YAY, "easy" blog after a busy weekend!

Thank goodness, my friend Linda "tagged" me! I just got home from a weekend away, visiting my mother-in-law (will blog about that tomorrow, hopefully!)... and my brain is pretty well fried after listening to my kids scream at each other for the ENTIRE 3-hour car ride home tonight!

So, Linda has instructed me to list 7 random things about me (this is bound to be just thrilling... I hope you're all sitting down, lol). Then I have to tag 7 more people to do this little meme. Okay, here goes...

Random, thrilling fact #1: I have lived in the same house for the past 2.5 years. This is thrilling (to me, anyway) because in the 7.5 years since Nick and I started living together, it's the longest we've ever lived in any one place. During our first 5 years, we packed up and moved, oh... SEVEN times. It makes me tired just thinking about it! It's nice to feel halfway "settled" somewhere (*knock on wood!*).

Random, thrilling fact #2: Also in the 7.5 years that Nick and I have been together, we've owned 8 dogs (no, NOT at the same time, thank God!). We started with Stinky the pit bull (who will always remain my favorite dog EVER) and had to get rid of him because we moved to a neighborhood that didn't allow him (shame on them!). Then we got Jessee the mutt... she was pure evil and we got rid of her because she tried to eat our firstborn. Next, we really lost our minds and got TWO puppies (they were a Boxer/Pit mix of some type)--Jake and Junior. I gave Jake away to a nice. loving home because I quickly found out that two puppies was TOO much (after I successfully nursed them both back to health when they almost died from parvo). Junior stayed around for a while... at some point we got rid of him, too (he was a bit insane!). I think Lady was next. We adopted her from the humane society, and she had an obsession with running off. So, she ended up BACK at the humane society. Next was another puppy--Lucky the lab mix. Unfortunately, he didn't live up to his name... he was hit by a car in front of our house 6 months after we got him. And, now, of course, we have Queen Lizzie the Min Pin and Comet the Golden. And as much as these two cost, they're not going anywhere anytime soon. I think after 6 failed attempts, we've finally "found" our pets... for better or for worse!

Random, thrilling fact #3: I have been the member of 4 bridal parties... none of them my own. I was a bridesmaid for my stepmom's sister, Jane; my childhood friend and quasi-sister, Julie; and my sisters-in-law, Missy and Amber. But I've never worn the white dress and walked down the aisle on my daddy's arm! Nick and I were married in a "civil ceremony" at a local courthouse. And it was PERFECT! :)

Random, thrilling fact #4: I failed my driving test on my 16th birthday (and yes, I cried!). I think I was a pretty decent driver, but I was a really horrible parallel parker. I grew up in a rural area where parallel parking was a completely foreign (and useless) concept. Ironically, a few short years later, I lived in downtown Baltimore, where parallel parking was a very necessary evil... and, as a result, I mastered the skill in no time. I used to think, "Man, if only I could go back to the DMV now and show them what I can do!" lol (by the way, I passed the darn parallel parking and got my driver's license on the second attempt... two weeks after my 16th birthday).

Random, thrilling fact #5: I have a bachelor's degree in English. And it's one of my biggest regrets in life thus far (not the degree... the English part!). When I was a clueless freshman in college, a guidance counselor gave me the absolute WORST piece of advice ever... she told me not to choose my major based on what kind of JOB I could get with it or how much MONEY I would make after graduation... but to base my decision on what I ENJOY. She told me to choose an area of study that I would ENJOY studying for 4 solid years. Yeah, I listened to her (because I'm a fairly obedient person). And, oh, how I ENJOYED my years of reading fine literature and analyzing every word of it... boy, that was fun. But, NOW, it would be really nice if I had that job and the money that she told me NOT to worry about. Really. If I were granted just one "do over," I'd go back and study Engineering... or Law... or Medicine. I think I'd "enjoy" the Hell out of it.

Random, thrilling fact #6: I have never broken a single bone in my body (except for maybe my little toe, but does that really count??). I think it's pretty amazing to have lived 31 years with no broken bones or major injuries. *knocking on wood, again* Of course, that probably just means that I'm an extremely boring person who doesn't take risks and get herself hurt in the process... but I'm okay with that.

Random, thrilling fact #7 (thank God this is the last one... this "easy" blog has been extremely difficult): I have absolutely NO fear of general anesthesia. I love being "put to sleep," actually. I think I've experienced this a grand total of three times in my life (twice when I had wisdom teeth removed and once when I had a simple out-patient procedure done at the hospital). None of those things "required" being put under, but I requested it. I know that a lot of people fear being put to sleep because they're afraid they won't wake up. I acknowledge that risk, but I figure if I don't wake up, I'll never know the difference, right? And honestly, if you've gotta go, how much more peaceful and painless could it possibly get? The anesthesiologist is my friend. (I realize this probably makes me sound just a bit peculiar... oh well... so, now you know, lol.)

WHEW! Random facts are hard. Remind me (or BEG me, more likely) never to do that again. So, here are the lucky 7 bloggers that I'm tagging next: Trish, Angie, Elise, Maria, Ellen, Denise, and Kelly.