Mutation Tag! I'm it!

Amy, over at Ambient Muse tagged me this week with a list of interesting questions. I agreed to this tagging game because the things you find out about people are insightful. The questions morph, basically, if there is something you want to add you can. The same goes for changing any existing question. Anything goes and the morphing of the list is as interesting as the answers themselves.

So here are the rules along with my answers. There were twenty questions originally, but Amy trimmed things down and I added a couple new ones in!
See the last question for the folks who I’m tagging.

Rules:
People who have been tagged should post their answers on their blogs and replace any question they dislike with a new question.

Tag some more people to answer these questions if they’d like to. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person who tagged them. Continue this game by sending it to other people.

Questions:
1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals, or are they members of your family?

I had a German Shepherd for years. She was my first baby and definitely a bona fide member of the family. I still miss her, even though it’s been close to eight years since she’s been gone.

2. If you could have a dream come true, what would it be?

To make a modest living from writing.

3. What is the one thing most hated by you?

Disrespect. Nothing angers me more than blatant disregard for others.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?

Buy my dream property: 99 Nubble, then buy back my grandfather’s property on a lake in New Hampshire, pay our debts, pay my family’s debt, put money aside for the kids college, and give a hefty chunk to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis. Invest the rest wisely and live off the interest for the rest of our lives.

5. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?

Laughing. Chocolate. Writing. Quiet walks on the beach while mulling over the next story plot. Driving fast with Nickleback blaring.

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?

Amy’s answer sums up my feelings on this exactly! I don’t think one without the other is blessed at all. Unrequited love sucks, and being loved by someone who you just don’t love is uncomfortable. I think the ying needs a yang.

7. How do you unwind?

Jog on the beach. Daydream. Write.

8. What is your bedtime routine?

When my eyes get droopy – usually around 11pm. I close up the laptop, brush my teeth, head upstairs, give hubby a little lovin’ and drop to sleep for about six hours before another day begins.

9. If you could watch a creative person in the act of the creative process, who would it be?

Michelangelo. I would have loved to see the act of painting the Sistine Chapel.

10. What kinds of books do you buy?

I like a book that catches my interest early and doesn’t let go. I’m more geared to Thrillers and suspense than the softer side. In the past authors I’ve read have included Stephen King (the earlier books), Tom Clancy, John Grisham, Anne Rice, David Baldacci, James Patterson and more recently some of the new authors that I have met through Backspace and MySpace such as Allison Brennan and Alexandra Sokoloff. I’ve been a little slower on the reading since I started writing my own novels, but I still love a good book!

11. Where do you see yourself in ten years time?

99 Nubble. Seriously, I see myself with a little more time on my hands. My youngest will be heading off to college at that time.

12. What’s your fear?

Every parent’s biggest fear, losing their child.

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

I only know Amy through Backspace and I’ve since gotten a little insight from reading her blog. She is a thoughtful, kind hearted woman who likes to have fun and we share some of the same views on life.

14. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

I hit the snooze button! The first thing I do when I finally drag my butt out of bed is brush my teeth and hop in the shower. Then I wake the family to get them moving before I head out to work.

15. What’s your favorite magazine?

Writer’s Digest, Fortune and People Magazine.

16. Formal wear or casual wear?

Definitely casual. Why do you think I weaseled my way into working at home two times a week?

17. Mountains or seashore?

Seashore! Of course if you’re talking Lake Tahoe – then it’s the mountains.

18. List people to tag: Richard Aaron at Richard Aaron's Blog, Amanda Ann over at A Letter For My Love's Blog, Cat Connor at Cat Connor's Blog, Terri Molina who blogs at Behind Brown Eyes and Kathie Leung at her blog Journal of Journies.