One Tube down...one to go

Owen pulled one of his tear duct tubes out last night. Well, as far out as it would come. This meant he had what looked like a rubberband hanging from the corner of his eye. I didn't freak till later and give myself credit for it. I had just pulled into Sams Club to get road drinks for our vacation. I open Owens door to get him out and notice he has one of Gwendolyns hair tie rubber bands covering his eye. I wonder how the heck he got one of those and was about to bush it away when it dawns on me what it is. I calmly yelp and get back in the front seat. I grab the phone book and can't for the life of me spell EYE. I finally find it and notice it is 6:05 pm, five freaking minutes after the clinic closes. I get patched through to the answering service and at that point am half way across town to the clinic. The Dr is nice enough to call me back from Hawaii. By then I am in his lot, with no one there. His advice is to either go the ER, wait till morning and go to his clinic, or cut it and yank it out myself. None are fabulous options, but I know what I must do. His advice is to do it myself and I agree. I start driving to my office, since it is the closest place with scissors and I can't stand seeing him like this and I can't keep hearing Gwendolyn ask "what is wrong with brothers eye???". I finally call Matt, now that I am not waiting for the Dr to call me back and know that I will break down when I start talking to him. Sure as anything I do and all I can say is everything is fine, we are fine. I finally am able to get the jist out to him and he convinces me to drive to his parents house (extra 10 minutes) and his Dad would be there. I had already distracted them both with a DVD of Bugs Life, Owens favorite. So I give him his YiYi (pacifier) and continue driving. They are waiting for me outside (MIL and FIL) and we decide to leave Owen in his carseat and do minor surgery in the driveway. It is determined that Gwendolyns round tip scissors would be best. Once she sees that we are using them, she volunteers to do the tube cutting. Thanks, but we have it under control. I hold his head tight and grandma hold his hands down and poppa does a quick snip. We are instructed to pull from the top, fast. It is long and rubbery. Rufus, FIL, did the pulling and Owen didn't seem to notice a thing. There was no tension and it came out super easy. I hope that means it did the job it was supposed to while it was in there. Hopefully he will have nice, wide tear ducts and no more issues. Not sure why, but there is only one shot at this surgery, you can't go do it again later. All in all, it was three inches long, but tied into a circle inside his nose. The Dr was happy that it was in for over 6 weeks, but I thought he had wanted it in for 6 months. I am relieved it happened before we went on vacation and now feel like I could do it if necessary with the other eye. Not that I want to though.

Alaskan Babies

Helping Daddy wash the Yukon


This kid ALWAYS has a hockey stick in his hands and gets very mad if you dare take it away.

Please note the chunk of floating ice that is the white in the horizon. Yes, my children are playing in a frozen lake.

Nutritionist appointment

Matt and I went to our nutritionist appointment yesterday for Owen. We found out we are doing mostly right and were given a little advice to tweak things. I found from what we were feeding him, he is getting enough of his protein and vitamins and calcium. She was amazed had how much fluids he consumes and I LOVED having someone else tell Matt that Sunny D and Hawaiian Punch are not appropriate to give a human, let alone a child. Thank you very much!! The main change we will make it not offering him fluids prior to meal time and none till he is done eating or close to it. Hopefully that will make him feel hungrier and in turn be more willing to eat. She didn't have much advice on how to get him interested in more foods, which is what I was hoping for. I know expecting an answer like that is along the lines of waving a magical wand over him. But sometimes I want that wand.
Now to wait another 4 weeks for the dermatologist appointment. I am pretty sure it is excema around his poor little eyes.

We are also entering another summer of mosquito allergies with Gwendolyn. She is onto bite number 2 of swollen misery. It didn't swell her eye closed this time, but had it been any closer it would have. She is now on Zyrtec, thanks to brothers prescription, as hers had expired. The second bite wasn't near as bad, so I am holding out hope.

Favorite Mommy

Apparently I am Gwendolyns' favorite mommy. So, my question to the child is, "how many mommies do you have?" She responed by naming off all her cousins and friends moms. I got a kick out of it and am glad that I ranked at the top.

