Killing two birds with one stone

There's some tagging going on over on Facebook and I sat down this evening to list out 25 Random things about me. I think there is another list of this type in the archives of this blog. Maybe when I have time I will find it and compare lists.

1. I love comic book movies. Batman, Spiderman, Ironman, X-Men, Fantastic Four, 300. I could even argue that a certain vampire movie of recent months was kind of a comic book movie and therefore justify loving it despite the initial disappointment I felt after watching it.

2. My biggest pet peeve is the misuse of "their, "there", "they're", "two", "too" and "to". That is not to say that I never make those mistakes, only that it really bothers me when others do.

3. I grew up on a small farm in a small Oklahoma town. We made our own butter, shucked corn, snapped beans and shelled peas. Then canned 'til the sun didn't shine. We had a potato and onion cellar. I found a lot of snakes in the henhouse. I had a Shetland pony named Lucy Lightning. My fingers would be stained red when strawberries came out and I'd have peach juice up to my armpits when our neighbors peach trees made fruit and we froze gallons of peach slices. Thorn scratches on my arms and legs from plum and blackberry bushes. We had bees and collected honey and chewed honeycomb like gum. I fished and shot critters with my BB gun. There were a few summers with me in the back of a pick-up selling watermelons and/or tomatoes on the corner of our dirt road and the local two-lane highway. And many, MANY weekends working cattle. De-horning. De-worming. Ear notching. And.....yes, castrating. At the time, it seemed like torture. In retrospect, not so much. I'm sad my parents don't live there any more and my kids will miss out on those things.

4. My favorite foods are crabcakes, chicken salad and chocolate. Never noticed they all start with "c" before.

5. I played with Barbies well into my teen years.

6. The most famous person I've met is one of my writing heroes, David Sedaris. Met him with my friend, KT, who tagged me here. We giggled like schoolgirls when it was our turn to get books signed. We will forever be his "boozy friends" and I would like to have that engraved on my headstone, which is only fitting since I will be buried with my signed copy of Naked.

7. My first car was a 1979 Buick LeSabre. It was very green. Light green paint. Darker green roof vinyl. Medium green faux leather seats. Slightly darker green carpet. Trust me, it's not as sexy as it sounds. But it sure was sturdy. I graduated to an Oldsmobile Firenza after a year and I thought it was way cool since it had louvers on the rear window.

8. My first real job was working at Piccadilly cafeteria (just like David Sedaris!!). I started out bussing tables and was promoted to Salads after only a few weeks. The uniforms were brown double-knit with orange plaid aprons. I quit when the manager was going to make us "line girls" start wearing hairnets. It WAS at the mall and I have SOME dignity. $3.35 an hour just wasn't worth it.

9. I would love to have a cat. The day I realized I had developed a cat allergy (first pregnancy) was a gloomy one. We got a dog last year and I do love her. But a sweet cat to sit on my lap at night and keep me warm would be a good thing.

10. My new favorite cocktail is Dr. Pepper with vanilla vodka. Sinfully good.

11. I survived on Diet Mountain Dew, Snickers, Cool Ranch Doritos and Taco Bell for the last two years of college. I haven't had any of those particular "food" items in at least 10 years.

12. I love to read. After a string of heart wrenching books a few years ago I vowed never to read another tear-jerker. I've been true to that vow with one exception. Life is too short and has enough sorrow. I don't need to read about someone else's made up misery to know I am incredibly lucky.

13. Thanksgiving is fast becoming my favorite holiday. I wouldn't say it has completely usurped Christmas yet, but it's gaining fast.

14. I love thunderstorms and snow days. Not Western Kentucky kind of snow days, but the Austin kind where we just stay home, drink hot chocolate, make soup and play games or watch movies in our PJs.

15. Willy Wonka is my feel good movie for all time.



16. I have lived in five states. Oklahoma, Arizona, Wisconsin, California and Texas. Texas for the last nine years.

17. I love to cook and read cookbooks. I look forward to a day when my kids will appreciate something beyond pepperoni pizza. I also look forward to a day when I actually have time to cook.

18. I've never met a card game I didn't love. Oh, and board games! I don't really like video games but if someone talks me into playing one I get obsessive about it and find it hard to stop.

19. The Container Store is my happy place. I meander through the entire store every time I go. Even if I need only one thing.

20. I love the beach. And the mountains. I appreciate all landscapes with the exception of the desert.

21. I hate to admit it but I was a mean big sister. I like to think that I helped build my younger sister's character into the strong woman she is today by putting her through psychological boot camp for 15 years. I'm tagging her here in my continued attempts to compensate her for the years of abuse.

22. Most fun job: cocktail waitress in a bar called JW Bimbo's. I don't know what the "JW" stood for, but that was one fun job. Least fun job: Bill collector. You can understand why it would be the least fun. I was the nicest bill collector ever. And the least effective.

23. I have never liked macaroni and cheese. Blech. The strangest things I've eaten are squirrel and bear. Squirrel tasted like chicken. Bear tasted like...well...bear, I guess.

24. Having children continues to change who I am. They have made me appreciate things I previously took for granted or was so selfish I was not even be aware enough to take for granted. The range and depth of that love, joy, hope, and fear is scary as hell but I am so grateful for it.

25. I met my wonderful husband in a bar as my friend was attempting to set me up with his friend. We spent that first night playing a lot of foosball and jumping on a trampoline in the middle of the night. He stole my watch so I'd be forced to call him again. Six months later we were married.