20 Things About the Maineiac

On By She's a MaineiacIn Humor, Uncategorized

20 Things About Me That You Might Regret Knowing After You Read This:

  1. I am allergic to every group of antibiotics out there. My doctor tells me I am down to one rarely prescribed antibiotic that I can safely take, so if I contract pneumonia and you don’t hear from me, it’s probably because I’m dead.
  2. I had three cats in my lifetime: Cujo, a gray tabby who was the sweetest, wisest old soul that ever lived, who also went by the nickname Old Man; Conan, a giant orange tabby that loved to swim in puddles; and Lint, a puff ball of rage who used to claw at me for no reason. I’ve also had several dogs, lizards, gerbils, hamsters, birds, guinea pigs, fish, chickens and ducks. I currently have no pets.
  3. I was born severely cross-eyed. As a child, I wore glasses but only for a few years. I kept hiding them under my desk and the teacher finally just gave up trying to find them. To this day if I get tired, my left eye turns in. Very attractive.
  4. I can sing very well. I’m alto, but could even be a tenor, my voice is that deep.
  5. I do celebrity impressions. Back in high school, I was the hit of any party. My favorites: Katherine Hepburn, Rosie Perez, Jimmy Stewart, Cartman from South Park. I can do basically anyone if I study their voice enough. My teachers didn’t appreciate my talent much.
  6. I am a great combination of skeptical and open-minded. I will start out questioning how something works, analyze it to death, then embrace it because I will basically believe anything is possible.
  7. I had a dream about my husband before I met him. Also about my son who was with my late father in a vivid dream. My dad told me he was his grandson, my son. I didn’t get pregnant until years later.
  8. I am deathly afraid of spiders, any size. Also afraid of killing them. I have been known to trap one under a cup and leave the cup on the floor until someone else comes along and is brave enough to scoop it up. Once I held my breath and picked up the cup only to find no spider. Finding no spider is almost as panic-inducing as seeing one.
  9. I once tried out for a solo in chorus in sixth grade and didn’t get it. The song was ‘What a Feeling!’ from Flashdance.
  10. I started writing when I was 10 years old. I wrote and illustrated mysteries starring me and my best friend. The first mystery: The Case of the Missing Legwarmer
  11. I have been thinking about concepts like death and eternity since I was a child. Sometimes I try to grasp what the edge of the universe is, or what this all means, or if we’re really alive or just a figment of one person’s imagination, and my brain short circuits and I sit down and watch a marathon of The Golden Girls to bring myself back down from that ledge of panic. That Sophia sure cracks me up!
  12. I was obsessed with Lost. Still am. Still can’t believe it’s over.
  13. I am very blunt. I’m straight-forward and honest. I will blurt anything out at the most inappropriate times. Usually at the dinner table at holiday family get-togethers. It’s a curse and a blessing. Mostly a curse to everyone else but me.
  14. My earliest memory is riding my Big Wheel down the driveway at four years old eating peanut butter toast with one hand and steering with the other. I crashed and my older brother laughed. My driving skills have improved since then, although I did hit a moose once while I was zipping down a back road going 55 mph in the dark of night.  I hit it from behind so I suppose you could say it was an “ass-on” collision. The car (a tiny Ford Festiva) was totaled, the moose died and I survived with a sore neck and a story of a lifetime. My co-workers made me a cake with a matchbox car and a tiny moose laying on it’s side.  This is Maine, where tragedy can be humorous. It’s how we cope.
  15. I love to be alone. I lived alone for years in my early 20s. I had a little apartment off campus out in Olympia, Washington. I wasn’t scared of being alone at all, after growing up with five brothers, I relished it.  I spent lots of time meditating, reading and talking to my cat. I think of those days fondly even though I am grateful for the family I have now. Still, I can easily see myself as a future crazy old cat lady. (It’s a secret goal of mine.)My husband has never been alone for even one night in his entire life. This mystifies me.
  16. I used to twirl baton for years in middle school. I was the leader once in our Fourth of July parade and dreaded it because we went after the horses, which meant I was the first one in line to have to step over the giant piles of poop. Once I missed and had to keep on marching, horse crap all over my white sneaker the entire parade. I quit baton that year.
  17. The library was my favorite place to go as a child. I would ride my bike there after school to read and read. I loved the smell of the books, the quiet; the feeling that everything that had ever happened in the world was somehow magically there, and every author that came before me was whispering–urging me to open up those books and discover them all.
  18. Sleep is everything to me. I cherish it, I treasure it, I covet it. I look forward to it every single day (usually by 3 pm). I need at least 9 hours of sleep to feel fully rested.  Last night I had about 4 and a half total. Getting old sucks.
  19. I once had a vivid dream where an orchestra was playing the most exquisite, never before heard classical music piece. I woke up, rushed over to write down the notes when suddenly the melodies had been replaced by the theme to Three’s Company.
  20. There is nothing in the world that I hate more than shopping. I must have inherited this trait from my grandmother. She used to rush into a store, grab what she needed and rush back out. I can’t even bring myself to go into the store. I usually opt to sit in the car and read a book while waiting for my husband to do the shopping. He loves to shop. God brought us together for many reasons.

