So I have finally reached my 100th post. In true blogger fashion I am going to list 100 things about me - most of which you probably don't know. Brace yourselves, here goes...
1. I always wanted green eyes and thought my brown eyes were boring. I like them now.
2. I think it is ironic that I married someone with green eyes.
3. I never really wanted children. I wasn’t one of those teenage girls who just adored babies. In fact, I figured that because I am a good Mormon woman I would have two (maybe three) just to do what I was supposed to. Now that I have kids I am planning on five. I like them (most of the time).
4. I actually really like being a stay-at-home mom and don’t miss the workforce at all.
5. I didn’t think I would get married a day before I was 27. I was so convinced of this that I actually made a bet with by brother-in-law about it. I still owe him a steak dinner. I actually got married at 23. Boy was I wrong.
6. Scott says it was love at first sight when he met me. I always think that is nice.
7. Scott and I only dated for a little more than four months and were engaged for six weeks. It was fast, but seemed perfect for us.
8. I LOVE musicals and music in general
9. I LOVE to sing
10. I have only taken about a year and half of piano lessons yet I can play almost every hymn in the book.
11. I really love pizza…well, I love food in general
12. I think people are lying when they say that exercising gives them more energy. There was a time in my life that I was working out for about 3 hours everyday (not 3 hour consecutively) and always felt just as tired as when I wasn’t working out. If anything it just makes me more tired.
13. I have lived in the U.S., Taiwan, Ghana, and South Africa and have visited countless other countries (they aren’t countless, I am just not going to list them all).
14. I really like hanging out with my sisters.
15. We don’t watch television and people are always so amazed when I tell them that Scott and I visit in the evenings. I don’t think it is weird for a married couple to talk.
16. I have a major sweet tooth. This will catch up to me someday.
17. I started playing softball when I was seven. I played competitively until I got married. I really miss it.
18. I went the Brigham Young University
19. That is where I met Scott
20. While at BYU I played six different intramural sports. I loved it!
21. I was on the 10-year plan in college, but graduated in 6 ½ years (in my defense, I had a double major).
22. Everyone asks where Grace got her light hair and blue eyes from…well, I was blonde as baby and both my dad and Scott’s dad have blue eyes. So, she really is ours, I promise.
23. I sucked my thumb until I was nine. My parents finally got me to stop by bribing me. I wanted a tetherball court in the backyard – sure enough when I stopped my dad made it happen. Needless to say, by the end of that school year I was the tetherball champ at school.
24. I never had braces. My teeth just went back to normal after all those years of thumb-sucking.
25. I am the only person alive (besides Scott) who thought Hawaii was terribly over-rated. What a huge disappointment – we will probably never go back (here I am showing you the view).
26. I am real perfectionist when it comes to decorating my house.
27. I think it is important to eat dinner together every night. Scott is really good at being supportive of this.
28. I have sung a number of solos in my life and I still get nervous every time.
29. I have secretly always wanted to be an author (well, I guess this is no longer a secret).
30. I love to travel
31. I have a cross-stitch that I started in 1999 – occasionally I get it out and work on it. It still isn’t finished. Someday…maybe.
32. I am very opinionated. I wish so much sometimes that I could just do better at keeping my mouth shut. I am getting better.
33. I got the idea for all three of my children’s names from movies; Lily is from What about Bob, Adam is from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Grace is from Return to Me. NOTE: Lily’s real name is Liliana, after my mom, I got the idea to shorten it from the movie.
34. I have abnormally short toes and fingers. I am 5’8” and my hands are the same size as my sister, Lisa, who is almost 5’5”. And my toes look like they have been cut off at the knuckle.
35. When Scott and I were dating he told me that I had a J. Lo butt, and this was supposed to be a good thing. Note from Scott: This will probably be taken out of context for everyone who reads it. I really was trying to be nice.
36. I love beautiful fabric, paper, and ribbons.
37. I have a habit of buying dishes. I really love a pretty plate to eat on.
38. I am not a morning person or a night person – I am sleep person. I like to go to bed at a reasonable time and get up at a reasonable time.
39. I learned to water ski and snow ski at a very young age. I think I was five when I first snow
skied and seven when I first water skied.
40. I hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro with my cousin Erika – by far one of the best and hardest things I have ever done. I cried when I reached the top.
41. I have always wanted a tattoo, but will never get one because I would be overcome with guilt.
42. I hate dreaming. My dreams are very seldom pleasant. They are either frustrating, weird, scary, or confusing. I would really just rather not remember them.
