Photo tag

Karmyn has tagged me with a photo meme. Here are the rules:
1.Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.

2.Go to the 6th Folder, then pick the 6th picture in that folder.

3.Post that picture on your blog and the story that goes along with the picture.

4.Tag 6 other peoples that you know or don’t know to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog or an e-mail letting them know you chose them.

When I went to my sixth folder, I found nothing but more folders (yes, I am obsessive about organizing my photos). So I went to the sixth folder and then found the sixth picture there. Here it is:This is a picture of my oldest son looking out the open doorway on the end of our house. We have since installed a deck outside that door. Interesting side note: our neighbors' cat used to climb up that ladder to get into the house.

Now, since Karmyn thought this would be a good chance for me to share more China photos, I hate to disappoint, so here's a China pic for you:
We saw this on the sides of all the public trash cans on Mt. Tai. If anyone knows what the Chinese actually says, I'd love to know. I'm relatively sure it's not an invitation to live in the garbage can. But then, when you've got such a huge population, maybe this is free public housing.

Weird

The beautiful Tee has tagged me. Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you. 2. Post these rules on your blog. 3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself. 4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. 5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

I know I've done this before, but there are just so many weird things about me, I don't think I'll have a problem coming up with seven more.

1. My DVD collection is all in alphabetical order. I tried doing that with the boys' DVDs but you can imagine how long that lasted.
2. I love the smell of libraries and bookstores, each very distinctive.
3. I picked my college based on the fact that not only did they have an awesome writing program, but I wasn't required to take any math while there. (There was a math OR science requirement and I love science).
4. My college roommate and I were born at the same hospital three days apart, but we never met before college.
   
5. Kelly Ripa was born four days before me, but I don't think she was born in the same hospital.
6. I took piano lessons for ten years and I still can't just sit down and play something. I have to practice a LOT.
7. I have been online since the 80s, back when we had a chat-room type thing called CB and a service called Compuserve. Yeah, I'm a geek from way back.

I'm not tagging anyone right now, but if you want to do it, grab it and go!

Literary Lovin'

Tee tagged me for a meme I thought would be much easier than it ended up being. Here's how it goes:

"Ten Literary Characters I Would Totally Make Out With If I Were Single and They Were Real But I’m Not, Single I Mean, I Am Real, But I’m Also Happily Married and Want to Stay That Way So Maybe We Should Forget This..."


In no particular order:

1. Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye. I just reread this recently, and Holden's definitely a guy in need of some loving.

2. Rev. Dimmesdale from The Scarlet Letter. My favorite novel by my favorite writer.

3. Aron Trask from East of Eden. I just love this character.

4. Petruchio from The Taming of the Shrew. Everybody loves the bad boy.

5. Duke Orsino from Twelfth Night. If music be the food of love, I'll sing him a few songs.

6. Romeo from Romeo and Juliet. He has to be a good kisser, right?

7. Hamlet from Hamlet. I guess I have a thing for troubled souls.

8. Ivanhoe from Ivanhoe. Hot guy and knight in shining armor - what's not to love?

9. Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby. Yeah, I definitely have a thing for troubled souls.

10. Peter Pan from Peter Pan.

Okay, this was a rather fun and disturbing look into the way I think... If you'd like to play too, post it and then let me know you played!

Pics and a meme

Here's our camper all set up at the campsite Saturday evening. Notice the stove on the side, which I used to cook this tremendous feast:

And the weird thing was, I bought twelve burger patties thinking everyone would want two, and I think we had six left over. Everyone was just too tired to eat!! But what fun! I can't wait to do it again!

And now...

Tagged by Emom:
1. All right, here are the rules.
2. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
3. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
4. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
5. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Okay, here are my eight facts:

1. I used to keep all my books in alphabetical order. Now, I'm trying to put them all in Dewey decimal system order so that when we're studying something, we can find it!


2. I drink my coffee black. I used to add cream and sugar until I met my college roommate. She was a tiny little 4'11" girl and drank her coffee black, and I thought, "If she can do it, so can I."


3. I have been on this diet for 14 months now and have lost 55 pounds.


4. I love trying new foods, but unfortunately, my kids don't! So I usually stick to the same basic meals for dinner.


5. I won the Bible I still use, a nice leather Scofield Reference Bible (KJV), by memorizing and then reciting 50 verses all at once. I was 13. I still know those verses.


6. I took a drawing class my senior year of college and the professor wanted me to switch to an art major. He was disappointed when I told him I was a senior.


7. I love Disney World and I would live there if I could. Not near there, but actually in the park.


8. I play piano, French horn and recorder rather well, but I know how to play pretty much any non-stringed instrument because my Dad taught music.

