since been able to trust the water to hold me up. I love boat rides, I enjoy cruising, I go along to watch snorkelers from the boat, but don't expect me to get in.
   
   
3. I was the tallest girl in my graduating class of 82 students. The class was small enough that they had us process by height instead of alphabetically, so the tallest boy and I led the group.
   
   
4. I was the self-proclaimed president of all neighborhood clubs - clubs which I created. I see a lot of myself in my 6-year-old granddaughter, known here in Blogland as Care Bear.
   
   
5. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was three years old. I don't remember this, but my mom told me, and I believe her. I often wish I had a memory of where and when I accepted Christ, because I could point back to that time and place when Satan makes me doubt. But I have never wanted to do anything but serve Him. I praise Him for salvation and protection from the junk that many people have had to overcome.
   
   
6. But no matter how much I loved Him and served Him, it did not prevent heartache in our family. But He has helped us through it all. So far. I don't expect Him to stop now!
   
   
7. My parents scraped up the money to buy a used piano when I was 7 so that I could start lessons. I began playing for church in our tiny Arkansas church when I was 8 - we had nobody else, so Dad raised his own accompanist. I have been on the piano or organ bench most of my life since then. I'm a very generic musician - meaning what I see is what you get. No fancy chording or embellishments. That's why I love the organ - you can make it sound good with all those buttons! My potential was short-changed when I was 13 and we moved to a bigger city where the cost of lessons was prohibitive for my parents.
   
   
8. I love singing in choir and am thankful that our church still offers this opportunity (and that we still have an organ to play!). Music is a huge part of my life and I remember the day I figured out that I could harmonize.
   
   
9. I struggle every day with my weight. I look back at pictures of when I was much younger and thought I was overweight then - and can't believe how good I looked. I must have had a skewed body image in those days. I'm thankful I didn't fall into anorexia or bulimia, which of course wasn't known of when I was a teen.
   
   
10. I used to think blogging was stupid - can you believe it??
    

Thank you so much, Midlife Mom (my friend Louise) for this beautiful award. I'm not at all sure that I deserve this one, but I certainly will accept it with gratitude.

The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs.

The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions.
There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs.

The Blog is refreshing and creative.

The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.


I began blogging in June of 2006 - Kristen, my daughter, pushed me into it. In fact, she set me up, named the blog, then called me and told me to join in and get busy. She gave it the title "Call Me Grandma Dawn" because that was what Anthony, her stepson, called me from the very beginning, when he was barely 2. The theme of grandparenting is a huge part of this blog, but it is mostly my day to day life that appears here on this page. There is no great political or social agenda. In fact, I mostly keep my political opinions to myself. But it has become such an important part of my life and I appreciate all of you. I regret greatly that I have had to go private, but it is better than nothing!

This morning when I visited Hootin' Anni, she had been interviewed by one of her blog buddies. I let her know I'd be willing to be interviewed - she chose the questions. This will be another challenge~~

1. What prompted you to say "yes" to the marriage proposal from your spouse?

We were 25 and 30 when we married - we both had been through some painful relationships. Nothing horrendous, but we'd both been hurt by someone. We had both lived long enough on our own that we appreciated what the other one would bring to a marriage. We didn't go together very long before we knew this was "it." (In fact, we'd been married a few months when DC asked me how long we'd gone together before we got married - I told him 8 months and he said, "That's not long enough!" Too funny! Too late!) We had talked about marriage, had even looked at rings. The proposal was kind of a technicality - we had ordered the rings and when they came in and he got the call, he went over to ask my dad if it was all right (yes, he did - even at our advanced ages!), then proposed on roller skates during the couples' skate as they played "Ebb Tide" with the lights lowered. Oh, it was very romantic! I am not a very good skater and actually ran into the wall with shock, because I wasn't expecting it at that time! I don't think he had much doubt that the answer would be in the affirmative. What prompted me to say "yes?" He was the answer to this girl's prayers!

