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I need a day or two to come up with additional unique, witty entries. So to buy myself some creative time, this entry is the "I've never" edition.51. I've never shoplifted. 52. I've never been to Europe. Though if I put in just 7-1/2 more years at Falls, Rob will pay for me to go. Not sure I want to wait that long. 53. I'd like to say I've never lied to my parents, but I was a teenage girl with a boyfriend and a curfew. Let's just say it might have happened once, or twice, or thrice. 54. I've never gotten a tattoo. I suppose there's still time for that. Though since I don't want anything easily visible, not sure where I'd get it, or even have a clue on what I would get.55. I've never had a one-night stand. Couple of nights maybe, but never just one. Just kidding!
56. I've never been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Spent time on the rim, but no time all the way down in.
57. As sure as I can be, I've never lived a past life. The concept interests me, but I've never had dreams or flashbacks of myself in any earlier time. If I'm in the middle of my first life now, I'm pretty interested to see what my second life holds for me.
58. I've never been shot out of a cannon or been anything else resembling a circus star. Though at times, my life has seemed like a three-ring circus.
59. I've never been to a rap concert. Steve Miller Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Garth Brooks (twice)...yes. Even (and trust me I hate to admit this) New Kids on the Block (please remember that I was 15 and only went because of peer pressure :). But never a rap concert.
60. I've never been on a cruise. Not sure if I'm missing anything here. I think I'd rather spend a week at an all-inclusive resort.
61. I would like to try skydiving and bungee jumping.62. Kat is my oldest, "technically" non-relative friend. Though we can't pinpoint it exactly, we figure we've been friends for just over 20 years. (Did I just say 20 years?!?!?! Holy crap.) She knows all of my good, probably all of my bad and...drum roll, please...she still loves me, still talks to me and doesn't hold any of it against me. I love her too! 63. I write poetry in my free time. (Notice I didn't say that it was good.) I used to write all of the time in high school and college, and then stopped. I need to figure out a way to unlock better creativity within myself. 
64. Most teens spend their weekends partying and drinking with friends. Not me. I spent most of my weekends and summer breaks at Boy Scout camp, specifically Camp McKinley. This incldued day camp, polar bear camp, spring camp, summer camp, etc., etc., etc. I was a what they call a regular. Besides, when you're 15, and the boy-to-girl ratio is 40-1...you play the odds. The irony now is that my parents live at the Stone House at Camp McKinley. Too bad they didn't live there when I was in high school...sure would have cut down on my commuting time...and maybe I would have gotten into less trouble.65. I started my college career at Bowling Green and then transferred to Kent State in my junior year specifically for its PR program.66. You won't find any better PopTart flavor than frosted brown sugar cinnamon. 67. When I graduated from college, I packed up my stuff and moved to Philadelphia. I loved living there. It's a great city, close to NYC, the Jersey shore, Baltimore, DC, mountains, etc. Plus, you can't find good hoagies, soft pretzels or cheesesteaks in Ohio. The one word that I hung onto from my time in Philly is "soda." I've been back in Ohio for more than seven years and just can't call it pop. Don't think I'll ever be able to.68. In addition to my neices, Olivia and Cassandra, I am aunt to a number of other children that I adore - most notably, my goddaughter Carolyn (who is going to be 14 in November - gasp, is taller than me and absolutely beautiful!), Kat's youngest daughter Katrina and my cousin Shannon's darling munchkins, Zarah and Zender...though I'm not sure that you can classify Zarah as a munchkin, as she will be turning the ripe old age of 12 this fall. (Ok, reminder to me...need to get my butt to Tennessee to see Zarah and Zender, both of whom I haven't seen in well over a year. Hopefully, this doesn't make me a bad aunt.)69. I hate olives. Black olives, green olives, marinated olives. Doesn't matter what you do to them, how you prepare them. I do not like them at all.70. Kate is just short for Katie. My mom wanted to name my sister and I shorter names, so that we wouldn't go by a nickname. Well, that worked out for her. I go by Kate because I really don't want to be 80 and have people calling me Katie. Just seems way too cutesy.
71. More than anyone I’ve lost, I miss my grandfather most.72. I can be deeply complicated. Then on the other hand, not so much.
73. My celebrity crushes include LL Cool J and John Cusack.74. I’ve been told I can be a bit high maintenance. I don’t think it’s in a bad way.75. I’m a bit addicted to Facebook.76. In junior high, I played softball, first base. Couple of home runs here, couple of home runs there.77. My favorite TV shows are House, Two-and-a-Half Men, NCIS, Cold Case and Without a Trace. I’m sure the list would be different if I had cable.78. I love extra cheese on pizza, in pasta, on garlic bread, on sandwiches, on pretty much anything.79. Last year’s Browns’ season opener against the Steelers was the first NFL game I ever attended. I sometimes find myself watching a game on TV now, just for the hell of it. Shhhhh, don’t tell.80. My favorite summer is the one I spent in Cimarron, NM, working on staff at Philmont Boy Scout Ranch. It was the summer I was most free.
