Hmmm...Didn't You Always Want To Know This...

Ok, I would love to write something witty, amusing or deeply insightful, but after this long week, I'm not sure I have it in me...plus, I have to write a paper for my History of Western Medicine class this weekend and I must save all my "witty, amusing and deeply insightful" comments for that. Believe me, it's going to take all of the ones buried deep in my brain (I have to talk about a common theme of two books...one on Cholera epidemics of the 19th century and the other on the epidemic of childbed fever both before the discovery of germ theory) to write this paper and I can't waste them even for my treasured blog...

I will, however, share some little known facts about me...as some of my readers have only recently met me, this should be very interesting...

Let's start off with something easy...

1. I have lived my whole life in the northwestern US...Oregon and Washington to be exact.

2. As a little girl, I wanted to have 4 children.

3. I have worked as a photographer, a receptionist for a collection agency, a legislative researcher and at a toy store.

4. I worked at a pet shop for 2 weeks but my irrational fear of birds ruined that for me.

5. One of my favorite stories of all time is Charlotte's Web.

6. I volunteered as a breastfeeding counselor and taught breastfeeding classes.

7. I have taken 2 years of college level Spanish but can barely form a sentence about myself...let alone one that uses any verbs.

8. I am not only scared of birds (I like chickens though) but am still afraid of the dark.

9. Both of my children were born via c-section.

10. I have always wanted to learn to quilt.

11. I had no idea what 4H or FFA were until I was an adult. I thought 4H was some branch of the Girl Scouts.

12. I was asked to leave my high school my junior year because of my truancy record. I went on to college.

13. I wanted to be a nurse but could never complete that many math and science classes.

14. I stink at math. Statistics was a living hell.

15. I will have managed to finish my bachelor's degree without ever having taken chemistry or physics or biology in college. In fact, I only took one year of biology in high school.

16. To meet my science requirement for my degree...I took a class called "Women Naturalists in North America."

17. I am a Rhetoric and Media Studies major and NO ONE knows what in the world that is until I explain it...you'll have to e-mail me to find out!

18. Most people look at me as if I said my major was philosophy.

19. I became a rhetoric major because I didn't like people telling me what topics I could write on...in rhetoric, I can critique any piece of discourse in nearly any topic I want to.

20. Many of my topics, prior to Kennedy's illness, were regarding adult corrections and the death penalty.

21. I was a Political Science major and then an International Studies major but it was easy and I wanted more control over my writing.

22. I have some control issues that God is working on...I am still a work in progress.

23. I knew I would marry Keith just 2 weeks after I met him.

24. It took him a little longer to figure it out.

25. When I was in elementary school, the music teacher told me I couldn't be in choir because I couldn't sing...it took nearly 20 years before I sang in a choir again and I haven't had the confidence to do it since.

26. I always wanted to grow up and live in Montana.

27. I wanted to live on a farm or ranch but grew up in the suburbs.

28. As a kid, I couldn't understand why we couldn't have a horse in our suburban backyard.

29. Now that I have horses, I get it.

30. The first time my son rode a steer, I thought I was going to be sick.

31. Now, I still feel like I'm going to get sick...I just hide it better.

32. My absolute favorite color is green and no picture looks complete without it.

33. I'm ok with the fact that I am book smart and not so much common sense smart.

34. Thank God Keith has lots of common sense.

35. I always wanted to homeschool but didn't start until last year.

36. I pray everyday that I don't mess up my kids.

37. Last time I did this (100 things), it was for our whole family and it was a lot easier.

38. I always loved riding on a motorcycle.

39. The things I love about motorcycles are very similar to what I love about riding horses.

40. I have to confess that Keith does most of the work for the horses.

41. I'm lucky that I get to do the fun stuff most of the time.

42. I hate roller coasters.

43. I tried to like them as a teenager, but just never got it.

44. I was so scared of Splash Mountain in Disneyland that I just really wanted off.

45. My favorite Disney villian is the evil queen from Snow White.

46. I was so excited to have my picture taken with her! Kennedy was not thrilled at all with the idea.

47. I actually told Mickey Mouse that I had been waiting over 30 years to see him.

48. I'm sure he thought I was a yahoo.

49. I love sappy historical fiction.

50. I would have been a history major but thought I would never be able to get a job.

51. I LOVE history.

52. I do not like to cook.

53. I'm not a very good cook either.

54. I am not very organized...I have to work at it.

55. My favorite housekeeping chore is vacuuming.

56. I think "vacuum" is spelled weird.

57. I want to learn to speak German.

58. The nationalities I can identify in my family tree are English, German and Scandanvian.

59. My favorite movie is Braveheart.

60. I once wrote a history term paper about William Wallace and had a very difficult time coming to terms with the fact that while he was a great hero, many thought he was a cruel and violent traitor.

61. I learned a lot about how history is written and about the framing and construction of character.

62. I also wrote an extensive research paper on the possible link between the MMR vaccine and Autism.

63. I was awarded a research grant in 2005 and will be presenting on my paper this April.

64. It is a narrative ananlysis of death row inmate, Christian Longo's sentencing statement.

65. My children's laughter is magical.

66. Having children is one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me.

67. There are no words to describe how I felt when we found out that Kennedy had cancer.

68. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to us as a family.

69. I always wanted to learn ballet.

70. I would like to learn how to play the piano.

71. Will Smith is my celebrity soul mate (according to a quiz...those who have seen this will know exactly what I mean.)

72. I would NEVER want to be famous.

73. I hope to travel to Ireland and Scotland someday.

74. Once, my parents and I drove to Texas, stayed one night and drove home.

75. To this day, I still think it was crazy.

76. Although I didn't believe it as a kid when my mom told me it would happen, my sister has become one of my bestest friends.

77. She is the funniest person I know.

78. I have a half brother I have never met.

79. I am terrible at crossword puzzles unless they are about entertainers...think People magazine.

80. I absolutely LOVE Sunset magazine and read it over and over and over even though I'm sure I am not in the target audience.

81. I love the idea of "roughing it" camping but can't stand to do it...it's the no flushing toilets or shower thing.

82. I do not like the cold.

83. Autumn is my favorite time of year.

84. I'm not much of a cat person but love my cat.

85. I really like having a big dog.

86. I wish I could paint as much as I wish I could sing.

87. I love scrapbooking with my family...I like scrapping, but I love hanging with my family more.

88. I am just terrible at returning phone calls.

89. My friends I have had the longest just keep calling till they reach me.

90. I didn't learn to swim until I was 10 or 11.

91. My parents threatened to send me to an all girls' school if I did not pass the 6th grade.

92. I think my teacher passed me because she was afraid I would be in her class again if I was forced to repeat it.

93. I have NEVER liked homework. Ever.

94. I don't like being told what to do.

95. God is working on this as well.

96. I will argue that I am right (even when I know that I'm wrong) because I can't stand admitting I've made a mistake.

97. God is working on this too.

98. I hope to be a published author someday.

99. If I ever find enough time to write.

100. Oh, and I always have to have the last word.