25 Things

I am copying my sister, Denise, and listing 25 random facts about me. I did this before a few years ago, but here are 25 more. And by the way, it is HARD to think of 25 random things about yourself. So here they are, in no particular order:

1. Boogers: I love it when one of my kids has a (don't get grossed out) huge booger in their nose...especially infants. Nothing thrills me like seeing a crusty boogie. I stick my pinky nail in their and do a "pinky sweep". LOVE it.

2. Thank You Notes:I am getting terrible about writing thank you notes. I used to truly enjoy writing them and I'd get them out immediately. I mean, I prided myself in the fact that I had ALL of my wedding thank you's written within our first month of marriage. Now, when I have to write a thank you note, it brings on thoughts of dread.

3. Bucket List: On the list: See Barbra Streisand in concert. She was on tour a few years ago but she didn't come near Charlotte, and her ticket prices in other cities were ca-razy! I know she stands for the exact opposite of what I believe, but I can't help it. I like Babs. I love her voice and Funny Girl is one of my favorite movies of all time. I'll have to stick to her Timeless DVD concert I have for now. I love cleaning the house to this:)

4. Road Rage: I do not have road rage at all. I am usually very nice about letting people in front of me, etc. BUT, I cannot stand the parking lot at my kids' school. Everything about it drives me nuts. The moms who take forever to get the kids in and out of the car when they're parked next to you and you can't get in or out of your car, the moms who have long conversations with other moms in their car and hold up the lines, the parking lot guy who ALWAYS stops my car to let others go, and then it takes an eternity to get out of the parking lot. I am looking forward to the car-pool line next year:)

5. More Bucket: Another Bucket Lister that will hopefully be crossed off this year: Go to Italy with Roy. We have always said that we were going to go to Venice for our 10th anniversary. Can't you just see us on a gondola going down the canals??? This is the year of our 10th, but I'll have an almost 1 year old around that time. We may have to postpone it a few months, but so far it's still in the plans:)

6. Bull Chase: When I was in the sixth grade, I had to build a replica of the Great Wall of China. I went out into our cow pasture one day to gather some moss to place on the mountain parts. All of a sudden I heard a galloping sound behind me and I was being chased by a herd of cows, led by Chief, our bull! No joke. It was a terrifying experience for me. Chief got so close to me that I could see his nostrils flaring. I started screaming and waved my grocery bag at him and all of a sudden he turned and took off running the other way. I truly believe I had a guardian angel standing between us that day. The funny thing is, when I RAN back to the house telling my family what happened, they didn't believe me! The men working on the barn confirmed it, though:)

7. Sports: I am not athletic, at all. I can work out, run and I can play ball casually, but I'm not a hard-core athlete. This makes me an odd ball in Roy's family because EVERYONE is an athlete and they "get" sports. The only sport I truly enjoy is basketball. I was the statistician for the varsity boys basketball team in highschool with my friend, Holli. We really had a fun time with that:) Anyway, I still love the smell of a gym mixed with the smell of popcorn. The sound of a buzzer going off and the squeaks of tennis shoes! I just signed the kids up for soccer this week and I think I need to pay a visit to Barnes and Noble and purchase Soccer for Dummies. I'm n0t joking.

8. Alcohol: When I was 19, my sister's sister-in-law was tragically killed by a drunk driver. It affected me in so many ways. It was the first time I had ever experienced a true tragedy from the sidelines. I still think about it often. I have zero tolerance for people who drink (any amount) and then drive.

9. Music: I love to go grocery shopping in the morning hours because they play my kind of music. I guess it's the time that the elderly are usually out, because it's always nice standard-type music playing. In fact, the other day at Harris Teeter, I had Charlotte in the Baby Bjorn, I got my Starbucks and then I perused the produce section as I hummed "The Tender Trap" to her (a great Sinatra tune).

10. Weird Habit: When I drive down the streets in our neighborhood, or drive into the kids' school and wave hello to someone, I have a weird habit of humming, "mmmm, hi!" to them. I know they can't hear me, but I always do the humming bit before I mouth "hi".

11. Term of Endearment: It drives me nuts (and Roy, too) when couples call each other "babe" or "baby".

12. Talent??: I have a weird talent of being able to think of a song to go with any situation. It just comes to my head instantly when something happens or is said. My brother-in-law, Leland, seems to think this is funny (I think it annoys him!!).

13. Be Still, My Heart: In the fall of 1999, when I saw Roy walk into my dad's office (I was the afternoon receptionist), I got instant butterflies. This was the start of my crush on him (see, right now I have I've Got a Crush on You playing in my head!). This boy still gives me butterflies, especially when he's been on a trip and I pick him up at the airport and see him waiting in front of the US Air area:)

14. Playing Hookie: Growing up, my sister, Dolly, and I were the last ones home. My parents were going to Israel one day and before they left for their trip, I got Daddy to sign a blank sheet of paper, to which I added above (afterwards), "Please excuse Donna and Dolly from school today at 9:00." The secretary got kind of suspicious because Dolly had another excused absence for later that afternoon. She had to go to some type of appointment. So, the secretary called my mom to confirm these notes. I had an office runner come to my first period class to tell me that I needed to stay in school. Ouch.

