101 things About Me

1. I have to stop reading other people's "Things About Me" blogs, b/c if anything in them makes me think of or reminds me of something I could or want to write, then I feel like I'm copying them, and I can't use it anymore.
2. I'm terrified of being unoriginal and boring, and I covet creativity, thus my #1 thing about me.
3. My creativity is VERY limited. So limited, in fact, that I can't even think of what I'm creative about.
4. I really enjoy writing, but I suck at it. When I was little, I was determined to write a novel, but I never got past the first chapter, where you describe your characters. I just liked naming the characters and describing what they were wearing and their personalities. Like, in The Baby-Sitters Club books where the first chapter would always describe Stacey as the cool one with diabetes, and Claudia as the one who was artsy and had all these holes in her ears (gasp!)
5. I am horrible at finishing tasks. I jump from one thing to another so quickly, that I never get anything done. This is especially evident when I start cleaning house. For example, from where I'm sitting, the vacuum is out in the middle of the floor, where I left it to hang my shoe rack on the door, which I went out and bought after I realized I needed to buy Reese's formula, after I started making her bottle. I also see the calendar on the wall that I hung while I was pregnant, and was crossing off days. I have all the days crossed off until February 8th, when she was born. The calendar is still there, still in the month of February, with the blue marker hanging where I last used it.
6. I remember the names of the first three Baby-Sitters Club Books, and if I sat long enough I could probably go until about thirteen or fourteen... #1 Kristy's Great Idea, #2 Claudia and the Phantom Phone-Caller, #3 Stacey's Big Secret. I hope I'm not wrong, b/c then I'll be embarrassed, and I'll have to eliminate thing #6.
7. I hate washing lettuce and ironing clothes. Those might just be my two least favorite chores.
8. I will be 30 in December of NEXT year. yikes.
9. I have a beautiful 8 month old daughter, who is a serious handful, but who can also seriously make me laugh like crazy, and smile till it hurts.
10. I love Corona and margaritas on the rocks. I also love dry champagne and red wine.
11. I watch way too much TV... but I'm trying to get better. These are the shows I would cry if I missed:: 24, Lost, Project Runway, Desperate Housewives, Gray's Anatomy, Apprentice, The Bachelor... Ok, I wouldn't cry, but I would be super-sad.
12. I'm really scared of a certain thing, that I'm too scared to type out, because it's so politically incorrect, and offensive. But if you ask me, I'll tell you. Because you're probably not one.
13. I usually hide from people I knew in high school if I see them out somewhere. I despise small talk.
14. I always, always, forget to clean baseboards.
15. I'm not a great housekeeper or home-decorator, which I hate. But how do you improve? My mom is a natural, and this is obviously something she did not pass down.
16. I'm terrible at saving money. It completely burns a hole in my pocket.
17. I am very much OCD. But more compulsive than obsessive.
18. I LOVE, love, love to read. Anything really. Right now I'm reading the biography of Marie Antoinette, by Antonia Fraser, and I love it. The movie comes out this Friday, and I really wanted to have finished the book beforehand, but I doubt that will happen.
19. My four year anniversary is this Thursday, and for once, we are actually doing something really cool!!!
20. . The only decorating I did for the baby's room, was to pick out the crib, and organize the closet. Niles then sanded and painted the crib I got... hung the letters of her name (with butterfly stickers he found and pink ribbon) on the wall, painted the dresser, and put up the curtains. OH, but I did pick out the curtains.
21. PERFECT EXAMPLE OF #5... In the year 2001, I started crocheting a blanket for my husband. I even bought Superman- colored (blue,red,yellow) yarn... He's obsessed with superheroes. That "blanket" is still sitting in a basket by our couch, with a big ball of red yarn attached. Needless to say, it remains unfinished, and barely qualifies as a scarf.
