#13. Fictional Character

13. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?

This is totally going to bring out my nerdy side but I would probably choose to be Hermione from Harry Potter.  I always loved the fact that she was so smart and she always showed up the boys in class.  She could do magic (who wouldn't love that?) and she was great at it!  Plus, she gets to do all the cool adventure stuff and lives through it all.  I was always jealous of her, especially when I was little and read the books with my family. 

#12. Lottery

  20 Til I'm 20:  #12. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

If I won the lottery, the first thing I would do (minus tithing) would be to pay off school.  I would pay off past debts and make sure that I put ample amount and then some into a bank account to last me for the rest of my schooling.  I'm not the biggest fan of worrying about paying for school....  Not that anyone is, but still.  I think quite a bit of my money after that would go to my family to help them fix up the house the way they want it.  Then, lets be honest, there would definitely be a shopping spree in there.  Probably quite a few musical instruments bought.  Baby grand piano.  After that, I don't really know what I would do with the money...  Put it in the bank.  Buy a stock.  Become the next Bill Gates.  Who knows!

#11. Childhood Memories

20 Til I'm 20: #11.  Describe 3 significant childhood memories.  

Once upon a time when I was just a wee little one, I was at my friend's house and we decided we were going to go hike the mountain behind her house.  She had just moved into good ol' Diamond Valley and so she didn't really know where we were going, and I had never been on that mountain before to my knowledge.  My brother and her dog decided to join us on our hike.  Of course my bro knew exactly where he was going and so we just followed him.  Then he decided that he was bored and done with the hike and he left us.  We hiked on for a little longer and needless to say, we got lost (or so we thought).  We had no clue how to get back to her house.  I was terrified.  I remember saying a little prayer to myself and then the dog just started walking.  We decided to follow the dog and he led us right back home.  Faith of a little child = strengthened.   


Another significant memory (well... maybe not all that significant but it always sticks out to me.  Probably because my friends always remind me of it to this day).  I was at the same friend's house as before.  It was years down the road and we were sledding.  Said friend lived up on a rather large hill.  Huge driveway (which I had broken my arm on while riding a scooter down it) and lots of good sledding spots.  So we were there sledding, along with some other friends.  It was my turn and I go to sled down the hill and my sled turns and I head off the ledge and onto the driveway.  Yes, the driveway that I had already broken a bone on.  I remember a lot of bumps as I went off the edge, and I remember my friends screaming.  Thankfully the sled stopped before I hit the steep part of the driveway.  That experience, along with the broken arm, kept me avoiding her driveway for a long, long time.  


My last childhood memory is one that happened every year and they all kinda mess together but I remember it as being one of my favorite times.  Every 4th of July my family, along with all my cousins and any other family members who were in town would drive to my Grandma's house for the holiday.  We would go swimming, and we even got the adults to join us in the pool.  My grandma's pool is circular so we would all run around it in circles until we turned it into a whirlpool and then the adults would case us around the whirlpool and dunk us whenever they caught up.  I loved this game!  After swimming for a while we would have dinner which usually consisted of lots of fruit, salads, and those huge Subway sandwiches for big parties.  Then the kids would try to sneak back into the pool before our "food settled in our stomachs" but Grandma always caught us.  We would swim again until right before the fireworks show then we would come to the house and eat root beer floats and watch the fireworks from the porch.  My favorite part was how the sound always came so much after the lights from the fireworks because we were far away.  Then when the firework show ended we would go outside and watch the neighbors set off their fireworks.  By the time they finished the traffic in town from the fireworks show was normally all cleared out and we would head home.  This was one of the highlights of my summers when I was a little kid. 

#10. Dinner with a person from history

20 Til I'm 20:  #10.  If you could eat dinner with any person from history who would it be and what would you eat?

If I could eat dinner with any person from history it would be Martin Luther King Jr. and we would eat my Mom's home-made chicken enchiladas.  I just love Martin Luther King Jr. and I love my mom's chicken enchiladas.  Win, win.  

#9. Embarrassing Moment

20 Til I'm 20:  # 9. Describe your most embarrassing moment.

Hmm....  I don't know if this is my most embarrassing moment but it is definitely up there.  It happened right after I graduated high school.  I went back to have lunch with my school adviser/friend and secretary (male secretary).  While we were there eating, my dear adviser friend took it upon herself to try and hook up the secretary and I since I had just graduated and was no longer a student of the school.  She wanted us to kiss each other and "teach each other some things."  Really awkward.  He and I were both rather uncomfortable with the whole situation.  Probably doesn't sound all that embarrassing, but in the moment it definitely was.  