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Thanks to MJ Monaghan and his fabulous About page that inspired this post.

101 thoughts on “20 Things About the Maineiac”

  1. Get out of my head! 🙂

    But really, we have lots in common. I even auditioned (also as an alto) for a solo (in 4th grade) and didn’t get it either (“The Rose”). I despise spiders and adore libraries. And after growing up with 4 siblings, I too relish being alone. I know a lot of people think of coming home to an empty house as sad, but it always felt like it was so refreshing. I like activity and being around people, but my home should be my place to refresh and unwind, and I do that best when I’m alone.

    I must say, though, that we part ways with shopping. Love it. Even grocery shopping.

    I cracked up at the thought of your “Three’s Company Symphony no. 1 in B” 🙂

    Reply

    1. I am relieved that you can relate to so many of these. I have always loved being alone. Now that I am rarely alone, it can be draining for me. I’ll finally crack and yell to everyone that I’m going for a walk and really I just want to be completely alone so I can recharge. My husband hates being alone. I can’t wrap my mind around that one. I love silence.

      I probably tried out for The Rose too at one point. Ha! and grocery shopping for me is absolute torture, truly horrifying. “Three’s Company Symphony No. 1 in B” has the fing of a bona fide hit, doesn’t it? So many times I’ll dream this amazing music or this incredible story only to wake up and have it all replaced by the theme to Jeopardy.

      Reply

  3. I too LOVE to be alone. It’s why I work from home. I love to have my schedule and do it my way and in my time. I do not get lonely. As I type this I have two dogs with me (they don’t count) and Noah and Hot Joe are outside with two of Joe’s friends and three neighbors. Have a ball. I’ll stay here. I also sing. Always have. And LIBRARIES? Don’t get me started.

    But I’ve never been crossed eyed.

    Reply

  4. In the hundreds of trips I’ve taken to Maine, I’ve been disappointed that I’ve never once seen a moose. Now I think it is possibly just as well. The moose doesn’t seem to have phased you — but a spider?????? I bet THAT has something to do with brothers. Most phobias do.

    Thanks for sharing. But I’m telling EVERYBODY.

    Reply

    1. You’d think I’d have developed an intense fear of moose now. Well, actually for years I couldn’t bring myself to drive down that particular stretch of road where you could still make out my tire’s brake marks. The moose I hit was a female, so not as big and that’s what basically saved me. Instead of going through the windshield, it went onto the hood and rolled up over the car. (poor thing, may she RIP)

      Reply

    1. I wish someone could take away the cross-eyed thing for me! It’s not very noticeable, just a slight turn of my left eye when I am extremely tired. I curse the fact that my mom never had me have surgery to correct it but this was the early 70s.

      Reply

  6. Thanks for the shout out, Darla! You are FAR more interesting. I love that you did this in a post. Now I may have to do that as well.

    You definitely have a strong connection with your dreams – like Joseph in the OT. That is very cool. I am also the shopper in the family – groceries, Christmas, etc.

    Ooh, LOST!! MLB (my lovely bride) and I watched the first several years in like two weeks just to catch up before the final year. It is THE best show ever on television!! I’m super-optimistic, and I was bummed when it ended.

