Back in June, Cheryl at Gluten Free Goodness tagged me for a meme. Sorry for the delay, Cheryl, but I've been busy in the garden. Yesterday, Sarah at Gluten Free Everyday tagged me for a "fun facts about me" game. Since both games involve the same information, I've decided to combine them.

I like these games because they connect me to new bloggers, and let me feel like part of the gang with familiar blogging buddies. They're like party mixer games.

Here are Cheryl's rules:
1. i must link the tagger to my blog and list the rules;
2. i must share 7 weird bits about myself
3. 7 new bloggerites must be tagged and must be made aware with a comment in their blog.

Here are Sarah's rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. List 6 random facts about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
5. Let each person know they've been tagged by commenting on their blog
6. Let the tagger know the entry is posted on your blog

Here are my fun facts:

1. It's taken me 40 minutes to figure out how to link both these sites to mine. Sheesh! I am sooooo geeky in sooooo many ways. It's a shame the techno-geek gene is not in my DNA. I was a graphic artist in advertising before computers were part of our daily lives. That was 20 years ago. Then I began my food career. Now that I found out I have celiac, I need to find a career where I don't touch wheat-laden food all day every day. My graphic skills are, sadly, obsolete. Every 12-year-old on the planet is better at computer graphics than I am. But I'm learning! This blog is my classroom.

2. I bought my first house for $1. After a year of jumping through governmental hoops, my name was drawn to win a long-vacant FHA repossessed house in Indianapolis' Homesteading program. I had to make repairs to get it up to code and live in it for five years. I ended up staying 14 years. It was a cute little bungalow on a dead end street near a massive city park. Mayor Bill Hudnut played Bob Barker and drew the names from the hat. A few years later, I ran into him and told him how owning my first home had changed my life. He decided to announce his candidacy for re-election from my front porch. There was a media circus on my little street and I was on the news. I got a half day off work and wore my best suit. The reporters were really nice to me.

3. Though I haven't used them in years, I still own tap shoes. They're on a shelf in the garage next to my roller skates and ice skates. I still use the ice skates.

4. I love the Atlantic ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. I love the Florida Keys, and every island I have ever visited. When I'm on an island (any island!) I am comforted knowing I can walk in any direction and fall into the ocean. Ahhhh.

5. My favorite bands for nearly 20 years were Steely Dan, Chicago and the Doobie Brothers. These days I like Coldplay and Counting Crows. It makes me happy anywhere, at any time, in any mood to hear any song by Earth, Wind and Fire.

6. Since discovering multiple allergies, I have given up chocolate. AND I LIVED TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT! I never dreamed I could live without chocolate for a day, let alone months. I'm doing just fine with my cobbler-of-the-week.

7. The bonus tidbit! I am attempting to write my first work of fiction. I failed miserably at previous attempts. I couldn't even stand to read them. But I've done my homework, and I think I have a good beginning. I pray the right words keep on coming.

I'll edit this post later to tag some pals. All this linking and thinking has worn me out!