Insecurities

I have a friend from the Garden I want to reach out to, but I am too insecure to call. I am afraid she wouldn't want to talk to me or we wouldn't have anything to say with our voices. I apparently am much more confident behind a keyboard. This suprises me, I am not a shy person. But I guess since our relationship is based on the internet, I don't know how to cross that barrier.
So now I just feel lame. S - I miss you. Not sure that you will see this, since you seem to be taking an internet (garden and blog) break.

Now I know my ABC's....

Nicole tagged me with an alphabet meme. Here goes:
A - Attached or Single? Attached.
B - Best Friend: Several that I’m very grateful for this week in particular.
C - Cake or Pie: Cake with cream cheese frosting.
D - Drink of Choice: Water. Sad but true.
E - Essential Item: chap stick
F - Favorite Color: Used to be purple. Now it’s red
G - Gummi Bears or Worms? Bears. Really neither. Chocolate please.
H - Hometown: Fairbanks forever it seems.
I - Indulgence: internet time in the Garden and cheesy TV.
J - January or February: Both are the same—cold and dark.
K - Kids: Two, one innie and one outie.
L - Life is incomplete without: A dream or vacation planned.
M - Marriage Date: June 9, 2001.
N - Number of Siblings: One older brother.
O - Oranges or Apples? Granny smith apples, with a little carmel to dip them in
P - Phobias/Fears: parental dementia.
Q - Favorite Quote: It's all good.
R - Reasons to smile: My babies
S - Season: Summer, for the opportunity to be outside in the warmth
T - Tag: Anyone who wants to play with me :)
U - Unknown Fact About Me: I barely graduated high school.
V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? I am a huntress
W - Worst Habit: blowing bubbles with my gum.
X - X-rays or Ultrasounds? I like ultrasounds better, because of what they show you.
Y - Your Favorite Food: hmmmm, tacos.
Z - Zodiac: Virgo.

21 pounds and more

I have my doubts that Owen gained a pound in a week, considering he has NEVER done that. But, that is what the scale said last night. I think it was the wet diaper I failed to remove.
I was concerned about the lack of improvement in his eye lids and that his allergy meds weren't helping. I saw a pediatrician, who happens to be a childhood friend. She thought the scaly concern was excema and referred me to the dermatologist. She didn't want to give him a steroid cream because he would wipe it in his eye and cause cataract. That will hopefully take less that the 6 weeks it took last time to get in. (nope, just made the appt for late June dammit)
She also showed concern about his lack of weight gain and referred me to a nutricionist. I don't know how helpful that will be, but I am willing to give it a try. He is sooo finicky and won't try anything. One of the suggestions the Dr gave when talking about what I would learn, tip wise, was to add olive oil to mashed potatoes for more fat. That would be you assuming the child would let mashed potatoes grace his lips. NOPE!! (next week for this one)
She wants to see us back in a month and has some tests in mind to run if he isn't gaining better. I think I will start asking to see her versus the woman I have considered our pediatrician, in the same office. I like that I know her and have since kindergarden.

Gwendolyn has grown 2 inches since her birthday 2 months ago. How did that happen?? She is getting more opinionated about what she wants to wear and what she WILL wear. I haven't been able to get a pair of jeans on her in many months, doesn't like the feel. It is all soft pants or better yet a dress or skirt. She is picky about which dress, "no the other one, the warm one". I will have to take a picture of her closet, it is insane full, yet we reach for the same thing 85% of the time.
She has also mastered the art of chewing gum and asks for it everyday. It always goes in the trash when she is done and she hasn't swallowed it in months. Now I have one more thing to tell her "no" about, lovely. She is a master of puzzles and can put together a puzzle, no cover picture, no edge done first, like it is nothing. I didn't appreciate the rareness of this till another friend was over and had to coach her daughter through the whole puzzle combining experience, start to finish.
We leave for Kodiak in a couple weeks and then she starts pre-school when we come home. She will go on Tuesday and Thursday, 8:30 - 3:30. She will have lots of kids in her class that she already knows, which is nice. She has been doing better about not "riding" on things the last few weeks, thankfully. I am excited for her to gain interaction skills and sharing. I can't wait to receive class artwork for my fridge, ahhhh. She will do gymnastics each day too.

