Quiz Winners & Answers

I'm still in the process of re-entry after my trip.

I have lots and lots to report and post, but for today, it'll be just the winners to the quiz.

Oh, and to mention where I was and what I was doing while I was away—of which there will be much future bloggage, because it was just way too cool.

Back story: From 1984 to 1987, my parents presided over the Helsinki, Finland mission, so I lived there from the ages of 10 to 13. It was a hugely formative era for me in so many ways. I'll go into that more another time, but to be brief, two years ago, my parents were also called to be the first president and matron over the new temple in Helsinki.

Hubby and I went to visit them and the country during part of the maintenance closure (when they'd have time to spend with us!). We stayed long enough to attend the temple after it reopened.

The trip was amazing on so many levels. I really felt like I'd come home after 21 years.

Like I said, LOTS to report on that, not the least of which was seeing classmates Katri and Leena again and catching up with them. Many photos forthcoming!

Now, without further ado, here are our winners and the quiz answers, for those who want to read that far:

Julie Wright of Scattered Jules had the most correct answers at 15. She wins the Utah Kernels gift basket. I may have to go on a road trip to eat some of the gourmet popcorn with her. I know firsthand how good it is!

MelanieJ of Write Stuff wins for her creative answers. Her whole write-in list of answers had me laughing out loud. To #17 (I think I have cute . . .) she put, "children (that answer alone should totally win this for me)." Possibly. (I DO have awfully cute children, you, know, in a totally unbiased observational way.) But all her other answers were very funny and creative too. (According to her, I've never been to Oz, I hate my Vista upgrade, and I had no cat named Spears . . . but neither did I have one named Paris, Simpson, or Lohan.)

So MelanieJ wins the Seriously, So Blessed! T-shirt.

And for linky-love about the quiz, the winner of the Line Upon Line greeting cards bundle is Jami from Superfluous Miscellany. About hoping to win, she wrote, "I know the secret. (Actually, I only overheard it, but that's close enough.) I am sending winning vibes out into the universe and the universe is about to dump the motherload in my lap." Must have worked!

Now for the answers:

1. Which of the following did I undergo at the age of 12?
B. Cosmetic surgery
I was bestowed clown ears through my paternal line. While living in Finland, where excellent medical care is inexpensive, we got them pinned back. It was nice to stop being teased mercilessly. (Yes, I’m looking at you, Mark Skousen from third grade.) Fortunately, none of my children inherited my ears.


2. Which have I done in Utah?
D. Scaled down the Robber’s Roost cliffs
I’m a sad excuse for a Utahn, I know—no skiing, no Lake Powell, and not even Timp Cave (although I hope to rectify that one soon). Robber’s Roost was really cool.


3. All of these titles are childhood favorites. But which was the first to inspire me to write my own stories?
C. The Mouse and the Motorcycle, by Beverly Cleary My first attempt at a book was Mean Marvin the Mouse right around age 8.


4. Which of the following classic musical groups do I not particularly care for?
A. The Mamas and the Papas
If you’ve read Lost without You, you know I love ABBA. The others in the list are absolute classics I grew up listening to.


5. I have performed in all of the following musicals except:
B. The Sound of Music
Some of the best times of my adolescence were performing in plays. This was the first one I ever tried out for—and I didn’t make it. Readers of my first book could probably guess that I had been in Into the Woods and Fiddler.


6. If I were to return to school for a master’s degree and didn’t study English literature or writing, what would I probably study instead?
Linguistics. Because I’m a language nerd. I had a couple of basic English language courses for my major—taught by a linguist—and they were my favorite classes, hands down. (Dr. Oaks = best teacher ever.) Probably helps that Dad is a linguist.


7. I name cars, but I’ve never driven one called:
A. Harold.
Arthur was Dad’s little red truck I buzzed around in as a teen. I drove Louise through my last two years of high school (until little sis wrecked her on my graduation day . . .). Betty took me through college. And Eleanor was Mom and Dad’s car that we eventually inherited after I got married and they got a new car.


8. At Olive Garden, I am most likely to order:
C. Chicken Parmesan
Fatty? Yes. Tasty? Oh, yeah.


9. Which salad dressing do I consider nasty?
C. Bleu Cheese
I have an aversion to ingesting mold.


10. Name one of my two favorite writing “toys.” (Bonus if you can name both.)
My beloved AlphaSmart Neo and my OED on CD. See above about being a word nerd.


11. What city did I live in until the age of four?
Springville, Utah.


12. Two-part question, with a point for each right answer: With my children, I duplicated the family I grew up in.
1) What does that family look like?
Boy, girl, girl, girl.
2) Where do I fit in?
I’m #3, the middle girl.


13. We had lots of cats in my childhood home. Which name did NOT belong to one?
E. Fiona
This is our current cat’s name.

14. Which household chore do I hate?
A. Sweeping the kitchen
Ugh. I swear, it always needs to be done, and you can’t really get a sense of satisfaction afterward, because it’s not that visible.


15. Which city have I NOT visited?
D. Frankfurt


16. Name my favorite L. M. Montgomery heroine.
B. Valancy
Rilla’s a close second, and Emily comes in third. But no one beats Valancy. She’s a riot.


17. I think I have cute:
B. Toes


18. But I hate my:
C. Cheeks
Many a blog post about them . . .


19. I almost never leave the house without:
A. Waterproof mascara
Largely due to my long but very blonde lashes (blogged about previously), I look very different with and without mascara, to the point that without it, people (even family) think I’m ill or upset, when in reality, my lashes are just naked. Waterproof is a must.


20. My husband and I met as ballroom team partners doing which dance?
C. Cha-Cha
We were pretty darn good, too.


21. In high school, I took two years of which language?
A. Russian
Not sure why I did that. I took French in junior high. I still like deciphering the Cyrillic alphabet betimes.


22. I have all of the following nationalities in my blood except:
A. Norwegian
My paternal grandparents were Swiss and German immigrants. Mom was born in Finland, and her dad was Swedish.

23. Which of the following classic writers do I enjoy reading? (In other words, which one do I NOT despise?)
B. Steinbeck
Forgive me, Luisa! I really do like Steinbeck. Hated him in high school, but found a love for him as an adult. He’s brilliant.

MelanieJ, you can rest assured that I despise Faulkner with a serious passion. I ranted about that here. (If you Google, "I hate Faulkner," that post comes up #1. Hah!)


24. Which did I learn to do first: knit or type?
Knit, around age 11.
I could do the fake pecking typing at that point, but didn’t officially take keyboarding until 9th grade. On a typewriter. Yes, I’m that old.


25. My part-time job in college was:
B. Secretary in the P.E. department
At one point, I spent hours each day typing up a huge report about the graduate program, which was coming under review for accreditation. One reason I can type as fast as I can today. Yay for speed! And I didn’t quite get carpal tunnel, either.


Thanks to everyone who played!