TAG! I'M IT!!!

Hey everyone out there in Blogworld! I have been MIA this week because of a couple of things. First, I've been reading a REEEEEALY great book and haven't wanted to put it down! And second, my Little Bit has had an awful cough due to allergies, and we've all been through the ringer as a result. She's starting to improve--I think--and just in time for Thanksgiving vacation. Our school gives us the entire week off next week, so we're heading up to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the BMX Hall of Fame Induction for 2007 and the Grand Nationals. I'm taking my laptop with me, so I'll not be quite so absentee.

Becky over at Stuck in Frump (don't you love that title?!) has tagged me! I'm so excited--my first game of online tag! WOO HOO! I am to tell you 7 random things about me. Before we proceed, let me warn you: This may be more information about me than you ever wanted to know. Ready? Alrighty then.

1. I can't sleep on my hair.

I have tried and tried and tried to not be so persnickety about this, but if I lie down on my back with my hair underneath my neck and back, I will be up all night. I can stand it only about 5 minutes max, then I have to lift it up and out of the way. It drives me nuts. I know...freak of nature.

2. I don't like to tell people what kind of car I drive.

And yet, some--even most--of you know! The reason is because of people's reactions to this kind of car. Reactions range from "wow, that's an awesome car!" to "who did you have to sleep with to get THAT?" I actually had a former Bunko buddy suddenly turn cold toward me when she found out what kind of car I have. Yes, I know that how other people react is not my problem...it's theirs. But I would just rather not have to deal with that kind of thing, so if I can avoid saying anything about it, I do.

That being said, I HAVE THE COOLEST MOMMY MOBILE EVER!!!!!

Sorry for that outburst. Back to my randomness.

3. I like the AC vents in my car aimed at my neck.

I may be a freak of nature, but this one is pretty logical...for me, anyway. If it's blowing above my neck, it's blowing in my face and dries out my contacts, thus making driving a dangerous prospect. If it's blowing below my neck, it doesn't cool me off. The AC blowing at my neck is perfect.

And when I add the seat heaters...aaaahhhh!!! Nirvana...

4. I've always wished I could sing.

Those of you who attended high school with me may be thinking about now, "Uh, so you were in choir for three years...why?" Oh I can sing...I can carry a tune without the help of a bucket. I can even harmonize at times. But I can't SING. Jana, my friend from high school, can SING. My friend Pam has two incredibly beautiful and talented daughters who can SING. I can sing, but no one is beating down my door demanding I sing the National Anthem at the next Dallas Cowboys game. This bothered me for many years until I realized that, if God had blessed me with that talent, I would be required to use it in front of a lot of people, and that just isn't my thing. I took piano lessons for eight years, where I discovered that performing for others--even an audience of one in a competition--is horrifying for me. As I sat down at the piano, my hands would start to shake, my stomach would churn, and none of it would quit till long after I was done with my piece and back home for quite some time. I never got used to it. So even though I wish I was a better singer, God clearly knew what He was doing, and I'm at peace with the fact that I'm not.

The people who sit around me at church, however, may not be quite so at peace with this as I am.

5. I am severely athletically challenged.

I may be the world's most fabulous fan, but when it comes to athletic performance, I am not your guy. I tried basketball in junior high and played probably two, maybe three times the entire season. The coach put me in purely out of pity. I was on the JV volleyball team in ninth grade, and I was okay. My teammates may have something else to say about that, but I could get the ball over the net. Isn't that the objective of the game? I would've played softball if we had had a team. It is the next best thing to baseball, after all. Perhaps that's why I love sports...because the athletes can do something I never could.

I can, however, whistle so loud your ears bleed.

6. I hate being tickled.

Did I say hate? I meant DESPISE!!!! Getting tickled is something I just cannot, WILL NOT, tolerate. Just the thought of it gives me the yippies. I was the youngest (and most adorable) of seven kids, and my brothers were merciless ticklers. They would sit on me and pin my arms down to my sides so that I was helpless, then poke me in the chest till I was beyond miserable. I would be screaming at the top of my lungs, begging them to stop, pleading for mercy, and neither of my parents ever did a thing about it. Not even so much as a "Please stop whatever it is you're doing to her just so she'll shut up!" (Hang on...now that I think about it, Matt was the only one who did that. Matt, if you're reading this, run for your life while you can!) These days any time someone even attempts to tickle me, he/she gets threatened within an inch of his/her life. Fair warning is given, so anything I do in self-defense is permissible, well-deserved, and I will NOT feel guilty about any bodily injury. Needless to say that attempt is not made often because I will follow through on my threat.

7. I hate to cook but love to bake.

You would think that someone who majored in Home Economics in college might actually enjoy cooking, but not me! I hate it. I hate the planning, I hate the prep, I hate the mess, I hate the clean-up, I really hate it all. One of my favorite cookbooks is Peg Braken's "The Compleat I Hate To Cook Book". It's probably out of print by now (it was one of my mom's favorites too) but if you can find a copy, it's worth having if only because the author is such a riot. If you hate to cook, you will feel like you've found your soulmate with her. All her recipes involve just a few ingredients and minimal effort. I love her. And I do have a few recipes that I love and make me appear to be a genius in the kitchen, but they are few and far between. Baking, however...THAT'S another story. Baking involves "Happy Food"--cakes, cookies, pies, cupcakes--that makes people happy. While cooking involves survival, baking is celebrations. Cooking is fuel to get through the day; baking is the grand finale that leaves a smile on your face (there's a reason it's called "Better Than Sex Cake"). I mean really...who could POSSIBLY say no to Coca Cola Cake, Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Reese's Peanut Butter Chips, Peanut Butter Cookies with Hershey Kisses in the middle, Nestle's Tollhouse Cookies, Lemon Meringue Pie, Pecan Pie, French Silk Pie, Peach Cobbler...I could go on forever! Wouldn't you rather have one of those delicious delectables instead of eggplant? Brussel sprouts? Turnips? Notice I'm only mentioning veggies? A good filet mignon could supplant dessert, but it would have to be reeeeeealy good! Notice also that I'm a member of NutriSystem...enough said.

So those are my seven random things! Thanks again, Becky, for including me in the game! I am now tagging:

1. Misty
2. Cash
3. Shawn (this could be your first post!)
4. Dan (if you ever get one going!)