Tag and Underoos (and a Bunch of Miscellaneous Stuff)

As a child, I loved to play tag. Freeze Tag was always my favorite. Freeze Tag, in case you passed right by your childhood and know nothing about such things, goes something like this (I’m certain this is subject to regional-specific and neighborhood–specific rules, so don’t email me and tell me I’m wrong, please, but here’s how it went for us): One person is “it” and everyone else is open to being tagged. Once you are tagged by “it”, you have to freeze, in the exact same position you were in while tagged. Being a little rule follower, I do recall, on occasion, being disappointed/frustrated/miffed when the other players did not hold their positions. (If you know me at all, I know you are shocked & surprised that I was that way even as a child). But that’s the rule!

But I’m clearly over it now.

So, the rule-following people had to hold their positions until someone else could come and tag them, which thereby unfroze them. With an abundance of people, it was a game that could go on for hours; the “it” could never get everyone frozen at the same time, because try as they might, there was always someone getting unfrozen. Which usually led to someone crying, there would be a big blow up or melt down over the frustration of it all, people would leave, new people would join. And the whole thing would start all over again. 

Oh, and one other extra feature which made the job of “it” that much more difficult, there was “base”. If you were on base, you couldn’t get tagged.

Base for us was a rather large (or seemed that way at the time) boulder (Granite, maybe...I can't be certain. And it has been about 30 years since I last saw it) which resided in the landscaping of my friend Megan’s house. It was in the backyard and as I recall, you had to hurdle some English Ivy groundcover in order to get to it. I don’t, however, really recall hurdling anything, but in hindsight probably should have. I’m certain we just stepped on it in our scramble to get on the rock. It was black with white and grey flecks in it and kind of pointy in places…you definitely determined early on where you could sit and where you needed to stand. I think it would hold about 4-5 kids at one time so if you had multiple people playing tag, there wasn’t room for everyone on the rock.

And there was no guarding base allowed either; “it” wasn’t allowed to stalk the base, waiting for his prey to leave. You had to run away.

The other kind of tag which was a favorite in our neighborhood was Flashlight Tag. Now that is just an accident waiting to happen. Let’s give “it” a flashlight and let the rest of the children run amuck in the pitch dark.  Where were the parents?

Well, it’s been years since I played tag, although I’m kind of feeling inspired to get some friends together for a go at it. But I know not to invite my friend from A Fly on Our (Chicken Coop) Wall, who is the reason for my ramblings about tag.

She tagged me. Blog Tag. I’ve heard tell of such things but have never experienced it, so thank you In the Coop! So here are the rules:

So, like usual, there are rules;

- every tagged person has to tell 11 things about themselves

- the person who tagged you asked 11 questions, answer them

- ask 11 questions for the 11 blogs you're going to tag

(the people you tag should have fewer than 200 followers)

- mention the blog that tagged you but don't tag back

11 Things About Me:

• I live about 5 minutes from the first house I ever lived in. I have only lived outside Indiana for 4 months…that was during an internship to Washington, DC during my Junior year at IU. I like things that are familiar.
• I have the best husband and children a girl could want. If you don’t believe me, read some of my other posts…you’ll soon see for yourself.
• I learned to crochet because I had grandiose plans of making elaborate gifts for friends and family members. I never learned how to read a pattern so one year everyone got dishtowels, pot holders and scarves for Christmas. I did ok at various sizes of squares and rectangles, but I usually dropped a stitch in there somewhere and it wasn’t until I finished that I noticed the flaw. But I gave them out anyway.
• My favorite website is Dogshaming.com. Check it out and you’ll be hooked too. ‘Nuff said.
• I keep a can of chocolate frosting hidden in the back of my fridge for those “chocolate emergencies.” If the y-chromosomes in my household are wise to it, they have never mentioned it. Nor have they filched from it. And I would know if they had.
• I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with scrapbook paper, ribbon and fabrics. I could spend hours (and dollars) at the craft store. I don’t need an intervention yet but I’m on my way.
• When my weight increases, my shoe collection increases as well. I don’t have to get a bigger shoe, despite my increased girth. Plus new shoes always make you feel good. Maybe not you, but it works for me.
• I went to London for my Honeymoon. I should say “We” went to London on “Our” Honeymoon. In March. It was cold and rainy. Shocking. But I would do it again, in spite of the fact that our hotel room had twin beds…oh yes, a story for another time, perhaps? There was no way I was going to some tropical resort and spending my Honeymoon with a bunch of drunk college kids on the beach.
• I love 30’s and 40’s-era music. Here’s a couple samples of my favorites; I’m CERTAIN that you’ll like them too. Billie Holiday and Benny Goodman are just a few of the greats, in my opinion.
• I know just about every Seinfeld episode verbatim. I’m not proud of the fact, but it’s a fact, for sure.
• I still have my Sock Monkey from when I was 2 years old and we went to the Covered Bridge Festival (if you’re a Hoosier, you probably know what that is). He has had some reconstructive work done on his tail and one of his arms. And the bell on top of his hat is being held on with a safety pin. But other than that, he’s as good as new. None of us are as good a shape as we used to be, are we?

