100 Things About Me

1. I’m an Air Force brat and spent the majority of my childhood moving every 2 years around the southeastern U.S.
2. I’ve lived in North Carolina for 23 years of my life (that’s 72% for the number lovers out there)…
3. …but I’m more likely to say that Virginia is “where I’m from”.
4. I only lived in Virginia for just over 3 years (ages 8.5-12).
5. My dad proposed to my mom on the 4th date. They were married for 39 years and 8 months.
6. My dad died April 17, 2007, after a 9 month battle with the blood cancer Multiple Myeloma.
7. I hate cancer.
8. I worry that my mom will never start living life again.
9. I worry that I will never start living life again.
10. I have 2 sisters. L is 2 years older than me, and S is 7 years older.
11. At Christmas, my sisters and I always opened our gifts from each other first. We continue this tradition anytime all 3 of us are together on the holiday.
12. Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love the decorations, carving pumpkins, and creating costumes...
13. …but haunted houses and scary movies make me uncomfortable.
14. There is nothing like trick-or-treating on an Air Force base – amazing!
15. My favorite candies all have this in common: peanuts and chocolate.
16. I strongly believe that Peanut M&Ms with pretzels and iced tea is the most perfect food combination.
17. I often eat pretzels – just pretzels – for dinner…
18. …but usually my meals are pretty well balanced.
19. My idea of well balanced is a plate of nachos and a pint of Yuengling from my favorite pub.
20. I am blessed with a fairly high metabolism.
21. My sisters are not.
22. If I ever had to really watch what I eat, I’m not sure I would have the discipline for it.
23. Fortunately, I love vegetables…
24. …except for lima beans, butter beans, and kidney beans.
25. I thank my mom for that – both the love and the hate.
26. And the high metabolism.
27. Even my dog is skinny.
28. Her name is Libby, and I adopted her from a shelter in December 2007.
29. She looks like a tall, 50-pound Jack Russell terrier.
30. Even though some days I wish I didn’t have to walk her, I still think she’s the sweetest, best thing to happen in my life.
31. Except for my 3 nieces, of course.
32. They are 8, 11, and 14 – and growing up too fast!
33. I miss the days when they were naive and innocent, but I love watching their unique personalities emerge.
34. I love being an aunt…
35. …but I have no plans to have children of my own.
36. Owning a townhouse is enough responsibility for me.
37. It freaked me out to buy a home because it meant I was settling down somewhere.
38. At least for a few years anyway.
39. I still dream of living in Washington DC, Denver, Portland, or somewhere in Vermont someday.
40. My paternal grandparents used to live in Wyoming.
41. I spent a summer out there and fell in love with the wide open spaces and huge sky.
42. And the extremely low humidity wasn’t so bad either.
43. I don’t handle high temperatures and high humidity very well.
44. Unfortunately, North Carolina summers feature both.
45. My ideal weather is 70-degrees, partly sunny, calm winds, and low humidity.
46. That’s why Fall is my favorite season…
47. …and October is my favorite month.
48. My ex-boyfriend was born in October.
49. He was German.
50. We dated for 5 years before it became apparent we wanted different things in life.
51. That’s the polite way of saying I wanted a ring on my finger and he wanted to relive his early 20s.
52. I hope my next boyfriend is at least 5’10” and weighs more than me.
53. For the record, I am 5’7” and weigh 130.
54. I’d like to get down to 125, but I’m not trying very hard.
55. I left home at the age of 16 to go to the NC School of Science & Mathematics, a public boarding school, for my junior and senior years of high school.
56. It was one of the best and worst decisions I’ve made.
57. I could not have been better prepared for college…
58. …but my self-esteem took a beating.
59. I’m still trying to get over it and regain my confidence.
60. In college, I studied architecture and geography (urban planning).
61. I have never worked directly in either field.
62. Currently, I am a consultant in corporate real estate facility planning…
63. …but I aspire to become a librarian or teacher.
64. My aunt is a librarian, and I’ve worked part-time at various libraries over the years.
65. I think teaching is my calling, but that self-esteem problem is holding me back.
66. When I was a kid, I thought I would join the Air Force like my dad.
67. I received an ROTC scholarship but turned it down when my dad warned me that the “modern” military isn’t the same as when he joined up.
68. I think both of my parents were relieved.
69. But I still sometimes wish I had gone through with it.
70. I don’t consider myself extremely patriotic, but I value the freedoms and opportunities we have in America.
71. My only international travel to date was a week spent studying parks in Paris during my senior year of college.
72. New Zealand is tops on my list of places to see, but I would be pretty happy to go just about anywhere.
73. My sister, L, was born in Turkey.
74. I was born in Nebraska but lived there for less than a year.
75. I don’t remember a lot of details about my childhood and often mix-up real memories with stories I’ve been told.
76. My sisters and I believe this is because we experienced so much growing up that our brains only have room to hold onto a few bits and pieces.
77. My favorite color is red. Or orange. (Go Denver Broncos!)
78. My favorite book is The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
79. My favorite movie is Thelma & Louise (except for the rape scene).
80. I don’t have a favorite musician because my tastes are way too eclectic.
81. For example, I like Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, Tori Amos, Coldplay, and Kanye West…
82. …today. But who knows about tomorrow??
83. Simple things make me happy.
84. Like salty french fries dipped in a vanilla milkshake.
85. And singing Christmas songs with my sisters. (Even though none of us can sing well.)
86. And hanging out with my best friend, sipping drinks outside in the fresh air.
87. And going hiking.
88. Someday I hope to hike the Appalachian Trail, maybe after retirement.
89. I also hope to run a marathon (sometime before retirement).
90. I know a LOT about the various marathons in the U.S., thanks to MarathonGuide.com and my obsessive nature.
91. I tend to research to death anything I have even a remote interest in.
92. My dad also did this.
93. Sometimes it gets me into trouble, like when I read that jumping out of an airplane is like stepping out onto a supportive column of air.
94. You can’t believe everything you read.
95. Skydiving was the most terrifying experience of my life…
96. …but I’m glad I tried it.
97. And I hope that I keep trying new things as I get older.
98. I think that’s one of the most important things in life.
99. To keep pushing the boundaries and discovering new parts of your character.
100. Did I mention that I love running…?

Thanks for reading!

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Ran 3 miles this morning, on the treadmill once again...