100 Things About Me

  1. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a mermaid more than anything. This didn't endear me to the lifeguards at Elmwood's Maple Lane Country Club swimming pool, who had to "rescue" me on more than one occasion from the bottom of said pool as I sat and relaxed in my "underwater kingdom", my feet bound by diving rings. At 4 years old, I couldn't understand why the lifeguards got so upset with me...that's what I did when I wanted to take a break from swimming. I'd sit on the floor of the pool and rest until it was time to take a breath. Who wants to do it the normal way and actually get out of the pool?!?
  2. I don't know why, but I have always had a feeling that my soul mate's name is John. If I'm ever lucky to meet a man crazy enough to take me as his wife and his name is anything other than John, I'll chalk my incorrect premonition to brain damage caused by the lack of oxygen I suffered while sitting at the bottom of the pool, pretending to be a mermaid.
  3. I'm obsessive-compulsive about safety. Whenever I'm traveling by airplane, I always count the number of seats between my seat and the nearest exit. In a hotel, I'll count the number of doors between my room and the stairs. In movie theaters, I try to choose a seat near an exit. I refuse to sit in the back seat of an automobile with two doors, lest I become trapped in case of an accident. My best friend makes fun of me for all this, but we'll see who has the last laugh if I ever have to save her ass in an emergency.
  4. No one likes sharing a bed with me or sleeping next to me on the floor. Apparently, I become a nocturnal version of Bruce Lee, unconsciously kicking or shoving anyone who invades my personal space.
  5. I went through a major medical trauma 4 months before I was born. My mother fractured her right arm in a washing machine when she was 5 months pregnant with me, forcing her to undergo emergency surgery. While in the hospital, she was given copious amounts of morphine and other hallucinogenic goodies to combat her pain, which could be the reason why I turned out so weird (see #1, #3, and #24)
  6. I will never understand people who hate cats. How could anyone hate a cat?
  7. I am a never married single. I'm seriously doubting that I will ever walk down the aisle, mostly due to two factors: my strong independent streak, and the fact that I have nothing to offer the opposite sex.
  8. My birthday is February 13, which makes me an Aquarius. An Aquarius with Aquarius rising and a Capricorn moon.
  9. I'm the oldest of three children. My brother, Bart, is 2 1/2 years younger than me, and my half-sister, Sara, is 11 1/2 years younger.
  10. My parents divorced when I was 7 (my dad left my mom for a much younger woman). You'd better believe it has affected my view on marriage.
  11. I love being an aunt. My two nephews, Garett and Cameron, and my three nieces, Madilyn, Claire, and Jolene are my heart. I'd take a bullet for them. 
  12. I'm godmother to my best friend's two children, Elizabeth and Nathaniel. I'd take a bullet for them too.
  13. Even though I love kids and think I'd be a good mom, I don't think I'm ever going to have children. At my age, getting pregnant naturally would take a miracle, and I don't think I could go through the financial and physical stress of  IVF.
  14. My best friend's name is Kelly. We met in 1992 when we were both working at the Greater Peoria Family YMCA Child Care Center. We spent 8 years together as co-teachers in a Pre-Kindergarten class.
  15. For the last twenty years, I have worked as a teacher assistant in a special education classroom. All my students have severe/profound physical and mental handicaps.
  16. I'm considering going back to school to earn a certificate in medical assisting.
  17. I've been fighting the two-headed monster of depression and social anxiety for most of my life. Thank God for anti-depressants.
  18. I'm a redhead. You'd better believe I have a temper :)
  19. I have central heterochromia. Which is just a fancy way to say my eyes are bi-colored. My outer irises are blue, while the inner irises are brown.
  20. I wear contact lenses. Without them, I'm extremely near-sighted and could give Mr. Magoo a run for his money in a blind contest.
