ten things I've done

So I got this idea from ravelda's blog about interesting things she's done (yes, I'm procrastinating, but how can I possibly work on revisions when I'm getting up every five seconds to answer questions on German homework?). So ta da! Ten true things about me:

1. I've seen penguins and alligators in the wild.
2. I've lived in two foreign countries (three, if you count the Confederacy :) and visited an additional four.
3. I've lived on an island.
4. I've read War and Peace.
5. I've seen Nelson Mandela in person.
6. I've poked my nose over the sheer edge of Half Dome (Yosemite National Park) and hiked in the Andes, (luckily avoiding the resident vinchuca--see http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/Number11_article4.htm).
7. I've been in tornadoes and an almost-hurricane (1 mph under the wind speed for a category 1)
8. I married my best friend and we have four kids.
9. Madeleine L'Engle wrote back to me when I was a kid and sent her a letter about how to become a writer.
10.I've finished one novel, and hope to finish many more.