Copy Cat

Okay, so I’m a copy cat. I like answering these kinds of questions and it at least gives me an idea of something to write.

So here goes:

5 Things I Was Doing Ten Years Ago:

1. 1997 was the year that I withdrew my membership from the Mormon church. It still took them another five years to officially “let me out,” but at least I got the process started. I am very happy that I did it and I only wish I had done it about 20 years sooner.
2. I ran the Las Vegas Marathon in my fastest time ever: 4 hours, 13 minutes.
3. I was at my ideal weight and was loving life.
4. Ten years ago, I was still thinking that I had a great marriage.
5. It was one of my favorite times in the ever-evolving story of my fabulous children. Wesley was in his first year of college at Weber State University. Allison was graduating from high school. Danae, I think, was an officer of her sophomore class. Kjersti was in junior high. Chelsee and Geoffrey were still in grade school. All of them were getting good grades and doing pretty well outside of school, too. I was at home with time to myself, which I loved.

5 Things on My To-Do List Today:

1. Get through another boring day at work.
2. Pick up my paycheck and pay some bills.
3. Listen to the rebroadcast of Radio West at 7:00 pm. Doug Fabrizio interviews writer and journalist Charles Bowden, who traveled some 7,000 miles documenting the experiences of the thousands of illegal immigrants who made their way across the border of the southern United States. “It’s a dark portrait, but also humane and completely honest.”
4. Go for a walk.
5. Play some Free Cell while listening to “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” on tape.

5 Snacks I Enjoy:

1. “Granny’s” sugar cookies with the thick, pink frosting.
2. Soft vanilla ice cream cones with the chocolate topping that hardens.
3. Fuji apples with that yummy cream cheese and brown sugar dip.
4. Sesame seed bread sticks.
5. Strawberry, black and chocolate licorice
   

5 Songs I Know the Lyrics to:

1. Most of the Mormon hymns and Primary songs
2. Many “Beatles” songs from “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” through “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields” to “The Long and Winding Road.”
3. “Climb Every Mountain” from The Sound of Music
4. “Dance for Me” on Kurt Bestor’s “The Dance” CD
5. A few of Enya’s, Josh Groban’s and Liel Kolet’s songs

(These are only a few of the many, many songs I can sing.)

5 Things I Would Do If I Were a Millionaire:

1. Open six savings accounts for my children and put enough money away that they could live on the interest.
2. Build Allison her own clinic, Kjersti her own coffee shop, and me my own hotel or bed and breakfast. I’d get Chelsee her own photo studio and I’d supplement Danae’s income so that she could stay home with her baby. I’d get Geoffrey a sports car with an automatic transmission so that he might become motivated to get his driver’s license. I’m not sure what Wesley wants, but I’d get it for him.
3. I’d hire someone to fix up my house and yard. Then I would sell it all and buy a high class condo.
4. I’d buy a whole new wardrobe with Allison’s Amanda as my consultant.
5. I’d hire a cook to fix me healthy, tasty, low-fat meals for the rest of my life, so that I could stay slim and wouldn’t ever have to step foot into the kitchen again.
   

5 Bad Habits:

1. I bite my fingernails.
2. Sometimes I eat to please other people.
3. Sometimes I sleep in, instead of getting up to run. This mostly happens in the summer, because I don’t sleep well at night when it is hot.
4. I don’t check the oil in my car often enough. That is why I have just had to spend almost $2000 for a new engine when $10.50 in oil could have prevented it.
5. I don’t like to phone people, so I lose friends because they never hear from me.

5 Things I’d Never Wear Again:

1. If I had a choice – meaning more money – I would never wear even one thing again that is currently in my closet.
2. A swimming suit
3. Glasses
4. “Garments”
5. Support panty hose

5 Favorite Toys:

1. Queue (my silver Saturn)
2. My teddy bear, Wilson
3. My porcelain doll collection.
4. My miniature musical instrument and desk set collection
5. I always loved playing with miniature horses. That is why everyone in my family has gotten little horses for gifts at one time or another. None of you, however, has loved to play with them as much as I did when I was young.

4 Jobs I’ve Had:

1. My first job was a dishwasher in the Golden Spur Café.
2. I tended other people’s children for a long time when we first moved to Bountiful and were house poor. During that time, I was also an answering service for an orthodontist.
3. I was a housekeeper at the Cottontree Inn and the Hampton Inn.
4. I was a receptionist at an oil refinery, Inland Refining, which became Silver Eagle Refining.
5. I was a receptionist/secretary, and am currently a customer support specialist, at Groen Brothers Aviation where we manufacture gyroplanes.

(Oops! That was five.)

4 Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:

1. Sense and Sensibility
2. Shawshank Redemption
3. Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and now, Bourne Ultimatum
4. Good Will Hunting
   

4 Places I’ve Lived:

1. Afton, Wyoming
2. Stuttgart, Coburg, Nuremberg, and Munich, Germany
3. Provo, Utah
4. Bountiful, Utah
   

4 Shows I Enjoy:

1. Scrubs
2. M*A*S*H
3. Star Trek, the Next Generation
4. Oprah
   

4 Places I’ve Been on Vacation:

1. The Bahamas
2. Tahiti
3. Ten Countries in Europe
4. New York City and Washington, D.C.

4 Favorite Restaurants:

1. O’Reiley’s in New York City
2. Macaroni Grill
3. McGrath’s
4. Red Lobster