43. I love spending time with my family and Scott’s family
44. Speaking of which, I have always felt really blessed because I genuinely love my in-laws.
45. I love funky clothes
46. I really really can’t stand salesmen. I feel like they are always trying to pull a fast one and never have my best interest in mind. That always ticks me off a little. If I know I am going to encounter one I have to give myself a pep-talk beforehand so that I am not rude to them.
47. I have a nose for a bargain – I seem to stumble onto the best deals on the coolest clothes.
48. I never went to Prom – I got asked, but didn’t go (it is a long story and has nothing to do with the guy who asked me).
49. I sang (a solo) on national television – O.K. it was Ghanaian National Television….but still, it
was a solo on national television.
50. I was in the Jr. Miss Pageant in high school and didn’t win (although I totally should have). I did win Miss Congeniality though! I guess it was a pretty good consolation price. Besides we moved to Africa 3 months later, so it probably wouldn’t have worked out.
51. I still love Barbies… and I love that I have girls because it means I can buy them Barbies
52. I really like to cook – it is a great creative outlet for me.
53. I started driving (legally) at 14. We lived in Idaho and you can get your permit there when you are 14.
54. So, I have been driving for 16 years and have only had one speeding ticket and never an accident. I have even driven in other countries where they drive on the other side of the road – and in a stick shift vehicle. Yes, I am amazing!
55. My parents flipped a coin to decide what to name me. My mom wanted Erin and my dad wanted Emily. Luckily Emily won – I don’t hate the name Erin, I just like Emily better.
56. About my birth – I was a “blue baby”, meaning the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck. When I was in grade school I used to tell my friends that they had to be extra nice to me because I almost died when I was born. Oh brother!
57. I really like to read. Some of my favorite authors are C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie, Alexander Dumas, and Harper Lee
58. Some of my favorite books are To Kill a Mockingbird (I LOVE Atticus Finch), The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Hiding Place.
59. I love anything pink and/or glittery or sparkly.
60. After the kids go to bed every New Years Eve, Scott and I have sushi and listen or watch the fireworks.
61. Our traditional Christmas Eve dinner is crepes. Everyone likes them and I don’t want any fighting that night. Oh, and am I talking crepes with fruit, crème, syrup, and all the good stuff. Mmmmm.
62. I have a really familiar face. Almost weekly someone will tell me I look like someone they know, or ask if I am related to someone, or ask if I have met them before. I am not kidding – this happens ALL the time and most of time with complete strangers.
63. I get told I look like basically any actress (or athlete) with brown hair. Here are a few I have gotten: Neve Campbell, Kate Beckinsdale, Sandra Bulloch, Claire Danes (in her younger days), Nancy Kerrigan, & Jamie Salay (the previous two are both figure skaters).
64. I love clean laundry and the smell of clean laundry.
65. I rarely cry anymore, which is weird because in high school and college I was like a faucet. Sometimes I think something is wrong with me because at times I can hardly drum up a tear – even at the most appropriate times!
66. I am a huge klutz
67. I have a great sense of direction. I rarely get lost and when I do I still have a general idea of where I am.
68. I have no problem asking people for help. This used to be hard for me until we moved to Washington and I realized that sometimes you have to depend of other people.
69. I am a lot more laid-back mother than I thought I would be. Some battles just aren’t worth fighting.
70. I love love love sunny days!
71. Someday I would like to own a beach house.
72. I was involved in everything in high school. You name it and I was probably the president of it (or at least a member). I loved high school.
73. I love a new box of crayons – so much so that I almost hate giving them to the kids.
74. I know how to surf. In fact Scott and I go on a surf trip every year with a bunch of friends – it is such fun.
75. One of my favorite things is having a mate (ma-tay) with my family. Note: This is an
Argentine drink.
76. I think it is the greatest thing that we have a living prophet. Sometimes it hits me how amazing and wonderful this is and I so grateful for it.
77. I am Miss America every year for Halloween (even when I am pregnant - I was pregnant with Grace in this picture).
78. I don’t mind going to movies alone – in fact, sometimes I prefer to go alone. Although, once when I went to a movie (“One Fine Day” I think) and I forgot I was alone and started whispering something to the “person” next me. It took me a minute to remember that there was no one there. Everyone I know thinks this is weird, but if you think about it, it really isn’t. The movie doesn’t change and people really shouldn’t talk during the show anyway. So doesn’t it make more sense to go without someone?
