Fill-in-the-Blank Fun.

I found this little fill-in-the-blank survey thing and thought I'd give it a whirl. 
The word whirl reminds me of swirl and that reminds me of ice cream. 
That would be a delicious snack to eat right about now.

I Love: myself. Well, besides myself, I love a lot of things.
Far too many to list here. List toppers are of course the F's of life:
family, friends, food, and farts. And I love my Daisy Mae, of course.

I Know: just about everything there is to know. Am I right or am I right?

I Feel: lucky. I am blessed with some very good girl friends.

I Eat: all. the. time.

I Worry: way too much.  Especially about things over which
I have absolutely no control.

I Make: not a lot of money. I'm a teacher. I'm not fussing though.
I didn't choose my job for the dollar bills. I'm just grateful to have a job
that I love and a source of income. Some people aren't so lucky.

I Laugh: Often. Laughing is the best.

I Crave: food. Always. Especially fried delicacies like fried dill pickles
and jalapeno poppers.

I Lose: everything but weight.

I Obsess: over details. When making plans, I like to know exactly
what is going on---what to wear, what I'm going to be doing, etc.
I also pay attention to details of people and places. I'm very "photographic" in my memory.

I Wish: masters degrees weren't required for teachers in the state of Kentucky.
Boo to furthering my education. I'd like to get it eventually--I just don't like the
time requirement and the burden of tuition expense.

I Buy: a lot of shoes and accessories. They are my weakness. I also buy WAY
too much on Teachers Pay Teachers. My goodness. It's become a bad addiction.

I Sell: drugs. Only kidding. Let's not freak out. There's no hope with dope.
Remember that, kids.
I don't sell a dern thing. I'm not crafty enough to make anything and sell it,
and well, I'm just not saleslady material. I've never liked asking people to
buy things from me/for me.

I Fantasize: you don't even want to know what I fantasize about.
That would probably be getting too personal for your likings.

I Never: leave the house without showering.  Ever. Greasy-headed
and makeup-less Sarah isn't a pretty sight. Just trust me on that one.

I Cook: anything that can be microwaved. I'm a mean microwaver.

I Sing: on a stage in front of thousands of my biggest fans. Wait...
that's not my life. I only sing in the shower and in the car.

I Borrow: ideas from other teachers all the time. That's the only way
to do it. Work smarter, not harder.

I Can't: believe how quickly the summer is flying by. It's already July!

I Want: a Canon Rebel. I just hate the price tag.

I Miss: the days of not having much responsibility. I had no idea how lucky
I had it during my high school and college days. Real Life is a lot more
complicated than I ever imagined.

I Listen: to Pandora radio all the time. Mainly the Incubus station
because it plays all of my favorite bands.

I Read: books that make me laugh. I love reading something funny and light.

I Stress: way too much about things that I shouldn't.
Things always work out in the end.

I Like: you. You all make me smile with your comments.
I just can't get enough of them.

I Always: twirl my straw wrapper around my finger when I'm at a restaurant.
It's just something I always do without even thinking about it.

I Fear: Big Bird. I also fear failure.

I Watch: The Golden Girls. Every single night.

I Believe: that I have a lot to be thankful for. I may not be where I thought
I'd be at this point in my life, but I'm happy and that's all that matters.

I Hope: one of these days I find a decent man...that has a job.
And ambitions. And doesn't cheat. Or lie. That would be nice.

Me On the Map!

I'm linking up with Michelle for Me on the Map. I love that I'm having a chance to share all about my hometown. Makes me feel proud to show off where I'm from. Link up to show off where you're from.

I live in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I was born here and have lived here all 27 (creepin' up on 28) of my years. I'm pretty proud of my little town. I love it so. I'll probably be living here until the day I die, and I'm totally okay with that. My family's roots have been firmly planted in Bowling Green for generations. I'm a pretty lucky girl in that all of my immediate and most of my extended family is in Bowling Green or in the surrounding communities.

Bowling Green has plenty to offer while still managing to maintain a small-town quality to it. It's a great place to raise a family. I-65 rolls right through us and we're just an hour north of Nashville if we need a big city fix. The city of Bowling Green has a population around 58,000 and our county's population is at almost 109,000. We're the 3rd largest city in Kentucky behind Lexington and Louisville.

What We're Known For

Bowling Green, BG for short, is the home of the Corvette. That's our claim to fame. Corvettes are made right here in the GM assembly plant. The public can schedule a tour of the plant, or if you've got some cash you want to spend, come buy a Corvette and you can take a special buyers tour.

The BG plant also used to make the Cadillac XLR's, but these are no longer in production.

You can also check out the National Corvette Museum. There's a lot to see and it's pretty neat seeing the history and evolution of the car. After you've worked up an appetite looking at Vettes, you can get some good eats at the Corvette Cafe diner.

The world headquarters of the clothing and underwear makers, Fruit of the Loom is in BG also. GM and Fruit are two big employers here.

The Lay of the Land
We are a very karst region. We're full of sinkholes, valleys, and caves. I've been working on a blog post about our caves and sinkholes, so more information on all that business will come in the future. I'm sure you'll be getting excited about that.

