Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Getting to Know You Part 2

Mrs. E circa 1973
Lid over at 2nd Cup of Coffee gave another 12 questions in her weekly "get to know you" game, so I am playing along again. Every time I play, I will try to add a picture from my past. So here are things you are dying to know, I'm sure:

1. I've always wondered why we were taught both printing and cursive. Do you prefer to print or write cursive? (Keyboard is not a choice.)

I used to get C's in penmanship. In 7th grade I discovered that my science teacher was grading lab reports based on handwriting. Mine always got a low score, and a friend always got a perfect. We decided to do a report together, word for word, and then switched the names at the top. This time I got the perfect, and she got the lower score. I never wrote in cursive again. In fact, my signature still looks like a 6th grader's cursive handwriting!

2. Are you a dreamer or a realist?

I'm probably a little bit of both. Feet on the ground and head in the clouds. (Really long legs!)

3. Billy Joel or Elton John?

Tough one. I love both, but Billy nudges out Elton by a nose.

4. What is the scariest movie you've ever seen? Not limited to horror flicks but also includes ones where the tension or suspense is killer, for example, Flightplan (2005): A bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet the child vanishes and nobody admits she was ever on that plan.

I hate scary movies. I remember "The Birds" freaked me out. I try not to watch scary movies.

5. Now what is the scariest real-life moment you've had?

Having a stroke while skiing down a mountain. I had no idea what was wrong and had to figure out a way to get stopped and prone, while the world was upside down. (You know the vertigo is bad when you have to throw up and you have no idea where "up" is!) The next 24 hours were so scary, made worse by the fact that the doctors had no idea what was wrong. Seeing the panic in the faces of my family and friends made it even worse.

6. What word do you misspell without fail?

Judgment-- I always want to put an "e" in there.

7. Name something you like to do but are not really talented or good at.

A toss up:
Sports--I'm uncoordinated and slow. That's a deadly combination!
Photography-- I play at it, but I could use a class.

8. Do you get your emotional/mental batteries recharged by being around people or by having alone time?

Alone time. Sorry, dear.

9. Have you ever been on TV?

When I was in college I was an extra in a made-for-TV movie. I saw my face for about .2 seconds--but only after we recorded it and went through my scene frame by frame.

10. Apple or pumpkin pie? (Don't be greedy.)

Pumpkin!! Yum! When I was 3 or so my mom had made 5 or 6 pumpkin pies to take to a sale or something. She had them cooling in various places. Some were even on top of the fridge. I pushed a chair over, climbed up on the cabinets (and eventually the refrigerator) and managed to put my fingers in every single pie. I guess I thought I was her taste tester! She wasn't pleased. I still love pumpkin in anything!

11. How many magazine subscriptions do you have?

Sad. Last year I got offers for 1 and 2 year subscription specials at $10 a year. I bit.
Right now I have five: Country Living, More, Fitness, Midwest Living, and Living
Now that they are beginning to run out, what am I renewing?
Maybe Country Living & More, and then only if the rates are good! Otherwise, none.

12. What lesson do you have to keep re-learning?

Don't drag in any more stuff. One in, one out. Quit accumulating. You don't need it. Enough is enough and usually more than enough. Sell. Give away. Less is more. This is true for what I put in my house. (Most of this is true for what I put in my mouth, too.)
*****
Wasn't that an enlightening five minutes? Happy Hump Day!

19 comments:

SouthLakesMom said...

I love your lesson in number 12. I'll add that to my 'fridge list'. Do you have Freecycle in your area? It's a great way to get more than one thing out of your house at a time and know its going to someplace where it's needed or wanted!

Anonymous said...

Have you ever read Country Woman? It is a great magazine. Check it out for when your current subscriptions run out. http://www.countrywomanmagazine.com/

ELK said...

special image of you...my hair the same then ;)))

...i feel like i know you better Mrs E.

Joyce said...

Wow, I read your post about your stroke. Sounds terrifying! The poem was excellent.

I enjoyed reading your answers today-loved the pumpkin pie story-that was great!

Susanne said...

Oh, #12 is a good one. I tend to forget that lesson a lot.

A stroke while skiing would definitely be a very scary thing.

The pumpkin pie story made me laugh.

Greg C said...

Great answers. Many of them could have been my own. That photo looks like something from my highschool years. I had a friend named Nancy that looked just like that. So you got caught with your finger in the pies.... I did that too once.

barbarah said...

Having a stroke is one of those fears lurking in the back of my mind. I'm glad you survived yours well.

Adding your own special touch to the pumpkin pies, eh? :-)

Those are all valuable lessons in #12.

Mocha with Linda said...

#12 is excellent.

sara said...

really scary having a stroke while skiing.

loved your pumpkin pie story...sounds like something I would have done at that age!

#12 is great....something I need to incorporate into my life!

Dandy said...

Actually that was enlightening! I'm off to go read about your stroke.

Katie @ Can't Get There said...

I'm still relatively new to your blog, so this was fun! And I love that pic of you...

christina said...

This is a wonderful list! And I know exactly what movie, you are speaking of! Your photo is beautiful!
xo

Heidi said...

Answers.com spells it with the "e" Hmmm. Can't trust the internet info world.

I still can't believe you had a stroke. That would be so, so scary.

Less is more. Once I went to Scotland with I.T. and he made me stand in front of a billboard that said "The Less Said,The Better" I don't know why. :)

Great list and I don't think I wasted any time here. I'm always learning from you.

A said...

judgment messes me up too... right there with argument...

great 12 and love the photo!

quilly said...

#5 -- way scary!

And #12 -- me, too -- especially the food.

Kim said...

Whoa! #5 sounds terrifying!

That's a great photo from '73; a true "flower child" :-)

Gayle said...

That is the perfect 1973 photo! My hair was the same when I was young, long and parted in the middle!

I love your answer to #10. That must have been some surprise for your mom when she saw you had gotten to all the pies!

2nd Cup of Coffee said...

#1 is really interesting!

OK, I read about the stroke and the poem and am just blown away. I didn't know you had suffered a stroke before. Very sobering, and yet we can learn to live deliberately from you.

Have a deliberately wonderful weekend with your fam!

puna said...

I love it Mrs. E. I'm sorry to hear about your stroke. It looks like you have fully recovered thank God.