  21. I think tanning is overrated. I like my ghostly porcelain skin! If I wanted a tan, I could always play connect the dots with all my freckles :)
  22. I stand a wee 5 ft. 3 1/2".
  23. I have never been drunk. I don't drink alcohol all that often, and on the rare occasions that I have an Amaretto Stone Sour or a cocktail containing vodka, I'll stop at 2.
  24. As a child, I had a debilitating fear of the Devil. I had myself convinced that he lived under the front porch of our creepy Victorian house during the day, and at night he parked himself under my bed, just waiting for the opportunity to grab me by the feet should I have to get up and go to the bathroom.
  25. I'm right handed.
  26. My shoe size ranges from a 6 1/2 to a 8.
  27. If I could change only one physical feature, it would be my lips. They're too small.
  28. I used to smoke. Not very smart of me, I know, but during the final, stress filled years of working for a child care director from hell, I turned to Sampoerna clove cigarettes instead of stuffing my face with chocolate. Okay, I just lied about that last part. I smoked AND stuffed my face with chocolate. I inhaled tar and added major poundage to my already overweight body, but, on the bright side, I didn't get sent to prison for committing murder!
  29. My favorite color is green.
  30. I have two pets: a black pug dog named Mushi Mu, and a crazy, 18 lb. tabby cat named Pippin Took. As of June 2020, I have a pug mix named Backes. Mushi Mu passed away in 2013, and Pippin passed in October 2019.
  31. Dentists freak me the hell out.
  32. So do scorpions.
  33. And ventriloquist dummies.
  34. Oh, and clowns. Can't forget the clowns.
  35. My favorite restaurant is the Cracker Barrel.
  36. You'll hardly ever see me wearing pink. Clashes with my hair.
  37. I can't eat a Snickers™ like a normal person. I turn the candy bar over and eat it layer by layer: bottom layer of chocolate first, then the nougat, then the caramel/peanut mixture, and finally the top chocolate layer.
  38. Coffee smells heavenly, but I don't drink it.
  39. I find cleaning to be therapeutic.
  40. My favorite holiday is Halloween, followed by Easter.
  41. I'm a registered Democrat. I'd vote for a turd before I'd vote for a Republican.
  42. Unsweetened tea is my choice of caffeine.
  43. I don't have any tattoos.
  44. A sunflower tat above my ankle would be cute, but I'm too much of a wuss to go through with it.
  45. My ears are double pierced, but I only wear earrings in the bottom holes.The top holes are uneven and always get infected.
  46. I've been told that I'm photogenic. Do I believe it? Meh.
  47. My blood type is A positive. I'd love to be a blood donor, but I'm constantly battling severe anemia.
  48. I adore horses but am too frightened to ride one.
  49. Sunflowers, tulips, pansies, and lilies are my favorite flowers.
  50. Thunderstorms are exciting.
  51. I prefer baths to showers.
  52. Eggs in any form are gross. I would rather starve than eat an egg.
  53. My favorite ice cream flavors are mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie dough.
  54. I survived a tornado at age 5.
  55. I dream about tornadoes a lot. And dysfunctional elevators.
  56. I've owned three cars. My first was a 1993 Plymouth Sundance, followed by a 2000 Saturn SL2 and then, my current car, a 2003 Saturn ION. [Edit 6/2020: I'm on my fourth car, a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze]
  57. My worst fears? Losing a loved one (especially one of the children). Public speaking. Cancer. Being caught in a fire.
  58. I am a HUGE hockey fan! My favorite NHL team is the St.Louis Blues, and my AHL SPHL team is the Peoria Rivermen.
  59. Which is ironic because I hated hockey when I was younger.
  60. I was a Rivermen season ticket holder for 9 years, until it got to be too much of a financial strain on me.
  61. The Chicago Cubs is my favorite baseball team.
  62. I'm praying that I will get to see them win the World Series before I die (yeah, I'm not holding my breath on that one!)  My dream came true!!!! World Series champs in 2016!