Besides the Corvette Plant and Museum, one of our other big tourist attractions is Lost River Cave and Valley. I seriously live a stone's throw from this cave. This is why I have so much fun wildlife frequent my backyard. If any of my blog friends ever come tour Lost River Cave, let me know and I'll walk across the road to meet ya. ;) For the bargain price of $15, you can take a 20 minute guided history walking tour and a 25 minute cave boat tour. You can also explore a Butterfly Habitat and Blue Hole trails. Lost River Cave is unique in the fact that there's not a lot of the cave to explore by foot. You have to take the boat tour to venture inside the cave.

Now, this cave isn't as impressive as Mammoth Cave of course, which is about 30 minutes up the interstate from us. However, Lost River Cave is worth checking out. Especially if you've never experienced a cave. I've been dozens of times and it's always a neat experience. My high school Prom's were held in this cave. I bet there aren't many of you that can say you had Prom down in a cave. Well, this girl did. The cave is available to be rented out for special events and wedding receptions as well. Our high school reunion planning committee tried to book it for our upcoming 10 year reunion, but it was already booked up for the next year. Bummer.

The Town and The Folk
Bowling Green has definitely built up a lot since I was little. We've added tons of new neighborhoods and developments. I can remember when one of our now busy main roads was basically farmland. Things sure have changed a lot. If you drove out in the county, you would see a lot of wide open spaces. Farms, cows, some horses, tobacco fields. All of the things that are typical sights in the country.

Bowling Green is a good mix. We've got things to do, many places to eat, shopping, and then we've got rolling hills and countryside. You can have your pick based on where you want to live within the county.
I went to a high school that was very normal in every way, but FFA (Future Farmers of America) was the most popular club and we had Drive Your Tractor to School Day and Muddy Truck Day. The best of both worlds. We've all got some country in us down deep. You've just gotta embrace it.

There are some pretty great and friendly people that live here. I mean, I'm here. That should be a good example of the greatness.

Famous BG Folk
My man, Mr. Duncan Hines was a Bowling Green man. Duncan sure knew his brownie and cake mix.
Each year there is a Duncan Hines festival here.

Horror movie director and producer, John Carpenter (famous for the movie Halloween) grew up here. No movie scenes were ever shot here, but if you watch any of his films, nearly all of the street names, community and facility names that he uses in his movies are taken from this area. For example, Michael Myers escaped from the Warren County-Smiths Grove Sanitarium.
You can take a driving tour where you can drive around to find the streets and locations that he mentions in his movies as well as see his childhood home.

WWF wrestler Hillbilly Jim resides in BG. I used to work with his daughter. Nice family.

Do we have any Nappy Roots fans in the blog house? Does anyone even know Nappy Roots? AwwNaw? Hell Naw?
Well, if you don't know them, they're a southern rap quintet that originated here in BG. Country style rap. Pretty fantastic.

Also, on the rise Cage the Elephant is from BG. I went to high school with these boys. I love that they always play on my favorite Pandora channel. That's pretty special stuff.

Oh yeah, Bowling Green was also well known for a famous brothel back in the day called Pauline's. It was in operation for nearly 40 years. The lady who ran the joint, Pauline, authored a book and appeared on the Johnny Carson show, I'm assuming to tell her tales about gettin' some tail. Scandal goin' on in the streets of BG.

Get Schooled
My alma mater, Western Kentucky University sits on top of a big 'ol hill in Bowling Green. We're the WKU Hilltoppers. See. Makes sense, doesn't it. Below are a couple of pictures that I took showing a view from The Hill.

I think Western's campus is beautiful. We may not have an abundance of parking lots, but we sure do have a lot of pretty buildings, nice landscaping, strange sculptures that our tuition has helped pay for, and even fun albino squirrel friends.

We also have a charming little downtown with some shops, businesses, restaurants, and a few night spots so you can get your drink on.

I could write about Bowling Green all the live long day. There's so much more to share, but, I'll leave the rest for you to discover when you come to visit me. I'll be your personal tour guide, eating companion, and shopping buddy. Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about where I live!

Later, buddies.

Things You Should Probably Know.

I love doing these posts with random thoughts from my brain. I've done a dozen of them and I'll continue to do them till the cows come home. Enjoy.

I'm addicted to chap stick, specifically Carmex. I've had to turn around and go back home before if I realize I forgot it. I'm a Carmex junkie. My lips will fall off if I'm not applying it on the regular.

Someone once asked me if I was turning 12 on my 16th b-day. I still don't like that lady.

I thought my dermatologist was hot the first time I went to him and noticeably scoped out his left hand for a ring. I failed at my attempt to be sly about it. He knew what I was doing. Pretty sure it made him a little uncomfortable. Oh well.
Okay, so if I'm really being honest, it wasn't so much that I thought he was hot. He was just okay looking. The fact that he had a rockstar office that looked more like a spa inside made me think, "Hmm. This guy must also have an awesome house with no expense spared on fabulous upgrades. Maybe I could date him. Then maybe he'll give me free laser treatments in his spa-like office."
By the way. He had a ring. Guess some other lady is getting those free laser treatments and living in his nice house.

