Tag, I'm it.

Apparently my friend Lisa decided that I needed to write a blog and this is the sneaky way she went about it!

1. Where were you born? South Baltimore General Hospital (Baltimore MD) and went home to Pasadena MD.  Then I continued growing in Wheaton MD, Rockville MD , Bad Aibling Germany, San Diego CA, Eldersburg Md, Glen Burnie MD, Orrtanna PA), Kilmarnock VA, Heathsville VA.  Yup that’s a total of 9 towns with 18 moves (not including a 3 month stay in a pop-up camper in my grandfather’s yard with a very loudly snoring father while we were transitioning from Germany back to the USA). If you average it, that’s less than 3 years in a place.  Did I mention that I hate change? 

2. Were you named after someone? No.  My mother originally wanted Mary Louise after some of her relatives and would have called me Mary Lou.  Hmmm... one wonders if Mary Lou would have had to move all those times that Cheryl Lynn did?  Perhaps I will rename myself tomorrow on my birthday and spend the next half of my life as Mary Lou!

3. If you have children, how many do you have? 1 beautiful daughter that we both lay claim to.  There are 2 others but we’re not sure how they are related to us or where they are living.

4. How many pets do I have? Just when I thought I was safe (at 49 yrs old) and on the home stretch from having no pets ever; Princess Jasmine of Orrtanna, a little ball of black fur that is really a pure bred toy poodle that acts and walks like an old hound dog, joined us 5 years ago. 

5. What was your worst injury? Most definitely a dislocated subcalcaneus.  It was not a pretty sight, nor were my actions in the ambulance and subsequent hospital visit.  I grabbed the rescue worker in the ambulance (hey at least it wasn’t around his throat) and told him I wanted a private room where I would not hear any noises other than my own.  He didn’t think they had them at Hershey Medical Center.  I informed him that all hospitals have padded rooms for crazies and I could certainly prove that I was if needed…. 

6. Do I have a special talent?  Not unless you call irritating people one. Although my family and true friends would say I have several – knitting, crocheting, and quilting.

7. What's your favorite thing to bake? Chocolate chip cookies because they are SO good right out of the oven when they're all gooey and succulent.

8. What's your favorite fast food? Chik-fil-A of course!!!  Chicken strips, waffle fries, iced tea and a brownie with ice cream for dessert  

9. Would you bungee jump? No.  You can't make me.  I won't do it.

10. What is the first thing you notice about people?    Their shoes.  Once while a gawky teenager I only had brown dress shoes.  I begged my mom for a pair of black shoes for a dress I had that did not go with brown shoes.  Her reply?  You don’t NEED them, no one looks at shoes.  That was also probably the moment when I figured out that my mom also lied about the tooth fairy. 

11. When was the last time you cried? I’ve gotten quite good at not crying lately.  Gosh, I think it’s been at least 2 weeks; unless you count pouting in that category…

12. Any current worries? . I have kids.  I have parents.  I have worries.  But fortunately, God's in charge and I'm not, so I try not to let my worries grow roots

13. Name three drinks you drink regularly. Coffee, tea, cocoa.  That’s Lisa that drinks the coffee; I prefer water.

14. What is your favorite book? Just one?  I can't really pick because I read a LOT.  Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin is really good though.  And Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson.    Lisa (not Lisa Samson, but my friend Lisa) really has good answers however I haven’t read Chasing Fireflies and I hate to lie so I’m fessing up now that some of these answers have been her’s.  And it’s her fault that I read Quaker Summer and gave away all of my dinner dishes and bowls and only had 3 melamine plate and 3 melamine bowls for 4 years to feed my family on.  Luckily there are only 3 of us.

15. Would you like to be a pirate? No.  Pirates break rules.  That would make me nervous.  But Lisa, being a pirate and breaking rules is fun!!  I have even gotten Skip to go in an exit door!

16. What are your favorite smells? Honeysuckle, lilacs, baking bread.  See – I told you Lisa has good answers although I might add lavender also.

17. Why do you blog?  I enjoy writing and photography, and I hope people are encouraged or uplifted by what I post.  Here I draw the line about using Lisa’s answers; I hate to write and only blog when Lisa tells me it’s time for me to.

18. What song do you want played at your funeral?  I don’t want a funeral.  I want a celebration that I finally got to join the popular club; a celebration that I have joined the parade to worship my God forever; a celebration of songs because even though I can’t sing well, it’s something I struggle not to covet of others who can; a celebration that in heaven, I will be able to carry that note in that bucket and that I will even actually remember the words to that song I’m trying to sing!  Oh, and I want all those songs played on a guitar with a piano accompaniment.  Oh and a bell choir ringing away!  But probably not at the same time as the guitar…

19. What is your least favorite thing about yourself?  Hmm, how to narrow that one down?  Probably number 6 above.

20. What is your favorite hobby? Crocheting, knitting, or quilting, reading, solving the world’s problems according to Skip and Cheryl’s philosophies

21. What do you look for in a friend? Someone who takes turns talking and listening-- if you know what I mean.  And someone whose sense of humor agrees with mine.  Again, Lisa just gets me and can always say it so much better than I can.  Guess that’s why she likes to write and I don’t.  But luckily she’s my friend and can usually tell me what I need but can’t articulate myself. 

22. Name something you have done you never thought you would do. Went into the hospital with my husband.  Wait, does sitting in a waiting room somewhere while he’s sitting in the ER waiting room count?   OK, on the serious side, got divorced and didn’t think I would live through it.  Wow, that was heavy.  Ok let me pick something else.  I rode a roller coaster once when I was 19; I lived and I didn’t think I would. Let’s just say I’m not very adventurous. 

23. What are your favorite things to do? Popping a Dove dark chocolate candy during the sermon on Sunday mornings and reveling in the intense flavor.  Laying on a hill watching the clouds go by, listening to ocean waves, kayaking – well I did it once and it was fun.  Laughing - about anything and with anybody.  It is such a universal, all encompassing, don’t need words even, fun thing to do.

24. Any pet peeves? Drumming fingers on a hard surface, clicking pens in, out, in out, in out..grrr; 

25. What's the last thing that made you laugh? Jazzy burping.  Really.  After she eats, she walks out to where we are and lets it rip.  What’s even funnier is we all know it’s coming so we wait for it; we stop talking, we mute the T.V., and just wait for it.

p.s.  Lisa this counts as a blog; I just spent several  hrs writing a few answers.  This is one reason I don’t like to write; it takes me forever to get my thoughts out and a quarter of them weren’t even my thoughts!! 

Love you Lisa for pushing me!  I mean encouraging me : )

p.s.s.  If you are just dying to know and haven't figured it out yet, the answers in italics are Lisa's 

So now, Logan O'Bier http://www.loganmakesamess.com/, you are it!