25 or FEWER THINGS ABOUT ME..........

I have purposely NOT read anyone else's list like this for awhile, so I could be "fresh" and not copy. The next thing that comes to mind is......who cares? Really. Probably my daughter, but she knows me better than I do. I'm not as articulate as Sherri or Ann, nevertheless......

1. I used to play several instruments. I started out on the accordian at a young age, but I ever really liked it. I have subbed in my dad's polka band a few times (when I was young). I also USED to play the guitar, banjo, and harmonica a little. I have piano, and occasionally I play that but not very well. I think I've lost interest in playing and just like to listen now.

2. I gradutated high school at 17, and worked in a planatarium for the summer. Dean proposed to be when I was still 17 and he was 23. We got married 6 weeks after I turned 18, and he was 3 months shy of turning 24. He was in college at Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie., MI. We lived there for a few months and he was drafted----but signed up for the USAF b/4 he received the actual paperwork!

3. I had a very strict German upbringing, where children did what they were told (or got beat with a belt) and were to be seen and not heard. Thus, whenever I was first married and we went over to my in-laws, I left Dean with the adults, and I went to "play" with my 10 yr. old brother-in-law, or watch tv or whatever. I was supremely bored by the adults. (Whatever did Dean see in me?)

4. Needless to say my "in-laws" were put off by my immature behavior and upset that I wouldn't drink with them. The culture I grew up in (up North) was Polish/German and EVERYBODY drank and there was a bar on EVERY corner. This is just the way it was. I didn't.......so I was somewhat of an odd duck, to say the least.

5. I have ALWAYS loved crafts and sewing, knitting, crocheting, or whatever I could get my hands on. I started crocheting when I was 16, and have always done handwork. There wasn't much in the "olden" days for crafting. I remember joining a craft club through a magazine, and they would send me "crafts" once a month, like making a rooster by glueing on millions of seeds!!!!

6. During all the years of my marriage I have taken classes of one sort or another. When we were first married and Dean was is the military, I took a ceramics class. When the kids got older I took college classes, but I also took "enrichment" classes. Gradually over time I quit the college classes and just took "enrichment classes" like cake decorating, gift wrapping, tole painting, etc.....Right now I am taking a sculpting class and so is Dean (a first for us to take a class together).

7. Because of Dean being a wood-worker and all the different arts classes I have had, we can make almost anything and anyone who has ever been to our home can testify to that. From furniture, to blankets, mittens, scarves, hats, bookshelves, painted artwork whatever.....we can do it.

8. I have first and foremost aways wanted to be a wife and mom. I love my job. I got my wish. I had my first child just one month before I turned 20. 14 months later I had my second child, and my last one was born when I was 24. Now I'm a grandma, and I LOVE it and adore my grandchildren.

9. I had toxemia every time I was PG and didn't really know it was dangerous until a classmate of mine died from it. I had very easy labors and births. My longest one was 5 1/2 hours, and my shortest one was Sherri at 1 hour and 23 minutes! I never had any pain until I was dilated to 5 or 6 at least.

10. I wish I had had more kids. It's one of the biggest regrets of my life that I didn't.

11. I have always loved to read. When I was really young I used to trade comic books with my cousin, and they were all the rage then. When I was in 7th & 8th grade I read almost all the books in the small libraries the schools I went to had. In high school I read voraciously, and loved English class in every grade mainly for the literature. The very first college class I took when my kids were small was English!! I read everything, and currently belong to 3 libraries, and go to a book-talk group at our local library in Siloam. To me it's life.......

12. I was raised Lutheran, and turned Catholic at age 17. I've studied other religions, and read the Bible all the way through. I have several Bibles, but my favorite is the Living Bible. I believe in God and an afterlife. I believe that we are on this earth to learn, learn, learn, and to sometimes teach. It's an on-going process that will continue when we die.

13. I don't believe in coincidences.

14. I had a very hard life growing up. My folks had a band, and were very VERY social. As I've said they were overly strict. As the oldest of 5 chidren I was responsible for most of the child care in our house. Probably one of the reasons I married so young was to get out of the situation, but luckily (God's Grace) I married the RIGHT man for me. He is a fantastic husband and father. Not a coincidence.

15. Over the many years I've been doing arts & crafts I've loved different things at different times. For many many years I painted acrylics on wood. Now I like paper crafts and make cards. I have a lot of money invested in this particular hobby and I'm still enjoying it, so I think it will continue for a long long while.

16. I'm really blessed to have given birth to my best friend. I have other really good friends. But my daughter is always (almost always) available to me, and I trust her with all my thoughts, fears, and concerns. We can talk about anything, and I know this is a gift. I don't take it lightly. I do worry that HER friends will think I'm an "appendage" of sorts. I never want this to happen, and sometimes step back when she asks me to do something involving her friends. I love her so much.

17. When we lived in Florida I had a brand-new house (white inside with all white carpeting). It was beautiful. We had HUGE and i mean HUGE lanai that was screened in with a big in-ground pool) surrounded by cool-deck (it doesn't get hot). My personal bathroom was as big as a small bedroom. The house had many cute architechual details-----but I really like the old log cabin we live in now better. It just feels so much more homey (although I do miss the pool) I don' miss anything else.

18. Our very best friends do live in Tampa. We try to get together with them once or twice a year and go on vacation. We love them dearly, and I know we will ALWAYS be friends. We are totally compatible and have the BEST times. (God's Grace).

19. I remember thinking when my kids were small and I worried all the time about them, that it would be a relief when they grew up and I wouldn't have to worry anymore. ha-ha-ha-ha......Now I have kids AND grandkids to worry about. Such is life.

20. I love playing cards and games for money. I'm not a big gambler. If I go to a casino I only spend $20.00 TOPS. I may spend a LITTLE more at the horse races, but I always win. But for cards and games, I like to play for quarters, and my grandson Noah has inherited that from me. Currently I play dominoes bi-monthly (no money involved :-( and bunko once a month-----costs $3 and I've never won yet..... But I still enjoy the challenge of paying a little teenie bit and the chance of a win!!

21. As I've gotten older I've made a point to keep in touch with relatives mostly Aunts and cousins that I really care about. I lost a favorite male cousin a few years ago, and it made me realize that I really had to make the effort to keep in touch with people I cared about. And I do!!!

22. I have collections of things, but am getting tired of them (except for my t-pots and Santa's). I'm really getting tired of clutter period. We are going to build some more bookcases because we have more books than anything else----but I REALLY want to purge. Some of this I have to do in secret because my husband does NOT like CHANGE. But whenever I change something he always likes it. Go figure.

23. I love music. I really like music from the 40's, 50's and 60's the best. I used to love to dance and could dance for hours without getting tired. And believe me---doing the polka is very arobic!! I really NEED to take it up again to get healthier.

It's not 25 things, but almost. I know I could go read someone else's and come up with a few more, but you are probably bored to death as it is. Til next time........Happy Trails to you......