100 Things About Me

A tradition here in the Blogosphere dictates that when you reach 100 posts, you list 100 things about yourself. I hit my 100 posts a long time ago (this is actually post #205) and decided to save my list for my one year blogoversary, and this would be it. Happy Blogoversary to me!!

And, now for my 100 things, in no particular order.

1. I’ve been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints my whole life.

2. I gained a strong testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith while touring Nauvoo when I was 16.

3. My husband is fifteen and a half years older than I am.

4. He was the first guy I ever dated.

5. He was also the first (and only) guy I’ve ever kissed.

6. We were married in the Salt Lake temple.

7. We have four children, a daughter and three sons.

8. My daughter’s birthday is the 4th of July.

9. My favorite colors are burgundy, mauve, country blue, navy, forest green, and sage.

10. I was a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator for three years and really enjoyed it. I may do it again later when I get more time.

11. My first book is one that I wrote and illustrated myself when I was 5. It’s called “Sue, the Dog.”

12. Cabbage gives me a headache.

13. Cooked cauliflower smells like a wet diaper to me.

14. I worked as the assistant manager in a fast-food restaurant when I was first married.

15. Before that, I worked in a floral shop.

16. My favorite TV show when I was ten was “Remington Steele.”

17. My favorite show now is “What Not to Wear.”

18. I’m a chocoholic.

19. I still have a crush on Pierce Brosnan.

20. I’m a major “Pride and Prejudice” fan, but only the Colin Firth version. The other version is a shallow wanna-be.

21. I went to Russia when I was fifteen and got to stay there for two weeks.

22. Later that same year, I went to California and was a nanny for six weeks while they looked for someone more permanent.

23. I love mangos.

24. I really enjoy old movies – usually more than the modern ones.

25. One modern one I really liked was “Miss Potter.”

26. I spend way too much time reading blogs.

27. My house is usually messy. I’m one of those people who always has a whole lot of other things to do, and housework just isn’t very high on my priority list.

28. I prefer silver to gold.

29. In any given year, I will read between 200-300 books.

30. I really like turn-of-the-century literature.

31. I was greatly inspired to write historical fiction by Ann Rinaldi.

32. On one of my dates with my husband (then fiancé,) we went to the library and read each other children’s books.

33. When I was ten, I had a job making jewelry.

34. I was homeschooled and have never attended a public school.

35. My parents met and married in Logan, and when I was growing up, my grandparents lived directly around the block from each other. We’d run around the block to visit whichever grandparent we chose.

36. I owned a robin’s-egg blue manual typewriter when I was ten – I got it for Christmas. Then I graduated to an electric typewriter, then went to a word processing typewriter, and then to a computer. It was at this time that I was introduced to an ergonomic keyboard and fell head over heels in love. We are now on our third computer since we got married.

37. About the aforementioned ergo keyboard – I am not able hold my hands in a standard typing position and so the ergo keyboard was a life-saver.

38. I broke my tailbone and now have a hard time sitting on firm surfaces.

39. I gave birth to my first three children at home with the assistance of a midwife.

40. My fourth child was born via c-section – he was completely breech.

41. The hospital bed (see #40) was extremely hard and uncomfortable.

42. I have never had a broken bone. (Added later -- my bad. See the comment trail.)

43. I have lived in – California, Nevada, Utah, and Virginia.

44. In the U.S., I have been to – Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana.

45. I got lost in JFK Airport.

46. I really hate sticky or greasy countertops.

47. I also hate greasy hair – I wash my hair every single day, regardless of how sick I am or what else is going on. It’s a psychological thing with me.

48. I really liked the first Pirates movie, not so much the second, and haven’t bothered to see third.

49. “The Princess Bride” will always be one of my all-time favorites.

