Random Dozen - Co-Lid style

Wednesdays are usually Random Dozen days, but when Linda posted on Monday that she wasn't going to be able to post her Random Dozen this week, I thought "no biggy" as I'd planned to post  Day Two of Kim's series You and Your Significant Other.  But it turns out that Linda got an assist from her friend Linda at Mocha with Linda.  So yay!  We're going to have Random Dozen this week after all .... on Thursday, instead of Wednesday.  Thankfully, we don't "need to be more... *flexible.*"  (Quick ... what movie is that line from?)  And now, on to this week's Random Dozen.

1. Do you prefer to read the book or see the movie?
I prefer to read the book.  Movies almost never do justice to the stories, and in order to make a movie from the book, way too much has to be edited out.

2. What is your favorite holiday and why?
Christmas is my favorite holiday ... in part because of all the wonderful holiday traditions we have with Christmas (baking cookies, decorating, getting together with family and friends).  But mostly because Christmas is a celebration of God meeting our greatest need by sending us His Son.

3. Which do you like better - the mountains or the beach?
Oh,  this is totally a no-brainer!  Love, love, love the beach!!!!!!  While the mountains are certainly beautiful and while I enjoyed our trip to the Rockies this past June more than I thought I would, if I could only choose one, it would HAVE to be the beach!  There's something so soothing about hearing the waves hitting the shore, there's the access to fresh seafood, there's sun and sand ... what's not to love?  ;-)

4. If money were no consideration, what vehicle would you drive?
Well, it would have to seat 7, as I have 4 littles to transport (and car seats take up an amazing amount of space).  I guess I'd choose some big honkin' SUV.  To be honest, cars are not my thing; as long as the car starts when I want it to, has a radio, automatic transmission, AC/heating and seats 7, I'm good to go.  So I'm not familiar with the various 7-passenger SUVs on the market.  But I'd pick one of them, I guess.

5. What is your favorite cold-weather beverage?
Diet Coke.  It doesn't matter whether it's cold weather or hot ... it's Diet Coke for me.  I'm not a fan of hot drinks, so I just stick to my Diet Coke.

6. How do you communicate most often with your friends: phone, email, text, face-to-face, or Facebook?
Email or Facebook.  Most of the people I communicate with are too far away or way too busy ... so email and Facebook are a quick, easy and convenient way to communicate.

7. How do you receive your mail? Mailbox on the porch, at the end of the driveway, down the street, or post office box?
Mailbox at the end of the driveway.  It's not the mailbox I'd choose ... it's the one required by our subdivision covenants.  But it serves its purpose.

8. Of the four basic personality types - sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic, and choleric - which is your strongest? Which is your least evident?
I'm not sure which is my strongest.  I have some melancholic traits ("A melancholic is also often a perfectionist. They are often self-reliant and independent; one negative part of being a melancholic is sometimes they can get so involved in what they are doing they forget to think of others.") and some phlegmatic ("They may be very receptive and shy and often prefer stability to uncertainty and change.")  I guess I'd say that I'm mostly melancholic.

I'm most definitely NOT sanguine (People of a sanguine temperament tend to enjoy social gatherings, making new friends and tend to be quite loud. They are usually quite creative and often daydream. Sanguine personalities generally struggle with following tasks all the way through, are chronically late, and tend to be forgetful and sometimes a little sarcastic. Often, when pursuing a new hobby, interest is lost quickly when it ceases to be engaging or fun. They are very much people persons. They are talkative and not shy.)

9. What do you miss the most about being 20?
Nothing.  I was 20 when I married my ex ... so my 20's weren't exactly my best years.  ha! 

10. How long from the time you get up, does it take you to get ready to walk out the door in the morning?
Normally, it takes a couple of hours for me to just get up and get going.  But if I need to get up and get going right away (like on Sunday morning to go to church), I can be ready in a little more than an hour (time to shower, do my hair, get dressed, make the bed, and fix/eat breakfast); if I REALLY had to, I could probably do it in an hour ... but if it's not an emergency, I don't move that fast in the morning (and if it truly were an emergency, I probably would end up throwing on some clothes, running a comb through my hair and calling it good ha!).

11. Who handles the car maintenance and pays the bills in your family?
DH handles all things car-related and I pay the bills.  It's worked for 23 years, so I guess we'll continue for the next 23 years (if the Lord gives us another 23 years together).

12. For those in the US, how many states have you visited? For those outside the US, how many provinces/other countries have you visited?
I've been to 23 states (Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, South Carolina, Kentucky, New Mexico, Tennessee, Arkansas); I didn't realize that I've been to so many states.  A couple of them weren't my ultimate destination (New Mexico - where we had a layover en route to Tucson; Arkansas - where we stopped for lunch en route to Mississippi; North Carolina - where we stopped for lunch en route to South Carolina), but since it was more than simply passing through (we got out of the car), I'm going to count those states.  ;-)

I have been to Mexico ... back in 1972, I went to Tucson, AZ with my parents and youngest sister.  We drove down to Nogales where we crossed the border, did a little street shopping, had lunch and then returned back to Tucson that evening.

But we've got big plans to add even more states to that list ... but you can be pretty sure that they'll be states with beaches (see #3).  ha!

If you want to play along, just click on the Random Dozen icon at the top of this post.