2. What childhood memory is most vivid in your mind as you blog at this very moment?

This is so tough, because I have so many vivid memories of my childhood. It was a happy childhood with 5 kids in a parsonage with very little money. If I have to pick one memory, I think it will be when my brother, sister, and I played missionary. We had two sets of uncles, aunts, and 4 cousins who were missionaries in Africa. We had this great two-seated merry-go-round in our yard and we pretended it was an airplane. It would take us to the jungles of Africa, where we would land and share the gospel with the chief in his hut. Our whole life revolved around the church. Nothing's changed!

3. With your experiences, have you ever thought your existence as female is less stressful than a male's existence?

Never! I have always felt like I was more stressed out than my husband. Maybe guys just don't talk about their stressors as much as we do.

4. What historical leader, in the world, has captured your admiration most?

I mentioned above in the previous meme that I don't get into politics here. But I was quite outspoken when I was younger. In fact, I thought that one day I would run for office when I grew up. I know there will be those who gasp when I say this, but my first interest in campaigning was Nixon vs. Kennedy in 1960. I became very interested in Richard Nixon and his family. I read his book, Six Crises, and decided that his daughter, Julie, and I could be soul mates. I eventually did a term paper on him in high school, and later met him when he was between political jobs and was corporate attorney for Pepsi-Cola Company. I wrote about this experience here (unfortunately, the pictures I posted were deleted when I had to go private and I overreacted and canceled my Flickr account). When Watergate happened, I was devastated. I won't go into this any further, but that is my story.

5. What influences in life have triggered you to set certain goals? And what are/were those goals?

I have never been a big goal setter, unfortunately. Most of my goals have had to do with my personal appearance, which seems pretty shallow when I write it down.

So - there you have it. Another long post. No pictures to break it up. Sorry, Jess!

Observations on the Last Few Days . . .

. . . or, just another way to say "Random Ramblings!"

EDITED MONDAY MORNING: We are in the deep freeze here on the Front Range of Colorado - it's -13F this morning and my mind is conjuring up memories of my life as a kid in northern Minnesota - I feel a post or two coming on in the near future!

It has been quite a week - I am ashamed to say that I locked myself out of the car again - twice! And to top it all off, the magnetic key holder was NOT under my car any more. What in the world is wrong with me??? Why do I keep doing this?? My sweet hubby wants to know the answer to that question, too.

I was sitting at a stop light the other day when I saw a truck stopped in the middle of an intersection. I finally realized that he had lost a very large box, probably an empty refrigerator box, from his truck bed as he went through the green light. He jumped out, stopping traffic, as he threw it back in. The thought crossed my mind that it wasn't going to stay in there without weighing it down. He must have been new on this job or something, because a block later, there was the box in the road again - this time in my lane. He had pulled off the street this time and was hurrying back to pick it up. I felt like stopping and giving him so good advice! It was good for a bit of a chuckle.

I had my eye appointment this week, since I've decided not to have the Lasik procedure done after all, at least for now. I have been feeling like my vision has gotten worse over the last two years, and that I am having headaches for that reason. It turns out that my prescription has changed hardly at all - and that I don't even need new glasses. How can that be?? He thinks maybe dryness is causing the problems. I don't know, but I'll give it a try. Now one more thing to remember to do twice a day.

I still haven't had a chance to do much shopping. Well, I'm not planning to do much, but I haven't had a chance to do basically any. It's less than 2 weeks till Christmas. Yikes! I know what I'm going to do, it's just a matter of finding time to do it by myself. I can't put anything under the tree - not only because of the little munchkins rolling under there and ripping into the paper, but the bigger girls seem to think that they need to open anything that's under there.

Our plans for the family reunion are coming together. We have the privilege of borrowing our church's gym and other rooms for dinners each evening and some recreation. We'll have a different family group serving each meal and cleaning up. Each of us that live here will be keeping a family of 4 in our homes. It's going to be a very busy week, but should be great fun. Pictures to come!!

Feisty loves to help. See how she's feeding Katie? Remember how your mouth opens and closes when you're feeding a baby? She's doing the same thing. So cute!

Do you ever wish you were young again and of the opinion that tape can fix anthing? We have a chair that we've had repaired once, but the arm is loose again. So Feisty discovered the problem the other day and immediately ran for the tape.

One day this week Care Bear saw this picture of my sister and me, taken when we were probably 7 and 8 or so. (Sorry it's so crooked!)

