Sunday, December 31, 2006

100 things about me

1. I was born on October 13th.
2. I was born in Lakenheath, England, so I had dual citizenship until I was 18.
3. I think I am a fairly typical Libra...looking for the balance and happy medium in all situations!
4. I have one younger brother.
5. My dad was in the Air Force so we moved alot.
6. As a child, I lived in England, Florida, California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Arizona.
7. I went to 3 different high schools.
8. I played flute in the marching band at all three.
9. I was on the swim team at all three.
10. My best events were the 100 backstroke and the 200 freestyle.
11. I went to the US Air Force Academy for college.
12. I walked on to the Varsity Swim Team as a freshman.
13. I quit swimming my sophomore year because a) I was slow and b) I had problems with my shoulder.
14. I was in two choirs in college: the Protestant Choir (we sang at chapel services) and the Chorale, which performed across the nation.
15. The Academy Chorale was on TV twice. First was the 1992 Country Music Awards and we sang backup for Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" in the finale. The second time was at the 1992 (?) Miss USA pageant.
16. I now sing in my church choir as an alto.
17. I belong to St. John's Episcopal Church in Glendale, Arizona.
18. I was in the Air Force for 5 years as an intelligence officer.
19. I was stationed in Texas, New Mexico, South Dakota and Idaho.
20. I was married for four years to my college boyfriend, who became a B-1 Bomber pilot.
21. After getting divorced and being single for five years, I met my husband. We were introduced by a mutual friend.
22. We got married 6 months later, on July 4th, 2001.
23. My husband and I are both redheads, although he is a true carrot-top and I think of myself as "strawberry blonde."
24. We struggled with infertility and over a year of monthly injections before deciding to adopt.
25. Our daughter was born on Aug 11, 2006, and the adoption was finalized on Nov. 18, 2006.
26. We plan to keep in contact with the birthparents.
27. Our only pet at the moment is a female calico cat named Gidget.
28. I had a male cat (Walter), and my DH had a male cat (Bert) and female dog (Sheba) when we got married.
29. We had a black-and-white male cat named Tony, but he ran away a few months after the baby was born.
30. All our cats (Walter, Gidget and Tony) came from friends at church.
31. I am a high school teacher.
32. I mainly teach math (algebra and geometry) and one government class.
33. This apparent dichotomy stems from my major in Political Science plus the many required engineering classes at the Air Force Academy.
34. I have a Master's degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in technology.
35. While I enjoy academia, I really don't have an interest in another degree.
36. My number one hobby is quilting, which I started in 2003.
37. I did not learn to sew until my mother opened a quilt store.
38. My parents live about 30 minutes away from me in the metro Phoenix area.
39. I have attended Quilt Camp in the Pines for the past three summers, and hope to return for many more years!
40. In March 2006, I purchased a longarm machine to do professional quilting.
41. Shortly after taking up quilting, I learned to knit...Mom carries yarn in her store too!
42. Completed knit projects include one sweater, one pair of socks, one handbag, and many scarves.
43. My first quilt used a Terry Atkinson pattern called "Lasagna" and focal fabric from Alexander Henry that had jungle animals on it.
44. I collect giraffes.
45. While sitting at the computer, I can see one painting of a giraffe, 5 stuffed animals, and 7 china figurines.
46. I also collect Santas. I have about 12 table-top Santas, including one in a kilt from Scotland and a wooden carving of St. Nicholas.
47. I love to visit new places, but I don't care much for the process of travelling.
48. I have a tendency towards motion sickness.
49. Duties in the Air Force sent me to England and Egypt.
50. Family vacations have taken me to Hawaii, Canada, Mexico and Scotland.
51. DH and I have been on three cruises. The first was a 3-day Mexican cruise for our honeymoon and the second was a Christmas trip in Hawaii with friends.
52. The third cruise was another 3-day Mexican cruise, supposedly a high school reunion for DH. But, there were only 2 other people from his high school!