    I want to hear your impressions! You should do an audio post of them. That would be awesome.

    So glad to have connected with you in this blogging world. You are a special writer.

    Reply

    1. Your About page was so unique and really sucked me right in reading about your life. I loved it and thought how lame my About page is currently…(I might have to make this post my new About page.)

      I just might do an audio post, oh how hilarious and fun that would be!

      I have Lost on DVDs and have watched the last episode countless times. I cry like a baby every time. One of my all-time fave addictive TV shows.

      Thanks again, MJ for inspiring me.

      Reply

  7. Ah, Darla…you are so complex, and yet charmingly simple and straightforward. I love these all, but feel #18 – I am currently in another round of oppressive insomnia that doesn’t appear to be letting up. Four and a half hours of sleep would be heavenly.

    Here’s hoping you sleep well, dream sweetly, sing freely, enjoy a little quiet alone time, and your eye doesn’t turn in (I also have a “lazy eye” – though not nearly as lazy as my behind).

    Reply

    1. It certainly wears you down when you can’t sleep. I hope you can get some more rest soon as well.

      I laughed at your lazy behind comment! My lazy eye isn’t noticeable really. It’s not like it’s completely turned in like:

      Reply

  8. Hi,
    I can certainly relate to love being alone. I lived for many years on and off on my own, and I know with the people I have met that have done this as well, it is something that seems to stay with you.
    I also love my sleep, I don’t sleep as long as I used to now that I am older. 🙂
    I used to love going to the Library, I don’t go as much now, but I still prefer to read a “real” book, rather than read an e-book.

    Loved the post, it was very nice of you to share some parts of your life.

    Reply

    1. Mags, I just stopped at our local library this week and it was so quiet because I was the only one there. Sad really. I am not into the e-readers yet. I still prefer to hold a real book. I just bought Stephen King’s newest and it’s like 1,000 pages and is huge and heavy, but that’s okay. I am not good reading things digitally, it hurts my eyes after awhile.

      Reply

      2. I read that one too and loved it. I’m not that much into the ‘gory’ stuff either, Peg. I loved The Stand, Insomnia…I am fascinated with anything about JFK so I figure this one should be good. Plus it’s set in the town I am currently living in (Stephen King went to the high school down the road and worked in the old mill next to us, lots of creepy history here!)

        Reply

  9. I can’t believe you hit a moose going 55 in a Festiva and lived! (I mean you were going 55 in the Festiva, not the moose). Ah, solitude. Love and cherish my alone time, too. But I like to have my gal pal time, too.

    Funny, I never contemplated things like the meaning of life and what happens when we die, until my Dad was diagnosed with cancer back in 1988. I though about it again when I had my son. And since last March, it’s all I think of! I swear that Reiki attunement did something to me.

    Love the list. Thanks for sharing. Oh, I have issues with spiders too, and found out one reason why, yesterday. I’m going to write about it soon.

    Reply

    1. I will email you Sue with the complete Moose story. I am surprised I didn’t die. The cops that came to the scene told me I was very lucky. Usually they go through the windshield. All I had was a wrenched neck.

      When I was a kid, I was drawn to religious questions and talked to God all the time, it was just a natural thing to do. I was curious about life and death. My parents never pushed me into religion. But we did talk about death and dying and were pretty open about it. It wasn’t this ominous thing for me then (like it can be now!)

      Reply

  10. I love being alone. I could easily slip into hermitage and isolation. It’s how I recharge. Eventually it becomes unhealthy, I suppose, but I’ve never understood people who go their whole lives without being alone. I’d go insane.

    Reply
  11. winsomebella

    I share many commonalities but the one that struck the loudest chord is #13. Especially the “everyone else but me” part of it. Very fun post.

    Reply

    1. Bella, I was so good at saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, my brothers coined a phrase for it. They called it the “Fork-dropping” moment. I would say something and my mother would drop her fork, letting it clatter onto her plate. I can only imagine what I’ll be like when I’m an old lady (probably a lot like Sophia on the Golden Girls)

      Reply

  12. Darla, I have to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw this post title, but I was totally captivated! (Seriously. Shame on me. I should know better when it comes to your blog) Also? If I don’t get to hear you sing sing/hear some of these impressions, I’m going to start strangling myself with slap bracelets.