I wear my school hoodie way too much. Way. Too. Much. It's become my "go to" outfit. To break it down, I look like a bum all the time. Guess what I wore today? You guessed it friends.

El Caminos are the fugliest things ever made. Are you a car or a truck? You can't be both. If you drive one, I'm sorry that I hate your car. If we ever hung out, I'd have to drive us around in my ride.
There are still several El Caminos keepin' the roads hot in my town. One El Camino owner lives close to me and I see his ride everyday. Highlight of my day.

Here I am behind the El Camino perpetrator. Don't worry. I was a nice soul and used the 'blemish tool' to cover his license plate number.

I've turned down second dates because I didn't like a dude's car. I'm aware this is shallow. I'm also aware that I'm still single. If someone came to pick me up in an El Camino there wouldn't even be a first date.

I bet my hair is thinner than yours. This is one contest I am sure to win. All of my hair will fit into one of these baby clips (the extra small one, pictured below) Not just part of my hair. Not half of it. ALL of it. I have baby fine hair. It's ridiculous.

When snow is shimmering in the sunlight it looks like glitter. It makes me happy and wish that the world would have glitter on the ground at all times. Not snow glitter that makes roads slick and treacherous but beautiful glitter like the sparkly tile in Forever21 stores. That would be beautiful.

Speaking of glitter, I found a few random glitter flecks in my refrigerator today. I'm not complaining about it by any means; it adds beauty to the fridge. I just can't figure out how it got in there. So mysterious.

My dog snores louder than most men probably do. It's ridiculous.

I hate mail. I hate checking it. I hate opening it. I'm trying to go paperless on all of my bills. I pretty much pay everything online anyway. Mail used to make me happy when I was young because it meant something fun like birthday money. Now it makes me angry because it just means grown up stuff and someone is wanting to take my money.

There we have it. For now.

Sometimes I like to smell manly.

I really like men's shower gel.  I think it smells so good.  Better and cleaner and manlier than women's.  Is it bad that I use it sometimes?

Secrets are fine. Here's a few of mine.

• Sometimes I like to incorrectly type in my password on my MacBook or the Mac I work on at school.  It's fun because the computer kind of shakes the password box, like it's shaking its little computer head at you when you type it in wrong.  To me it's fun. To you it probably sounds stupid.  Glad we see eye to eye.
• Britney Spears "Break the Ice" is one of my favorite songs.  It's definitely in my Top 25 Most Played on my iPod.
• Peonies are my favorite flower.  I was planning on carrying a beautiful bouquet of hot and light pink peonies for that wedding that I planned that never happened.  Sure glad I realized that I don't need no stinkin' wedding to get peonies.  That's what my Momma's yard is for.  That's definitely a word to yo Momma.
• I once referred to a hotdog as tasting like 'leprechaun laughter and sunshine'.  It had onions and mustard on it.  I'm thinking the onions must have been the leprechaun laughter.  It only makes sense that the mustard was the sunshine.  See.  It makes sense.  
• I think Lake Titicaca is the coolest lake name ever.  Wish I'd thought of it.
• I'm about to reveal a bit of valuable information.  It's fresh on my brain because I just used sour cream to make corn pudding.  I learned this little lesson several months ago from the lid of a container of Daisy sour cream.  I only buy Daisy, by the way.  Not just because it's the name of my most excellent dog, but because it's the most excellent sour cream.  Daisy always has nice little inspirational tidbits on the foil seal of the container.  The most helpful little piece of advice I received from a Daisy container was, surprisingly, a sour cream tip.  I hate when sour cream collects what I call the 'sour cream juice' all on top of your leftover sour cream.  Yucky grossness.  Well, to avoid that little mess of liquid from occurring, all ya gots to do is take a spoon and smooth the sour cream in the container into a nice even layer.  Much like you're spreading icing on a cake.  Mmm.  Cake.  Seriously though.  You've got to start doing this with your remaining sour cream.  You'll be amazed and your life of sour cream usage will forever be changed.  No more sour cream juice!  It's a miracle!  Those Daisy Sour Cream makers are genius.  Pure. Genius.  I've shared this tidbit with my parents and I'm pretty sure no longer having sour cream juice has changed their life. Pretty sure.
• I'm about ready to punch Insight Communications, the whole company, in its face.  I have to reset my router around 4 times per night.  It's taken me forever to try to write this blog because I keep losing internet connection.  I've already done 4 'power down, power ups' tonight and the night is still young for Sarah Marcum.  I could set a record tonight for more than 4.  Glad to know my $90 bucks a month gets me such rockstar service.  Down with lousy cable service!
• My dog likes to lick carpets.  Get your mind out of the gutter.  No nasty thoughts about my dog!  Daisy licks the literal carpet in my living room for hours.  Hours.  It's weird.  She's weird.  If she were a child, she'd probably have an IEP.  
• I love banana peppers so much.  They've easily become one of my favorite evening snacks.  Yummers to my tummers.

