100

In honor of my 100th post I give you a (positively too long) list of 100 things about me. I actually compiled most of this list over a year ago and then that computer crashed and we only recently were able to get all of the files off of it. When I saw this I decided to finish it (I was at #92) and publish it on my hundredth post. The only numbers that don't totally still fly now that it is a year later are 22, 23, 66, and 85. They are still true, but the timing is off now. You get the point. Here you go:

1. Some of my best friends are twice my age.

2. I almost always get emotional when I see news stories of soldiers coming home to their families after being away at war.

3. That being said, I do not wear my emotions on my sleeve-- I am pretty good at putting on a happy face even when I don't feel like it (a quality that I don't really think is all that great).

4. One of my favorite feelings is coming home to a clean house.

5. My favorite house-cleaning chore is vacuuming-- lame because now that our house has all wood or tiled floors I only get to vacuum our area rugs and that makes me sad.

6. Whenever I see a person or situation that could be suspicious (define suspicious any way you like) I take detailed mental notes so that if something bad does go down I will be sure to be able to give accurate descriptions to the police.

7. I was never afraid of dying until I had my baby. Now I can't bear the thought of leaving him without a mama.

8. If you get into my car the first thing you will hear is sports radio blaring out of the speakers-- I may or may not even have been known to call in and offer my opinion on the current goings on in the sports world.

9. I pray for orphans individually and then collectively every night before I go to bed.

10. I am a sucker for the behind-the-scenes scoop into peoples' lives which results in me being a sucker for certain reality TV shows.

11. One of my worst qualities is not wanting people to see my weaknesses (aka pride).

12. One of my best qualities is compassion.

13. I could eat squash for every meal-- I love it so.

14. My favorite season is summer.

15. Some of my greatest memories are of being outside on warm summer nights and just feeling carefree and peaceful.

16. I sometimes feel cheated that I never got to meet my husband's father.

17. I naturally gravitate to things that are blue-- probably 70% of my shirts are some shade of blue.

16. Some of my favorite people in this world are named Rach(a)el. There are 4 of them, to be exact.

17. I love the number 27.

18. I also like other multiples of 9.

19. My favorite time of day is 10:27 (both AM and PM), and my favorite day of the year is 10/27. And there really is no logical reason for this (my husband insists that I surely must have had some romantic escapade on 10/27 at 10:27 to explain this, but really, I don't know why I like it).

20. I like speaking in public.

21. I hate spiders so much that I can't even kill one if I see it in my house. If no one is around to dispose of it for me then I will find a long object and trap the spider until it climbs onto said long object and then run to the nearest door and throw the long object as far away as possible. Sometimes I don't ever retrieve the long object.

22. I sewed and decorated our Christmas stockings this past year, but I'm really not that crafty and I wish I was.

23. My favorite sports commentator is definitely Charles Barkley-- seriously, if you don't watch TNTs coverage of the NBA you are missing out.

24. My least favorite sports commentators are Marv Albert (because he's a back biter) and Reggie Miller (because he's a Jazz hater).

25. I really loved high school but am so grateful that part of my life is over.

26. I never expected to like going to BYU (I didn't even really want to go there but I had a scholarship and it just felt like the right thing to do), but I absolutely ended up LOVING it there-- I thought it was so incredible to be able to intermingle my faith with my education.

27. I take great pride in finding items of clothing at rock bottom prices and I am kind of of the opinion that quantity is better than quality with most wardrobe items.

28. I miss playing the piano and I wish I was better at it.

29. I never thought I would worry as much about Baby G as I do.

30. I think pregnant bellies are beautiful.

31. I almost never enjoy eating chicken.

32. If I don't blow-dry my hair I can literally be ready to go out the door in less than 5 minutes (and even though that's nice in some ways, sometimes I wish I took a little more time to make myself presentable).

33. One of my favorite snacks is a bowl of cereal.

34. I once went on a date where the guy I was with went to the bathroom and never came out (well I guess eventually he came out, but I got a ride home after he had been in there for an hour).

35. I've always been fairly athletic and have been able to play most sports decently, but I'm not smokin' great at any of them.

36. When I was in 9 or 10 I would take children's clothing magazines and find the cutest kids in them, give them names and identities and then pretend I was their mother.

37. In school I was the queen of procrastination.

38. I am so grateful to have married one of my friends from high school because it has enabled me to stay in touch with a lot of our friends (the boys) that I'm sure I wouldn't have otherwise.

39. I don't wear jewelry very often because I really am not stylish enough to pull it off-- I feel like I'm trying too hard when I wear lots of accessories, and yet, I love all the bling on other people.

