Things you’ve already done: bold

Things you want to do: italicize

Things you haven’t done and don’t want to – leave in plain font

Original version:

1. Started your own blog. (Um… duh!)
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band. (If elementary school orchestra/band count)
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain. (A small one in West Virginia)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child. (I’ve thought about it, at least.  We’re not sure that we want any more than 2 children.)
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight. (Even one, as a child, where I actually feared for my life… two against one is NOT fun.)
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.  (Might be nice.)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. (Japanese – I have some Pimsleur audio courses all ready to go, just haven’t done it.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (I’m pretty satisfied.  I don’t think having much more money than I do now would really change that feeling.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke. (Never again.)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted. (Sort of, if oil pastel counts.)
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone. (Several, unfortunately.)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. (Three that I can remember: Akron Beacon Journal, the Kenmore community newspaper, and the Kent State University paper.  Maybe the Cleveland Plain Dealer too, but I think that might have just been an article I wrote, minus a photo.)
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (If killing a mouse, freezing it for storage, and thawing it later for a snake counts.)
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous. (For some reason I want to say I already have, but considering I can’t remember who it would have been, I doubt it.)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby. (One daughter, one on the way.)
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.  (Been stung by at least 3 wasps though.)

Genealogical version:

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents)
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Cleaned up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors. (When they were living, that is.  And one of my fantasies is to go back in time and interview ancestors.)
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
32. Disproved a family myth through research. (Well, I haven’t totally ruled out the possibility, but I really don’t see how it could be true at this point.)
33. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
34. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
35. Translated a record from a foreign language.
36. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
37. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer. (When I first started out and had no clue that Ancestry.com was available… This wasn’t that long ago either.)
38. Used microfiche.
39. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
40. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
41. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
42. Taught a class in genealogy.
43. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
44. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century. (Only if I can rely on posted internet family trees.  Haven’t proven the data myself.)
45. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century. (Only if I can rely on posted internet family trees.  Haven’t proven the data myself.)
46. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents. (I can name all of them except on my father’s mother’s side.)
47. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
48. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
49. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
50. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
51. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
52. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
53. Visited the Library of Congress.
54. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
55. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War. (A couple, on both sides.)
56. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
57. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
58. Can read a church record in Latin.
59. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
60. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
61. Participated in a genealogy meme
62. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.)
63. Performed a lookup
64. Took a genealogy seminar cruise
65. Convinced a relative must have arrived here from outer space
66. Found a disturbing family secret (I would love to find something about an ancestor.)
67. Told others about that disturbing family secret
68. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking)
69. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby (Can’t it be both?)
70. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons)
71. Taught someone else how to find their roots
72. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure  (I almost did and I was SICK about it.  But my computer savvy husband recovered the “lost” data.)
73. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology (The more ways to get and store info, the better, I think)
74. Created a family website. (I took it down though.  I should put one back up.)
75. Have more than one “genealogy” blog.
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone. (Yes, but I was pleasantly overwhelmed though.)
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall. (I still have plenty more though.)
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
79. Borrowed microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the “Psychic Roots” variety.
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War. (Okay, well, no… but my husband does and I almost think of his family as mine too, so, I say yes.)
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors. (Unfortunately didn’t have to look for them.)
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine’s House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
93. Consistently cite my sources. (I do now, but I’m guilty of not having done it earlier.  I have WONDERFUL notes on certain aspects of my family that I now have no clue where I got the info.  Sucks.)
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don’t live in) in search of ancestors.
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes. (I wish I was that organized.)
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more). (Well, not an ancestor, but a great-aunt.  She was married nine times.  Relatives think she might have been a “black widow.”)
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families). (Not yet, but I am very close to doing so. Hoping for late Spring 2009.)
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
103. Offended a family member with my research. (I would elaborate, but I don’t want to offend again.)
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

____

Updated to add items 97 – 104 to the genealogical list.

