Things About Me

1. My tonsils were surgically removed when I was almost 4 years old because my sister had tonsillitis. The operation was performed by a heart surgeon. He was a family friend. I then proceeded to eat 2 pork chops for dinner that night.

2. My sister and I fought like cats and dogs growing up, but I would do anything for her today.

3. I joined the army after graduated from UF because I couldn't find a job. I had a blast!

4. I once broke a coffee table while dancing on it. I was slightly inebriated. I say slightly because I can remember doing it. I did have the help from 2 of my neighbors.

5. I once drank Gatorade at a kegger during college because I was afraid of getting busted for drinking underage. I was so naive.

6. While I was pregnant with my son, all indications pointed towards him having down syndrome. We did not have an amnio done because there was a risk of miscarrying and we were going to have the baby whether he had down syndrome or not. He doesn't have down syndrome. He is extremely smart, I have never looked at a child with down syndrome the same again.

7. I missed taking pictures of my daughter's first day of kindergarten because she wasn't supposed to start kindergarten that day. She was supposed to start PK4.

8. I quit my job that I had a real dislike for when I was 33 to go back to school full time to become a teacher. The Army paid for my school. This was something that I will never regret doing. It is something that I would have regretted NOT doing.

9. My dad's mom died when I was in college. My grandmother (mom's mom) is the one who told me. I didn't cry. She didn't like me and she showed it.

10. My mom has multiple sclerosis and I don't know how I feel about that yet. :(

11. My best friend and I have been friends since we were 2 1/2 years old!

12. My first date with my husband lasted until 4 a.m. and no, I didn't sleep with him!

13. Our dinner and dancing party (wedding reception) was at a restaurant that was a former brothel/chicken ranch in Hollywood, FL.

14. My daughter's due date was my son's birthday! I didn't want twins 3 years apart, so I was induced early. Yes, we have sex more than one day a year! ;)

15. I once talked my way out of a traffic ticket while at UF. I was going the wrong way down a one way street at like 2 a.m. I asked the innocent question of why there was a stop sign and a white line painted on the pavement if it was one way. The officer let me go. :)

16. I've been on 6 cruises and want to go on another soon.

17. I've visited 4 of the 7 continents. I would love to visit Australia and Asia, but can't picture myself in Antarctica.

18. My best friend in the Army was a guy. We were in basic training together and eventually stationed at Ft. Bragg at the same time, but different units. Everyone thought we should get married except us. We didn't. We still talk and I love him like a brother. I cried when he told me he was getting married. I was so happy for him!

19. I really disliked my 3rd grade teacher. I am an elementary school teacher and have no desire to teach 3rd grade. I don't know if this is related to my 3rd grade experience or not.

20. Both my children were extremely fast deliveries. My son was out in 2 pushes and my daughter in 4 pushes. Both without an epidural. My daughter was without any drugs at all! My hubby says I was born to have babies, but we're not having any more.

21. My step-daughter lived with us during her tween and early teen years. Her mother kicked her out of the house just before Christmas. It was the longest 3 or 4 or 5 years of my life. We went to counseling so that the counselor could tell me that it wasn't my job to raise her. She obviously wasn't familiar with the Army's way of life!

22. I have never broken any bone in my body or had any kind of surgery due to an injury or (my own) illness. Can you hear me knocking on wood?

23. I did have my wisdom teeth taken out when I was almost 21. I ate pizza that night for dinner and, although codeine was prescribed for pain, all I took was advil and rode my bike to the beach the next day!

24. I've been to Mardi Gras 3 times. The only time I was old enough to legally drink was the 3rd time. But that didn't stop me the 1st 2 times!

25. I am a 3rd generation Florida Cracker, which I'm told is rare. But my children are both Hoosiers.

26. I liked driving in Texas, but didn't like living there. There were posted speed limit signs, but no one paid attention to them. If the person behind you was going faster than you were, it was expected of you to pull onto the shoulder to let them pass! Crazy.

27. My maternal grandfather's family was one of the 3 families that founded the Cayman Islands. I can't apply for citizenship because my mother hasn't. :( Apparently, they have a lot of rules and control over who becomes a citizen.

28. I believe that honesty is a quality that everyone should have. I'm a very honest person. Too honest, so says the hubs. This is why I didn't get along with my step-daughter.

29. I am also a selfless person. Many are asked if they would move to another state to be with the one they loved. I did it. We moved to Indiana because my husband's kids were there. We now live in Virginia now. Sadly, they don't care. :(

30. I could go to the Magic Kingdom every weekend and still not get sick of it. I love all the Disney parks. My husband thinks, "Not so much."