I didn't realize what an impression it made on her until she posed for me several times that evening, as she was preparing for her school program (which, by the way, was adorable - and Grandma forgot the camera - HUH???!!)




Then tonight was the children's musical at church. I have written before about my years of directing the children's musicals. I started doing it so my kids wouldn't miss out on the fun that other, larger churches were doing for their children. It is so much work! And so worth it! The young woman who is doing the musicals now is absolutely amazing - she has people who help her do sets that are fabulous.

Care Bear is in first grade and a year ago, she was still in the throes of stage fright. This year she decided she wanted to do a solo in the musical. She realized on her own that she probably wasn't ready for that yet, but did want a speaking part. She was blessed to be picked for one, and looked so tiny in the group that had those parts.





She was so proud of the fact that she got to wear one of the wireless mikes - but she kept having to pull up her pants as the battery pack rather weighed them down in the back. It was priceless. Then she experienced a bit of technical difficulty as she had a terrible time attaching the mike to her angel costume.



These kids did a fabulous job tonight. The final song was "Take a candle, and light your world," as we each lit a candle and held them up to light the sanctuary. There were more than a few tears and sniffles at that point. I felt so blessed for being there. And so blessed to have my grandchildren carrying on the tradition.

I was listening to Focus on the Family the other day and heard about these buttons --



I ordered a few and plan to enjoy wearing one as I try to finish up that shopping this week!

This is getting too long, but I can't forget to thank Hootin' Anni for this special award.

Here are the rules for the Christmas award.~~~~~You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award. The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas. You must link back to the person who gave you the award. You must list 5 things that you love about Christmas. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space! Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But, you must pass it on to at least one person in order to keep the Christmas cheer going! Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment.

There are many things I love about Christmas, and have probably covered them all at one time or another, but here goes - -

1. The "Reason for the Season" - Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour, who came to earth as a baby and lived here as a man so that He would know life as we know it.


2. The lights and music.


3. Giving gifts to those I love.


4. Decorating my house and having company over.


5. Singing in the cantata at church.

I am passing this award on to Kristen, Tammy, Linds, Louise, Diane, and Robin.

ONE MORE THING! DIL Sema has posted this week and has some very interesting thoughts - check her out if you remember her. It's been a long while since she wrote. She and Kev are leaving for Kenya in about 3 weeks. So exciting!

Have a wonderful week!

Alphabet Soup Tuesday

This is my first foray into Alphabet Soup Tuesday, hosted by Morning Glory. Here are a few things that enhance my life, brought to you by the Letter B.

• The sound of the Sunday School chorus, The B-I-B-L-E, being sung by the girlies in the back of the van as we travel down the street.
  
  
  
• Birds in our yard this summer, enjoying the feast provided in our two feeders - the family of finches came back, and this week-end we had about Four and Twenty Blackbirds swooping in and out of the one hanging from the Austrian Pine (and keeping the squirrel away for a time!)
  
  
• My bicycle has brought me great enjoyment this summer as it added a bit more exercise to my routine when I rode it to the gym and home in the wonderful early morning air. That has changed now, as I have to pick up the babes at Feisty's preschool when Kristen drops her off there. But I am walking from the gym to the preschool with the stroller to somewhat compensate.
  
  
• Babies in the Bathtub - what fun to watch them kick with joy as they bathe together - getting Grandma wet seems to delight them at this young age.
  
  
• Books - So many books, so little time! Right now I'm reading Beverly Cleary's two autobiographies, on the advice of Sammy. I finished A Girl From Yamhill today and will begin My Own Two Feet yet this evening. She is 92! I think I'll have to read all of the books she's written - again. If you read the post before last, you know how I feel about Ramona Quimby. The first book of Beverly's that I read was Fifteen, when I was about 14, which was also the first romance novel I ever read. I loved it. I didn't discover Ramona until Kristen was a kid.
  


• Bronze Sculptures - well, at least the ones that please my senses. Our town is famous for our collection. I will be doing another post, Art in the Park II, soon.
  


• Brothers - I have three of them, and they are each unique and great in their own ways.
  


