I’m Not a ‘MEMEr’ But…

I picked this one up at Bezzie’s blog and it looked like fun. It was interesting to see how many things I could check off, and which ones I’d done that she hadn’t.

Things I’ve Done (In Bold)

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars – not intentionally, but we couldn’t find the cover for the peak of the tent.
3. Played in a band – for years…
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower – more than once.
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning – but it was from this awesome Mongolian BBQ…soooo good…
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors – you…mean…Oklahoma?
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight – and it was gorgeous.
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted – art class.
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain – any day it’s raining.
53. Played in the mud – I’m sure.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business – small but true
58. Taken a martial arts class. (Go go, Yellow Belt!)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy – I have a little bucket with things from my childhood
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial – I’m putting this down as a maybe. Mom?
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades – no, but we did go inner-tubing down a crocodile-infested river…
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle – all th- I mean…no…
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book – no, but I’m in a published book!!!
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car – we once bought a car that was only a year old.
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible – *cough* um…no.
86. Visited the White House – maybe?
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating – near enough as makes no never mind. Although I avoided hatchet duty.
88. Had chickenpox – check.
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous – He’ll be famous someday.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one – no one really, really close, but yes.
94. Had a baby – twice. Bonus points!
95. Seen the Alamo in person – and got sunburned there, too.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit – sort of. But they settled.
98. Owned a cell phone – Of course.
99. Been stung by a bee – no. Yellow Jacket? Yup. Hornet? Repeatedly. Wasp? Frequently. Bee? No. I’m trying to avoid it, too.
100. Rode an elephant. – Thanks, Mom!

So that was fun. Life is exciting.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving! The boys and I are spending the day over at a friend’s house. Bring on the pie! But don’t forget…

Christmas is coming.

And suddenly -

Ta-da! Ridiculously adorable, and absolutely perfect for a little baby boy. I did run into one little snag – it wasn’t until I’d cast off that I realized there were no buttonholes of any sort written into the pattern. Oops. Fortunately, (as I was mulling over the course of action I should take in the fastener department) I got the news that the baby shower had been postponed. The woman who was going to be surprised found out, and requested a different time…and then shortly after word was passed along that she wanted to wait until much closer to her due date so that her mother could come. Fair enough. (I also found out that the reason for the extremely short notice in the beginning was that a friend of hers wanted to help plan it and be here for it, and as she’s moving soon the shower had to be sooner rather than later. Again, fair enough.)

Anyway! I let the little sweater sit in my basket, almost completely finished, for about two days, before I decided to go for it and add some buttons. I made three little figure-eights with the yarn (crochet chains, five chains for each side of the loop), sewed one side of the eight and a button to one side of the sweater, and a button to the other side. They are beautiful, beautiful buttons, too.

Gorgeous. I bought them at the Daiso, 10 buttons for 100 yen. Hah. It was really difficult to get a decent picture of them. It was pretty dim outside…because it started snowing!

It was the year’s first snowfall, and Max noticed it first. “Mommy, what’s happening out the window?” I’ll tell you what was happening. Big, fat, huge white snowflakes were falling down as thick as thieves. The boys were ecstatic. They immediately headed for the door and I had to drag them back for coats, shoes, and mittens. Snow…there’s just something magical about it, and especially for children (who don’t see snow and think about things like shoveling, and icy roads, and frostbite, and the months of cold ahead…) it holds an irresistible fascination. They danced in the snow. They laughed and spun. They tried to catch snowflakes as though they were bubbles. But you know what? You can’t really see the snow very well in that picture, let’s see if the next one shows it more clearly…

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EEK! That’s only four hours after the snow started. I honestly didn’t think it would stick. I mean, I was walking around in short sleeves yesterday. Last night it rained, and everything was wet – but I guess 9 hours of snowfall (yes, NINE hours, it is still snowing and it has not stopped since it began this morning) will have its way.

This is a picture I took seven hours after the snow started. Thanksgiving may still be a week away, but with snow this deep, I think Max said it best: “Mommy, it’s time for CHRISTMAS!”