100 Things about Me

Just for fun, some random and unrelated tidbits, in no particular order:

1. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that belief in him is the only way to eternal life.
2. I went to the same high school as my husband (at the same time as he was there), but we never met until years later.
3. I met my husband through an online dating site.
4. I am painfully shy.
5. I would rather knit than eat.
6. I love food.
7. I would rather knit than sleep.
8. I require a large amount of sleep to be at my best--9 or 10 hours per night is ideal.
9. I have a bachelor's degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management.
10. I have a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature.
11. I'm an editor.
12. I competed on the high school gymnastics team (I wasn't very good--I started my lessons very late, at around age 13).
13. I broke my back in a fall from the uneven parallel bars in the first gymnastics meet of my junior year.
14. I competed in all four events again my senior year.
15. My favorite story of all time is Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
16. I am a Detroit Pistons fans.
17. It broke my heart when Ben Wallace jumped ship to Chicago. (He's my fave player!)
18. If I have another son, I want to name him Benjamin Wallace, but my husband won't let me. It's a nice name, right? . . . (I'm only half joking.)
19. I love to camp--rustic style, in a tent, with no electricity or modern bathroom facilities.
20. If I had pursued a career in wildlife biology, I probably would have become an ornithologist.
21. I'm fascinated by wolves. If I had pursued a career in wildlife biology and not become an ornithologist, I probably would have studied wolves in the wild.
22. The area surrounding Lake Placid, NY, is my favorite place in the world.
23. I want to visit Ireland.
24. Some of the scenery in Yellowstone National Park brought me to tears.
25. I've also been known to cry while watching the Olympics. (The Olympics just don't seem to be the same as they once were. Has the world changed, or have I?)
26. I'm a Republican.
27. I'm interested in alternative parenting practices.
28. I cloth diaper my son.
29. I enjoy diaper laundry. It's rewarding to fold a big pile of clean, fluffy, fresh-smelling diaps.
30. I think EC is a great idea.
31. I make baby food at home rather than buying Gerber.
32. I dislike having too much stuff.
33. I don't want to be rich, just comfortable.
34. M*A*S*H is my favorite TV show.
35. I dislike reality TV.
36. I love period movies (Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth, The Importance of Being Earnest, etc.).
37. Colin Firth is my favorite actor.
38. I think Kenneth Branagh is a Shakespeare genius.
39. I think Romeo and Juliet reads like a romantic comedy that's tinged with tragedy.
40. I was married the day after Valentine's Day, even though I think Valentine's Day is pretty silly and never celebrate it.
41. I live in an urban neighborhood.
42. My house needs a lot of TLC.
43. I don't enjoy home improvement.
44. I was spontaneously potty-trained at a year and a half old.
45. I won an essay contest (The Oldenburg) in college for a piece called "Metafiction and the Enigma of Narrative in The New York Trilogy."
46. I loved reading Canterbury Tales in the original Middle English. (Fun and not all that hard!)
47. I'm sort of a book snob (I chalk it up to my education: see #10), but I love the fantasy genre as well.
48. I'm currently reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.
49. I love the Harry Potter books.
50. I prefer to knit with natural fibers. Merino wool is my favorite.
51. I don't like to play any sports that involve a ball (or ball-like object) and more than one person on the court (or field or whatever the "arena" is for that sport) at a time.
52. I need lots of down time or I get cranky.
53. I like to cook.
54. French fries, ice cream, and donuts are some of my favorite foods, but I can't eat them (for health reasons).
55. I loathe exercise.
56. I've never been to a rock concert.
57. I eat gluten-free.
58. I like my steak medium rare toward rare.
59. I can't watch horror movies, or even trailers or TV commercials for horror movies.
60. I like stories that don't have happy endings.
61. I'm a cat person.
62. I didn't have my first kiss until I was nearly 18 years old, my first year of college.
63. I never went on a date until I was nearly 18 years old, my first year of college (see #4).
64. I am definitely not a prude.
65. If I have money to spend on myself, it usually goes toward yarn or knitting implements.
66. I would love to have a large family.
67. I hate to wear shoes.
68. If I could get away with living in my PJs, I would.
69. I never blow-dry or curl my hair.
70. I loved being pregnant.
71. I want to live debt-free. (Once the house is paid off, that wish will become reality.)
72. I have never dyed my hair, but I did get a perm in middle school--it was hideous.
73. I grind my teeth at night and have to wear a mouthpiece to prevent tooth damage.
74. I'm a homebody.
75. I love giving gifts as much as I love receiving them.
76. I'm mildly afraid of the dark.
77. I'm afraid of heights.
78. I'm very claustrophobic.
79. I hate spiders. Honestly, it makes my skin crawl just thinking about them. They seriously creep me out.
80. The only country I've visited outside the U.S. is Canada.
81. I love toast. Like, I really, really, really have a thing about toast. With jam. And real butter. (But I can't eat it anymore: see #57.)
82. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
83. It just doesn't feel like Christmas if there's no snow.
84. I love Beethoven. And John Denver. And Johnny Cash. And Green Day. And the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
85. I grew up next door to Anthony Kiedis's mother (she still lives in that house).
86. I don't like rap or contemporary country music (but "classic" country is great--Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, etc.).
87. I don't like the taste of beer.
88. I drink a glass of red wine every day.
89. Daffodils are my favorite flower.
90. Fall is my favorite season.
91. I was born in the fall.
92. I prefer to drive a car with a manual transmission.
93. I am of Dutch and German descent.
94. I've flown only once (from Michigan to Montana and back for my brother's wedding), and I loved it.
95. I'm a thrower. I recently taught myself to knit Continental as well, but I still usually knit English style. I just want to be able to do both, you know?
96. I love foreign films.
97. I think it's a shame that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon didn't win the best picture Oscar. (Gladiator is a wonderful film, no doubt, but Crouching Tiger is just exquisite in every way.)
98. I'm fascinated by Asian culture.
99. Amy Tan, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Tracy Chevalier are among my favorite authors.
100. I'm picky about the format of the DVDs I own--widescreen only, please!
101. Just kidding . . . I'm done!

If you've made it to the end of this exercise in self-absorption (or perhaps personal reflection is a nicer way to look at it), bravo!