Things galore

Random Kiddo update - Avery ate an entire container of Baby Food Squash today - the first time she's ever eaten that much by A LOT.  She's now tried Rice Cereal, Green Beans, pears and squash...and apparently, her favorite is squash.  Go figure.


Terzah at BQby40 tagged me in the 11 Random Things post that's going around the blog world.  Am I strange that I'm wondering which individual decided on 11?  And why 11 this time around?  I'm also going to be a brat and only tag a few people, since a lot of those I would have tagged have already been tagged and have already posted their 11 things....even though I'm breaking them, I'll post the rules anyway.


1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in your tagger's post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blogs and tell them you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you are reading this." You legitimately have to tag 11 people!


Here are the 11 Random Things About Me (hopefully not repeating random things I've put in other tag posts):


1.  I once played on three different soccer teams in one season...and continued playing in a game after breaking my toe when a girl stomped on it because I took the ball away from her.


2.  I'm a nerd...and not just in the good grades sense.  I once took part in a practical joke that require me to attend school in crutches for a week.  I'm much older and more mature now, honest.


3.  I will randomly go on organizing sprees.  When I get in the mood, no room or closet is safe.  But, I have to be in the mood.

YES!  Straighten that damn pencil!

4.  I play the trombone, but I haven't done so since Avery was born because it's loud.  I'd recently spent a small fortune for a nice trombone.  I used the fact that  I played a semester in the OSU band when I went back to school as an excuse to do so.

5.  I love butterflies.  I was once known as the "butterfly lady" when I did presentations and butterfly releases at the Franklin Park Conservatory.  I stopped volunteering there because of the way they treated a friend

That giant butterfly is called a Birdwing, it's from Australia.

6.  I puffy pink heart Costco.  Perhaps because, I hate shopping.  I mean HATE shopping.  So, shopping at Costco means fewer shopping trips in theory, right?


7.  I hate painting.  We painted our entire house when we first bought it, even the trim.  My right pinkie still doesn't work properly.  I. Will. Never. Paint. Another. Room. Luckily, hubby painted Avery's room.  HA!


8.  I have texture issues when it comes to food. For example, I LOVE hamburgers.  I uber-craved them when I was pregnant.  But, soggy buns make me gag.  So, no cheese on home grilled burgers, because I have to be able to "de-grease" the meat with a paper towel before putting it on my bun to avoid the soggy bun problem.


9.  I really want to learn how to scuba dive.  I've always been partially limited by the whole "I have asthma" thing, but I've seen some amazing scuba pictures.


10.  I enjoy musicals.  In fact, I'm still bummed that Mark didn't buy me season tickets again this year...something about having a baby now.  Boo Hubby.


11.  My husband and my first fight ever in our relationship was about football.  It was a knock-down blow-out too.




Questions from Terzah:

1. Which U.S. state do you most want to visit and what would you do there?
Maine.  I don't know why. When I was a kid I always said I wanted to go to Maine.  LOL.  I would probably visit some Lighthouses, run a race and eat lobster.

2. If you are a parent, what's the most important piece of advice you have for those of us who are also parents (and I want to know this even if your kids are still young)? 
Avery is 5 months old, but she's way cuter and more alert than some other 5 month old kiddos...so clearly I rock as a mom.  HA!  I   would say, don't stress the small stuff, like the idea of a schedule.  As long as the kid is healthy and happy, the rest doesn't matter.  Don't allow other mom's to judge you.  Laugh a lot.  I've found that if Avery is crying at 3am (or any time really) it helps to joke and laugh.  Also, challenge the kiddos.  I realized at one point that Avery could do more things if given more opportunities and that I shouldn't be so tied to the "ages" on items.

3. Name your favorite sport (running, tris, cycling etc.). If you couldn't do it, what would be your next choice and why?
Tough call.  Individual - running...but I haven't summitted Rainier yet, so that could change.  :)  Team - soccer.  Back up? Swimming.  I love to swim recreationally, I'm just not good at it as a sport...yet.

4. If you could pick a totem animal, what would it be and why?
My first thought was Dolphin - because I love dolphins.  Then I realized they really aren't on totems, so I'm going with Eagles.

5. What's the scariest thing you ever did?
I asked my husband - and he didn't say childbirth.  That cracked me up.  Instead, he said zipline.   Ok.  I was scared before actually doing that.  It was a different kind of fear than childbirth though.  To be clear though, I feared becoming a mom more than the birth.  Suddenly was responsible for the well-being of a tiny, tiny human.

The zipline photo is MIA - so childbirth it is

6. If you still live in your hometown, are you glad you stayed? If you don't still live in your hometown, would you like to go back and live there?
I don't still live in my hometown, and because I moved a lot, I'm not sure what I would consider to be my hometown.  If we could go back to Texas and live closer to family though, I'd be rather tempted.

7. Are you a fan of motivational posters?
Not really.  This one is funny though.

8. Do you do well on standardized tests?
Yes.  I was that annoying kid that did really well on the SAT and the LSAT.  I didn't miss any questions on the math portion of the SAT, but I did skip 2.
9. Which countries/regions did your ancestors come from? Do you strongly identify with any of those places?
My Dad's family came from England.  My mom was half Korean.  I don't really strongly identify with either.
10. Which do you like best: baseball or football?
At least an easy question!  FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!  Baseball is too boring to watch on TV for me without simultaneously doing 50 other things.
11. Name your favorite movie of all time.
I can never do these ones!  I'm dominated by my mood, thus, my favorite movie depends on my current mood.  I did watch Ever After about 1 million times in college though.  And, my secret love is Labyrinth.

My Questions for those who choose to do them:
1.  What is your favorite dessert?
2.  What is the silliest thing you've done AS AN ADULT?
3.  If money were not an issue, where would you go on vacation?
4.  What time do you wake up in the morning?
5.  When you run - music or no?
6.  What's the hardest thing physically that you've accomplished?
7.  What's your favorite book of all time?  (I know, I hate these questions and then I asked it).
8.  Other than running, what are your hobbies?
9.  Have you ever been to a country other than the one you live in?  Where?
10.  Would you ever put a child of yours in a beauty pageant? (whether or not you have kids)
11.  If you were packing for a trip, what would be the one thing that it would be a disaster if you forgot?


People I'm tagging (If you hate these things, disregard the tag!):
1. Laurie
2. Sarah
3. Sarah
4. Sara
5. Amy
6. Deb
7. Lisa
8. Jenn
9. Laura