100 Things List

Okay, so my great friend Marisa tagged me to come up with this list, which proved more difficult than I imagined. I guess I thought I was more interesting than I really am. I am warning you that this is long, so you may or may not enjoy reading it.

1. I really dislike mopping.
2. I can’t go to bed without making sure everything is put away.
3. I got my undergraduate degree in Sociology with an emphasis in deviance.
4. I am pursuing my graduate degree online in Public Administration.
5. I miss the mall.
6. I love to go to TJ Maxx, Ross and Marshall’s to see what I can discover on the crowded shelves. The gift shops here on the island are the next best thing and I’ve found many things to display on my shelves.
7. I love a good deal and can’t resist a bargain. I most likely got this trait from my mother.
8. I was in the BYU Marching Band for my first two years of college.
9. I was in Army ROTC in college and a member of the all female Ranger Challenge team.
10. I have learned to enjoy running, but dislike running uphill.
11. I love to cook and try new recipes.
12. I would love to buy more furniture, particularly dark stained teak, but I don’t have any more room in the house.
13. I love to decorate and am convinced that I may eventually need more than one home to represent all of the styles I would love to display.
14. I always have an opinion and most of the time I am not afraid to share it.
15. I can never get enough hugs and kisses.
16. I love to watch any shows that involve crime solving (ie 48 hours, Without a Trace, Cold Case).
17. I’ve also become addicted to Lost, Prison Break and Heroes. Living overseas, I’ve had to be patient and wait until the season comes out on DVD because everything comes here later.
18. I am a list maker and make them often. I love the feeling of crossing something off, knowing I’ve accomplished something.
19. I find it very difficult to let my children clean because it is never up to my standard and it is easier to do myself. I constantly tell myself that I am teaching them something.
20. It is hard for me to let my children help me cook, but I am trying to relax a little more.
21. I love to do paper crafts (ie stamp, scrapbook, make gifts out of pretty paper).
22. It is hard for me to use my craft supplies because then they’ll be gone, but I am working on using what I have since things are limited here.
23. I probably expect too much from my children and I am trying to ease up a little bit.
24. I raise my voice too much to my children, well, I probably yell too much. I am still trying to find a way to get my kids to listen the first time and end up yelling at the sixth or seventh time.
25. I love to eat licorice and sour patch kids.
26. I love to eat at Panera Bread and get their ½ sandwich ½ salad combo. I would probably eat there every day if I lived near one.
27. I have discovered that I really enjoy sushi, particularly California rolls and the ones with tempura chicken in the middle. One of these days I will try to make them myself, for now I go to Jusco (Japanese grocery store) on Saturdays to get them. My favorite sushi place here is Yoshi Hashi’s.
28. I love the soreness of a great workout, even if it means I can barely move the next day. It makes me feel like I’ve worked hard.
29. I hate to diet and have realized that I have to make permanent changes in my eating. I wish I could be one of those people who could eat anything and not gain a pound. I was not blessed with that ability.
30. I would much rather write a research paper than take a test.
31. I was a cheerleader in high school and my daughter appears to be following in my footsteps.
32. I was a huge New Kids on the Block fan when I was younger and now I have a daughter obsessed with High School Musical.
33. Until my parents bought their first house, I had the typical messy teenage room. When they moved into their house, I became a neat freak.
34. I complained about laundry not being done as a teenager and then my mom started making me do everyone’s laundry. I don’t mind doing laundry, but I dislike folding it.
35. I think the welfare system is broken.
36. I would love to go to law school, but I don’t have the time right now and it is very expensive.
37. I feel like I waste too much time.
38. I stay up really late, especially when my husband is away.
39. I would love to do everything for everyone, but I am learning that it is impossible. I am learning to say no.
40. I enjoy time alone, which is probably why I stay up late.
41. I would love to visit China, Russia and New Zealand before I die.
42. I tend to get road rage and it displays itself every time I drive my kids to piano lessons. I think the longer I stay here, the crazier the Okinawan drivers will make me!
