Fridays Feast #5

Appetizer

Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?

I consider myself to be an optimist most of the time.

Soup

What is your favorite color of ink to write with?

Blue. Medium point.

Salad

How often do you get a manicure or pedicure? Do you do them yourself or go to a salon and pay for them?

Not as often as I'd like. I love to have my nails done, but having nails plays havoc with my ability to type. I have trouble justifying the money for a manicure, and even more trouble justifying the expense of a pedicure, even though I feel wonderful when I have either done.

Main Course

Have you ever won anything online? If so, what was it?

No, but I don't enter contests online, so it's not surprising!

Dessert

In which room in your house do you keep your home computer?

My home computer is in my office. My laptop is usually next to my favorite chair in the living room.

Friday's Feast #4

Appetizer

What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?

I don't have a middle name, a fact which has always made me feel extremely picked on. I always wanted a middle name, and I always wanted a nickname but, alas, it was not to be. My parents' philosophy was that once I got married and took my husband's last name, I'd have "too many" names, so Sherry it was.

Soup If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?

I'd be all over the map with fabrics, colors and styles, I'm sure. I'm too easily bored to do one thing over and over and over again. I would, however, try to be realistic about the items I designed and create clothes someone larger than a size 0 could wear and look good in. Salad What is your least favorite chore, and why?

Cleaning the bathroom. Do I really have to get specific????

Main Course What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?

Earthquakes terrify me, and yes, I can trace my fear back to when I was 4 and the earthquake hit Yellowstone National Park. We lived in Montana at the time and we woke up to the earth shaking. My parents were frightened so, naturally, I was terrified, and the quake was large enough to put a wide crack in our street. I'm still spooked any time I drive past Hebgen Lake.

Dessert Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.

I'm sitting in my living room working on my laptop. I can see the television, the snow in the backyard, and my piano.

Friday's Feast #3

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

When was the last time you were surprised? When my daughter wished me a happy birthday on the morning of my birthday. I'd just woken up and forgotten it was that day.

Soup

Fill in the blanks: My eyes are brown, but I wish they were um....still brown? Browner? Or maybe just not getting old and needing glasses so much!

Salad

If you were a Beanie Baby, what would you look like and what would your name be? Good grief, what a question! I know absolutely nothing about Beanie Babies. Excuse me while I Google them. ..... ..... ..... <tapping foot impatiently> ..... ..... ..... I think I'd be a Panda and my name would be Ling Ling. I had a special relationship with the real Ling Ling, even though we never "met" in real life. We both got pregnant and miscarried at the same time for several years.

Main Course

Name two things you consistently do that you consider to be healthy habits. Healthy habits? Um.....I umm..... Okay! I get plenty of sleep most nights, and I drink lots of water -- admittedly, it's in the form of ice which I keep in my big red cup that is constantly at my side, but it still becomes water!

Dessert

What brand of toothpaste are you using these days? Sheesh. I don't know. It's whatever seemed the most reasonably priced for the alleged protection it offers when I bought it. I think it might be Aqua Fresh, but I'm not sure.

Do you like it? It's okay.

Why or why not? It's toothpaste. It doesn't make me gag. What's not to like?

Friday's Feast #2

Appetizer: Using only one word, how does grocery shopping make you feel?

Exhausted

Soup: What is your favorite part about the season of Autumn?

I love the cooler temperatures - moderate days with cool nights for sleeping. I also love the colors of autumn. Fall leaves are one of my favorite things ever.

Salad: Have you ever had any bad experiences online?

Not really (knock wood.) Not yet, anyway.

Main Course: Name three things that make you happy daily.

• My kids and my grandbaby.
• My dog Angel's curly tail. It makes me giggle.
• Having time to read, and plenty of books to choose from!

Dessert: What one household cleansing or organizing item would you not want to be without?

My little scrubby thingie that I'm sure has a name, but I'm too lazy to go look!

Friday Feast #1

Blogging while on deadline is a head-banger. Either you don't write like you should, or you don't blog like you should. Since I write for a living, blogging instead of writing just isn't an option, but I'm always a little embarrassed when I skip past my blog (yet again) and see how long it's been since I posted something. Since I have a September 1 deadline (yes, folks, that's tomorrow!) a November 1 deadline (gulp!) and an April 1 deadline, along with a whole slew of presidential responsibilities for RWA that will be hitting at the same time, I've decided to slip in the occasional meme to help out! So here's my newest one -- Friday Feast! Appetizer Who is the easiest person for you to talk to? The easiest person in the world? I'd have to say there are two -- my daughters. They know who I am, and I know who they are and, more importantly, we all accept the truth about one another. From the time they were little, the one thing I wanted most was to create an atmosphere where they felt emotionally safe in our home. Home, I always thought, should be a person's safe place to fall. It should be the place where, when you go there, you're okay exactly the way you are. I have to say that whether I succeeded completely in my quest or not, my daughters are my best friends in the world. Soup If you could live in any ancient city during the height of the quality of its society and culture, which one would you choose?

Ancient cities? Wow. I never think about ancient cities. Babylon, maybe? Or Rome. But don't ask me why.

Salad What is the most exciting event you’ve ever witnessed?

The births of my daughters and my granddaughter. Okay, so I wasn't actually in the room the moment my incredible little granddaughter entered the world at 27 weeks gestation, but I was there right up until that moment. Right up there with those events was the moment when, after having sung to, talked to, and read stories to that grandbaby through the walls of an incubator, I held her for the first time and when I spoke, she opened her eyes and looked up at me -- and I could see that she recognized me. That one can still make me tear up.

Main Course If you were a celebrity, what would you do for a publicity stunt?

Probably nothing. I'm old enough to know that all that stupid stuff usually comes back around to bite you. I'm into living my life honestly.

Dessert What do you consider the ideal age to have a first child?

24. No, 23. No, wait, 25. Somewhere between 20 and 40, I guess. It depends on the person, their partner, their body.