50 Things You Never Wanted to Know

You all know far more about me than you probably ever wanted to if you have followed the blog for any length of time, but I thought I would share a few things you might not know...and might laugh like crazy over as well. Here goes!

1) I played the clarinet all through school and LOVED marching band, especially halftime shows at football games.

2) Orange and yellow are my favorite colors.

3) I met Dominick when I was 13 talking on the 80's version of the internet...the CB radio.

4) My "handle" was "California Sunshine" and his was "Charlie Brown".

5) All my growing up years I played slow pitch softball and was a pitcher.

6) I think I was somewhere around 12 when I wrote my first letter to the editor of our local paper.

7) The first guy I dated and kissed played the tuba and thought it was really cool to show me his rat collection. Hence, the reason we dated only about 2 weeks.

8) I once took baton twirling. I was rotten at it.

9) My favorite candy is anything chewy and fruity...Skittles, Jelly Beans, Orange Slices.

10) I still have the entire collection of the Little House series of books that I read when I was 7-10 years old.

11) I almost never wear jewelry other than a watch and my original engagement/wedding ring which is now 26 years old.

12) My first job was at Sav-On Drugs where I scooped the most enormous ice creams you have ever seen in their ice cream department.

13) It was at that job that I learned how to make change the "real" way and used an old Sweda cash register.

14) I have worn glasses since I was in 3rd grade.

15) I read at college level in 3rd grade as well. Maybe the reason I needed those glasses???

16) I never took more than Algebra 1 in math...I HATE math!

17) I once bowled a 266 game, and it was in our state tournament as well!

18) We almost moved to Bismark, North Dakota before moving to Colorado a few years later.

19) I am scared of being scared...I hate having people jump out at me or even just walk up behind me and quietly say "Boo!". I despise horror movies.

20) Different jobs I have had include: Cashier, pharmacy tech, international customer service rep. for antibody manufacturer, circulation clerk at a newspaper, office manager at a pest control company, insurance agent, customer service at a propane company, sandwich maker. So far "mom" is the best one!

21) Music I love: Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Journey, Eagles, Bob Seger, Pat Benatar, The Carpenters and almost every single non-contemporary Christian song we sing in choir.

22) Music I hate: Anything by Donna Summer, rap, punk, or opera.

23) Songs I am embarrassed to admit I like: Funky Town, Don't Worry...Be Happy, Hot Potato by the Wiggles, We are the World, and lots of Michael Jackson stuff.

24) TV I watch: MASH re-runs, suddenly hooked on Extreme Home Makeover, Law and Order and its derivatives, hmmmmm...nothing really that is worth watching on TV anymore.

25) Favorite Restaurant: The Melting Pot in Denver...a fondue place

26) What's in my fridge right now: String cheese, leftover chicken and potatoes, Folgers coffee and we don't even drink coffee, a large bottle of beer for marinade and we don't even drink alcohol, NO DIET COKE which will no doubt throw me into a frenzy tomorrow morning, turkey pepperoni.

27) Household chore I hate the most: Hanging up/folding laundry.

28) Household chore that I don't mind doing: Cleaning toilets

29) I always wanted to be: A professional photographer, a quilter

30) One thing I really stink at but should be good at: Sewing, no way...no how. Oh yea, and Algebra.

31) One thing that would surprise you that I could see myself being or doing: I think I could enjoy being Amish. But I might be too happy and too loud to be Amish.

32) Hardest things I have ever done: Continue to parent Josh when I was rejected so badly. Pass all the pest control licensing tests in California the first time, empty out my dad's place when he died, make it financially the first 2 years we lived in Colorado, continue to hold hope for 2 children still not home, learn to let go of grudges, learn how to be a true friend and to be open to others' presence in my life.

33) Easiest things I have ever done: Fall in love my husband and my children, learn to read, write this blog.

34) What is currently in my "hope chest": Tons of Kazakh/Kyrgyz souvenirs including the stained terry cloth shirt we first saw Matthew in, letters and cards that have encouraged me or mean something to me which I have collected for the past 15+ years, an F14 Tomcat patch from my dad's career.

35) If my house burned down, other than getting my family out, what would I try to save: Honestly, not a darned thing. It's all just replaceable stuff to me, junk that an insurance check could take care of. While I'd miss photos I would make do with what is online. I just don't care much about things at all and probably wouldn't even shed a single tear over it, seriously.

36) Things I wish I could change about myself: Everything about how I look, my vision, would get rid of troublesome allergies and asthma, would be kinder to others, would be smarter, would have more musical talent, would be a better friend, wouldn't be so lazy, my clumsiness.

37) Things I wouldn't change about myself: My love of reading and music, my taste in men...old or young :-), my intuition, my willingness to be open to others.

38) My idea of a perfect day: Waking up to hugs all the way around, having an hour or two to read uninterrupted, having all the Diet Coke available to me that I desire, hearing from loved friends and family, seeing a rainbow, hearing rain and having blustery weather that makes you want to stay in, having a warm fire in the woodstove.

39) My idea of an awful day: A phone call that startles you awake at 2:00 AM. It is never ok and life always changes when that happens.

40) The biggest surprises of my life has been: My ever growing relationship with God, soon being the mother to 5 kids which was totally unexpected, living in Colorado which is my paradise, that I ever married so young as I never imagined that, that I never went to college as I always imagined that, that I actually have several friends who care about me.

41) I hate carrying a purse, they are heavy, burdensome and never stay on your shoulder.

42) I have easily spent over 25,000 hours researching our adoptions over the past 10 years.

43) I actually like Tang.

44) I may be the only person on the planet who hates the music of the Beatles.

45) I have been in Reader's Digest twice...once quoted in an article about love and once last year having had a letter to the editor printed. Our family was also featured in an article in Kiplinger's Magazine.

46) One thing I might like to do one day but don't know how to: Write a book.

47) One of my most treasured possessions, a pot lid from when I was a kid that has tons of dents in it from my mom letting me beat it with a spoon to celebrate New Years Eve.

48) Vacation I have always wanted to take: I'd dearly love to visit Washington DC, and I have always wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise.

49) I hate sleeping without covers on, and I am not even all that fond of having just a sheet...I like heavy, enveloping blankets.

50) Fondest childhood memory: Running around in the twilight playing hide and go seek with my brother and neighbor kids. It was the quintessential childhood experience and something you don't see many kids doing these days.