100 things

a handful of tidbits about me, in random order, on my first bloggy b-day:

1. I dust and vaccum every other day because my little girl gets sick if I don’t

2. I hate to clean

3. I loved my dog as a member of the family until I brought my first child home from the hospital and realized I had hardly even missed my dog. I’ve never not missed my girl.

4. I love lots of kinds of music.

5. I often forget to listen to lots of kinds of music.

6. I don’t put any stock in astrology.

7. I am a gemini and feel like somehow, even though I don’t believe in it, it explains my dual personality.

8. I am fiercely loyal to my family, but especially to my husband, little girl, and my (late) dad.

9. I love the idea of looking cute & put together every day but somehow it never happens.

10. I used to hold up signs of aborted fetuses; now I’ll never do that again.

11. I counsel women facing crisis pregnancies and love them no matter what they choose.

12. I sneak in trips to model homes every couple months, usually w/o telling my husband.

13. Blue has always been my favorite color but pink became a close second after I birthed a baby girl and somehow “found” my womanhood.

14. I re-worded that last sentence because I noticed that all my sentences thus far started with “I.”

15. I teach high school English but feel like half the people I meet are better with words than I am.

16. I am a little bit patient through grace. Without it I’m not patient at all.

17. I desperately need a blogging journal to jot down ideas; this one was written on a receipt in my purse. Most of them I just forget.

18. I live for the kid who smiles and says, “yessss!” after I tell him his hard work paid off.

19. I also live for the parent phone call that I run to make after I find out the kid’s hard work paid off, even if I haven’t had a chance to tell the kid yet.

20. I am underpaid, but who isn’t? Well, except maybe the guy who makes over 100k per year to test pens (yes, pens) for the state government. He’s overpaid.

21. I drink enough water for 2-3 people to get their daily allowance.

22. I have been told by doctors to drink more water.

23. I am sitting at work typing this when I should be studying my next teaching unit.

24. When I got stretch marks during pregnancy, they formed a happy face on my tummy. God is sooooo funny!

25. The concept in education that everyone can be the valedictorian is hurting our school children. This is my opinion, but I’m pretty sure it’s also a fact.

26. I have a highly refined, exact-science type method for consuming almost everything I eat. M&Ms? ½ the chocolate first, then the peanut, then the other ½ of the chocolate. Don’t get me started on an ice cream cone.

27. I wish I were funny.

28. I think God made me to laugh at other people’s jokes and spare them from my own.

29. I love the rain. I love getting wet in it. I love running errands in it if I don’t have to lug a baby in and out of the car.

30. I definitely should have spread out #29 so I would reach #100 sooner. That makes me not very smart.

31. I have regrets and things I would do differently and I believe that anyone who says they don’t, is lying.

32. I try not to focus on my past mistakes and just accept God’s forgiveness.

33. I get more and more afraid of public speaking the older I get. This means that when I’m 50 the grocery store clerk will scare the bigeebees out of me.

34. I want to speak to large audiences, in public, as a part of ministry. I just might hide behind the podium.

35. Then again, since Phil 4:13 is true, maybe not.

36. I’m addicted to reading and get antsy when I don’t have a book I’m working on.

37. I read a total of about five books during my entire childhood, despite my family’s love of books and my mom’s persistence with me.

38. It seems, based on #1-37, that I’m a walking contradiction (see #7).

39. My husband is the best example I know personally of how to love like Christ, and that humbles & inspires me every day.

40. I’m in love with my little girl’s curls. They are exactly what I always dreamed of having myself, and I love getting compliments everywhere we go about them.

41. I really, really hope her curls don’t go away.

42. I have a thing for neatness at work, but you’d never know it to visit my home.

43. I think the word for “thing” in #42 is “obsession”, but I notice that the longer I teach English, the more the obsession fades. I still want it perfect, but there are papers and books EVERYWHERE.

44. I’m trying to abandon my compulsion to go through life apologizing for myself. Sorry. I’m still not funny (see #27).

45. The greeting, “Hey, how are you” drives me crazy when it’s not genuine.

46. I cry every time I see a soldier reunited w/ family.

47. Before having my first child, I was only really afraid of snakes and snails. Now I’m deathly afraid of heights and falling.

48. I believe books can be life-changing if you’re open to what’s inside.

49. Three semesters into a Spanish major, I served as a translator on a missions trip to Mexico. I was thrilled, but in way over my head (no one ever noticed).

50. I just wondered how many typos I’ll miss in this thing, after I’ve mentioned several times that I teach/love books. Scary.

51. I believe there is pleasure to be found in a good grammar lesson & humor in grammatical mistakes.

52. My mom was born in 1952. That may not seem directly about me, but it’s my way of telling you that I notice number patterns all over the place. (this item, if you missed it, is #52).

