Random

I was tagged (awhile ago, I might add – sorry, Jen!) to share 25 absolutely random facts about myself. I don’t know if I’m interesting enough to come up with 25 things, but here goes:

1. When I was younger, I spoke fluent German although I lost most of it when we moved back to States. (Kids really can pick up new languages pretty easily!) I keep thinking that one day I’ll take German classes to see if any of it comes back to me, but so far that is still on the “to do” list. (Oh, and I took three years of French in high school – that probably would have been a great time to try to pick up German again!)
2. When I was five I asked Santa to bring me a pink crayon for Christmas. Not a big box of crayons, just a pink one. I remember being so happy when I got my Carnation Pink crayon in a Cross pen box that year. I don’t remember most of the Christmas presents I’ve gotten over the years, but that one holds a special memory.
3. Speaking of special Christmas presents, the best present ever was my Barbie dream house. When I saw it set up in the living room on Christmas morning, I experienced sheer joy and awe at actually owning my very own dream house.
4. When Patrick asked me out for our very first date, I called my mom and told her I did not want to go on this date. When she asked why I told her it was because I thought I could fall for this guy and I so did not want a boyfriend at that time. Now here we are going on three years of marriage – I’m glad I didn’t cancel that date!
5. My favorite food in the world is ice cream (in most flavors.) I think I’ve shared this before, but I am an absolute ice cream junkie. I gave up ice cream for Lent this year and believe me, this is a big sacrifice!
6. I have never smoked or done any kind of illegal drug. Most people don’t believe me when I tell them that I have never so much as tried a cigarette, but it just never appealed to me.
7. My Ipod is full of embarrassing music – tons of 80s, dance music, “hits” like Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” or Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now.” I would probably die of embarrassment if somebody were to publish all of the songs I have on there (although I love them all!)
8. The most fun I have ever had was when my sister and I went to the New Kids on the Block concert together last year. It literally was a dream come true for both of us, and to be able to share that experience together made it even better.
9. When I was younger I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up. As I got older I realized that I probably didn’t have the science acumen to be able to actually fulfill that dream, but I am still a huge animal lover and supporter of local animal rescue charities.
10. I was a dancer through high school. I primarily took ballet and pointe, but I stopped dancing once I got to college. If I could choose to have any talent, I would choose dance because I am in awe of professional dancers. (And let’s face it, I have never possessed the kind of talent it takes to dance professionally!)
11. I was a Sigma Kappa in college. We had so much fun, and one of my favorite college memories is from the year I lived on the hall and a group of us would go work out in the morning on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then go get a huge breakfast together before class. I’m still really close with most of those girls too!
12. My biggest dream now is to one day be a mother. A lot of things have happened lately to challenge that dream, but I know that God put that desire in my heart for a reason and I hope that one day it will actually come true.
13. I have random nicknames for my family and friends. I refer to my mother as “Lady” and our cat Caddy as “Bear.” Sometimes there is a logical reason for the nicknames (Lady Elaine is from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood) and sometimes there is no rhyme or reason whatsoever (like our family dog, Emily, who I called Raoul.) Our kitten Rocky probably has the most nicknames – Baby Love, Rock Star, my little man, Rock ‘n Rolla, Rocky Top, Kid Rock, Rock Rock, baby boy - the list goes on and on! Even my old car was nicknamed Columbo!
14. My biggest fear is drowning. I had a horrific accident when I was little (I fell in the water and my mom finally rescued me when she saw my hair float by and pulled me out by it – no joke!) and I did not learn to swim until middle school. Our class was having an end of the year pool party and the boys kept talking about how they were going to throw the girls in, so I went to the YMCA and taught myself how to paddle so I wouldn’t be humiliated at the party.
15. One of the biggest honors of my life was when my friend Jennifer asked me to be her daughter’s godmother. I take that role very seriously and I am forever grateful that she thought enough of me and of our friendship to ask me to have a role in her beautiful daughter’s life.
16. I am an absolute bookworm, and I have been most of my life. I can devour books in a single sitting, and there have been times where I think I’ll just read one more chapter only to continue on and be shocked that I’ve been awake for hours with a good book. I recently rediscovered the public library, and it has been instrumental in keeping my need for new books satisfied!
17. I’m a complete homebody. I love to travel to visit friends and family, or even for a specific activity, but the idea of traveling just to see a new place hasn’t really ever appealed to me. There are many beautiful places in this world, many that I’m sure I would enjoy seeing, but I just don’t have that need to travel that most of the world does. There might be something wrong with me!
18. I love the theater – I’ve seen two Broadway shows in New York City and countless touring productions. My friends Lindsay and Rebecca both love going to see shows as well, so poor Patrick has not had to endure shows (which he thinks of as torture. I actually think he might enjoy some of them, but he assures me that he would not!)
19. I am part of my neighborhood homeowner’s association welcoming committee. We bake cookies, put together welcome packets, and try to be a friendly face in the community for our new neighbors. Carolyn thinks this is really funny, but it's been a nice way to get out and meet some new people.

20. One accomplishment that I am pretty proud of is that I put myself through school. I had to work and take out student loans (quite a few to finish graduate school I might add!) but when all is said and done I will have paid 100% of the cost of both my undergraduate and graduate school degrees. And, my final student loan payment is going to be made in May of this year. It took me six years to repay it all, but I am super proud of this accomplishment!
21. I have zero hand-eye coordination. It is pretty sad! When we were playing Mario Cart with our next door neighbors, I raced the four year old and afterward Patrick commented that it was nice of me to let the four year old win. I quickly let him know that I didn’t let him win, I am really just that bad at all things that require any sort of hand-eye coordination!
22. If I am ever rich (which is doubtful!) I would love to start a rescue organization for animals. I do all that I can for these neglected animals now, but unfortunately it is just not enough and if I could fund a safe and loving environment for these animals to call home it would be one of the most rewarding things I can think of to do.
23. I like for my socks to be completely color coordinated with my outfit. (Yesterday I had on an aqua sweater and my socks were black and aqua stripes.) I’m not always this good, but I think it makes me feel better to match completely!
24. When I’m having a hard time dealing with a situation, I tend to close myself off and hibernate for awhile. This may not be the healthiest way to deal with a situation, but I seem to follow this pattern whenever things are really hard. (So if I suddenly disappear for awhile, you know something is up!)
25. My greatest joy on a daily basis come from my kitties. They have had some serious health scares (bladder stones for Holly and pancreatitis for Caddy) but I know that God brought them to us because He knew that we would care for them and do everything in our power to help them. Spot, Holly, Caddy & Rocky are the most special blessings that Patrick and I could have ever asked for and they enrich our lives in so many ways. That might sound dorky, but our little feline family means the world to me!