Johnny's Rolling MeMe of Doom

Johnny asked me to participate in his Rolling Meme of Doom :-)

I have been working on this for a few days now. I finally finished (while fighting a nasty head cold; Matt is taking care of the girls today, while I am in bed)...

Here are the rules:

1) Read the meme that was dumped assigned to you. Answer the questions.
2) Add TWO new questions to the list. Answer those questions.
3) Dump Forward this onto the next victim blogger (and list their name and link to their blog).
4) This series will conclude when we get 50 questions - so yes, it’s 25 bloggers in the chain.
5) Please make sure that the next victim in the “link” doesn’t have a password protected blog.
[Optional 6] Update the links so people can follow along (this is similar to the method I used in the Why China series).
[Optional 7] When you see an update, down the chain, update your own page with the new questions and answers.
[Optional 8] Copy these micromanaging instructions into the top of your meme post.

1. What secret/surprising/personal goal (that is realistically achievable within the next 15 years) would you like to fulfill? There are several things I could put down here, like becoming a photographer, becoming a personal organizer, or run a marathon.

2. Can you name an event or a last minute decision or guess that significantly changed the path of your life? When I was still living in Europe, I wanted to become a foreign exchange student. However, when I started looking into it, I found out I was too old to do that; Someone then told me about becoming an Eu Pair if I still wanted the experience of living abroad for a year. On a whim, I got the information, decided I would do it and the rest is history. If I had not become an Au pair, I would not have met Matt and I would not have Jazzie and Tahlia.

3. What is one unrealistic goal (but your total secret dream) that you would love to come true, but are pretty sure it won’t ever happen? To become a dancer on Broadway and live in NYC.

4. Who has had the most influence on your life and what did they teach you? My grandmother on my father's side. I spent much of my childhood at her house. Besides teaching me how to play cards and how to grow flowers, she taught me a love for cooking.

5. You are on a deserted island. You are stranded with someone from any point in time for 2 months (they are coming to rescue you but are busy right now). Other then family/friends/naval engineers, who is it? Anne Frank. I have always been fascinated with her story and I think she could teach me a thing or two.

6.Name and describe 3 things on your mind lately. Is there any particular reason why you're thinking about a particular thing? a. I hate the way I look and the way I feel; MUST get healthier. b. Why haven't the Girlscouts of America called me back? I have only been trying to get Jazzie into the girlscouts for the last three months. Very frustrating...c. I must find a different way of dealing with the girls' whining and fighting. I feel like I am literally this close to losing my mind...

7. If you could go back to one moment in time and change it, what would the moment be and what would you change it from and to? There is one thing that comes to mind that caused me a lot of pain and angst. Even though it happened over 16 years ago, I find it hard to talk about and I would NEVER want to relive the pain of that time. However, I also realize that if it hadn't happened, I would not be with Matt or have Jazzie and Tahlia and a bunch of other people in my life.

8. What is your biggest pet peeve and is there anything that you can do or not do to stop other people from doing it? People who are late (and my husband not putting his dishes in the dishwasher). I hate it when people are late. If you say you are going to be somewhere at a certain time, be there. To me, when people are late, it shows a complete disregard for me and my time. I had a friend who was habitually late (note the word "had"). We would make plans to meet and she would show up 30-45 minutes later and not once apologize for being late; she honestly thought it wasn't a big deal at all. Not cool...

9. Who has been the most influential teacher in your life and why did he or she have such an impact on you? Have you sent them a note? The one teacher that always stands out in my mind is my 5th grade teacher, Mr. Arnold. He was the first male teacher I had and he was very caring, funny and extremely down to earth. He was the kind of teacher that I wanted to please. I wanted to work hard for him and I wanted him to be proud of me. He never demanded respect, he simply got it from each and every student. I have never sent him a note, but when Matt and I visited Holland a few years back, I went to see him at my old school. He was SO surprised to see me and recognized me right away (even after 20+ years). I told him that he was and has remained my favorite teacher. He just smiled and gave me a hug :-)

10. What three things do you regret not learning to do? a. Ballroom dancing (my husband got me dance lessons for my birthday one year, but I never signed us up and the certificate expired :-( b.Tap dancing. c. Play a musical instrument

11. What is your biggest fear? Losing my husband and/or children.

12. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? To look at the glass as more full, rather than more empty for most of the time (and maybe to not be so tall).

