So 46 years ago this morning...I was borned. Yay! I have learned over the years to embrace this day every year, even as my hair goes grey. Last year my hubster wrote these lovely words. This year I thought I would share some things you may not know about me...46 things to be exact. That is if I can remember 46 things...here we go....
#1. I am the second of eight kids and the oldest girl.
#2. My parents named me Mary Elizabeth after our Blessed Mother and my paternal grandmother. My confirmation name is St. Rose of Lima.
#3. I have six brothers and used to arm wrestle for dish duty which worked in my favor until my younger brothers started playing football. Then it was all downhill from there. I still have dish pan hands.
#4. With six brothers, my parents thought I would be so excited to have a baby sister. I was not. I asked them to take her back. I didn't want to give up my bedroom. I think I have gotten nicer since then. Eight year olds are not known for their generosity of spirit...right?...right?...
#5. I love coffee and chocolate and sometimes I drink them together...hello mocha latte...
#6. I used to run track and field and I liked it...seriously I did. I can't believe it either.
#7. One Christmas my parents gave us all (five at the time) our own football helmets with our names on it. I have photographic proof. I was a mean right guard back in the day.
#8. I had my own skateboard in 1978. It was Neon hot pink. I was so cool...then.
#9. My mom used to put my hair in braids so tight I had a headache by recess.
#10. I almost won a times table competition in the third grade. I was this close with the 2x's tables but Debbie Dietrich beat me. I still like her though. That was my last success in Math Class.
#11. In the second grade I was in the "special reading circle". There was nothing special about it. My dyslexia was not discovered until I was a freshman in college.
#12. I started playing basketball in the CYO in the third grade and stopped in the twelfth grade. There was no noticeable improvement over the years.
#13. I have lived in five different states over the course of my lifetime. I like Virginia the best.
#14. I found a black widow spiders in my shoe at summer art camp in the fifth grade. Have I mentioned how much I HATE spiders of any kind. There may have been screaming and yelling...maybe...I don't remember anything after I passed out.
#15. I love to sing...on key or off...I still love to sing.
#16. I love coffee and can drink it cold or hot.
#17. I didn't learn to drive until I was a senior in high school.
#18. I love cupcakes...with frosting.
#19. When I was in the sixth grade I stuffed my bra with pair of my Mom's panyhose. I looked like a mini Dolly Parton but I don' think anyone noticed.
#20. When I was a cheerleader in seventh grade I injured my groin. I didn't even know that was possible.
#21. The only reason I tried out for field hockey was because their were sticks involved and I had issues with aggression. Apparently it is a real sport with rules and stuff. Drat...
#22. In the eighth grade I could sing ALL the Air Supply songs by heart. I know my mother LOVED to be serenaded every day with them...no seriously...she told me so...
#23. One afternoon in the seventh grade I was singing Billy Joel's "Good Girls Die Young" at the top of my lungs as I was ironing my Catholic school uniform. My mother admonished me to actually listen to the lyrics and tell her if I agreed with them. Ummmm...not cool Mom...making me think about the whole pop music genre...not cool. Needless to say, I do not sing that song anymore.
#24. My favorite colors are kelly green and navy blue.
#25. The first time I tried to drive a stick shift car, I needed a margarita to recover. I have never driven one since. The whiplash was too much.
#26. Have I mentioned that I hate folding laundry? Yeah...totally hate it.
#27. My main household chore when I was growing up was to clean the bathrooms. Ten people shared one and a half bathrooms. Did I mention my six brothers?? I still have nightmares about toilet bowl rings.
#28. When Jonathan was a Bear Cub we went on a "family" camping trip with his little Cub Scout troop. I do not pee in the woods. No way, no how. It's just a thing with me. I was like a little Chihuahua dog...shaking and too scared to pee. I didn't pee for 24 hours.
#29. During that same Cub Scout camping trip I tried my hand with a bow and arrow. Needless to say, I am no Katniss Everdine...the odds were not in my favor. The nightmares have since ceased.
#30. The first car I ever drove was my parents was affectionately called "Das Boat". It was a large station wagon with the wood panel sides and the third seat in the back facing the back windshield. The first time I got to drive the family to Mass, my brothers came out of the house wearing their football pads and helmuts. They climbed into the car and my brother Chris yelled "assume the crash position" and they all put their heads between their legs. They stayed that way until I pulled up in front of our parish. I was NOT happy...and I made my unhappiness known.
#31. Once when I was backing said car into our drive way, I hit the side fence and just kept going. I couldn't hear the crunching over the Van Halen playing in the car. I didn't stop until one of my brothers pounded on the passenger side window. I will NEVER live that one down.
#32. When I went to Disney World in Orlando for a senior band trip (I was in the Color Guard my senior year of high school) I decided it was a really good idea to slather on Coppertone Coconut Oil (without sunscreen) so I could get the perfect tan for senior prom. I learned many lessons that weekend one of which is "The Irish do NOT tan...ever!!" I have the scars on my shoulder from the second degree burns to prove it.
#33. The first time I brought a baked good that I had made from scratch to school in the eighth grade, several people got food posioning. My skills have greatly improved since then.
#34. I am not a big fan of bugs in general. Once when I was doing the laundry a mutant space cricket jumped out at me and I went screaming out of the house into the front yard. The neighbors thought the house was burning down. I may or may not have turned twelve shades of red with embaressment. I still HATE doing laundry.
#35. I love coffee so much that I worked for Starbucks for three months before going to work for Barnes and Noble, in the cafe, doing what I did at Starbucks but for more money. Venti black-eye misto with two splenda anyone??
#36. When I get sick, I am very cranky.
#37. I hate taking tests of any kind. When I went to take my SAT, I was so terrified that I was sweating unto my test paper. So I decided to just have fun with it. I filled in the bubbles to look like a flower or a bug or a butterfly. Needless to say my combined SAT score in 1984 was a 700...genius no? One more thing..always remember that the plural to hippopotamus is hippopotami...not hippopotamusses. Just saying. Academics were never my strong suit.
#38. I was the Layout Editor for my high school paper. I have always been OCD about spacial things. For once it worked in my favor.
#39. I have been a hostess for a steak restaurant, the salad bar girl for a grocery store and a cashier for a drugstore. I have worked in department stores and specialty dress shops and children's clothing stores. I have sold sewing machines and worked in a coffee shop and a bookstore. I have tutored and been a personal shopper. I have been a substitute teacher and an Instructional Assistant. I have assisted in eleven births and at one time was a nursing student. I think I like food, clothing, children, books and coffee.
#40. One year ago, I had my daughter's funeral planned. Now she is trying to learn how to stand. God amazes me.
#41. One year ago, I was stepping into a size 24W pair of jeans. This morning I stepped into a size 16W pair of jeans. I am AWESOME!! I miss my cupcakes.
#42. The craziest thing I have ever done is go on a blind date. I have been married to him for 25 years.
#43. I love to be by the ocean. The water always inspires me.
#44. I am allergic to commas.
#45. I dream of being published one day.
#46. I am so proud of myself for actually finishing this list. Now I can have another cup of coffee.
I may be old and totally uncool, but I am very blessed to have the life I have. Have an awesome day Y'all. I know I will!!
Labels: We Can Do This!!