OK, I suppose this was about more than just Owens weight :)

Mothers Day

It is hard to let myself enjoy Mothers Day, when I still try to make it special for my Mom and MIL. Matt has had to work 3 out of my 4 specials days. This means I go about being a mother in the same capacity that I do every other day of the year. I would like, some year, to wake up and actually have the whole day be about me.

This was actually the 2nd best yet. Normally I am dismal in attitude, with rightful reason, that I will get nothing and have a "normal" day with no celebration. Matt is notorious (in my eyes) for not having time to shop for me and in turn I feel like an ass for have any expectations. Makes for a crappy day for me. I will give little reminders, "I already bought your mother her present, so you don't have to worry about that one....", to remind him the day is coming up. I knew that him and the kids had went shopping last week, so less anxiety for me over whether I was getting anything or not. I did have to answer the question, "how much sould I/can I spend?". I hate answering that, but I am the one in charge of money in our home. I gave him broad answers so as to not take away any chance of suprise for me, "if it is this much, take from this account.....if it is more, charge it".

I knew he had to work yesterday and I had a big day planned for my moms graduation with her masters degree. He had the decency to warn me in the morning that there wasn't a present laid out for me yet, but he would take care of it that night. I like that he told me versus letting me brood all day thinking he had forgotten about me. Although it would have taken him 2 minutes to sign the card and the present was wrapped at the store already, but anyhow.

I came home with Gwendolyn a little after he did with Owen, from the party. He had left the present of the corner of the kitchen counter for me, why he could come hand it to me I'll never figure out. He has given me DVD's of the Friends series over the last few holidays and that is what I anticipated getting this time, and it was the right size package. But, I could tell someone else had wrapped it, since there was a bow on it. I brought it into the bedroom to open it in front of him and I commented about my original theory and how I was starting to think that it wasn't a DVD. I open it and it is a beautiful strand of pearls. I have been wanting and asking for these since we have been together. I love them and I love that he has been listening (a little at least). He was brave enough to take both kids into a jewlery store and he said these were the ones that Gwendolyn picked out and Owen wanted the colorful ones (blech to me). He knew I wanted classic looking ones. I had told him about a radio announcement that one of our jewlery stores was closing after 20 years and had specials going on. That is where he went, so my prodding helped. Hey, I am not above dropping hints. He doesn't always get them, but I leave them.

My mom liked her party and the brochade bag I got her and my MIL loved the pansy dress by Nita. It is a beautiful dress and she appreciates the work that went into it and the material. I plan on getting her a potted pansy when it is staying warmer outside, so that a gift is "actually" for her. The pansy dress is a size 3T and is for Gwendolyn to wear and grandma to appreciate. Everyone thought it was very beautiful and it indeed is!! Thank you Nita and I will post some pictures soon.

I hope all the other mothers had a wonderful day too!!

They are not the same babies

Apparently Owen thinks I needed a reminder, that they are indeed different babies. Jeez this teething thing with him is a world appart from how it was with Gwendolyn. You never knew she had a tooth coming in, ever. I have know when every tooth in Owens mouth was coming in. These molars have been the absolute worst. There is enough snot and drool to drown a pig. He cries if you look at him, or if you look away. His fingers are shoved in his mouth always and he is back to chewing on toys. My biggest beef is him being in pain and me being unable (in his eyes) to make him happy or comfortable. I am alternating tylenol and Ibuprophrin (sp) and giving him the homeopathic teething tablets.

