3 things we don't know about you.....

I'm right with you on the musicals.....I LOVE them too!! I totally enjoy it when Turner Classic movie channel shows musicals. Especially earlier this year when Dreamgirls had been nominated for several Oscars, TCM was having musical marathons of all the old ones. I find myself singing along with the showtunes......not necessarily in tune, but I have a great time. hahaha

1. I am a bookkeeper/workaholic..........spreadsheets are my passion. I absolutely love my job. 2. I love to go food shopping, even if I don't buy anything. But hate to go clothes shopping, although lately since I fit in normal clothing, its not so bad. Its just not as interesting as food shopping. 3. I have an invention that is patent pending. 4. (bonus) I would not be here today if not for the miracle of Gastric Bypass Surgery.

I can totally understand the food shopping and not necessarily buying something thing!!! I like to visit the grocery stores when we're on vacation just to see what they have that is maybe different than what I have at home. It's surprising some of the interesting things you can find in other stores.....

For sure, when I went to Turkey with my husband, I said I wanted to go to the Supermarket, he said what for, we can eat in the restaurants, are you hungry? I said I just want to see how things look there, and what the prices are. So we went to the Supermarket and it was an experience. As it turns out, the food markets in Turkey are sort of a multi-level department store with financing. The first floor is food, but the escalators take you up to other floors of anything you could want. So as it turned out, it was cheaper to buy souveniers for everyone at the supermarket, then buying them in the Grand Bazaar, or on Street Corners. We spend 2 hours just browsing and taking it all in. I will never forget that experience. We were able to buy t-shirts, postcards, turkish gift boxed candies and sweets at considerably less than on the street. We even got turkish bathrobes at 1/2 the price of buying from the vendors at the tourist traps. We spent hours walking through the spice markets, the fruit markets and even went to a coocoo clock factory. The prices there are comparable to ours, but the wages over there are well below our minimum wage. So the people who work for others live in poverty, while the business owners are considered rich, however they are only keeping their heads above water.

Hum....3 things you don't know about me....well 1. I was married for 30 years and then got a divorce. Have been happily remarried for the past 7 years which have been a true marriage as I now have my best friend and wonderful husband who makes every day seem like Christmas. I only regret we were too old to have children when we married, but I have 2 wonderful beautiful children and 3 wonderful beautiful step-children...and 3 grandkids! 2. I have worked for the government for 36 years - 30 years for the Department of Employment Security in TN, 1 year for the Department of Employment Security in New Hampshire and 5 years with the Division of Unemployment Insurance (same as Emp. Sec.) in Massachusetts. I have 5 years till retirement. Growing up I never said...."gee when I grow up I want to work for the government"!!!!! 3. I have a bird house in my back yard that is painted red with a black roof and white lettering that says "SEE ROCK CITY".....does anybody know what that means????!!!!! I am pretty boring and predictable!!!! Barb

OK, Barb, you had me very curious about your birdhouse.....so I googled it and came up with: Rock City is the name of a town near Chattanooga, Tn. that has massive rock formations. In the mid 1930s a man was hired to go out and paint the sides of barns, roofs of birdhouses and roadside signs with the words "See Rock City" as a way of luring tourists into Rock City. Nowdays the tourists can buy souvenior birdhouses, miniature barns and T shirts with "See Rock City" on them. Did you go to Rock City to get your birdhouse? If so, what were the rock formations like? I'm curious because some of the most beautiful rock formations I have actually seen are at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. OMG....breathtaking!!!

Gee Laura, I am impressed...you are 100% correct about Rock City and the reasoning for the "See Rock City"!!!! I lived in TN until 7 years ago when I remarried and moved to New Hampshire. All across many southern states you can occasionally still see roof top on red barns with the "see rock city" logo still painted on there. They were very pleniful when I was a kid and interstate highways were not the norm - when you traveled around you could see these barns painted! I have been to the top of Rock City, which is a bit impressive, but not sure if it would compete with Bryce Canyon National Park! Some friends of ours who came to visit us a couple of years ago brought the bird house with them as a "hostess gift" - if you will! Since it so reminds me of my TN heritage - I have it outside where it is visible from our den - every spring we watch little birdies build their nest - but we always never seem to see the babies fly away! Maybe this year.....You probably don't have Cracker Barrel restaurants where you live, but the sell them in their country stores. Happy Mother's Day.

How fun! I love learning more things about my MARCHer friends! Let's see... 1) My husband is a Master Gardener and therefore my yard is ever evolving. Each year there are new surprises! He loves it and I enjoy the fruits of his labor. We'll see what the theme will be this year! 2) I have three cats all named after some type of literature/poetry. Haiku (a form of poetry) is a Siamese, Moby (after "Moby Dick" by Melville) is a Tabby Maine Coon and Gatsby ("The Great Gatsby") is a Shaded Silver Maine Coon. The Maine Coons are very people oriented and function more like dogs by meeting us at the door, etc. They are fun! 3) I have been working on my bachelor's degree for...well..forever! But next May, I will graduate. Finally!!! I took the long and winding route through college. I've managed to find great jobs despite my lack of the piece of paper. To continue to move up, however, I need it! One of my goals is to weigh close to what I weighed at high school graduation (1988) for my college graduation by next May. I'm getting there! Thanks, everyone, for sharing! Hugs, Stephanie

I give you unlimited kudos for working full time and finishing up your bachelor degree!!!! If I have any regrets about the path I have taken in life, college might be one of them. I sometimes think I might go back to school when I retire and have the time. I just saw a story on the news the other night about a 94!!! year old woman that was graduating from college......she has been attending classes with her granddaughter and will be getting her teaching degree.

I am really late posting here but this looked like fun so I thought I would go ahead anyway. It's been fun reading about everyone and learing about them. 1) I am really structured. I like to think that I am very spontaneous, and I am to a degree, but I really like my routines. I used to fight against them on purpose but now i love having a routine. It makes me feel like I am in control. 2) I am a Christian and my faith is great strength for me. I rely on prayer and Godly counsel and I love Christian music and praise & worship. (I like all kinds of music too though.) 3) I am a terrible housekeeper but a great cook and baker. Cooking/baking actually relaxes me. It really makes me feel good inside to fix a good meal or dessert to serve others. Thanks for doing this post. Hugs, Robin