A few people tagged me to divulge "7 weird things about myself" . I have to say that I'm not quite as weird as I used to be - maybe having a child has broken me of some of my quirky, and totally useless habits that I once had. However, there is still plenty of weirdness about me (and I'll maybe add a couple of factoids about myself, rather than just weird things - I do want you to come back after all). And there will probably be more than 7 things - I'm rolling with it and we'll see where it goes.
1.) I love "High School Musical" - you know, from the Disney channel. I have seen it three times - so far, and have the soundtrack. Just a reminder...I'm 34 years old.
2.) In that same vein, I also love "Hannah Montana", and "She's so Raven". Both are from the Disney channel, and both have me in stitches every time - I am not watching them with my daughter, I'm usually watching them alone, or with Steve. There have been occasions while watching both shows that Diet Coke has very nearly sprayed from my mouth and nose during a particularly funny moment. Again, sheepish reminder of above mentioned age.
3.) I drink Diet Coke (love Diet Coke), and before I open the can I tap on the top 8 times. Then I crack it open. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap....crack. Not 3 times, not 6....8 times. It's something about it being an even number, and well, it just feels right. I know, it's weird, and when I'm in public I try and do it discreetly so that I don't call attention to myself. I think it is sort of like people with OCD who have to touch something every time they see it, or do something a certain number of times...anyway, I don't think I have OCD, but perhaps I'm just a feverish hand scrubbing away from a new disorder.
4.) I pick at my fingers - have done since high school. I don't bite my nails, but I'm always picking at hang nails and my cuticles. I often hide my fingers when I'm writing checks in a store, or giving my credit card because I don't want people to see. I get manicures sometimes which helps for a while because I want to keep them looking nice. The finger picking thing drives Steve bonkers.
5.) I rigidly follow the same morning and nighttime skincare routine. Unless I'm very sick, I always follow my multi-step regimen - there are nine things twice a day that go on my face prior to make up, or going to bed. I've always tried to take good care of my skin - my mom was and is like that too. At any rate, nine steps - needless to say, it's not a quick pop in and pop out of the bathroom to wash my face. My roommate in college was one of those people who washed her skin with what ever soap happened to be in the vicinity and then would maybe slap some body lotion on her face. She had flawless peaches and cream skin - I find that totally annoying.
6.) I love mysteries...it's been more like a life long affair. I wanted to be a detective when I was in 3rd grade. That dream didn't end until my senior year in high school when I decided not to go into law enforcement and criminology. Through elementary school (until Junior High) I had a sign that hung on the front of my desk that read, "Baker P.I. - cases 25 cents". Baker is my maiden name. In 5th grade, Tina hired me to find her missing homework. I was thrilled...and then shortly after she told me she found it in her desk. A bit of a let down. I also created my own crime scene investigation kit (before CSI had ever been heard of). I had powder for dusting for finger prints, tape to lift the finger prints, magnifying glass, notebooks for writing down clues....I kept all of this stuff in a tackle box that I would tote around with me. I also had a club with other kids, where I was the president (of course) and we solved mysteries - or more accurately, we waited around in the hopes of there being something mysterious some where that we could investigate. We even had whistles and a certain "call" we would do with our whistles in case one of us was in trouble. In High School I worked at the police department - in the detectives devision. I was sort of like an intern - my counselor at school arranged it for me. It was very fun. And now I'm in IT.....sigh.
7.) At work I have a certain routine that I follow in the morning. I get coffee at the same place and always order the same thing (a large Carmel mocha with three espresso shots). I take my liquid gold up to my desk and set it to the "left" of my laptop. My planner goes to the "right" of my laptop. I always leave a daily greeting on my voicemail - which is exactly the same every day except for the date. I always have a written, prioritized list of everything that I want to get done that day, which rarely gets done due to ensuing chaos from almost the second I sit down. I guess because my job is so crazy I have those certain little things that I do to try and bring order to the craziness.
8.) I love handbags...if I could marry them and be a bigamist I would. Most of my handbags are large because I like to have plenty of space to put all my stuff that goes from bag to bag. I try and keep things contained so that moving them almost every day - and sometimes multiple times as day from bag to bag doesn't take very long. I have my wallet, makeup bag, sunglasses case, small picture album with family photos, my bluetooth ear piece, and my cell phone. I also have cloth bags that I keep my handbags in so that they stay nice. They sit upon a shelf in my closet. I give them a little wink, a nod, and a few loving words of encouragement when I go into my closet for something.
9.) I can look at a big grouping of things and very quickly count how many things are there. This works especially well in spread sheets, lists of people's names, piles of stuff. I don't know why I can do this, and didn't discover that I could until I was in my early 20's. It is useful though.
10.) I danced in the Lord Mayor of Westminster's New Year's Day parade in London, England when I was 18. I was chosen from a cheerleading and dance competition that I was in when I was a cheerleader in high school. That was an amazing experience.
I'm supposed to tag seven other people, but I have a feeling that most people have already been tagged. If you've already done the 7 weird things then disregard, but hopefully some haven't: Kim from Daisy Cottage, Kim from Vintage Pretties, Tina from Cherry Hill Cottage, Karla from Sugar Bear Designs, Kari from Artsy Mama, Aina from Modern Country, and Jen from The Cottage Nest.