He is also drugged up on Zyrtec for his assumed seasonal allergies, along with $85 eye drops. They don't seem to be making much of a difference yet, but I haven't given up hope yet. Him and his poor eyes. I hope someday that he has "normal" eyes with no issues. They seem to be the worst area of his allergy issues and are all red and swollen and itchy. I am afraid that he will rub his tubes right out of his tear ducts. I am sure that the stitches have dissolved by now and they are capable of coming out. The goal is to keep them in 6-8 months and then the ducts will be good to go. I has only been 5 weeks. They are stitched into his nasal passage with dissolvable stitches.

The small bit of good news is that he broke 20 pounds when he went in last week for allergies. Woohoo!!! He is 20lb 8ounces. He is still little and food picky, but he is growing slowly but surely. I hold out hope that he will eventually catch up and be a average size. I have had a couple people comment about how it is good that Gwendolyn is older and spunky, since she will have to look out for him and beat up on people for him. I don't want him to be the little kid in the class and get picked on for it.

Mommy Smell

That little girl of mine can melt my heart sometime. I base a lot of my memories on smell, certain scents bring back certain memories.
Anytime I smell Chanel perfume, I think of my mom. It is her smell and I can pick it out anywhere. I love it!!
Gwendolyn and I were cuddling on the couch yesterday and she pauses and leans in close to me and sniffs. She then lovingly says, "you smell like Mommy". Ahhhhh, I loved hearing that. I had no perfume on and had actually not showered yet, but I must have had my natural mom smell going on. Still brings a smile to my face.

Stress

I hate when another persons mood and stress carries over and is able to affect me. I like to think that is the only issue and there is nothing else to worry about. Aack, life can be overwhelming sometimes.

Oh, and HATE seasonal allergies.

I feel selfish...

I feel selfish because part of my concern with the whole T situation is how it will affect the Garden. I worry that it is driving women away and I hate the idea of losing my Garden gals. I have come to rely on them so much over the last few years and can't imagine not having them around. It still amazes me that they all hold such a big spot in my heart, when I have only met 2 of them in real life. I have seen a few ladies "voice" their hurt and betrayal and thoughts of not coming around for a while or ever. That bums me out so much. Coincidentally, the Garden site has been changed and you log in elsewhere. My panic at not being able to access my online world was significant. I can't imagine not having these ladies in my life.
So now I feel like a heel for thinking of myself when there is obviously another who deserves more attention.

Huge decision to make for my future

This all seems trivial in comparison to what another friend is facing right now. T, my heart goes out to you.
As for in my world, I need to decide if I am going to work for my family business or continue where I am.
I work at a Non-profit organization and have for 7 years.
It is a Youth Court program, a diversion from the formal juvenile justice system. We have youth who are trained as attorneys and take real juvenile cases to court. I have been slacking off lately (last couple of years) and know I am doing the program a disservice and someone could really expand my position. Damn Gardening time is much more fun than actual work, LOL, I know some of you can relate. I love my work and get enjoyment and satisfaction from my work with the kids. I can still volunteer with them or be on the Board of Directors and be super useful there. I work m-f, 9:30-5, later on thursdays since that is court night. Occasional saturdays for special occasions. I get to travel once a year for a conference of some sort. I have no retirement to consider.

New job would be in the office, with no out and about during the day. Laid back atmosphere, answering phones and data entry. I would job share with my SIL, three days a week, 7:30-4:30. So, 2 extra days with the kiddos. I would take a loss of $2000 a year, but would probably make up for that with not eating out at lunch. It has old school dial up, but I would probably force the DSL issue. If and when we have more kids, I could bring them to this office as well. It would ease up the burden on MIL of watching them 5 days a week, to only 3. My dad would be my boss, not sure if that is a pro or con? There will probably be retirement in the future, but we don't have that arranged right now.
There are way more thoughts and pros and cons, but this is a start to my thought process.

More thoughts..
The set-up would not be a controlling boss kinda thing, more just that he is ultimately in charge. When he is ready to retire in 4 years my DH would then assume that position. And he sure the hell would not be my boss, LOL
I have been dreading taking on any new projects at work and there are lots of areas that I could really expand the program. I have been mentally done with ambition here for a while. I am nervous about giving up this job, since it is sooo cake and comfortable. I don't imagine it would ever come back around again, I would just have to be happy where I was at. I do like the feeling I have of importance in the community and the connections I have made.I don't dread going to work, but I slack off all day and don't think it is very fair.
All day (3 hours, LOL) that I have been at work I have been mentally relieved when I think ahead to upcoming events and I think to myself "it will be nice to not have to deal with that" Does that mean I have mentally made up my mind and I am already on short timers syndrome?