    Reply

  13. We have a lot in common! But I have to say #16 really made me laugh. I love the subtle way you wrote “I quit baton that year.” So deadpan — hilarious 😀 Thanks for the list. I loved reading it.

    Reply
  15. pattisj

    Picture it, Sicily, 1922…That was a fun show, glad to see it made your list of interests. I enjoyed reading all the cool facts about you. Taking on a moose, huh? Wow.

    Reply

    1. Oh, yeah, one of my all-time favorite shows. I have seen every episode countless times. And I think the moose took on me. People ask me how I didn’t see it. Well, when you’re zipping around a curve on some back road at 9 pm, and a moose is standing in the middle of the road, you have no reaction time. I slammed on my breaks but still hit it.

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  16. How did you ever think up so many vividly arcane pieces of your life? I sat here pondering my life and I could only come up with nose-picking at stoplights. I’ve never know anyone who has steam-rolled a moose. I’m sorry about the antibiotics-thing. It’s a good excuse to stay indoors all winter and not expose yourself to germy co-workers. You’re a brave gal for exposing your delightfully quirky self.

    Reply

    1. Barb, this is just what I came up with in 30 minutes. I could go on and on but I thought I’d spare all of you. My life hasn’t been boring, that’s for sure. Thank you for saying I’m brave, but really I regret telling you all about my cross-eyed history now. A bit TMI maybe??

      Reply
  17. Snoring Dog Studio

    Ahhh, I wish I had a friend like you here in my little neck of the woods. We could have a lot of fun spending time together alone.

    Please do an audio post soon of your voices! Please! That would be hilarious and marvelous! You are quite the fascinating person, girl. A yet to be discovered treasure!

    Reply

  18. I remember #14 too, all so well minus the peanut butter toast. Our friend’s driveway was on a hill. The tricycle…not a Big Wheeler…gained more and more speed until I crashed into the tool shed of the carport. His dad came running out and asked “What happened?” “Nothing,” I replied regaining all the composure my 5 yr-old self could muster.
    And #15. Love it , love it. Hardly ever lonely when I’m alone.
    Again this is so funny. It’s so much fun visiting you.

    Reply

    1. Ah, crashing into a tool shed had to hurt a little! You poor thing. You must have been one tough cookie. Come to think of it, I’ve had several crashes on my bikes over the years. Must come with the territory of being a klutz. I’m not very coordinated.

      Reply

  19. Oooh boy … I sure enjoyed reading your list. Makes me want to read more.

    I still miss “Lost.” Best. Show. Ever.

    I have a lot of dreams; my go to morning book is “The Dream book” by Betty Bethards.

    Cheers!! MJ

    Reply

    1. Glad you liked it, MJ. I should probably have put this in my About page. It’s much better than my current one.

      I will have to check out that book. I am fascinated with dreams and always have been (which is why I love sleep!)

      Reply
  20. Curly Carly

    Whoa! We are so much alike! I can relate 100% to items 6, 11,15 and 20. I hate shopping more than anything. I need to buy work clothes today, but instead I’m sitting in bed…commenting about how much I hate doing what I am supposed to be doing. And I analyze everything to death. It’s exhausting, but I can’t not think things through. Don’t even get me started on religion…I have so many thoughts and questions on that topic that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to reach a conclusion on what’s true/not true, etc. Ok, I’m done now 🙂

    Reply

    1. Whew! Someone else that loathes shopping as much as I do! Thank you, Carly! Just yesterday we stopped at a grocery store and about halfway through I panicked and told my husband I was going to go sit in the car with the kids and listen to music. Maybe it’s the crowds I don’t like? I am a bit claustrophobic. Nah, I hate shopping even in empty stores…

      I analyze everything so much and am super critical of myself and others. I pity my poor husband for having to put up with me, I really do. I am working on letting things GO.

      As for religion, I think about it so much but I keep most of my opinions to myself around family and friends because I feel it’s such a deeply personal experience that really shouldn’t have to be defended. People in my family argue about that more than politics even. Two subjects I never bring up if I can help it.

