I’ve been contemplating doing this for a while, but I haven’t been inspired until now.

1.  I’ll be 36 in 2009.
2. I grew up in a town of 14,000 people in rural Iowa. 
3.  I am the oldest of three kids.
4.  I am the only girl.  My brothers are 2 and 7 years younger than me.
5.  I was a tomboy growing up. 
6. I have been married to Garbanzo for 14 years in 2009.
7. I have two daughters – DJ who will be 9 soon, and Indigo who is 6.
8. I am thankful they aren’t girlie girls because I have no experience with sister issues or worrying about hair.
9.  I didn’t learn to swim until I was 19.
10.  Because I had tubes in my ears 6 times between age 6 and 12.  
11. I still can’t hear well in a room where there are lots of conversations happening.
12. My parents have been married for almost 38 years.
13. I look exactly like my paternal grandmother…..exactly.
14. My dad joined the Army National Guard when my mom was pregnant with me….after he was drafted to go to Vietnam.  
15. My dad never had to go to Vietnam.
16. My dad retired when I was 21 after being in for 22 years.
17. He has missed about 90% of my birthdays including my birth because of the Guard. 
18. I hate surprises.  I blame my friends in high school for this one.  While their surprise in the end was great, it was two weeks of utter hell for me.  I’d rather have not had the surprise.
19. I thank my dad for introducing the word “fuck” into my vocabulary.
20. But, I am happy to say that my kids don’t hear it from me.
21. I played softball starting when I was 7 and continued through college when I played on the college team.
22. I played catcher.
23. And, I’ve never had a knee injury related to playing catcher.
24. But, I have broken a couple fingers and hyperextended a thumb thanks to the position.
25. As a result, I can pop my fingers by just closing my hands.
26. And I have a dent in my left shin from the line drive I took off the shin without shin guards.
27. I have a high tolerance for pain.
28. I used to tell one of my pitchers dirty jokes when she was having a hard game.
29. My dad used to supply me new ones.
30. I use the word “suck” around my mom because that word makes her go crazy.
31. I was a Girl Scout.
32. I ran cross country in high school.
33. I understand football.
34. And won the Fantasy Football league within my family beating both brothers, my dad and my hubby.
35. Hubby and I met when he was trying to date my friend.
36. One late night talk session later, and he wanted to date me.
37. But, I had to break up with a boyfriend first who was in the Army.
38. After not being able to get a hold of him, the guy in the Army got a “dear John” letter.
39. Ironically enough, he was the cop who responded to my mom’s 911 call when my dad had a heart attack about 5 years ago.
40. Garbanzo and I have been together since 1991.
41. The Hubby and I were both virgins when we started dating.
42. That didn’t last long.
43. Garbanzo didn’t know I could cook for the first year we dated because I always let him cook.
44. I actually love to cook and bake.
45. Garbanzo’s grandfather and I sent letters to each other for three years before we met.
46. His grandfather used to refer to me as TDBWLD – The dizzy blonde who lived downstairs.
47. I have a really bad temper.
48. And it has gotten me into trouble with people, so I tend to walk away first before I confront anyone.
49. I worked at two different pizza places when I was in high school and college.
50. I worked at a print shop where I helped assemble books.  Envision walking around a table picking up pages of books….that’s what I did.
51. I hate mint chocolate chip and bubble gum ice creams.
52. I am a chocoholic.
53. I like Guinness and other dark beers.
54. But that being said, I rarely drink more than a beer or two.
55. In fact, I didn’t have my first drink until I was 21.  I watched my cousin lose her financial aid and scholarships after she was picked up for underage drinking.
56. I put myself through school – thank you student loans.
57. I paid off my student loans 2 years early.
58. My work study job for two years was to work in breakdown at the cafeteria.   This meant I broke down the trays as they were put thru the window, so that everything can be washed.
59. Garbanzo used to work in the kitchens, so he would send notes to me as he sent food upstairs.
60. I graduated college with a degree in computer science.
61. I am the breadwinner in our family.
62. I always eat the butts on the loaf of breads.
63. I taught myself how to sew.  I figured if I can build and manage computer systems, I can run a sewing machine. 
64. My mom, in an attempt to find a way to connect with me on a “girl level”, taught me how to knit. 
65. I never completed a knitting project until I was in college and knitted people gifts.
66. I can quote most of the dialog in Major League and Bull Durham.
67. I have watched almost every episode of MASH.
68. There were more gay people in our wedding party than straight people.
69. Most of my friends are guys.
70. My oldest friend is a boy who I met when we were 10.
71. I get text messages from him today.
72. We never dated because I knew he was gay before he did.
73. Oh, and I don’t feel threatend by gay marriage.  I believe they should be allowed to marry.
74. I have been mistaken for a lesbian when alone.
75. I listen to every kind of music from jazz to rock to metal to rap.  
76. I read like crazy.  
77. I prefer comedies to all other genres of movies and tv shows.  I believe there is enough horror in the news that I cannot find it entertaining.
78. I have shot an M16 when the National Guard unit did gun safety as  PE lesson with high school students.  (It was really a recruiting opportunity for them.)
79. And, reinforced with the soldiers that volunteered for the “lesson” my dad’s rant at Guard that “even his 16 year old daughter could do better than they can.”
80. I would draw curious men whenever I would put oil in my car when I was in high school.  It had an oil leak, so I would add a quart with each fill-up.  I would get surpervised by guys who didn’t think I could do it.
81. My dad and I taught Garbanzo about an engine and how it worked.
82. I have owned 2 new cars. 
83. I had to get the second one because the first was too small for two kids.
84. We have 8 animals in our house (excluding the girls). Two dogs, two cats, three chinchillas, and one guinea pig.
85. The animals are cleaner than our children.
86. All but one dog I’ve owned as a kid or adult has been a Labrador Retriever.
87. My cat growing up had a form of herpes.
88. I have the sense of humor of a 14-year-old boy.
89. I live the Jackass movies, the shows, and the CKY videos that predate both.
90. I refer to myself as an accidental photographer.  I take great pictures, but always wonder afterwards if I truly understand how I did it.
91. Garbanzo has 3 times more clothes than I do which includes shoes.
92. I find painting a room to be a form of meditation.
93. I am afraid to fly.  I haven’t been on an airplane since 9-Sept-2001. 
94. But it’s something I am working on.
95. I have been called for Jury Duty four times. 
96. I showed up for jury duty instead of trying to get out of it.
97. I have detached earlobes.
98. I have had to talk to HR about sexual harrassment.  
99. I hate James Bond movies, but love Jackie Chan.
100. There is usually something interesting under my pillow. 😉