1) It's fall and the Chicago Cubs defeat the White Sox to become World Series champions. It doesn't need to be a sweep, but that'll be good, too.

2) Waking to a clear fall day, breakfast of homemade biscuits and scrambled eggs & sausage (veggie) or maybe wholegrain pancakes & real maple syrup, hiking in the mountains with a favorite friend or dog, eating lunch on top of a mountain enjoying the view, coming home to a good dinner (that someone else fixed!), playing Scrabble with my friend, Carol and maybe sharing a small glass of Bailey's, then going to bed and snuggling under a comforter because the house is so cool and reading myself to sleep.

3) We'd wake up around 7am to the waves of the Gulf of Mexico splashing onto the beach outside our bedroom window, followed by a wonderful breakfast with our kids, after picking fruit from our trees outside, like oranges, grapefruit, bananas, peaches, etc. and cooking some eggs (over medium), and toast with real butter...maybe some homemade strawberry preserves made from berries from our own patch. After eating and slathering up with sunscreen, we'd don our suits and head out into the sand to play in the ocean, build sandcastles on the beach and search for shells. We'd "dine" on peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, fresh fruit and berries, cucumbers & tomatoes and iced tea at lunch time, then kick back to enjoy a book under the umbrella while the kids napped. Finally, around 4pm or so, we'd head inside to shower and dress, then drive over to JDs or Frenchy's @ Clearwater Beach for some great seafood and drinks on the beach while watching the sun set on the Gulf. Once home, we'd build a fire in our outdoor fireplace and chill out 'til the kids fell asleep...ahh, dreams!

4) I wake to the smell of freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee brewing. I join Bob in the kitchen and begin making homemade biscuits. Our kids and their spouses (AND doggies!) wander down for their coffee and we gather in the living room to open stocking gifts. Later, we head back to the kitchen and while Bob cooks his famous omelets, Jason is cooking up some local Snow Creek sausage. Matt makes Bloody Marys. The Sarah's and I make a fruit salad and set the table. We sit down to a long, conversation-filled meal. And the day has only begun. I love Christmas morning...

5) Both sound great, Angi and Pegi...I can smell the coffee brewing and hear the ocean too. :)

6) My perfect day would begin with me waking up to a clean house. I wouldn't even mind finding that the bed had been made under me while I slept. When I walked downstairs I would find some outrageous amount of money left on my desk for me, along with a note from my dear husband telling me to not worry about a thing and to have a wonderful day. Ahhhhhhh......

7) Great... I ruined my Mom's perfect day. I guess we should be there for X-mas this year.

I would wake up late in Costa Rica, in the Almendro house in Mal Pais. Make some strong coffee, have a mango for breakfast while watching the monkeys and admiring the ocean, listen to Stevie Wonder's 'Innervisions', hop on a bike down the sandy road to where I kept my boat and go fishing. I'd catch a nice, fat fish and a couple of lobsters, head inshore and grab a few cervesas and the daily gossip in the local bar. Then, I'd head back to the casa to cook the fish and drink mas cervesas with my wife. Maybe we would sit in a hammock for a while and listen to Marvin Gaye or Bob Marley. I'd read some Kurt Vonnegut and lay down to sleep with the sound of the ocean just feet from our bed with no intention of heading back to 'real' life any time soon.

8) All three of my kids (plus s/o's Jess, Amber & Lee) come waltzing through the front door (which by the way the butler opened) and the whole family sits down to a delicious breakfast (prepared by our personal chef Bobby Flay). We sip champagne and start planning our upcoming trip to Tuscany (on our private jet). Then we walk off the big meal by hiking up to a beautiful waterfall. We talk and laugh and spend the day enjoying each others company. We return home to find Bobby has prepared appetizers on the veranda and the bartender is taking drink orders. Bobby returns to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. I wave to the five gardeners that are grooming the immaculate landscape.

9) Matt, Christmas morning happens whenever we are all together doing our thing. I don't care about the date, just the experience.

10) Amen.

11) And Amen to you, sistah!

12) I think Matt pretty much covered...except while he is fishing I'm boogie boarding in the Pacific. I have to add finding fresh squeezed orange juice on the front steps in the morning.

13) I would love to re-live my wedding day...maybe that's a total cliche but to me it was THE perfect day.

I was at my childhood home in MI. I woke up around 7:30 and got in the shower. At 8 my bridesmaids came over and after having breakfast my mom's stylist showed up and did all of our hair. My mom had Alzheimer's at that time, but fairly early stages...she was still alert and knew that I was her daughter, knew that it was my wedding day and that it was a big deal.

I'll never forget the look on my Dad's face when I walked downstairs in my wedding gown. Actually, I had to wake him up, he was snoozing in his favorite chair while "watching" the Golf Channel. He had tears in his eyes as he told me how beautiful I looked.

At 1, 2 limos pulled up to take me, my bridesmaids, flower girls and the female members of my immediate family (plus Dad) to the church. It was a beautiful sunny day, but not nearly as hot or humid as it normally is in August. There was a huge fesitval going on in Birmingham that day and we had a lot of attention paid to us by the passersby as our pictures were taken.

The ceremony was beautiful. Afterward we took a few more pictures and then headed to the reception at my Dad's country club. We had champagne on the way there and once we arrived, we were piped in to the hall by bagpipers my dad had secretly arranged for us. The crowd was a mix of my parents' friends, our relatives and our friends...lots of our friends. After a delicious dinner that I barely touched the festivites started and we danced until midnight.

Charlie and I spent our wedding night in the same hotel as most of our out of town guests and the party continued there. We were given a meeting room right off of the lobby and we stayed up singing, dancing and drinking until 4AM!

I've never felt so loved as I did that day--surrounded by friends, family and my new husband. It was truly incredible and something I hope my own daughter will experience when her time comes!

14) Everyone wrote beautiful stories and I can place myself in many of the situations. I still love the mountains and waking up to "mountain music", the sounds of all the birds singing and the water running over the rocks across the field from my cabin, breathing in cool morning air and then sitting out on the deck with Richard drinking some of his good coffee.Then I will take my camera out to take some pictures while the light is just right. I will walk along the old lumber jack path and stop at my favorite spring trickling out of the rocks. Here I have a private altar where I stop and pray, thanking the Spirit for all my blessings and gifts.I come back and take my watercolors down to the creek and try to capture the swiftly moving water as it flows over the natural dam. Then on impulse, I kick off my shoes and go sit in the natural whirlpool and feel refreshed as the clear mountain water revives my spirit.

15) Beautiful story of your wedding day, Jules...mine was equally wonderful, but I don't like getting dressed up often, so reliving it isn't an option. In fact, that was the last time I wore a dress, actually, and it's been almost nine years. I guess I wouldn't mind having the party with all the people, but sans formalwear...