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  21. I have the same spider issues, but instead of a cup, I leave a (clean, new, bought especially for this purpose) toilet plunger over the spider until somebody braver comes along. (Cups are too small and light to stay put, especially for larger, fast-moving spiders and especially on carpet. Plus, you have to get your hand really close to a spider to cover it up with a cup. With a plunger, however, you have a long handle’s worth of space in between you and the arachnid, and they’re usually of a good weight and stay put until The Brave One comes along.) Something to consider the next time you’re faced with a spider on the floor… but god help us all if you see one on the wall or ceiling. 😦

    Reply

    1. OK, I like your style, Dana. I love the plunger idea. You have put a lot of thought into spider-catching. I’ve been known to use in the past: cups, bowls, mugs–even an upside-down blender for a bigger spider. If one is scurrying across the wall or ceiling I will: 1) scream 2) hyperventilate 3) scream louder 4) run around in circles 5) calm down enough to go get a broom 6) knock spider senseless with broom onto floor 7) corral spider underneath a cup/bowl

      Someone once told me to vacuum up the spider. But then I’d be consumed with thoughts of the spider inside my vac bag, still alive and plotting his revenge by somehow climbing back out of the vacuum.

      Once I even attempted to kill a spider but I missed. Then he ran off to tell the other spiders and from then on I lived in fear of a spider mob retaliation. This is why I never try to kill one now.

      Reply

      1. Funny you should mention a vacuum… I recently tried to suck one up into a little dust buster hand vac. I immediately regretted it because I’m sure it’s not so hard to escape from a dust buster… so I wrapped the vacuum in several plastic bags and sealed them shut. The dust buster is in quarantine until I can confirm the spider is no longer a threat. 😦

        Reply

  22. The moose story scared me, Darla. A Ford Fiesta? Wow.
    I envy your vocal talents. My theory? Your Maine accent. Seriously, And, you need to vlog the impressions. Please.
    You and I are kindred spirits, Darla. (Though thankfully, I never twirled or dropped a baton in horse poop.)

    Reply

    1. Yes, A Ford Festiva, not a Fiesta. There is a difference. If I had a Fiesta that would imply my car was somehow fun and enjoyable. Not my Festiva. The car I had resembled a giant roller skate. I lovingly referred to it as My Can of Spam. And it was powered by batteries. Sometimes I could plug it into an outlet to recharge. (ba-da bump)

      Reply
  23. Priya

    I can relate with so many of these! Though, like Lenore, I am extremely grateful about the baton, or lack thereof.

    On #18 alone, I could call you my very best friend. It doesn’t seem I am going to have a lot of this essential ingredient in the near future, but hope throbs somewhere…

    Reply

    1. Yes, be very grateful you’ve never experienced horse poop on your sneaker, marching in a long parade (which was in 90 degree heat). 😉

      As for number 18, you might be pleasantly surprised, Priya. You still have a chance at getting some of those glorious zzzzzz’s, even in the near future. No matter what though, the endless joy, love and happiness will far outweigh any sleep issues you might face. 🙂 Trust me on that one.

      Reply

  24. Darla, if you can write a post on about yourself and still make this one interesting; than what else remain for you to try as a writer. I was not even sure what to write, in my about me page. Then some how I managed to do it. And I do not need to comment on you as a person. As i said lots of time before, you are a wonderful, funny, honest & brave person. The biggest thing is that people like you inspire all of us to try and improve whatever skills we have. I still remember when I just started blogging, how you and Lenore motivated & inspired me to write even though I did not have enough readers to read my posts. So thank you for that. Keep writing and keep on inspiring all of us:)

    Reply

    1. Arindam, it only took me over a year and a half of blogging to finally figure out how to write a somewhat interesting About page. Gotta start somewhere and just keep at it (as you know).

      And you are very welcome, but really, Lenore and I didn’t do anything more than let you know when it comes to writing and blogging–people will come if you let them and to give it time. And even if they don’t, still keep writing, there is always someone out there who will read it and be touched because of it. The main thing I do when I sit down to write, is I write to get things out–for myself as a kind of therapy (as selfish as that sounds!) I love to write and therefore I keep doing it. If others relate or respond that is the glorious icing on the cake. I am very appreciative and grateful for any readers and comments. Thank you for yours.

