Everything you ever wanted to know about me (but were afraid to ask)

Apparently you're supposed to do this for your 100th post, but my 100th post came and went before I ever heard of this tradition. So, apropos of absolutely nothing (except that I finally came up with 100 things), here are 100 things you never knew you needed to know about me:

1. I have lived in 16 different houses in nearly 32 years.
2. I am a grammar vigilante.
3. The most rebellious thing I’ve ever done was when I got my ears double pierced against my parents’ wishes. I don't even wear two pairs of earrings now.
4. I wore my hair in two braids, a-la (how do you spell that, anyway?) Little House on the Prairie, for most of elementary school.
5. I have had six jobs: Rite Aid cashier, customer service rep. for Westin Hotels, teacher’s aide, teacher, lunch lady, and day-care provider.
6. I have only thrown up once since the third grade.
7. I once had a pet turtle named Slowpoke. He ran away. (It was very sad – stop laughing!)
8. I helped Robert Englund find manila envelopes in Rite Aid.
9. I’ve worn glasses since the 5th grade and contacts since the 7th.
10. I only had one boyfriend before I met Chris.
11. I have taken gymnastics, ballet, tap, jazz, piano, violin, and voice, and played soccer, volleyball, and softball (but I never stuck with anything).
12. I lived in England for 5 years.
13. I have been to 12 foreign countries but only 17 US states.
14. I have an almost paralyzing (and not unfounded) fear of food poisoning from undercooked hamburger.
15. I’m claustrophobic. Please don’t breathe in my face. Ever.
16. I ate a Hershey bar a day during the last month of my pregnancy with Vicki. I didn’t tell Chris about it until after Lexi was born.
17. The only bones I’ve ever broken are fingers and toes.
18. I freak out if anyone’s feet (including my own) get anywhere near my pillow.
19. I ate escargot at a little brasserie (not brassiere) near the Eiffel Tower, and I liked it.
20. I am constantly reading something. Anything.
21. I have still never read a book by Jane Austen.
22. I still have the stuffed bunny I got for my very first Easter. His name is Leo.
23. I hate my handwriting.
24. I refuse to download a blog layout from The Cutest Blog on the Block, Pyzam, or any other of those pre-designed sites because everyone else is doing it.
25. I taught myself how to use Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.
26. I have been to Disneyland more times than I can remember.
27. I cannot handle money without needing to wash my hands.
28. I have never seen an American Idol finale (but I love So You Think You Can Dance!)
29. I love anything cherry flavored.
30. My all-time favorite movie is The Princess Bride. Nothing can compete with twoo wuv.
31. My ears are shaped slightly differently from each other.
32. I like scary movies (the psychological kind, not the gory horror kind) better than chick flicks.
33. In second grade I pretended that I didn’t read as well as I actually did so the other kids wouldn’t think I was a nerd.
34. I can’t stand to have a fork touch my teeth.
35. I’m bummed that I didn’t come up with the idea for Seriously, So Blessed first.
36. I have been white water rafting on the Snake River. I wore thrift-store polyester pants the whole time.
37. I have seen The Phantom of the Opera (the play, not the movie) at least five times. Probably more. Living near London had its advantages.
38. I still have my favorite plaid flannel shirt from high school.
39. I listen to NPR.
40. I won’t drink plain milk – has to be chocolate!
41. My favorite ice cream is Tillamook’s Udderly Chocolate. Mmmmmm…
42. I used to collect ceramic thimbles.
43. I got flashed in a park in Athens.
44. I can’t sleep if there’s a spider in the room.
45. I can’t squish spiders.
46. I do not function well with a messy kitchen.
47. I used to love the show 7th Heaven.
48. I make a to-die-for tomato soup from scratch. Also really good potato and pea soups. Come over for dinner sometime.
49. I can spell words backwards almost as fast as I spell them forwards.
50. I wanted to marry Davy Jones from The Monkees.
51. The first two concerts I ever went to were Garth Brooks and Bon Jovi. Yeah, I know.
52. Paul is my favorite Beatle.
53. For about 6 months after Vicki was born I was hooked on the soap Passions.
54. I have been summoned for jury duty twice and was selected to serve both times.
55. I love being a Girl Scout leader.
56. I was in the drama club at my high school (we were called the Heywood Players) and am a member of the International Thespian Society.
