25 Things...You MUST Know About Me! ;)

OK, maybe they aren't things you MUST know.....but here they are regardless.

This has been making its way around Facebook like crazy. I posted this there but thought I would put it on here to share, as well. I would love to read yours....either posted as a comment, emailed to us, or posted on your own blog (comment and leave the link so I can check it out!). Consider yourself "tagged."

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I always give more information than most people probably want when writing. I give LOTS of details and run on and on about things. I feel I have to be sure to include every little thing. It's just how I write. Always has been. (See - I'm doing it already!)
   
2. One of my proudest accomplishments is graduating from Berea College SUMMA Cum Laude (that's highEST honors) - as a SINGLE MOM. I received one A- and one B. I graduated #3 in my entire graduating class (of the entire school, not just my program). By the way, Berea is not an "easy" school. Ask any of us that went there. That one B I received was from a class I took in Mexico on one of my short term courses at Berea (a month-long class) - totally worth it.
   
3. One of the most frustrating things to me is knowing that I am intelligent (see #2), knowing that I have my Masters degree, and having NO IDEA what I want to do "when I grow up." I feel like I'm wasting my intelligence, esp when what I really enjoy is being around little babies - esp my own (so I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom...and I guess I'm pretty qualified having a degree in Psychology and my Master's in Social Work...)
   
4. I love photography. I think I am decent but really want to get better and be a REAL photographer. I would actually go back to school for this. In a heartbeat.
   
5. I have the hardest time telling left from right. No kidding. I even do the thing where you hold your fingers up and your thumb out - the one that makes the "L" is the left, and I still have to take time to think about that! Because of this I suck at directions. Really suck at it.
   
6. Because of the directions issue, I get very anxious when driving somewhere new or somewhere with lots of traffic where I have to figure out turns, etc (hate places with one-way streets). When I say anxious, I mean anxious in am almost-clinical sense. I can freak out about it very easily. I'm working on this.......
   
7. I DO want to have a daughter one day, but not for the reason most people assume. Yeah, it might be fun to have a little baby girl, dress her up, etc. That's not what I care about. I want that adult mother/daughter relationship, like I have with my mom. It's amazingly special and just isn't the same with moms and sons. There are some things that make moms and daughters so close as adults. But I do love my boys more than anything in this world! I would be happy with all boys.
   
8. My first son was 11lbs at birth. I did go through back labor and more than two hours of pushing - with NO MEDS b/c I went into labor too quickly. They finally realized his head would not fit through and did an emergency c-section. I love seeing the look on people's faces when they realize someone as small as me had a baby that size - and Camden loves telling it, too! (When the nurse told me Aiden was 8.11, I said "That's ALL?!" - We all expected larger!)
   
9. I love to cross-stitch. But I haven't been able to do it in ages. Time issues.
   
10. I cannot stand it when people misspell "definitely." There is no "a" in that word, people!
    
11. I am horrible when it comes to small talk. Absolutely horrible. I think it's partly b/c I am very shy. Some people think I am stuck-up, but I assure you, it's me being shy.
    
12. I research every little thing in more detail than probably necessary. Almost any purchase, decision, etc.. I always go into something knowing exactly why/why not I am/am not doing it.
    
13. I suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum - SEVERE nausea/vomiting during pregnancy. Without meds, I would have been hospitalized in no time b/c I couldn't eat any type of food or even keep a sip of ginger ale down. When preggo with Camden, it lasted through the fifth month, with Aiden, I took medication around the clock until I went in for surgery to deliver him. I skipped the meds once on accident during my ninth month of pregnancy - and was sick as a dog until I realized why and the meds kicked in. Even with the problems I have with pregnancy (sickness, the joint problems - which were really bad this time around, the placenta problems, etc), I LOVE being pregnant. It's one of the most amazing things ever to experience, and I miss it.
    
14. I feel like I was born to be a mom. It comes so naturally to me. I had my first child at 19, and even then I felt completely comfortable and competent as a new mom.
    
15. It really angers me that people make assumptions when they find out I was so young when I got pregnant the first time. And then when they make assumptions about the fact that I married Camden's father only to get divorced less than three years later. Trust me, you most likely do NOT know what I've been through and you shouldn't judge me based on the fact that I was a "teen mom" or that I've been through a divorce. There is way more to the story and I've been through much more (and worse) than what most think.
    
16. I have suffered from insomnia my entire life (as in since I was a baby - just ask my mom!). I have been to doctors who actually told me (after trying multiple drugs, different dosages, etc, etc) that they couldn't help me sleep. It's been a life-long struggle. I can't nap, either. I need LOTS of sleep (as in nine or more hours) and I love sleep, but I hate going to sleep b/c it is just so hard. And then I impossible to wake up. I finally found one medicine that helps me, but I won't take it while nursing.
    