• Bouquets of Blossoms - DC used to send me a bouquet every month - when we first started dating. It was fun to see the envy of my co-workers! (This ended when the realities of life took over and flowers became SO expensive!) I love bouquets from my yard as the flowers change from week to week. It is coming to the end for this year.
  
  
• Bedtime - I am pretty tired by the end of the day, and usually fall asleep on a gripping episode of Murder She Wrote.
  


• And, of course, last but not least - Blogging. Enough said!
  
  
  

Monday Meme

Thank you for all your kind comments on the before/after pictures - I do hope to have some more in the months to come~ ~

And for your concern about our neighborhood drama the other day. This was what appeared in the local paper the next day under the police reports:

"2:28 p.m. A 21-year-old *** man, in the 3800 block of *** Drive, on suspicion of speeding, reckless driving, eluding police, criminal mischief, child abuse, driving under suspension, and on a warrant.


"2:36 p.m. A 19-year-old *** woman, at the intersection of *** Street and *** Drive, on two warrants."

So - I don't know anything specific, but we do know that this guy that was running was not anyone you'd want to spend much time with! I hope he gets his life straightened out.

I seem to have a lack of things to talk about today, so decided to join in the meme that is going around. I've probably discussed everything that is on this list, but here goes, just for fun:

1. What were you doing ten years ago?

Ten years ago - 1998 - Hmmm. This is harder than I thought. All I know for sure is that I was working at the university and had been there for 5 years. Kristen was 23 and had begun working there as well. DC was still at his original company before they decided to "retire" many of their most loyal employees. We were in the midst of our traumatic years, but I can't think of anything specific. So that was exciting, eh??

2. Five things on my to do list for today?

It's the end of this day, so I'll do my list for Monday.

• Get up early, make DC's lunch, have devotions
• Go to the gym at 7:00 instead of 8:00
• Get the babies at 8:30, as Kristen takes Feisty to her first day of preschool
• Keep the babies occupied until 11:30, when we pick up Feisty from school
• Take them all home to their mommy
• Start one of my many kitchen decluttering projects in the afternoon
  

3. What is your favorite snack?

Unfortunately, it's hard to pin this down to one or two things. Snacking is probably my biggest weight challenge. I like anything chocolate. I also love salted nuts. So put it all together in Trail Mix and that's a diet disaster waiting to happen.

4. If I were a millionaire, I would:

• Tithe first of all - my church would be so thrilled!
• Pay off my kids' school loans.
• Set up college funds for the grands.
• Be sure my parents' last years were free of financial worries.
• Set up a trip fund for DC and me so that we could take a nice trip once a year.
  

5. Places I have lived:

• Monticello, Minnesota
• St. Paul, Minnesota
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Batesville, Arkansas
• Heber Springs, Arkansas
• International Falls, Minnesota
• St. Paul Minnesota (again)
• Omaha, Nebraska
• Bethany, Oklahoma
• Parsons, Kansas
• Colorado

Have a wonderful week!

A Fun Meme Borrowed From Barb

Thank you all for the wonderful comments on my cakes and the quilt pattern. It's funny but when I read and look at pictures of quilts so many of you make, I think I could NEVER do that. I didn't remember that I had done enough pillow covers in the cathedral window pattern to have made a king-sized quilt, most likely, if they had been sewn together. I am so glad I have pictures of the cakes, because I do not even remember the process of making most of them - is that pathetic or what??

Barb told us to take this meme and run with it. This is one I can do without thinking or downloading a bunch of pictures. I need that right now! And thanks to Diane for the wonderful button!

In your entire life, have you ever...

...gone on a blind date? No...I had enough trouble with those who could see!

...skipped school? Never - I loved school!

...watched someone die? No, thankfully, not yet.

...been to Canada? Yes - I used to live across the border from Fort Francis, Ontario in International Falls, Minnesota. We could walk over there, but didn't do it often.

...been to Mexico? Yes. Briefly in Tijuana - never want to go back there!! I would like to try Cabo or Puerto Vallarta sometime.

...been to Florida? Yes. During the beginnings of Hurricane Agnes - my sister, and friend, and I went there for a church convention - started out in a horrible hotel, moved to a better one, just about blew away every time we crossed the street between huge hotels - bounced our way all the way to Tampa in a small plane. Then briefly in Fort Lauderdale a couple of years ago as DC and I prepared to board ship for our Caribbean cruise.

