Who I Am and Why I Blog - Updated in February 2008

Why: I started this blog because I wanted my grandkids to know more about me and my life so far. Then I realized that there are things that my children don't know. Although some things are the same for my children and grandchildren, in other ways life and the world were different when I was growing up. So this blog is mainly for them, but if you are interested too, you are welcome.

Why PrimoDonna:  Primo means of the finest quality, exellent. Donna is my name. So naturally the two go together! I just hope I'm PrimoDonna and not a primadonna (an extremely sensitive, vain, or undisciplined person).

Past:  I was an Air Force brat, then an Army wife. I've been a teacher, secretary, clerk, newsletter editor at church, editoral assistant and technical editor for the Department of the Army, and other things too numerous to mention. I've lived in a lot of places.

Present:  I am retired from working for pay. My job at the present is wife, mom, and grandma. I don't get paid with money, but I have lots of benefits. I am almost 62 years old, and unlike my daughter, I am not counting except when it comes to senior discounts.

Future:  When we retired, my husband and I moved to the Fort Worth area to live close to our children and grandchildren. I hope to live around and be with family for a long time to come.

If you read my list below of 100 things about me and my blog entries, you will learn more about my past, present, and future.  (The ones in italics I updated on February 27, 2008.) 

1.  I am a Christian.
2.  I like and love my husband of also 38 years.
3.  I am organized (most of the time).
4.  I like to talk, I like food, and I like to talk about food.
5.  I like to walk, but not to sweat.
6.  I have a twin sister.  (There were three of us, but only two of us made it.)
7.  My twin sister and I look EXACTLY alike, but I’m prettier.
8.  I collect old refrigerator dishes, M&M dispensers, mini-M&M guys, stamps, angels, wicker baskets, ice picks, old things made of enamel, matchbook covers, and tins.  I’m sure I collect other things, but I can’t think of them at the moment. My daughter and I give each other little rabbits. She has given me some really cute ones. 
9.  There is an angel above most of the doors in our house.
10.  Purple is my favorite color.
11.  I paint my toenails in the summer and sometimes in the winter.
12.  The only medication that I take is Fosamax. I am healthy for a woman of my “vintage.”
13.  I am polite (most of the time).
14.  I like my son. I enjoying being around him. He tells great jokes. He is a "huggy" type person, which I like. I wonder if he got that from me?
15.  I like to crochet, using thread or yarn.
16.  I like to read.
17.  I’ve written down every book I’ve read since 1960. (As of February 27, 2008, is it 1,730, and some I've read some more than once.)
18.  I’ve worn contacts since 1968.
19.  I’ve worn hearing aids since 1981.
20.  But, thank goodness, (most of the time) I have a good sense of smell!
21.  One good thing about not hearing very well is the ability to sleep with my good ear on the pillow and not hear my husband snoring. I really don’t mind him snoring. It tells me that he is nearby (and that he loves me enough to stay in my bed after all these years).
22.  Country music is my favorite, then music from the ‘50s and ‘60s.
23.  I like to laugh.
24.  I like puns.
25.  I like a clean house, but I don’t like to clean house.
26.  I’ve lived in three foreign countries—England, Japan, and Germany (West Germany at the time).
27.  I’ve been in 49 states and lived in 9 of them. (I haven’t been to Wisconsin.)
28.  I was an Air Force brat and an Army wife.
29.  I’ve been to Washington, D.C., and I liked it.
30.  I am very patriotic.
31.  I glad I’m an American.
32.  I am a morning person.
33.  I need a lot of sleep.
34.  I am a good listener.
35.  I’ve edited, written, and published three church newsletters over the years.
36.  I don’t care for rude or condescending people.
37.  I plan on going to heaven and want my family to be there with me.
38.  I have two children who I love dearly.
39.  I have two grandchildren who I love just as much.
40.  At times I’m a golf widow, but it doesn’t bother me like it used to. I have time to do things that I like, or not do anything at all.
41.  I wish I had the money that I spent on photographs over the years. On second thought, there’s no way I would trade them and the memories they bring. If our house was on fire, they would be one of the first things I would grab.
42.  I have a Bachelor of Science degree. My husband calls it something else!
43.  I spent four years in college preparing to teach, but only taught for two. Teaching just wasn’t for me.
44.  My 13th birthday was on Friday the 13th. But it was a good year because my twin sister and I had a birthday party and received lots of presents. Thirteen is my favorite number.