22. In college, I made an awesome friend named Tasha. She was possibly the best roommate I ever had in my lifetime, and we were barely friends before we roomed together. (Which is probably why it worked out so well) When I left JBU, we cried and she bought me a picture frame that says "sisters" all over it, and had two pictures of us... one with our faces distorted with scotch tape. I still have that frame and that picture on my dresser. We don't keep in touch regularly, but we always reconnect at random times. We both had a baby this year, and we had the same exact due date.
23. I used to think of myself as a really positive, optimistic person. I have realized that this actually ISN'T the case... I just desperately want to BE that person, and had myself convinced for a long time. But, I am actually quite cynical.
24. I worry and worry and worry and worry... I actually even remind myself of what I was worrying about!
25. My baby girl, Jacquelyn Reese Holsinger, was born one month early, and weighed 6lbs. 7.7 oz. I had such an awesome time in the hospital. My labor was fairly easy... My water broke at 3p, she was born at 9p, and I pushed for approximately 30 minutes. And as of that morning I was less than half a centimeter dilated, and zero percent effaced. Nice.
26. My grandma's name is Jacqueline Reese. We already wanted to name our baby girl, Reese, so it worked out just perfectly to name her after my grandma. Grandma Jackie is amazing. She's outlived two husbands, and since then, has moved from California where she lived her entire life, and decided to be a missionary. Because she's older, instead of going on the Mercy Ship like she wanted to do, she works in their offices, doing accounting. Before she moved from Cali, she had her own accounting firm, which she'd had for years and years. I think she's amazing, and I hope I turn out like her. She seems ageless to me.
27. I get frustrated when I leave a pedicure, and my heels don't feel softer than when I went in. Why can't they ever do your heels well!?!?!
28. I LOVE Mexican food. When I was pregnant, I craved Tortilla Soup
29. I don't love "prayer meetings" at church. I'll go to home groups, I'll go to Worship Nights, but I do NOT enjoy prayer meetings. And I refuse to feel guilty about that. I don't like praying out loud in front of people (unless it's Niles), and in those meetings, I always start thinking about how someone keeps saying the word "just" while they are praying... or I think about why I haven't gotten a pedicure in a long time, and yet, I'm wearing flip flops.
30. . I used to love the cartoon, Jem, and I bought the board game. It came with a tape of Jem songs, and I still remember one of them. "I've got my eye on you...". Okay, so, that's the only part I remember.
31. I hate taking naps, and just going to sleep in general. I will stay up as long as possible, for no good reason, just so I can read or get on the computer, or watch something on TV... I feel like if I go to sleep, I'm giving in. There are so many things left to do! My parents said I have fought sleep my entire life. Although, right now, I'm so freakin exhausted all the time, that I wouldn't mind just drifting off right now. But, no, here I am, doing a really important blog entry.
32. My right pinkie finger is alljacked up and crooked. I broke it playing basketball in 8th grade. It's my only broken bone ever, and I'm very proud of the fact that it occured while playing a sport. =)
33. I love squishy french fries. But I love squishy fries with ranch dressing even better.
34. I put salt on my pizza, and I also love my pizza with ranch dressing, too.
35. I used to think I was cool for having a long list of words I don't like, but now, after reading so many blogs, I realize, it's not that cool... pretty much everyone does it. =)
36. I love the words insipid, negligent, intrinsic, aesthetic, consideration, consummate, and many others... but those are the first to come to mind.
37. I hate the words nipple, ... i can't even write any more.
38. I hate vegetables. All of them. And don't tell me I just have to try them cooked this or that certain way... I will not like them, I promise you. The only way I can tolerate carrots is if they are super soft, cooked in some kind of stew or pot roast or something. And, I can eat broccoli... and salad. That's about it. If potatoes and corn were good vegetables, I would be in good shape. But of course, those are the bad ones.
39. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Christmas.... Everything about it. The music, the lights, the mall, the people, the crowds, the shopping, the movies... all of it. I generally start listening to Christmas music about two months beforehand, and sometimes randomly throughout the year, too. I don't discriminate.
