7.31.2008

100 THINGS

This is one of my favorite things. You just write up 100 random facts about yourself. I first made up this list about a year ago and I've already had to change some things that aren't true anymore (and some that weren't necessarily appropriate to share with people other than family)...Anyway, here goes:


1. I met my husband at BYU when our 2 dance teams went on a 6-week tour to China (I was a Cougarette; he, a ballroom dancer.)
2. For me, it was love at first sight. I remember everything about that moment- where we were, what he was wearing, the way he was standing, etc. I've never been drawn to another person the way I was to him.
3. My favorite thing to eat for breakfast is brownies.
4. I love a 30-min jog in the morning (any more or less and I'm tired all day)
5. I used to hate to jog because I got side-aches, but then I learned to breathe.
6. I always got good grades in school, but I don't consider myself intelligent.
7. I took the ACT 3 times and still scored lower than my husband who showed up to take the test on only a couple hours of sleep.
8. I hate dressing up. I feel self-conscious.
9. My favorite sound: my kids laughing together
10. My least favorite sound: Nate's pager (Although nowadays it beeps a lot less. Oh how I love the "real" job!)
11. I make some free time for myself everyday. Normally I read...or BLOG!
12. My favorite books include: "Little Women" and "The Hiding Place"
13. My favorite character from a book: Hassan in "The Kite Runner"
14. I don't own an iPod and barely know how to use one.
15. I've only sent a text message on my cell phone maybe 3 times.
16. I love driving around and looking at houses. I could do it for hours everyday.
17. I still take a dance class once a week. And yes I still have it (the groove at least...the strength and flexibility are long gone!)
18. I pray for more patience everyday.
19. I have always wanted to be as calm as my mother.
20. I like all foods. I pretty much eat anything.
21. My favorite thing about myself: I'm low-maintenance
22. My least favorite thing about myself: I can't control my mood swings very well...it must be chemical or hormonal
23. My favorite thing about Tess: she's so friendly- she makes everyone feel comfortable
24. My favorite thing about David: he's so sensitive to how everyone is feeling
25. My favorite thing about Will: he doesn't miss a thing
26. My favorite thing about Nora: she's just like me
27. I listen to book tapes while I clean.
28. I have a cleaning lady that comes in every other week and sanitizes my home. It has changed my life!
29. I have had the diamond studs that Nate gave me in my ears for the last 6 years.
30. I believe that family time is more important than having my kids involved in a million lessons/activities.
31. I think it's just fine if kids aren't reading before Kindergarten.
32. My favorite kind of people: those that are always looking for ways to serve others
33. My least favorite kind of people: those that have an excuse for everything
34. Having children has been more fulfilling than I ever thought possible.
35. My least favorite thing about it: feeling like I have completely lost my independence
36. I would love to experience the sensation of cleavage.
37. But I can't imagine that I would ever get surgical enhancements.
38. I haven't updated my photo album since the year 2000.
39. I enjoy nothing more than cuddling with my kids...one at a time.
40. When they all climb on me at once, I feel very claustrophobic and almost panicked.
41. I don't like to cook dinner, but I do it so that my family can eat home-cooked meals more often than not.
42. We get take-outs on Wed & Sat and go to my mom's house for Sun dinner each week.
43. I love to take a long walk with my fam after Sunday dinner.
44. When my parents die, I want their Steinway piano.
45. I hope my parents DON'T die for MANY more years.
46. I am very excited to meet Nate's mom in the next life.
47. But I don't want to die for many more years either.
48. I don't really enjoy animals...I think the zoo is boring.
49. Although, we did have a dog named Sable when we lived in Illinois and she was fun.
50. But I never want to have a dog again...too messy and time-consuming
51. Growing up my only pet was a goldfish named Gloria
52. I love old-fashioned names.
52. I have the names for my next 3 girls picked out...although we are NOT having that many more kids!
53. Eliza, Jane & Meg
54. According to Nathan (who doesn't want any more kids anyway), our next boy will be named Luke. (I'm on board...it's a good name. Although I think I prefer Joshua.)
55. Nate has helped me realize that I like doing "outdoorsy" stuff a lot more than I thought I did growing up.
56. I have a recurring dream that my teeth are falling out.
57. I read somewhere that that means I'm vain.
58. I used to want to sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
59. Now I want to do volunteer work with orphans around the world- promoting adoption and improving their way of life.
60. I love to watch my kids playing together in the backyard while I make dinner.
61. I regularly dance around the house with my kids.
62. Sometimes we dance in a strobe light.
63. I am an active member of the PTA.
64. I am much better at saying "no" than I used to be.
65. I haven't been on a diet since college. I have zero will power.
66. It took me over a year to lose my pregnancy weight. Again, no will power.
67. Quite often I literally end up with a headache from all the noise in my house.
68. My favorite vacation: NYC- going to one Broadway play after another
69. I love to sing Broadway songs at the top of my lungs while I'm driving.
70. This really irritates my kids. "Stop singing Mom!!"
71. I love PG-rated romantic comedies (Pride and Prejudice, Sleepless in Seattle, Sabrina, etc) because they're about romance and not sex.
72. I love romance movies and books but I am NOT a romantic person. That sappy stuff makes me uncomfortable in real life.
73. My favorite days are those when my kids and I stay home in our PJs. Especially when it's raining.
74. Autumn is my favorite season- I love the colors.
75. My least favorite thing about it- I have to put away my flip flops (although I normally fight this until the first snow)
76. My first job was teaching dance at the studio I danced at growing up.
77. My 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th jobs were also teaching/managing at various dance studios.
78. My only "real" job was as an administrative assistant for a software company.
79. I watch "Grey's Anatomy" like every other woman in America even though I think all the characters are sluts.
80. I have a slight crush on Wentworth Miller (the guy on Prison Break)
81. Wentworth Miller reminds me of my hubby....so it's okay.
82. My husband has a crush on Natalie Portman and tries to tell me that I look like her, but I obviously don't believe him.
83. I don't enjoy the process of fixing up houses (remodeling, painting), but I do love decorating them.
84. I LOVE that my husband is a handy man. He's saved us thousands over the years.
85. One of my pet peeves: when drawers and cupboards are left slightly open
86. I have all my energy in the morning.
87. In high school, I used to wake up at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. to study.
88. Then without fail, I would fall asleep in my 5th period after lunch.
89. One of my most embarrassing moments is waking up in a pool of drool to my Chemistry class laughing at me.
90. I would love to do high school over again knowing what I know now.
91. I've completed one semester of nursing school. (My last final was on the day Tess was born.)
92. The longer I'm a mom, the more I realize that I DON'T know what I'm doing.
93. At night I get to fretting about my kids and all of the horrible things that could happen to them.
94. This came about when I had 3 kids at once and felt so out of control- like I couldn't protect all of them all of the time
95. My worrying often leads to insomnia.
96. So I take an Ambien about once a week to get a good night's sleep.
97. I miss "Rita's Water Ice" in Philly more than words can say.
98. I also greatly miss "Hot Wok" in Champaign, IL.
99. I think little hand prints on my windows are darling.
100. However, I don't think it's darling when my kids lick the windows or wipe their noses on them.

