Come on, EVERYBODY'S doing it!

100 Things About Me

1. I hate long nails. I don’t necessarily hate well kept long nails on other people but on myself I hate them. They just seem to get in the way too much.

2. I am proud to be a farm girl. I don’t want to be seen as a hillbilly but I am very happy to report that I have driven a tractor, pulled a calf out of its mother, know that chasing a pig is more difficult than chasing a cow and can tell the difference between wheat and oats.

3. I was born on December 25th. I like being unique that way but I weary of telling people that and hearing them respond: “Hey, that’s Christmas!”

4. I do not naturally trust people. It takes me awhile and I tend to be quite guarded with most people. But, once trust is gained I am a very loyal person.

5. Music calms me. I can change my mood just based on the type of music played. Ideally though, if given a choice, I would only listen to music with well-written lyrics. Possibly this is because I’m not much of a dancer. Who needs a good beat if you’re not going to dance to it?

6. I am a good problem solver. Both at work and in day-to-day living.

7. I don’t enjoy driving very much but I do love traveling so I’m happiest if I’m on a trip with someone who loves to drive.

8. I believe in God and can’t imagine not believing in God. Even if I found out that there is a 99.9% chance that there isn’t a God I think I would probably still choose to believe for comfort if nothing else.

9. I was married on June 26, 2004 to a man that makes me laugh and is possibly the kindest man I’ve ever met.

10. I need sleep. I love sleep. I’m not sure how I’m going to manage if I ever have a child that does not sleep well at night. Based on my husband’s kindness and the fact that he can survive on limited sleep I’m hoping we can survive that stage.

11. I am the youngest. I have 3 siblings, two older brothers and an older sister. I have no intentions of having 4 children and yet I still believe that 2 boys and 2 girls makes up the ideal family.

12. I have no idea how my mother did it. She raised all 4 of us (well). She had a massive garden, a busy farmer-husband whom she helped, baked all her own bread and buns, kept a clean house, canned and froze enough vegetables and pickles for us for the winter months… And I have no vivid memories of us eating scrambled eggs or cereal for lunch because Mom was too lazy (or couldn’t think of anything) to cook. All that and she still found time to read to us and play with us.

13. I’m not a phone person.

14. If I chew gum I tend to swallow it without thinking and so I rarely chew gum.

15. I usually walk quite quickly. I often have to stop myself to let others catch up.

16. I won 3rd place in a spelling bee (behind Audrey and Graham) in elementary school. I went out on the word omelet. I think of it every time I have to spell that word.

17. There is almost always music playing in the car when I’m driving.

18. A boy called me a bitch in grade one. I had no idea what it meant but I knew it was bad and so kicked him in the head and bent his glasses. At recess I quietly looked the word up in the dictionary and was still rather confused by its definition.

19. I like pineapple on my pizza but not ham.

20. I am annoyed when people use a lot of exclamation points when one will do.

21. I joined 4H as a kid, sucked dreadfully at the interior design course I was a part of and my mom let me quit. I’m kind of surprised now looking back that she let me quit.

22. I love herbs. I love the smell and look of them and I love to cook with them. Especially fresh ones.

23. I do not tend to get motion-sick. I am quite proud of the fact that I was once on a boat (on rough seas) off the coast of Australia with 17 other people and I was the only person not getting queasy.

24. When I put cds or dvds back into their cases, I then rotate them so that the writing is the right way up before I close the case.

25. I hate not wearing a watch because I like to know what the time is at any given moment.

26. I am proud to have 2 middle names.

27. I am very sensitive to scents.

28. A girlfriend and I pierced our own ears in grade 5.

29. I don’t like carnations.

30. I prefer silver to gold.

31. I am a sucker for romance and yet very cynical of it at the same time.

32. I rarely bother wearing jewelry or makeup.

33. I rarely miss an opportunity to share my opinion. I know at times I seem far too opinionated and that this annoys people so I do try to hold my tongue on occasion.

34. I have always had a hard time spelling the word “occasion” and yet I still continue to use it.

35. I prefer meals when there is more than one type of food on a plate.

36. I broke my right elbow by slipping on ice when I was in grade 9.

37. I routinely judge books by their covers. If the author’s name is embossed, shiny or larger than the title I will nearly always dismiss the book.

38. Most of the time I have painted toenails but I rarely have painted fingernails.

39. I am almost always cold even when others are warm. I think my internal thermometer is off though as I’ll often complain about being cold and my husband will touch me or cuddle me and say that I’m actually quite warm.

40. The word “cuddling” actually annoys me but the activity of cuddling pleases me.

41. I am a Christian but in a complicated, non-fundamentalist, constantly questioning and changing way.

42. Fundamentalists astonish/scare me.

43. I am not good at remembering peoples’ names, birthdays or anniversaries but I do have a good memory for useless trivia.

