25 Things I Didn't Want to Know About You

I have to confess that I've gotten only slightly addicted to Facebook. Slightly. Some of my friends and relatives appear to be on FB several hours each day and send me odd add-ons such as Japanese "gifts" or "Old Lutheran" items...or ask me to join their causes, etc.

I do appreciate a couple of things about Facebook: it has allowed me to reconnect with some old classmates and friends, and it has allowed me to learn more about my friends and relatives. Facebook is for people who don't want to take the time to blog!

Recently, there's been a spate of tagging games going around FB. I've indulged in a few of them--they are unfortunately addicting--and today I've read two articles making fun of one of them, 25 Things About Me. I have actually enjoyed reading my friends' 25 things, and none of them are as weird as this person's friends!

It is very interesting, indeed, to see what people feel safe in broadcasting to the world! I'm much more careful on FB than I am on this blog, because anything I post there is attached to my full name, even though only my "friends" can see it. This blog gives me a bit more of a sense of privacy because I don't use my full name.

Just in case you are not on FB, here are my famous "25 things" (that you've never wanted to know about me!):

1. When I was at PLU, I wrote down characteristics of what I wanted in a man. Years later, I found that list...and was delighted to discover that Mike fit the bill perfectly (even down to the specific detail of "likes to sing!")

2. I met my husband at a Robert Burns night in 1987, when he read an obscene poem and my bizarre Southern belle housemate at the time was after him. After the party, she declared "Those British people are sure hard to warm up to!"

3. I wrote my first song when I was 11 years old. I had a long dry spell between 1990 (when I wrote one for our wedding) and 2007, when I was performing with a band and got back in the groove!

4. I have eaten fugu (Japanese blowfish), whale, and grasshoppers (in Mexico).

5. I was proposed to on top of a hotel in India that used to be a majaraha's palace. Several days later we went on a camel safari, which was one of the most painful experiences I've had in my life outside of caesarean sections! (and I didn't have a delightful baby as a payoff--just a grumpy camel!)

6. I experienced infertility before having my first child, who was born way too early at 24 weeks, and then I had four miscarriages before having my second child. Then I got pregnant at the ripe age of 41 when we thought we were done. Quite a shock!

7. I used to collect stationery as a girl and at one time had over 100 varieties. I also loved to write letters!

8. I am addicted to reading and blogging! And I love my Goodreads.com!

9. I always thought I'd have a daughter (who would hide her Seventeen magazines under the bed while I tried to get her to read Ms.!), but I absolutely adore having three boys. They are a kick!

10. I love to sing, and as a kid I wanted to be a singer.

11. I love to CREATE things!

12. I didn't fly in an airplane until age 20 or travel abroad until 21--but since then I've visited 15 countries.

13. I feel extremely lucky to have a job I enjoy, working with talented, exceptional people...even though it wasn't what I thought I wanted to do when I grew up...

14. My comfort foods are tomato soup, grilled cheese, and cinnamon toast. But my favorite food is ANY KIND of Asian.

15. My sister and I used to fight bitterly (kicking, biting, spitting), but we have been the closest of friends for 25+ years.

16. I weighed only 85 lb when I graduated from high school. No longer, I assure you!!!

17. I have eclectic music tastes--from folk, rock, classical, world, independent, and gospel--and I LOVE my iPod!!!

18. I feel sad about the friends I've lost touch with over the years...but on the other hand, the friends I've made in the past 20 years are the best ever....

19. I am extremely close to my nuclear and extended family--they are the most important thing in my life and keep me grounded.

20. I have successfully completed 1 month of my New Year's Resolution--to follow the book "One Year to an Organized Life," and am chronicling my progress in a blog--I now have an organized kitchen!

21. If money were no object, I'd spend a year traveling around the world with my family.

22. Giving birth to my oldest son prematurely at 24 weeks and having him spend 117 days in the hospital changed me for life...as did the experience of befriending other preemie parents and people who lost their precious babies. I will never take life for granted.

23. I LOVE to travel and plan vacations. If I don't have a vacation to plan, I get antsy!!

24. My favorite places in the world are the Sylvia Beach Hotel and anywhere on the Oregon Coast; Bali (Indonesia); Kyoto, Japan; the North Shore on the islands of Hawaii; New York City, Paris, and London; and Oaxaca, Mexico.

25. I cannot believe how much I have been blessed in my life--with an amazing husband, sweet sons, and a life blessed with wonderful family and friends.

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