I’ve been tagged …

... by Megan at One Funky Woman.  I hate to let her down, so I went ahead and answered the questions.  You may have seen these on other people’s sites.  I always think that it’s fun to get to know each other better.  Phew, though – it’s a long one!

1. If you have pets, do you see them merely as animals or are they members of the family?

Sugar Magnolia is definitely part of the family.  She is a sweetie too.  She turns 5 in two weeks.  Isn’t she a cutie?

2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be?

I would say that it would be to live in my dream house.  Oh, and I wouldn’t mind a house in the Greek Islands either!!

3. What is one thing most hated by you?

Hate.  It’s ugly and a waste of energy.  I once read that hate is like taking a poison to make someone else sick but it only poisons you.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?

I would buy or build my dream house, help my brother and sisters out, travel a lot more, buy new furniture for the den (ambitious, right?), get a new camera, and give money to our church  and several worthy charities.  I would definitely set up a foundation to research finding a cure for illness and disease.

It’s funny, I always say that if I won the lottery, (which is really funny, because I never buy a ticket!) I would lock up a whole bunch of the money and invest it so I would get an annuity paid every year.  I would definitely do that. 

And I would also rent a huge villa in France or the Greek Islands and set up a little vacation for all of you who visit me here, all expenses paid!  You’d all be invited! 

5. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?

I don’t usually do bad moods.  But when it happens, nothing works quite like a smile, hug or kiss from my kiddos.  Pure Magic. 

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?

This is a hard one.  At first I thought being loved, but now I wonder if it isn’t loving someone.  Having that capacity for love in your heart is a beautiful thing.   Sharing it is even better.

7. What is your bedtime routine?

Pretty simple.  I wash up, put my hair into a pony tail (it is so long it gets knotty if I don’t)  and head to bed with a good book.  Some nights I’ll watch a little TV, but I always read during the commercials.  I’m addicted to reading. 

8. If you are currently in a relationship, how did you meet your partner?

We each worked at different stores in the same chain when we were in college – Record World.  (It’s a story for another post, but that was the best job for an 17 year old ever.  Not kidding!)   Mutual friends introduced us when I was 17 – we all went to a fair my church has every year.  He asked me out and I said no.  He tried again a year later, and the rest, as they say, is history.  He says he loves that fair though because that’s where he met me.  (Awww!)

9. If you could watch a creative person in the act of the creative process, who would it be?

Leonardo Da Vinci.  Seriously, the man could do it all.  Pure genius.  But I also thought about Georgia O’Keefe, Ansel Adams, Michelangelo, and Monet.

10. What kind of books do you read?

I read a lot of mysteries, and the occasional chick lit.  I love good fiction.  I must be a southern girl at heart because I love some of the great fiction that comes out of the south. 

11. What's your fear?

I think a mother’s usual fears are mine. 

12. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of life for the opportunity to visit outer space?

No way.  I really don’t WANT to visit space. 

13. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?

The Big Guy is stuck with me so I have to say married and poor.  Thought I would really rather be married and rich, thank you.

14. What's the first thing you do when you wake up?

Stretch, and take the kindle out of the nightstand.

15. If you could change one thing about your spouse/partner what would it be?

That he’d pick up after himself more.  That’s really it.

16. If you could pick a new name for yourself what would it be?

I don’t know about this.  I am such a Stephanie, you know? 

17. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing that special someone has done?

No.  I think forgiveness is fine, and forgetting is good, only if you trust that the person won’t do it again.  I do my best to forgive and not hold a grudge, but I don’t usually forget – just from the standpoint of protecting myself.

18. If you could only eat one thing in the next six months what would it be?

Tomatoes.  I can’t live without them.

OK, now to get on to tagging others.  I am picking Deb at Paper Turtle, Julie at Being Ruby, Melanie at Southern Comfort in a Northern Life, and Jeanne at Collage of Life.   I hope you girls have fun with it, and I hope you all go visit this amazing group of ladies. 

Best,

Stephanie