13. What is the answer to life, the universe, everything? I was stumped by this one, so I thought I would ask my deep thinking and philosopher husband to answer this one. His first response: "42". But then he came up with: "All life is an experience created by higher leveled beings in order to experience the physical world. Our particular creation is an experiment in free will". Yup, that's my hubby :-) I knew he would be able to answer this one. Do I understand what he means? Not really :-)

14. If you knew, beforehand, that the wait for your child from China would take this long and drastic a time frame, would you still go through with it or would you choose another country? If I knew I would have to wait this long to get Jazzie and Tahlia all over again, then yes. If I was just starting out, I probably would seriously look into different countries.

15. What is one food that most people like that you do not like at all? Does beer count?? I pretty much eat anything.

16. Name one place in the world you would love to spend at least one month visiting? Is there anywhere on earth that is so repulsive to you that there is no amount of money that could convince you to visit it? I guess I would love to visit China and get a better idea of what life is like for people like my daughter's birth parents. The weeks we spent in Guangzhou and Changsha didn't exactly give us a real look. On the other hand, Matt and I went to the Kona Village on the Big Island of Hawaii for our honeymoon and I am telling you that spending a month there would be a dream come true. Given the fact that I HATE being hot and that I despise hot weather, the place I am in no hurry to visit is Death Valley.

17. What book have you just finished reading and why did you pick it up? Would you recommend it to others? "Laced" by Carol Higgins Clark. I picked it up at the library, because she is one of my favorite authors. If you like Mary Higgins Clark, you will love her daughter's writing style as well.

18. Share a relatively quick and easy recipe for Fall. One pot/dish recipes given extra credit. This is not necessarily a recipe for Fall, but it is good. First, roast some peppers (I like poblano's, but you could use regular bell peppers). After the peppers have roasted, take the skin off and place the peppers on a baking sheet. Mix equal parts of pesto with goat cheese and fill the peppers with the pesto/cheese mixture. Bake in oven until lightly browned. YUM!

19. Would you rather be financially well off, but unhappy, or a happy person who is always in need of money? There was a time in my life where I was in need of money all the time. I could barely make ends meet. The stress of figuring out which bills I was able to pay, whether I would buy gas or food, living day to day, wondering what was going to become of me, took it's tool. I would not chose that, no matter how happy I am. Now, that is not to say that I would chose to be financially well off, but unhappy; this would be an impossible choice.

20. What is the most comforting sound in the world to you and why? The sound of my girls giggling, the sound of rain on the roof when I am in bed and the sound of walking through freshly fallen snow. There is something about walking through snow that nobody else has walked through yet. To me, it makes me happy to be the first to experience something so clean, pure and beautiful. Yes, I love the cold :-)

21. What is your all time favorite book? If you aren’t a reader, what is your favorite movie? And why? I don't really have a favorite book. I am usually drawn to mysteries and I have read every book by Agathy Christy and Mary Higgins Clark. The book that has made a lot of impact on me has to be The Diary of Anne Frank.

22. Share one of your most cherished childhood memories. My grandmother teaching me how to make her terrific tomato soup.

23. What are you paranoid about? Something happening to my kids, my husband.

24. What trait of yours do you MOST hope your children will carry on? My perseverance.

25. What’s your guilty pleasure? Reality t.v.

26. What would you buy if you had a thousand dollars to spend on yourself? The only catch is that it has to be a totally selfish purchase, just for you. No paying bills or buying a year’s supply of wet wipes. A whole new wardrobe including shoes and purses (I suppose $1,000 would not be enough).

27. Help me update my iPod...name your favorite artists, and then your favorite song that they perform. I love Gold Rush Brides by 10,000 Maniacs (or anything else by them or Natalie Merchant for that matter), Norah Jones, Eric Clapton, Elton John, ...

