Firsts: another blog challenge.

This week's blog challenge is sort of long. I was going to skip it completely as these types of lists aren't really my thing. But then I thought...well, maybe I"ll try a couple of them. So, here I am tweaking assignments to suit my needs. That is so very Martha, wouldn't you agree?

Firsts, When is the first time you...

fell in love ? ...believe it or not, with Hubby. Sure, I'd had boyfriends before him, even ones I thought I was serious about. But, when he came along I realized, this is real love. And as sappy as this sounds, that love continues to grow and grow. (yeah, kiss up I know, Valentine's Day is coming!)

lost someone close to you?...I'm guessing it would be my paternal grandfather. He passed away after a relatively short battle with cancer (compared to my mom's marathon battle). I was probably in Jr. High. I was too young to appreciate the serious nature of it all but in hindsight I realize that Grandpa had a wicked sense of humor that complimented my Grandmother's more serious nature very nicely. With his passing, well, it changed so many things, ya know?

drank alcohol?...well, I'm pretty sure I got to sip some wine/champagne with the folks but really drinking didn't start until college. And even then, I was slow to warm up to the entire concept of alcohol.

went to the hospital?...hm, let's see to work or to seek treatment? Hospitalized only to have babies but spent way too many hours working in them and visiting family.

lost a pet?....Maxwell von Lautenbach (our schnauzer named after my other grandma) got run over by a car when we were still living in GA. So, I must have been no older than 5th grade. I remember my mom, who was SO not the dog person in the family, cried the most.

smoked a cigarette?...nerd that I am, never.

broke a bone?....June 1999, one just wasn't enough, decided to go for multiple breaks in my right foot while 32 weeks pregnant with Thing Two. Yeah, that was a summer I'll never forget.

got a job?...college. Washing dishes at the school cafeteria.

Met someone famous?...The summer I worked as a waitress at the hotel where all the big stars stay during Frontier Days. That summer I had to inform Mr. Strait we did not have his favorite flavor of preserves to put on his English muffin, Mr. Pride sang Happy Birthday to me and I met some new fella named Chris LeDoux. Other brushes with famous folk came as young as age 4 when my parents befriended another young couple who would later go on to write many parenting books (Dr. Lehman, he writes a lot about birth order). Yeah, my folks knew him back before he knew anything about kids (according to my slightly less successful father).

dyed your hair?...late 20s. The gray just go to be too much. Now I just have to color it more often as the gray is determined to win the battle.

snuck out the house?....so you think you know my answer to this one, eh? Nerd that I am. Well, I"ll have you know, in the Summer of '86 I snuck out quite a few times. Oh no, wait that was I snuck back into the house because I didn't want to walk up my folks. When Dad noticed the broken screen on the basement bedroom window he said "next time, just use the damn door! That's my dad, ever the practical one.

got your own digital camera?....November 2002. Hubby had one even before that but I was determined to stick with film. Sheesh, I look back and think what took me so long to embrace new stuff? Now I can't imagine heading out without my digital camera in tow (a Nikon D50).

how old are you now?...41 (I think...I'm starting to lose track of such trivial matters as age).