43. I love to entertain, but don’t get to do it very often. I hope to throw some great parties when I have my own house with more space.
44. I like to bake, but don’t do it very often because I will eat it.
45. I would rather be cold than hot.
46. I love to sing to the radio and had a great time singing at a Japanese karaoke restaurant.
47. I enjoy most types of music and have grown to really like some types of country, thanks to my husband.
48. I like to be right. Ok, who doesn’t like to be right?!
49. I feel naked without earrings on.
50. I’m not afraid to leave the house without make-up.
51. Fall is my favorite season.
52. I love to watch football and tell my husband he is a lucky man for it.
53. The best thing about living in Okinawa is the view of the ocean that I get every time I drive down the hill to where I live.
54. I went scuba diving in Thailand for my husband, but I haven’t decided whether I want to make it a hobby.
55. I miss having sliding doors on both sides of a mini van. We have a really old Toyota van with only one sliding door.
56. I’ve developed eczema on two fingers since I’ve moved to Okinawa. Strange, I know!
57. I’ve flown military space-a with three children and would do it again. I learned a lot on that trip!
58. I enjoy reading for pleasure, but don’t take enough time to do so.
59. I tend to start too many projects at once.
60. I love the movie Rudy and just watched another great one, Meeting Jane.
61. I used to watch the soap opera All My Children in the US. I don’t watch it anymore because we don’t get it here.
62. I like to watch Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight.
63. I was a telemarketer for a month and hated it.
64. I’m always running late.
65. I can be a perfectionist.
66. I took 13 years of dance.
67. I took five years of piano lessons.
68. My first job was a paper route.
69. I worked at a nursing home as a dietary aide in high school and when I came home from college.
70. I was a crossing guard for the city of Springville, UT. I did this for extra money and was able to bring Miranda with me.
71. I took French Horn lessons in junior high and high school at the Peabody Preparatory Music School, which is part of Johns Hopkins.
72. I’ve ridden an elephant uphill, which made me nauseous.
73. I love amusement parks, especially roller coasters!
74. I love to get my hair done, but don’t do it nearly as often as I should.
75. I enjoy a house that is filled with the aroma of a good candle.
76. Christmas is my favorite holiday! I enjoy the season that surrounds the holiday the best.
77. I enjoy sitting on the beach, more than I enjoy being in the ocean.
78. The exception is riding banana boats! We did this at Okuma and had so much fun I couldn’t stop laughing!
79. I get sick on the landings when riding an airplane.
80. I would love to visit all 50 states. I’m not too far away from this!
81. I am getting more adventurous. I hope to take the kids somewhere this summer, maybe Alaska, Korea, Tokyo or Guam.
82. After living here, shopping isn’t as much fun in the states as it used to be. I never thought I would say this. I think there is too much pressure to get everything on my list and I can’t take my time to find the best bargain.
83. I would love to try running a marathon some day. I figure if Oprah could do it, so can I.
84. I would love to do the show The Amazing Race with my husband, so that we could see the world.
85. In high school I took band trips to Toronto, Canada, Virginia Beach, VA, Charleston, SC and Orlando, FL.
86. I was the president of the Varsity Club in high school, which required very little work.
87. I teach Army Family Team Building classes and would love to become a core trainer some day.
88. I wish there were more hours in a day.
89. I can easily spend three hours at the grocery store without kids.
90. I use as many coupons as I can at the grocery store. I save more money shopping without kids.
91. It is both sad and exciting to see my kids grow.
92. I went to seven different schools growing up.
93. My husband and I have moved eight times in ten years.
94. I’ve given birth without drugs. I don’t necessarily recommend it.
95. I love to go to the movies.
96. I hope to go see the Oprah show live before she goes off the air.
97. I can’t seem to develop a good green thumb. Maybe it is the heat here, but I can’t seem to keep flowers alive.
98. I don’t like gloomy, rainy weather, which is why I could never live in the Northwest.
99. I love the sunshine and always open the blinds first thing in the morning to let it shine into the house.
100. It took me longer than I anticipated to write this list!!