100 Things

Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes. ~Gloria Naylor

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

I'm shouting so my dad can hear me where he is...

And now, moving on:

My life has a superb cast but I can't figure out the plot. ~Ashleigh Brilliant

I tried to resist the temptation when I saw this on Anno's blog several days ago. But it kept poking me and poking me... so I've given in.

The instructions: Just copy the list of 100 accomplishments, highlight the ones you've achieved in bold, and elaborate as desired. Be forewarned, this is a long meme: a marathon to read; just about as long to write.

A couple of the numbers were missing, so I stole the ones that Groovy made up *G*.

001. Started my own blog. This seems like a really silly question since this is A BLOG MEME. So, yeah... started my own blog many, many moons ago. This one.

002. Slept under the stars. When we lived up in the sticks, I used to sleep over at a friends house and we frequently slept out on her deck to watch the sunrise in the morning -- in fourth grade. Whoda thunk I'd have been interested in watching the sun rise at ten y.o? With any luck, however, I won't ever do it again. I do NOT enjoy camping in any form.

003. Played in a band. If playing flute in school counts! *G*

004. Visited Hawaii. Two times. In California, going to Hawaii is like people in the east going to Florida... it's quick, easy and cheap.

005. Watched a meteor shower.

006. Given more than I can afford to charity.

007. Been to DisneyWorld/Land. Again, living in California means trips to Disneyland... went several times. And I went to Disney World on my honeymoon.

008. Climbed a mountain.

009. Held a praying mantis. A seriously cool bug. I wish we had more of them here.

010. Sung a solo. If you count trying out for parts in my high school musical.

011. Bungee jumped.

012. Visited Paris.

013. Watched lightning at sea.

014. Taught myself an art from scratch. Does building a website count?

015. Adopted a child. If you count my furry, four-footed ones, and I DO.

016. Had food poisoning.

017. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.

018. Grown my own vegetables. Every year!

019. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.

020. Slept on an overnight train.

021. Had a pillow fight. Many, many times.

022. Hitchhiked.

023. Taken a sick day when you're not ill. I did once -- lied about a dentist appointment so I could interview for another job. Bad me.

024. Built a snow fort.

025. Held a lamb.

026. Gone skinny dipping.

027. Run a marathon.

028. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.

029. Seen a total eclipse.

030. Watched a sunrise or a sunset. Many, many, many times.

031. Hit a home run.

032. Been on a cruise.

033. Seen Niagara Falls in person.

034. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors. I wish -- that would be Portugal and Scotland and I hear both places are just gorgeous. Alas, DH doesn't do international travel (he "did" the navy for several years so has no desire to go anywhere but the US again)... so will have to outlive him and then be one of those old grannies on a tour.

035. Seen an Amish community.

036. Taught myself a new language. If computer languages count.

037. Had enough money to be satisfied. I have everything I need, if not everything I want, and pretty much always have.

038. Had a tatoo removed.

039. Spit off a bridge.

040. Seen Michelangelo's David.

041. Sung karaoke.

042. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.

043. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.

044. Visited Africa.

045. Walked on a beach by moonlight.

046. Been transported in an ambulance.

047. Had my portrait painted.

048. Gone deep sea fishing. Spent most of it below decks, nauseous. BUT... did come up long enough to try and then had to hold my dad's pole while he tried to untangle mine and proceeded to hook what was the record-breaking catch of the day which nearly pulled me overboard.

049. Been to the Sistine Chapel in person.

050. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

051. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. I snorkled in Hanauma Bay in Hawaii... truly spectacular!

052. Kissed in the rain.

053. Played in the mud. Went "mudding" with my DH (when he was only a DF -- Dear Fiance) and he got his truck stuck... so, maybe it wasn't so much playing when I had to walk out and hitch a ride home.

054. Gone to a drive-in theater. We went a lot when I was little (I remember seeing "Mary Poppins") and then, as a twenty-something, it was where all the kids in my singles group would go on Friday nights. My old roommate actually fell asleep during "Jurassic Park", lol. I loved the drive-in.

055. Been in a movie.

056. Visited the Great Wall of China.

057. Started a business. Many, many actually, but most recently I write for publication AND co-own Tenth Muse Author Solutions, LLC which owns three different internet sites.