      Reply

      1. Eeeeek! I just got a chill up mine spine reading your Miss Muffett spider story. In my case, when it fell into my mall bangs, my mall bangs acted like a hairsprayed-trap for it so I couldn’t get it out. I threw my head under the sink in an attempt to drown it. All this going on around 2 in the morning while I was in junior high. Screaming the entire time. My mom and dad angrily awoke with no sympathy for me.

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  25. That song from The King & I, “Getting To Know You”, is running through the back of my mind as I type this. Way to make a list super fun! I’m seconding (and thirding and fourthing) the suggestions that you do a vblog, or whatever they call it, with your impressions. Didn’t you already do a video blog? Nothing to it!

    What prompted this list? You’ve got me thinking that maybe I’ll steal the idea. Would you mind?

    Reply

    1. Hi. It’s me again. Peg. OK. Just wanted to say that you were totally, totally robbed over at the GG’s caption contest. Not that the finalists aren’t good – oh, no. They “brought it”, as the young folk say nowadays, but not only did you “bring it”, you bought it dinner, took it dancing and then made it to second base in the car outside its house.

      Your caption with the shirt was blow-milk-out-the-nose good.

      OK. Have a nice day.

      Reply

      1. Great, Peg, now I’m going to have to go over than and look through ’em all again to read this great caption. I only read the finalists’ submissions this time. I’m still bummed that Darla’s submission on Santa taking continuing ed courses online to be a refrigerator repairman didn’t make the cut two times ago 😦

        Reply

      5. Peg, absolutely do this for a post! I would love to read about you. I was reading MJ Monaghan’s blog and thought his About page was great and unique so I stole it from him. I was going to post it as my About but no one would ever have read it and who am I to deprive people of knowing I stepped in horse crap?

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      6. Oh, Peg, thank you for that. I have to admit that caption even made ME laugh out loud so I thought it must be pretty damn funny.
        (I think Paul wants to spare me losing miserably like I normally do)

        And Angie is Freshly Pressed!!! Well deserved. I sure hope she remembers me and the little people later on. Y’know what’s great about being FP now is they actually leave you up there on the front page for a looooong time. Every time I was up there I was only up there for one day, then poof! gone.

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      7. by the way, Pegolicious– your line “you bought it dinner, took it dancing and then made it to second base in the car outside its house.” made milk shoot out of my nose just now and I haven’t had any milk in days.

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    2. Nooooo no no. No vlog of me doing impressions. I haven’t really done any in so long! I think that would be too embarassing for all my family members that read this (none of them do, but I’ll go with that as an excuse for now…)

      Reply

  26. You are so funny. And having seen the video (vlog) you posted, I can actually imagine you reading this all to me, changing voices as need be.

    Hope you’re having fun in the snow & cold. We found a full-grown butterfly in the house yesterday. Talk about magical! (PS: so glad it wasn’t another spider. LOL)

    Reply

    1. I am glad you can imagine my voice because I will not do another vlog, Christy. 😉

      That is magical about the butterfly! This has been some bizarro winter, huh? Last storm there were spiders on TOP OF THE SNOW. I took my daughter sledding and she started screaming and there was a spider sitting on top of the ice and snow. Freaky!

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  27. I loved this post so much. I laughed through nearly every one. Especially #19. I remember in college trying to remember with a friend the way the song Reunited went but for the life of us we couldn’t get the jingle for Riunite wine out of our heads (“Riunite so nice, Riunite on ice…”). Okay, I was probably stoned. Other favorites: #8, #10, #14. I don’t even want to get near something that a spider touched as I’ll expect it’ll feel just like getting fanged. Did you ever read my post about the time a giant spider that I was trying to kill on the ceiling fell and landed right in my mall bangs where it was never heard from again? Okay, you don’t have to. Great list!

