25 Random Things

Okay, so I got tagged on facebook by Shannon, and then by Tam, so here it goes:

1. I detest the color purple...pretty much every shade makes me want to puke in my mouth. Funny, I used to love it, but I guess that's how purple is.

2. I love to cook. I am pretty self taught...my mom doesn't really enjoy cooking, but after a couple years of mac and cheese, pancakes, and cereal for dinner, when I was in college...I took matters into my own hands. I like variety too, and try to expose my kids to all sorts of different dishes.

3. I don't really like to shop...at all. In fact, if I could hire a personal shopper to do it for me, I would. Especially clothes. Ugg. I hate trying stuff on, I just want to pick something off the rack and get it if I need it.

4. I love black licorice and dark chocolate

5. I don't have any stretch marks from pregnancy...I guess I have really elastic skin. But I do have a few varicose veins now...ewww.

6. I have never had a cast or crutches

7. I don't have a middle name

8. I am a voracious reader...I love to read. I probably average 4 books a month, and that doesn't feel like nearly enough, but I can do it easily if I only read when I sit down to nurse Cooper. I am also a really fast reader, so that helps.

9. I don't really like to take baths...I prefer the shower.

10. I hate "diet" anything...I think artificial sweeteners are toxic, and taste gross, and I try really hard not to eat anything with more than 6 ingredients, and definitely not with ingredients I can't pronounce. More on that in the book, "In Defense of food", by Michael Pollan...good read.

11. I really like reality t.v. Biggest Loser, the Bachelor, Survivor...I record all of them on the DVR..and I LOVE my DVR... would refuse to watch t.v without it.

12. Tim and I dated, and broke up two years before we actually got engaged and got married. It is a weird story, and if you want the REAL version...ask me not Tim.

13. I am obsessive about creating family traditions with my kids. I tend to go overboard sometimes creating them, (though my friend Sally makes me look like the biggest slacker around) but I think it is all worth it when the kids talk about "what our family does", for Christmas, birthdays, etc.

14. I hate that my face (closer to 40ish) doesn't match how I feel (20ish), but I am generally opposed to cosmetic procedures, so I just don't look at myself in the mirror that much...especially up close.

15. I bite my fingernails, not obsessively or anything, but I just don't like them longish at all, and it is a habit I have had since I was 8.

16. I am working really hard at being a better listener. I tend to interrupt alot when in conversation...so rude, I hate that I do that.

17. I love breakfast...seriously. I eat a big one every day, and I love it so much. My favorite is french toast and bacon with grapefruit juice. But most times I have a bowl of oatmeal and a protein shake. If I skip breakfast I eat junk food all day long.

18. I have really stumpy and crooked pinky fingers...it is some weird genetic trait I got from my mother...thanks mom. I am definitely not a hand model.

19. I used to cry anytime I was in a fight or confrontation...no matter how small, but have toughened up considerably as an adult. I still have big tear ducts, but now it's more sentimental crying than frustrated crying.

20. When I was in college I had one of the crappiest jobs around, I worked in a potato chip factory 12 hour shifts, 7pm - 7am, I came home covered in potato chip grease and salty from head to toe. Yuck. But oddly enough I still enjoy potato chips.

21. I am not a very good swimmer.

22. I love to paint. Canvases, walls, it doesn't matter...I just love to throw some color on something and see what happens. It is immediate gratification.

23. I like to write...funny poems, stories, etc. I have a whole notebook full of stuff I have written, but I don't know what to do with it. Maybe books someday...who knows.

24. I talk on the phone with my sisters almost every day. So needless to say, I have a good international long distance plan on my phone.

25. I like to travel, but I hate to fly...it's problematic.