16 reanbean things

Mandy over at My Life as Described by Twin Trials and Triuphs has been posting little bits of information about herself on the 23rd of each month because her birthday is the 23rd of February. I always love reading those random little bits, so today (my birthday!) I’ve decided to share 16 little things you might not know about me. The short list is just the brief facts. Skip to the longer version if you prefer more details.

The short version…

1. I LOVE grilled cheese sandwiches!

2. During my childhood, I had bit parts in a local TV commercial and movie.

3. I don’t like soda or frosting.

4. I attended Eddie Murphy’s wedding (to now ex-wife Nicole) in 1993.

5. I’ve had my stomach pumped three times (all during childhood).

6. I am not athletic, though I have participated on five sports teams.

7. I like to read memoirs.

8. I have crooked pinkies.

9. I am 5 feet 2 inches tall.

10. I have a huge weakness for popcorn.

11. For most of my life, I wanted to be a teacher, but in high school, I wanted to be a journalist.

12. I can remember the names of all of my elementary school teachers but only a handful of my junior high and high school teachers.

13. I am tongue tied and can’t stick my tongue straight out or up towards my nose.

14. I am a terrible housekeeper.

15. I learned to play five instruments (six if you count the recorder) between the ages of 7 and 22.

16. In college, I once dressed like Mimi from Rent and performed Out Tonight for my sorority sisters as part of a lip-sync competition.

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The longer version…

1. I LOVE grilled cheese sandwiches! I love them so much that we had them served as an appetizer at our wedding. The caterer made them all fancy with thin slices of pear and then set them on the sides of martini glasses filled with tomato soup. They were awesome!

2. During my childhood, I had bit parts in a local TV commercial and movie. I started taking drama classes when I was in first or second grade. Sometimes the teachers would tell us about tryouts for parts in commercials for local businesses and once someone made a kids film entirely in our community. I was in a commercial for News Channel 4 and played Girl at Nightclub in Hawk Jones.

3. I don’t like soda or frosting. This made birthday parties tough for me. My birthday cakes were always frosted with Cool Whip and we had Kool-Aid to drink.

4. I attended Eddie Murphy’s wedding (to now ex-wife Nicole) in 1993. One of my stepsisters is in the modeling industry and, I believe, had done some work with Nicole. In any case, they were good friends and my sister was the maid of honor in the wedding. She somehow got our entire family on the guest list.

5. I’ve had my stomach pumped three times (all during childhood). First for getting into my grandmothers diabetic pills as a baby (before childproof caps, I’m guessing). The second time was for eating what I thought were mushrooms in our yard (I think I was 3 or 4), and the third time was for drinking an entire bottle of grape Dimetapp (not sure how old, maybe 3 or 4 as well).

6. I am not athletic, though I have participated on five sports teams. In late elementary school, I played softball and basketball. In junior high, I played volleyball (back row only). In high school I played tennis and made it to the varsity team by senior year, but only because our team was terrible. And my freshman year in college, I was a coxswain on the novice crew team.

7. I like to read memoirs. I just find them really interesting. I may try writing my own someday.

8. I have crooked pinkies. Not much more to it then that. It’s genetic on my mother’s side. Both Tiny and Buba have crooked pinkies too.

9. I am 5 feet 2 inches tall. This means anyone over 5’5″ is tall in my book.

10. I have a huge weakness for popcorn. Whenever I’m trying to cut back on calories, this is the hardest thing to give up. And yes, I know there are low cal/low fat versions. But they’re just not the real thing and not good enough for my taste buds.

11. For most of my life, I wanted to be a teacher, but in high school, I wanted to be a journalist. I have always loved writing, and in high school, I was very involved on the newspaper and yearbook staffs. I went to journalism camp one summer and planned to go to the University of Iowa to study journalism. But then I got an amazing opportunity to attend a prestigious east coast school, and I took it. The school was full of kids who were all smarter than me (or who, at least, had way more confidence than me), and I was too intimidated to tryout for the writing program (which only accepted a limited number of students). I love being a teacher, and find it to be extremely rewarding work, but sometimes, I still think about wanting to be a journalist.

12. I can remember the names of all of my elementary school teachers but only a handful of my junior high and high school teachers. I was fortunate to have many caring, encouraging teachers during my elementary school years. This is, most likely, why I chose to teach at the elementary level.

13. I am tongue tied and can’t stick my tongue straight out or up towards my nose. Buba and Tiny also inherited this from me.

14. I am a terrible housekeeper. Most days it doesn’t bother me, but whenever we play at someone else’s immaculate house, it something I always wish I were better at.

15. I learned to play five instruments (six if you count the recorder) between the ages of 7 and 22. I started piano lessons in second grade and played through high school. In fourth grade I played the viola. In fifth grade, I dropped the viola (I wasn’t very good, and I didn’t like my teacher (who was the husband of my piano teacher!)) and took up the clarinet. The clarinet was just a starter instrument that I learned so I could move on to the oboe. But when the time came for me to get an oboe, the school didn’t have one to lend me, and I got a bassoon instead. I played it from sixth grade through my freshman year of college. I got a guitar as a college graduation present. I can play basic cords and songs, but I’m not a great player. Still, I think I should dust it off get some new strings. I’m sure Tiny and Buba would love to hear me play, and their songs are probably very doable for my skill level.

16. In college, I once dressed like Mimi from Rent and performed Out Tonight for my sorority sisters as part of a lip-sync competition. This was so out of character for me, and I totally rocked it! I believe I even won first place.

No Ordinary Day

Most mornings I wake up around 6:30 to the sound of Tiny and Buba yelling, “Mommy! The sun is out (on their Good Nite Lite)! Time to wake up!” But this morning, I woke up to the sound of Tiny and Buba yelling, “Mommy! Mommy! It’s your burfday! Wake up!” They were beyond excited for me, and I was overjoyed with the birthday hugs and song I received first thing this morning.