Six Random Things...

1. As a little girl, I always wanted to be a ballerina when I grew up. I used to fall asleep listening to classical music on the radio and dream of being the lead ballerina in very large productions. I think I watched too many old movies like Hanes Christian Andersen (1952) starring Danny Kaye. I would dance and pretend when I thought nobody was looking. During my time off from my ballet productions, I wanted to ride and take care of horses. I read the Saddle Club Adventures books. It is funny how I had never taken a ballet lesson or rode a horse but wanted to so much. I rode my first horse just a couple years ago.


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2. During my senior year in high school, I would volunteer once a month during my 7th period at the San Diego Center for the Blind. I will never forget their Christmas party. Before the meal they had a bus ride provided, which took them around the city, to see the Christmas lights. The bus driver was doing a very poor job of describing the city for a bus load of people who were blind. He wasn’t painting a picture with his words. He relied on what he could see. He just didn’t get it. It broke my heart. I will never forget it since I think the moment changed me forever. I now appreciate the things I often take for granted. If you know me, I get excited over simple pleasures. The sunrise, the fall colors, a beautiful day, a daily meal… Sometimes the most simple of things bring me the most joy. So, if you hear me holler a big, “Whoopee!” over something so simple, so random, just know I can’t help myself!

3. Most of you know I love to scrapbook… or paper craft is the more broad term used now. Yet, most of you don’t know how I got addicted to this hobby. I worked for Target Corporation for 10 years before I moved on to work for The Heritage Heart online Scrapbook Store. I was asked to dress up the employee informational bulletin boards. There were a total of 6 or more boards and they were to be changed monthly. In order to make them look professional (and no offense, but not a board that would be found in a preschool room) I visited the scrapbook store in the same shopping center as Target to get supplies and ask for help. Praises came from managers and corporate staff when they would visit for inspections and reviews. The year before I left to work for Jeff and Joy, I earned the employee of the year for the California district. I always blame Target for creating a monster.

4. Christmas is coming and for those of you, who know me well, know that I love to decorate Christmas trees. Love it! Every year, while I lived in SM, I would attend the Altrusa’s Christmas Tree Extravaganza at the Elks. It was a huge community event where businesses in the area would decorate a tree and donate all of the decorations and gifts to a lucky raffle winner. It was there that I learned the art of Christmas tree decorating. I have seen all kinds of trees. Ones where a pump is filtering little Styrofoam balls up through the center and out from the top so it looks like it is snowing. It had polar bear ornaments and under the tree were bears building snowmen. Another one of my favorites was a tree decorated by a florist shop and the tree had potted plants and flowers cascading down it. Every year the businesses would outdo themselves spending sometimes more than 24 hours decorating. It was truly amazing. It was more beautiful than your imagination could picture! So, it was there my Christmas tree decorating passion was born and I look forward to decorating Jen’s tree, anyone else’s tree (whoever will hire me to decorate), and then most of all - my tree. One year I think I counted 8 different trees which I decorated. The challenge is to just purchase a handful of new bulbs, selecting a few out of your own collection while using them in a new and unique way. It doesn’t have to cost a lot. One year Jen and I found some glass cups she had purchase the summer before, at a garage sale, and hung them from her tree with craft wire. This year, Jen wants me to have my tree up for One Bright Spot’s Open House. It will be the first time I have ever decorated my own tree before Thanksgiving!

5. Games that I love: Sequence (I started playing again recently and had forgotten how much I love it), Gin-Rummy, Pinochle, the hawk point game.

6. How to play the Hawk Point Game:
This is a game for those who love road games like I Spy or the License Plate Game. It is perfect for passing the time on a road trip. Rules are easy. Find a hawk? Receive a point. The player with the most points at the end of the day wins! Eagles = 50 points. The same bird is only good for one point so if you travel the same road and see it again, so sorry, it doesn’t count twice.

Another version of the game (and where the hawk point game originated from) is the

People Point Game:

This is not a road game but rather a game for people like Matt and Deborah who love to play games and have friendly competition 24 hrs a day. How to play: While you are out and about, if you see someone you know, you get a point. The player with the most points at the end of the day wins! You must know at least the person’s first name in order for you to receive a point. I am also told that dogs count if you know the name of the dog. Points are not rewarded at the work place or visiting a spouse’s work place. That is called trying to “rack up points” and it is against the rules.