    Reply

    1. Ah, yes! College! The Stoner Years. Dare I say, I know of which you speak. hehehe
      I have such a fear of spiders, I will hyperventilate just seeing one in a picture. And they can be teeny tiny, microscopic and I will still flip out. I don’t think I read your story about the mall bangs spider. Good god! Once I was sitting on my couch when I noticed this fly buzzing by my ear. I swatted at it. It was no fly. It was a giant spider that had dropped from the ceiling right in front of my face! (not my hair thank GOD) I jumped up and screamed the loudest scream ever heard in the history of humankind.

      Reply

      1. Elyse, you’d be great at it! The Good Greatsby’s blog is where it’s at (literally and figuratively speaking). http://thegoodgreatsby.com/ (Caption contest is listed up top in the header.) It’s just in the voting stage of this contest cycle so you can give it a try this Sunday when he puts up a new one.

        Reply

        1. Thanks — how did I miss this blog?? I think I’m following everyone else’s. (That’s the only way they read mine ;( Cause I never been fresh pressed. Pressed for time, yes. Pissed, oh yeah, but not fresh.

          Reply

        1. If I write about being Freshly Pissed I will never be Freshly Pressed and then I will have to continue to be gainfully employed. That’s when the riches come in blogging, right? When you’re FP’d. The latter, that is.

          Perhaps I can borrow against future pressings. :).

          But Darla, I do plan to remember you — in fact I hope I can find you in the great state of Maine next time I’m up nawth!

          Reply

      4. Now that would be a great idea. Who wants all the hassle of being Freshly Pressed anyway? (we all do, all the time) But you are always welcome to visit me up heyah in the sticks, ayuh. 😀 You know, they really should start offering prizes for being FP. Maybe they can wire people some moulah. Or they can rig it so candy shoots out of your computer monitor. At the very least, confetti.

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  29. Wow, with you on so many of these but 15 (five brothers . . . ) 17 the local library being my cave and 18, just loving the sleep, all hit big buttons!

    BTW, I found you over on the GG and thought I would take a look – now I feel as though I have crashed a party, you all seem to be having so much fun here!

    Reply

    1. Welcome, Patti! GG’s blog is the best isn’t it? Things can get a bit out of hand here. I welcome (most) comments, post hijacks…arbitrary chitchat…deep discussions, shallow discussions…hope you enjoy and stick around.

      Reply
  31. Deborah the Closet Monster

    A few of these were eerie to read not having written them myself; the “blunt” one especially so. But the shopping one? That’s me, too. I get in a rare shopping mood, but 363 days (or 364 on a leap year), I cannot be kept far enough away from stores.

    Reply

    1. You are so kind to include me in that list. Thanks, MJ! I’ve already checked out Ironic Mom and I love her blog! I hope you do another one with your fave new male bloggers out there, like someone suggested.

      Reply

  33. First of all, I am with you 100% on #12. If I hear any song from LOST, theme song or, “Make Your Own Kind of Music,” I first fill with joy, then a terrible sadness that it’s gone.

    And as for the library — we lived on the same street as our Town Library when I was growing up. My sister and I were there so much that often my mother just called and told the librarians to send us home for dinner. Years later (like 20), just before I moved back to town, my mother checked out the StoryTime as she was getting excited about her grandkids’ arrival.

    She spoke to the librarian afterwards, to tell her how nice of a job she’d done. (Yes, my mother went by herself to a StoryTime just to “prepare” for the day when we arrived. She should get an award.) In any event, my mom mentioned that her girls basically grew up at the library. So, amid rushing kids getting into their jackets and flying books, the librarian asked, “What were their names?” My mother said, “Melissa and Carolyn.” The librarian’s eyes lit up and she said, “The MORSE girls?”

    I couldn’t believe she remembered us. 🙂

    Okay — sorry for the long comment — but I do have a request. Two requests.

    1. You need to do a video blog where you show off your impressions.
    2. Do you still have your story about the Missing Legwarmer? You’ve got to post that!

    Have a great weekend,
    Melissa

    Reply

  34. I know, Lost was something I looked forward to every week. I thought the ending was perfect. I cried like a baby! sigh

    I loved your story about the librarian. How could she forget you guys, right? My brothers and I used to live there even during the summer. They’d have their little reading contest, the more books you read, the better the prize (usually it was just a bookmark) and we ate that right up. I make sure to take my own kids to our local library every week, it was such a special place for me as a kid.