44. I like coffee but I’m not a coffeeaholic nor am I particularly fussy about my brew as long as it's not too strong.

45. One of my biggest fears is being half asleep while running my bath, slipping and knocking out my front teeth.

46. I have an intense desire to drive across the country entirely alone.

47. I don’t like amusement parks. Too noisy, too many people.

48. Clutter irritates me. This is not to say I don’t have any clutter in my life.

49. I would like to have a big, thick silver thumb ring.

50. I can’t stand the sound of other people flossing their teeth.

51. I don’t sweat very much.

52. I despise dusting but enjoy most other housecleaning chores.

53. I prefer dresses and skirts to pants.

54. I am generally easy to please and find amusement in much that surrounds me.

55. I do not hold grudges but I will remain wary.

56. The personality trait I value most is integrity.

57. The sight of a dog licking someone’s face makes me cringe.

58. I prefer seeing movies in a theatre rather than on video.

59. I detest poor spelling and grammar.

60. When I have something to eat or drink at my desk (whether it be a yogurt, banana or even a takeout cup of hot chocolate) I have to throw the remains in a garbage other than mine or the smell will drive me crazy all day. (see #27)

61. I love shopping in office supply stores. School supplies are therapeutic for me.

62. I am often shy in large groups of strangers, sometimes misinterpreted as standoffishness.

63. I can have pickles in my fridge indefinitely and never think to eat them but if I’m at someone’s house and they serve pickles I am delighted and can barely stop eating them.

64. Tags on shirts, sweaters, blouses etc. make me nuts and I cut them off most of the time.

65. I don’t get hurt feelings very easily and I think as a result I hurt peoples' feelings on occasion without even knowing it.

66. The feeling of a plane’s wheels leaving the tarmac makes my heart skip a beat. In a good way.

67. I have seen a tornado funnel forming.

68. I don’t like beer.

69. I prefer my drinking water to be tepid rather than ice cold.

70. If I tell someone I love him/her, I mean it.

71. I’m not fond of the word “yummy” – especially in relation to describing men.

72. I have a loud laugh and I laugh often. My dad loved my laugh and made fun of it (in a loving way).

73. I like the word “romantic” and I dislike it when people feel the word is only associated with male/female love.

74. I can hold my pee forever. Drives my husband nuts.

75. I have to wear glasses. I’d like to have the option of wearing contacts but my eyes are too dry.

76. I love cotton candy. I have been known to stop at small parking lot carnivals to buy cotton candy for my drive home.

77. I was burned as a child. Fortunately, I do not have a lot of scars. Physically or emotionally. In fact, I still love fire and can’t help but play with it.

78. I wish there were a word that was in between friend and acquaintance/associate. I take the term “friend” very seriously and it is limited to a handful of people.

79. My mom used to sing us awake.

80. I enjoy games but I’m not very competitive. I enjoy the time whether I win or lose as long as there is no-one too competitive playing with me. When people are too competitive I want to quit the game.

81. I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 18.

82. I would be quite happy if I never heard another Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey or Celine Dion song again in my life.

83. My first crush was on Luke at summer camp. This was before I started school. My second crush was on Dean.

84. My father died in a farming accident. As hard as it was to bear and as much as we still miss him my father would not have grown old gracefully so it’s best that he died doing what he loved before he was too old to have to stop farming.

85. I like bridges. While in New England for our honeymoon I made my husband drive a ways off the beaten track to see covered bridges.

86. I love to be barefoot.

87. I don’t wear pink.

88. I prefer to have the doors closed when I sleep. Both bedroom and closet.

89. I am obsessive about keeping track of my finances.

90. I like tea but not fruit or mint-flavored tea. Period. No exceptions.

91. I have a lot of freckles on my upper back and shoulders. I like them. They remind me of my dad except his entire body was freckled (except his face).

92. When I was young I got a bee sting right on the bridge of my nose so that both eyes were completely swollen shut. My mom let me stay home from school. Nice treat to be able to stay home from school and not feel even remotely sick.

93. I have never been very good at sports. Two exceptions. At summer camp I was the best dodge ball player and at college I was the best female floor hockey player. The fact that those aren’t really sports supports the initial statement. But, I’m still quite proud of them nonetheless.

94. I love watching interior decorating shows even though I do not have even the smallest knack for decorating (see #21).

95. I tend to follow rules but only if they make sense. If there is no common sense to a rule I will fight it and deliberately disobey it.

96. I rarely ever cry but if I do I’m usually completely alone. This does not mean I don’t feel, it just means I tend to keep my feelings very private. If you do see me cry, don’t hug me; just pass me a tissue.

97. I am very sarcastic and find myself drawn to others who are likewise.

98. Constant, unnecessary noises stress me out. I do anything I can to make them stop including yelling at people who are tapping a table with their foot.

99. We didn’t have a TV growing up. Back then it embarrassed me, now I’m proud of it. My mom made everything in our lunches (bread included). Back then it embarrassed me, now I’m proud of it. We didn’t open our Christmas presents until well after lunch on Christmas day. Back then it frustrated me now it pleases me. Sense a pattern?

100. I love lists – both reading and making them. This was fun and I will most likely do it again sometime.