The Dame's Questionnaire

I have been away from blogging for a long time, mostly for the same excuse I use whenever I don't do the things I love.... no time. But recently The Dame (whom I know personally) referenced Alex's blog on her Facebook page and I realized that it has been a very long time since I have read either women's blog and there is no excuse for it. Both are brilliant and well written and each and every time I read these two women I walk away with something to think about or something to smile about, which, in my book, is something worth doing every day.

The Dame posted this questionnaire and asked others to answer so Dame, this one is for you:


Dame's Questionnaire

What fictional person, place or thing would you make real, were it in your power?
Hogwarts (not sure why, just what came to mind)

What do you find comforting?
That no matter what, if I needed someone/something at any hour of any day in any location, I have a large and strong enough support system that someone out there can and will help me

What makes you almost hold your breath in excitement?
When someone is opening a gift that I have put a lot of thought into giving/making them

What offends you?
Judgement and racism, no one person is better than any other person, just different, and different is not bad.

What always makes you smile?
My husband

How are you in a crisis?
Supportive. It has been a long, long time since the last moment in my life that can be considered a "crisis" and I can not base how I may act now (in my 30's) on how I acted back then (when I was 19). But for those of whom I have been close to that have gone thru something absolutely terrible, I would do anything to take their pain away and hopefully, in some small way I have.

What is your most unusual or rare quality?
When I was little I didn't think giving to others and caring more about others than you do yourself was unusual or rare. It's something I always saw my mom do; taking the burnt piece so we kids could have the "good" toast, giving gifts that the person didn't realize you knew they wanted for occasions they didn't expect you to remember. But then I grew up and found that not everyone was as giving and as loving as my mom. So I thought it was rare but something to be continued as it was a quality I've always admired in my mom. Then I met my husband who is kinder than anyone I've ever met.

What woman has had the strongest impact on your life?
No lie, and not because she asked me to post this, but hands down the Dame. My mom and a few other women have helped shape me but there is not a part of my life, my being, my soul (from what shoes are in my closet to what movies are a must see to how I treat others) that the Dame did not have a part in shaping.

What fictional character did you love most or identify most closely with as a child?
Cheesy I know, but usually Disney princesses. I was in my 20's when I realized I could do things for myself, and I didn't have to wait around for others to do them for me so I don't think it was a good influence...

What's the strangest job you ever had?
I can't say I've ever done anything strange....

What's the hardest job you ever had?
Sister to a man who is so hard headed and stubborn that I spend most of my days wanting to smack him and the rest of them wanting to smack those who take advantage of his good nature. My dad was right, just cause you love someone, you don't always have to like them.

If you could relive any moment in your life, which would it be?
Just relive? The motorcycle ride with my husband the day before our wedding. I've never felt so close to him than on that day.
With the ability to change? My senior year in high school... I would have hung up the phone.

Who was your first crush on?
Todd Slater - first grade, in TX, I talked to him and when he responded he got his name on the board for talking in class. Even at that age I knew i should have raised my hand and told the teacher it was my fault, that I talked first. But I didn't and he never talked to me again. My first (and well learned lesson) that letting others take the blame for your wrong doing is never fair, will never feel good and will never have good consequences. Punishment is always far better than what comes when you let someone else take the fall for your actions.

What song makes your heart sing?
Fast Car by Tracy Chapman

What book do you never tire of?
Can't say that I've ever reread a book

If you could live in a book, which book would it be?
Again, can't say I've read a book that changed my life

What film have you watched the most times?
I don't know that it currently rates as the most as it's only been out of a handful of years but it's by far my favorite movie/play/soundtrack and one I can see needing to own several copies of in my lifetime because I will wear them out: RENT

What film do you quote most often?
(Actually quote, not wish you were clever enough to quote regularly and INTEND to quote. What do you ACTUALLY quote?)
I can't say that I actually quote movies, at least not that I know of.

What film's dialogue do you love most?
nothing is coming to mind...

What poem or line of poetry resonates with you most strongly?
can't say I read poetry...

What famous quote do you repeat or refer to most frequently?
Forget Regret or Life is Yours to Miss

If you could (or had to) freeze your physical self at one age, what would it be?
27

What view would you choose if you could have any view from your bedroom window?
A nature scene, no other houses, cars, roads, etc, just nature

What one thing would you give to everyone you know if you could?
The ability to have children (not everyone may want or need this ability but for those who want it so desperately and cannot, it's the hands down the most devastating thing to hear)

If you could be a tremendous success at any one thing, what would it be?
Being a mom

What, if anything, do you hesitate to do for fear of looking silly or being laughed at?
Singing (tho after my recent singing lessons I've allowed myself to sing in the car with my husband who is a professional musician)

Who would you choose if you could talk to anyone who is no longer alive for an hour?
Aunt Jeanne - it's sad to realize that at her funeral is when i learned that she lived the kind of life I want with the kind of marriage I work hard to achieve

If you wrote your will, who would you leave your most prized possession to?
My family is my most prized "possession" so I'm not sure that there is anything to speak of in my will worth fighting over

What sentence did you never say to someone, but wish you had?
I think I'm lucky when I say that I cannot answer this question. I have a habit of telling people what I truly think when I have the opportunity so I never come to the end of my life wishing I could have said something to someone I loved.

What do you most like getting the opportunity to say?
You're welcome

When have you laughed the longest or the most?
When I am with my sorority sister

Whose face is your favorite face?
my husband

Where do you feel safest?
with my husband, the most mild mannered man I've ever met, until you upset me, then he's a force to be reckoned with

When do you feel most yourself?
Around those who know me, the real me, and still love me despite my craziness

What makes you nostalgic?
Warm spring days, makes me miss FL

What is the best lesson you have learned in life?
That no matter how bad things get, it's the people that make a difference in our lives. No one ever looks back and wishes they had worked harder, or made more money, or owned more cars. So cherish the ones you love and everything else will work itself out.