...been on a plane? Yes. Don't like overseas flights, though - too long legs, not enough leg room!

...been lost? Unfortunately, yes. My sense of direction is deplorable. Ask Kristen about our trip to Denver to see the show "Annie" - being lost in downtown Denver at 10:00 at night with an 8-year-old in the car is not a fun thing!

...been on the opposite side of the country? Yes. But would love to go back again. I want to visit all those blog friends in Maine!

...gone to Washington, DC? Yes, twice in the fall - I just love it there, as a tourist at least. My DC was in meetings while I got to walk and ride the subway all over the city. Beautiful, historical place.

...swam in the ocean? I am a non-swimmer because of a trauma at age 10. I don't even go into the water - went to Hawaii twice and put on my suit once for a brief shot of me up to my knees in the water.

...had your booze taken away by the cops? Have never been in possession of any booze.

...lettered in a high school sport? Joke joke. I did get a letter from Pep Club and Choir!

...cried yourself to sleep? Many times.

...played cops and robbers? No.

...played dolls? My sis and I lived our lives as little girls in preparation for motherhood!

...recently colored with crayons? Not really - I never was any good at coloring with crayons.

...sung Karaoke? No, thank you very much!

...paid for a meal with coins only? Probably.

...done something you told yourself you wouldn't? Every day? When I break my diet??

...cheated on an exam? No, never. And I never lie either.

...made prank phone calls? Oh, my goodness - we were really terrible when we were kids doing this - calling a bar and saying we were Mr. Byrd, looking for wife, Ima. Could you please page her - she's supposed to be home with the kids. Ima Bird, Ima Bird! We laughed till we were sick - or until our folks caught us.

...laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose? Not that I recall.

...caught a snowflake on your tongue? Many times - I grew up in Minnesota!

...danced in the rain? No.

...written a letter to Santa Claus? Nope - Never believed in the guy, didn't figure it made any sense!

...been kissed under the mistletoe? Not that I recall. Mistletoe kind of lost its allure for me when saw it growing as a parasite on the trees in Oklahoma.

...watched the sunrise with someone you care about? Yes, most recently on the coast of Georgia - just beautiful. Got up really early to do it.

...been arrested? Never did anything to merit being arrested! Unless you count being chased around town by our version of Barney Fife when we t.p.'d all the football players' houses because we didn't have dates to Homecoming!

...blown bubbles? Often.

..gone ice-skating? If you want to call it that - we spent our evenings at the neighborhood rink in International Falls because it was the sociable thing to do. I spent most of my time in the warming house, but did take a few runs around the rink. Hated it.

...been skinny dipping outdoors? Are you kidding me??? Nor indoors!!

...had a nickname? I've been called Swan Dawnson, Swansie, Dawnson. None lately, though.

...been to Africa? Not in reality, but we used to pretend we were flying to Africa to hold revival meetings in the chief's hut when we were kids and had a merry-go-round in our back yard. We had two missionary aunts, uncles, and 4 cousins in Africa. I have since acquired a Kenyan daughter-in-law, so dream of someday making it over there to meet her family.

...eaten cookies for dinner? Most likely!

...been on TV? Yep - I was on a teen panel in high school - it was on during church, so I had to bring a set to church, go downstairs during Dad's sermon to watch it. Oh, for a VCR in those days! I was on the news once when I was standing in line at the park on the 4th of July waiting for my hamburger being cooked by the Lions Club - we were asked what we loved about America, if I recall.

...stolen any traffic signs? No. Never stole anything.

...been in a car accident? Minor fender benders - I've blogged about the latest.

What is your....

...mother's name? Margaret

...favorite drink? Diet Dr. Pepper

...favorite alcohol? Never tasted the stuff

...birthplace? Minneapolis, Minnesota

...favorite vacation spot? Kona, Hawaii - surprise, surprise!

...favorite salad dressing? Bleu cheese (on the side, of course).

...favorite pie? Apple - homemade with Granny Smiths

...favorite number? -40 (which I am working on my weight to be from what it is now!)

...favorite movie? I don't watch many movies, but I loved Driving Miss Daisy and Sleepless in Seattle.