57. My pinkie toenails are deformed.
58. I wear VERY little makeup (this will surprise the people who were positive I didn’t wear ANY).
59. I accidentally pulled off my brother’s gerbil’s tail. Sorry about that, Robbie.
60. I can remember almost every phone number I’ve ever had.
61. The only pens I can comfortably write with are the cheap blue Bics.
62. I was obsessed with The New Mickey Mouse Club when it first started (circa 1989) and recorded every episode for 3 seasons (until we moved to England.) It filled 10 VHS tapes and my brother and I used to watch them over and over.
63. When I was 5 I got run over by a kid on a bike.
64. I love to cook.
65. I’m the only one of my siblings not born in Oklahoma.
66. My friend and I once trick-or-treated at the same houses twice, first dressed as cheerleaders and then as mummies so no one would recognize us.
67. I love the Harry Potter books, but I was really disappointed by the movies after #3 (I will still watch the new ones – there’s always hope!)
68. I can wiggle my eyebrows independently of each other.
69. I used to dress up in a wig and polyester clothes (see #37) and introduce myself as Mavis Buddingham (I did not do this alone.)
70. I have crossed the English Channel by ferry, hovercraft, and train.
71. I won’t let my daughters have Bratz dolls.
72. I am reading the NIV Bible and really enjoying it.
73. I hate being called Al, but I sometimes think of the Paul Simon song “You Can Call Me Al” as my song. He can call me Al. You can’t.
74. I used to wear a mouthguard at night so I wouldn’t grind my teeth. I chewed all the way through it.
75. I once ate Thanksgiving Dinner at the Hard Rock Café in Paris.
76. My favorite Disney Princess is Belle.
77. I got kicked out of the Manwaring Center at Ricks (BYU-Idaho) for wearing shorts.
78. The only time I’ve ever out-fished Chris was in a rainstorm, while I was 8 months pregnant and suffering from debilitating foot cramps. Go figure.
79. I can’t stand warm air of any kind blowing on my face (see #16.)
80. When I was 14 my parents let me go into London (a half hour train ride from our house) without them for the first time while my friend was visiting from the States. We got on the wrong train coming home and ended up in Richmond (a half hour away in another direction.)
81. When Chris asked me to marry him I was so surprised I just stared at him open-mouthed (clearly I got over my shock and said yes.)
82. I don’t like the smell of balloons or crayons.
83. I can’t say the word “intricacies” correctly.
84. I like to put potato chips on my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
85. I have sewn or otherwise hand-made every Halloween costume my children have worn.
86. I am (still) not on Facebook.
87. I had pet Chihuahuas named Tex and Rosie.
88. I once attended a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
89. Lewis Macleod came to my house for dinner when I was in high school and gave us free tickets to the pantomime where he was playing Aladdin.
90. I like to eat cheese and chocolate side by side (not in the same bite.)
91. I will never, ever go back to long hair.
92. I wish I could dance.
93. I would love to become fluent (or even semi-fluent) in American Sign Language.
94. I got married when I was 22 and had my first baby at 23.
95. I would love to write and publish a book of some sort, but I have no idea where to begin.
96. I used to mix butter with sugar and eat it (the thought of this now makes me gag.)
97. I have only one memory of being spanked as a child (and I also remember that I deserved it!)
98. The only time I had roommates and never fought with any of them was the time I shared a room with 11 other people for 3 months.
99. I know the basic plotline for every one of Shakespeare’s plays (Well, okay, I used to. I may not be up on Coriolanus or Cymbeline anymore, but really, who is? I bet I still know the majority.)
100. I think I’m funny, but I worry that other people don’t.