Now it's your turn.  Tell me a secret.  I tell you all lots of stupid stuff.  Don't be 'shareless' as one of my students says.  Really I just want comments.  Comment away, dear children.

Randoms

• It's weird when a server or cashier that is noticeably younger than me calls me "hun".  I don't like it.
• Today one of my students told me that coloring with crayons was lame.  He wanted to color with markers.  I told him he could go find out how lame timeout would be if he wanted to whine about it. Yeah.  He ended up in timeout.
• I opened a 12 pack of RC.  Don't judge me.  Kroger had a sale on RC products (4 for $10).  Too good to pass up.  I was putting the cans in my fridge and noticed that one of the cans had a gold top. What was this rare little jewel doing in with the other normal looking cans?  Immediately I said, "What did I win!?!"  Hmm.  What would the prize be?  I bet something good.  A pontoon boat?  A case of Moon Pies?  Beech Bend tickets?  I searched the box for a contest to see what awesome prize I won, but saw nothing.  You best believe I'm going to Google search to find out.  If I win a million dollars for my gold top RC can, I'll send you a postcard from Australia.
• I hate Cool Ranch Doritos so much.  I used to love them.  Until I got sick off them in college.  Cool Ranch Doritos and some Frito Lay cheese dip from the Jr. Foods to be exact.  That was the 'dinner' my boyfriend I had at the time and I had one night when I got out of night class.  The dairy in the dip triggered some righteous stomach bug and I was the sickest of the sick.  I still can't decide between that virus and mono which was worse.  They were both pretty bad.  I associate Cool Ranch Doritos with being sick.  I can't look at a bag or smell the nasty things without feeling nauseous.
• I can tell I'm getting older and nerdier just based on the tv channels I'm now watching the majority of the time.  So long, MTV.  Hello to A&E, Travel Channel, History Channel, and Animal Planet.  My favorite shows of the moment are Hoarders, Billy the Exterminator, Ghost Adventures, Pawn Stars, and The Haunted.
• My dog is scared of her own farts.
• Mr. Sketch markers are delightful.  The turquoise one smells so delicious it makes me wanna shout.
• I want to ride on a train so bad.
• I don't like to text in short form.  I just can't hardly do it.
• I overheard a lady at Pizza Hut tell her kids, "You can't eat your jackets with your pizza on".  I think it's hilarious when people mix up words like that.  I don't feel bad laughing because I do it frequently.

Oprah has her list of favorite things, so I can too

These are a few of my favorite things...

Smells- skunks, Daisy's paws (they smell like corn chips), the smell of the car a/c first coming on, coffee, the inside of Riley's Bakery, a new car, men, clean clothes, tea bags, matches, plastic (new toys opened from a package), gas fumes--Yeah, so I like some pretty strange smells...

Sounds- kid's laughter, rain, other people's conversations, Daisy's grunts

Non-Alcoholic Drink- Sweet Tea, Big Red, Coke, and Cherry Dr. Pepper

Alcoholic Drink- French Martini and Cape Cods

Things to do- Google, Blog, read, drive at night and listen to music (especially on Sunday nights to Back in the Day Sundays), snuggle with Daisy, clean, eat, make lists, write

Books- I am currently loving Laurie Notaro's books. I am on her 3rd book. Hilarious. I love children's books too.

Radio Station- 107.5 The River

Childhood Shows- Jem, G.I. Joe, TMNT, Care Bears, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Today's Special, Gummi Bears, Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street, Flintstone Kids, Fraggle Rock, Jetsons, Inspector Gadget, Punky Brewster, Lady Lovely Locks and the Pixietails, Moon Dreamers, The Noozles, Pound Puppies, Popples, Pinwheel, Muppet Babies, David the Gnome, Hugga Bunch, Zoobilee Zoo, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Transformers, Smurfs, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Salute Your Shorts, You Can't Do That on Television, Hey Dude, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Doug, American Gladiators, Dumbo's Circus
*Can you tell I didn't watch much TV as a child?

TV Shows- The Office, Nip/Tuck, Golden Girls, Will & Grace, Jimmy Kimmel, The Hills, Samantha Who

Movies- The Breakfast Club, The Holiday, Napoleon Dynamite, Transformers, A Goofy Movie, Bring It On: All or Nothing, She's Too Young, The Sweetest Thing

Favorite TV Channels: Lifetime, HGTV, TLC, Discovery, Travel

Hand Soap- method Peppermint Vanilla

Shampoo- Bath & Body Works Tranquil Mint Volumizing Shampoo and Sunsilk products (I love the sayings on the bottles, like:"Blonde hair as dull as a virgin...daiquiri?")