...favorite holiday? Christmas.

...favorite food? Mexican

...favorite day of the week? Right now, the week-end ones. In another month, I'm hoping they all kind of run together in my retirement!

...favorite brand of body wash? Just give me good old Zest.

...favorite toothpaste? Crest - Regular (can you believe how many choices there are???)

...favorite smell? Baking bread, or chocolate chip cookies.

Do you have any...

...tattoos? Hate 'em!

...body piercings? Have tried the ears twice, just keep getting infections - gave up on that.

Do you drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? My minivan has 4 doors - thank goodness! Getting 4 kiddoes in and out makes this a necessity.

What do you do to relax? Read. Read. Read. Blog Blog Blog

How do you see yourself in 10 years? 70 years young - in better shape than I am now - watching my teen-age grandkids develop - taking some nice trips. Living in this same house.



Feel free to join the fun - it's great to learn more about you. Let me know if you do it!

BA Revisited and The Book Meme

Have you seen this cute little graphic? I've seen it around here and there. It reminded me of a post I did after about 3 months of blogging, when I realized I had become totally hooked. So I'm going to re-run it here. (Thankfully, I am a recovered blogaholic, and enjoy it in a less intense way now!) From September 13, 2006:

I am waiting for someone to begin a support group - Bloggers Anonymous. At that time, all of us who have known each other anonymously can meet face to face! Face it - we have an addiction. I wonder how soon it will become a part of the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition). I can see it now: Blogmania, a recently diagnosed mental disorder with the following symptoms:

• Computer is on 24/7
• You are running to the computer every few minutes
• Laundry is piling up
• Meals have become the frozen variety
• Conversation with mate revolves around what you read in cyberspace
• Blogger problems become bigger than life
• Your mind is always thinking of what to write next
• Depression occurs if there are fewer than 7 comments on any given day
• You are sleep deprived from staying up reading hundreds of messages
  
  
  Of course, this is an exaggeration, and meant to be a bit tongue in cheek. Seriously, it does become addictive. But there are so many good things about this new mania:
  
  
• I have met so many wonderful people from so many places - Canada, Chili, Australia, every state I've lived in.
• I have found so many kindred spirits who know my Jesus.
• I have seen miracles through the prayers of these new friends.
• I have laughed and cried, both with tears running down my cheeks.
• I have discovered people who have such a gift of words.
• I have found astounding spiritual truths from new acquaintances.
• I have been challenged to be a better Christian.
• I have become better acquainted with family members who are bloggers also.
• I now look at everything that happens as a potential post. It has opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at things.
• My memory has been jogged and I realize what a wonderful life I have had.
• I was reduced to happy tears when so many people welcomed our prodigal home. God is so good!
• So many of us will someday meet, if not in this life at least in the next.
  
  
  Tell me what you think - want to join?
  
  
  Nancy tagged me for the book meme. Now if you've been with me very long, you know I read all.the.time. I have to have a book with me in case I have a dead minute or two. Or I have to wait in line somewhere. I love to read. So here goes:
  
  1. Grab the nearest book of 123 pages or more.
  2. Open it to page 123.
  3. Find the first 5 sentences and write them down.
  
  
  I have to grab the last 4 words on page 122:
  
  
  "One of the girls I work with owes me about a week for when she went to Cancun with her boyfriend. She'll do it, I know she will."
  
  "I do hope so," I said, suddenly worried that I couldn't depend on what was essentially a last-ditch appeal. "I tell you, Miss Wiggins, we're in an emergency situation here, and I was hoping that you could leave right away. Today, in fact."
  
  
  This passage is from the book, Miss Julia Strikes Back by Ann B. Ross. This is the 7th book in the series, and they are such fun. Give them a try if you want some mindless fun.
  
  

Meme and Other Things

Over at Pea's place yesterday, and at Susie's place today, they did the Book Cover Meme.

***Rule (there is only one): Go to the advanced book search on Amazon, type your first name into the Title field, and post the most interesting/amusing cover that shows up.

When I entered "Dawn" into the Title field, I had a choice of 222,840 books. That's a lot of books! Of course, most of them had to do with the time of day, dawn of the morning. But a few were about a person named Dawn.