31. The photographer took over 700 photos at our wedding! He was there until the place closed. Should I upload them?

32. My best friend in pre-school was mulatto (half-black, half-white). I can remember "tasting" each other to see if she tasted like chocolate and me vanilla. Then asking her older sister why she was darker than everyone else. That's the day we found out what adopted meant.

33. My parents used to take a whole month in the summer for vacation. We traveled everywhere camping. I had a great childhood.

34. My sister and I were the only grandchildren on both sides (mom's and dad's). To say the least, we were spoiled. We also had an uncle that was never married and didn't have children!

35. I usually only cook in our house when the husband is flying at night. I don't like cooking and my husband does. I only have a kitchen because it came with the house.

36. My favorite TV shows are 2 1/2 men, NCIS, Law and Order and Grey's Anatomy.

37. I absolutely LOVE doing jigsaw puzzles and could do them 24 hours a day!

38. I can speak Spanish really well. Well enough that I serve as a translator at the school where I work.

39. I could hammer a nail into a 1/4 inch board by the time I was 5! Why do I know this? My DAD wrote it in my baby book. He was impressed with his very girly daughter.

40. I didn't wear a pair of jeans to school until the 6th grade. I thought they were for boys and fishing. Now I could wear them daily.

41. I once put the claw of the hammer through my sister's left eye lid. I told you I didn't like her!

42. My parents say I could swim before I could walk. I loved swimming. I didn't join the swim team in HS because I couldn't dive!

43. I collect gator beenie babies. They don't have to be the real, name brand beenies. They just have to be small.

44. I love to clean. It de-stresses me. I clean the best when "Aunt Flo" comes to visit.

45. If there was a school that was open from like 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., I would sign up to teach there.

46. I can write with either hand on a chalkboard/white board/smart board.

47. I really dislike the taste of coffee, but love the smell.

48. I don't like chocolate milk or chocolate shakes or chocolate ice cream.

49. I've donated my hair to lock of love twice. The first time, they cut off 16 inches! And still cut more in order to style it correctly. The second time only 12 inches.

50. I love to cut the grass. I was forced to cut my grandfather's grass growing up and should probably hate it, but I don't. Yes, it was his grass, but my grandmother's house.

51. I'm a very laid back person. More than one person had told me that, including my husband. If you knew my husband, you understand why I am. Helicopter pilots are SO type A.

52. I have no desire to go to Las Vegas. I've been to Reno and have gotten my fill. I know, not the same, but that's me.

53. I wore my mom's wedding dress in my wedding. I had the sleeves removed. (Lace. Yuck!) I also had the back taken out. Then it was perfect! And I saved boo-coo amounts of money because my mom's friend did all the alterations for free!

54. I have never seen many of the classic love stories like Gone With the Wind and really don't want to see them. Weird, for a woman, I know. But I have no desire to see them. I am more likely to read the book.

55. I took Racquetball at UF because Tennis was full and I was told it was an easy "A". I had to work my ass off for that "easy" A. Volleyball was the same story.

56. I dislike shoes. I take my off as soon as I enter the house. That's why our coat closets usually have my shoes on the bottom.

57. I really don't like houses with multiple levels. It's due to the laundry room. What genius puts all the bedrooms on the top level, but the laundry on the main floor? Obviously, a man!

58. I have no problem donating blood, but give me a TB test and I nearly pass out every time!

59. I think actors with salt n pepper hair are hot, so therefore who I think is hot depends on their hair color. I thought Sean Connery was hot in Medicine Man, but now, not so much. His hair is all grey. I thought Richard Gere was hot in Pretty Woman. I don't know why I find this so appealing.

60. My grandmother was a nurse and so was my mom. I could never be a nurse. I could never stick someone with a needle and I don't like taking care of sick people. Blood doesn't bother me a bit.

61. I learned to drive a car in 3 weeks! I wanted to go to a summer acting class and my parents refused to drive me. It was their way of making me get my license.

62. I had the best summer jobs in HS. One summer I worked at Adventure Island in Tampa and the next at Busch Gardens. We were being paid to have fun. Ice fights. Free ice cream. Played games.