50. My parents divorced when I was a teenager.

51. I have three older sisters.

52. I write better after rubbing Vicks under my nose and my lip balm on my lips.

53. Speaking of that, I’ve discovered that my lip balm is really good for burns and heat rash.

54. My bedroom is the messiest room in my house. No one ever sees it, and so it’s the last room to ever get cleaned.

55. I spent an hour cleaning my room today and didn’t make much progress.

56. I like to cook and bake, but on my terms, no one else’s. I really hate the expectation that I’m going to cook and bake – I like delight and anticipation instead of expectation.

57. I really like Oriental things. The food, the culture, the costumes, the architecture – it’s all gorgeous.

58. I feel a strong connection to the 1940s. I love the movies and the music from that era – I love the Andrews Sisters, Nat King Cole, Glenn Miller, etc.

59. I hate classical music.

60. You know how they say the sound of rain or of a waterfall will relax you? If you even think of subjecting me to that, I’ll hurt you.

61. I will only take out the garbage if my husband is out of town. I hate, hate, hate taking out the garbage.

62. When I was a little girl, I was so afraid of getting kidnapped that it terrified me to walk anywhere by myself.

63. Now I’m only terrified of the freeway.

64. I procrastinate a lot, usually putting off something better to do something good.

65. My carpet is beige.

66. When I was little, I had a white rabbit that went insane. Then I got a black rabbit who died of heat stroke. I didn’t have much luck with rabbits, but I still like ‘em.

67. I have never ridden a horse, but I want to.

68. I have never milked a cow, but I want to.

69. I would love to move out into the country and own a ranch, a small one, and raise my kids in the sunshine, with lots of chores and hard work, as well as playing hard.

70. I love the Bible and the Book of Mormon, but my favorite book of scripture is The Doctrine and Covenants.

71. I love to scrapbook but I hardly ever have time anymore.

72. I think more than the scrapbooking, I love to shop for scrapbook stuff. I have a lot more than I’ll ever get around to using.

73. My best writing ideas come to me in the shower.

74. I read really fast.

75. I don’t run very fast.

76. I type moderately fast.

77. I talk fast too, especially when in front of a lot of people, and double especially when I’m excited about my subject matter.

78. I don’t enjoy flying.

79. I used to get car sick, but over the last two years, that seems to be getting better.

80. If I peel an orange, I have to scrub my hands with soap immediately afterward.

81. Along the same lines, I really have to wash all the fuzz off a peach before I eat it or it feels like splinters in my lips.

82. I spent about four hours a day in front of the computer.

83. I’m 31.

84. I have hazel eyes that turn green when I cry.

85. I love to take naps and then stay up late.

86. I hate walking into a spot of water on the floor when I’m wearing socks.

87. It drives me nuts to see people out watering their lawns in the middle of the day – don’t they know they’re just steaming their grass and it’ll die that way? Water at night, people!

88. It also drives me nuts to see people carry their babies in their car seats without draping a blanket over the top, and the poor little things are staring straight up into the sun.

89. I like Wal-Mart and hate Target.

90. I go to three different stores to do my grocery shopping, but it saves me about a hundred dollars a month.

91. I have the cutest kids on the planet.

92. I like to eat out – it means someone else cooked and will clean up after me.

93. I really hate mismatched socks and if the mate doesn’t show up within a reasonable amount of time, it goes in the trash.

94. When potty-training, I would rather throw away poopy underwear than try to wash them out. There’s just no reason to try to salvage them, esp. when they’re only about a dollar each (or less).

95. I’m very opinionated.

96. But that notwithstanding, I will listen to what others have to say, and if I was wrong, I admit it.

97. The library and the craft store are two of my favorite places in the world.

98. My bed is another favorite place – but since I already said I like taking naps, you already guessed that.

99. I am a direct descendant of the Hole in the Rock pioneers of Utah history fame.

100. This one had better be a good one, as it’s the last. Um . . . um . . . I have a heart-shaped birthmark on my right ankle.

And there you have it – 100 things about me. That was a little harder than I thought it would be, but happy blogoversary to me anyway!! One year, and 205 posts strong.