I've Been Hit...by a Prize Dart

Cheri at Raising Reid has given me a Premios Dardos blog award. It is my first blog award. Thank you, Cheri!

Premios Dardos means “prize darts” in Italian. This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.

And in the spirit of passing along the love, here's how it works:

Step 1: respond and rework -- answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.

Step 2: tag - eight other bloggers to do the same, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

1) What are you wearing right now?

This question is a little creepy. I'm changing it to: What is your favorite thing to wear?

Pajamas.

2) What is your biggest fear?

Choking, me or anyone else.

3) Do you nap a lot?

Seriously?

4) Who is the last person you hugged?

Chris. Yesterday was our 16th wedding anniversary. (We hug on regular days, too.)

5) What websites do you visit when you go online?

All of the blogs I love! Other drop-downs on my address bar right now: The Columbus Metropolitan Library, Picnik, Merriam-Webster online, Sephora.

6) What was the last item you bought?

Groceries, honestly. It's the story of my life. Keeping this group fed is a full-time job. Personal item: A few days ago I ordered a LORAC Eye Shadow Palette from Sephora. I don't even really wear eye shadow, but Sara talked me into it. She talks me into a lot of things she'd like to "borrow" (permanently).

7) If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

There are so many places around the world I'd love to visit someday (Greece, Italy, Laos, Costa Rica). But there's this little cove across from the Harbor Town Lighthouse in Hilton Head, S.C. where we go to find seashells and watch the dolphins play. It is our secret spot, and it is heaven on earth as far as I'm concerned. (Cheri, we honeymooned in Carmel, CA...it is beautiful!)

8) If you could go to the Oscars, who would you want to sit next to?

Someone quiet and preferably not drunk. I also wouldn't mind sitting between a dateless George Clooney and a dateless Brad Pitt :).

9) Has a celebrity's hair cut ever influenced your own hairstyle?

I have no idea why anyone would care to know this, but in the mid '90s, I tried to wear my hair in a short bob like Teri Hatcher's when she was in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Not a particularly good look for me.

10) I'm reinstating this question because I have so many to choose from: What is your most embarrassing moment?

The first day of spring quarter my freshman year in college, my roommate and I attended our first meeting for a class called Physics 101.1, Vibrations and Waves. (That in itself is not embarrassing, although my final grade in the course might have been.) For some reason, the professor showed a video that first day, and needed someone to turn the lights off. I knew he was going to call on me, since I'd purposefully taken a seat at the back of the room where I could sit without being noticed. You, in the pink shirt, could you please turn the lights off? he called out. I'd swear every single person in the room glanced over. I was seriously re-thinking my decision to wear that clingy white cotton mini-skirt (yeah, with white Reebok high-top tennies and an off-the-shoulder-shirt...gotta love the '80s). I smiled and stood up to get the lights, but I had a sinking feeling something was a little off. When I sat back down, my roommate leaned over and whispered, Your entire mini-skirt is stuck in your butt crack.

11) What was the last movie you watched?

In a theater: Gran Torino (awesome). In reality: That new Nickelodeon movie/musical Spectacular (not awesome).

12) What is the luckiest thing that ever happened to you?

That's easy. Meeting Chris.

13) If you had a whole day to yourself with no work, commitments or interruptions what would you do?

Again, seriously? I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I know that I wouldn't want to spend the whole day alone (maybe a few hours, though). My dream day would be to spend a whole 24 hours with people I love, but with no responsibilities (i.e., no dishes, no laundry, no cutting out Box Tops for Education, etc.).

14) Is there a major goal you have that you haven't yet achieved?

Singing & dancing on Broadway.

15) Drinks are on the house!! What do you order?

Dark beer. For real. There's only one frou-frou drink I like and it's called an Amazon Monkey or a Midori Splice...it's Midori, coconut rum and pineapple juice.

16) If you were in a terrible accident and your doctors told you they could save either your hearing or your sight (but not both), which would you choose and why?

It would be very hard to live without hearing the voices and laughter of my children, and without music. Not being able to see would be scary, but the way things look aren't as important to me as they way they sound, smell or feel. (I actually asked someone this question just a few weeks before I was diagnosed with a very large brain tumor. The surgery to remove the tumor was successful, but the tumor wasn't the only thing gone when I awoke. The surgery also took my hearing on the right side. Thankfully, I can still hear perfectly out of my left.)

17) What is something that those in blogland might not know about you?

I once gave a speech on catalytic converters and the pollution factor...in German. However, in case Conny Wenk sees this, I can no longer speak fluent German (you lose it when you don't use it!), but my reading comprehension is still pretty good :).

There are so many blogs out there that I truly enjoy for a variety of reasons. The following bloggers possess distinctive voices, and their blogs make me think, laugh, cry or nod in agreement. (I’m passing the award on to others I feel deserve it. If this is a duplicate award, consider yourself extra awesome. If you do not participate in memes, or similar activities--or if you aren’t comfortable acknowledging or passing it on--I won't mind at all, just know that I appreciate your efforts & your thoughts...)

Now for the love, in no particular order...

Anne at Archie's Room
Amy at Larkin's Place
Amy at One Day at a Time
Dan at Daniel Drinker
Will at Daniel Drinker
Mary at Everyday Elliott
Chrystal at One More, More Than One
Linda at Lila's Miracle Life