getting tagged and the seven things

as I sat down to write my entry this morning, I was very excited to see that I'd been tagged by my fellow etsy jewelry maker Ackeloade! Hmmmmm....You're sneaky! Not that I really understand anything about being tagged, mind you, it just seemed... well ... exciting anyway. I have noted this "tagging" phenomonen going on as I've perused the blogs on a regular basis while taking my morning tea, and thought it looked fun... and I especially love to read those seven "things" everyone must tell about themselves once they've been tagged. They MUST tell secret things about themselves... or... or ... like ... self-destruct or something. So ... sure as heck ...I'm game!

The only thing is ... now that I'm the tagEE... I also get to be the tagER ... which I'm not so sure how that will work, since as a child I never liked being IT because everyone ran so darn fast and hid so darn well! Oh, wait ... that's hide and seek, isn't it? We're not playing that, right? (Oh... distraction... just this moment I looked up to catch Vera out in my flower box digging up the pansies! Lovely!) For those of you who missed it, Vera is the (sweet?) squirrel who lives in the giant cedar tree next to my deck. (So where was I? Golly, I am easily distracted, obviously... I suppose that should be one of my 7 things).

Okay .... so here goes:

• Number One: I am easily distracted. I think I have undiagnosed ADD. I can certainly hyperfocus, like when I'm eating chocolate ice cream or reading a totally forgettable romance novel. I can be vigilant about the strangest things ... like noticing that one of the sofa pillows is in the wrong position or noticing that one window smudge in an otherwise immaculate house (okay ... on the rare ocassion the house is immaculate) ... but paying bills, balancing my check book, talking about cars or plumbing, doing anything math related ... you can be pretty sure the lights are on, but no one's home.

• Number Two: I am a dog maniac and magnet. I have been known to cross to the other side of the road just to visit with doggies ... worse, while driving...swerve to the side of the road in order to jump out and visit with doggies. Sad isn't it. Really? And wherever I go, dogs seem to find me. I'm always trying to save them ... sometimes to my detriment and everyone elses. And have brought home my share of strays, sad sacks and lost souls of the four legged persuasian in my lifetime. Once, I found a huge german shephard running along the highway. I coaxed him into my back seat with my son, then a toddler in a car seat, and drove home to check out his tags and call his owner, all the while he hung his huge head over my shoulder, licking my ear or my baby son's face. We found the owner, by the way.

Gosh ... I'm only to number three?

• Number Three: I am a 2nd degree Reiki practitioner. Reiki is an ancient healing art discovered in Japan which involves the laying on of hands. I received my first attunements seven years ago, and only last year felt ready to move up to level II. (I'm a slow mover ... that's another thing!) I have had great success using it on myself and other's to dissipate aches and pains, skin disorders, depression and animal ailments. I love it so much because it feels so nurturing and deeply relaxing to the giver and receiver. It's a miracle right in our midst and I'm surprised at how many people don't know about it, or merely dismiss it without ever having experienced it.

That's all for today because I will need to think about the other "things" before I continue, and also, it's already quite late already ... just look at the clock! I must run. So, I will return tomorrow morning (or maybe later tonight if I am able) to provide the remaining 4 "things" and decide, too, who I get to tag! I can't wait!

It's the next day already! And I decided I would pick up the next "things" in the same blog entry, otherwise, well ... it would just be too confusing.

Number Four: I'm a popcorn-a-holic. In my book, popcorn is the 5th food group and must be consumed on a daily basis or else the body will have a nervous breakdown. I'm very careful, mind you, to make sure I buy only good popcorn with 0 transfats. Orville Redenbacher makes some lovely popcorn worthy of addicted souls like me.

Number Five: I am the most disorganized person I've ever met. Truth. But I hide it very well and most of my friends are totally unaware. This is why, I try to do all things at once. Because of my undiagnosed ADD, I try to do everything on my mind all at the same time and it isn't easy to read ten books, work on 12 projects, clean all the rooms of the house, paint the front door, re-design the garden, re-arrange the furniture, write a romance novel, meditate, pay the bills, learn a new technique , bake a pie, make a list of all the things I need to do, listen to all my favorite music and relax with a cup of tea or a glass of wine all at the same time! It's downright dysfunctional. I just want to do everything now and I don't want to wait and I have no ability to see tomorrow because I'm so entangled in today. Sad, isn't it. Funny thing is, I'm usually pretty calm about it.

Number Six: I hate to cook. First let me clarify one thing. I absolutely LOVE to bake! And I really LOVE to eat baked things ... cookies, especially. Okay ... I like cake too. Pie's nice. I think I hate to cook because I"m so busy doing all the other things listed in Number Five above (you might wish to scroll up and re-read those). That's why Pizza Tuesday is my favorite night of the week. Because I don't have to cook! I am very jealous of the wonderful cooks I see in the blogs ... so creative! Such skill. I truly wish I could enjoy cooking more. But I'm more likely to put on a roast, and head off to do other things while it cooks, then forget the roast is in the oven. Not good. Just ask my husband.

Number Seven (FINALLY): I love rain. It's not that I hate the sun. It's very pretty and it does warm things up nicely and where would my flowers be without it. But my favorite day in the world is a rainy one. Where the rain falls gently or in torrents, it doesn't really matter. If I have places to go, I prefer a warm, gentle mist. If I have a good book a clean house and no place to go, I prefer powerful wind and lashing rain! I love to work in my shop with the door open on a rainy, summer day. The air is thickly scented with Douglas fir and dark, fertile earth and everything is sparkling and clean. My dream day: If I can pull on a sweater, wool socks, jeans and boots and head off down a wooded lane with my dogs on a misty morning ... there is nothing sweeter in life. I've died and gone to heaven.

So that's my seven. And now I get to be IT. That will have to wait for a later post!