7 Random Things

My friend, Jodie, tagged me. I'm supposed to share 7 random things about myself and tag 7 more people. Unfortunately, I'm new to the blog world and every blog I follow has already been tagged! So, I'll just share.

1. I have issues with numbers. It started out as a preference for the volume on the TV to be an even number. Then I realized that I liked the multiples of 5 as well. Then I realized that I really like the multiples of 3. Finally, I figured out that I really don't like prime numbers. I shudder if the TV volume is on 11 or 13 or 17. So, in order of preference: multiples of 3, multiples of 5, even numbers, any other non-prime number. I count stairs. (Although, I think that's to take my mind off my huffing and puffing as I go up them.) I also really like to find numbers that go in order. For example, four nights out of seven I happen to look at my clock right when it reads 12:34. And it makes me happy. Yes, I am that OCD.
2. If you think that's obsessive; oh, the issues with food. I am a very picky eater. Now, don't get me wrong. I love food. I love to eat. I actually enjoy cooking (although I definitely don't enjoy cleaning up afterwards!). But I am a very picky eater. I am very sensitive to smells. I usually can't eat leftovers because the smell of the cold food turns my stomach and I can't eat it, even after it's been warmed up. If someone else reheats the food so I don't have to smell it - I can cope. I am very sensitive to suggestion. The dinner table is not the place to tell scary stories. I also had a huge blowup one Halloween because The Countess prepared a very creative dinner complete with "scary" names for each of the dishes. I felt really bad afterward because I know she put a lot of effort into the meal, trying to be a fun, creative Mom (which she is!) and I totally lost it and refused to even come into the kitchen. I have major issues with food being served cold that is usually served hot: i.e. lunch meat, hard boiled eggs, etc. (actually I think potato salad is one of my least favorite dishes in the entire world - cold eggs, cold potatoes, mayo and mustard - both of which I don't like - it has no chance! I can't even handle the smell! It has to be on the opposite end of the table.) And then there's the huge list of things I just plain don't like. It really is a wonder that I ever even tried Indian food - I'm not that adventurous! I know that my family was shocked. But after that first brave bite, I was hooked!
3. I am a ballerina at heart. I took ballet for a good 10 years. I have great arches and good toe structure for toe shoes. I have pretty good flexibility (actually, when I stretch now, I get stopped by my belly getting in the way rather than my muscles not being able to stretch further.) And of course I love the music.
   
4. I love green. I have always loved green. I always will love green. When I was three (I think. I don't remember, but have seen the pictures and been told the story), all I wanted for Christmas was a green nightgown. That's it. No toys. Just a green nightgown. When I was a senior in high school, I thought I was pretty cool because the salespeople for class rings told us that we could choose a stone with our school colors, our birthstone, or a stone with our favorite color for our ring. Well, since I went to Hillcrest High School, our colors were green and white. And since I was born in May, my birthstone is an emerald. And, of course, my favorite color is green. So I was set for all three.
5. In Elementary School, my BFF and I wanted to become famous authors. My pen name was: JesakaTifini. (Yes, all one word.) My nickname in Middle School was: Jello Stress Weird, III. (My History teacher even called me this. And, by the way, weird is wonderful; strange is stupid.) My nickname in High School was: HoboJo. One of my friends adopted the nickname SlobBob and wrote a story about HoboJo and SlobBob.
   
6. I have sprained both my knees (within 6 weeks of each other!), an ankle and a wrist. I've had a tonsillectomy, a laparoscopy for endometriosis, part of my ear cut off, and sinus surgery. But, knock on wood, I've never had to have stitches or broken a bone.
7. I have won several awards for my writing and have also been published. (Literary Magazine awards and publishing in High School for both poetry and short story. Deseret News Poetry contest. Best Freshman Research Paper at BYU. New Era magazine article.) I was English Sterling Scholar. I even had a way cool professor at BYU who let me write a poem for my final research paper in History of Civ./Humanities 201. I shared a poem with her that I'd written on Michaelangelo and she loved it. Since my research paper was on Michaelangelo, she let me turn that poem into a series. I got an A.

I'm looking this over, and it turned into a bit of a novel instead of a list. But it was fun to reminisce!