My 100th Post

I wanted to do 100 of something, for my one-hundredth post, but all my ideas seemed so daunting…. 100 things about me (I’m not sure I know that many), 100 life goals (might be too ambitious and depressing)… coming up with 100 of anything is hard. A few years ago for Valentine’s Day, I gave Sweetie a jar with 100 slips of paper on each of which there was something I loved about him. I love that guy to pieces but it was hard to come up with stuff after about 75.

Lucky for me, the answer to my post just fell in my lap. I was reading Becky’s blog where she was having trouble with trolls. (I’d never heard of trolls, but now that I have, I’m sure I don’t want them.) Mama Bee’s comment caught my interest, and while perusing her entertaining blog, I found these 100 statements. The ones in bold are the ones I have done.

1. Started your own blog (only 99 posts ago)
2. Slept under the stars (I was in a lean-to, but it was 3 sided so I could see the stars.)
3. Played in a band (high school band and now community band… not too rockin’, huh?)
4. Visited Hawaii (my honeymoon)
5. Watched a meteor shower (we laid on the lawn under blankets in the wee hours)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity. (That would be really hard for me. It goes against my mindset to do anything I can’t afford.)
7. Been to Disneyland (It was Disneyworld, actually x 2.)
8. Climbed a mountain. (Not big, scary mountains, but I’ve done modest mountains that take nearly the whole day round-trip.)
9. Held a praying mantis (Looked at one up close, but I didn’t hold it.)
10. Sang a solo. (Not when anyone was listening.)
11. Spent the night in a hospital (only when Pipsqueak was born)
12. Visited Paris. (Been to France, but we stuck to the country.)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. (We were safely moored in a harbor, but we watched it from the sailboat… horizontal lightening… it was fierce.)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Lots… painting, jewelry making, knitting; I’m always experimenting with art.)
15. Adopted a child (Lots of animals, but no children.)
16. Had food poisoning (I’ll skip the details.)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (Just floated by in a boat.)
18. Grown your own vegetables (every year that the weeds don’t win.)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept in an overnight train (I was so uncomfortable; if you ever do this, book a sleeper car)
21. Had a pillow fight (when I was a teenager)
22. Hitchhiked (Are you kidding me? With rapists and kidnappers out there? No way!)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (If any of my former bosses are reading this, it was NOT while I was working for YOU.)
24. Built a snow fort (we built an awesome one last year
25. Held a lamb (I hugged one, so I think that’s close enough.)
26. Gone skinny dipping (but never in daylight)
27. Run a marathon (Nope… only felt like I have.)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (It’s on my short list of places to go.)
29. Seen a total eclipse (solar). (possibly twice, but one may have been a partial)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (saw a lot of sunrises when I was pregnant and later as the mother of an infant)
31. Hit a home run (I’m lucky to hit the ball. An athlete, I am not.)
32. Been on a cruise. (I’d rather just pick an island, stay there and explore.)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (I was underwhelmed. I thought it would be bigger.)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (As long as I don’t go back more than 100 years.)
35. Seen an Amish community (but I was in high school and didn’t appreciate it enough… I need to go again.
36. Taught yourself a new language (I make sure I learn restaurant language for any country I visit. I don’t want to go hungry.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (We took the photos pretending to push it over instead of hold it up. We're that kind of people.)
39. Gone rock climbing (This is not going to happen. I have a fear of falling.)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (on my first vacation with Sweetie)
46. Been transported in an ambulance (and I hope I never will)
47. Had your portrait painted (it was just a caricature)
48. Gone deep sea fishing (not often enough… it is so fun)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (see answer to #12)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (just snorkeling in KeyWest, the Bahamas, Hawaii and St. John)
52. Kissed in the rain (The first time Sweetie kissed me it was raining.)
53. Played in the mud (every spring in the garden)
54. Eaten in a restaurant alone (it's a great opportunity for people watching and eavesdropping... just pretend you're reading a book)
55. Been in a movie (I assume this doesn’t mean “home” movie.)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (I was an Avon lady once. I’m working on starting a business now.)
58. Taken a martial arts class (not coordinated enough… read: klutz)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (bought Girl Scout Cookies?)
62. Gone whale watching (Twice, and it was amazing.)
63. Got flowers for no reason (from my Pipsqueak… she always picks wildflowers for me.)
64. Had your heart broken (only a few times)
65. Broken someone's heart (I'd rather have mine broken)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (Luckily, I was working at the bank at the time, so they didn’t charge me.)
68. Flown in a helicopter (three times)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (too many, probably)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (in high school… again, under-appreciated)
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt. (One time and I realized it wasn’t the craft for me.)
73. Stood in Times Square. (The first time, I was bugged-eyed with amazement.)
74. Toured the Everglades (saw a few alligators, but the whole thing had a commercial feel that I didn’t like)
75. Been fired from a job (laid off, but never fired)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (I’ve been outside the palace two or three times, but not for the changing of the guards. There’s such a crowd, I’m not sure we’d SEE it even if we were there at the right time.)
77. Broken a bone (Just a toe, two times.)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (two out of four car purchases, but I probably will buy used for the rest of my life)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (lots of times, but luckily not in the obituary or crime sections)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (see answer to #70)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I’m going out on a limb here, but the lobster was alive before I dropped it in a pot of boiling water)
88. Had chicken pox (I wish I could forget about this; I had a really bad case)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury (Oh, I really want to. How come the people that really want to never get called?)
91. Met someone famous (I sold a newspaper and a Garfield coloring book to Neil Diamond.)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one (I wish this one wasn’t highlighted.)
94. Had a baby (it was the happiest day of my life)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit (I’ve been involved in more lawsuits than I can count; I was a paralegal for 11 years.)
98. Owned a cell phone (who doesn’t?)
99. Been stung by a bee (more times than I can count.)
100. Read an entire book in one day (I do this a lot. I find many books hard to put down.)

I’ve done 59 out of 100, but there are only 16 more that I would really like to do. Feel free to steal this one for yourself.