Toothpaste-Crest Cavity Protection Regular Paste

Makeup- Bare Escentuals

Deodorant- Dove (Powder scent)

Lotion- Johnson's Creamy Baby Oil

Cleaning Product- Magic Erasers (Whoever invented these suckers--Kiss your brain!), Orange Oil is pretty great too

Number- 4

Colors- pink and black

Animals- koalas and river otters

Dog Breed- Pembroke Welsh Corgi (my Daisy Mae, of course)

City- Chicago

Trip- Wyoming. Wyoming was BEAUTIFUL and full of great memories, and I learned a lot about myself during this 13 day trip. It was right after my senior year of high school. I met a lot of great people who helped to push me out of my comfort zone. Las Vegas was an awesome trip too. Actually, I have enjoyed all of my trips. I'm always fortunate for the times that I get to travel. It seems to be so few and far between now-a-days!

Food- Mexican

Fast Food- Chick-fil-A, Zaxby's, Culvers, Linzie's, Griffs

Restaurants- Garcia's, Cheddars, Montana Grille, Longhorn, Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse

Sweet Stuff- I love Pie! Chocolate Meringue and Pumpkin are my favorites. I also love ice cream, Riley's tea cookies, cheesecake, and caramel apples

Vegetables- asparagus, potatoes, broccoli, french-cut green beans

Fruits- apples and pineapple
Condiment- mustard

Candy- Love anything chocolate, but my faves are: Reese's, Mounds, Caramello

Celebrity Men- Johnny Depp, Paul Walker, Jimmy Kimmel, David Beckham, John Krasinski, Jason Lewis, Jack Black

Holiday- Hands-down Thanksgiving--for the food. My Birthday, Christmas and Easter are all tied for second place.

Life's Little Annoyances Through Sarah's Eyes

1. Incorrect usage of "your" and "you're". This one really bugs me. People on facebook are blowing this one up ALL the time. Really people? How can you not know the difference!!

The following was actually lifted from a wall on facebook. This is REAL, people!

"So you know your the best boyfrend and best friend in the world! People search there whole life to have someone like you in there lifes! Your everything to me babe! =)"

Yeah, that one just about put me over the edge. Never mind the fact that it's about the cheesiest thing I've ever read. This person jacked up all kinds of stuff. I had to call Adam to discuss it with him only to find out that he had just discussed the very same wall post with another friend a little earlier.

2. You sit behind a moron at the movie theater that insists on commenting/asking questions about EVERYTHING going on in the movie. Okay. Going to a movie is expensive. It's up to $9.00. If I pay $9.00 I want to be able to hear the movie and I don't need to hear your blow-by-blow reviews of it. I'm just sayin'.


3. People who block the whole aisle with their shopping cart. In the words of my Golden Girl Sophia Patrillo--"Picture it"--you're at Wal-Mart (don't even get me started about the many annoyances at that place). You're in the aisle and need to break on through to the other side. Can you? No, because home girl won't move her cart out of the way and let you through. She seems to be oblivious that you are standing directly behind her--huffing and puffing--ready to blow her and her huge cart full of crap down. Just move out the way!

4. People who steal your ideas or steal the phrase that just came out of your mouth, then re-say it to claim it as their own. Yeah, this doesn't really need any further explanation, but this really bothers me. A lot. A WHOLE lot. Are you getting that this bothers me? I know the old saying goes, "Imitation is the sincerest flattery." I guess so, but probably not.


5. Men who say they will call...then don't. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.


6. Bicylists that ride on the street instead of the sidewalk. I just don't understand. Sidewalks are there for a reason. If you are taking a walk, rollin' on your board or blades, riding a bike, whatever...use a sidewalk if it's there. I get super aggrivated getting behind someone on a bike while trying to drive. Cars rule the road!

7. Overuse of the word "surreal". Bachelor/Bachelorette anyone? I've decided that I am going to keep a "surreal" tally during the next season of the Bachelor. It is ridiculous how much it is overused. Just ridiculous. Please. Nothing about their feelings on that show is "surreal".


8. The fact that Hobby Lobby begins putting out Christmas merchandise in June. I love Christmas AND Hobby Lobby with all of my heartstrings, but do we really have to start decking the halls in June? Do we?


9. Wanting to sleep when you can't. Insomnia is awesome.

10. When the custodian doesn't put my classroom trashcan back in the right place. This might seem like a silly thing to get annoyed about, but it bothers me. A lot. See, I am a freak. I have just a touch of OCD. Yeah, just a touch. If you move something of mine, just put it back in its rightful place. Just do it.


11. Toilet paper rolls put that are put on backward. Toilet paper should always roll down the front. Never should it roll down from the back. My world is rocked if I see it this way. TP etiquette requires ALWAYS unrolling from the top forwards. That's why hotels do it the "right" way and then make a little neat triangular fold to let you know you have a fresh roll to use. You gots to be fresh.

12. When you go to a store to buy new clothes and the cashier wads them up and throws them in the bag. See, for people like me that don't have an iron or a working dryer for that matter, this is a big problem. When I get something new, I usually want to wear it ASAP. That's not possible if it's all wadded up, now is it, Mr. or Mrs. Cashier?

13. Kiosk men in the mall. Specifically the kiosk in front of NY & Co. You are annoying and you need to stop. Get out of my face. I do not want to buy your face scrub from the Dead Sea. Leave me alone.