53. My dad was born in 19… just kidding. (still not funny, see? )

54. If I could have a conversation with an ancestor and I could stave off the temptation to speak with my dad, I would talk with my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, and my great-great-great-grandfather, a Dec. of Independence signer, the 9th President of the U.S., and the 23rd President of the U.S., respectively.

55. I have a disease which does not allow me to skimp when I’m grading students’ essays. After four years of practice, I’ve only whittled it down to 15-20 min. each.

56. My laugh is a conversation piece among good friends and family members.

57. My adorable Pink seems to be afflicted with the same laugh. Or blessed with it.

58. If my husband weren’t my husband, I’d want to be single. There’s no one else out there who’s worth all the work of marriage, who would become my best friend more and more, year after year.

59. You’d think I’d be more creative, since I teach and all. I’m really not.

60. I’ve always wished I were more creative, but I’m satisfied that I can invent just about anything in the kitchen.

61. Cooking (and sometimes baking, but mostly cooking) is my main creative outlet. That doesn’t help me much with my blog, but it makes Beloved happy. :)

62. I’ve always dreamed about going to cooking school.

63. I also envision myself a supreme portrait/wedding/baby photographer. I’m really not, but I love to experiment once in a while.

64. The most recent picture of my 2.5 year old in my wallet was taken at 5 months.

65. Somehow I thought I’d do all kinds of ex*tic traveling before having a family.

66. I prefer my family to photo albums filled with pictures of ex*tic locations.

67. I have been known to diagram sentences in my head.

68. I’ve been to Hawaii twice, but neither time was for romance. The first time, though, my fellow 21 year old BFF and I got a cool picture of us saluting from the Captain’s chair on the bridge of a Coast Guard Cutter. Don’t ask. But it’s not that bad, really.

69. Someday, I want to take Beloved to Hawaii for two straight weeks. We may not come back.

70. I love my SUV w/ 230,000 miles on it.

71. My favorite holiday season is Christmas, but my favorite holiday is Easter. I cry every year.

72. I pictured my life so differently than what it has been so far, but then again, who didn’t?

73. I used to love nothing more than to be barefoot on grass, but somewhere along the way I grew up too much and started thinking horrible things like “what dog has been here recently” or “will I step on a worm?”

74. My favorite flowers are whatever my husband brings home for me, but lilies, tulips, and alstromeria rate pretty high.

75. I’ve always dreamed of having a beautiful garden like my mother’s. Hers makes strangers change their walking route just to stop and gaze.

76. No plant has ever stayed alive with me longer than 1 year.

77. I was born in 1977, and so was my beloved. We love that fact about ourselves.

78. When I was a kid, I didn’t know how to play house. I still haven’t figured out what those dolls are supposed to say to each other. My daughter, on the other hand, seems to intrinsically know exactly what they say.

79. I’m still a teeny bit jealous of my brother’s Tonka trucks from 1983.

80. I have always been thankful for my little brother (who is 6’5”), but I also always wanted a big brother..

81. I am a blessed woman.

82. I love hiking, but I don’t do it enough.

83. I’m too wordy. I’m working on it. Obviously not within the context of this list. But I am working on it.

84. Words are my primary love language and can move mountains in my heart.

85. If there was only one type of cuisine left in the world, it would most surely need to be Mexican, but really only boarder Mexican. I could live my whole life without ever eating fried grillos. But I shudder at the thought of never again tasting fresh guac, homemade pinto beans, and hot tortillas.

86. Brownies must be included in the Mexican food for #85. They MUST.

87. If I felt like I could spend the money on myself, I’d love to love shopping. Truth is, I can’t stand it (perhaps my problem in #10).

88. I detest working out alone all the time. I just doesn’t happen.

89. I toyed with the idea of being a marine biologist. Good thing I changed my mind, since I don’t like animals and I’m not all that great at science. But have you seen those trainers who swim with Shamu? I could so do that. As long as Shamu promised not to pee in the water.

90. I took piano lessons for 5 months in 6th grade

91.Sadly, I am the most qualified of my siblings to inherit my parents’ piano.

92. I wanted desperately to be a Laker Girl, yet I was merely an alternate when I tried out for the cheer squad in 7th grade.

93. The colors for both my wedding and my parents’ wedding were blue, white, and red but I swear we didn’t look like flags.

94. I’m now wondering why I included #93.

95. I have serious doubts that anyone is still reading this. Except M, who will read the whole thing and have some comment for me on it.

96. I have green eyes, but I’ve always wanted brown. No one sings about green eyes.

97. I love finding a good quote, no matter the source. Right now, I have about six of them visible on my desk (untold numbers under the essays I need to grade).

98. It took me 10 years to get a 4 year degree and a teaching credential, but I learned a lot about myself along the way

99. I’ve known on previous pregnancies exactly what I was having almost before I knew I was even pregnant. This time I have no idea.

100. I tend to fall on my face a lot, but I usually get back up and keep trying (see #27, 44, 53)