Several years ago there was a 4.9 quake centered south of Chattanooga which was felt in metro Atlanta. It was 5 am and my husband had just pulled out of the driveway.
I heard the attic rafters shake. The shaking noise moved from the attic to the basement in that order, but I did not feel anything. 8 miles away, it knocked my nephew out of bed. He felt it, LOL!
I had never experienced one before. I called my husband on the phone and told him I thought there had just been an earthquake. In that loving way only a husband can do, he told me I was crazy. I love it when I can say I told you so.
A month ago, there was a good sized quake in southern Ontario that was felt in our locale. I was at the stove cooking and did not feel it, but my daughter, on her bed upstairs, did. She called down and asked if we had had an earthquake. I hadn't felt it but immediately went to the 'Quake Sheet" link at Drudge and nothing was posted, so I told her "No". However, the local news at the top of the hour was buzzing with quake news!
I also missed feeling one centered in central Illinois about 2.5 years ago. I slept through it. The same daughter was dropping a friend of at the airport and missed it too. Her suite-mate, slightly panicked, called her while she was on the road as it had rocked their 90 year old dorm at U of M pretty well.