14. When your pen not working. It's just annoying to be right in the middle of writing something and to run out of ink.

15. A frozen computer. Computers are great when they work, but can cause screaming fits when they don't.

16. Price stickers. I will never figure out why price stickers are put directly on glass or mirrors. They rarely peel off successfully without leavy sticky gunk. It is very hard to get off. I hate it. I hate it a lot.

17. Soliciters that come to my house and invade my privacy. If you ring my doorbell, I probably will not answer the door if I am not expecting you. I will hide in my spare bedroom and peep out the blinds until you have left my property.

18. People that are obsessed with texting/playing on their cell phone. I get that we live in an age of technology. No one can be without their cell phone or internet access. I get it. I really do. I can't imagine living without internet either. However, sometimes it's nice to loose touch for a minute and get away from it all, especially when you are out with real, breathing people. I'm not saying no texting at all...I return a text if I receive a message or if I need to contact someone else for something, but to just "play" on your phone or have a lengthy conversation with someone else is just kind of rude.

19. How I can't quite get my kitchen sink totally clean. I need to find a really miniature brush. A tooth brush doesn't cut it. I am forever trying to clean down in my sink (the area right above the drain). Also, I have a hard time getting rid of the hard-water stains. It drives me crazy.

20. Driving annoyances: People who drive under the speed limit. People who don't use turn signals. People who brake sporadically. People who stop when entering the BG mall--you have the right-of-way! People that brake so hard they nosedive their car (this is actually pretty hilarious to see). People that have no intention of turning, but are driving with their turn signal on.

21. My living room rug. My rug has a bump in it: think speed bump that runs the width of the rug. I can't straighten it out and it drives me crazy. I have tried to tape the underside of the rug with carpet tape, but it only worked temporarily. I even purchased a heavier coffee table thinking that would flatten it out. No. It didn't. It is a tripping hazard to visitors that come to my house. I like the rug but HATE the bump.

So, I've been compiling this list for awhile now (original blog date was July 7th). I will add more as needed. I basically just have to live them out until I encounter something that is one of my "this always annoys me things". This morning when I was cleaning my house, I thought of like 4 more while I was cleaning, but didn't go blog about them immediately, so they left my brain. Sad.

Because 25 Just Wasn't Enough...

More random facts about...drumroll please…ME!

1. I hate for my toenails to be unpolished. Toenails need to be polished year round. Period. Now as picky as I am about my toenails, you'd think I'd have the same mindset about my fingernails, but no. My fingernails look like a gangly nightmare, and really, I couldn't care less. So there.

2.I want to hold a koala in my arms. BADLY. Like, more than anything in the world. Yes, yes, I know koalas are little brats, but who cares. I’m a brat too. Me and my little Koala Lou will love each other…more than anything. Koalas look so darn cuddly and I want this experience in my life! I know I mentioned this in the last random facts, but I’m just gonna have to say it again. It’s my dream to go to Australia. I have my passport and I'm ready to go! The problem is I need some serious travel funds and a travel mate. If you will promise to go to Australia with me; I will promise to love you forever. The end.

3.Speaking of brats…People that know me know I’m a brat. I’m proud to admit that I am a brat. I know this about myself. My motto that I like to live by is: “Brats always get their way.” And they do. Most of the time.

4.I’m really not good at returning phone calls or emails. Talking on the phone and calling people I barely know or don’t know at all makes me nervous and really intimidates me. Now, about the email: Emails don’t intimidate me or make me nervous, no, it’s nothing like that. The fact that I’m not good about sending emails is because my email inbox is usually stuffed to the gills and I don’t have the capacity to send one out. Yeah, I hate deleting emails. I don’t know. Weirdo.

5.I hate wearing pantyhose. They are from the devil. That is all.

6.I love Hollywood gossip and trashy gossip magazines. I try not to make eye contact with these magazines when in line at the grocery store because I will want to buy them. All of them.

7.I used to have an outie belly button and hated it. I now have an innie after my surgery a couple of years ago. I didn’t know my necessary exploratory surgery would double as a bonus cosmetic belly button reconstruction surgery. Thanks for fixing it up right, Dr. D!

8.I’m terrified of starting on my Masters degree because I am such a procrastinator when it comes to school work. I’m procrastinator #1. When I go; I go all out. That's the way to live life, right?

9.I have never broken a bone, but I did have a pretty bad head injury when I was younger. I guess you could say I’ve dented/cracked my skull. Think about the corner of a brick building where two walls meet. The corners of the bricks are super sharp, right? Well, let me just tell you that they are. I fell back and busted my head into one of those corners hince the dented/cracked skull. This will sound bizarre, but I’d be interested to see my head shaved to see if the back of my head possibly looks funny. I feel like it would have a large dent or something, much like a valley. It’s probably for the best that I just don’t know. Let's hope I keep my hair. Always.

10. Apple slices and peanut butter makes for one of the best snacks ever. I also have a new found love for Hot Pepper cheese. It’s gooood.

