30 Days

Because I'm a little crazy and don't have enough going on... I thought I'd tackle this little posting project that I saw on CJ's blog. And although I'm obviously insane to take this on, I am not so delusional that I think this will be done in 30 consecutive days. Here's the set-up:

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name

Day 3-Your first love

Day 4-Your parents

Day 5-Your siblings

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy

Day 7-Favorite movies

Day 8-A place you’ve traveled to

Day 9-A picture of your friends

Day 10-Something you’re afraid of

Day 11-Favorite TV shows

Day 12-What you believe

Day 13-Goals

Day 14-A picture you love

Day 15-Bible verse

Day 16-Dream house

Day 17-Something you’re looking forward to

Day 18-Something you regret

Day 19-Something you miss

Day 20-Nicknames

Day 21-Picture of yourself

Day 22-Favorite city

Day 23-Favorite vacation

Day 24-Something you’ve learned

Day 25-Favorite memory

Day 26-Picture of your family

Day 27-Pets

Day 28-Something that stresses you out

Day 29-3 Wishes

Day 30-a picture

So I picked this one from the many that I see on different blogs because the majority of these are no-brainers, with just a few hard-hitting topics. But all-in-all, I chose it because it looks fun. And since right now it would be easy to jump to "Day 28", I could use some fun. :)

Soo.....Let's just jump right in!

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

I'd guess that if you're reading this, then you already have a pretty good idea of who I am. But I'll follow directions and introduce myself anyway. I am 36 years old, am (not legally) married to my high school sweetheart, and am the proud mommy of 12 year old boy-girl twins.

That is "who" I am, at least what really makes me "me". Now some facts...not sure if they'll be interesting, but here goes:

1. I am currently in my second semester of college after deciding what I want to be when I grow up. It only took me 18 years after graduating high school to figure out that I want to be a librarian more than anything else. Someday, I'll have a career and not just a job!


2. My maternal great-grandmother was a triplet, my sisters are twins and my children are twins. My amazing sister was an egg donor 4 times and two of those resulted in twins. I'd say that multiples definitely run in my family. The most interesting thing about it is that aside from donating eggs, my sister was also a gestational surrogate and although her eggs weren't responsible that time, the result was twins yet again!


3. Shell is the only woman I've ever been with. I had crushes on boys and girls (although I didn't realize that's what it was with the girls at the time), but when I imagined being with Shell, it felt like the most right thing for me. I never doubted for a second that I should be with her, gender be damned! Shell used to say that I wasn't really a lesbian, I just happened to fall in love with her. I don't care what you call it, all I know is that I am right where I belong.


4. My kids are 12 years old and still call me mommy and call Shell mama. I smile every time they do because I know it will end, probably sooner than later and I will miss hearing it.


5. I hope I don't regret stating this, but I've never had a broken bone. Similarly, I've only had surgery twice. The first time was when my kids were born via Cesarean and the second was to have two wisdom teeth extracted.


6. I grew up on a cul-de-sac that consisted of 19 houses. For the majority of my childhood, these were inhabited by the same people throughout. There was very little change in neighbors. In about half of the homes lived families with children around my age, give or take 3 years or so. There were a lot of kids on my street and we all pretty much played together. Baseball, football, tag, bicycle races, roller skating, slip-n-slides, etc. It was the best way to be a kid in the suburbs.


7. I was born and raised in Southern California, but am not a "California girl". I do not and never have been a sun worshipper. My very fair skin has reminded me too many times that the sun is not my friend and will cause much pain if I'm not covered and protected properly. I don't enjoy the hot weather of summer and the beach makes me panicky. Although I don't love it when the winter gets very cold and icy, I am much better suited for the state I live in now.


8. We always had dogs for pets when I was growing up, but wen I was about 11, I got the first pets that were 100% mine: mice. I got a white female and a black male and named them Prince and Princess. A few litters were born before we separated the males and females and for the next couple of years I played matchmaker with my favorites and happily lived in oblivion as I would take the extra babies that I wasn't going to keep and sell them to our local pet store. I thought that I was supplying the store with future pets for others. When I realized that the vast majority were being sold as feeders, I stopped. I couldn't handle watching the babies be born and grow, knowing that their futures were short. The remaining mice stayed separated and eventually all died. Prince outlived them all by a few months. Not many of my friends understood how I could, but I loved my mice very much.


9. I took German for 3 years in high school, even though it would have made so much more sense to take Spanish. I LOVED it! I spoke it very well too, even went to German Camp in my 3rd year. Starting in the bus on the way there and for the next 4 days, we were only allowed to speak German. It was the first time I'd ever been to camp and the added bonus of speaking German puts it at near the top of memorable moments in my life. Unfortunately, none of my friends took German and my family didn't speak it so through lack of use, I lost it. I've retained a handful of words, but couldn't converse with someone if I tried. Makes me sad because I really loved that language.


10. Within the first two months of my freshman year of high school, I met a boy. I thought I had a crush on him, but I think it was simply a case of wanting him in my life in some capacity forever. He became, and still is, my best friend. It's been over 22 years and I still feel blessed to be able to call him "my Eric". When he calls, Shell announces "your boyfriend's on the phone" to me. He is just as much family to me as my sisters and I love him more than he'll ever know. I couldn't put it into words if I tried.


11. This one's not about me exactly, but I made him so it kind of is. My 12 year old son has 1/4" to grow and he'll be 5'7". Shell & I are both 5'8" and while I hoped that he'd be tall I didn't expect him to be so close to my height at 12! I can't imagine how tall he'll end up being. I am taller than both of my sisters by several inches and my mom is only 5'4", so my height definitely came from my dad. My girl is about 3 inches shorter than her brother, so I wonder how tall she'll get.


12. I hate shopping for clothes for myself. I am perfectly happy when Shell goes shopping and buys clothes for me. She has a great sense of what will look good on me and actually loves shopping, so it's a win-win for us both. Even when I do go out myself, I prefer to park myself in the dressing room while she brings me stuff to try on. Yes, I am a female who hates shopping... But take me to buy anything other than clothes and I'm in!


13. I am afraid of heights and yet I love traveling by plane. I feel no anxiety or fear when in the plane, not even during takeoff or landing. But when I have to climb up to change a battery in a smoke detector, my heart races and my legs shake. I've never fallen from any height that I know of, so I have no idea where this fear comes from.


14. *I'm almost done!* On my "list of people my wife would allow me to sleep with if given the highly unlikely opportunity" is: Janet Jackson, Halle Berry, Sarah Shahi, Christina Aguilera, Johnny Depp, Christian Slater, and Jon Bon Jovi.


15. *Last one!!!* One of the most interesting things about me right now is the fact that I have this blog and that there are people who read it. I may not be great at keeping it updated, but the handful of you who check in and read when I do are so interesting in your own rights, that I'm amazed that my blog interests you. Those of you who I've come to "know" through your own blogs, your comments here, and/or on Facebook are people who I'd love to sit down with in person and chat with. It's a pretty cool phenomenon, this blogging thing!

I finished it, but that was not easy. I'm looking forward to the easier ones for sure now!

Oh, last but not least, a recent picture. This one is from January. It's not the best quality and kind of grainy, but I like it anyhow.