The First Time…
1. The First time I had a whole Lobster – I’d had parts of lobsters before: tails, claws, and my favorite, Lobster Pie (so yummy!) But, I’d never eaten a whole lobster. So, Last year, after packing everything up at the Manchester CKC, Kevin took me to a casual restaurant called Tinkers – for whole lobsters. It was a fun experience. (I didn’t realize it was going to involve so much squirting!) I am really glad we went and I’d recommend Tinkers to everyone; but, I think I’ll stick to the less messy Lobster Pie from now on!
2. The first time I went to a scrapbook convention – I had no idea what to expect. I signed up for a booth at the Memories Expo in New Jersey. Me, and two friends who came along to help me, introduced my first product at the convention: “Alphaduets” (Die cut letters with a loop for hanging.) Oh, how things have changed since then!
3. The first time I went to HIA (now known as CHA) – I got to meet (in person) a wonderful group of women and men I met online. We were all part of an online group called Best Friend Scrappers. (We all owned scrapbook stores.)
4. The first time I went to Disneyland – I was 16. I went along on my older brother’s family vacation (to help with the kids). We drove all the way down to Anaheim, CA from the Puget Sound area of Washington. (It took a few days – we made many interesting stops along the way.)
One of our stops was the House of Mystery – Oregon Vortex – a place where balls roll up hill!
5. The first time I took my drivers test – I passed. I was very focused during the exam. I wanted to do well. I didn’t expect to pass the first time because it seemed (talking to the other new drivers I knew) like nobody had. At the end of the exam a car pulled out in front of me and I had to slam on the brakes. After the incident, the examiner told me to go back to the Drivers License building. I figured I’d done something wrong. Once we were parked I asked the examiner how I did. He said you passed. Suddenly I felt really nervous and shaky – I couldn’t believe I passed!
6. The first time I drove across the country – Kevin and I had loaded up our two vehicles to make a big move across the country (From WA to NC). We learned that our 15 month old daughter was not only a practically perfect baby – she was a great traveler too.
7. The first time I saw a Monet in person was (on the above road trip) when we stopped to visit a friend of mine, who lived in Kansas City. She took us to the wonderful Art Museum there. I loved it!
8. The first time I saw a Van Gogh in person – I was in complete amazement. I fell in love with his work. None of the books I’d seen had done his work any bit of justice. (It was at the MET in NYC.)
9. The first time I went to NYC – I was on a student trip with fellow design students from ECU. We stayed at the YMCA. We walked and took the subways from place to place.
10. The first and only time I stood on top of the World Trade Center – was on that same student trip. It was amazing to be so high we could see the tops of large airplanes flying below us.