40. I also love the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!! I'll get up at 7, just to see it, and even if I miss parts, if it is at least on in the background, it makes me so happy. This is one thing my husband and I both emphatically agree on. It's the best thing to wake up to. Okay, besides the obvious child and husband.
41. I love cold weather, but I hate being cold... I just like it being cold, and then I can bundle up, and start a fire... I also LOVE overcast days and rainy weather. And, no, this does not mean that I don't appreciate beautiful, sunny days, too... I love those also.
42. I love the Dallas Mavericks, and the Cowboys... But the Mavs more. I'm a Texas fan no matter what. Although, I will never cheer for the Houston Rockets or Texans, ever. I will, however, cheer for the Spurs, in certain situations. They are a huge rival for my precious Mavs, but they are mostly good guys, they're still Texans, and they are a dang good team. So, if they're not playing us, I'll secretly root for them. But I don't like Tony Parker.
43. I will NEVER NEVER NEVER like the Miami Heat, or the Sacramento Kings. Just can't do it.
44. I listen to two morning shows on the radio... Kidd Kraddick, and the Little Ball of Hate show on ESPN. I love Jennifer Ingall. She is so great. I like women that can talk about sports and know what they're talking about. ESPN radio is great. Although, they tend to talk about one thing over and over and over, and sometimes I wish they would be a little more broad.
45.. I LOVE being a mommy. I was NEVER one of those girls who always wanted to have kids. I mean, of course, when I was little I played "house", and pretended I had a bunch of daughters... But in the latter years of life, having kids was something I always just figured would happen... someday. I never thought much about it.
46. I LOVE flip flops. I will wear them every day of the year, every day of winter... whatever. They are my favorite shoe.
47. Me and my friend Jessica, when we were little, we used to pretend we were professional cheerleading coaches with a whole bunch of daughters who were on our cheerleading teams. But we were also celebrities. I was Debbie Gibson. I bet you didn't know Debbie Gibson was a professional cheerleading coach with 12 daughters
48. I absolutely love New York City. It's my favorite place in the world. The first time I went, I cried on the plane ride home. I would move and live there in a heartbeat. I've been twice. Once in the summer, and once in November of 2001. Almost 3 months after 9/11. We went down to Ground Zero, and there were still pieces of the WTC sticking up, and they were still being hosed down from the heat. It was heartbreaking to see all the posters still up... people holding on to the hope that their loved ones might just have survived
49. I love buying shirts. I will wear the same jeans for years, but go to the store, and feel like I just have to have more shirts
50. Niles and I both love Food Network. My favorite shows are Paula's Home Cooking, Everyday Italian, and Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarelli (I think I spelled his last name wrong). Niles loves Good Eats, and I completely hate that show. I think Alton Brown is soooo annoying.
51. I love Everyday Italian so much that when we lived in Florida, I went to see the host, Giada de Laurentis, at the mall where she was doing a live presentation. The thing that REALLY annoys me about her, is that, while she is definitely Italian, she talks completely normal, with no accent, until she says words like prosciutto, and mozzarella. Then all the sudden, she has this full-on Italian accent. It is so annoying...
52. I don't like it when people who are completely American, and English-speaking, adopt foreign accents when they order at Mexican restaurants, or Italian restaurants, etc. Or here's another example, when people, who AREN'T Hawaiian, say "Ha-VY-ee", instead of just saying "Hawaii". Maybe it's respectful to do that, but it just seems so retarded.
53. I REALLY want to learn how to speak Italian. It's been my New Years Resolution for three years running now.
54. When I learned how to type in high school, I got really good at it. So, I developed this weird tic where I started typing words, even when I was not at a computer or keyboard. Just sitting in the car, I would see or hear a word, and my fingers would just start typing it out. And it was even worse if the word's typing had some sort of rhythm to it. Because then I would just continue to "type" it over and over and over. I totally still do this today. Even while I'm running on the treadmill. I'm always self-conscious that people will notice my fingers bouncing up and down randomly.
