25 things...

I've seen this on several blogs and facebook so I decided to give it a whirl...

25 Things About Me

1. I am the oldest of four children - I have 2 sisters and 1 brother. I fit the "profile" of the oldest child perfectly.

2. When faced with the loss of all material things I would choose to keep my wedding ring and my boxes of photographs.

3. I'm addicted to all things "soft." I love soft blankets (my favorite is my Tinker Bell fleeced blanket my bff, Carrie made for me). I love flannel sheets, fuzzy socks, if it is warm and soft, I will love it.

4. I love to do laundry. I find the noises of the washer and dryer soothing. I love to put dirty laundry into the washer and have it come out of the dryer warm and soft and smelling like fabric softener (Bounce in the dryer, Downy in the washer...yes, I use both, no, I don't care about the "bad side" effects of using fabric softener on items like bath towels).

5. I love to read and I love to go to the library. I know it is cliche but I love libraries. I remember going to the Nokomis library in South Minneapolis and talking to the children's librarian, Mrs. Selander. I always participated in the Summer Reading Programs offered by the library. When I visit the library as an adult I relive those happy childhood memories.

6. I don't trust people that don't like pets. We have 2 dogs and 3 cats, if animal hair disturbs you, you're not going to enjoy visiting our home.

7. I laugh about everything, even when it isn't appropriate. The majority of the people in my family share this trait and this gets us into trouble a LOT.

8. I have a degree in elementary education but decided I didn't want to teach after I did my student teaching. Don't misunderstand, I had an AWESOME student teaching experience but I realized I couldn't take a pay cut to be a teacher and I didn't want a "career" that would necessitate things like grading papers, lesson planning, continuing eduction...etc. So, I stayed at my Monday through Friday, 9:00-5:00 job, I've been there over 9 years.

9. I love my job but dislike the majority of my co-workers.

10. I could easily go days without speaking to anyone. I was an only child until the age of 8 years 11 months. I was raised to "entertain myself." Usually that meant reading or playing with my dolls or other toys. I am a complete introvert and when I have to talk a lot I get uncomfortable and long to be alone and quiet.

11. I was married to my first husband at age 22 and divorced by age 26. I upgraded to husband 2.0 when I was 31 and we've been married 5.5 years - I wouldn't appreciate my life as much now if I didn't go through the first marriage/divorce.

12. I don't have a Passport and I've never left the country. We spend our vacations visiting our family in Upstate New York. I literally get "homesick" for New York even though I was born and raised in Minnesota. I love my in-laws. :)

13. My mother died at age 43. She's been gone a quarter of my life. I miss her and think about her countless times during each and every day. Sometimes I forget she is gone and will think something like "I should ask mom about her recipe for...crap, my mom is dead." I tear up every time I have to fill out medical forms and note that my mother is deceased from cancer.

14. The worst part of Mondays is missing my husband after spending the whole weekend with him.

15. I love to sleep and take naps. Almost every Saturday and Sunday I take a nap.

16. I have never broken a bone and never had surgery until my carpal tunnel surgeries in 2004.

17. I have had migraine headaches since 1st grade. I've done several "headache diaries" to try to find triggers for my headaches but have never found a definite cause. Sometimes the headaches will last a week and medication won't break the headache, when that happens I have to go to the clinic, urgent care or ER for stronger medicines.

18. I forget that I'm not in my 20's anymore.

19. I keep my toenails painted red at all times.

20. I am terrible at maintaining friendships and hate that about myself.

21. I really love being married to Mark. Our life isn't perfect but I love it just the way it is.

22. We hope to have children someday. My mother and my mother-in-law share the name of "Kathleen," we hope to use their name as a middle name for a future daughter.

23. I'm a night owl. Sometimes I go to bed and wake up in the middle of the night and stay up until dawn...then sleep all day.

24. My husband is complex and brilliant, sometimes when we fight I get completely confused and feel stupid. Luckily we don't fight often!! :)

25. I get along really well with my dad and look forward to talking to him at least once a week.