28. What is your favorite charity? The Smile Train

29. In The Shadow of the Wind, there is a beautiful passage that says “few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart.” Do you think this is true, and if so what is your “first” book and why. Hmm.... like I said before, I usually read mystery novels, but there have been a few other books that have made an impression on me for different reasons. I can't remember which book was the first that made its way into my heart, so I suppose my answer to this would be no.

30. What is your favorite wilderness hike and why? (You knew I was going to ask this-if you aren’t a hiker, you can modify it to drive by landscapes or whatever speaks to you.) Not a big hiker, but when I think of a landscape that I love, it is the rolling hills of Pennsylvania. Matt's late aunt had a Bed & Breakfast there and I loved nothing more than sitting on her porch swing with a cup of coffee, enjoying the beautiful view and peaceful silence.

31. What were/are your nicknames? Do you like them? Sammie - my dad used to call me that all the time. Now, I mostly go by mommy or babe :-)

32. What was your first concert? Your most recent? I cannot remember my first concert...It was probably when I was still in Holland, some 80's rock group....The last one I went to was the Elton John/Billy Joel concert. Loved it.

33. Have you ever done someone the dirty? I mean really, foully, badly wrong. And would you do it again, and why, or why not? Having trouble answering this one. It means really having to put myself out there, which is kinda scary...

34. If you found out that the universe HAD been created, and you could ask the Creator one question, what would it be? Why did you create deathly diseases, poverty and famine?

35. What were your dreams as a child? I always thought I would be a tourguide in faraway, exotic places and travel the world or be a cop. I know, two completely opposite dreams...

36. What can you do better than most people you know? Organize. Seriously - I love making a messy place look neat. People make fun of my pantry where everything is labeled and the playroom where everything has a place. I love spreadsheets, color coded systems, pretty baskets and bins, folders, etc.

Next victim? I tag I-Con. I know you are busy, but your answers to these questions should be very interesting.

Where'd this thing come from?

Red Hot n' Rollin': Johnny(1,2) -> Our Journey to China (3,4)-> 3D’s Adoption Journey (5,6)->Waiting for Pumpkin (7,8)->Two Kayaks (9,10)->Watch Our Family Grow (11,12)-> Our Journey to Little Maple and Back (13,14)-> American Family (15,16)-> Chicago Mama (17,18)-> The Further Adventures of Spacemom (19,20)-> Mrs. Figby (21,22)-> Mortimer’s Mom (23,24)-> Mimiboo (25, 26) -> Sopapilla (27, 28)->Jiangli (29, 30)->Beeb (31,32)-> FD Chief (33,34) -> The Daily Grind (35, 36)

Comments

[AZ Mom]

>>20. What is the most comforting sound in the world to you and why? The sound of my girls giggling, the sound of rain on the roof when I am in bed and the sound of walking through freshly fallen snow. There is something about walking through snow that nobody else has walked through yet. To me, it makes me happy to be the first to experience something so clean, pure and beautiful. Yes, I love the cold :-) >>

I love your answers to this question! I love snow and cold too and hope some day to get back to Denver. I also love Mary Higgins Clark novels.

[Tammie]

Amazing. You & I have so much in common that I honestly believe our paths would have crossed at some time in our lives.

Hope you get over the cold soon.

[Connie]

LOL...I am laughing at Krista's comment because that is oh, so true. I was going to mention that but she beat me to it. I'm a timely girl too.

That said, you're killin' me woman. I have to borrow your head cold to get this finished! But, I will take it on over the coming days. I need to get my blog attitude exercising again ;0)

Hope you're feeling better now.

[Krista]

How will our friendship overcome my biggest vice? I really don't do it on purpose. It started in utero when I was born 2 weeks past my mother's due date. I think maybe something is genetically wired wrong in my head. LOL!

Love that you wanted to be a cop.
And I also loooove Billy Joel.
:)
Good answers. Very interesting stuff.

[Janet T.]

I'm with you on the "late" thing ....I hate it when people are late....

[Johnny]

Thanks for the dedication of fighting through a head cold.