25 Random Things about Me (it is all about me)

1. I have a personal relationship with the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE.
2. I have a personal relationship with my husband and sons!
3. I rode a camel on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. (Spain)
4. I speak Spanish fluently.
5. I “fought” (he was a baby-I didn’t hurt him…really) a bull in a bullring in Mexico.
6. I ate monkey in Cancun.
7. I studied at the University of Madrid, El Instituto Cultural Mexicano Norteamericano in Guadalajara Mexico, and spent 6 weeks in Huehuetenango Guatemala studying Spanish one to one with a new teacher every two weeks.
8. I was Raggedy Ann for my father in his grocery stores (there was a store brand called Raggedy Ann canned fruits, vegetables, etc… )I would dress up and have professional photo shoots and spend the day at the store passing out candy to the children of customers. Kind of like Ronald McD.
9. My initials were RED and I am a redhead. Now they are about sleeping soundly! (REM)
10. I used to bite my nails.
11. I was an elementary school librarian for 12 years, a substitute teacher for 6 and LOVED my library and the children I was privileged to know and work with! It was a great job for a mom. I was home on weekends and holidays and didn’t have to take away from family life.
12. I have a passion for well written children’s books, that can appeal to adults as well as children, but I also love the books that mainly appeal to children and create desire to read more!
13. I cannot watch scary movies. (its true Deb) Haven’t watched a handful in my lifetime. The first I remember was “Premature Burial” when I was quite little but I had older sisters who dragged me along. I didn’t sleep for a week after that and the main character was a redhead and buried alive. Hmmm…wonder why.
14. I love photography. Always have. It’s the first place I wanted to go at the State Fair. I want to learn more and I have been having so much fun with my “new” digital camera. I would like to explore more!
15. I don’t like to cook. I don’t really admit that usually…but I am fortunate to have a husband, a son and a sister (in the summer) who do. I will cook, I have cooked, I can cook but I don’t like to! Weird. I have no trouble eating. Just make it for me please.
16. However I love organizing a party and setting it up, decorating etc. but please bring the food.
17. Ok…I love to organize.(embarrassed) I love sorting, and baskets, and no clutter and finding better ways to hide the stuff I can’t get rid of but wish it wasn’t all around. I moved from a three bedroom house with full garage and lots and lots of closets to a small two bedroom condo with not much storage space so I have been getting rid of stuff for three years. I am getting there…but Mary…I still have those Rubbermaid bins stacked to the ceiling in my bedroom behind the door. I’m working on it. I love the Clean Sweep show, where people get a couple of rooms redecorated but have to purge their life of too much stuff and clutter. It makes me happy. ;-)
18. I started a hugging epidemic on my floor of the dorm in college. Non huggers became huggers.
19. I recently discovered a love for 4 wheeling! At first the machine tried to keep knocking me off but I showed it who was boss. I love the wind and the thrill.
20. I like to visit cemeteries (not scary movies…but cemeteries…in the daylight please.) I love pondering the people who lived, what they thought, the marks they left, etc…it’s a place of thoughtful meditation to me. I love that so much of my husband’s genealogy is right there in the UP. I always go to visit the graves of his relatives.
21. Once I tried to look for my grandmother, grandfather’s and my grandmother’s parents grave in Illinois. They were buried in a very large cemetery with many sections etc…and I did not look at the directory but rather we just started driving down the roads randomly and I told Bob to pull over. He stopped, I got out and walked halfway down an aisle of markers and found the site we were looking for! Very weird. That was very amazing. (twilight zone music playing….)
22. I am wimpy when it comes to sharing political views. I want people to listen more and pontificate less, to work harder to understand each other rather than to stereotype and write off. Can’t we all just get along? If I feel safe with you I might tell you how I really feel.
23. I am drawn to people who are different? Or they are drawn to me? I don’t like that people with disabilities can be overlooked and ignored. I want to know what they are like, how they are feeling, what their dreams are. No different than anyone else, except their suffering for being different can make them amazing. Sometimes. One of my best friends was a quadriplegic. She died shortly before she was around 55. Something as simple as a flu turned to pneumonia and she couldn’t kick it. She had so many times before that I thought she would. I am so glad she is free but I miss her. She was the most inspiring person. A powerful Christian, Courageous, gutsy, independent, compassionate, opinionated, a real powerhouse. I learned so much from her. I loved serving her in any way I could.
24. A friend of mine says I give TMI*. You can see it happening. I start out small and random and start typing too much! Sorry. (too much information)
25. I loved singing in old folks homes (what we called them when I was a kid) with our junior choir from church. That started a love for older folks. Funny that now I am my mother’s caregiver. It was meant to be. The circle of life.