100th Post!

Wow, I did it. I made it to 100 posts on my little blog. Granted, it took me a little longer than some to get here, but it is what it is.

I'm not sure if this is totally passé, but in honor of my 100th post, I have compiled a list of 100 things about me. Really, I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time. One might argue that it was the reason I started a blog. Or not.

Since I've labeled my blog as "the story of me", I thought it would be fitting to give readers an actual story about me. So, as much as this is things about me, it's also a brief history of me and how I got here. I've also finished that face-lift that I was talking about in honor of the occasion.

And, so, without further ado, I present to you 100 of the most exciting, entertaining things about me. Enjoy!

1. I was born July 19, 1982 in Norwood, CO. At a little after 2:00 in the afternoon.
2. I tell everyone that I was born and raised in Telluride, CO. It’s easier and more people have heard of Telluride than Norwood. And, if you want to get technical, I actually resided in Ophir, CO.
3. I was born with a rare birth defect called Craniosynostosis.
4. I had head surgery when I was two months old to correct it. Doctors removed a 3"x5" piece of my skull.
5. As a result of the surgery, I have a scar that runs the length of my head.
6. It makes me really self-conscious and I try to cover it with my hair the best I can.
7. My blood type is O+.
8. My brother was born at home, in the middle of the night, in the middle of a blizzard, when I was two years old. I really wanted a sister.
9. He turned out to be okay and we were pretty good friends growing up. This might have had something to do with living in the middle of nowhere and having no one but each other. But, I still think he's pretty okay, so maybe not.
10. My mom kept journals for both me and my brother when we were kids.
11. Eleven is my favorite number.
12. It became my favorite my freshman year of high school when I had to pick a volleyball jersey.
13. I figured if #1 was the best, #11 must be double best.
14. In addition to volleyball, I played soccer and softball, danced ballet and skied.
15. Growing up in a ski town, our school had Ski PE Thursday and Friday afternoons. We got out of school early to go skiing those days.
16. In fourth grade, I decided skiing was lame and took up snowboarding instead.
17. In sixth grade, I went back to skiing and joined the freestyle team.
18. I started skiing competitively in moguls, acro (ballet skiing) and aerials.
19. I traveled many places to compete. The farthest being Sunday River, Maine.
20. I had so much fun competing and met some really incredible people. Many of those people went on to compete in the Olympics several times.
21. I first got my ears pierced when I was 3. The holes filled in and I got them pierced again when I was 7. I got a second hole in each ear when I was 14. I got the cartilage of my left ear pierced when I was 18.
22. In the past four years, I’ve only ever worn earrings in the first holes. But, the other holes never filled in and I could still wear studs in them, if I felt so inclined.
23. I met Billy Joel on a street corner in Telluride. I was fundraising for the ski team, he was standing there, I asked him to donate and he did!
24. Growing up, I traveled a lot with my family. I’ve been to 23 states (plus DC) and 16 countries.
25. My grandma took each of her grandkids on a trip of their choosing, in order of age. I got to go first and she took me to England, Scotland and Wales when I was eight.
26. Despite being all over the world and most of the Western United States, I have never been to Canada or New York City. Both are on my list of places I want to see before I die.
27. In elementary school, I took hula lessons. We did a dance for closing day of the ski area every year. One year, mid-dance, my skirt fell off in front of everyone. Even though I was wearing a bikini underneath it, I was SO embarrassed.
28. My dad is a builder and I was pretty much raised on a construction site. I know more about building things than most guys I know.
29. Before I was old enough to have a real job, I alternated between babysitting and working on construction sites with my dad.
30. One summer, I set up a hot dog and lemonade stand at the end of our driveway to earn enough money to go to a special rock climbing and whitewater rafting summer camp.
31. My first real job was when I was 14. I worked at the pool at the Peaks Resort for two summers. It was the second best job I’ve ever had.
32. I never worked the closing shift except for one time. It was a disaster. I had to cover the pool and the roller for the pool cover (thing was HUGE) ended up IN the pool. I cried and exclaimed that I was never going back! My mom made me call my boss to apologize. I went back. The roller magically made its way out of the pool and no one ever said anything to me.
33. The next two summers, I worked at the ski company in the group sales department.
34. When I was 10, I read an article about hormones in beef and decided to stop eating meat. I have since lost the taste for it and I think all meat is pretty gross.
35. I eat fish and sometimes I’ll crave meat, so I’ll eat it. But, for the most part, I’ve been meat-free for over 15 years.
36. I don’t use the word “vegetarian” to describe myself. Instead, I say “I don’t eat meat”.
37. I don’t think it’s that weird, but apparently others do.
38. Growing up in a small town was hard. I wanted nothing more than to get out.
39. When I was 16, I convinced my parents to let me live with my grandmother and go to a private high school in the northshore of Milwaukee, WI.
40. Almost ten years later, I still cannot fully explain this decision, but I don’t regret it.
41. My junior and senior years were spent living with my grandmother and going to the same high school my mom attended.
42. I met my future husband at that school. We weren’t friends though.