Look good always....or sometimes?

I was thinking this morning how rare it is that I put effort into my appearance, such as make-up and "done" hair. I know that there are a lot of women out there who won't leave the house without being completely done up. I just don't feel I have the time, most mornings. I shower while the kids are still sleeping and then get dressed and get them up. I come back to me while they are eating breakfast and take the towel off my hair and do as much as I feel like with it. Normally not much. Back to the kids and getting them dressed and we are all out the door.
I am thinking I like my way better. My reasoning is as follows. If you dress up every day and always wear make-up and always do your hair nice, people stop noticing. They then notice if you do nothing and have a "natural" day and then think you look like crap or something is wrong. Me, I am "natural" most days and people tend to notice me and pay me compliments on the days that I put effort in (at least 2 work days a week).
My point is, I would rather be noticed for looking good than looking like crap.

Maternal yearnings

Owen weaned a couple months back, in preparation for my vacation among other things. I am floored by the maternal yearning to pull that child to my breast and nurse him right now. In the couple days leading up to his surgery and ever since, I feel such a pull to that. He is still on the small side and currently not interested in eating even the few things he would previous let past his lips. I am desprate to get him interested in food or find that magic morsel that he will devour. I start thinking to myself, if he was nursing I would know he was getting some nutrients.....oh the mothers heartache. I have crazy thoughts of relactating with my 16 months old, a bit unrealistic.

Gwendolyn-ism

Gwendolyn has a movie at the inlaws called Scamper. It is about a little penguin, she loves it and asks to watch it frequently. Apparently they also picked up Happy Feet this last week, another penguin movie. Which by the way, has taught her to nose dive off the couch and she tried on the stairs but was caught before impact. Anyhow, I was dropping them off this morning and she started asking me where her scamper feet were, while looking at her feet. I am thinking to myself "does she have slippers that I am not aware of"? It finally dawned on me that she wanted to watch Happy Feet and that was her way of asking, toddler style. So cute.

Owen's eye surgery yesterday

Owen has small, clogged tear ducts, that either needed to be probed and popped open or tubed for a time period, to learn to be open. This is the information we had going in to the surgery and we would learn more once Dr. Zambar got in there and poked around. He has had numerous eye infections in the last year and would face a lifetime of them if we didn't correct them now. 18 months is the optimal time to do the surgery.
This is the look he will give you if you ask to see his teeth, LOL.

That was a sucky experience that I hope to never have to go through again. The surgery took two hours and the Dr said Owen's passage was a challenge, but he was up for it. He ended up being middle of the road, not simple, but didn't have to build him any tear ducts. He did have to place 4 tubes into all his ducts and they need to stay for at least 6 months. The sucky part was him coming out of sedation. Wow, that was probably more tramatic for me, but it was no fun. They brought him into the room we were waiting in, after the recovery room, once he came to. His "come to" was only half way there. They are kinda freaked out for up to an hour and just cry because they don't understand the fog they are in. The odd and I do mean odd sounding cry was the hard part. You could tell he had no idea what was going on or where he was, he just cried with an animal instinct (so I cried too). We came home and continued to fight the sedation for the rest of the day. He never napped for more than 20 minutes and when he did he went to sleep crying and would wake with the same animal cry that he had that morning. Fortunately, he slept well last night and woke up 95% himself today.
Now we wait and hope that these stay in and do the trick. There is always the chance that he could pull them out, via the corner of his eye, but they are stiched into his nasal passage and will hurt if he does yank on them. These stiches will disolve in 4 weeks. We also have to be careful when rubbing gunk out of the corner of his eyes to not catch the tubes and pull them out. I actually cannot see them. The said we might be able to see them in the corner of his eye. They are the width of a pencil lead and I think are a shiny silver. He had a little bloody nose off and on yesterday, but otherwise you cannot tell a thing visually.

