25 things…
1. I spent my entire undergrad underage. As in not 21. As in not able to legally drink. As in stayed at home and did math problems while all my friends and roommates went out.
2. I majored in math. Most people know that. What they don’t know is that I am in constant fear that people will realize how much math I DON’T remember. I get nervous when doing simple addition/subtraction in my head in the presence of others. All eyes turn to me, “the math major,” and I usually fold under the pressure.
3. My mom used to put lace (2 inches worth at least) around the tops of all of my white tube socks. It was girly and fun and adults thought it was really cute. Eventually,despite fearing that it would hurt her, but knowing what I had to do for my future and in the hopes of having a friend someday, I asked her to stop. She finally did. I was 13.
4. I hate to be alone. HATE IT. Growing up in a house full of 9 people did that to me. When I am alone at home now, I have to leave the TV on (whether I’m in the room or not) just so I can hear the voices and feel un-alone.
5. I am an extremely light sleeper. Chris sometimes wakes me up when he’s having a bad dream. Not because he’s yelling or even talking, but because I can hear that his breathing has changed.
6. I’ve always wanted to have a dog. My parents never allowed it because there was always a new baby in the house and my Dad would say “A dog would eat the baby! Besides you don’t need a dog, you have a” – insert newest babies name here. Finally, one year there was a break in the babies. My parents made some vague statement about “maybe this summer, we’ll get a dog.” Later, when my mom announced that she was pregnant with my twin sisters, I started to cry. I wish I could say they were tears of joy… Sorry Jane and Kate, but I really wanted a dog.
7. I can tell when my period is coming because TV commercials begin to touch my heart. Tears stream down my face and I am so thankful that the happy family on the screen has found an insurance company that is “like a good neighbor.” I would probably need an IV to replenish my fluids if I dared watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition during this time.
8. I have ornithophobia which is defined as an abnormal and persistent fear of birds. I hate crows the most. I feel as if they are watching me and following me. Geese, seagulls, and flamingos also rank high on my hate/fear list. I blame all of this on an attack by a flock of seagulls as a child. They stole the banana that I was holding. I also blame my father for letting me watch Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Birds much too young. I didn’t have the cognitive processing skills to realize that birds cannot peck through wood doors or fly through glass.
9. I hate bananas. I will sometimes forget how much I hate them and try to eat one for its healthiness factor. Chewing my first bite, I will suddenly remember, and gag all the way to the garbage can. (The banana mentioned in #8 was for my brother. I wasn’t eating it.)
10. After my marathon I suffered from Post-Marathon-Runner’s-Syn
11. Cheese is my favorite food. No contest. I can remember sneaking into the kitchen to take the huge block of cheddar from the fridge and steal a few bites. I don’t know why I snuck in there. My mom was capable of recognizing a child’s teeth marks in blocks of cheese.
12. My minor was in Economics. Please allow me to enlighten you with my expertise in this subject. The economy is bad right now. Just FYI.
13. I changed my first diaper at the age of 4. I wasn’t big enough to carry my brother at that time, but I could drag him across the floor by the arm when I needed to control him. That probably happened more often than was necessary as my four year old judgment can’t have been that great.
14. I have had two black eyes in my life. Both were “accidentally” inflicted by the same brother. It was probably payback for dragging him across the floor so much.
15. I sometimes pee in the shower. Let’s be honest people, you’ve all done it too. (Kate, I didn’t want you to be alone on this one. Will that make Phil feel better?)
16. I cannot recognize faces of people that I don’t spend much time with. It is like there is a short-circuit in my brain. When I meet someone for the first time I have to note their hair style, odd nose, or tiny ears to have any hope of remembering their name again.
17. My bucket list (things to do before I kick the bucket) includes winning trivia night at a bar. I have never been to a trivia night at a bar, but I have high hopes for the future.
18. My favorite drink is the Irish car bomb. Fill a glass with Guinness and drop a shot (glass and all) of Bailey’s in. Drink quick because the Bailey’s curdles in a matter of seconds.
19. I went to Disneyland for the first time on my honeymoon. Best honeymoon I’ve ever had. No joke.
20. I read a lot. I was also homeschooled. These things combined often cause people to be pronunciationally challenged. I am often made fun of because I phonetically pronounce words that I understand but have never heard spoken. An above-average vocabulary does not impress people if you can’t properly pronounce the words.
21. Chris, my husband, has had two girlfriends in his life. Me: Ann Jacobsen (my maiden name, if you’ll remember) AND the week-long romance he had in high school before he met me: Anna Jacobsen.
22. The first shot I ever took was straight up vodka. I didn’t know that there was a better way or that people usually chase. Now, because of this, I have mad shot taking skills (although I rarely use them, what a waste). I plan to recommend this method of learning to my children. It will serve them well.
23. Two years from today, I plan to be publishing my first research paper. All I have to do is figure out what I’m going to research.
24. I don’t have one favorite drink at Starbucks. I cycle through 3 favorites with little variation: double tall, extra hot, vanilla lattes; double tall, extra hot, caramel machiattos; and a seasonal favorite (i.e. pumpkin spice lattes, gingerbread lattes, and peppermint, half-white, half-dark mochas).
25. God loves me. I love him. I would be in big trouble if he wasn’t directing my paths.