300th Post Q&A

Well, everyone, I've officially spent too much time on the internet. It's my 300th post!


As promised, I'm answering your questions today. So here we go!


Debra asks:

How did the Captain woo you and ask you to marry him? 

Well, let me tell you, it was all very romantic. It was a slushy, grey January day in 1996 in Southwestern Ontario. The Captain picked me up from work and took me to the fanciest restaurant in town : The Keg! He was acting sort of weird and quiet and I could see something was up, but it was impossible to tell whether that something was good news, or if he was going to dump me. As I always hope for the best but plan for the worst, I figured I'd better get one last really good meal out of it, and I made 3 trips to the all-you-can-eat salad bar before getting started on my enormous steak and large glass of wine. Maybe it was the wine, and maybe it was the 8 pounds of salad and steak in my stomach, but I don't remember much else. He pulled out a ring at some point, and I think my answer was probably obvious from the beginning. When a guy proposes at The Keg, you'd be a fool to say no.

LaelShine has a 3-part question:

If you had a million dollars...what would you do with it?

That's easy! A year or so back, our town lost it's little thrift store. I'm still not quite over it. It was a treasure trove. It was also a junk trove. But that's thrifting for you. If I had a million bucks, I'd open a new thrift store in town. I don't have an entrepreneurial bone in my body, but I think I could make up for that with my passion for other people's old castoffs. Having first crack at every piece of junk that came through the door wouldn't hurt either.
What is your favourite breakfast, lunch and dinner?

Mexican, Mexican and Mexican! I enjoy food from every region on this planet, but at present I'd say there's nothing like a plate of huevos rancheros on a Saturday morning. I can't say I really have a specific favourite meal for lunch or dinner. I like way too many things to be able to pick just one. Let's hope I never end up on death row, because that last meal business will be what holds the whole thing up. What I'm actually more focused on meal-wise is in making every meal an opportunity to eat something delicious. We each get about 1000 meals a year. I'd hate to waste even one of those meals by eating something crappy. Eating is the one thing in life we have to do to survive. We may as well enjoy every last bite.
Do you have any tattoos?
If yes, what? If no, what are your feelings on them? 

You may be surprised to learn that I actually have not one, but two tattoos. One is a daisy chain on my lower back. The other is a butterfly on my left shoulder blade. I like them very much. I have no regrets about having them, and I make no apologies to those who might not approve of the things. I do, however, think it's something you have to really think seriously about beforehand, because they are permanent. I purposely chose to put mine in a spot where they could be covered up so that I'd have the option of not having to reveal them to, say, a future employer. Also, with them being behind me, when I'm not in a tattoo kind of mood I actually forget that they're there. Best of both worlds!

GrannyBob also has 3 questions:

When are you available for tea and some educating an old crazy farm woman?

I'm going to assume you mean “young, fabulous agriculture expert”. Come on down (that goes for all of you)! I'm not sure you'll be getting much of an education though...

Where do you get your tea?

I, myself, buy tea bags at the grocery store. But the Captain, knowing my love of real tea, always buys me fancy loose-leaf on gift-giving occasions. Most recently (and this is the tea you'll be thinking of, Granny Bob) he got me a couple of pounds from a local place called It's About Tea. You can check out their website here.

Where your favourite place was that you have lived since being an army wife? 

Such a tough one! I'm a firm believer that wherever you are, that's where you are, and you need to make the most of it. When we left New Brunswick to move here, I was very sad. I'd been the happiest I ever was in New Brunswick, and I do think that the Maritimes will be our final destination when it's time to retire. But to be honest with you, when we have to leave Manitoba, I'll be just as sad to drive away. I learned what it is to be a minority (and also how fabulously different it is to shop at a Value Village) in Montreal. My world-before-kids and career as a teacher was in Calgary. My family is in Ontario. In the end, it's not where you are. It's what you make of it.

Frostbite andSunburn wants to know:

Where do you see yourself/life in five years from now - and will you be blogging about it?! 

I hope I'll still be blogging. I expect that at some time in the next five years, we will be posted someplace new. We've had a nice long run out here on the Prairies, and all good things must eventually come to an end. So, we could be living absolutely anywhere. In 5 years, I will have a teenager and a pre-teen. And since autism is a permanent part of our reality, that thought is interesting...and also terrifying. The idea of work is a fuzzy one. I don't think I want to return to the classroom. But I don't think I want to work at McDonald's either. I'm actually not sure I even want to work. I'm really going to have to give that one some thought...

In Real Life asks:

If you could take an all expenses paid family vacation, where would you go? What would you like to do while there?

My dream vacation (or at least the one that involves bringing my family with me!) is always about being somewhere warm during the winter. With all the stuff I keep seeing in the news about Mexico lately, my dream of seeing that country (because I never have) has kind of gone down the drain. I'd love a good road trip around some of the warmer parts of the U.S. though, looking for great places to eat and shop—it's really just that simple for me. I'd like to see Southern California once, and would even take my kids to Disneyland, despite the fact that that sort of thing generally makes me want to punch Goofy in the face.  

And there you have it! Thanks for playing along with me, and for sticking around for 300 interminable posts! Hitting the big 3-0-0 is like New Year's Eve. I have so many thoughts about what the future of this blog should look like. 

Will any of them actually happen? Stay tuned!