79. I have personal space issues. It used to totally bug me at BYU how every time I entered Relief Society some cheesy girl would run up to me and give me a big welcome hug. I am really good now at avoiding hugs from people I don’t want hugs from. NOTE: If you are a person that hugs me, don’t worry… if you have been successful at hugging me in the past then it usually means I was okay with it. I have a similar phobia in large crowds.
80. I really like the movie Three Amigos. I could watch it over and over and laugh every time. Truly a classic.
81. I was married in June on the most perfect California day ever.
82. I LOVE popcorn and ice cream (not usually together though).
83. I don’t trust beauticians – I have yet to meet one that does a great job on my hair.
84. I have been wearing the same pair of glasses since 1999. I would get a new pair but 1) I don’t have time, 2) I have hard time making those kinds of long-term decisions.
85. I still wear my wedding dress occasionally and it fits (although, not quite as well as it used to).
86. There are six kids in both mine and Scott’s families. The funny thing is however, that in my family there are five daughters and one son and in his family there are five sons and one daughter.
87. I have taken four years of Spanish and have a fluently Spanish-speaking mother, yet I hardly speak a word. I would give anything to go and live in a Spanish-speaking country for year just to pick up the language.
88. It bugs me when people ask if I speak a language – I always say, “Yes, I speak English, which happens to be a language.” And I speak it very well I should add…
89. One of my dreams has always been to be the voice of a Disney character.
90. I love little bird statues and figurines. There is something graceful and delicate about them.
91. I love graduations. Maybe because mine felt like such a big accomplishment and I remember those feelings every time I attend one. I actually cried at mine – I was so proud of myself.
92. Speaking of my graduation from BYU; when I graduated my family kept saying they were amazed I made. They didn’t think I would actually get there. Ha ha…
93. I love to give people hand-made cards. It is very satisfying.
94. I hate doing taxes and avoid it at all costs.
95. I love a beautifully made bed.
96. I think plastic surgery is great in moderation and I don’t view it as being any different than getting braces (only usually it is cheaper than braces). If it is okay to fix your teeth then why wouldn’t it be okay to fix your tummy or your thighs for example. Although I do think it is very possible to go way overboard.
97. I can’t stand moving – mainly because I hate packing.
98. I the only one of my siblings not born on one the days beginning with a 20 in the month. They are all born on the 20th, 23rd, 26th, 27th, and 28th of various months. I was born on the 7th.
99. I hope to someday do a triathlon.
100. This was the hardest list I have ever written.
1. I always wanted green eyes and thought my brown eyes were boring. I like them now.2. I think it is ironic that I married someone with green eyes.
3. I never really wanted children. I wasn’t one of those teenage girls who just adored babies. In fact, I figured that because I am a good Mormon woman I would have two (maybe three) just to do what I was supposed to. Now that I have kids I am planning on five. I like them (most of the time).
4. I actually really like being a stay-at-home mom and don’t miss the workforce at all.
5. I didn’t think I would get married a day before I was 27. I was so convinced of this that I actually made a bet with by brother-in-law about it. I still owe him a steak dinner. I actually got married at 23. Boy was I wrong.
6. Scott says it was love at first sight when he met me. I always think that is nice.
7. Scott and I only dated for a little more than four months and were engaged for six weeks. It was fast, but seemed perfect for us.
8. I LOVE musicals and music in general
9. I LOVE to sing
10. I have only taken about a year and half of piano lessons yet I can play almost every hymn in the book.
11. I really love pizza…well, I love food in general
12. I think people are lying when they say that exercising gives them more energy. There was a time in my life that I was working out for about 3 hours everyday (not 3 hour consecutively) and always felt just as tired as when I wasn’t working out. If anything it just makes me more tired.
13. I have lived in the U.S., Taiwan, Ghana, and South Africa and have visited countless other countries (they aren’t countless, I am just not going to list them all).
14. I really like hanging out with my sisters.
15. We don’t watch television and people are always so amazed when I tell them that Scott and I visit in the evenings. I don’t think it is weird for a married couple to talk.
16. I have a major sweet tooth. This will catch up to me someday.
17. I started playing softball when I was seven. I played competitively until I got married. I really miss it.
18. I went the Brigham Young University
19. That is where I met Scott
20. While at BYU I played six different intramural sports. I loved it!
21. I was on the 10-year plan in college, but graduated in 6 ½ years (in my defense, I had a double major).
22. Everyone asks where Grace got her light hair and blue eyes from…well, I was blonde as baby and both my dad and Scott’s dad have blue eyes. So, she really is ours, I promise.