So now for the questions I was asked:

1.  If you could do anything you wanted, knowing you would not fail, what would you do?

Fail by the standards of whom? If I do what God calls me to do, I will not fail. I may appear to be a failure to the world, but my desire is to serve Him…not the world.  That may be a deeper answer than you were looking for, especially right out of the shoot. I’ll try to be more shallow in the remaining responses.

2.  What did you do growing up that got you into trouble?

Nothing. I was perfect. That’s why my parents stopped with just one child. I’m sure of it.

3.  Where do you want to retire?

HHI, SC. End of discussion.

4.  If you were invisible, where would you go?

I would spy on my children when they are claiming to do free reading work for school, so I can see what they are REALLY doing. I suspect daydreaming but as of yet have not been able to prove a thing.

5.  What cartoon did you love to watch growing up?
Bugs Bunny and SuperFriends.  I even had Wonder Woman Underoos. In college, I always watched Animaniacs. I have Seasons 1, 2 and 3 Box Sets if anyone cares to borrow them. Yeah, I might have a problem.

6.  How many text messages do you receive in a day?
Depends on the day, to be honest. Could be a handful, could be several handfuls.

7.  Has your "green" behavior changed over the last 5 years?  How?
I’m not certain that it means I’m “green”…it might mean that I’m cheap. But this Christmas, I am planning (note the word PLANNING…the best laid plans, you know) to only use hand-made (which I try to use as much as what I already have on hand for such projects), re-purposed or thrift-bought items. If nothing else, I am not contributing to the idea that everything needs to be brand new in the excess packing which many things have.

8.  If you were going to karaoke tonight, what song would you sing?
So many songs, how can I choose? I’ll narrow it down to two. “Hey, Good Lookin’” by Hank Williams. Or “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash.

9.  What movie can you quote word for word?
Well, there are many that I can quote large chunks of, so we’ll go with that; I’m not proud of this fact, but here is my short list: The Original Star Wars Trilogy; Raiders Trilogy…notice I said Trilogy…“tri” means 3 so I do not include the newest one in my list...that was D.U.M.B.(Anyone else noticing the Harrison Ford theme?); French Kiss (a lesser-known Meg Ryan movie…but I love it anyway); You’ve Got Mail (notice the Meg Ryan theme?); Breakfast Club; Sixteen Candles (are you catching this…I find a genre I like and I kind of stick with it…I’m loyal if nothing else); any VeggieTales movie, but especially Jonah; and most of the Pixar movies, up until about 2009…we kind of tapered off them around then, with The Incredibles being one of the top ones, for obvious reasons. OK that’s enough…I’ve embarrassed myself enough on that.

10.  If you could hire out one chore, which one would it be?

Cleaning. Hands down. It’s the worst. I can straighten things up with no problem, but I loathe cleaning with all of my being. Aren’t you glad you asked?

11.  What do you have of great value that is of no value to anyone else?

I don’t know if this is sad or not, but I can’t think of anything…if you have an idea on that, let me know. I’m thinking perhaps the question is too deep for this blogger.

Now, I am opting out of the “tagging” other blogs, but I know there any many great ones out there, especially the one that tagged me. But I can’t tag her back. For the record, here are the questions I would ask if I had someone to ask them of:

1. How many additional holes have you put in your body and where are they?
2. Do you shower in the morning or at night?
3. How many states have you lived in and for how long in each?
4. Sweet or salty snacks?
5. Has your life turned out like you envisioned it when you were younger?
6. What’s the best vacation you’ve ever taken?
7. Name three things on your “Bucket List”.
8. How many people would you consider “close friends”?
9. Do you eat breakfast? (It IS the most important meal of the day!)
10. What was your favorite subject in school?
11. What is the best Christmas present you have ever received?

Now, feel free to email me your answers and I will gladly post them as an addendum to the blog. Or write it in a reply, although you’re probably limited to the number of characters you can use. Scratch that…bad idea. Regardless...I’d love to hear your answers! Don’t make me put this out there in the abyss and have it return void. 

I'm off to finish my cleaning...remember, I can't hire that out. Someone's got to do something around here! (See, you wouldn't know this, but that's funny because while I was in here working on this post, my husband and the PBA were raking leaves and mowing & trimming the yard...whoops!) Better hop to it! Have a glorious day!