To celebrate our condo going on the market today (EEK!), I figured I would succumb to peer pressure and finally do that 25 Random, Weird, Interesting Things About Me meme that I'm still getting tagged for on Facebook. Because really, there's not much else on my mind and I don't want to subject you all to more talk of paint and cleaning and staging and the sad state of my hands and fingernails after doing all of the above for about a week now. You're welcome :)
1. I was a huge fan of WWF wrestling when I was a little girl. I had the toy wrestling ring and the figurines and even went to two matches where I was kissed on the cheek by El Matador. On the same note, when I was about 18 or so, I was at the Boardwalk in Ocean City and the Iron Sheik was signing autographs! I was the only girl in line and when it was my turn to meet him, I blathered on and on about his signature move, the Camel Clutch. I'm such a dork. And no, I don't watch wrestling anymore!
2. I lived in Wiesbaden, Germany for 4½ years (ages 8-12) after my Dad was stationed there for his job. My love for travel was definitely born there as that's how we spent our free time. While living there, we visited Italy, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, former Czechoslovakia, Poland, England, Ireland, and Scotland. Those were some of the best years of my life.
3. My hair was white-blond until I was about 4 or 5 years old. It then turned dirty blond, then eventually became the medium shade of brown it is now. I have a lot of natural blond and red highlights in my hair and have grown to love my natural color. That still doesn't stop me from pumping up the blond highlights in the summer though!
4. Despite the colors on my blog, my favorite color is yellow. It makes me happy. When my sister and I were really small, my mom would buy two of everything (toys, clothes, etc...) and my sister would always get pink or purple and I would always get yellow or green. I wonder if it goes back to that?
5. I HATE taking medicine. When I'm not feeling well, Jon has to practically force it on me. I usually refuse, unless I'm absolutely miserable. I prefer to let things run their course and use other, more natural, methods of healing.
6. I have 22 first cousins. My mom is one of six and my dad is one of four. Yes, we're Catholic :)
7. I met Martin Sheen when I was an intern for Kathleen Kennedy Townsend while in college. He was such a nice man, but wasn't much taller than I am. When I went to shake his hand, he laughed and embraced me and said, "I always hug the ladies". (It was in a completely friendly and non-creepy way.)
8. I've only been to Vegas once and the only time I gambled was when I was sitting in the airport waiting for my flight home. They had slot machines there, so I gave it a chance because I couldn't leave Vegas without gambling at all! I didn't win. I did, however, win a blackjack tournament on our first cruise about 6 months later. It was my first time ever playing and I royally pissed off all the old men I played with.
9. My family has traced our roots back to Albert Schweitzer. Not sure how accurate that is, but he is a pretty awesome person to have in your ancestry.
10. My all-time favorite song is Stay, by Lisa Loeb. I'm also quite partial to Try A Little Tenderness(Otis Redding), Sweet Dreams(Eurythmics), Addictive (Truth Hurts), Who's Your Daddy (Toby Keith) and Kissing You(Des'ree). Obviously, I like a little bit of everything!
11. I'm on the 3rd version of my engagement ring. I went from a princess cut with baguettes, to a princess cut with smaller princess cut diamonds to my current, a round brilliant set on a band of pavé diamonds. Have I mentioned I'm indecisive?
12. I was voted Homecoming Queen in high school. I was also nominated for Homecoming Queen in college, but didn't win.
13. I'm a PADI certified SCUBA diver. Jon and I took the training classes here in Virginia in the months leading up to our honeymoon, then took our certification dives on the second half of our honeymoon in Jamaica. You have to do two dives and I almost didn't make it out for the second one because I was so seasick. Luckily, there was some Dramamine handy which helped immensely and I was able to go back out and pass the test!
14. I donate blood about 2-3 times a year even though I fall a good ten pounds under their weight requirements. I'm always fine afterwards, so I just lie when they ask for my weight.
15. I took a drawing class during my last semester of senior year in college. I loved it and one of my drawings was selected to hang in Richmond's library for a year. I haven't drawn seriously since.
16. On a similar note, I love school supplies. Just give me a big box of pencils and crayons and fun paper and I'm a happy girl. The smell of all those things is just intoxicating to me.
17. I haven't raced since my last college race in the A-10 Championship. It was the 3k steeplechase and I had the lead for a bit, but lost it in the last 150 meters. It still earned me second team All-Conference honors and a school record though!
18. My favorite flower is the gerbera daisy. My wedding bouquet was full of hot pink and tangerine ones, along with roses and little lime green berries filling in.
19. I have freakishly long toes. Jon calls them my talons and others have referred to them as finger toes. I can even pick stuff up off the floor with them. I used to be ashamed of them, but now I embrace them because they're mine and I think they're beautiful! I inherited them from my father and I just know our kids will have them too.
20. My favorite wild animal is the elephant. I've seen them, even fed them, in zoos, but would love to travel to Africa or Asia to see one in the wild.
21. Jon and I broke up once for a half hour about six months into our relationship. He had actually been about to start looking for rings, but after that, we went through a major relationship rehab and fixed some things that needed to be fixed and we're much better for it.
22. I don't cry at funerals.
23. I came up with my blog name years before I started blogging. I've always wanted to open a boutique geared towards the under-served petite population and thought it would be the perfect name for a shop.
24. I have a 3½ inch scar on my abdomen just above and to the right of my belly button from where I had my gallbladder removed. I had gallstones when I was 6 and it just had to come out. I usually forget I have it until someone asks where I got my cool scar from.
25. If I could change one thing about my physical appearance, I would give myself a smaller nose. Though, my sense of smell is the strongest of all my senses, so I wonder if that would be diminished?
And there you have it! Phew, that took forever! I'll post pictures of our condo once we have them.