23. I sucked my thumb until I was nine. My parents finally got me to stop by bribing me. I wanted a tetherball court in the backyard – sure enough when I stopped my dad made it happen. Needless to say, by the end of that school year I was the tetherball champ at school.
24. I never had braces. My teeth just went back to normal after all those years of thumb-sucking.
25. I am the only person alive (besides Scott) who thought Hawaii was terribly over-rated. What a huge disappointment – we will probably never go back (here I am showing you the view).
26. I am real perfectionist when it comes to decorating my house.
27. I think it is important to eat dinner together every night. Scott is really good at being supportive of this.
28. I have sung a number of solos in my life and I still get nervous every time.
29. I have secretly always wanted to be an author (well, I guess this is no longer a secret).
30. I love to travel
31. I have a cross-stitch that I started in 1999 – occasionally I get it out and work on it. It still isn’t finished. Someday…maybe.
32. I am very opinionated. I wish so much sometimes that I could just do better at keeping my mouth shut. I am getting better.
33. I got the idea for all three of my children’s names from movies; Lily is from What about Bob, Adam is from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Grace is from Return to Me. NOTE: Lily’s real name is Liliana, after my mom, I got the idea to shorten it from the movie.
34. I have abnormally short toes and fingers. I am 5’8” and my hands are the same size as my sister, Lisa, who is almost 5’5”. And my toes look like they have been cut off at the knuckle.
35. When Scott and I were dating he told me that I had a J. Lo butt, and this was supposed to be a good thing. Note from Scott: This will probably be taken out of context for everyone who reads it. I really was trying to be nice.
36. I love beautiful fabric, paper, and ribbons.
37. I have a habit of buying dishes. I really love a pretty plate to eat on.
38. I am not a morning person or a night person – I am sleep person. I like to go to bed at a reasonable time and get up at a reasonable time.
39. I learned to water ski and snow ski at a very young age. I think I was five when I first snow
skied and seven when I first water skied.40. I hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro with my cousin Erika – by far one of the best and hardest things I have ever done. I cried when I reached the top.
41. I have always wanted a tattoo, but will never get one because I would be overcome with guilt.
42. I hate dreaming. My dreams are very seldom pleasant. They are either frustrating, weird, scary, or confusing. I would really just rather not remember them.
43. I love spending time with my family and Scott’s family
44. Speaking of which, I have always felt really blessed because I genuinely love my in-laws.
45. I love funky clothes
46. I really really can’t stand salesmen. I feel like they are always trying to pull a fast one and never have my best interest in mind. That always ticks me off a little. If I know I am going to encounter one I have to give myself a pep-talk beforehand so that I am not rude to them.
47. I have a nose for a bargain – I seem to stumble onto the best deals on the coolest clothes.
48. I never went to Prom – I got asked, but didn’t go (it is a long story and has nothing to do with the guy who asked me).
49. I sang (a solo) on national television – O.K. it was Ghanaian National Television….but still, it
was a solo on national television.50. I was in the Jr. Miss Pageant in high school and didn’t win (although I totally should have). I did win Miss Congeniality though! I guess it was a pretty good consolation price. Besides we moved to Africa 3 months later, so it probably wouldn’t have worked out.
51. I still love Barbies… and I love that I have girls because it means I can buy them Barbies
52. I really like to cook – it is a great creative outlet for me.
53. I started driving (legally) at 14. We lived in Idaho and you can get your permit there when you are 14.
54. So, I have been driving for 16 years and have only had one speeding ticket and never an accident. I have even driven in other countries where they drive on the other side of the road – and in a stick shift vehicle. Yes, I am amazing!
55. My parents flipped a coin to decide what to name me. My mom wanted Erin and my dad wanted Emily. Luckily Emily won – I don’t hate the name Erin, I just like Emily better.
56. About my birth – I was a “blue baby”, meaning the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck. When I was in grade school I used to tell my friends that they had to be extra nice to me because I almost died when I was born. Oh brother!
57. I really like to read. Some of my favorite authors are C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie, Alexander Dumas, and Harper Lee
58. Some of my favorite books are To Kill a Mockingbird (I LOVE Atticus Finch), The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Hiding Place.
59. I love anything pink and/or glittery or sparkly.
60. After the kids go to bed every New Years Eve, Scott and I have sushi and listen or watch the fireworks.
61. Our traditional Christmas Eve dinner is crepes. Everyone likes them and I don’t want any fighting that night. Oh, and am I talking crepes with fruit, crème, syrup, and all the good stuff. Mmmmm.