55. I want to go to Venice, Italy, and Vatican City, more than any place in the world
56. . I loved being pregnant. It was by far, one of the best experiences of my lifetime. In fact, when it was over, even though I had Reese, I was really sad that I didn't have my belly anymore. I missed all the kicking.
57. I feel really bad for Britney Spears. Although, I don't think she's a very nice girl.
58. I used to go roller-skating almost every day when I was little, and I wish I still could. Ice-skating, not so much. But man, I love roller-skating. And, I really wish it was cooler to wear roller-skates than rollerblades... because I never got into the rollerblading thing. When I was little, my parents bought me white roller skates with pink wheels, and I would practice in the house.
59. I saw Titanic six times. That's an entire day of my life that I spent in the movie theater.
60. . I LOATHE talking on the phone. I really do. If we are going to talk, let's make a date to go to lunch or something... but please don't make me sit on the phone and try to catch up. I will email you forever, but if you try to call me and we have a lot of catching up to do, you'll probably be screened. sorry. I actually think I'm scared of long conversations with people I haven't talked to in a while. I'm not a big fan of awkward silence. In person it's bad enough, but over the phone it's torture. And then when you talk over each other, and you have to do the whole "go ahead", "no, you go ahead" thing... so annoying.
61. Once in high school, there was this chihuahua-looking guy who liked me. He was very weird, and he called me one time and had nothing to say. He ended up asking me if we had Nintendo at home, and what games I liked to play. It was just weird. But really, I actually loved Nintendo, and I loved Metroid, and Double Dribble. OH yeah, and Excitebike.
62. I think Half-Price Books is probably one of my favorite places to go besides Target. I could sit there all day.
63. I love the show, Curb Your Enthusiasm. I think Larry David is stinking hilarious. I also am in love with Ricky Gervais from The Office. I do not like the US version of The Office, although I do like Steve Carrell. But, the BBC Office is the best.
64. I miss Alias. The first three seasons were A-Mazing. But, good Lord, season 4 was a beating, and then to even continue with season 5... I don't even have words for that debacle.
65. I went to Australia for 10 days when I was 20. It was gorgeous, and that's another place I would live in a heartbeat.
66. I lived in Scotland with Niles for 3 months in 2004. They think it's weird to wear white socks. They say the words, "wee", "a bit", and "as well" quite a lot. I loved it. But I wouldn't live there. Although, the fish and chips are pretty dang incredible... and I'm not much a fish-eater, so that is saying a lot.
67. They say that your first year of marriage is the hardest. I would disagree. Ours was the second year. =)
68. I am a candy fiend. I love Sour Patch Kids and Watermelons... Nerds on a Rope, nerds, skittles, butterfingers... hot tamales... the sweet, fruity, sour, chewy stuff is my favorite. Put me in one of those stores where you grab a bag and start stuffing, and I can rack up quite a bill.
69. I love sauces. When I worked at restaurants, everyone used to make fun of me, because I would have this single plate of food, surrounded by ramekins of all different sauces. My favorite at CHilis was the Awesome Blossom sauce. My favorite at Rockfish was the champagne butter sauce. And here's my one complaint about ranch dressing. IT's only good if you get it at a restaurant. The store brands always suck.
70. When Tarrah and I were roommates, we decorated our dorm room on Halloween. We bought those cheap glass ornaments from Wal-mart and hung them from our ceiling. It was really not a good idea, because we would come back from class, and there would be broken ornaments on our floor that dropped out of the ceiling.
71. The first time I ever got drunk was in my dorm room at JBU at 7 o'clock at night. We got "hooked up" in the parking lot of Mayfield dorm, and snuck in a bottle of Absolut in our backpacks. We just proceeded to mix it with whatever we happened to have in our room. Including... hot chocolate. Oh yes, I was determined. If I remember right, Stacey Hilyard even came into our room at one point, and I was so proud of myself for acting "normal".
72. I love the Muppets. Muppet Christmas Carol is one of my favorite movies of all time. And I love the Great Muppet Caper.
