100 Things About Me

100. I was a binky baby—with rosy cheeks and rose-bud lips, as Maren may remind you.

99. I’m a descendant of the very first mayor of Salt Lake City—he was a polygamist so there are MANY descendants, but still… I’m ONE of them.

98. I love asparagus, but refuse to eat it because it makes my pee stink.

97. The tallest guy I’ve dated was 6’8” and he was the best kisser… so far.

96. If I met a man who played soccer, sang, played a musical instrument and was taller than me, I’d be in love.

95. I don’t like flowers unless they’re daisies.

94. When I was a kid, I always wanted to dress up in male costumes: Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Indiana Jones, He-Man—no wait, I’m lying about the last one.

93. I’ve had six dislocations in my life and only fixed two of them.

92. I had a pet cat named Nappy who would take walks around the block with me in the middle of the night—he followed at my right heel.

91. My mom was certain that one of our pet gerbils had a tumor, but I think it happened when I dropped it on the edge of the bed frame. She had to asphyxiate it in a box held up to the van’s exhaust pipe.

90. I have never tried a cigarette, done drugs, or tasted alcohol.

89. I always wanted to be on Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego because I would rock at the geography final.

88. For a few months, I was afraid of dogs, but I got over that by yelling at them when they would growl. I was 14.

87. The middle toe on my right foot is short, crooked and has a scar on top—from a dislocation that turned into surgery, but at least I TRIED to fix this one. My shoulder, rib, jaw, and back are all jealous.

86. I lied on my driver’s license weight when I was 16—I added 10 pounds so it read, 106.

85. I used to down a can of Dr. Pepper in one big swig; somehow, my eyes didn’t even water.

84. I spent a summer lying out by Kow’s pool with her and while she got burned and tanned, my skin did NOTHING.

83. I had a vegan roommate who broke down one night and ate a Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe from Wendy’s while we all sat around watching.

82. My first kiss was when I was 19 and he was drunk.

81. I hate fish unless my parents make it with lots of Cajun or it’s from a Gastronomy restaurant.

80. I no longer date anyone shorter than me—this was a rule I had for many years and I briefly broke it for a wee bit, but it’s back on, forever.

79. I hate donating blood, but do it every couple of months.

78. I love the first few times a guy holds my hand or puts his arm around me because when it’s new, it still tingles.

77. I had mono when I was in fourth grade, but the doctor had a hard time diagnosing it—in their search, they did a spinal tap and I also remember using the bathroom there and vomiting in my pants which were down around my ankles.

76. I can move both of my eyebrows separate of each other.

75. I hate mushrooms.

74. I always told my teachers in Jr. High and High School that I hated English; my BA is an English degree.

73. I had an F at midterms in my AP Calculus class, but still got a 5 (highest score) on the test. I made a deal with the teacher and got an A by finals.

72. I sing the tenor line an octave high on the third verse when singing hymns in church (soprano for first, alto for second, soprano again for fourth).

71. When I was younger, I shoplifted a necklace from Lagoon.

70. My grumma once gave me some money to gamble with at Las Vegas—as long as I brought her the winnings, which I did.

69. I am mostly English, a bit Scottish and some Swedish, but I have the most affinity for the Swedish.

68. I worked a summer as a door-to-door sales babe, selling books all alone in Chambersburg, PA for 80 hours a week.

67. I made up an additional verse to “I Am A Child of God” when I was having a sleepover at my Grandma’s house.

66. I grew up memorizing lines to Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

65. I used to change the channel IMMEDIATELY if a commercial came on for the show, Family Matters.

64. I was photographed for a magazine with my mom, a former member of the Utah Symphony, and Joseph Silverstein, the Symphony’s conductor; they served delicious turkey sandwiches at the photo shoot.

63. I was raised Mormon and when I went to BYU, I realized that I wanted to stay Mormon, but just not in Provo.

62. When I had the previously mentioned Mono, I spent my month home from school climbing up the chestnut tree in the afternoons to read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series.

61. I never died my hair until Lynnie got her hands on it and I’ll never go back.

60. The same day I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled, I went back to school to finish the layout of the school paper in PageMaker and snuck some popcorn at a movie later that night.

59. While my summer in PA was incredibly difficult, it was also the most spiritual experience I’ve had so far.

58. I now own two cats because I bought the first one on a whim and the second one came shortly after because I’m hardly home to keep the first one company.

57. I never asked God for a sign because I see them everywhere.

56. Despite years of fights and threats from mom about sending her to Tulsa and myself to therapy, my sister is now my best friend.

