Monday, February 2, 2009

25 Random Things About Me

Someone tagged me in this game on Facebook, so I obliged. Maybe my kids will get a kick out of this someday.

1. I eat for the pleasure of the taste more than for nutritional value. Unlike others who inhale their food, I like to taste it.

2. My best friend and I used to remember what happened on a certain day by recalling what we ate that day… “When did we do blah blah blah…? Oh remember? It was Sunday, because that was the same day we had such and such for dinner….”

3. Didn’t realize it before I met Bradley, but I tend to adapt to my surroundings instead of altering them when something goes wrong. If a light bulb burns out, I think “Oh man, now it’s going to be dark in here” rather than “I need to replace the light bulb.” Brad’s the opposite, which is a good thing. 

4. Speaking of Brad, he’s my hero. I’d rather be writing 25 random things about him.

5. I believe I’ll still like him when we’re 70.

6. I don’t hold grudges, as best I know my own corrupt heart… 

7. I misplace essential items often, and I wonder if I subconsciously surround myself with observant people or if the people I spend my time with become increasingly observant as a result of being my friend? They always seem to pay attention to where I put things like my phone, my keys, my wallet, my id, my credit card, etc… When JJ was 2, I buckled him into his carseat and then took my position in the driver’s seat. He reminded me then not to forget my glass of tea that I had put on top of the car. It’s pretty sad when your own 2 year old has learned to make mental notes for you. 

8. I wonder when does “reminding” cross over to become “nagging”?

9. My television stays put on the Disney channel. For this reason, I can sing the theme songs to all the following shows: My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Handy Manny, Imagination Movers, The Suite Life, Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place and Phineas and Ferb. I actually enjoy watching Wizards of Waverly Place.

10. I love to listen to the laughter of my 3 boys.

11. Upon entering college I had aspirations of becoming a substance abuse counselor. My advisor laughed at me and told me that I didn’t really need a college degree to do that, just a personal history that included overcoming substance abuse… I briefly considered abusing a substance for the sake of my career, but decided to become a Spanish teacher instead. Little did I know I’d have plenty of opportunities to counsel substance abusers in the teaching field.

12. I begged Brad for our dogs, and now I blame him for adopting them.

13. I have 2 dogs that are PRECIOUS but needy and are free to a good home! 

14. When I was a kid I used to dress my cats up in baby doll clothes and cradle them like newborns. For some reason, they let me. Later I had two cats that played fetch. Honest! One of them even played catch with little rolled up pieces of paper. She could have been a Heisman trophy winner had she been human. And a boy. Who played college football. Now I have a Persian cat who is the most tolerant little angel. We have him shaved every summer. It serves a practical purpose but is also quite funny.

15. I’d love to see the aurora borealis before the Lord calls me home.

16. I am a despicable person and yet the Lord chose me unto salvation and set me apart for a purpose before the foundation of the world. I love to sing praises to the Lord because of this.

17. I spend my entire Christian walk clinging to the cross. 

18. I believe this sums it up: "Things which gracious souls discover: To preach devotion first, and blessing second, is to reverse God's order, and preach law, not grace. The law make man's blessing depend on devotion; Grace confers undeserved, unconditional blessing: our devotion may follow, but does not always do so,-in proper measure." William R. Newell 

19. I love to watch movies with a happy ending to a long journey, movies that make you laugh, movies that make you think and movies that jumpstart a good dialogue with someone.

20. My track coach never coached me. In our first track meet, I collapsed way short of the finish line from fatigue. Oh and by the way, I was running a 4X4 relay so my part was only a quarter of a mile. The people in the stands rose to their feet and cheered me on like Rudy as I picked myself up and staggered breathlessly to the line. True story. The next meet we decided to try a different event and went for a sprint instead. The extent of the coaching was “sprint on your toes when you round the corner”. What does that mean anyway? I tripped over my own two feet and scraped my knee so badly I had to limp the rest of the way with blood trickling down my shin. My teammates were less than pleased. That was the end of my track experience. Please do not bring this up to me. It’s a sore spot.

21. Ok, something I hate…. When people snort their snot up and swallow it. Could there be a more disgusting sound?

22. Give me a specific subject and I can engage in a delightful conversation, but I am socially awkward when it comes to small talk. I stumble over answering the simplest of questions like, “How are ya?” I say “I’m good” and then I pause and wonder if people want me to elaborate or not… I’ve seen this happen on tv between Ryan Seacrest and socially awkward auditioners on American Idol and it’s painful for me to watch. 

23. I enjoy writing when I’m inspired.

24. I love to laugh. My twin nephews, Katie Rathkey, Lacy Baranski and Tony Layne are five people I know who can make me belly laugh without fail.

25. There are few memories that have power to make me laugh out loud at the recollection. 4 are: 1) when we were 13 and my best friend tried to glide down our stairs as if on skis in a brilliant attempt to catch me and instead tumbled down them, trying to regain balance the whole way but ending up head first on our marble floor and 2) when in the presence of another best friend I tried to imitate to Bradley over the phone the strange sound my car made when it broke down. Sorta like “CRACK! Ooohhhhmmmm HUM ninner ninner ninner…”and 3) Brad’s violent reaction to being sprayed in the face with dirty toilet water while he was trying to fix the plumbing problem at my old house. 4) For Brenee: “You got CORN ON THE COB?”