the alphabet meme

A is for your age: 49

B is for your burger of choice: Double Double with Cheese at In-N-Out - It is a greasy mess, but it is sooooo good.

C is for the car that you drive: Jeep Laredo

D is for dog's name: I don't have a dog. Why isn't C for cat's name? What is this - an anti-cat blog survey? On behalf of cat-lovers everywhere, I would like to file a formal protest. My cat thinks he is a dog - follows me from room to room and has a wet nose. My friend Holly even calls him a "puppy-cat". So my puppy-cat's name is Joe.

E is for an essential item you use each day: Secret Platinum Scent Expression Kuku Coco Butter - what a completely ridiculous name! But it smells like Hawaiian Tropic Dark Tanning Oil. Yummy.

F is for your favorite television show: I am embarrassed to admit that I adore those stupid reality shows: Survivor, Amazing Race, American Idol, Big Brother, etc. The only ones I can not tolerate are the ones where a bunch of women are competing for the chance to marry some (supposedly) wonderful man. But I also love Law and Order, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Rescue Me, etc. And I used to love West Wing, Friends, Seinfeld, M*A*S*H, etc. But my all time favorite television show was Deadwood. I actually mourned when it stopped. I wish they would bring it back.

G is for favorite game: Cosmic Wimpout, of course!!!

H is for hometown: I don't really have one. I was born in Durham, NC. But before I was a year old, we were on board a ship sailing to Japan, where my parents were returning for a second five-year stint as Methodist missionaries. I attended kindergarten in Japan. Then it was back to the States - Wellesley, Massachusetts where we lived for four years. Then it was Gainesville, Georgia for 5th through 9th grades. Then Misenheimer, North Carolina for 10th - 12th grades and college. Since then I have lived in: Jersey City, New Jersey; Carrollton, Georgia; Statesboro, Georgia; Jonesboro, Georgia; Phoenix, Arizona, Morris Plains, New Jersey and now I am back in Phoenix again. I suppose I would identify Montreat, North Carolina as the closest to a hometown. My extended family has owned "summer homes" there since 1908. My memories of that place stretch throughout my entire life. And my height - from age 6 through adulthood - is marked on the wall of one of my cousin's house.

I is for instruments played: As a child, I played the clarinet. But as an adolescent, I picked up the acoustic guitar and have played it ever since.

J is for favorite juice: Ocean Spray Ruby Red Grapefruit

K is for what you'd like to kick: I actually left this letter for last because no matter how hard I think about it, I cannot think of a single thing that I would like to kick. Maybe I would like to kick Writer's Block, that hated symptom that arrives unannounced when I think I am actually on a roll. I would like to kick it - hard.

L is for last restaurant you dined at: Fast food - Wendy's. Fine Dining - The White Orchid (see previous blog entry)

M is for your favorite muppet: Miss Piggy, of course!!!

N is for number of piercings you have: Two - just my ears.

O is for overnight hospital stays: Well, let's see ... When I was born, I was an RH baby and had to stay in the hospital for a few days while the medical team tried desperately to save my life. I had ten complete blood exchanges and finally stopped trying to die. Then, I don't think I stayed overnight again until I birthed my son 21 years ago. He was a C-section, so I had to recover from that. Then I had an ectopic pregnancy in 1990 and stayed overnight for the removal, a heartbreaking experience because this was a baby that was very much wanted! And that is about it! I have been fairly fortunate when it comes to my health.

P is for people you were with today: It is only 10 a.m., but my good friend Jen brought me a McDonald's Sausage McMuffin. She had her young son, Caden with her. We ate, then I showed her some cool stuff I had found on the web. My son, Sam, is asleep in the other room. That is it so far!

Q is for what you do in quiet times: Read, play World of Warcraft, blog, play MSN GameSpring games, nap.

R is for regrets: Part of me regrets leaving the state of Georgia. Had I stayed, I would be almost 6 years closer to retirement. But I have learned so much - and grown so much - in the years I have been in Arizona, I am really glad that I made the decision to come here.

S is for status: What does this mean, I wonder? Marital status? Divorced. Dating status? Taken. Working status? Full-time. Citizenship status? U.S. Health status? Good, except for this pesky benign positional vertigo that plagues me from time to time.

T is for time you woke up today: Joe, my puppy-cat, decided I should be up and about at 6:52 a.m. Thanks, Joe.

U is for what you consider unique: People are endless varieties of unique!

V is for favorite vegetable: Brussel Sprouts, cut in half and pan-fried in a mixture of butter and olive oil until they fall apart and are almost blackened, then sprinkled with salt, pepper and real parmesan cheese. Divine.

W is for your worst habit: Eating at McDonald's.

X is for x-rays you have had: When I was 32, I was standing at the sink washing dishes. Like my Mother and both sisters, when I am standing, I stick my left foot out to the left and put my weight mostly on my right foot. My boyfriend walked in the kitchen to get a drink glass out of the cabinet and stepped on my left foot. At the time he weighed 200+ pounds. When my foot was x-rayed, they found I had a hairline fracture of the fourth metatarsal. I had to wear one of those stabilizing boots for a while. Reggie, to this day, claims that it never happened. His socialization against hurting women was so powerful (he was raised by a widowed mother and three older sisters) that he just can't face that he hurt me, even by accident.

Y is for yummy food you ate today: Sausage McMuffin.

Z is for zodiac sign: Libra, which explains why I am always trying to even things out, fix people who are unbalanced, or otherwise trying to work towards peaceful resolution to things. However, I am on the cusp of Scorpio, which explains why I am sometimes very difficult to be around!