27!!!

I turned 27 last Friday!!! So since I never got around to doing that 25 Random Things tag that everyone's been doing on Facebook, here is my list of 27 Random Things About ME!!!

1. I am a certified scuba diver, and Stephen is too! I've gone diving in Australia (the Great Barrier Reef, no less!), Hawaii, and St. Thomas. It's an amazing thing to do and I love it!
2. I despise lettuce. Seriously hate it! People tell me all the time that lettuce has no flavor, which is completely ridiculous to me because if there is one tiny piece of shredded lettuce that gets into my taco, I can taste it instantly. I order everything without lettuce, and people do look at me like I’m crazy a lot of the time. But that’s just me!

3. I took 5 semesters of French in college (because I had to take that much language to get my BA in Humanities), but I was absolutely terrible at it and I don’t speak or understand very much French today.

4. I love to be comfortable. I wish I could live my entire life in pajama pants, flip flops, and a soft shirt. It’s fun to dress up occasionally too, but comfort is the number one thing I look for when I buy clothes. I walk around stores feeling everything!

5. I got to sing with the BYU choirs for 2 years, and boy do I miss it! I had tons of awesome experiences, like getting to sing at General Conference in the Conference Center.

6. I hate the feeling of wearing socks and shoes. It’s so uncomfortable! My feet like to be free. I also can’t stand having nail polish on my fingernails. It feels like they can’t breathe!

7. I love getting massages, even though I haven’t had one in a very long time. I used to work at the front desk for a massage school, and for the entire year I worked there I got free massages every single Saturday. It was heavenly!

8. For pretty much my entire life, I’ve had a really hard time falling asleep. It just takes a long time for my brain to shut down, even if I’m tired. I can never sleep in cars, airplanes (even really long flights around the world), or in a lit up room.

9. I can’t roll my tongue or whistle.

10. I worked as a travel agent for awhile when I lived in Utah. I got some amazing deals while I worked there, the best one being an 11-night Disney Caribbean cruise for $250 per person! I found out I was pregnant with Kirsten only a month before we went on that cruise, so unfortunately I was soooooo sick for the entire cruise. Next time I go on a cruise, I will NOT be pregnant!

11. I got to ride on an elephant in Thailand. It was one of the coolest days of my whole life!
12. I really love animals. Someone rescued our second cat, Herbie, from a mud puddle when he was just a kitten and I couldn't resist bringing him home. He was a tiny little ball of fluff and really sick, he kept sneezing all the time. Stephen didn't know about it, so he had a surprise waiting when he got home from work that night. :)
13. I think the most beautiful city in the world is Paris. I've been to lots of amazing places in the world loved so many of them, but truly j'adore Paris!!!14. I got to see an Olympic event in Salt Lake City in 2002. My cousin Jessica and I went to an all-day women’s skiing event. It was so cool!

15. I love rain and snow. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I grew up in sunny San Diego and never saw much of either of them, but for some reason rainy weather makes me happy and I just think snow is gorgeous! I also love cold weather because I love to cuddle up with blankets and feel cozy and warm. Feeling cozy is just such a great feeling!

16. My first car was this beautiful little red Toyota Celica, and I bought it when I was 20. I had to get rid of it when we had Kirsten, but I still miss it every day! When all my kids are grown up, I will for sure be getting another little red car to drive.
17. My two favorite numbers are 17 and 27. So this should be a great year! I can’t even believe it’s been 10 years since I was 17. . .

18. I really like interior design. I’ve never studied it or anything, but I love to figure out what looks awesome on my walls and shelves. I like a few of the design shows on HGTV, and my favorite is Color Splash. I wish David Bromstad could design a room for my house! I love shopping at Pier 1 or Pottery Barn.

19. I loved ballroom dancing when I was at BYU. I took lots of classes, and even won a couple trophies at the Dance Sport competition for country swing dancing. That was tons of fun!

20. I had my first baby, Kirsten, on Mother’s Day. She was a week late and I got induced. The labor and delivery were pretty easy, but I lost a ton of blood so I had to stay in the hospital with an IV stuck in me for a couple days and then I had a hard recovery and felt very weak for a long time. Here’s hoping for an easier recovery this time around!

21. I taught myself to play the piano when I was a teenager. I still love to play, it’s so relaxing to me and I could sit at the piano for hours. If I owned one, that is!

22. Nothing in this world scares me more than a spider. I am completely petrified of them! I’m also horribly afraid of scary movies, clowns, dolls, ventriloquist dummies, and haunted houses where people jump out at you.

23. Once when I was a teenager my mom made me weed our entire HUGE garden all by myself as a punishment. I don’t remember what I did to get the punishment, but I do remember it as the worst punishment of my whole life and I seriously hate gardening and weeding to this day!

24. I am addicted to cheese and chocolate (not together!) I could eat both of them every day! My favorite cheese in Tillamook medium cheddar, it’s always in our fridge. And my favorite chocolates are See’s, Dove, Ghiradelli, and Symphony bars.

25. I’ve lived near 3 large cities throughout my life, and all of them start with the letter S. . . San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Seattle!

26. I am SO awful at math. On my ACT test, I got a 35 in English and only an 18 in math. That's out of a possible high of 36.

27. I love a huge variety of music, but my favorite group through my entire life has always been the Beach Boys. Their music makes me happier than any other. It brings sunshine into my life, and even on the coldest winter day makes me feel like I’m relaxing on the warm sand at the beach!