43. He did, however, take me to the senior prom. We were set up. He spent the night playing cards with his friends. I spent the night dancing with mine. It worked out much better than I had thought.
44. I was really, really homesick in high school. I knew I wanted to be back in Colorado for college.
45. I was accepted to all four schools in CO that I applied to.
46. I was rejected from three out of state schools that I applied to.
47. I was convinced I wanted to be an Engineer and was thisclose to going to Colorado School of Mines.
48. At the last minute, I decided to go to CU, Boulder instead. I am so happy with that decision.
49. My future husband decided to go to Boulder too. It was purely coincidental.
50. I found out quickly that I did not like Engineering. So, I switched to Architecture. (Good thing I wasn’t at Mines).
51. I didn’t like Architecture either. But I liked the public speaking course I took (I got a 100% on every exam in that class and, if CU had A+ as an option, I would have gotten one), so I switched to Communication.
52. I loved Comm so much that I ended up being a tutor, TA and intern in the department.
I still graduated in only three and a half years with a BA in Communication and a Certified Business Certificate (basically a Business minor).
53. Matt and I actually became friends in Boulder and spent a lot of time together.
54. And then we fell in love. We started dating January 23, 2001.
55. My first job in college was as a telemarketer. It was just as bad as you imagine.
56. Then I was a nanny for a little boy that didn’t speak. I learned sign language with him and tried to help him with his words.
57. After a year and a half of working with him, hearing him say my name was one of the best sounds in the world.
58. 2004 was the worst best year of my life.
59. We experienced great joy as well as horrible tragedy.
60. I was head over heels in love with Matt and was convinced that I would marry him.
61. Matt broke up with me in June of that year and moved back to Milwaukee.
62. I was convinced that my life, as I knew it, was over and moved back to Telluride.
63. It turned out, that was the best thing that could have happened to me. I grew up a little, learned about myself and enjoyed being on my own.
64. I am so glad I didn’t marry him when I thought I wanted to. Looking back, I know that breaking up was the best thing for both of us.
65. I started working in real estate and that was the best job I’ve ever had.
66. Matt and I worked things out and remained friends. And then started a long-distance relationship. After some time, I decided to move to Milwaukee to live with Matt.
67. On December 28, 2005, while he was in Telluride to help me move, Matt proposed.
68. I moved into a small apartment with Matt on the east side of Milwaukee.
69. A month later, we bought a duplex in Shorewood, remodeled the kitchen and moved in.
70. Matt and I were married on June 30, 2007 at Gorrono Ranch on the Telluride Ski Area.
71. It was the most perfect, happiest day of my life.
72. I am slightly sad at how quickly it was all over.
73. I still feel giddy looking at our wedding pictures and remembering small details of the day.
74. We spent a week in Telluride after the wedding on what we like to call our pre-moon.
75. And then took our real honeymoon to St. Lucia for a week.
76. I loved being a bride. But, I love being married even more.
77. Sometimes, when I’m really excited, I forget to breathe when I’m talking to someone.
78. I really prefer summer to winter. Strangely, the two places I ever see myself living (Wisconsin or Telluride) have a lot more winter than summer.
79. I don’t really have favorites. No favorite movie, color, band. It all changes with my mood.
80. But, The Wizard of Oz, black, The Beatles and Matchbox Twenty will always be my fallback favorites.
81. I have never broken a bone.
82. I also have no known allergies and rarely ever get sick.
83. But, I did sprain my ankle doing the dot drill on my third day of pre-season volleyball practice at my new high school. I was so embarrassed. Who does that?
84. I secretly judge people who put bumper stickers on their cars.
85. Especially if they’re for Presidential candidates from many years ago. And definitely if that candidate didn’t win.
86. On May 11, 2008, Matt and I adopted a puppy from the Wisconsin Humane Society.
87. She is a Boxer/Shepherd mix and we named her Indy (short for Indiana). We are both in love with her.
88. Matt also traveled a lot growing up and we can only hope that we can do the same with our kids.
89. I grew up without television.
90. We had a TV and VCR and watched tapes. But we were limited on how much we could watch per day.
91. I never missed TV, but do feel absolutely clueless when people talk about shows like Full House, Saved by the Bell, Doogie Howser, M.D. and the like.
92. Pasta is the one food that I think I could eat every day and never get sick of.
93. I have weird issues with drinking water from the tap. If I can see where it is coming from, I don’t like to drink it. But, fill up a glass and put it in front of me, I’ll drink it and ask for more.
94. I love wearing flip flops and wear them at any chance I get. This is one of the things I really miss about living in Boulder—I could wear flip flops almost every day of the year.
95. I have a really hard time committing to doing things. I have no idea what I’m holding out for in most cases. Nothing better has ever come along.
96. Every car I’ve ever owned/driven has been a manual.
97. I have no tattoos.
98. And, I’ve never had any overwhelming desire to get one.
99. I am an extremely sarcastic person and have a strange sense of humor. I don’t think most people get it. Instead, they just think I’m weird.
100. I tend to embarrass myself a lot. I have learned not to let it bother me, but to laugh and never take myself too seriously.

Whew! If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading!