eastowners

Current Mood: Martini Mood

So…apparently I’ve posted 114 times on our little eastowners site.  I have also previously posted on my MySpace page, although I’ve mainly be posting here as most of my readership seems to be here.  My MySpace posts are pretty much nill, but it’s there.  If you MySpace and would like to be friends please add me and I’d add you.  We comment back and forth :)  I also have a Facebook page, but not much is there as I created it on a whim - mainly to keep an eye on my little brother (just wanted to make sure you’re staying out of trouble )

Anyway…back to posting here.  Apparently, after you’ve posted 100 times you are supposed to share 100 things about yourself.  I figured I’d give it a shot, seeing as how I have nothing better to do this afternoon and I am procrastinating on doing housework and taking down the xmas tree.  No worries, it’ll be done by the weekend!  Now…onto 100 things about me:

1. I was born in Port Huron, MI
2. For the first 4 years of my life we lived in an apt. above my great grandfather
3. I spent my days at my grandma’s because my parents worked opposite shifts
4. I liked it there because they had a pool, my uncle Dan would take me swimming, and my grandma would let me play with her Avon stuff
5. I was raised out in the country from age 5, literally in the middle of fields and about 3 miles from a paved road
6. I now live in the city and LOVE it
7. I have 2 younger brothers
8. We used to be a pain to each other growing up - now I understand why my parents have so much grey hair
9. Growing up in the country there wasn’t much to do, so we rode bikes a lot in the summer, played baseball, and took swimming lessons
10. I am the oldest grandchild by 3 years, some by 6 years or more with most of my cousins, so I always took care of them at family functions
11. I started babysitting at age 13 with one of my cousins being my first
12. She just got engaged on New Years Eve and it makes me feel old
13. Growing up in the country we had many animals - rabbits, chickens, turkeys, dogs, and a goose my great grandpa brought on a whim
14. The goose lived in our kiddie pool, and I remember my mom not being as excited as my brothers and I were
15. Having all the animals and being involved in 4-H, I wanted to be a veternarian when I grew up
16. Somewhere along the line I changed my mind, and decided to become an elementary teacher because I loved kids
17. I think it had something to do with babysitting all my cousins
18. While in 5th grade I started playing the flute in the band, and loved it so much I stuck with it
19. The end of my Sophomore year of high school I decided to try out for the color guard for marching season - and I got in
20. We weren’t a large band, but we had lots of fun together, and most of my best friends came from band
21. While I was in band I saw a poster for the MI Lions All-State Band, and begged my parents to let me try out for it.  The trip that year was to go to Phoenix, AZ, and the following year I went with the group to Seoul, Korea (we also went to China, and Hawaii on our way home)
22. While I was in the All-State Band I met many people, and some of them are still good friends of mine
23. One of them, nicknamed Beeko, and I wrote one another for many years until I finally saw him again at WMU
24. One night he told me we were partying in my dorm room with is friend Brad
25. Unfortunately or fortunately they got me drunk on Boonsfarm - the last time I’ll ever drink that!
26. The next night Brad jokingly proposed to me because I said I didn’t mind stacking wood or doing things outside, I said “Maybe, but I don’t know you that well.”
27. We e-mailed for a few months, and then he came up to celebrate my 21st birthday as in style as you can in a dorm room
28. We ended up talking in drunken slurs until the wee hours of the morning, finally deciding we should go out on an official date
29. Our first date was to Red Lobster, followed by the movie Good Will Hunting
30. We then went back to my dorm room after the date…our first kiss wasn’t that great.  Brad missed my lips on his first try, and then on his second try I decided to be a little too rambunctious for him.
31. The rest our our dates kind of blur together, but I do know they were always pretty fun
32. After being together for 2 years Brad proposed.
33. I graduated from WMU in 2000 with a degree in Elementary Education
34. Then we began planning our wedding - you may have read my meme on that aready
35. We moved to Grand Rapids in June of 2001
36. I had to get a job to help out, so I filled out retail applications after being denied many teaching applications/resume send outs
37. I worked at Pet Supplies Us for just over a year
38. The animal obsession begain again - first with some fish
39. We eventually had 3 fish tanks in our apt.  A 50 gallon, 35 gallon, and 10 gallon tank.
40. During the next few months we decided to “try” to get pregnant, and did
41. Clare was born 3 weeks early
42. Through many tests and a couple hospital stays we found out that Clare has Psuedohypoaldosteronism