11. I love doing little projects/things around the house like trying to repair something, decorating, scrapbooking, various craft projects. My trouble is in finishing these little projects. The procrastination and ADD combination starts kicking in and I’m left with several little un-finished projects.

12. My biggest fear is the thought of my house catching on fire. I don’t know why I’m so scared that this could happen.

13. I tend to think the best of people and put a lot of faith in what is said to me. Don’t make a promise or tell me that you’re going to do something and then not. That is a BIG pet peeve of mine. I hate when people “flake out” or don’t hold up and follow through to plans that have already been made. If we make plans, stick to them unless you have a good reason for bailing.

14. I love to watch HGTV and TLC. Any home show is fine with me! I also love LifeTime. It’s the Television for Women, you know. LifeTime movies are the best.

15. If I could pick any car to drive it would be a BMW or a Range Rover. Nah, I don't want much.

16. I think I’m a pretty creative girl. I have visions of some pretty spectacular things inside this great head of mine. My problem is not having a way to get them out. I can’t draw and can’t always explain my ‘visions’ well to others. Maybe it's that others don't want to understand my visions. Hmm. That is something for me to ponder.

17. I love shiny and sparkling things. Don’t even put rhinestones on something because I will throw it in my cart and buy it in a second. I am a sucker for packaging and for the way merchandise “looks”. Any shiny, metallic, or glittery box, bottle, bag, etc. totally appeals to me. I will be all over it.

18. One of my favorite things to do on Sunday is to look at sales circulars. I love being in the know about all the fantastic deals featured in the stores each week. The Target circular is my fave.

19. I love Easter. Each year my love for Easter grows and grows.

20. I hate the word panties.

25 Random Facts About Me

This was a note that I posted on my facebook profile. I thought I’d post it on here as I feel it gives a pretty good insight to the world that is me.