53. I have never broken any bones.
54. I had braces twice - the first time on my bottom teeth only, then a full set in junior high.
55. My wisdom teeth were pulled when I was in 8th grade.
56. I had my gallbladder removed in 1999. It was outpatient surgery, so I have never spent to night in the hospital!
57. I have spent lots of time in the hospital with my husband, because he broke his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2002.
58. I learned to ski as a kid. We had lots of family ski trips, mainly to Brianhead, Utah.
59. The best day of skiing I ever had was at Brundage, Idaho because of the long runs and short lift lines.
60. My favorite color is blue.
61. I think my husband would agree that I am "low maintenance" - minimal makeup and jewelry.
62. My "beauty routine" consists of eye liner, mascara, and Chapstick!
63. I always have on my wedding ring and an emerald ring that DH gave me for my birthday the first year we were married.
64. I usually wear a pair of sapphire earrings.
65. I rarely wear a watch...as a school teacher, I live by the bell!
66. I started wearing glasses in college, although I can get by without them.
67. I wore contacts for about 10 years, until one scratched my eye and I decided I could live without the daily hassle.
68. I read faster than anyone I know...about 100 pages an hour if it's fiction!
69. I rarely have the chance to read for pleasure, but recently I enjoyed "The Historian" and the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency series.
70. As a kid, I read the Little House on the Prairie series about once a year.
71. I was in Washington DC for President Bill Clinton's second inauguration in 1997.
72. I am a die-hard Republican - I was there for the historical experience ;-)
73. I visited Germany in 1989 after the Berlin Wall came down. It was a weird feeling walking through East Germany and touring Checkpoint Charlie.
74. Even though I have no desire to hold a formal dinner party, I have twelve place-settings of Lennox china. The pattern is Charleston.
75. I inherited a player piano from my grandmother.
76. The only way I play piano is by pushing the pedals and letting the player work its magic!
77. I like dark chocolate.
78. My favorite flavor of ice cream is Mint Chocolate Chip.
79. My favorite food is lasagna...my mom's recipe which is actually from Betty Crocker.
80. Before I discovered quilting, I was an avid rubber stamper.
81. I am still a demonstrator for Stampin' Up! (contact me to place an order anytime!!)
82. The spare bedroom in our house is my stamp room.
83. I also scrapbook. (one of my best friends is a Creative Memories consultant)
84. We took 75 pictures of baby K during her first month home!
85. My first car was a 1980's Datsun sedan.
86. My parents let my best friend Eliza drive it when I went off to basic training and college.
87. My brother eventually inherited it, and wrecked it by crashing into a brick wall. I think the story was that he swerved to avoid a pedestrian.
88. My dad bought me a Honda Accord while I was in college, and I drove it for 10 years.
89. I bought a Honda Civic in 2000, and it's still going strong!
90. There is very little food in my pantry...half of it is my fabric/yarn stash and lots of candles from PartyLite.
91. I don't burn the candles very often, but I like the accessories!
92. I like Pepsi better than Coke.
93. I have season tickets to the Phoenix Mercury, a WNBA team.
94. One of my lifetime dreams is to see the Olympics in person. I had planned to go to Australia in 2000, but the timing didn't work with my teaching schedule. Maybe London in 2012!
95. I started blogging in January 2006 when I joined the Knitting Olympics, started by Stephanie.
96. Some of my favorite blogs to read are Knotty Girls, The Panopticon, january one, Red Shoe Ramblings, and Crazy Aunt Purl.
97. One of my lifelong dreams is to write a novel.
98. I have a bookcase full of books about writing fiction, but very few pages of my own writing.
99. I went to the International Quilt Market in 2005. It's an awesome show and lots of fun to see the new stuff vendors are offering! I'd love to go every year.
100. I won "Rookie of the Year" honors from the Arizona Longarm Quilters Presidents Challenge in 2006.