43. Basically she had too much potassium and not enough sodium in her body, and she had to go on meds for 2 years - it’s very complex
44. We went to many doctors visits, but thankfully her body “outgrew” it and she’s not on meds anymore
45. After getting all the baby stuff on top of our stuff we decided to look for a house
46. We signed on our house on NYE 2002
47. Moving in January is not my idea of fun
48. In order to move our fish from the 50 gallon tank we decided to put up a 75 gallon tank in the house for them.
49. Currently we only have the 75 gallong tank running with a tiger oscar & a severum in there
50. At one point we had a Red Devil, and it attacked the oscar causing it to smash it’s eye in
51. The Red Devil died in a freak heater accident while we were gone on vacation
52. Being a stay-at-home mom in a new house, and a new town with only a few friends and no family is tough
53. Thankfully after many hours of internet searching and looking I found MOMS Club
54. I went to a meeting and knew at once it was something I would love. 
55. 4 1/2 years later I’m still hanging around!
56. If we didn’t have weekly or bi-weekly play dates arranged I’d think I’d have gone crazy by now, and I’d be sitting here in a straight jacket
57. Since joining I’ve been fairly active being on the Exec. Board for 1 year, and I think I’ve done just about every chair position known
58. I’ve met some amazing women through this group, and they are always there to listen when need be
59. After graduating from High School I worked at Ruby Farms of MI for about 4 years
60. When I stared there I worked as a cashier in the Cider Mill, and a food getter.
61. Then I was asked to stay on for the summer and do things like weed flower beds, and mow the lawn
62. Eventually I think I did every job under the sun including fence painting, tree trimer, tree hauler, wood splitter, fence putter upper, rock mover, llama rangler, pony walker, rangler of donkeys, animal pen cleaner, feeder of the animals in their mini-zoo, price tagger of things in the gift shop, and a member of the haunted forest at halloween time
63. I so could have listed every one of those jobs singularly to fill up space
64. Part of my El Ed degree is a science and english minor
65. While I was in college I had many jobs; my main job however was in the cafeteria
66. Eventually I became a Student Supervisor, and didn’t have to work the dirty jobs too often
67. Other jobs in college included working the bowling alley, the candy counter, and in the Student Entertainment Team’s office
68. While in college I had a really crappy Dodge Shadow that was painted primar grey
69. I drove it with a fuzzy pink or purple steering wheel cover
70. After graduating college I worked at the Child Development Center in the 4/5 year old room
71. Those kids were so much fun to play with that I find myself considering going back to school to get my degree for early education
72. Now time for the odd things in life - my favorite season is Fall
73. I do enjoy Spring, however it’s a little too wet for me
74. My favorite liquor is vodka
75. I enjoy a good martini, or a vodka and tonic with a splash of lime
76. My second favorite liquor is gin
77. I hate rum - never give me brown liquor
78. My favorite wine is from Two Rivers in Colorado - their Cabernet Sauvignon
79. Every summer my hubs and I take a road trip without Clare out to Colorado to stay with our friend Beeko & his wife
80. One summer we went to the Castle Rock Wine Festival, and it was the best wine festival we’ve ever been to
81. Every fall we go to the Paw Paw wine festival with our parents and sometimes our brothers & significant others
82. For the past two years we’ve camped afterwards with our parents, and that’s been fun
83. I have a dog named Moonshadow
84. I half-bootily enjoy the hippy lifestyle, however I require a shower every other day
85. I’m demi-vegetarian (the only meat we eat are fish or shrim)
86. NO - I’m NOT vegan!  I LOVE cheese
87. I am a carb queen, hence the lack in weight loss
88. I love doing yoga - now if only I can get back into doing it again
89. My bedroom as a young adult was painted flourecesent green
90. My mom said it was painted that way because that was the paint swatch I picked at the store
91. Some of myy favorite shows as a kid included:  Punky Brewster, The Cosby Show, The Muppets, Fraggle Rock, Soul Train, and Pee Wee’s Playhouse
92. Growing up by Canada we had French Sesame Street, I never realized they taught Spanish until I watched it with Clare
93. I enjoy bike rides, especially in places I’ve never been
94. My favorite “guilty” food is chocolate
95. I dislike living in MI during the winters
96. When I was a young one my great grandpa would let us sip beer from our own plastic glass
97. I love a good live band, and wish there were more around town still
98. A few years ago I went into the bar and the bouncer asked me if I had gotten my hair cut
99. I think that’s a sign that we go to the bar too often
100. Red is my favorite color

 Thank god that’s done.  If you’ve read it all I expect a comment!