In her fine new Virginia school, Dawn Longchamp feels happy and safe. But nothing is what it seems...

Now Dawn and her older brother Jimmy have a chance for a decent, respectable life, and Dawn's secret, precious hope to study singing can come true. Philip Cutler, the handsomest boy in school, sets Dawn's heart on fire. She is deeply devoted to her brooding brother; but with Philip, she imagines a lovely dream of romance...

Then Dawn's mother suddenly dies, and her entire world begins to crumble. After a terrible new shock, she is thrust into a different family and an evil web of unspoken sins. Her sweet innocence lost, humiliated and scorned, Dawn is desperate to find Jimmy again and...strip away the wicked lies that will change all their lives forever!

Dawn has always thought there was a secret passage hidden in her house. But she never thought there was a ghost...until now. All kinds of creepy things go whenever Dawn's at home. There are even spooky noises behind her bedroom wall! Dawn is sure there's a ghost in her house. And so are the other BSC Members. But they are so busy with their baby sitting jobs that they hardly have time for a ghost hunt. Will Dawn and her friends solve the spooky mystery or will Dawn have to share her house...with a ghost?

I don't think there's chance I would read either of these books, but it was fun to see what was out there.

That leads me to talk about my name a bit. Do you like your name? I didn't like mine when I was a kid. It was too different. I had so many friends named Mary and Linda and Sue and Carol. I wondered why I couldn't have a more common name. My parents named their first 4 kids very unusual names, at least for that time and place. My biggest issue was people thinking it was a boy's name. I would say, "Not if you say it right!" I still have this problem to this day.

One of my dearest friends, a co-worker for 10 years, would answer the phone. I'd hear her say, "Did you want to talk to the man or the woman?" What she meant was - there was a Don and a Dawn in our office. I would get on her case every time. But she honestly couldn't differentiate between the two names phonetically. I would tell her, "How do you say the word for the grass outside? It's lawn, not lon. How do you say what you do when you're tired and yawn, not yon. How about the word for when you need some money and you take something in and get a loan? It's pawn, not pon." She never did hear the difference.

I love the way people from New York say my name - kind of like Duwan. I love how southerners say my name - Dauun. It's hard to spell phonetically, but maybe you get the point.

I have made peace with my name. But I still want it pronounced correctly - Don said with "AWE."

I couldn't resist another totally different sunrise this morning.

Then I had to get in my car and catch these shots as the sun set over the mountains. I just love those silver linings!

I'm sorry - I just can't resist posting them all - I couldn't decide which one to leave out!

Meme and Other Things

I am sitting in my comfortable recliner watching Andy and Barney and their antics, while I create my latest post on this:

I've spent the majority of this day playing with my new toy. I have to admit that my shoulders are a bit tight. Learning curves can be a bit stressful. But I have had no problems with Vista whatsoever. I've discovered that Google has word processing and spreadsheets and everything else you need without having to buy any new softwear products. It took me quite awhile to figure out how to get my pictures to Flickr, but getting them on the computer was easy as can be, because I can just insert my camera's memory card. Slick.

I wanted to comment on some of the comments made on my first "Friday Show and Tell." Several mentioned that the picture reminded them of Ma and Pa Ingalls and Little House on the Prairie." The irony is that DC spent his high school years in Pepin, Wisconsin, which is the setting for Little House in the Big Woods, the first book in the series. I enjoyed the t.v. series to a point, but having read all of the books, I got a bit weary of the long distance they went from reality in the writing of the show. I always thought there were enough "real" stories to tell that they didn't have to make up so many.

Others wondered if we could get some royalties from the family picture being shown on every show that first season (I found out it was the first season by googling the show's name). That would be nice, but I wouldn't know where to start. Any suggestions??

I've been tagged for the Seven Random Things meme by Mary at Mary's Writing Nook. I feel like I've told just about anything imaginable about myself, but I will attempt to coming up with some interesting tidbits - I may be borrowing from my "100 Things", but I have many new friends since I wrote them.

* I was the tallest girl in my high school class. Our class was small enough that we walked by height, so the tallest boy and I were the first ones to walk down the aisle.