  63. I'm also praying that I'll get to see the St.Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup. Hopefully sooner rather than later.  Another dream that came true!!! 2019 Stanley Cup champions!!!
  64. I like animals more than I like most people.
  65. My worst traits? I'm extremely stubborn, lazy, a worrier, adverse to change of any kind, and very competitive. Is it bad that my second grade teacher commented on how competitive I was on one of my report cards? *lol*
  66. Another negative trait? My feelings are hurt entirely too easy. I wish I had a thicker skin and could just let things roll off my back. It would make things so much easier.
  67. I consider myself blessed that I had all four grandparents and three of my great-grandparents in my life while I was growing up. My grandmas are the only two left now, so I cherish every moment I have with them. [Edit 6/20: I only have one grandma left. The other passed in August 2013]
  68. I have the attention span of a flea on crack.
  69. As a child, I was convinced that I was going to marry either Shaun Cassidy or Donny Osmond. You can probably guess how that turned out.
  70. I chew ice. Even after paying hundreds of dollars to fix cracked teeth.
  71. I've been lucky so far in the accident/serious illness department (knocking wood). Have only made 2 trips to the ER: once for a broken nose (which was a waste because doctors couldn't do anything) and once for stitches after a barefoot run-in with a pair of hedge clippers.
  72. I could have had nasty lead poisoning after my brother shot me in the leg with a BB gun when we were children.
  73. I've only been outside the US once. In July 2003, I visited my cousin Michelle in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
  74. I was 22 the first time I traveled on an airplane.
  75. I've never been on a train. Or a ship.I must remedy this.
  76. Central Illinois has always been my home. Not the most exciting place on Earth, but I can't imagine living any where else. 
  77. Disney World is my favorite vacation spot. I've been there 6 8 times! (with trip #7 planned for June 2012) [Edit 6/2020: trip #8 was in June 2018]
  78. I want to visit all 50 states before I die.
  79. I lost 115 lbs. six years ago using the Weight Watchers plan. I'm sad (and a bit embarrassed) to admit that I've gained back 75 of those 115 lbs. over the past four years. My weight is constantly yo-yo'ing. [Edit 6/2020: After struggling with my weight over the past 9 years, I've managed to get back within 30 lbs. of my goal weight]
  80. My favorite subjects in school were History and Spanish.
  81. My least favorite? Math.
  82. I hardly ever wear make up.
  83. I love reading about the Presidents and the First Ladies.
  84. I HATE talking on the phone.
  85. I was baptized in the Methodist Church, but was brought up Catholic.
  86. I'm more spiritual than religious.
  87. I'm interested in astrology and astronomy.
  88. I believe in ghosts and I love to read books & watch TV shows about hauntings.
  89. My favorite musicians are The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Moody Blues, ELO, The Eagles, Aerosmith, et al. Classic rock is the best!
  90. Jewelry isn't really my thing, but I do like earrings.
  91. Art is one of my passions.
  92. As is calligraphy.
  93. I'm addicted to things that smell good: perfumes, candles, shampoo, and shower gels.
  94. A movie has to really, REALLY suck for me not to like it (ex. Crybaby, Road To Wellville).
  95. I'm a Civil War buff and I would like to visit all the battlefields. So far, I've only been to 2: Bull Run and Gettysburg.
  96. My heritage is British/ French/Scottish/Irish/Swedish/Norweigan on my dad's side and German/Austrian/Hungarian on my mom's side.
  97. I like to watch DVD's with the English subtitles on. Sometimes it is so hard to hear the dialogue over everyday sounds (furnace, air conditioner, kids playing, noisy cars, etc.).
  98. My favorite foods? Pancakes, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, cheeseburgers, and pizza. Oh, and all kinds of candy.
  99. Italian is a language that I would love to learn.
  100. I'm addicted to all kinds of word puzzles: syllacrostics, crosswords, frameworks, word seeks, crypto-families, and anagram magic squares.
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