55. When I took birth control to fight acne, my boobs got bigger, but nobody noticed except for Victoria’s Secret.

54. I detest the smell of wine.

53. I took the ACT and was disappointed with my score so I took it again. (First time: 29; second time: 30; yes, I’m a perfectionist and still wasn’t satisfied with the second score.)

52. I called in sick the day after I got back from a bad vacation in New York; I spent the day shopping, getting my haircut and eating cheesecake with a good looking goalie.

51. I hated my arm hair, but refused to shave it until the day that Jon said I couldn’t make fun of him for shaving his until I tried it myself.

50. Lake House is probably the worst movie I’ve seen and yet I own it.

49. I had a huge crush on Mark-Paul Gosselaar in high school (Zach from Saved by the Bell).

48. My current celebrity crush is Chris Noth (Mr. Big from Sex and the City).

47. When I couldn’t sleep in college, I would watch Out of Africa. I’ve watched it MANY times.

46. I quote Tarzan and people look at me funny… “Oh, I see.” (draw out the I)

45. I need to go back to New York and enjoy it.

44. I would like tools for Christmas.

43. I really dislike the fact that there are so many cute pet names men can call women, but what are we supposed to call men?

42. Thunderstorms give me a natural high.

41. I once ate the glob of cheese left over from a very greasy, The Pie pizza because Ali paid me a $1.

40. I hate change unless it’s quarters or Sacajaweas.

39. I once had a doctor clean my ear out with a fancy tool and it hurt like she was sticking a tool in my ear; it caused bleeding.

38. I hate starting an orange and used to put a plastic sandwich bag on my hand to keep from getting the peel under my nails when I peeled it.

37. My favorite soup is the homemade potato soup my roommate Ruth made.

36. I wish my parents still had their Jack Russell Terrier, Moshie.

35. I watched the Stanley Cup Finals one year with my Canadian buddy, Megs and we ate many delicious crepes.

34. I used to wear heels all the time; and then I dislocated my toe.

33. My favorite ice cream is a tie between Rocky Road and Cookie Dough.

32. When I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art I didn’t enjoy it because I would have rather been ice skating in Central Park.

31. I have no tolerance for people who drive in the left lane when they’re not passing.

30. I had a huge crush on Scott Linton when I was a freshman and went to most of the men’s basketball games to watch him (not support my brother who was sitting on the bench).

29. One of my favorite classes at BYU was figure skating, which I reluctantly signed up for because two of my roommates really wanted me to take it with them.

28. I balanced my checkbook for several years and then fell out of the habit.

27. I love cooking, but I hate following a recipe.

26. I love baking and always follow a recipe.

25. I used to sleep on the right side of my bed, but now that I’m in my own place, I sleep on the left side.

24. One of the best sandwiches I ever ate was a tomato sandwich my Grandma made me with toasted whole wheat, mayonnaise, garlic salt and fresh tomatoes from her garden.

23. I love love love my Grandma’s garden. It is my happy place.

22. Favorite snack food: crunchy Cheetos.

21. Favorite candy bar: Butterfinger.

20. I have an incredibly difficult time picking a restaurant.

19. My favorite poet is Robert Frost—but that only happened after studying him in a class my senior year where I really learned about his genius.

18. Favorite book: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

17. I own way to many X-Files DVDs / VHSs for my own good.

16. Favorite movies to quote: So I Married An Axe Murderer, The Emporer’s New Groove, and Tarzan. (Favorite movie mentioned above: Out of Africa.)

15. I wonder if you have more than one therapist at once, are you cheating on them?

14. I always wanted wavy hair.

13. I hate being licked by a dog.

12. I am attracted to men who make me laugh… and are not my brothers.

11. I love buying movies more than watching them.

10. One of my favorite memories of high school is making and watching the movie we created for the Sadies Hawkins dance senior year. (And I had the hottest date: Lance Allred.)

9. I started, but never finished, one of the Dragonlance novels. My mom threw them out.

8. I love fancy jewelry—David Yurman in particular.

7. I love straight-out-of-the-dryer sheets.

6. I love being a tourist in my own city when I’m with my cousin, Laura. This equals great pics.

5. I hated when I was assigned the chore of cleaning up the plums on the deck; they dropped from the tree, were often stepped on, squished and I had to peel them off.

4. I love camping, hiking, and rappelling.

3. I think I might want to have “dirty water” at my wedding; just to annoy my siblings.

2. I used to have a kite in my trunk, just in case, but I gave the last one away to a cute girl as her birthday present; she used it more than me.

1. Mike Hatch once told me that I looked like Britney Spears—at the time it was a compliment, but I hope never to hear that comparison again.