10 Little Surprises You May Not Want to Know...

I've been putting this off for a few weeks because I can't think of ten interesting things you don't know, but would enjoy knowing, about me. My cousin (whose blog http://bowlingfamilymoments.blogspot.com/ is always so fun to read!) posted ten fun-facts about herself on her blog, then challenged me to do the same. I feel like my blog is always so serious - I just have to blog about things that 'get my goat,' I can't help myself - so maybe this will be fun. Here we go:

1. Music. I can't sing, I don't do instruments, but I can play the radio! I LOVE to dance. Hip-hop. Shagging. Line dancing. You name it, I like it (not sure about my crumping abilities though). I've discovered more and more that I LOVE music. Music with a good beat sets my foot to tappin' every time. But, the thing I love most about music is the effect it has on our emotions. Take country music, for example. My sis hates it. She, along with a lot of others, thinks it's too twangy and always about your dog dying, boyfriend cheatin', etc. Sometimes it is kinda stupid. (Aaron Tippin's 'Kiss This' anyone?) But, sometimes it can brighten your day (Sugarland's 'I ain't Settlin,' and David Lee Murphy's 'Dust On the Bottle.') If you're ever riding down the highway, pull up beside me and see me crying, know that I've just listened to 'Texas Tornado,' or 'Stars Over Texas' by Tracy Lawrence...or Third Day's 'Just to be with You.' Non-cheesy Christian music can make me cry at the drop of a hat. Classical music can calm me down. Oldies/beach music makes me want to be shaggin' on the beach somewhere or hanging out with my parents. So, even though I was definitely not blessed with singing talents, I truly appreciate those who have been and love a good beat. I've fallen in love with music.

2. My toenails are either red or pink. Always. For some reason I don't like any other colors on my feet.

3. One of my favorite memories is my high school graduation day. Not because I walked across the stage or got that piece of paper but because of what happened afterwards. My extended family and close friends gathered at my house, ate lunch, and then...played a long, intense game of pick-up baseball in our backyard. The weather was perfect, everyone was there, and I just remember thinking it was the perfect afternoon. I love the competition of sports, I love that people really pull together, I love when people give their all to something, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE being outside. Though I'm terrified of balls flying at me in the outfield, I wish it happened every Sunday afternoon.

4. I hate flossing. (Good thing I know a GREAT dentist!)

5. I LOVE to bargain. Thanks to early Saturday morning trips to the jockey lot with my Dad growing up, I learned how to 'wheel and deal.'

6. Confession: I still watch Matlock when I can. (I'll blame that on my Dad, too.) And, with any other mystery book or movie, I just have to solve it before the narrator does.

Numero Siete: My friends say I'm an awful bed buddy. Apparently, I toss and turn, kick, talk, and grind my teeth. Oh, and I dream in Spanish a lot.

8. Lofty dreams: When I was little all I wanted to do with my life was bag groceries at Ingles. Mom used to drop me off at the check-out counter and I'd bag (and talk the clerk to death, for sure) groceries for hours. Then I told her I wanted to be a secretary so I could talk on the phone all day (been there, done that, don't wanna go back). One of my child-hood dreams was to grow up and wash dishes at a restaurant...when my family would go out to eat at Dendy's Corner in Abbeville, I would go back in the kitchen and be fascinated by the big sinks, filled with pretty blue liquid. I would wash to my (and the bus boy's) little heart's content. Again, been there, done that, no thank you. Then, in high school, I told my teacher (he loves to remind me of this) that I was going to be the next Katie Couric. His response, 'What about that strong Southern accent?' Me: 'That'll be my calling card.' Ha, what blind confidence and optimism. Little did I know they 'beat' that Southern accent out of you in college and at the tv stations. I'm proud that I worked hard and got my dream job. Turns out though, as you mature, sometimes your dreams evolve. Because I had my mind made up that I would be a reporter, I didn't allow consideration for anything else. Now, I'm searching for what God's 'dream' job is for this life.

9. I love to try new things. Especially new foods. Unless it's spicy. This may be how I got parasites in the Dominican Republic. (Never eat from a street vendor in a third world country.) This is also how I wind up with a lot of meals that I don't like. I'll go to a restaurant where I've found something on the menu that I've had and love, and order something else, just to try something new. A lot of times I kick myself for it afterward.

10. I read my first novel, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott,in 6th grade. I've been hooked on books ever since. Seriously, I can sit down with a good book for hours and not know anyone else is in the world (reading on the beach is my fav). (If I don't like the first 15 pages of a book, I'll read the last couple of pages and be done with it.) My parents used to pay me $1 for every 100 pages I read in elementary school, to encourage my love for reading. They eventually stopped paying me b/c I was reading so much. I think reading is where my love for writing, grammar, and spelling come from. Yes, I've just sealed my dorkiness for good, but I have to admit I used to get SO EXCITED about spelling bees. And while we're on that subject...your/you're and their/there/they're mistakes drive me crazy. Did you know I was such a dork? :)