#800

Wow ... 800 posts. Really?
Really.
No one ever accused me of being concise. :P

So, let's do some factoids about me:

1. I'll admit that I'm rather addicted to the internet. I love being able to check my email, look up words or Wikipedia entries, read blogs ... It makes me happy.
2. When I do remember my dreams, they -- more often than not -- are really strange. I suppose that "normal" dreams are too boring for me to remember.
3. I don't remember dreaming that night, but last week, Michael had to wake up in the middle of the night. As he got back into bed, I murmered, "Well, that's done, then." "What?" he asked. "I've learned that whole language." And then I was blissed out into full unconscious mode again.
4. I am a bit of a grammar/word geek ... And, therefore, I don't think that I'll ever know a whole language. Language is constantly evolving. 
5. I still am sad that, like ten years ago or so, Crayola discontinued some of their crayons. The ones I miss most of all: cadet blue, Indian red, and Red-Orange (how will I color Ariel's hair now?????? It was PERFECT!)
6. Only now am I starting to realize that I don't have to be slim, button-nosed, or classically elegant to be beautiful. I am a mess of imperfections ... but I am pretty, regardless. (I know, Michael. It's only taken me over a decade of you telling me, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I'm starting to come around. I never said that I was quick on the uptake.)
7. I am a bit of a font whore. I love fonts. I don't know that I have a favorite ... but I do obsess a bit when I'm asked to make calendars, newsletters, or handouts. 
8. People started telling me that I was weird and that I had a big nose back in second grade. I did TRY to not be weird ... but it's really who I am. So ... I've accepted that I'm weird. And I try to let my kids know that being weird isn't a bad thing. .... It just makes you different. And that makes you special.
9. I still don't know what color to paint the bathroom. Or the hallway. Or the kids' room. Or the kitchen. Or the laundry room. Or the kids' bathroom. 
10. I still am a little sick. Stupid sinitus. Making me cough up mucus until I throw up. Ugh. And the mucus keeps coming. So gross.
11. My house is never really and truly clean. Maybe once the kids are in school, I'll achieve it. For at least 15 minutes.
12. My left ring finger? Someone put my fingernail on crooked. ... It's only noticeable when my fingers are close together. ... I like to think that it makes it look like my ring finger is trying to snuggle up to my middle finger. Ah, L'amour.
13. I actually got caught up on dishes yesterday. I plan on repeating this. And then Michael will fix the dishwasher. And it'll be easier to stay caught up.
14. Now that I'm 30, turning 40 or even 50 doesn't seem like such a big deal. ... Why 30 was so scary ... I just don't know.
15. Although, now that I'm no longer in my 20s, I question doing certain things. ... But I wear my skinny-cut jeans anyways.

Regrets:

• I wish that I had been more confident in school growing up. Like Stargirl.
  This way I wouldn't have cared that I had a big nose, big boobs, and didn't date much (besides that first boyfriend). I wouldn't have thought that maybe that first boyfriend would be the only guy to love me (which I did fear at the time) ... and THAT'S why none of the guys at school asked me out.
  I wouldn't have jumped to the conclusion that since I wasn't ever at the top of my fields (singing, acting, academics) that I wasn't really talented at any of those things. Or that, since I only got a female lead part once, it was because I wasn't pretty or talented enough to play a romantic part. (I did get a lead once. Because I could act and sing. But I didn't think of it like, "Wow! I'm good enough for this!" ... I was mostly like, "I'm glad that I got this. Good thing I can sing a little. Phew.")
• As much as I LOVED summer for its freedom, I wish that I had put myself out there and gotten summer jobs. I think it would have eased a lot of things later on.
• I wish that I didn't always compare myself to others ... because, usually, when I do that, I find myself wanting.
• I wish that I hadn't thought that my first boyfriend might possibly be the only guy to ever love me. Just because guys at school weren't falling over themselves to ask me out, I was still really worthwhile (and I still am!) and ... I am kinda a big deal. Most people like me. Or at least put up with me (sometimes, perhaps, out of morbid curiosity to hear what crazy thing comes out of my mouth next. ... Hey, I suck at guile.)
• I wish that I wasn't so hard on my mom when I was growing up.
  I am getting it back in spades. :P And it'll only get worse before it get better, judging by my growing process.
• I wish that I hadn't taken it to heart when people said that I "run funny." I should have tried Cross Country or something. Maybe I'd have learned to enjoy running. Who knows??
• I wish I hadn't (repeatedly) quit piano lessons. Or ballet class.

Things I want to do:

• Swim with dolphins.
• Learn to scuba dive ... or, at least, go snorkling along a coral reef.
• Take the kids to Disneyland. And, if possible, Disneyworld.
• Give our house some curb appeal.
• Paint the rooms (like I talked about above).
• Have a house with a backyard for playing and BBQs.
• Get a full two years' food storage.
• Watch a sunrise on the beach as a family.
• Watch the aurora borealis. And maybe the aurora austrailus, too.
• Make a habit of reading my scriptures. ... and learn how to STUDY them.
• Make time in my life and form an appetite for exercise.
• Take dancing classes with Michael. Especially tango. 

Confessions:

• I confess that I have a more-than-slight interest in Burlesque. However, I won't be performing it.
• I also find tattoos fascinating. But I won't get one. I'm too indecisive. And I don't like pain. 
• If I ever got another piercing (I have a hole in each earlobe. And a second hole that I don't use in each), it'd be a couple small hoops at the top of my left ear. But I probably won't. Unless the prophet tells us that the limit on earrings has been lifted. No biggie. I could always get some fake ones, if needed.
• It wasn't until I had children that I understood why people drink.
  If it weren't for my religious beliefs, there have been days that I'd be knocking down shots.
  (Of course, since my uncle was an alcoholic ... and addictions do run in the family, it's good that I never start. Thank goodness for the Word of Wisdom!)
• If it weren't so expensive, I think I'd go under the knife. Get a breast reduction/lift and a tummy tuck.
  But, it's EXPENSIVE. And it'd also be like saying that I can't handle what I've done (and what the kids have done) to my body. ... I've earned my sagging stomach. Even as much as I don't always love it. At all.
• I'm so used to living in my brain (Hello, academic bookworm!), that I'm not all that in touch with my body. Or so it feels. Which makes me even more neurotic. Oy.
• If I had a superpower, I'd probably opt for healing powers. Because I'd be able to actually DO SOMETHING to make things better. ... If I couldn't have that, teleportation would be pretty awesome.  ... If I was able to KNOW when/where empty spaces were. This way, if I was touching a car while teleporting, I wouldn't squish anyone or something. Because that'd suck.

So ... yeah ... there are some factoids about lil' ol' me for you to have. Who knows ... maybe they'll be helpful for Jeopardy! or something.

Now to write a catch-up post ... and a crazy dreams chronicle.