17. Ryan and I have been accused of being "too polite" to one another. (How is that a problem??)
    
18. The one job I have loved more than anything (other than being a mom!) is being the head teacher in a nursery (ages 6mos - 1 year). That is a wonderful age, where they are learning to do so much!! I know I am good with babies, with their parents, and I just loved it. I was there for two years, made absolutely no money, and I would do it again with no hesitation. It's sad that people look down on that kind of job. It's very rewarding.
    
19. For about seven years, I suffered from terrible joint pain in my knees and wrists. I have been diagnosed with several different things and have been tested for so many things with various specialists - that were all wrong, of course. For years, I had to sleep with wrist guards - and wore them often during the day, too. The pain spread to my ankles in the last year of it all. I knew I could not have THREE separate things going on. When the pain got so bad that I could not sit, type, stand, or do basically anything for more than five minutes without wanting to scream or cry, I did what we all do - called my mom and begged for some advice. She has severe food allergies and suggested it could be an allergy but warned it might take a while to find out. I went off wheat and within ONE DAY the pain was completely gone. My doctors and rheumatologist agreed that must be it - a wheat intolerance. I have been pain-free for just over a year now. I do eat wheat again, but I had a bread-intolerance while pregnant, so I hardly . They think I have a tolerance level that I will have to build up to before the pain returns. We'll see what it is.
    
20. I am very empathetic, maybe too much. I can feel what others are going through very easily. If I see someone crying, I will cry, too. But then again, I cry over just about anything - good, bad, sad. It can be a commercial on tv, knowing someone else is hurt, or just seeing someone else crying (even someone I don't know...).
    
21. I like red wine (not white), fruity cocktails, and bud light. In moderation, of course. (There is just no need to get smashed all the time.) I haven't had a drop of anything since we were trying to get preggo - so, in about 13 months. I hate margaritas - actually, it's the tequila I hate. I think it's gross.
    
22. I had hoped to meet some really close girlfriends here in NC, but it hasn't really happened the way I wanted so far. I really miss my girlfriends from back home and having those kind of really close relationships.
    
23. My eyes adjust really quickly to sudden darkness/brightness.
    
24. I grew up helping on the farms of both my sets of grandparents. I have helped with tobacco and gathering/milking cows a lot. Being the oldest girl in my generation, I was always the one in charge of all the other kids, along with doing the farm help. I have great memories of working and playing on the farms.
    
25. I am really indecisive. Once when taking some questionnaire that asked if I was indecisive, I asked Ryan b/c I couldn't decide... I think I answered my own question.
    
26. I have made many mistakes in my life but have few regrets. Those mistakes have led me to where I am now, who I am with now, what I know now, and who I am. Without them, life would not be what it is, so I am appreciative of what my mistakes have done for me.
    
27. I am proud to say that almost everything we eat in my home is homemade. I grew up eating that way and that's how I do it (thank you, Mom!!!). I will NOT allow frozen premade things such as biscuits, rolls, or many other things in my home. There are a few convenience foods I will get, but I always do something to make them more "homemade" (i.e. spaghetti sauce that I add lots of veggies and other things, etc).
    
28. I don't like when people assume they know anything about me just b/c they know I am a Christian. People have such strong ideas about what that means, but it's different for so many. You can assume I believe in God, that I love Jesus, that I try to be a decent and loving person, but that's about it. Don't assume you know what I think is "right" or "wrong" b/c that's not what it's about for me. Feel free to ask me what it means - and what it does NOT mean to me. I'm pretty open about it.
    
29. I had always planned on publishing a book of my own poetry that included poems I wrote from middle school up until the present (whenever the book was published). I haven't written a poem in years, though. On my wedding programs, the poem on the front was a poem I wrote for Ryan. It's obviously a favorite and one that I thought was good (seeing how I let everyone at the wedding read it on the program...)
    
30. The clothes in my closet (and Camden's) are color-coordinated (think ROY-G-BIV).
    
31. When I was really young (2 or 3), I locked myself in a bathroom with scissors and a kewpie doll (google it) so I could cut my hair like the doll, which basically meant I cut all my hair off. I think I did this again later on...
    
32. I like to be rebelious and break rules - the ones I know I can break and get away with it. I am a stickler about following important ones, but others are different. Tell me I have to do it one way or can't do something - and I might be out to prove you "can't make me" (right, Mom?) ;) I'm careful about which rules I break, though. (Like doing more than 25 random facts here...) Ryan says that I am doing more than 25 b/c I'm an overachiever. He's kind of right. I always do more.