Ten Things

In an effort to keep this blog of mine a keepsake for my boys to remember their childhood and our experiences we've shared, I also want it to be a place where they can reflect and come to understand/remember the type of person I am or was.

Because of that, I've resolved to try and bring a little bit more of me to this little blog.  So, keeping in that fashion, today I bring you:

Ten Things:
Random Facts That you May or May Not Know About Me
or
The Post In Which I Make It Sound Like I'm a Total Head Case

[You decide]

[1] I have hatred for toothpaste.  I hate how it tastes, and I especially hate the smell.  Don't worry, this doesn't mean I have subscribed to a lifetime of poor oral hygiene.  I still brush everyday.  I've found over the years that the toothpastes formulated for sensitive teeth are the most tolerable version for me.  If Jeff tries to kiss me with freshly brushed teeth, I gag.  Mouthwash too? NO GO.  Not that I like skanky breath, but if I had to choose....

[2]  When asked about what food I hate, the top two things that come to mind are beets and saltine crackers.  And I hate both of them for the same reason:  they were food items the daycare I went to as a child frequently fed us for lunch.  I hated them then, I hate them still.  I honestly have no recollection of what beets taste like.  I just remember them being grainy and an unnatural color.  The idea of biting into one now gives me the chills.  Saltine crackers have never been something I liked.  My hatred grew in elementary school when they were used for field day activities at school.  We'd do a relay race where you had to run to one end of the field, eat a saltine, and run back.  No one wanted to be on my team because I'd get stuck at the saltine station.  Crying.

[3]  I have a scar that spans across the width of my neck.  Luckily over the years it has grown to be really faint, and in fact, sometimes I even have a hard time seeing it.  I got the scar from clothes-lining myself on a rope being used to tie back a tree when I was in elementary school.  It was also during the height of the OJ Simpson trial.  You can imagine all the comments I got walking around with a large wound across my throat.

[4]  I have an unnatural love for whipped cream.  I especially love real whipped cream with very little sweetness to it.  If I was asked what it is I love about it, I honestly could not tell you.  I JUST DO.

[5]  When I was around 18 months old, I died momentarily.  I had been sick for awhile, and had high fever.  My fever caused me to have a febrile seizure which then caused me to stop breathing.  I turned blue, my parents called 911, and luckily I started breathing again before the paramedics arrived.  I tend to keep my cool when my kids are sick, but if they have a high fever, I get worried and keep them close for fear that it could be a hereditary thing.  I'm 99% sure Kaeden had one in my arms when he was sick about a year ago.  Luckily he didn't stop breathing, and instead peed all over me in his sleep.  I'll take the pee any day.

[6] I have commitment issues.  Not in my marriage, but when it comes to purchasing things.  I go shopping, buy stuff, bring it home, and almost always end up returning it.  Jeff has always said that it's a sickness, and that I get satisfaction in making a return.  I've always known that that was not the reasoning behind my actions, but only recently have I come to realize the root of the problem.  I literally cannot make a commitment to anything.  Even if I love the item, or totally need it, by the time I bring it home, I'll convince myself otherwise.  In my mind I try to think about how much I'll use the item before it's out of style/season, how much I think I'll enjoy owning it, or how useful I think it will really be, and EVERY TIME I can rationalize myself out of the purchase and return it.

[7] I enjoy performing monotonous tasks that other people tend to dread.  My top favorite cleaning activity? Vacuuming.  I LOVE IT.  There is something so satisfying in seeing those beautiful vacuum lines.  Painting a wall?  Sign me up.  Mowing the lawn?  Love that too.  It's something about being able to visually see your progress/impact that really makes me happy.  It's truly therapeutic.

[8]  My body has an issue with sugar.  Since I was a pre-teen, I've had issues with my blood sugar.  If I haven't eaten in awhile [especially something more protein based], I shut down.  Literally.  My body gets so tired I can't move.  Thought processes don't compute.  I start having panic attacks.  Give me a small morsel of food when I get to that point, and I do a complete turn around.  Seriously.  One time, all it took was a single french fry before I started rebounding.  Coming out of it, I literally feel like I'm coming back from the dead.  On the other end of the spectrum, if I ingest too much sugar in a small period of time, WATCHOUT. It's like I'm on crack [or so I assume].  I have a really intense euphoria where I'm hyper, excited, and according to some of my friends, highly entertaining.  But it doesn't last long.  I've addressed these issues with many doctors, been tested for various things, all to have nothing diagnosed but "an acute awareness of changes in blood sugar levels."  Thanks doc.

[9] I am an extreme organizer AND a borderline hoarder.  Nothing gives me more satisfaction than a clean house, and knowing everything is in it's proper place.  And in my house, everything has a place.  If something doesn't have a neat and tidy place to reside [most likely in some sort of labeled bin], I chuck it.  I literally do not have an emotional attachment to anything.  On the same hand though, I hoard things.  If I have something new [say a new pair of underwear, or new makeup], I save and hoard the new thing and refuse to get rid of the old thing in fear of having to break into the new one.  In my head the new thing needs to be saved for certain day, a certain situation, a certain special occasion.  I have to keep it new and nice.  I realized this irrationality a few years ago and have tried to make conscious decisions and allow myself to enjoy nice things in the present and now, rather than save it for that special occasion that just may never come.  I've gotten a lot better about it.


[10]  I have an extreme fear/respect for the paranormal.  I do not watch scary movies or entertain myself with anything that could remotely be defined as "horror," especially if it relates to anything ghoulish or demonic.  I HATE haunted houses.  It's not that I can't rationalize my way through the movie or spook alley.  I know that what I am watching is not real.  BUT...I do believe in what is happening.  Although I know they are actors on the screen, I also have a strong feeling that the situations portrayed can be very real.  As I've always explained to people, there are things in this world that exist, and I just plain don't want to know about them.  I believe in ghosts, I believe in demons.  I am terrified of ever having any sort of "experience" with either of them.  I feel that I have an innate sensitivity to paranormal activity and evil.  If I see a movie with something demonic in it, I dwell on it.  I cannot let it go.  The feeling of fear consumes me, and it often takes a long time to reconcile my fears from reality.  So...I simply choose not to invite any sort of evil into my life.  If I can prevent it, I will.  Many people call me a wuss, I just call it protecting my sanity.