Versatile blogger award

Thanks to TriMoEngr for tagging me with the Versatile Blogger Award.  Now I have to get to tell you some random things about myself.  Seeing as I love to talk about myself, this shouldn't be hard, but since I'm a big oversharer anyway, I'm having a hard time coming up with something random that I haven't told you all before.

1.  I got pregnant the first time I had sex.  Good thing I waited til I was 19.  My brother's daughter was conceived when he was 19.  My oldest son is 19 now.  Don't think the number doesn't scare the crap out of me. 

My 19 year old self in front of the house my parents bought for me to live in. 
It was right down the block from my college.

2.  I originally majored in English during my first stint in college.  People would ask what I was going to do with that degree, was I going to be a teacher.  No way, was my answer.  But during a 5-year hiatus from school after my middle son was born I worked at a children's home for profoundly disabled kids, then a group home for adults with developmental disabilities, then a developmental training workshop, where I realized to my surprise that I really liked teaching.  So I went back to school and got my degree in special education.  And I still really like teaching 10 years later...most days. :)

3. If I could make my living by writing, I would.  I love to write.  I wrote a lot when my older boys were little, poems and short stories, and there's the skeleton of a novel rattling around in a file somewhere.  A few years ago, Jeff told me I should start writing again; now I think he gets a little annoyed at the time I spend writing.  The majority of my earlier "work" stemmed from a lot of unhappiness; now that I'm not unhappy, all I have to write about is training and racing.  It's awesome, because my blog is frequently the tipping point that will get me to try something just so I can write about it.

4.  I haven't counted the number of times I said "write", "wrote", or "writing" in that last item.  I know it's probably a ridiculous amount and proof that I'm not a very good writer. :P

5.  I love Facebook.  I spend way too much time on it (just ask Jill), but I love the way it allows you to connect with people you otherwise couldn't on a regular basis.  Also, I love that it gives me back my maiden name.  That's an important part of who I am, and it makes me happy to see it still written as part of my name.  That's even how I think of myself: all three names.  When my ex-husband and I divorced, I kept his name because it was my kids' name, but as soon as I moved back home I missed my old name.  Facebook gives me the perfect mix of who I was plus who I am now...with the ex's name conveniently absent. :)

6.  I'm a world-class procrastinator (which is why I'm doing this post instead of wrapping presents or cleaning my house for the family Christmas we're hosting next Tuesday).  I could eliminate a huge amount of stress and added expense from my life by kicking the procrastination habit. 

6b.  On the other hand, there were some pretty good last-minute Christmas sales today.  Also, if I hadn't waited til later last night to go to Old Navy, I might not have been able to use the man ahead of me's coupon to save 30% off my already low sale prices...or pass it on to the couple in the parking lot.

7.  I love strawberries but not strawberry ice cream; grapes but not grape jelly; oranges but not orange juice; baked potatoes but not mashed potatoes.  How's that for random?

  I'm not super picky, but you could definitely Fear Factor me with food you can buy at the grocery store.  Speaking of Fear Factor, no way.  I don't need $50,000 enough to get me to do some of the things they do just for a chance of winning.  Now Survivor or Amazing Race, sign me up!

8.  I'm much shyer than anyone who knows me would think.  My job has been really good for forcing me out of that.  One thing that it turns out I'm pretty good at is talking to unhappy parents at IEP meetings; hearing that your child would benefit from special education is one of the last things most parents want to hear, and they carry a lot of assumptions and fears about special ed.  I used to come home in tears because it's so hard to be the teacher that no one wants their kids with, but typically after a few months in my class (and not just my class, but this is my experience and so that's what I'm talking about) parents tell me how happy they are, and more importantly, what a difference they can see in their child. 

9.  I like a good challenge.  Cleaning my house is a challenge, but it doesn't fall into the "good" range, unfortunately.

10.  This isn't all that interesting.  If you want to read something more fun, you should look back at my post about CXMAS. 

Best. movie quotes. ever.

11.  OK, one more.  When I was in college, my friends raved about the movie A Christmas Story, quoting lines and laughing hysterically.  I had to watch that movie, and then when I did it was a total letdown.  Fast forward about 8 years, and I was spending the weekend at Jeff's while my boys were with their dad.  Some TV station was running an A Christmas Story 24-hour marathon, and we kept catching parts of it.  Something about seeing it over and over and over again...now I find it hilarious.   



Also in college, we watched the movie Scrooged for the first time and my friends had to explain to me why the fake show "Father Loves Beaver" was so funny.  I had never hear the term "beaver" to describe something other than a toothy mammal.

Your turn...tell me something random about yourself.