25 random things

My friend Judy tagged me and now I must reveal 25 random things. I'm not a very random-type person, so this could induce some thought provoking moments. Here goes:

1) I was born on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1953. The doctor told my mother that my birthday would land on Easter every seven years. Well, I'm closing in on 56 years and it has never, ever been on Easter--not even once.

2) Max was born on Conference Sunday, October 5, 1952. I came along exactly six months later, also on an LDS Conference Sunday. Our birthdays are pretty much always on one of the days of conference.

3) I was a girl scout for 10 years, from Brownies to Seniors and earned 56 merit badges. A boy scout teased me about this, saying that their merit badges are tougher. So I took him my book and we compared requirements. Guess what? The girl scout badges are harder. I credit my creative abilities to my girl scout years where I learned that I can do anything if I just put forth the effort to learn how.

4) One night in high school, I was sneaking out of the house to go toilet-papering with my friend Terri. My mom caught me and it took awhile to convince her that I would be fine and to let me go. About three a.m. we were going down a street when a car turned at the corner. We hit the ground to hide. Suddenly we heard my mom's voice yelling "Lonnie!" So she ended up driving us to all of our toilet-papering destinations. Funny thing was that we never went out doing that ever again. Not fun anymore.

5) I love being in the mountains. I have a secret dream that Max and I will build a log cabin high in the Uintas, surrounded by lakes and pines and wildlife. We'll enjoy campfires and moonlit walks and live on fish and homemade bread. Max nixed that idea because he doesn't like log cabins
Spoil sport.

6) I'm a cookie dough freak, especially if it is chocolate chip or peanut butter. When I was pregnant I used to make a batch of cookie dough and never end up making any cookies because I'd eat the dough. (Ooh . . . so sick) I have a hard time passing the Macey's bakery, not because of all the doughnuts and cookies and cakes, but because they sell fresh cookie dough in perfect little eating containers. (I only gave in once!) Anytime one of my daughters makes cookies, they bring in a spoonful of the dough to me . . . and then they hide the rest of the dough while they are making the cookies.

7) I had a two-timer boyfriend in college, who led me to believe he was only dating me. However, he was also dating a blond that lived right across the quad in my same housing complex. She also thought she was his only girl. One day I met her and we became good friends. We decided I would have a party with a lot of people and we invited James. When he walked in the door, he saw the two of us sitting side-by-side and his facial expression was priceless. Needless to say, he never dated either of us again. That's OK because later in life, he ended up serving a prison sentence. Good save.

8) My father passed away of a heart attack when I was six years old. It was the day after Christmas. From then on I was writing poems about fathers and crying about being fatherless. Finally when I was thirteen, my mom remarried. She said that my father came to her one night and told her that my sister and I needed a father. My stepfather was a great man. I called him Daddy, which wasn't easy to start at age thirteen.

9) My husband asked me for a date first. But I couldn't go that night. He never asked me out again. Finally, in desperation (after three months), I followed him until I came up with the nerve to tap him on the shoulder and say, "I just have a question for you. Why is it that when a guy asks a girl out and she legitimately cannot go, he doesn't believe her and he never asks her out again? " It worked . . . I got the date and I got the guy!

10) When we bought our new station wagon, I had been used to a standard transmission in a truck that had huge pedals, spread far apart. The first time I drove the wagon, I couldn't find the brake. Turns out that I had the clutch. I was later accused of trying to put a drivethru in the Post Office wall.

11) I've had eleven pregnancies with six live births. That means five miscarriages and one twin (Karolyn's) that died in utero.

12) I'm a world champion yo-yo dieter. I figure that in the last 35 years, I have lost a total of 420 pounds and have gained 440!

13) I'm obsessed with the organ. I can play for hours and not tire. I try to go to the church to play it seven days per week. I play until my carpal tunnel or my back injuries make me stop.

14) I am allergic to bees. Just hornets. Honeybees and wasps can sting me and I'll live.

15) Once I was in an assembly line where I put the lettuce on 800 chicken salad sandwiches for Hill Cumorah cast members.

16) I always loved the color orange--my wedding colors included orange. Then I changed to peach and from peach to rust to burgundy. Now my favorite colors are greens and purples. Does that mean I'm inconsistent?.

17) I hiked the Grand Canyon from rim to rim. A highlight in my life.

18) I'll take a meatloaf sandwich over pizza any day.

19) I LOVE sweet pickles.

20) I attend Presbyterian services once a month when our Bell Choir performs in their church.

21) I have the most adorable eight grandchildren in the world--6 boys and two girls.

22) My daughter Kimberly let me deliver my first grandchild, Jeffrey, while the doctor sat next to me.

23) I've lived through toxic shock syndrome.

24) I'm real handy with a saw, hammer, screwdriver and pliers. I'm at my best when I can start demolition on a project in order to redo it. Creative juices flow.

25) I've been pulled over by the police for speeding 15 times and have never received a speeding ticket. Many years ago, one cop ticketed me for not having on my seatbelt, but not for going 60 in a 30 mile per hour zone. (Down a hill--the car just got ahead of me.)