62. I have a really familiar face. Almost weekly someone will tell me I look like someone they know, or ask if I am related to someone, or ask if I have met them before. I am not kidding – this happens ALL the time and most of time with complete strangers.
63. I get told I look like basically any actress (or athlete) with brown hair. Here are a few I have gotten: Neve Campbell, Kate Beckinsdale, Sandra Bulloch, Claire Danes (in her younger days), Nancy Kerrigan, & Jamie Salay (the previous two are both figure skaters).
64. I love clean laundry and the smell of clean laundry.
65. I rarely cry anymore, which is weird because in high school and college I was like a faucet. Sometimes I think something is wrong with me because at times I can hardly drum up a tear – even at the most appropriate times!
66. I am a huge klutz
67. I have a great sense of direction. I rarely get lost and when I do I still have a general idea of where I am.
68. I have no problem asking people for help. This used to be hard for me until we moved to Washington and I realized that sometimes you have to depend of other people.
69. I am a lot more laid-back mother than I thought I would be. Some battles just aren’t worth fighting.
70. I love love love sunny days!
71. Someday I would like to own a beach house.
72. I was involved in everything in high school. You name it and I was probably the president of it (or at least a member). I loved high school.
73. I love a new box of crayons – so much so that I almost hate giving them to the kids.
74. I know how to surf. In fact Scott and I go on a surf trip every year with a bunch of friends – it is such fun.
75. One of my favorite things is having a mate (ma-tay) with my family. Note: This is an
Argentine drink.76. I think it is the greatest thing that we have a living prophet. Sometimes it hits me how amazing and wonderful this is and I so grateful for it.
77. I am Miss America every year for Halloween (even when I am pregnant - I was pregnant with Grace in this picture).
78. I don’t mind going to movies alone – in fact, sometimes I prefer to go alone. Although, once when I went to a movie (“One Fine Day” I think) and I forgot I was alone and started whispering something to the “person” next me. It took me a minute to remember that there was no one there. Everyone I know thinks this is weird, but if you think about it, it really isn’t. The movie doesn’t change and people really shouldn’t talk during the show anyway. So doesn’t it make more sense to go without someone?
79. I have personal space issues. It used to totally bug me at BYU how every time I entered Relief Society some cheesy girl would run up to me and give me a big welcome hug. I am really good now at avoiding hugs from people I don’t want hugs from. NOTE: If you are a person that hugs me, don’t worry… if you have been successful at hugging me in the past then it usually means I was okay with it. I have a similar phobia in large crowds.
80. I really like the movie Three Amigos. I could watch it over and over and laugh every time. Truly a classic.
81. I was married in June on the most perfect California day ever.
82. I LOVE popcorn and ice cream (not usually together though).
83. I don’t trust beauticians – I have yet to meet one that does a great job on my hair.
84. I have been wearing the same pair of glasses since 1999. I would get a new pair but 1) I don’t have time, 2) I have hard time making those kinds of long-term decisions.
85. I still wear my wedding dress occasionally and it fits (although, not quite as well as it used to).
86. There are six kids in both mine and Scott’s families. The funny thing is however, that in my family there are five daughters and one son and in his family there are five sons and one daughter.
87. I have taken four years of Spanish and have a fluently Spanish-speaking mother, yet I hardly speak a word. I would give anything to go and live in a Spanish-speaking country for year just to pick up the language.
88. It bugs me when people ask if I speak a language – I always say, “Yes, I speak English, which happens to be a language.” And I speak it very well I should add…
89. One of my dreams has always been to be the voice of a Disney character.
90. I love little bird statues and figurines. There is something graceful and delicate about them.
91. I love graduations. Maybe because mine felt like such a big accomplishment and I remember those feelings every time I attend one. I actually cried at mine – I was so proud of myself.
92. Speaking of my graduation from BYU; when I graduated my family kept saying they were amazed I made. They didn’t think I would actually get there. Ha ha…
93. I love to give people hand-made cards. It is very satisfying.
94. I hate doing taxes and avoid it at all costs.
95. I love a beautifully made bed.
96. I think plastic surgery is great in moderation and I don’t view it as being any different than getting braces (only usually it is cheaper than braces). If it is okay to fix your teeth then why wouldn’t it be okay to fix your tummy or your thighs for example. Although I do think it is very possible to go way overboard.
97. I can’t stand moving – mainly because I hate packing.
98. I the only one of my siblings not born on one the days beginning with a 20 in the month. They are all born on the 20th, 23rd, 26th, 27th, and 28th of various months. I was born on the 7th.
99. I hope to someday do a triathlon.
100. This was the hardest list I have ever written.