40. Even though I've probably never been the prettiest or skinniest in my social circles I haven't ever really struggled with my self-image-- I credit my amazing mother with helping me learn early on that beauty was defined in many other more important ways.

41. That's not to say that I don't ever wish certain areas of my body could be tighter, smaller, stronger, etc.

42. My favorite animal is a dolphin because I read in a book once (when I was like 7) that they are the only creatures other than humans that spend their lives in the pursuit of happiness.

43. I really don't like wearing socks and shoes and would be very happy to live in a climate that allowed for flip flips and Chacos year round.

44. My favorite meal to eat out is breakfast (but I'll take eating out at any meal, really).

45. I think the NBA playoff seeding system (that awful teams can make the playoffs in the east while good teams will be left out in the west) and the college football BCS systems are ridiculous.

46. If I didn't follow the Word of Wisdom my first item of business would be to head to Starbuck's and order a frozen coffee blender drink.

47. My house burned down the day before I was born.

48. I never knew I could love a piece of jewelry as much as I love my wedding ring.

49. Even though I probably never would have gotten into fly-fishing without the influence of my husband, I genuinely really enjoy it and have even gone on my own a couple of times.

50. I think my dad and I would be the dream team on the Amazing Race-- we'd win for sure.

51. I think a large part of the reason that I love sports so much is that when I was a little girl that was how I was able to spend time with my dad-- he was in medical school and gone a lot and so when he was home and watching sports I would sit down next to him and watch just so I could be by him. To this day we still love watching and attending sporting events together.

52. As a little girl I was given the nickname "Elizapest" by my grandpa because I was always going around talking to everyone, poking and pinching people, and just generally causing annoyance (no comment on whether or not I still do those things and still get called Elizapest from time to time).

53. I love being a mother. I can honestly say there is nothing in this world I would rather be doing right now.

54. Trying to understand how things like the internet or telephones work makes my brain hurt and I really have no desire to really know why they work-- I'm just glad they do.

55. I like to watch the news.

56. The thought that my marriage would ever end in divorce has NEVER crossed my mind and I have 100% confidence that I will be married to my husband forever.

57. I can tell I am getting older because I sometimes enjoy watching golf on TV now. I used to think it was really boring.

58. Even though I am optimistic by nature I sometimes feel an overwhelming sense of heaviness about all of the heartache and injustice around the world and I get weighed down to the point of tears.

59. I am a big dreamer and I really believe that I can make a difference in this world, however small it may be. Taking some action on that is what makes me feel better when I am sad (#58).

60. Volunteering throughout my life has changed me and I plan to be involved in some sort of volunteer service until the day I die. It is so important to me that my children learn what it feels like to reach out to others.

61. I have always been modest by nature-- wearing skimpy clothes and bathing suits has never appealed to me.

62. I wish I had my own darkroom and could print my own pictures.

63. Even though nothing beats the convenience of taking pictures with a digital camera, I don't think digital prints turn out as vivid and beautiful as film prints. For that reason I will never get rid of my film SLR.

64. I love going to my little sisters' soccer games to cheer them on. I make a concentrated effort to get to them even when they are away games.

65. Having been a kindergarten teacher I am now very scared to send my kids off to school. I know the amazing amount of trust you have to place in their teachers and I know how easy it would be for a teacher to take advantage of that trust. I don't know how I'll do it.

66. I wish I had the guts to cut my hair shorter and have bangs.

67. I have three favorite times of day (apart from 10:27): 1) when Baby G first wakes up in the morning and is SO happy and fun, 2) when J gets home from work at night and just gets to hang out with the baby and me, and 3) after we put Baby to bed and J and I just get to relax together-- sometimes we read together, but usually he does homework and I watch a show on TV. The best nights are when there is a good basketball game on to watch. I just love being home together and knowing that I can decompress for the night.

68. I HATE fist fights. There is nothing more immature and stupid to me than two macho high schoolers thinking they need to recklessly take swings at each others' faces. Every time a fight breaks out and I'm around my heart starts racing and I run the other way. They scare me. Except for sometimes during professional sports when things get heated-- then I don't mind so much because I can understand the competition and frustration a little more and there are officials to step in before anything gets too crazy.

69. Fountain drink dispensers with the "good" ice make me unreasonably happy.

70. Even though my house was built in 1958 and needed a lot of work before we moved in, I genuinely love it now. I didn't think that I ever would, but it is so cozy and quaint. For the first time since I moved out of my parents house after graduating high school I feel like I have a "home" and I love it here.

