Tag, you're it!!

I've been tagged by Laurie, so you get to find out eight more things about me. Waiting with bated breath, aren't you? ;)


Here we go:

1. Lew says I live on California time. I've always been a nightowl and many times I'm going to bed about the time normal people are getting up. The chirping early birds lull me to sleep instead of waking me up.

2. My treadmill and stationary bike are conveniently located right beside my computer so I can just hop up and take a stroll or pedal for awhile to get my daily exercise in.

3. I've got a real "thing" about fat. Not the pound kind, the meat kind. I do NOT let that nasty, slimy, greasy stuff pass my lips! Uck, gross! I trim every bit off anything that I'm going to eat. You oughta see me make a ham sandwich! lol

4. Speaking of sandwiches, the ingredients on mine have to be in a certain order but it's not consistent from one kind of sandwich to another.

5. I don't "do" bright colored walls in my home. I like them in other people's homes and I'm often tempted to try but know I would tire of them too soon. So, I do light, neutral walls and change accessories instead for needed color or effect.

6. I used to be into contesting -- the kind where you send in entries with your name and address. Over a period of time, I won several small prizes but hit the jackpot once and won a grand prize of $5200.00. That was fun!

7. Most people clean their toilets in the bathroom, where they're generally located. I, however, cleaned a toilet in my sister's backyard once and rinsed it with a garden hose. It's a lot easier getting into all those nooks, crannies, and that "S" curve when it's not bolted to the floor. Got that sucker squeaky clean, I did! (we were renovating her house.) lol

8. Back to food quirks. I'm one of "those" people who like Spam...the kind you eat. Fried crispy on a sandwich with butter on the bottom piece of bread that melts when you put the hot Spam on it. Oh yeah, good stuff! And I like Velveeta too. But not baloney -- go figure, huh?

Now I'm supposed to pass it on and tag eight more people. Instead, I'm just going to say play along if you like and let me know so I can come visit your blog to learn more about you. :)

Alphabetical Tag...

There are a few different versions of these making the rounds of blogland - some with the same questions and some different. Soooo, I combined two I saw the most and played that way. It's an open tag so just play along if you like.

A is for age: 64 chronologically, about 40 otherwise
A - Available or single: single, no... available? - we'll talk! ;)

B is for beer: can't stand the stuff - all it does is give me a headache and make me have to pee
B - Best friend: they're all the best - Ruthie and the Claudias - the best!

C is for career: not anymore but back in the day - administrative asst/office mgr in the satellite communications field
C - Cake or pie: cake, thank you - preferably lemon w/coconut icing

D is for my dog's name: don't have a dog, I'm really a cat people and have two; in the past, though, we've had a Snoball, a Shelly, a Togo, a Mickey, and a Rusty of the canine beasties (not all at the same time!)
D - Drink of choice: coffee, with 1/2 & 1/2 and sugar

E is for essential items used everyday: my puffers (aka inhalers)

F is for favorite color: almost any shade of blue, but I've grown rather fond of red recently

G is for game: Sorry or Uno with my grands, Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit with the big guys
G - Gummy bears or worms: I'd eat a bear before I'd eat a worm!

H is for hometown: Washington, DC

I is for instruments I play: I play a mean keyboard... of the computer variety ;)
I - Indulgence: a small bowl of Cheetos with my bedtime reading

J is for favorite juice: pineapple
J - January or February: February, it's closer to Spring

K is for who's butt I'd like to kick: any of the monsters who hurt our babies
K - Kids & names: yes, one bio and five step, Jim, Ginny, Richard, Beth, David, and Susan

L is for last place I ate: in my family room - oh, you mean restaurant? Probably Macaroni Grill
L - Life is incomplete without? books and cats

M is for marriage: yes, okay - what about it??
M - Marriage date: 1986

N is for my name: Marianne
N - Number of siblings: 2 sisters, one brother

O is for overnight hospital stays: yes, a few
O - Oranges or apples: oranges

P is for people I was with today: Lew
P - Phobias or fears: hmmmm, nothing incapacitating but I have a naggy anxiety of driving over water - probably cuz I don't think I could save myself anymore

Q is for quote: oh, I have so many favorites, this is just one:

"You're living the life you chose.
If you don't like it... choose something different."
Jim Fay

R is for biggest regret: hmmm, probably that I didn't quit smoking about 30 years earlier
R - Reasons to smile: six wonderful children, seven darling grandkiddies, 2 kittycats, and one goofy husband!

S is for sport: can't name just one - football and tennis
S - Season: Spring, and the brand new, fresh life that comes with it

T is for travelled to: this could take awhile - so I'll just go with 22 states, Canada, Barbados, and St. Maarten
T - Tag 3 or 4 people: I'm gonna make it an open tag - anyone who wants to play can, but you don't have to iffen you don't want to

U is for current underwear: that definitely falls under the "need to know" category and y'all just don't need to know - suffice it to say that yes, I do do underwear.
U - Unknown fact about me: well duh-huh! if I told, then it wouldn't be unknown, would it? Okay, okay, my online buds probably don't know that I have about a 3-1/2 x 1/4", 25-stitch scar on the inside of my left arm from sticking it through a door window when I was a kid - you can still count the stitch marks.

V is for vegetable I adore: potatoes, any kind of potatoes
V - Vegetable you don't like: kale or collards or mustard greens - blech!

W is for wish: I wish I lived closer to my grandkids
W - Worst habit: procrastination

X is for x-rays I have had: teeth, boobs, feet, arm, chest, bones, back - just about everything

Y is for youthful ambition not fulfilled: I always wanted to have my own private beach
Y - Your fave food: crab legs slathered in melted butter

Z is for zodiac: Leo

There you go - y'all were just waiting with bated breath to know more about me, huh? ;)

Tag, you're it...

So, I've been tagged! Roman paid a visit and tagged me for a fun little exercise. Timely too, since I just got this in a Secret Santa exchange - a new author/genre for me:

"Then she might have died by her own hand, or been executed for killing the man who used her. But she'd have died clean." She sighed. "And we might not be here discussing the matter."

Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts

Here are the rules/requirements -

1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, go down to the 4th sentence.
3. Post the text of the following 3 sentences on your blog.
4. Name of the book and the author.
5. Tag three people of your own.

That would be:

Dawn
Krystyn
Sue