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Always wrapping paper.  Although you can reuse bags, which is nice, I think bags are a poor way to wrap gifts.  The receiver doesn’t have any fun unwrapping the gift if it’s in a bag.

Real tree or Artificial? Artificial.  Artificial trees are worse for the environment (a lot of waste in making them and in deposing of them), but I have one that is a hand-me-down so I feel like I’m saving it from a landfill.  If I didn’t have my current tree already, I’d probably want to try a real one.

When do you put up the tree? The weekend after Thanksgiving.

When do you take the tree down? Sometime in January, close to New Year’s.

Do you like eggnog? It’s okay, but I’d rather have something else if I had the choice.

Favorite gift received as a child? I really don’t remember.  I loved getting books as presents, but I don’t remember one specific one that stood out.  Actually, I take that back.  One year I got Gone with the Wind.  I remember not paying one bit of attention to the rest of the festivities as I was engrossed in the book for the rest of the day, and the next month.

Hardest person to buy for? My grampa.  He always says he doesn’t need or want anything.  Because of this, he typically gets a few pounds each of summer sausage and Hershey’s milk chocolate because everyone remembers he used to like both of these things.  He doesn’t complain until a few months later that he’s gained a bunch of weight and it’s all our fault.

Easiest person to buy for? My daughter.  My husband is a close second.

Do you have a nativity scene? Nope.  We’re not religious, spiritual maybe, but that explanation deserves a whole separate blog post.  Christmas is a purely secular holiday for us.

Mail or email Christmas cards? Email would just be tacky, but I’m not too big on mail cards either.  I think cards for any occasion are just a waste of money and paper, IMO.  Photo cards are the exception.  I think those are nice and they get saved in a photo album.  Before our daughter was born we didn’t send out any cards.  Since then, however, we’ve had a photo Christmas card made with her photo.  I don’t know if we’ll keep this up or not.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Scotch tape.  My grandmother used to give everyone Scotch tape every year in their stockings.  But I guess it’s nice not to ever have to buy it again, since I swear I have a lifetime’s supply of it now.

Favorite Christmas Movie? It took me a while to remember, but it’s got to be White Christmas.  My husband’s is Die Hard.  Weird, I know.

When do you start shopping for Christmas? Late.  Generally sometime in the middle of December. Haven’t even started thinking about it yet.

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes.  But I didn’t feel guilty about it.  Well, very much at least.  It was a Christmas present that I didn’t really need that I re-gifted as a wedding gift for someone who did need it.

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Breakfast casserole: a mixture of bread, eggs, sausage, and cheese.  I used to make it every Christmas Eve morning, but unfortunately, I probably won’t be getting any from now on since our daughter has an egg sensitivity.  Bummer.

Lights on the tree? Yes, multicolored.  Although, if the hand-me-down tree hadn’t already come with lights, I probably would have opted for white.

Favorite Christmas song? Winter wonderland.  Mainly because it’s one of the only songs I know that isn’t Jingle Bells.  Although Jingle Bells isn’t bad.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? The whole family will go over to my mom’s house to give and receive presents.  But I don’t exactly consider it “travel” when it’ll take less than 15 minutes to get there.

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yes.  Before this year I probably wouldn’t have remembered them, however, after reading T’was the Night Before Christmas to my daughter more than a few times, I now remember them again.

Angel on the tree top or a star? Neither.  When we got the hand-me-down tree, we didn’t get the Angel that used to go on top of it, and we haven’t gotten a replacement.  I don’t think we will either.

Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve.

Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The insane amount of people out shopping.  I hate shopping anyway, so it’s just that much more of a hassle with the stores so crowded.

Favorite ornament theme or color? The theme of our tree is animals.  We have more animal ornaments than any other kind combined.

Favorite for Christmas dinner? Cheese and potato casserole, generally Au Gratin, but not necessarily, and ham to go along with it.

What do you want for Christmas this year? Nothing much.  I guess the Dark Knight DVD would be at the top of a very short list.

What is your favorite thing about the holidays? Doing Christmasy stuff with my husband and daughter.  Tonight we made a gingerbread train.