Okay, so now I'm supposed to tag someone. Um, if I've never tagged you, tag, you're it!

I think, therefore I blog

TKW has honored me with the Thinking Bloggers Award. Apparently, I make her think, "Thank God I don't have any boys." But I'll take it, and thank you! Now in turn, I must name five blogs that make me think. Think about anything, not necessarily something deep or important. So here we go.

1. Jody - She makes me think about how precious my family is. Her husband had a stroke a while back, and he's only a couple years older than my husband. He recovered, but the whole situation just brought a new love and joy for life into their family. And by sharing that on her blog, she's given a gift to a lot of other families as well.

2. Steve Camp - Besides being one of my all-time favorite singers, Steve writes an amazing blog. I never fail to gain from the in-depth theological discussions over there. Many times, he says exactly what I've been thinking about a particular topic, only in a much more articulate way. If anybody wants to know what I believe and why, go read Steve's blog and you'll get the idea.

3. Mrs. Darling - I've followed her journey with her daughter, who has thrived since being taken out of public school to be homeschooled. That thrills me. But I also love how she shares honestly about every aspect of her life, from cooking and cleaning to what it means to be a friend. She is a very special blogger who I know wouldn't hesitate to invite me in for coffee if I ever showed up on her doorstep.

4. Grizzly Mama - Another PA homeschooler, Grizzly Mama is also very politically active, and since I happen to agree with her politics, I'm always interested in what she has to say. Also, every Friday she's been in the habit of sharing an Aesop's Fable. Those always make me think.

5. Ellen - I found Ellen's blog a couple of years ago because she had linked to mine, and I loved her instantly. She has a terrific sense of humor, she shares my passion for LOST, and most importantly, she eloquently expresses the feelings in her heart. I was upset when she quit blogging in December, and thrilled when she recently picked it up again. Add her to your must-read list and you'll never be disappointed.

So, the rules are, if I tagged you above, do the same post on your blog, linking back to this post. I'll have the graphic up later if you want to snag it for your sidebar.

Visual DNA

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Saw this over on Tee's blog and had to try it out. It seems pretty much 100% accurate for me, too.

Tagged by Cheeky

The lovely Cheeky has tagged me!

First the rules:

The game: Each player of this game starts off with ten weird things or habits or little known facts about themselves. People who get tagged must write in a blog of their own ten weird things or habits or little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you must choose six people to be tagged and list their names. No tag backs!

I think I've done something similar before, but here goes!

1. I can say the alphabet backwards in less than six seconds.
2. I can sing the alphabet backwards.
3. I stopped listening to the radio in 1985, so I really don't know many popular songs from the last 22 years.
4. I'm a bit of a "star collector;" I own autographs from lots of different people, including all of Rockapella and two of the Monkees.
5. I love acting, but I never got chosen for any school plays.
6. I once rode twelve hours (with Hubby) to go to a Rockapella concert, attended both performances that Sunday afternoon and evening, then rode twelve hours home and went straight to work.
7. I've never been west of the Rockies.
8. I wrote, self-published, and sold 100 copies of a Star Trek/Battlestar Galactica crossover novel when I was 16.
9. I have been online for about 20 years, in one way or another.
10. I once wrote parody lyrics to "Like a Virgin" and called it "Like a Surgeon." A few months later, Weird Al came out with his "Like a Surgeon" and the lyrics were almost identical. Scary.

So. who to tag? I'll tag the first six people on my blogroll. Go!

I was hoping you'd ask!

This is the first time I've ever been tagged, and I was hoping it'd be for this one. I love books. Thanks, Carol!

Q. The most books I've ever owned: I honestly don't know, but it's in the thousands. I have one whole room in my house that's just for books, plus all the books in my bedroom, my schoolroom and my kitchen.

Q. The last book I bought: I actually bought Supernanny by Jo Frost. I really like her approach to discipline and her sense of humor (or should I say humour since she's British?). We're definitely using the Naughty Mat!

Q. The last book I read:I just finished The Sacrifice by Beverly Lewis. I really like her novels about the Amish community. I've started the next one, The Prodigal. I also just finished reading Shadow of Doubt by Terri Blackstock to hubby. It was okay, but I figured out who the killer was on page 97, and it was 368 pages long.

Q. The five books that meant the most to me: Oh, this is tough!

1. The Bible (I usually read KJV, but I used NIV extensively as a teenager).
2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck. One of my favorites since I was 15.
3. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. An absolutely delightful children's book that is still wonderful to read as an adult.
4. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I just love everything Hawthorne wrote.
5. How To Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. This book should be required reading for anyone who has to deal with people, in other words, everyone!

Okay, I tag anyone who hasn't done this one yet! Or you can just leave yours in my comments!