25 Random Things About Me

Okay, if you're on facebook, you've probably already seen this. However, I know some of you have not joined yet (or will never join), so this is for you. Enjoy! (or not...you may want to go watch "Tool Academy" or something equally entertaining)

25 Random Things About Me

1. I am totally in love with my daughter. Head-over-heels love. I had no idea that I could love someone so much and so intensely. Even when she's 2 feet away from me, I miss her. I finally understand why "they" say, "Having a child is making a decision to forever have your heart be walking around outside of your body." My greatest fear is something happening to her that I can't control.

2. I crushed my knee in 1995 on a white water rafting trip. You might remember that year...it rained the entire month of March. Rivers were way up. I had 3 surgeries and was on crutches for 8 months. I was supposed to get a total knee replacement in 2005 but that has yet to happen. Keep fingers crossed...

3. I was a Jehovah's Witness growing up. To those of you who don't know much about that, I was taught that anyone who wasn't a witness was bad and not to be friends with and I was taught you all were going to die a fiery death when Armageddon came and the day of judgement caught you all in your horrendous deeds. I've been waiting for that day to come and so far...nada.

4. My greatest regret (to date) is that I never finished high school. I dropped out after sophomore year to be a better Witness. I became an Ordained Minister (I could have performed marriages at 16!) and finished high school through the mail. However, my dad never paid the final bill so I never got my diploma. I couldn't go to college until I was 21 because of that.

5. I have one tattoo and don't need any more. I fear that if I get another one, they'll just keep multiplying like rabbits.

6. I was a bartender for 2 years at a pretty nice restaurant in Cherry Creek. Still miss that hoppin' lifestyle! But...I can make a mean Cosmo!

7. I can play the piano, violin, oboe, drums, xylophone (the real one you see in bands and orchestras...not Maelin's toy one), cello, clarinet and the flute (although not very well). Music is the one thing that seems to be lost as I get older. My piano is still at my friend's house while I make room for it here. I plan to bring it home soon. Violin got hocked to pay rent when I was 19.

8. I taught English in Italy for 3 months in 2002. Best experience of my life (besides Maelin, of course). I had never been out of the country by myself before and I cried like a baby the entire first night. Was too afraid to cross the street in France to go get some dinner so I stayed on my hotel bed and ate the oreos my mom had given me before I left. However, this remains one of the things I will be most proud of accomplishing. I recommend it to everyone: being on your own in a foreign country forces you to figure out real quick who you are. This is one of the reasons I'm so in love with Italy and its people.

9. I plan on retiring in Italy (specifically Umbria or Sorrento or Rome) one day. Kevin and I disagree on this. It's good we have a few years to discuss because I'm going!

10. I am terrified of heights. I start shaking on staircases that you can see through. Don't get me started on Seattle's Space Needle or the Eiffel Tower. Very pretty to look at but only from a safe distance. This fear gets worse as I get older...

11. I love Disneyland, Disney World and the Magic that is Walt Disney. They really are the "Happiest Place(s) on Earth!"

12. I'm the first one in my family to get a Bachelors Degree...I'm also the first one in my family to get a Masters Degree. Very proud of both of those. Went to school at night and on weekends while holding down a full time job to finish both. Took 5 years for the BA and 3 for the MA. Will take 10 times that long to pay off the student loans.

13. I would not be who I am today or where I am today without my friends.

14. I love my Mother-in-Law. Really!

15. I do not own an IPod. Or an IPhone. Or an MP3 player. Or much else. I'm somewhat a tech-phobe. I figure if I need it, Kevin will get it and share.

16. I have no idea what music I'm into these days because Maelin insists on only "Mamma Mia" playing in the car. Nothing else will do. If I try to play something else, she'll quickly scream, "NOOOOOOO...NOT MIA, NOT MIA!" Our commute to and from work is getting unbearable.

17. My job is okay. Neither love it or hate it. I figure I'll keep doing it as long as "they" tell me I'm still good at it. Too tired to figure out something else I could do that still gives me good retirement benefits (see # 9) and summers off to be with Maelin.

18. I suffered from Post-Partum Depression for 14 months after having Maelin. Incredibly debilitating. Especially when working full-time and having to do a good job there as well. Just recently got off the drugs and I feel like I'm doing okay. Have most of my energy back and have stopped thinking awful thoughts.

19. I've been to Brazil, Italy, Canada, Mexico, France, England, Netherlands and Belgium. Italy is my favorite. (what, you couldn't guess that????)

20. My youngest sister lives in Seattle and I would seriously consider moving there if need be. Only other place other than Colorado I'd move to. I totally love it. I love the feel of the city, how it's always green and flowers are everywhere, how everything is independent and you don't see strip malls and chain restaurants on every corner. Maybe someday...

21. I HATE cleaning my house. Despise it. Loathe it. Why even bother??? It just gets messy again. Especially with two very furry cats and a toddler who's favorite game is to hand me dirt from the house plants. Some of the best times in my life was before Maelin and we could afford a cleaner once a month. My God. Total heaven to come home from work and find the entire house gleaming. Smells of lemon and sunshine and rainbows. Even the toilet paper was folded into a pretty little point. I told Kevin I would stop eating dinner to save money so we could have that angel come back but he didn't believe me. Sigh...it's awful when you have it and then it gets taken away. Even now I walk into my dusty house and think, "I must tell the maid to dust that next time she's here....!"

22. I am incredibly and fiercely jealous of stay-at-home moms. What I wouldn't give to be able to stay home with Maelin every day and be able to play, read and sing with her. Instead I'm in a room with 26 8-year-olds who don't care much about school and yell and scream at me while I miss 2/3 of her life. Hmmmmm...maybe I should revisit the drug thing (see #18)

23. I know how lucky I am to have most of my immediate family living nearby.

24. I'm terrified of having another baby. We think we want one soon, but I'm really nervous about going through the awful pregnancy (mine was torture), the depression, the lack of sleep, the money issue, etc. (we really want Maelin to have a sibling. I LOVE my brother and sisters and really want that for Maelin.) Maelin was 1000 % worth all of it so the hope is that the 2nd one would be worth it too. We'll see.

25. I'm getting ready to start another business. Stay tuned...


My favorite place on earth...Sorrento, Italy.