Just some random bits about me...

1. I hate not achieving my goals, and my answer to this is to usually not set them. However, one goal I do have is to travel to all of the continents by the time I am 30.
2. I am fascinated by languages, and wish I spoke at least three; but I have a hard time learning them. Why was I not born a European?
3. My favorite color has changed….I don’t even know how many times in my life. The important thing is that I ALWAYS love purple, regardless of what other colors I like. Currently I’m really into the bright, cranberry red that is really popular right now. However, I’m a huge fan of black and white.
4. I was a ballerina for 12 years growing up and a dance teacher for seven of those years. Dancing on pointe was wonderful, but what I miss the most is teaching the little dancers!!!
5. One of my favorite desserts is tiramisu, and the best I’ve found is at Carino’s. I miss it so badly…and if you want to hear about my tiramisu adventure, you’ll have to ask.
6. In February of 2000, I stood on the Greenwich Meridian, in 2001, I straddled the Equator, and in August of 2008, I sat on the floor of the plane as we flew over the International Date Line. Pretty exciting stuff.
7. I have smashed ears, thanks to a wonderful recessive gene on my mom’s side…thanks mom!
8. I love getting dressed up for special occasions, but I love my jeans and sweatshirts, too…I’m very guided by my moods…in so many ways.
9. I love most music and don’t know how I lived before I got my iPod. Total craziness to think that music was so STATIONARY and LIMITED! I can’t tell you what my favorite song is because it changes almost on an hourly basis.
10. While I don’t really love the cold, I found living in Texas that I miss the seasons (there, the seasons are hot and hotter). So, now that I’m in Chicago, I am really enjoying winter…strange.
11. Maps get me really excited. I particularly love old maps, you know the ones with the beige color theme and the strangely shaped countries, since they didn’t have Google satellite views! I can waste so much time on Google Earth, it’s not even funny.
12. I love living in a big city and I hope that God lets me live in big cities in other countries at some point in my life…that would be totally awesome!
13. Reading is one of my favorite things to do (right up there with creative writing); but I don’t get to do much of either of those at this point in my life, since I am reading textbooks (really, really good ones, btw) and writing papers, not stories. One day…maybe. My favorite genre is historical fiction…oh, the plots I’m missing out on right now!!!
14. One thing I do to relax is to take my iPod and go walking. I get to watch people, breathe “fresh” air, and find new, interesting places. My favorite place to walk in Chicago is along Lake Michigan. However, with the wind-chill, it’s almost suicide to walk along there right now; the wind may take your breath away and never give it back!
15. I have a plant in my apartment that my dad gave to me the day I was born (or the day after…whatever). It’s still alive, amazingly enough--one of the only plants I own that I have not killed, and it’s called the Emily plant. Yes, I know, I could have been a little more creative than that, but oh well…on to bigger and better things.
16. I am not a morning person. End of story.
17. I love photos. I love taking pictures, sharing them with friends and scrapbooking. Photos are pretty much amazing.
18. White roses and white calla lilies are my favorite flowers. Most of the other ones make me sneeze.
19. I lived in Quito, Ecuador for six months right after high school and was amazed by the mountains. The view is astonishing, and I don’t know how people can ignore that there is a God when He figured out a way to put a snowcap on the equator.
20. I’ve been bitten by the anthropology bug. Once it bites you, there’s no turning back. I’ve always enjoyed relating to people (my mom called it “talking someone’s ear off”, but I never saw anyone missing an ear, so…) but now I’m trained and certified (I have the diploma to prove it). But I do love learning about the cultures and heritages of others. It inspires me and causes me to re-evaluate how/why I think something. It’s really fascinating.
21. Wow…25 things is more than I thought it was going to be. Well, let’s see…I love, love, love pedicures and the head massages they give you when you are at the salon getting your hear washed. My theory is that if you can relax the head and the feet, everything in between feels better, too. And I’ve proven myself right…what do you think?
22. The sound of water is my favorite. I am a huge fan of waterfalls and rain, but my fav of all time is waves…not much better than that, especially if there’s a sunset, too.
23. Have you noticed that I hate being wrong and failing? I’m having to work on this.
24. Teddy bears are one of my very most favorite things. I collect them and enjoy giving them to others, too. Last year when I was in China, I was in the panda bear capital of the world, and did not get to see any of the pandas there. So bummed about that, but I’ll probably live.
25. Out the window of my apartment, I can see the Sears Tower, the John Hancock, the Trump Building, and the Moody campus. I see them all lit up at night before I go to bed, and this makes me very happy. I love Chicago and I can’t believe that this is what I get to wake up to every morning. God has been very good to me.

Any questions? There will be a quiz.