I’ve struggled with weight loss since I was about 15. I don’t think it’d hurt if I shed about 50 pounds or so. But is weight loss easy? Did I really even need to ask that question? Of course it isn’t! Imagine me, a cookie addict, trying to stay off of cookies for longer than a week. I’m the Cookie Monster! It paid off! I lost 20 pounds and I was extremely happy. This is my biggest achievement simply because I didn’t think I could do it, I used to sit up and cry and torture myself all because I didn’t think I could do it. I thought I was going to be fat forever. But, I surprised myself and the weight is gone!

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I’ve always wanted to be a mermaid. Ever since I was a small child. Needless to say, if I had to live underwater I would be  mermaid. I was considering a dolphin, but I’ll stick to a mermaid. We’ve all read about those majestic and hard to catch creatures as a kid. Frankly, the thought of being even part human and living underwater sounds cool to me. And to have an amazing tail with beautifully colored scales, like a rainbow fish, an array of colors, the image is just beautiful. At least it is to me. I’ve got the abilities to live in the sea, and the human abilities to fully comprehend the beauty of the sea.

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My idea of heaven is simple: Pure happiness. I couldn’t ever imagine a more peaceful, beautiful, and amazing place. Just thinking about it makes me smile. The thought of angels and the sound of a harp filling the area is soothing and enchanting to me. Of course, I am a Christian. What I’ve read from the Bible the personal experiences I’ve had is why I imagine heaven being this absolutely mind blowing place. A place where sadness and evil does not exist. Just pure joy and happiness. And to be in the same place as my God, the Almighty, is breath taking. Positively breath taking. Heaven in my eyes is simple: ultimate happiness.

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I don’t know that there is anything about my best friend that I can’t stand, but there are qualities I think she could work on. As a single adult, without a husband or kids, she calls the shots for her entire day. Her life is her animals and she has no obligations to anyone except work and her pets. I wish she could understand that my life doesn’t work that way. I am married and have kids, which means my life is not my own. I don’t get to pick and choose what I’m going to do with my day or spend my time anyway I please. I would like my best friend to mature in her perceptions of those with lifestyles different than her own. She has always been very stubborn and selfish at times, and age hasn’t changed that much. If I told her these things, I know she would overreact and get very angry, like she always does when confronted. At this point in our lives, I don’t see any reason to address this with her.

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I have been good friends with Jon for years, and was proud of the fact that he was a fireman for the city of Baltimore. One summer it was especially hot, and we were hanging out on our porch located right down the street from the firehouse. I got out our old hose and sprinkler from the storage shed, and we set it up and spent the afternoon running back and forth through it in our yard. The kids down the street had the same idea, but didn’t have their own set up to do the same that we did. Instead, one of the kids snuck into the front doors of the firehouse in order to grab a hose and run back out the front. It was lucky that John caught them, and informed them about the high pressure that a fire hose reel gives out when hooked up to a fire hydrant- much different than our set up in the yard! I’m just glad John caught them and no one ended up hurt- except for the boys who had a few more community service hours than they started out with!

I was actually very good as a child and young adult at resisting peer pressure. I remember being offered cigarettes, or had friends try to convince me to ditch school, but I never did. I grew up with a very strict father that would have killed me if I had gotten into trouble or done anything I wasn’t supposed to. I was also pretty confident in the things I did or didn’t want to do, and my friends weren’t able to talk me into anything I wasn’t willing to do. I knew that if a supposed friend didn’t like me, if I didn’t do something, they weren’t really a friend to begin with. I try to teach this to my kids.

There are several different types of class A fire extinguishers in use today including water, foam, CO2 and dry powder which can be used to extinguish fires. However, when dealing with any fire involving electricity it is important to use a CO2 or dry chemical powder extinguisher as the use of water or foam extinguishers poses a significant risk of electrocution. If the electricity supply to an electrical fire can be isolated then the fire can be treated as a normal fire with water or foam extinguishers. However, dealing with fires should always be left to professional firefighters unless it can be safely extinguished without any risk to personal safety

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If I had only three things to eat for the rest of my life, I think I would start with bread. French or sourdough bread would be a staple because it’s filling. Next, I think I would choose a fruit of some kind, like bananas. Bananas can be mashed or eaten whole, but maybe I could make banana bread. Finally, I would want some kind of meat, for necessary protein. Protein adds strength and helps focus the mind, plus it keeps you fuller longer. As tempting as it would be to pick something like hamburgers, fries or chocolate for the rest of my life, I am choosing somewhat healthy items. If I have to eat these items for the rest of my life, I want them to be good for me.

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I have been to some amazing places that were all beautiful, so choosing one image or place is difficult. I think one of my favorite images is a glorious sunrise or sunset, with pink, wispy clouds scattered across a golden, magenta sky. A full moon up high, still out from the night before or rising early for the coming night, adds to the beauty of the sky. There is nothing more beautiful than the colors of a setting or rising sun, while the moon is full and bright. It reminds me that we are not accidents or here by chance, because beauty doesn’t just exist on its own accord.  There is a creator behind it all.

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If I won the lottery I would immediately set aside a large portion of the money for future needs, such as college for the kids and retirement. Once those needs were satisfied, I would pay off all outstanding bills and loans. Family that had certain financial needs would come next, as I would want to help out with a payment here or there for relatives that needed it. It would be wonderful to use some of the money to make substantial upgrades to the house, if we chose to stay put and not move to a new home. It would be nice to take a fancy trip some place that we would never be able to afford otherwise. Finally, I would want to donate some of the money to our church and to other charities, such as cancer research.

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