1st child versus 2nd child

Gwendolyn has been in swim class since she was 10 months old. We go every Saturday and love it. She has always been the star of the class and loves the attention and seems to seek it out. We started Owen on lessons (parent/tot for both of them) when he was 6 months old. It was more that we were already there with Gwendolyn, why not put Owen in the water too theory. Owen has just kinda existed in the class, not digging it nor hating it. Two weeks ago Gwendolyn moved up the the pre-school class and doesn't need me anymore (boohoo). This mean Owen is an only child for the first time in his life. He is LOVING it!! He has taken her spot mentally and wants everyone to notice him and his swim-ability in the class. You can hear him when you walk into the building, he is laughing and having a blast. Prior, he showed no interest in climbing out and jumping in, now he is a pro. It was amazing to watch him blossom without his sister's shadow. Cousin Matia is in the class too and they love to be around each other.
Gwendolyns class is now held right after Owens and I have to stand and watch at the balcony like all the other parents. She is in a class with one other girl and 4 boys. She is doing great. I wish her new teacher would realize her ability before he sets her back to the dog paddle. He holds her hands when she jumps in and helps her swim back to the side of the pool. Let her go fool, she can do it herself. Every few minutes she hollars out for me to make sure I am watching her. Too cute.
I am so proud of my little swimmers.

Technologically depressed

I came across an article recently that mentioned how different things will be for the upcoming generation of kids versus how it was for me 15-25 years ago. I can remember road trips with my family with such fond memories. My brother and I would be in the back of the truck, the back seat of the car or truck, or even in the camper on the back of the truck. We had each other to rely upon for entertainment. We would spend hours making up games or playing old reliable ones. I can remember a game of War (card game) that lasted a whole weekend. We would occasionally allow the other to cheat, just to keep the game going. My bother is 18 months older than me and apparently was a quicker thinker than me. One of his favorite games was for me to "draw" on his back with my fingernails and he would guess what I was drawing. Looking back on it, I know he was just trying to get a back scratch out of me. Another that was a frequent favorite was to sing a part of a song and see if the other could guess either the title or the artist. I sucked at that one and still do, Matt tries to get me to play that even now. As a family we traveled all over the State of Alaska, but we always managed a few weekends a summer in Valdez. Valdez is 350 miles from home. That made for long hours on the road. I loved it!!
My concern with how things will be different for my children is the lack of imagination they will be afforded. Keep in mind this is all a choice and we are the ones doing the raising of these kids. I can already see how road trips will pan out in the future....got the DVD's for the player in the car?? Check!! Everyother time we get in my Yukon, Gwendolyn is asking to turn on the movie player. If she doesn't then Owen is grunting and pointing in his so eloquent way. If we are going to be driving for a while, I will allow that treat and turn on Bugs Life for them (that was in the car when we bought it and I haven't brought another movie to the car yet, so that is the only choice). They are starting to take it for granted and want it everytime. My reaction, NO!! This brought me around to thinking about how I entertained myself on road trips and how they are demanding stimuli on a cross town 15 minute run. Hey kids, bring a book or sing a song.
Speaking of singing a song, I never got around to completing CK's tag, since only one of the CD's in my Yukon are mine. I have a 6 disc changer and they (Gwendolyn) have taken pocession of 5 of them. My one CD is what you wonder? Eurithmics, yea baby, LOL. Pathetic the way I am being run out of my own car.
I just want to take things back to the basics and have my children be less technological than they seem to be heading. I am keeping my foot down on no TV in their room, phone doesn't matter anymore, they are all portable anyway. It is all very depressing.

What I've Done

See what I've done in boldtype.
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger.
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas (engaged, bachelorette party and 1st anniversary)
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark (YUM!)
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children/currently raising child
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (bear)
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life.

If you've read this consider your self tagged. I want to see all of my friends doing this!