I HAVE BEEN TAGGED

I have never been tagged before, but recently I was tagged by Angie at Life of a Housewife.  She has such a sweet, friendly blog.  You should really check it out.  I am to share 11 random things about myself, so here goes.

1.  I am the oldest of 10 kids.  My mom had two girls and two boys and my dad had four girls and four boys.  I know that sounds like 12 kids, but my sister and I are from my mom and dad's marriage.

2.  I got married for the first time when I was 52 years old.  I'm glad I waited because I had my own life for a long time and really knew who I was before I shared my life with another.

3.  Even though I know they are really good for me, I hate blueberries.

4.  I knew at age 12 that I wanted to work in a library.  And now I am.

5.  I met my friend Marion in elementary school and my friend Debbie in middle school (used to be called junior high).  They comment on this blog regularly.

6.  I started this blog to let my family and friends know what was going on with my upcoming surgery.  Instead it has taken on a life of its own and I love writing and photographing for it.

7.  I am 19 months older than my oldest sibling (Elaine) and 16 years older than my youngest sibling (Larry).

8.  I am not a good housekeeper and have never claimed to be.  (I used to pay my sister to clean off my desk for me when I was a kid.)

9.  I am, however, a great cook.

10.  I accepted Christ as my savior at age 9 when one of the men in my church used a magic trick to explain how Christ's blood covers all of our sins and makes us clean.  He made what looked like a glass of water turn red and then put something else in that turned it clear again.

11.  When I was a young teenager I had 45 penpals from all over the world.

Now here are Angie's questions for me:

1.  What is your favorite place that you have ever visited?
A.  That would have to be San Francisco.  When the song says you leave your heart in San Francisco it is not just words.  If I could afford to move there, I would.

2.  If money were no object, what is the first extravagant thing you would purchase?
A.  A brand new house.  I'd love to live in a house that was built just for me.

3.  How would you describe your fashion style?
A.  I don't think I really have one.  I like to look nice, but I also like to be comfy.

4.  What is one charity/cause that is close to your heart?
A.  St. Jude's Hospital for Children in Memphis.  Having had cancer and knowing how bad it can be, I empathize with the poor kids going through it.  And the fact that St. Jude's never turns anyone away because of money really speaks to me.

5.  What type of music do you listen to?
A.  I really don't listen to that much music.  I like all kinds from classical to oldies to Christian contemporary.  I think it just depends on what mood I'm in.

6.  If you have children, what type of discipline do you use at home?  If you don't have children, what type of disciple do you plan on using when you do have them?
A.  I don't have children and at age 58 I don't think I'm going to have any.  I have, however, taught Sunday School for over 20 years.  The discipline I use there is 1) talk to them, 2) warn them, 3) make them stand up for 1 minute.  I rarely ever have gotten to step three.  I believe children respond to love, not violence.  I cringe when I see parents screaming at and hitting kids in the library.

7.  What is one thing that reminds you of your childhood every time you hear/see it?
A.  The Raggedy Ann doll that Joe bought for me.  My Raggedy Ann was given away when I was little.  I was telling Joe the story and one Christmas he bought me a Raggedy Ann.  It's not the same doll, but I love it because he thought about me and tried to give me my doll back.  I will tell that story in my blog sometime.

8.  How would you describe yourself when you were in High School?
A.  A nerd trying to be popular. 

9.  What is one of your bad habits?
A.  I'm a procrastinator.  It's easier to think about doing something than to actually do it.

10.  What is one thing that absolutely terrifies you?
A.  Bats.  Don't ask me why.  I don't want to talk about it.  (shudder)

11.  If you had to describe yourself as one of the seven deadly sins, which one  best fits your personality and lifestyle?
A.  Probably acedia -- the neglect to do something that you should do.  I didn't even know about this until I looked it up.  I'd better work on it!

Now here are my 11 questions:

1.  What country would you most want to visit?
2.  What is your idea of a perfect day?
3.  What is your favorite dinner?
4.  Who makes you smile?
5.  Are you a TV or radio person?
6.  Finish this sentence.  I wish I had _______
7.  What is the last book you read?
8.  What is your favorite holiday?
9.  Do you have a pet?
10.  Cake or pie?
11.  What kind of car do you drive?

Rules:
1.  Post the rules.
2.  Post a link back to the person who tagged you.
3.  You must post 11 random things about yourself.
4.  Answer the questions that the tagger set for you in their post.
5.  Create 11 new questions for the people you tagged to answer.
6.  Go to 11 blogs and tell them that you tagged them.
7.  No stuff in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you are reading this" yada, yada, yada.

Now for the hard part:
I do not have 11 blogs to tag.  Most of my followers are my family and friends who do not have blogs.  So the only ones I have to tag are:

Viola at Along a widowed road
Bonnie at What About Pie
Christine at Vista Woman
Val at The Owl Nest

If this is not something you want to do, please just ignore this.  Linda, I would tag you, but Angie already did. 

Angie, hope I did OK with your tag.  It was interesting and fun to do.