Random Facts about Me

I've been TAGGED (thanks Karen!) So now I supposed to tell five random facts about myself. Well I got a little enthused about this for several reasons but here's my list. I'll post this and very soon TAG several other unsuspecting bloggers to do the same.

1. I’ve earned a graduate degree or two but I’m especially proud of jobs I’ve worked along the way: starting with cleaning lady (At a Tudor-style mansion turned nursing home.); lifeguard (Found and rescued a guy’s eyeglasses from the lake bottom but couldn’t find another guy’s dentures. Maybe by now he shuts his mouth when he swims.), mum packer at a greenhouse (from 4:00 a.m. until noon), college cafeteria (Like some OJ with your oatmeal?), resident assistant in the dorm (“Quiet hour, room check. . .quiet hour, room check”) and paint crew for school district (painting classrooms, stadium buildings and stripes on the football field). In between, I taught home economics 22 years.

2. I spent the bicentennial in Sydney, Australia along with 300-some others recruited to teach there for two years. Petted a koala and a kangaroo and ate shark fin soup. Also I can sing Waltzing Matilda upon request.

3. As a child I cut off my eyelashes. This was to spite my parents for going on about our baby sister’s beautiful lashes although they had never noticed mine. Hopefully they learned their lesson. I also gave myself haircuts as a child because I liked the sound of the scissors cuttng hair. Somehow Mom always knew afterward.

4. I sing decent alto and can harmonize pretty well thanks to having sat near excellent altos in church – starting in Australia. Oddly enough, throughout high school and college I wanted to be a super-star soprano or even an okay soprano but alas, it was not to be. Now I’m the only alto in our whole congregation and wish there were another alto-wanna-be for me to mentor.

5. I’ve never been engaged and I’ve never gone steady but I’ve always wanted to wear a guy’s class ring on a chain around my neck. I seem to be a little behind in that area. Or maybe I’m ahead! Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if someday I marry a nice widower. In the meantime, help me watch the obits, would you please?

6. I would love to visit Mt Ararat and see Noah’s Ark there on the eastern edge of Turkey. I’ve been within several hundred miles but understand that visiting the ark itself is not feasible nowadays for political reasons. Still I think helicoptering in there with a team of experts – a good local guide or two, a historian, a geologist would be the ultimate travel adventure.

7. The main thing I could really use for Christmas is a can of Crisco, solid vegetable shortening. This is the land of unsalted butter, for pity sake. I’m going to try again and scour the supermarkets for something Crisco-ish. How else can a person make decent icing for Christmas cookies?

8. Twenty-some years ago I ran almost daily. As I recall, I ran 36 10-k races, the Dallas Turkey Trot (8 miles) five times and two half marathons. I loved running and miss it. Never speedy of course, I just always kept running to the next stop sign or for another ten minutes. All that was a kilogram or two ago...

9. At the top of my list of heroes are mothers. I’m in awe of women who have raised families and considered it a calling. Teaching children to love God, nature, and books. Showing children the joy of serving others and being part of a cause bigger than themselves. Nancy Pelosi, mother of five, grandmother of six said something like, Being a mother is what prepared me to be Speaker of the House.

10. I have a timer in almost every room of the house. Using a timer helps me get things done in 15-minute baby steps. Like Flylady says, you can do anything for 15 minutes!