1. I enjoy talking and tend to be long-winded, so just prepare yourself and understand that some of my “random things” have some lengthy explanations. Enjoy!
2. I have a love-hate relationship with milk. You will never, ever catch me drinking milk. The taste of milk disgusts me. If you want to watch me gag, just throw down an icy cold glass of milk in my presence. I hate when people eat a cookie or a piece of cake and then say, “You know what would be so good right now?” I cringe because I know what is coming. I nervously reply, “What’s that?” They proceed to answer, “A big glass of milk.” This is the point that you will regret saying that because you now have my vomit all over you. Those that know me well know how revolting I think milk is and know to never drink it in front of me or even joke about offering me any. I also hate the smell of milk. I cringe when one of my students ask me to open a milk carton. This is usually why I drop my students off and retreat from the cafeteria as quickly as possible to avoid this happening. If milk makes contact with my skin, I want to cry because the smell seems to linger. Maybe the smell is so noticeable to me because I’m so aware of its stench.Now here is the love part of the relationship: I LOVE dairy products. Ice cream, cheeses of all kinds, yogurt, sour cream, and cream cheese…these things are just heavenly. Yeah, I can’t figure it out either…it is bizarre.
3. I have a seed phobia. The most disgusting seed-filled food in all of the land is the strawberry. I have tried to make myself eat a strawberry several different times during my life. Each time has had the same end result. I nibble one little bite, gag, and almost throw up. I do not eat any type of berry, tomato slices, cucumbers, watermelon…anything that is in contact with seeds. Now I probably seem like a really picky eater to you, but I promise I’m not. Milk and seedy foods are pretty much the extent of my pickiness, even though those are both very common, well-liked foods by the majority of the population.
4. I have a very bad nail-biting/finger chewing habit. Wow- after typing that it sounds even worse to me. I have done this for as long as I can remember. I HATE that I have this habit. I have had many failed attempts to break this habit. Even the cactus flavored nail drops didn’t work.
5. This one is no surprise, but I love my dog Daisy as if she were a child that I birthed.
6. I am a strong-willed, stubborn, independent woman. Sometimes I may be a bit too much so for my own good.
7. Some of my favorite words are: compilation, creature, maniac, moron. When these words are used in sentences, they crack me up. Oddly they all begin with the letters c and m. I just realized this.
8. I have insomnia. No, seriously. Not being able to sleep when you want to really is a miserable feeling, but I do enjoy the night time. I have always been a night owl. I feel like I am most productive at night. If I wasn’t a teacher I could always work 3rd shift at a factory.
9. I am very much a planner and list maker. I like to know details about everything. When going somewhere I want to know who is going to be there, what I am going to be doing, what I should wear, what everyone else will be wearing, etc, etc. I guess we could call that worrying too. I live by a list and keep a calendar constantly in my purse. I have gotten better with the list making and calendar keeping though. I was far worse in high school. If you want some good laughs take a look at my old agendas from high school, which I still have, of course. I used to write down everything!
10. I actually enjoy cleaning. I like for things to be orderly and organized. Well, everything but my garage. I just don’t really care how it looks.
11. I have white hairs sprouting from my head at an alarmingly fast rate. I never noticed a white hair on my head until last school year. I give all the credit for each little white hair to a little boy that almost gave me a nervous breakdown last year. Thanks L.G. Thanks a lot. Each day when I look in the mirror, these white hairs shine the brightest and I am able to fondly remember this child…Promise me that you will still be my friend and not make fun of me too much if I am completely white-headed by age 27, which I fear, I will be.
12. I don’t handle stress well (again, reason for my multiplying white hairs). Throughout my life when I have gone to the doctor for random issues, I always hear the same thing…”It’s due to too much stress.” Stress has contributed to some pretty bizarre things for me. I know Alison will testify to this.
13. I am super jumpy and startle very easily. Please don’t ever try to jump out and scare me on purpose. I am being nice by warning you. You will regret scaring me when I blow out your eardrums from screaming so loudly.
14. I have super-sensitive skin. There have been times when I have been lightly touched by another person and the outline of their handprint was left on my skin. I whelp up and break out easily.
15. I had a bad experience when getting my wisdom teeth cut out. I ended up having 6 wisdom teeth, and one is still up in my jaw because it was so high up that my sinus cavity was cut open when the doctor tried to extract it. The healing process was a fun one.
16. I don’t hide emotions very well…I wear them on my face. It’s my truth factor. If I am mad, you will be able to tell. If I don’t like something, you will be able to tell. I guess if looks could kill…
17. I was once in a car that was on fire. The under-carriage was in flames and the car was close to exploding. The firemen said that it was the hottest car fire they had put out that did not end in an explosion. That was definitely the scariest yet most miraculous moment of my life. I firmly believe that God sent a guardian angel to save us that day.
18. If I could travel anywhere in the world it would be Australia. I am determined to make it there one day! I have had my trip to Australia planned since I was in elementary school. I sent off for an information packet in 6th grade and still have an Australia bumper sticker that was sent in the packet.
19. One of my biggest goals for myself is to submit a manuscript and get published. I would absolutely love to be the author of a children’s book. I love to write. I think the fear of rejection is holding me back. I appreciate and can accept criticism, but my writing is so personal to me that it would be a big blow. I’m afraid I would give up easily once rejected. Yes, I know that even best-selling authors get rejected over and over.
20. My brother, Adam is one of the funniest people I know. Actually, I like to think that we’re both pretty funny people. We both share a true appreciation for all things humorous, even if they are only funny to us. Our favorite conversation topic is bathroom humor and all things relative to turds. Sorry if I just offended anyone, but surely you find a little bit of humor in those things as well.
21. For some reason I am able to easily attract the eyes of male Mexican restaurant servers. My old pal Alejandro was ready to make me his wife.
22. I hate that I try to be a perfectionist. It is exhausting to feel that I always need to try to do everything “right” and “the best”. I am WAY too anal, controlling, and OCD for my own good. I am also very competitive. Not necessarily with sports…everyone knows that I am no athlete (shut up Adam). If Adam gets the chance, he would love to tell you my 5th grade basketball story. This is why I don’t play sports. I can admit that I am no good at them and know I will not be the best, so what’s the point?
23. I only hope that I can have as much spunk and energy as Sophia, Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche when I am older. I absolutely love The Golden Girls. On any night during the week, yes, during the school year, I am up watching the shows on Lifetime from midnight until around 1:30. I own all of the seasons on DVD, but it’s just more fun watching them on Lifetime. I have insomnia, remember? I have to do something during the times I can’t go to sleep.
24. When it comes to cake mix, brownie mix, and cookie mix, Mr. Duncan Hines is my man. I have to support a BG man! However, my favorite cake mix is Pillsbury’s Funfetti mix. Pair that with Mrs. Betty Crocker’s Party Chip icing…it is a dangerous combination. I know that Adam, Natalie, Ashley, and Melody also share the Funfetti love with me. So anytime you want to whip up a cake or cupcakes for me, now you know what kind I like!
25. I don’t think that I am good with relationships of any kind whether it be dating, friendships, whatever. I think I’ve just been burned too many times that I’m afraid to commit to others and I have a trust issue. I am awkward and shy when I first meet a guy that I am interested in and am terrified at the thought of first dates. I’ve had my heart broken; no, make that smashed, and I don’t have much faith/confidence in finding another guy that won’t do the same thing to me again. I know there is one out there though, so I have no worries. I am really okay with the single life. I have LOVED having this time to myself to get to know myself better. Okay, really I’m just holding out for John Krasinski. If he doesn’t work out, Paul Walker is my back up plan.I’m not really good with friendships either. I am intimidated by other girls. I don’t have very many girlfriends. For some reason it has always been hard for me to have friends that I am really close to or consider to be a “best friend”. It is hard to find those few close friends that you can truly trust and depend on. Also, throughout my life almost every best friend that I have ever had has moved away and it has been so incredibly hard each and every time. Everyone I get close to leaves me!I feel SO blessed and thankful for my close girlfriends that I do have. You know who you are, and I love you girls!
Okay, sorry that was SO long, but I did make it clear in #1 that it would be. Hopefully you enjoyed that and don’t now regret getting to know more about the weirdness that is me. This was actually pretty fun. I could easily write 25 more…