Harsh Betty sent me five questions for an early Friday five familiar.

1. Name something which you spent a lot of time doing / dealing with /
   experiencing a year ago, but it's no longer a big part of your life today.
   
   
   Having, maintaining, dealing with a JOB, in particular a job I totally hated with every fiber, molecule, atom, and subatomic structure of my being. I get up for myself, for my kids, for my husband, for my house, for my own selfish and nefarious purposes. I water my plants, feed my chickens, feed my kids, take a shower, have sex with my husband, and I LOVE it! No, and I don't just mean the sex, though that's definitely fun.
   
   
2. Name one thing you regret doing, and another that you regret *not*
   doing.
   
   I dunno. I guess I feel like regret is a guilt trip I choose not to take most of the time. I regret leaving New England sometimes. I miss my family -- my parents, brother, and grandparents and assorted family live there and I miss them a lot. I regret not sticking to my exercise plan. It has really sucked to do the yo-yo weight thing. A lot. I'm changing that, but it's an ongoing battle and I hate that.
   
   
3. Was there anybody other than a member of your immediate family who had a
   big influence on you when you were a kid? Who was it, and how did they
   influence you?
   
   
   Mrs. Barbara Cohen, my 12th grade English teacher. She encouraged me in my writing and was the sole reason I majored in English. Ever. Or even showed another soul on the entire planet my poetry and writing. She is the reason I consider myself a writer now. I loved her, her class, and while she was considered a battleaxe by some, I adored her because she empowered me.
   
   
4. What, for you, didn't live up to all the hype?
   
   Star Wars, Episode 2. Could it have been any more schmarmy? Yeesh!
   
   
5. What's the best thing, within reason, that could happen with the rest of
   the day? (obviously it would be great to find out you'd won a $100 million
   lottery, had accidentally cured cancer and perfected cold fusion, and Kevin
   Costner is on his way over with a bottle of champagne and another of massage
   oil ... but be a little more realistic, ok?)
   
   That the house would become spotless, the shelving installed appropriately, the fridge cleaned so that the smell went away, the kitchen cleaned with decorations hung, the pool filled without depleting the well, and my room and bathroom cleared of boxes --unpacked or not, and that despite their chaotic, destructive tendencies, the children would not fight like cats and dogs nor thrash my clean house.. Oh, and that my husband would use the massager to rub my shoulders and back at days's end as foreplay to foreplay.
   
   I'm betting I'll get everything except the kids fighting and thrashing.