#1 out of 25 on The List: 20 Random Things About Me

Here is my list of RANDOM things.  Most of them probably won't come as much of a surprise. Enjoy...

1- My favorite color is purple. It always has been. I like deep purples the best. Quite frankly, I can't understand why everyone doesn't seem to adore purple as much as I do.

2- I am a germ-a-phobic. If you know me well, this is no news flash. I hold my breath when I walk past the pharmacy. I stand out in the hall at the doctors office so I don't have to sit next to all the sickies in the waiting room. I have enough hand sanitizer on stock that I could open a store of my own.

3- I love ice cream. My favorite ice cream is Tilamook Mudslide. I also like Moosetracks Chocolate Extreme.

4- As a Mother, I like to break out in song if the tune fits the moment. I am probably scarring my children for life (as well as ruining a few classic songs in the process), but boy it is sure fun! A few of the regulars in my repertoire are, "Let us oft speak kind words to each other", "Back to life, Back to Reality" by Soul II Soul (I usually save that one for the ride to school on Monday morning), "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones, "Oh What A Beautiful Morning", and the ever popular (and Kyle's personal favorite) "It's A Hard-knock Life" from Annie.

5- I graduated from college with a near perfect GPA. The only class I got a B+ in was Chemistry 101 lab. -- stinky Chemistry lab! I have actually debated on going back to school simply to retake Chem 101 lab and get an A, but that would be plain old crazy. Wouldn't it?  Would it?

6- While I am on the subject of school, I have always regretted not applying to Harvard University after high school. Not because I wanted to go there, but simply because I would have liked to have been able to say that I chose Ricks College over Harvard.

7- I was a toe-shoe ballerina for 1 year when I was in junior high.

8- I have slept with a "silky" since I was a little girl. Now, that I'm older, and obviously more mature, I no longer use a silky blanket, but have graduated to a silky granny-style nightgown. Oh-- and I wrap a second silky around my face while I sleep. The silkies have gone on every vacation, camping and hospital trip Ive ever been on. Yeah. I'm cool like that!

9- I like to sing to the radio in the car. When I am alone, I belt it out and sometimes even fantasize that I am in a talent show. I'm a horrible singer... that is why it is called a fantasy!

10- I wish that I could impersonate different accents.  I especially love British accents. One of my closest friends and I used to read our college text books to each other in different accents while we studied. She had a great Italian accent. The cruel irony is that in "real life" I am terrible (beyond terrible) at understanding people with even the slightest foreign accent. Maybe that is why they fascinate me.

11- I LOVE holidays. I decorate the house for all the main holidays, and believe that traditions are important. I have even celebrated National Pie Day, National Teenager Day, and Christmas in July (I decorated the house with a few Christmas decorations after the kids went to bed. When they woke up, we opened a gift, played Christmas music, watched Christmas movies, and ate some of our favorite Christmas treats. They were so surprised and it was so fun!)

12- In High School (during my Junior Year-- or maybe my Senior Year-- or maybe both), I set a goal to have my picture in the yearbook as many times as possible.  I joined as many clubs as possible. I realized that if I was in the club presidency I got another picture. A few of my clubs I joined that year were Health Occupations (I was the VP), Future Homemakers of America (I was the VP),  Bass Masters Fishing Club, Future Bowling Chickens of America, the Key Club, and I was one of the Sterling Scholars that year. I was also royalty for the Sweetheart Ball that year. I don't remember how many pictures I got-- but it was a lot!  Goal accomplished.

13- If I was skinny, I would cut my hair into a short sassy haircut, and wear 1950's style dresses everyday. Unfortunately, neither one of those things look as cute on chubby. However, I do wear an apron about 50% of the time, and love being an "apron mommy". One of my favorite shows is Leave it to Beaver. My favorite Pandora radio stations are Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, and Michael Buble. For a long time, I thought I was better suited to the 1950's-- then I read about all the Cold war, and the bombing drills at school, and I changed my mind.

14- The first time I kissed my husband was in the middle of a thunderous downpour. It was magical... good thing too, I spent everyday with him for nearly 4 months before he finally dared kiss me.  It was on September 5th, 1997.  We were engaged a month and a half later (on Halloween), and married 3 1/2 months after that (on February 12th).

15- Ryan wasn't the first guy to propose to me. About 3 months before I met Ryan, I had a boy sit next to me during lunch in the Manwaring Center cafeteria. We chatted briefly, and he was friendly, but not really my style. I think he sat by me one more time during that week. The next day, I got an email from him telling me that he knew we were meant to be together, and that he wanted me to be his wife. Ummmm... no thanks. Interestingly enough-- the next semester, he was in my religion class, and had since gotten married. When he stood up for introductions, he couldn't remember his new wife's name.  I wonder how many lunch chats they shared before she became the Mrs.?

16- I would secretly love to run a half marathon. If only I didn't detest running with a passion.

17- I like to draw. I am too embarrassed to show most people my novice work, but I still enjoy doing it. I wish I had more time to develop this talent.

18- I love seeing new things, and wish that I had enough time and money to travel the world. Ive never been outside of the US (unless you count a day trip to Nogales, Mexico). I don't see this world-traveler dream ever coming true, due to the fact that I am a major cheap-skate, and could never justify spending that kind of money on a self-indulgence like a trip.

19- I didn't find out the gender of any of my 5 babies before they were born. There are so few really GREAT surprises in life, and I really wanted the surprise. It was worth it every time.

20- I like to read. I loved reading the Harry Potter series (especially because I read them with Ryan). I also devoured the Twilight Series. Hey now, don't judge me. In my mind, dreamy Edward had a British accent (please refer to random thing #10 above), so that fact --along with numerous other things-- made the movie a bit of a downer.  My favorite book is The Book of Mormon. I didn't truly read it for the first time until I was well into my 20's. It is an amazing gift, and has blessed my life in a zillion ways.

So there it is... 20 crazy tidbits about me (actually it is probably a lot more than 20 because I packed a few of them with 3 or 4 things-- sorry). I wish I could read 20 random things about all of you too.