45.  My husband I have been on two Caribbean cruises. Now I want to go to Alaska.
46.  I am interested in my family history. I've also researched my husband’s father’s family.
47.  I’m left-handed. (My twin sister is right.)
48.  I like wildflowers. I have two wildflower books that I get out every spring. I like to know the names of wildflowers.
50.  I worked as a technical editor before I retired at the end of March 2006. I've always like words better than numbers.
51.  I smoked a couple of cigarettes when I was in college. Thank goodness I didn’t like it. I’ve never had the desire to smoke since then.
52.  I like computers, but I do not consider myself a computer geek. I like the Internet and e-mail. I have withdrawal symptoms when our computer is down or if I'm where I can't get on a computer.
53.  Spring is my favorite season.
54.  I am half German, some Scottish and English, and a pinch of Choctaw Indian (or Native American).
55.  My husband and I were married in Baumholder, Germany, and honeymooned in Paris, France.
56.  I like diamonds.
57.  I lost two teeth because of a cyst. I now have a permanent bridge. I tell myself that it is better than false teeth.
58.  My dream house is on a lake or by the ocean.
59.  My husband and I send out approximately 75 Christmas cards each year.
60.  My husband and I like to travel, even if it is only to go away for the weekend.
61.  Some of the big plans that I had when I retired (from working) in 2006 didn't happen, but that is okay. I enjoy retirement anyway.
62.  When my husband retired at the end of August 2007, we moved near our kids and grandkids.
63.  I graduated from high school in Japan (Itazuke High School).
64.  I graduated from college in Arkansas (The University of the Ozarks).
65.  I don’t like to iron clothes.
66.  I like spicy food. I like jalapenos and habanero salsa.
67.  My favorite comic strips are “For Better Or For Worse” and "Pearls Before Swine."
68.  I like men in uniform. They are clean-cut, are in good shape, and protect our country and our freedom.
69.  I don’t have any tattoos. I've always joked that I should get a rose tattooed on my chest, and when I get older I’ll have a long-stemmed rose!  (I guess that by this time I would already have one!)
70.  I’m sentimental. I cry during movies. I’ve even been known to cry during Polaroid camera and Hallmark card commercials.
71.  I don’t like to play card games, but I do like Scattergories and chicken foot (a type of dominoes).
72.  Christmas is my favorite holiday. Thanksgiving is next.
73.  I’ve only known of one person who has disliked me.  There are probably more, but I don’t know who they are.
74.  Sometimes washing dishes is therapeutic.  Only sometimes.
75.  I have a lot more good memories than bad. I’ve been blessed.
76.  I like the smell of roses and honeysuckle.
77.  When I was 23, I broke my right wrist while roller skating.
78.  I don’t like sushi.
79.  When I was younger I wanted to be a Rockette.
80.  I’ve gotten two speeding tickets.
81.  My daughter and I went to a live concert to see Lee Greenwood. Reba McEntire opened for him.  Reba ended up being a bigger star than Lee Greenwood.
82.  I like having a cell phone. I feel safer. 
83.  I like my husband’s sense of humor.
84.  I like it when my husband puts his arm around me. I like it when he hugs me. I like putting my head on his chest.
85.  I have two piercings in each earlobe. I got the first ones in the mid-1950s and the second about 20 years later.
86.  I sometimes want to be around my children and grandchildren so much that my heart aches and I get tears in my eyes.
87.  I really like my daughter. She is funny, caring, giving, and fun to be around.
88.  I hope that I'm friends with my granddaughters when they are older.
89.  I love chocolate, especially Dove dark chocolate.  I also like Rocky Road ice cream made by Blue Bonnet.
90.  Sometimes I feel that I have too many things, but I like them all.
91.  I believe that no two people agree completely on two things—how to spend money and how to raise children.
92.  I like a nice, slow rain when I don't have to go out in it.
93.  Some of the ladies that I used work with are still my friends.  Boy, am I lucky!
94.  I should go on a diet. And haven't done it since I first wrote this in 2005.
95.  It's hard to believe that I’m considered “middle aged.” In my heart and head I am only 21. My body feels a bit older, but not middle aged.
96.  Some people say I don’t look my age. I tell them it's because I act so immature!
97.  I try to laugh as much as I can.
98.  It is hard to list 100 things about yourself!
99.  Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!  I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see. Thank you, God!
100.  I know Jesus loves me because the Bible tells me so. Amen!