So if you are still reading....and that would be amazing...it's YOUR TURN!

13 comments:

Mark and Meghan said...

yeah i'm the first to comment...who else is though?? :) okay there is so much i want to comment on, i don't think i can do it all right now...but your next girls name? meg? you never know the effect you have on people, do you??! :)
fall is my favorite season too, and wentworth miller is pretty darn cute. i know there's more, but can't really remember...this was a fun thing to read about!

Lettie B. said...

Fun stuff. You are right, you can learn a lot about a person this way. Here's how we match...
1. I still want to see a picture of you in your little Cougarette outfit.

3. I have also enjoyed brownies for breakfast. If only that really were a good choice every day (and my kids didn't see)! I feel like I need to go make brownies now.

16. We do this too. Or else I spend hours on the MSL looking at the outsides and insides. Bad idea..my house seems so awful almost everytime afterwards.

36. I hear you on that one!
37. Same here - and I think Nate would be mad at me if I did.

43. Sundays are great days for walks.

56. That is my recurring cream too, but I would call it more of a nightmare.

57. I haven't read the vain theory. What I have read is that is means you are afraid of being left or something like that.

79. Only seen this once and I don't think Patrick Dempsey is dreamy at all. Who can after Can't Buy Me Love?

Kristi said...

I love this! I learned a lot about you that I didn't know. I will have to try to do this also, but it might take me awhile - I am not great at putting words on paper.

LynnEl Springer said...

Erin! First of all, can I just say YOU ARE SO CUTE! I loved reading this - and yes, I read it all! We also love to go to Hot Wok! It's still here going strong! We also fell in love with BOTH OF YOU at first sight and are so glad to have you in our family - even adopted! But then you are big on adoptions! So consider yourself and your family adopted by ours! And I too have insomnia over worry! I have never tho, taken Ambien - but have been known to take a swig of NyQuil every now and again! I love you and your family! (oh, and I'm still trying to lose my pregnancy weight after DAN - 20 years ago!!!)

Kearl said...

Loved it. We really all need to bring our lists for our retreat. I'm really curious about the ones that you didn't include. You'll have to share those with us later. We promise it won't get back to Nate. :)

Andrea said...

I loved reading this and I relate to so many items! Especially the fingerprints on the windows! And did you know that I have a Jane Elizabeth (she was almost Eliza Jane) and this next baby will be Meg! Great minds think alike! Fun post, great blog!

Katie said...

Erin! I was so excited to see your comment on our blog. It has been fun to read your blog and get to know you and your family better! I loved this post and sat down right after I read it and wrote 100 facts about my self- which will be posted in the near future. I loved all your facts- they were great!

leslie said...

Loved all of it! I too eat brownies for breakfast but I am more like grandma nell (previous post) with the swig of nyquil--whatever works.

April said...

ok... we got the shaved ice... with cream and ice cream - you are right, it's awesome. I think I'll be bypassing the maverik from now on.

The Stars at Night...Deep in the Heart of Texas said...

Okay, don't tease me by saying, "your house is cute maybe we'll come for a visit." You must come and stay with me. That is all.


P.S. learned a lot about you from this post but I was glad to know that most of it I already knew! Oh, cousins!

Tyler and Dru said...

i love this. that's what i need to do with mine.....update it. ern, you're so much more intelligent than you give yourself credit and yes you are the most low-maintenance person i know. i wish i were more like you in that sense. and many others as well of course. :)

Lettie B. said...

I was thinking about you list the the other day and realized that it is one of the few I have read that had so many beliefs in it. Does that make sense? I liked it. Knowing what someone think about something is sometimes more telling than the things that they do/have done.

matt and eve lloyd said...

Erin! I loved reading your 100 things again. I did notice one in particular that you edited for the public...but I don't think it's something you should have been shy about. I'm going to have to change several on mine if i post it as well! I haven't started Breaking Dawn yet. I'm so excited to get it, but it's difficult because I don't have a car here or I would have run to the bookstore the first day. Let me know how it is! I've enjoyed Boston but can't wait to see everyone in two weeks in Sun Valley! Miss you and love you!!