058. Taken a martial arts class.

059. Visited Russia.

060. Served at a soup kitchen.

061. Sold Girl Scout cookies.

062. Gone whale watching.

063. Got flowers for no reason.

064. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma. I'm O+, so the blood bank loves me.

065. Gone sky diving.

066. Visited a Nazi concentration camp site.

067. Bounced a check.

068. Flown in a helicopter.

069. Saved a favorite childhood toy up until adulthood. I have two stuffed animals: Fleagle the Beagle (a gift from my best friend when we were still both in high school), and Knickerbocker (a bear I got from my brother when I had surgery in seventh grade). They sleep with my DD now.

070. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.

071. Eaten caviar. Blech. Ate escargot, too. Blech, again.

072. Pieced a quilt.

073. Stood in Times Square.

074. Toured the Everglades.

075. Been fired from a job. I've tried to get Judy to fire me from LASR/WC, but she's not biting.

076. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.

077. Broken a bone. Fell off my pony in fifth grade and broke my wrist.

078. Been on a speeding motorcycle. Don't know if it was speeding, but I've only ridden on one once, and hope to never do so again... it TERRIFIED me.

079. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. DH drove through it with me. Would he stop so I could get out to look? Um. No. DH has this thing about driving trips -- it's all about getting from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible.

080. Published a book. Yep!! YAY!

081. Visited the Vatican.

082. Bought a brand new car. I bought a 1986 Mazda B2000 pickup that had 7 miles on it. Drove it for eight months until a stupid teenaged girl who was gawking at a cute guy nearby failed to realize that everyone ahead of her had stopped. She hit me and created a domino effect of a five car accident -- and totalled my truck. I bought a 1977 Toyota Celica to replace it, and have never owned a new car since. And, yes, I'm still annoyed.

083. Walked in Jerusalem.

084. Had my picture in the newspaper. If you count modeling for an advertising spread for a local mall when I was eighteen.

085. Read the entire Bible. I have to admit to mostly sticking to the New Testament now...

086. Visited the White House. Sort of. We walked past it, does that count? It was closed to tours the day we were in DC.

087. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. DH does the killing, but I have helped butcher the deer and fish he's brought home.

088. Had chickenpox. I don't know if I did or not... MOM? Do you remember?

089. Saved someone's life. Maybe? I did get a friend out of an abusive relationship once...

090. Overcome a physical disability.

091. Met someone famous. My drama teacher was also a professional actor, and was in a film called "Impulse" my senior year in high school. He invited the star, Tim Matheson, to come visit our class. It was very cool. I also went to a pool party for the Monkees when they reunited for their "Pool It" album. I met them briefly (sans Michael Nesmith who didn't reunite with them) and they were nice enough, but the highlight was meeting their opening act: Weird Al Yankovich!! He is the coolest guy EVER. Seriously. There may be more, but I can't think of them right now...

092. Joined a book club. Only the kind where you buy books -- I used to belong to the Science Fiction/Fantasy one... you can tell because all my "keeper" books in the genre are small hardbacks, lol...

093. Lost a loved one. My father, seventeen years ago ... and I still miss him almost every day.

094. Had a baby. Yep!

095. Seen the Alamo in person.

096. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.

097. Been involved in a law suit. See above, where I mention the stupid girl who rear-ended me and totalled my car. The person in front of ME filed a lawsuit against me (since I was the one who hit her) and forced me to sue the girl who hit me. THEN... ::shakes head in disbelief:: ... the stupid girl claimed that I hit the car in front of me, bounced back and hit her. *sigh* Yep, still annoyed.

098. Owned a cell phone.

099. Been stung by a bee. Many times, unfortunately, and usually because I didn't see them. Had one on a purse, set my hand on it. Once, a bumblebee was trapped in my laundry and stung me when I was folding it. Stepped on one once. Disturbed a wasps nest in a birdhouse once. However, the yellow jacket attack? Totally unprovoked. I have since declared open season on all yellow jackets, despite my usual "live and let live" feeling about bugs.

100. Ridden an elephant.

What about you?

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