What are some of your talents? Explain how you discovered them and what you have done to cultivate and improve them. Describe how your talents have they affected your life

I am good with numbers.  My Mother always told me that.  She also told Mark that when she first met him.  I didn't do anything to develop that talent.

I grew up in small town Benton City, WA .  Mom encouraged me to go to college but I just didn't have the confidence because I couldn't picture myself doing anything besides being a secretary.  My Aunt Wilma, who grew up close to me worked as  a secretary out at Hanford and she was the only working adult female I knew.  The rest were stay at home moms.  That is probably why I went to Modern Business College in Kennewick.  I took all the business classes in High School.  Typing, shorthand and Office Practice.  I received the "Business" award for the school as a senior.

I do love to count money, I have collected coins.  I probably should have been some kind of accountant.

Whoops.

If you could go back in time and spend an hour visiting with yourself at age 15, what would you tell your younger self?

Don't be in such a hurry to find a boyfriend.  Develop yourself and see the world a little before you settle down.

What are some of the things you enjoy doing in your leisure time?

I enjoy playing cards with friends, going out to lunch with a friend, playing slots at the casino or on my phone.  Going to the movies.  Going for a walk.  I don't seem to be putting golf down as one of my things.....,.....

I like reading but only before I go to bed at night.

I like watching tv most nights.  I have several programs I like.  I seem to especially like 20/20, Dateline and 48 Hours.  I like murder mysteries on tv and in my books.  My Mom was like that.  She read "True Confessions" a magazine.

I used to like traveling but three years post chemotherapy I am overdosed on traveling and just want to stay home for a while.

What makes you stop and go "wow".

A beautiful tree with gnarled trunk.

What scares you?

The idea that one of my kids would become seriously ill or be in an accident where they were seriously hurt or killed.

Or spiders, snakes or any animal moving aggressively toward me.  Or a burger or prowler coming after me or high places where I am close to the edge.  Flying in bad weather.

I guess there are lots of things that scare me.

If you could spend the day with any famous person in the world, who would it be and what would you do?

President Obama.  I would want to give him a truth serum so that he had to answer me honestly and have to answer every question I had.

What is Your Philosophy on Money?

Spend less than you make.

I always put something into my savings first.  Then I start the process of paying and allocating for house payment, utilities, food, clothing, etc.

Going out to dinner and recreation are always last on my list.  Your dinner can be something cheap and simple that you eat in the park.  You can make your own inexpensive recreation.  You can eat very inexpensively.

Build your nest egg.

If you need to spend money to be happy, something needs to change in your life.  If you need more money, get a second job.  Don't charge and borrow.  It leads to heartache.

Money in savings is power.  You can make decisions that aren't associated with panic and stress.

What are 50 things you are grateful for.

1.  I am grateful for My Children.

2.  My husband, Mark

3.  My grandchildren

4.  My extended family

5.  I am very grateful that my children love each other and there is no animosity involved between them.  As this is a rare gift.

6.  I am very grateful that my brothers and sisters all get along.  Another rare gift.  I always thought this was normal but as I grow older I realize that what our family has as a relationship that is rare and I am very grateful.

7.  I am grateful for my marriage of 34 years and counting.  I have a good husband.  It isn't that we don't have differences, the secret to our marriage is that we "work" at it.

8.  I am grateful for my health.  I know this may sound like a joke but I'm not doing that bad at 63.  Brain tumors and breast cancer can't make me believe that I don't have a pretty healthy life.

9.  I am grateful for the health of my family.  Chronic illness is very hard on the whole family.  We are relatively healthy.

10.  I am grateful for my good life in general.

11.  I am grateful that I had a good job for 40 years.

12.  I am grateful that I have a retirement that is very secure financially.

13.  I am grateful that I have friends that are there for me if I need someone to talk to or just someone to go out to lunch with.

14.  I am grateful for the house I live in

15.  I am grateful for the fact that Mark has always been very good at taking care of projects around the house and keeps our home in very good repair.

16.  I am grateful for the opportunity to build a new house in a neighborhood close to my son, Jason and my sisters.

17.  I am grateful that my grandkids, Mikayla and Kaitlyn live in this town so I could be part of their lives growing up.

18.  I am grateful for the wonderful partners my children have chosen, Julie, Graham and Jennifer.

19.  I am grateful for the fact that I was born in the United States to a good family.

20.  That I am in an area that doesn't have any natural disasters, e.g., tornadoes, mudslides, floods,.

21.  I can't think of 50 things.......I am just grateful for everything.

22.  Grateful is a funny word.

 

What are 20 things about yourself that make you uniquely you?

I am good with numbers.

I am positive.  No matter the bad situation, I will find the good.

I have good relationships with my family and friends.

I have a tendency to finish 90% of a job.  I seem to drift off for a while before I finish a job.

I dabble in things.  I have done lots of hobbies and none of them have stuck.  I get tired or bored after a while.

I am not athletic.

I like to walk.

I love music.

I always love to dance.

I get more enjoyment from putting money into a savings account or invest it than buy furniture or other household goods.

Before I go to sleep at night, if I need to settle my mind, I think about money and count up my savings and debts in my head.  Lately, however, I haven't had any debt.

I like putting on comfy clothes as soon as I get home.

I love to eat big juicy hamburgers and french fries with tartar sauce.

I love shrimp any way I can get it.

I save small dabs of food for later.  I can't stand to throw food away.

I only comb my hair once a day.

I always have at least one plant in the house.

I believe that education is extremely important.  Most fear is bread from ignorance.

I love to drive.

The hardest thing I do every day is get out of bed.