25 Things

I did this on facebook.  And now it's on my blog.  Today is my blog's 6th birthday.  It's a twofer.  Or a threefer.  Whatever.  

1.  Sometimes I dream in ASL.

2.  I was a girl scout for six years.  I wanted to be a boy scout.  They got to do the cool stuff.  We made crap out of pom pom balls and hot glue and sang songs with Canadians.

3.  I played softball for 12 years.  First base was my favorite position.  I took it very seriously and would chant under my breath, "Nobody gets on my bag!  Nobody gets on my bag!"  My sophomore year my team celebrated an undefeated season. It was the same year I broke my nose in the 2nd inning and, ignoring my coach's request to sit a few innings out, kept playing through the end. 

4.  I played softball for my high school team for only one season because the other girls made fun of me.  Apparently softball was a "popular" sport and I didn't fit in the category.  I still regret letting them get to me like that.

5.  For a long time I thought my brother's Deafness was my fault because I loved Linda Bove on Sesame Street so much I prayed for a Deaf friend.

6.  I played piano for six years and loved every minute of it.  My piano lives in my condo now and every day I look at it and wish I could take piano lessons again.  Maybe this summer.  :)

7.  I own a guitar but don't know how to play.  I took one class in college and I totally sucked.  I bought the guitar about three years after that class.  I still want to learn how to play but I can't even tune the thing.

8.  I played flute for six years and was one of those high school band kids that got teased for being one of those high school band kids.  I told everybody my mom was making me do it but she really didn't care what I did.  I played because I loved it.

9.  When I was four, a random lady purposefully ran me down with her cart at our local grocery store.  I mean, she started running towards me, eyes a-blazing and ran me down.  I broke my leg and was in a cast up to my hip for a very long time.

10.  I grew up in the same house my whole life and my parents are still married.  I had no idea how rare that was until I went to college.

11.  As much as it sucks sometimes, I really love my job.  Being a special ed teacher is a constant reminder of how blessed I am and how much power I have to help other people.

12.  I love to travel.  Visiting new places and meeting new people makes me feel light and optimistic because I realize more fully that there are good people everywhere.  However, I haven't been to that many places.  Yet.

13.  My balance is horrible.  I fall and run into things all the time.  Just yesterday I was walking down my hallway and randomly tripped and stumbled into the wall.

14.  I have two chihuahuas.  I don't even really like small dogs that much.  But I love mine.  It's awesome that they're so excited when I get home from work and every idea I have is brilliant.  "What?  You want to go into the living room now?  Great!  I'll sit on your lap.  Oh!  Now you're walking into the kitchen!  I'll follow you!"  It's like having my own fan club.

15.  I have a very firm belief that Disneyland really IS the happiest place on Earth.

16.  I love books.  I own almost 300 of them.  The smell of a new book makes me much happier than it probably should.

17.  I once saved my mom's life by performing the Heimlich maneuver at Taco Time when she choked on a tortilla chip.

18.  I'm a big sports fan.  I go to several Mariners games a year and watch every football game (no matter who is playing) that I can.  A growing percentage of my clothing is BYU, Mariners and Seahawks related.

19.  I tell people I bought a Toyota Yaris because it was fuel efficient.  I really bought it because it was cheap and cute.

20.  When I was a child and in my teens I had some real issues with texture that resulted with me gagging at just the sight of things like pudding, yogurt, cheesecake and cottage cheese.  In fact, I still gag at the sight of cottage cheese.  

21.  I drove all the way across the country to pick up a suburban that my friends bought from some people in New York on ebay.  It was awesome!

22.  I have a sometimes pretty severe speech impediment.  In first grade a speech therapist pulled me out of class one time to try to fix it.  She succeeded in teaching me how to say the "ch" sound instead of relying on the "sh" sound as a substitute.  She gave up on the rest of my freakish speech patterns.  To this day whenever I visit the Lunsford home Jeff shouts, "The big E!  Pull up a shair!  We're having shicken tonight!"  And I love it.

23.  I love being outside.  Nature is my friend.  I love hiking, camping, chilling on Lopez Island and just enjoying the view from my condo.  Sunsets are gorgeous in the Puget Sound area.  I love the smell of pine, especially after it's rained recently.  Also, the mountains and the water... beautiful!

24.  Halloween is my favorite holiday.  But... I'm afraid of everything.  I can't watch anything even remotely scary or potentially hurtful on screen.  I can't watch any part of a movie that has to do with blood, hitting or hear any sounds of pain.  I try to be sneaky about covering my eyes and ears.  I rarely succeed.  I hid behind the couch during Jurassic Park and had a very traumatic experience while watching ET that may or may not have resulted in PTSD.

25.  I started going gray at 12 years old.  I think that says it all.