**MY 100TH POST!**

I've been told that it's blogging tradition for a person to list 100 things about themselves on their 100th post. Have you ever tried to come up with 100 things about yourself? It's hard. It's painful. If you don't want to read this post, I will not hold it against you. I don't really want to read it either. Here goes:

1-I was born in Texas.
2-I am the oldest of 3 children – all girls.
3-I have lived in the following states: Texas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, North Dakota, Idaho, California, Washington.
4-I love dark chocolate. I like to go to a local candy store and buy their dark dipping chocolate by the pound. Yes, that’s right folks…by the pound.
5-I had a dream about my husband before I ever saw him or met him.
6-I love real popcorn: popped on the stove with real butter and lots of salt on top.
7-I’d eat Mexican food every day if I could.
8-I’d rather eat nachos for breakfast than pancakes.
9-When I first started college, I was planning on majoring in Nursing. I ended up graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
10-I’m fascinated with learning how things work. The human body is the greatest marvel of all. I probably should have stayed in Nursing.
11-The most touching and romantic gift I’ve ever received was from my husband for my last birthday. He made a book, complete with Scripture, family pictures, and his thoughts about how wonderful I am.
12-If there’s ever a fire in this house, I might risk my life to go back in for that book!
13-My dream while growing up was to be a model. Today? I can’t think of anything more ridiculous!
14-I love to create…baking, cooking, quilting, crocheting, scrapping, beading, floral design…I love it all!
15-I could (and would) sleep a solid 12 hours every night if life’s demands let me.
16-I have lots and lots of cousins. I mean LOTS and LOTS. Hold on, I have to go call Mom to have her help my count (my mom is an amazing mathematical genius, by the way). OK, I’m back. I have 12 from my mom’s side of the family and 37 from my dad’s. THAT’S 49 COUSINS!!! (My mom is one of 6 kids, my dad one of 13.)
17-I have so much respect and admiration for my husband. I’m quite certain that he’s smarter than me (don’t tell him I said so), and I’m OK with that.
18-It also helps that I’ve had a schoolgirl crush on the guy ever since laying eyes on him about 12 years ago.
19-I was raised Catholic. I’m no longer Catholic. I still miss some of the beautiful traditions of the Catholic Church.
20-I can’t stand to wear socks to bed.
21-I don’t know exactly when I became a Christian. I was raised in a Christian home…I can’t remember a time when Jesus wasn’t a part of my life. THANK YOU for this, Mom and Dad! What a gift.
22-The first time I remember making a deliberate choice for God was when I was about 9. I said the “If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take” part of my bedtime prayers. After saying “Amen”, I heard that still small voice ask, “Do you?” I knew exactly what He was asking. I thought about it. I said “yes.” I believe I’ve been His ever since.
23-Although they’d be the first to admit they made their share of mistakes in parenting (who doesn’t?!), I wouldn’t change a single thing in the way my parents raised me. I love and admire them both very much. Being born to them is one of my life’s greatest blessings.
24-Most days I still feel like a kid. I wake up, look around and think “THIS is my house? These are my kids? This is my husband? Wow!”
25-I am not superstitious. Black cats? Broken mirrors? Bring ‘em on!
26-I’m practically blind without my glasses or contacts. I hope to raise the funds and courage to someday have Lasik done.
27-I didn’t have my first cavity until I was 30 years old.
28-My personality? I’d describe myself as…Passionate. Feisty. Determined Strong. Loving. Loyal. Dependable. Trustworthy. Wait, am I making myself sound like a Labrador?
29-One of my favorite places on the planet is my parents’ cottage in Wisconsin. The fresh air, the trees, the birds, the water, the campfire…ahhhhh.
30-I’m a tree person. I’d live on 10 wooded acres if I could. With a small lake/pond. And some horses.
31-There are some days that I wish I lived I Wisconsin.
32-I met my husband in college. The story of our first meeting is a cute story; I’ll do a post about it sometime.
33-I’m not really sure how to use a semicolon!
34-I came way too close to marrying the wrong man. Yuck. I can hardly stand to think of what my life would be like right now.
35-I knew I’d met the man I would marry on our very first date. It sounds corny, I know…but it was just like the “magical” moment you see in the movies. He reached over and laced his fingers through mine. A shock went through me. I looked down at our hands, and I honestly couldn’t tell whose fingers were whose. I had to wiggle my fingers to see which ones were mine. I looked at my him, and he had the same look of amazement on his face that I’m sure I had. He still remembers it too.
36-I do not have any tattoos.
37-I do, however, have a pierced belly button. Believe me, it looked much cuter in college before 4 kids!
38-I hope that all of my kids have enough wisdom (and consideration for their Mother) to do neither body piercing nor tattoos.
39-I wish I didn’t, but I love McDonald’s. Every now and then I’ll be grown up enough to order the salad, but I usually order a #1. Yep, that’s a Big Mac with fries and Coke…not Diet Coke…regular, gut busting Coca Cola. Mmmm
40-I love music, but I have pretty much zero talent for it. I played clarinet in junior high and high school, but the last time I tried to play it the dogs both howled and the kids ran crying. I’m not exaggerating. They really did.
41-I love to read. The books I’m reading right now are: The Bible, my new Photoshop book, and The Book of Mormon.
42-I am not Mormon. I’m reading the Book of Mormon to better understand what the faith is about. There is a huge LDS population where I live.
43-I have unusually pointy elbows (came in handy when I played basketball).
