99: Skeletons in the closet?

I promised Maddie I would do this, so here it is. You just bold the ones you've done and post on your blog (I can't get the bold to work so italics will have to do).  

When my friends started doing this it was such a tease to only see the one liner, so many of them reposted to explain and stop the screeching commentors wanting to know more. While I doubt many will be screeching to know more about my relatively tame past, I will stick with the new plan all the same. 

Started your own blog - You are here.

Given more than you can afford to charity - When the Bosnian war refugees came to Ireland they were housed in Cherry Orchard. I did volunteer work there (I was part of an organisation that is back up to the emergency services), sometimes working the reception desk on the night shift at weekends. Due to time zone differences the phone calls about family deaths came between 3am and 4am. It was heartbreaking. I gave a more than I could afford and lived on cornflakes for a few weeks.

Climbed a mountain - Same organisation mentioned above, mountain rescue. We trained every second weekend provided we were not assisting with emergencies/events, or searching for missing people. I met my husband on the side of a mountain, during one of our training weekends. Yes, love can blossom in freezing fog, on the side of a mountain in February!

Had food poisoning - *diplomacy alert* After I got married my husband and I had dinner with his parents regularly. It turned into a running joke as to whether I would be sick, or not, afterwards. I suffered some really bad bouts of illness following these dinners, one severe. After 12 years of marriage I don't have that problem anymore, thankfully. I should probably remove this note after 48 hours!

Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - They are called 'mental health' days.

Seen Niagara Falls in person - Several times. I have friends in Canada who live near the falls so got to visit there a lot. I haven't been for a few years now, not since my youngest two children arrived, but I will visit again (subtle hint/warning to Canadian friends).

Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - uumm, Ireland? 

Been transported in an ambulance - Yes. The trip itself is a bit of a blur but what happened just before it is not. A fireman poked his head into my car to advise me that my four month old baby had been taken away in another ambulance, on his own. I saw my fist smash into his face. He staggered backwards, holding his face, blood and snot pouring from his nose as he howled in pain. I blinked and he was still standing in front of me with his stupid grin, waiting for me to acknowledge what he had just said. What I had seen was so real I couldn't believe I hadn't actually done it and I can still picture it, and him, to this day. Important note for any firemen (firepeople?) out there, if you have to separate a mother from her child, stand well back when you tell her............just saying!

Played in the mud - I LOVE mud. This is why I had such a great time with the previously mentioned voluntary organisation. I got to get filthy dirty mucky and it was ok, nobody got cross with me. I made it a matter of pride to get as mucky as I could, it was a badge of honour to have mud stained overalls!

Taken a martial arts class - Karate, very briefly in my early teens. Several years later, at work, my Manager leaned over me to say something and I 'blocked' him, a genuine reaction to his movements. I was embarrassed and surprised, but not as much as he was! He never came at me from that angle again.

Got flowers for no reason - From my husband after one of our early dates, a single yellow rose. He does it occasionally, so occasionally that it is still always a shock nice surprise!

Donated blood, platelets or plasma - Yes, although they never manage to get a full pint out of me. I have never fainted afterwards though, unlike my husband *snicker*

Seen the Grand Canyon in person - It was amazing but the journey on the tiny 8 seater plane to get there was a nightmare. Squealing females and desert heat annoy me.

Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve - I know I have probably done this, because everyone has,  but it must have been disappointing because I can't remember when or where. *whisper*  My Dad reads this blog.

Visited the White House -  It's a big house and it's white. What else can I say?

Killed and prepared an animal for eating - This is where I got my interest in biology. I could gut and prepare fresh fish from about the age of 7. It was facinating. I was never able to dissect the frogs and worms as required by the Dept of Education though, it just made me feel sick.

Met someone famous - Mel Gibson on Howth pier when Braveheart was being filmed. We had been out sail training (yes, voluntary organisation again) and were eating chips and trying to heat up. He has amazing eyes, is very personable, and the long hair was mostly his own..

Had a baby - Three.

Been stung by a bee - Three times. The first was on the morning of my wedding. The second time I got stung on my eyelid on the way to work. My eye was swollen closed by the time I got to work and I was teased unmercifully all day. Third time was last summer, and then my two year old stood on the wasp and it stung him on the foot, ouch!


Anyone who is interested in taking part let me know and I will send you the list of 99.



Jen.