73. . I am a list-making-addict. In fact, each time I try to buy a new journal, Niles asks me if I am actually going to write in it, or if I'm just going to make a bunch of lists. I usually just end up making lists, and calculating my bills over and over
74. I have a cousin, Holland, who is close to my age, and we've always been good friends. One year, when I was probably 12, I wrote this in my diary:: "Holland is driving my CRAZY! She is always following me around. I think if I stopped really fast, she would run into me. People always say you should be flattered when someone copies you, but frankly, it is just getting on my nerves!" bless her 9 year old heart.
75. In another equally-interesting diary of my fifth-grade year, I decided I was going to "sign off" with a different saying every day. Like, "Love, Lindsay" or "C-YA, Lindsay"... One day I decided to be super-creative, and I wrote "COWABUNGA, Lindsay"
76. Once, me and Tarrah sat in my driveway, and played "Ice, Ice, Baby" over and over so we could learn all the words. We were at least 18 years old.
77. I was a cheerleader in 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, and 12th grade, and then for a year and a half at JBU. My high school squad was 100 times better than our college squad, but I didn't care. Cheering for basketball games and tumbling across the floor was my favorite part. By tumbling, I actually mean flipping, etc. Not tumbling like falling. Although...
78. One of my most embarrassing moments of my life happened when I was a cheerleader at JBU. We had to cheer at the girls' basketball games, which wasn't necessarily fun or crowded (thank GOD), but the guys' team would always be there to watch. So at one game, the ball rolled out of bounds, right towards me. So, of course, I pick it up, and try to toss it back to the ref, but it ends up SOMEHOW, hitting the bars that connect the backboard to the wall, and hitting the anxiously-awaiting basketball player on the head... THEN, to make it worse, it proceeds to roll across the floor away from me. Instead of just letting it go and letting someone else take it, I, obviously shocked and brain-dead due to mortification, RUN AFTER IT. IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. THE GAME WAS STOPPED, WAITING FOR ME TO GET THE BALL AND GIVE IT BACK TO THE REF. Seriously. I'm horrified just sitting here writing that out.
79. When I was in elementary school, and up until 8th grade, I always had an end-of-the-year sleepover at my house on the last day of school. There would always be about 11 or 12 girls over, and we would all end up fighting, and splitting up all over the house to get away from each other. I'm sure my parents always loved that event, but they never said no to it!
80. When I turned 16, my dad bought me an '86 BMW 325 M3. It was an adorable car, but I got SO much flack about it. People always called me a spoiled, daddy's girl. That's when I decided that no matter what, I was going to learn how to work hard, make my own money, and one day I would pay all my own bills.
81. I love paying bills. I feel so in control, and responsible when I write a check for a bill, and I put it in the mail, and have that secure feeling that I just did a really good thing for myself.
82. I had a very serious eating disorder for eight plus years... I spent 2 weeks in an inpatient hospital, followed by two months of outpatient treatment, and then two years later, went to Mercy Ministries of America for exactly 6 months. Nothing really helped... and to this day, I wish I had the truly effective words to say to girls who are struggling with those issues.
83. I really like to cook, but it never fails that I haven't read the instructions correctly, and either we end up having to wait 8 hours for something to marinate, or Niles has to go back to the store at least once.
84. I love U2, and I love the CD, Achtung Baby. But I HATE the title of that CD, because I hate saying the word, Achtung.
85. I watch the Oscars every year. In fact, it's a big deal for me, and I can be extremely protective of those 4 hours. I want to start by watching the red carpet, while eating guacamole and tortilla chips, and I will happily critique every person that walks that red carpet, and I will not feel bad about it.
86. In 1999, I left college, where I was completely miserable, and moved to Houston, to be near my boyfriend at the time. Once there, I got my first waiting tables job, and made a bunch of bar-hopping, crazy-fun friends... and then realized that mostly, I didn't need to move closer to my boyfriend, I just needed to get out of my parents' house! I barely spent any time with my boyfriend anymore... just the girls. And we had a blast.