#8. Pet Peeves

20 Til I'm 20:  #8.  Describe 10 pet peeves you have.

Dear Christie,
Here is the post you wanted to see.  I hope you enjoy it.  :D
Love, Dacy

Side note:  A lot of these pet peeves have to do with driving.... brace yourself.

1.  I absolutely cannot handle when people don't use turning lanes when they're driving.  Either they slow down way before the turning lane and slow down all the traffic behind them or they get into the lane so late that they still block half the road. 
2.  Constant/tuneless/mindless, whistling.  My brother used to do this ALL the time when I was growing up and it drove me crazy.  Now my little sister does it.
3.  When someone doesn't flush the toilet.  *Getting on my soap box* Dear people of America, are we really turning into that lazy of a country that we can't even push a lever down to flush a toilet?  We should not automatically assume every toilet flushes all by itself.  Plus, I promise that no one else wants to see or deal with the remains you've left behind.  So please flush the toilet when you're done so no one else has to deal with your crap.  Thank you.  *Getting off soap box now*
4.  Being late.  I hate being late and I hate when other people are late and I have to wait for them.
5.  When people leave their blinkers on for excessive amounts of time OR when they don't use their blinker at all.  There is an art to the usage of blinkers.
6.  Tailgating.  This is another huge one!  I tend to brake check people/drive extremely slow when people tailgate me.
7.  Having jeans that are wet on the bottom.  It's just uncomfortable.
8.  When you're eating with/talking to a person and the TV is on and they look past you to watch it instead of listening/talking to you.  I think it's very rude.
9.  When people ask to borrow a pencil.  Growing up, my pencils were never returned so I hate lending them now even though most people do give them back.
10.  Hair in the shower/bathtub.  I really don't like when people don't clean out their hair after showering. This one didn't used to bother me all that much because I didn't have to deal with it until I moved away to school and had to share a shower in an apartment of girls and then had to share a public bathroom. 

#7. Influential People

20 Til I'm 20:  #7.  List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.

For this lovely little post I decided to keep it to famous/historical influences.  I could list each and every member of my family as well as every friend I've ever had but then the list would be a lot longer than 10.  This post might get a little religious and personal, so hang in there. 

1.  Martin Luther King Jr.  -  Ever since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated with Martin Luther King junior.  In my school classes when I learned about slavery and all the segregation, etc. it hit me really hard.  I couldn't believe that people were really treated that way.  When I learned about Martin Luther King Jr., I was so impressed with him and how he stood up for what was right.  I wished that I could join in his marches and protests.  I even read a large quantity of his speeches, including the famous "I have a dream" as a young child.
2.  Albert Einstein  -  I have always thought that Albert Einstein was a genius (which he was, of course).  That in and of itself is very influential but I think what most influenced me about him was all of his quotes and the things he said about education and genius and life.  Very, very smart man.
3.  Rosa Parks -  This woman's influence is very similar to Martin Luther King.  But I added her to the list because, not only did was she a leader in the segregation stuff, did so as a woman.  And that to me is very very influential.  A little feminism coming out.
4.  Phil Collins -  My music idol!  This man is so talented musically and I look up to him SO much.  Someday I hope that my musical abilities are somewhere near where his are.  He is amazing. 
5.  Joseph Smith - For obvious church-related reasons this man is such an influence in my life.  He founded the church that means the world to me.  He was such a great leader both in general and in church.
6.  Emma Smith - Emma is one of the strongest women in all history in my opinion.  She made it through so many incredibly hard things in her life and I look up to her so much for all of that.  She is such a strong woman.
7.  Walt Disney - What child growing up watching Disney movies wasn't influenced by this man?  He is incredible.  He has touched the lives of so many people.  Incredible.
8.  Julie Andrews - I love Julie Andrews because not only is she an incredibly talented woman who brought us the wonders of The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, she also made it through a really tough time.  She had voice health problems but she still kept going and brought us more great movies and talent such as the Princess Diaries movies.  She is a great example of perseverance through hard times.  
9.  Gordon B. Hinkley - For me, this one represents all church leaders, especially prophets.  I put his name because he was the prophet that I grew up with.  I remember being little and watching general conference and not hearing a word that was said except those by President Hinkley.  He always related so much to the youth and he was such a great influence. 
10.  Jesus Christ - To me this is probably the biggest influence in my life.  The Savior Jesus Christ.  I can't even put into words how much of an influence He is in my life.