63. When my sister and I were very young, we chose to share a bedroom so we could have a playroom.

64. I am the youngest daughter and my dad still calls me "The Baby".

65. If I didn't think the hubs would notice, I would own hundreds of shoes.

66. I own a monopoly game from the sixties. My uncle owns one from the forties!

67. I once rode my bike 12 miles to get to the beach. I was about 14. My best friend and I would ride everywhere on our bikes. Those were the good old days.

68. I have a footlocker full of my school (MS, HS, college) memorabilia. What's missing are the yearbooks. Those are on a family room shelf, if not packed in a box!

69. I love painting walls in a house. If I thought I could make money at it, that's what I would do for a living. I painted our house by myself and loved every minute of it. All inside, of course. The house was brick. No need to paint outside.

70. I own about 7 bathing suits even though I don't live in Florida anymore.

71. I could wear a UF sweatshirt or T-shirt every day for a month and not wear the same one twice.

72. My roommate and I in college created our own Gator shirts with ribbon and such because we didn't want to pay the high price in the Gator shops.

73. I can trace my maternal grandfather's family genealogy back to the 1700s.

74. I don't scrapbook. I'm probably the only woman who doesn't feel I need to learn. I don't feel I have the time. I probably NOT the only woman who feels this way!

75. I love to drive. I am always up for a road trip. In college, my roomies and I went to Jacksonville on the spur of the moment because there weren't any parties in Gainesville! We got back to the dorms around 4 a.m.

76. I don't like rooms that are decorated with birdhouses. I don't think birdhouses belong in a house.

77. My favorite color is sage green. I wanted my bridesmaids' dresses to be in sage, but my mom and best friend's mom talked me out of it. Why did I let them do that?

78. I addicted to Diet Coke. There. I've said it!

79. I am obsessed with HGTV. I like all of their shows: anything home improvement or buying/selling a house.

80. My secret TV obsession is What Not To Wear. I don't know what draws me to this show. Maybe it's Stacy's and Clinton's honesty and sarcasm.

81. My husband and I renovated our basement, floor to ceiling, in under a month! We thought he was getting a job transfer and we needed to finish it before trying to sell it. We had previously tore out the ceiling and walls. It was a blank canvas.

82. I once ran through the Orlando airport carrying a backpack, an almost 3 year old and car seat while 7 1/2 months pregnant! My son was about to have a fibral seizure and I was running to get help. He had one before and I could tell he was going to do it again. Thank goodness he's past this phase.

83. As a kid, I would catch lizards and hang them from my ears like earrings. It didn't hurt and we thought it as cool.

84. I think people who wear socks with sandals should just wear tennis shoes. Why wear sandals if you're going to put on socks?

85. I don't like The Simpson's. I think it's the dumbest show ever put on TV. I can't believe it's lasted this long! Someone, please tell me the appeal of it.

86. When I was in the Army, I could run the required 2 miles in 15 minutes! I was very proud of that. It makes me wish I had joined cross country or track in HS. I also used to run 10K for fun!

87. I have wasted height. I am almost 5'8" but never used it for anything like basketball or volleyball. I do like to play pick up games of basketball, but that's it.

88. I was made in Germany, but it's not stamped on my butt or anything. My parents were living in Germany when I was conceived. I am proof of how well the pill worked for my mom.

89. I can sleep anywhere as long as I have at least one body pillow!

90. I can sleep until well into the afternoon if you let me. I can also stay up all night if I have to for a reason.

91. I have no desire to ever drive a mini van. I like my truck. Most people think it's too big. I even receive glares once in awhile. I admit. It's big. It takes a lot of diesel, but I like it and we need something to pull the camper we have and the camper we will have. :)

92. I refuse to wear sandals unless my toenails are painted. I don't like naked toes.

93. My hands don't match each other. My right hand looks like my grandfather's and my left hand looks like my mother's.

93. I love to people watch in the airport or mall. Actually, I just love airports. I don't even have to be going anywhere, just the airport.

94. I hate the snow and cold weather. I'd rather be sweating my ass off in Florida than freezing it off in the snow in 10 degree weather!

95. If I must cook, give me a gas cook top. But I prefer a electric oven.

96. I dislike pancakes. Doesn't matter how you make them, I won't like them.

97. I'm also not so fond of butter or margarine or whatever you want to call that yellow-tinted stuff you spread on bread. I get a lot of strange looks when I order dry toast in restaurants.

98. When my husband and I sold our house in Seymour, we became debt free. It is a great feeling. I recommend it to everyone. If you have doubts that it's possible, just Google "Dave Ramsey".

99. Making this list was painful. Why did I ever start it?
100. It took me 3 days to come up with this list!