87. I'm pretty bad at keeping in touch, mostly because I hate the phone so much... So, I've kind of lost touch with all my Houston girls. But they were some of the best friends I ever had. And I do miss them, even if it's my fault we don't talk anymore.
88. I used to be a smoker. For almost 5 years off and on!! That's hard to believe now, but man, I loved it. I'm so glad that Niles hated it so much, because it made it much harder to enjoy once we got married. =)
89. I, like most other Gen-Xers, was obsessed with 90210. When Dylan and Brenda broke up, I CRIED!!! Like, SERIOUSLY cried.
90. I also loved New Kids on the Block, or NKOTB for those in the know, and Debbie Gibson. I went to concerts for both. New Kids' Christmas concert, and DG's Electric Youth concert at Starplex. I also went and waited outside the New Kids' hotel and tried to see them, with my friend Amber. =)
91. I love macaroni and cheese. I could eat boxes. Besides pizza, and squishy fries, it's probably my favorite food. I don't ever eat it though. The whole "carbs are bad" revolution really rained on my parade.
92. I was born in Orange, California, in 1977. My parents were born and raised in California. My mom was in Northern Cal, around Santa Rosa, and my dad's family moved all over. But his parents landed in Newport Beach, before they finally moved to DFW when I was in high school. They had the best house in Newport Beach, and I miss it so much. We went there at least once or twice a year.
93. When I was in third grade, I really wanted to wear lipstick, so I went into the bathroom and colored my lips with red Crayola marker. I got in trouble.
94. I used to speak in "spanish" to one brother to try to alienate the other brother that I was mad at.
95. Once me, my brothers, and my cousin Holland put on a play for my grandma. It was a play that I made up for us, and it was all in "spanish". And she totally sat through the whole thing, bless her heart. Why I always wanted to speak fake spanish, I have no idea.
96. I used to always make up plays or talent shows for me and my brothers, (who we always called "the boys" my entire life) and I would make them rehearse all day, and by the time we were supposed to do our show, they would never want to do it, and I would get really mad. My mom said she always hated it when I would come and tell her that we had a play to do for her. She knew it would always be a drama.
97. When I was in 6th grade, my church was doing "Angels Aware", and me and my best friend, MElody, didn't have main parts... Somehow, they decided to actually write in main parts for the two of us, and we played the "new characters, MElody and Harmony". I think that her parents might have complained... They were pretty strong-willed and influential. It would not surprise me.
98. Me and MElody were inseparable from 3rd grade till she went to public school in 6th grade. She was the cool girl in class, and I never understood how we got to be such good friends... but we were! And, she even made me a sweatshirt with puff paint, that had a teddy bear, and said "best buddies" on the back. I still have it, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. She also was really good at trying to keep in touch with me through high school, and my parents even got a college graduation invitation from her. She went to Pepperdine! She was constantly "ahead of the curve" on everything. This sounds weird, but she was the first person I ever knew to say "random" in every other sentence. And that was probably 1991. I don't know why I didn't keep in touch, but I always regret it.
99. There are two things I always wanted to do with my life, but I was too scared and embarrassed, so I never ever even pursued them. When I was little, I would constantly read Vogue and any other fashion magazines my mom had, I would even cut out the models and look at the clothes all the time, and I would always draw clothes... I wanted to go to Parsons in NYC forever, but because I couldn't sew, I just gave up! And I was only MAYBE 13... plenty of time to learn to sew. The other thing I really wanted was to be a stage actress... I wanted to go to Broadway so badly. But I was terrified of the audition process. So, I scratched that, too. sheesh. I am going to remember those things when I'm raising Reese. DON'T QUIT!!!!
100. I was also terrified of riding in cars with people I didn't know well. The fear of awkward conversation was so horrible. So, for at least the two years before I went on my first date, I said no to every person who asked me out. And I can think of two people in particular that I was CRRRRazy for turning down.
101. Niles bought me two tickets to the U2 Elevation concert. April 2, I didn't take him. It's a long story, and you should NEVER listen to his version of it. B/c he's wrong. =)