81. I have twin nieces – Cass and Livvy – who just turned one. They are walking maniacs. I love being an aunt.
82. One of my all-time favorite foods is mushrooms. When I’m out, I tell the waiter that I want my pasta with “extra, extra, extra mushrooms, and just when the chef thinks he’s put in enough, he should add some more.” Eighty percent of the time there’s not enough.83. I’m a voracious reader, always have been. When I was little and my mom would make me clean my room (which was nearly always a declared natural disaster area), I would hide on the floor on the other side of the bed and read. She would come in to check on my progress (which was nearly zero) and catch me reading. She would confiscate the book and put it on the roll-top desk in the hallway. Let’s just say that by the end of me “cleaning” my room, there were usually no fewer than 10 books stacked on the desk.84. I pluck my eyebrows in the car. The lighting is much better than in my bathroom.85. I did the marriage thing once. It didn’t work out. I would consider doing it again for the right person.86. I know a lot about weird, miscellaneous subjects – like welding, construction equipment, disaster recovery, securities litigation and employment and labor law. One of the many benefits of being in PR. Besides, it makes me super popular at cocktail parties.87. I can be very sentimental and a bit of a hopeless romantic.88. My favorite numbers are 3 and 7.89. I drive a sunburst orange Jeep Compass. Yes, the color is really called sunburst orange.
90. I imagined myself to be at a different place at this point in my life. Hopefully, the trials of the past are worth it for what hopefully lies on the horizon.
My adventure of the day is to come up with 100 unique and truly intriguing things about myself. The task seems a bit daunting, so I decided to break it into more manageable parts. So here's the first installment of ten.91. I am the oldest of two. My sister would tell you that you should feel sorry for her for having to have grown up as Kate's little sister. (I tell her my bossing her around made her a stronger person. She says I just say that to make myself feel better.)
92. I have a love-hate relationship with my plants. I love it when they bloom. They hate it when I don't water them.93. Unlike many college graduates, I actually do for a living what my degree is in (public relations).94. I tend to way over think things. Sometimes to my detriment.95. I always prefer strawberry jelly.96. I grew up in a Scouting family. Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts. My parents even live at a Boy Scout camp. For a long time, the joke was that a boy had to be an Eagle Scout to marry an Eidam daughter. 
97. I have three children of the four-legged, furry persuasion. The triple kitty threat of Patches, Shelby and Archimedes. And lately I've found myself wanting a dog, which would probably be almost impossible since I'm not always home that much.
98. My parents have been married for nearly 35 years and are still very much in love. I hope to have that type of relationship and intensity of love in my life. 99. Not sure how much credence I give them, but I check my horoscope and lovescope pretty much daily. 100. I've been to 49 states. Hey, you can't drive to Hawaii.
I wish this Sunday was last
With the sun trying to steal in through
The blinds of the east-facing window
Today, the windows are open
And the ocean-blue curtains gently
Flow in the placid lake breeze
The weather too ideal for words
The hanging chimes the only sound
Yet I’d trade this idyllic tranquility
For last Sunday, your head on the
Pillow next to mine in the morning
Moments of tenderness interspersed
With mordant jokes, witty banter
You next to me for a moment more
There are moments in time when we turn around and catch a glimpse of a past life, how things were, when we felt a certain level of confidence in the direction of our lives. There was a point in my life when I felt invincible, like my future path was undoubtedly mapped out in front of me. All I had to do was take the next clearly marked step. I felt safe, certain about the decisions I was making, the life I was living.
Then one day I looked down. And it’s not just that my path was no longer marked, it was missing all together. It felt like I had only closed my eyes for a moment, and in that moment, it had all been stolen from me. There were no breadcrumbs, no markers to lead me back to where I thought I was supposed to be. Everything that made me feel safe, protected was missing. The things that I had held onto had been torn from my hands.
Everything has changed. And now when I turn around and catch that glimpse, the echo, I wonder if maybe I held on too tightly. Some things, some people just aren’t meant to be. We’re meant to have moments of our lives intertwined with theirs, and then the vines untangle and we’re meant to move into someone else’s sphere.
What I wonder now, though, is how do I clearly define when I’m in the right spot, the one where I’m meant to make my new life. Maybe I’m just expecting too much of myself, of fate. I try hard to let things unfold as they will, but sometimes it’s hard for me to let that happen. I want to feel protected, confident in where I am standing, who I’m standing with. Not knowing feels more than a little disconcerting at times.
While I’d love to feel invincible again, I think that maybe there’s more to be said for being fluid, not so steadfast, not so unyielding. I do want to feel safe again. I’m trying to just be patient and keep my eyes open for the breadcrumbs to my new path. I just hope that I clearly know it when I see it, that I won't pick the wrong one. I just don't want to miss it.
58. I've never been shot out of a cannon or been anything else resembling a circus star. Though at times, my life has seemed like a three-ring circus. 