* I have the least gray hair of 5 siblings. One brother is certain that I color my hair, but I assure him that I'm too lazy and too cheap to color my hair!

* I lived in 23 houses/apartments (not counting dorm rooms) during the first 31 years of my life; I have lived in the same house for the past 29.

* I like to read and walk at the same time. I also read while doing the bike and the elliptical machine at the gym.

* We were married, dedicated our babies, had our kids' weddings, and dedicated their babies all in the same church.

* All 5 kids in my family graduated from the same small Christian college.

* When I had my first child, I was the same age as my mom was when she had her 5th.

Have a blessed Sunday!

It's All About MeMeMe Today

I want to thank you all for your wonderful, touching comments to me and to Kevin about this latest, most intense chapter in our journey to deliverance. Someone mentioned not knowing how I survived this time. I believe it was a combination of several things:

1. Ignorance - in the very beginning, we didn't know.
2. Denial - we couldn't believe it was really happening, and still didn't really know. There's a lot of hiding and lying and manipulation going on in this kind of situation.
3. HOPE - I remember the day that hope entered the picture. I don't remember when or why - maybe it was during a sermon or a Sunday School lesson, or a devotional time, but I remember that it arrived. HOPE is a wonderful thing. It was the only thing for quite awhile. Job talks a lot about HOPE - what better role model would we have for hanging onto HOPE??

HOPE is defined in the Random House College Dictionary as "the feeling that what is desired is also possible, or that events may turn out for the best." We were at the point of HOPE AGAINST HOPE, which is defined as "to continue to hope, although the situation does not warrant it." There's not much faith in that last definition, but that was the other piece of the puzzle:

4. Faith. What would we do without faith? Faith that God hears. Faith that God cares. Faith that we haven't been forgotten. Faith that He understands what we need and how we feel. Faith that He can work the miracle we needed to see.

So many people have been playing tag this week that it reminds me of elementary school recess! I have been tagged by c.h. green at Beneath the Ivy Wreath for 8 random facts about myself, and by Kim at Can You Hear Me Now? for 7. Since I could not possibly come up with 15 interesting things about myself, I am opting for 8, which will cover both. Now if I can only think of 8! I feel like I've shared so much already in the past 11 months that I will be repeating myself. So be it. Here goes:

1. I type in my head when I am thinking, or reading, or someone is talking to me. It's annoying, it slows my reading speed, but it sure keeps my typing speed up! I also add and subtract in my head - such as adding the numbers on license plates ahead of me at a stop light or sign - after I have typed them! When I was in college, the typing was getting in the way of my studying, because it was slowing down my reading. I went to a speed reading specialist on campus, who was also a psychologist. When I told him about my problem with typing while I read, he asked me to become his secretary. The irony of that situation blew me away!

2. When I was in second grade in Arkansas, the first cool morning of fall, I came into the kitchen to tell my mom something and automatically sat on the space heater we had been using as a chair all summer. OUCH!!

3. I'll never forget that it was that same week of the burned legs that Mom and Dad told me they had bought me a piano so that I could begin lessons. I was so excited that it helped ease the pain of the burns.

4. I began playing the piano for church at age 8, with my legs swinging from the bench. My dad gave the piano teacher the songs for Sunday and they were part of my lesson. She got me a little offertory book for little fingers.

5. I have double jointed toes, which partially explains my very large shoe size. It also explains the problems I have finding comfortable shoes. It also explains why I didn't wear sandals until I got to the point in my life that I didn't care who saw my ugly toes.

6. I'm the oldest of five and have the least gray hair. That really irritates my younger siblings.

7. I met Richard Nixon when I was in high school, and still plan to write about that experience one of these days.

8. I read while I walk and while I exercise at the gym. I have scars from several falls, and mended bones, but none of those falls has happened while I was walking. Go figure!

Now that I'm finished, I will probably think of many more interesting and/or weird things than the ones I listed.

As I said above, there's been so much tag being played recently that I doubt there's anyone left to be "it", so I'll just call it good.

Part 9 coming soon, I hope, since Kev will be gone for 2 weeks - one week on a work trip for the university in West Virginia, and one for an actual well-deserved, much-needed vacation with his wife - the first in a very long time.