44-The scariest thing that ever happened to me was when Samantha got sick. She had a rash, so I brought her to our doctor. He referred me right then to an oncologist. They admitted her to the hospital that day, where she stayed for a couple of days. They eventually did a bone marrow biopsy (no big deal for her, terrible for me) to rule out cancer. She did not have cancer. Praise God. She had a blood disorder that caused her immune system to destroy her own platelets, which gave her a clotting problem. She is completely healed. Again, Praise God.
45-I love to dance with my Dad.
46-I believe that the Bible is God’s literal Word.
47-I believe that Jesus Christ was God in human form. I believe that He died for my sins. I know that I will go to Heaven some day. Not because I deserve it, but because my ticket has been paid in full by Jesus.
48-My favorite color is sort of a burgundy red.
49-I like red wine.
50-I can not…CAN NOT…believe that I’ve only made it up to 50!!
51-My favorite band is Casting Crowns. I think my favorite song of theirs is “Your Love is Extravagant”.
52-I’m only up to 52 things, and I had to call my hubby for help. He came up with a list of 50 things in less than an hour! Some of them are repeats, but I’m using some of his ideas and you can’t stop me.
53-Our bedroom is painted a color called “Pewter Tray”.
54-I can’t believe I drive a minivan with little family stickers on the back.
55-It’s a Ford
56-I don’t think I’ll ever buy another Ford.
57-One of my favorite childhood memories is “getting Daddy”. We’d all pile on top of him and just tickle him and try to pin him down and just show him how tough we were. He’d always say something about his glasses getting broken, and then he’d say something like “Someone’s gonna get hurt, and it aint gonna be me!” He was right every time.
58-I can throw a punch, and it will hurt.
59-We took a honeymoon in Lake Tahoe. I like to play blackjack.
60-I can not roll my tongue. Dear Hubby can though, and so can 3 of our children.
61-It took me 47 days to get to my 100th post. That’s 2.13 posts per day. Do you hate me more for talking so much or for carrying something so silly out to 2 decimal places?
62-I have designed and built custom furniture.
63-I make the best chocolate chip cookies ever. I’ve recently discovered that they’re extra yummy with some of my homemade hot fudge slathered on top.
64-I think Oprah is out of touch with reality…but I still watch her show almost daily.
65-I have a bit of a temper.
66-In college, I broke the binding of my chemistry book by throwing it against a wall.
67-I really don’t like chemistry much.
68-I am ticklish.
69-I once knew how to calculate how long it would take to cool a room by leaving the refrigerator door open.
70-I like to prove people wrong when they tell me I can’t do something.
71-I’m a bit afraid that my daughters have my personality. Lord, help us all.
72-One time in high school I went on a date, and we made it back to my house after my curfew. Since I was already late and I knew I’d be in trouble, we sat in the car in my driveway for over an hour despite (or to spite) my parents flipping the lights on and off to tell me to come inside. We were just talking, I swear.
73-My parents didn’t believe me.
74-I was grounded for a really long time for that one.
75-We really were just talking…OK, maybe there was a kiss or two.
76-Yuck. I hate the thought of ever having kissed anyone but the man I am now married to.
77-My best girlfriend lives approximately 72 steps from my back door. I love that!
78-My Mom is one of my best friends. We talk almost daily. She’s an amazing woman…I’m still hoping to grow up to be like her!
79-I was in a fist fight once.
80-I’m not proud of it.
81-I got my very first checking account when I was in high school. My husband and I still have that account.
82-I’m sentimental. I don’t like to get rid of things because almost everything has a sweet memory associated with it.
83-My husband is comfortable with much more debt than I am.
84-Our current financial goal is to get ourselves completely out of debt, to put a nice nest egg away, and to start investing using some of Dave Ramsey’s methods.
85-I am so relieved!
86-I don’t have nearly the temper that I used to. Being married to the most relaxed, happy, easy going guy in the world has done good things for me.
87-If I had to choose one person to be stranded on a desert island with, I’d choose my husband.
88-Since I have been married, I can count the number of times I’ve mowed the lawn on one hand.
89-I have been physically and instantly healed through prayer (I’ll write a post about that some day – amazing!).
90-I need a piece of chocolate after each meal.
91-I have always wanted to run my own business.
92-My teeth used to be so bad that they had to expand my upper palette before braces would even work. It was either that or have about 6 teeth pulled. I’m glad my parents chose the more patient option.
93-I went through an unusually and astoundingly ugly…ugly phase. Bad teeth, acne, terrible perm, way too skinny, blue mascara and eye shadow, bad posture, gloomy attitude. The only thing that could have made it worse was the parachute pants I so desperately wanted.
94-I pester my husband for his opinion about my hairstyle all the time. “Do you like it this way, or that way better?”, “Look at this picture, should I cut my hair like that again?”, etc. One day, after 10 years of pestering, he finally gave me his opinion in detail. I had a hair appointment that afternoon. I didn’t take his advice.
95-I’m pretty sure that there’s one man on this planet that would put up with me, and I’m married to him.
96-This is the longest post I’ve ever written.
97-This is, I’m quite certain, the longest post I ever will write.
98-I’m more than a little nervous about the impression I might be giving you all with this list.
99-I’m beginning to wonder if this whole “100 facts on your 100th post” is just a hoax to get me to reveal embarrassing details about myself.
100-It literally took me two days to write this post, and I am so happy to be done! If you read this whole list, wow, I’m impressed. I really am. Now let’s get back to me boring you with the details of my every day life…