    As for your requests…a vlog? no way! So sorry. Although I toyed with the idea of videotapting me singing a song about WordPress and blogging…hmm….
    I DO have The Case of the Missing Legwarmer! I will have to go and dig that out later this weekend. It even had pictures, it’s hysterical. 😀

    Reply

    1. After I’d left my comment, I saw you’d already replied about the vlog — sorry to bother you with another request!

      And that’s great that you have The Case of the Missing Legwarmer (that’s just so fun to type)! And pictures too? Can’t wait. 🙂

      Reply

      1. Melissa, I am seriously thinking of singing a WordPress song in a future vlog now, I have the lyrics all written out this morning and my voice is ready. Just have to figure out how to record it on the computer with our webcam. (mwa ha ha!) Stay tuned.

        Reply

      2. Yes! A WordPress song… Now there’s two things I can’t wait for. And it’s not even Christmas.

        If I still had my synthesizer from the 80s, I’d offer an accompaniment. Oh yes. I said synthesizer.

        Reply

  35. I remember moose country when I lived in Alaska for a few years. They are majestic, but very dangerous as you found out first hand.

    And I love to be alone too! Obviously I don’t get to enjoy that with three youngans and a wife running around, but I’ve learned to worship and be grateful for the time I have with them.

    Take care.

    Reply

  36. Wow what an impressive interesting list about yourself.
    I’d love to know more about #7, I’m with you on #13 and I’m always jealous of folks who can sing, but I’ve never watched Lost.

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Rosie.
      I love to sing and I really miss it. I need to practice more as my voice isn’t what it used to be.

      My late father is only in my dreams (that I can remember anyway) once in a great while. One dream was so vivid and he was playing with a little boy with brown hair, stacking blocks together. I was so excited to see my dad again. I yelled, “You’re here!” and he said, “I’m always here!” Then he smiled and said, “This is your son.” Then the dream was faded away. It stayed with me even though I didn’t think I could ever have kids at that point. But a few years later, my son arrived.

      Reply

      1. “I’m always here” he said. “and meet your son” he said …
        My eyes filled with water when I read this. I cannot imagine how you felt when you woke up…. What a magnificent gift. Were you close to your Dad?

        Reply

      2. Rosie, I was very close to him. I was “Daddy’s girl”. My mother and I weren’t very close (and still struggle in our relationship even today) So to lose him was devastating for me. I miss our long talks. Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember what his voice sounded like. I know he’s around me all the time though, so there’s that comfort and I am very grateful I still have a strong connection with him.

        Reply

  37. For most of my life, the only moose I ever saw was the stuffed one at LL Bean. Then about four years ago, I almost hit one in New Brunswick. Sometimes a thing has to nearly kill you before you believe in it.

    Number 19 perfectly describes all writing, don’t you think?

    Great post, Darla.

    Reply

  38. Sometimes a thing has to nearly kill you before you believe in it.

    Oh, I am laughing so hard–good one! True. I hear about moose/car accidents often here, and I always wondered how someone couldn’t avoid the moose because they are so dang big. You never know until you hit one how unvoidable they really are.

    I had a feeling number 19 might connect with other writers out there. Once, I had a dream with the perfect plot to a soon-to-be bestseller, only to wake up and it completely replaced with the thought, “You need to buy more milk today.”

    Reply

  39. Great post, Darla. Cynthia has problems taking most antibiotics, but I don’t think she’s down to only one that’s rarely prescribed. Stay healthy.

    We have 7 cats and a dog right now, but one of the cats belongs to our daughter, so it doesn’t really count, although I think our daughter’s gonna have a hard time getting it back.

    Cynthia always says in her next life she wants to be able to sing. I’ll be on the lookout for an audio recording of your beautiful singing voice.

    Love to hear a celebrity impression.

    It’s a nice feeling that your dad watches over you and let you know years in advance your son was coming.

    I’m enjoying reading through your posts in order when I have time. I especially enjoyed this one. Bel well. Love and light, Bob

    Reply

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