71. Now that I have a baby I don't ever take naps. I sometimes try to when he is napping but I can't ever fully relax enough to fall asleep because in the back of my mind I know that he is just going to wake up at any minute and I'll have to get up anyway. It's things like that that make being a mom a full-time job.

72. My mom and I play a lot-- we go shopping, go to movies, go to lunch, and get frozen yogurt weekly. I am not joking. It's being able to do things like that that makes being a stay-at-home mom the best full-time job in the world

73. I don't really worry that my husband will die you because I don't think he will, but I sometimes wonder about it because of his dad's early death. And I don't know how I would go on if I lost him like that.

74. I take back # 71. I just woke up from a 45-minute nap and I feel so refreshed! Hooray for days when your baby takes 3 hour naps!

75. I research international adoption (from various countries) on a regular basis.

76. I occasionally have feminist tendencies that I have to push away.

77. I love the color of my eyes.

78. I don't love the color of my hair (as it is naturally, that is).

79. I almost always get Ginger Ale to drink when I'm on an airplane. If I don't get that then I get tomato juice. I almost never drink either unless I'm on a plane.

80. I can't stand ripe bananas. They are perfect when they are still a little green at the top.

81. My favorite song is "Only One" by James Taylor. It's not the most amazing of his songs musically, but I have an emotional attachment to it because I used to listen to it with my favorite aunt and uncle when I was a little girl. They lived far away and when I missed them I would always listen to it on a tape they gave me. And I love the lyrics.

82. I have only (really) kissed 3 people in my life and I can honestly say that I loved all of them. Kisses were a big deal to me.

83. I love second-hand clothing stores for myself (as in, I rarely shop elsewhere), but I have a slight aversion to them for my baby. I think it is because babies are so hard on clothes and I don't like putting my little boy in something that another baby has probably spit-up or pooped on.

84. I am a sucker for really cute baby socks.

85. One of the things I look forward to most right now is going to all of the Real Salt Lake soccer games with my family. My dad is kind enough to buy season tickets for our entire family (J, G, and me included) to go and it is one of our most favorite things to do.

86. Advertising works on me-- if I see a billboard of something really delicious I get very tempted to stop right then and find one of whatever it was.

87. I always drive with my left leg bent, knee up by my face, and foot on the seat. It's a good thing I don't drive a stick shift any more.

88. I have been to 4 continents and the only one I really want to go to that I haven't is Asia. Antarctica and Australia aren't super appealing to me (don't get me wrong though-- if given the opportunity to go I definitely would).

89. Going to Africa when I was 17 changed the course of my life-- that trip is the reason I went to Romania and the reason that I ultimately ended up studying special education.

90. I have to put lotion on my whole body after I get out of the shower or my skin feels dry and drives me crazy. But it has to be good quality, unscented lotion. I hate all those smelly, flowery, greasy lotions.

91. I studied French for 4 1/2 years in school, am nowhere near fluent, but am sometimes surprised with the random words and phrases that pop into my head in French. I mix bits of Romanian and French up in sentences all the time.

92. I have had to work on becoming comfortable with my post-baby body—the weight came off just fine, and fully clothed I feel plenty of necessary confidence. But the stretch marks on my lower stomach have made me self-conscious even though no one ever sees them except my husband. I am learning to appreciate them for what they are: visible evidence that I was part of a miracle, that I was able to create and carry my son inside my body. I am trying to wear them like the badge of honor that they are.

93. My husband constantly tells me that he loves my tummy. And I believe him.

94. I love having a warm dinner ready for my husband when he gets home. Before I was married I think I would have shunned many of the daily chores of housewifery because I would have seen them as demeaning (even though the house I grew up in should have taught me otherwise). Now I know how happy it makes me to make my man happy—and I feel the opposite of demeaned when I do it.

95. I have always been a very social creature and have preferred to be around lots of people rather than be alone. But I am getting to be more and more of a homebody in my old age. Sometimes there is nothing better than just staying home all day and having quiet (well, as much quiet as an 18 month old boy will allow).

96. I want to go back to school and get my master's degree one day.

97. I make really, really good chocolate chip cookies.

98. Sometimes I wish I had really bad style so that someone would nominate me for one of those really great makeover shows where you get a whole new wardrobe.

99. I am in love with the bedroom that my husband built me. I hang out in there all the time just because I love the way the room feels.

100. I used to say I wanted 7 kids. Now I think 4 or 5 is more my number.

Do we have things in common? What about really big differences?