15. Perks of Being the Youngest: By the time it was just me in highschool, I played hookie a lot. My dad had this rubber stamp with his signature on it and I would stamp that thing on a note written by myself. I was good at them: "Please excuse Donna today at 10:15." "Please excuse Donna today at 1:00". I had an assortment and used them especially during my senior year, which was a joke because I only took 3-4 classes. I guess this is a privilege of being the youngest??!

16. Gifts: You know how people say that if they got a blender or a vacuum cleaner for their birthday from their husband, they'd be mad? Well, call me crazy but I love these kinds of gifts! I love getting clothes for birthdays and Christmas, but I also love a good 'ol appliance. I even hinted to Roy that I wanted a grilling pan for my birthday this year, but he didn't come through. I think he thought I was joking?

17. Sisters: Nobody makes me laugh harder than my sisters. And besides Roy, there is nobody I can be my total self around and act crazy with than these 4 girls. They "get" me. These relationships are truly a gift and I am THRILLED that Caroline and Charlotte have each other!

18. Chores:I love to do laundry, but I detest putting it away. I love to load a dishwasher, but I can't stand unloading it. Many times a laundry basket will sit in the laundry room or in the upstairs hallway with clean, folded clothes for days. And many times, our dishwasher will sit with clean dishes in it for many days and I eventually rewash it (after adding more dirty dishes) because of the stale smell it gets.


19. Cruella DeVil: Okay, this is really mean but you know those animal rescue commercials...I think it's the ASPCA? I always get the giggles when they come on! I think it's the music that is played during them. Like "Arms of an Angel" and "You Were Always on My Mind" and they have pitiful looking puppies with sad eyes that say things like "abandoned and suffering from a broken heart", or a cat with a tiny cast on it's leg and the caption says "beaten and left to die". I don't know why but I always end up giggling to myself when they come on!

20. Speed: My first car was a 1983 Honda Accord. The speedometer did not work. My mom told me that if I was passing a lot of cars, then I'd know I was speeding. This kind of trained me not to watch the speedometer when I drove, so now when I drive, once in a while I'll glance down and realize I'm going kind of fast! Since I first started driving, I have received 2 speeding tickets....both for going over 15 miles the limit. YIKES!! But, my last ticket was in 2001. Knock on wood:)

21. Soaps:The summer of my 6th grade year, Marlena Evans came back from the dead on Days of Our Lives. My mom had watched the show when she was a newlywed and she loved Marlena, so she wanted to see her return. So, I watched with her and I became hooked! Throughout my highschool days, I was a litttttttttttttle obsessed with Days of Our Lives. I loved the Jack and Jennifer storyline the best. Nowadays, DOOL is ridiculously stupid (as if it wasn't back then), but if I'm home during the 1:00 hour and the kids are napping, I may occasionally flip between All My Children (Teecy got me hooked on that when I was a teen) and Days.

22. Favorite Day: My favorite day of the week is Saturday. I love to spend it with Roy and the kids just doing whatever we want--no schedule or obligations. I especially like working in the yard with him or doing a home project together! Bring it.

23. Double Standard: I am a pop-culture junkie. I love a good People mag, a reality show, and when the kids are upstairs and I'm making dinner, I love to watch TMZ or E! I love celebrity gossip, but I cannot stand celebrities. They annoyingly intrigue me (is that even a correct phrase?). I don't enjoy narcissistic people and for the life of me, I cannot understand people who chase fame. I don't get it! (said like the guy in "Big"...I know my sisters are laughing:)

24. You're Just Like Your...: Each year I find myself gaining more and more characteristics of both my parents. For example, I can't take noise/chaos--just like my dad. If the TV is on, and the kids are being loud, and a toy is making noise and Roy's trying to tell me something, I have to stop everything and turn the TV off, tell the kids to be quiet, etc. And when I am driving and come to a traffic light, I turn the volume down on the radio...same with commercials--the TV volume gets turned down. I can also be walking through the house and see a speck of something on the floor and stop to pick it up. (Thanks, Daddy!) And I am becoming more like my sweet mom each year, too. The way I stand, the way I say things (sometimes I'll say "Oh, Roy!" and he'll call me "Jan"). I think everyone becomes their parent(s) eventually!

25. Guilty Pleasure: If I could splurge on any guilty pleasure, I would definitely chose to have a daily housekeeper. I would love to have someone come each morning and clean up the breakfast dishes, pick up the house, make the beds (with fresh sheets), clean the bathrooms, do the laundry, pick up the toys, dust and vacuum EVERY SINGLE DAY!