Oooo, pick me!

Read about the challenge below!

1) I attended Colorado State University for my freshman year of college despite being from Pennsylvania. They had a great geology program, and I wanted some new scenery. It was an unbelievably wonderful year. I fell in love with the landscape and the people. Unfortunately due to financial reasons, I ended up only staying the one year, but I've never forgotten my time spent there. The return trip was another great memory as I'd flown out and had my stuff shipped to my dorm, but to get home, a fellow classmate who lived in Vermont suggested we get a small U-haul and pull it behind her SUV. So I got to drive cross country. Take aways? Kansas has a lot of corn and crop dusters that like to mess with you, AND Kansas City, Missouri has too many lanes of traffic, lol.

2) While out at CSU, I went to the Grand Canyon for spring break with my roommate and a friend of ours. It was 1994. We actually camped on the Havasupai Reservation. It was a 10-mile hike from where the cars were parked down this crazy switchback descent where donkeys carrying packs passed us with maybe inches between us, them, and a fall to death. My friends convinced me to leave my watch in the car, so we had no idea what time it was for a week until finally one night, I had to ask someone. Found out we were going to bed around 6:30pm and getting up at the ass crack of dawn. The night sky there, free from city lights, was the blackest but most beautiful I've ever seen to this day. Stars everywhere. We hiked and climbed off the side of cliffs to get to the waterfall to rinse off, and ate spoonfuls of peanut butter from the jar. It was an unforgettable experience.

3) I got a sweet tooth. Always have. I love dark chocolate and caramel, preferably together. My favorite candy bar is the Milky Way Midnight. And for completely unexplained reasons, I hate Snickers. I won't even eat it if there's no other chocolate in sight, lol. Which is why I always have a secret stash somewhere in the house. Also because my kids eat everything. Another favorite is ice cream! Give me some vanilla bean, peanut butter ripple or mint chocolate chip. I do also love my salty friends but generally don't seek them out. Sorry, not sorry, chips!

4) My youngest son has gotten (most of) my family into disc golf. He started out with a club at school this past spring, and now we play almost every weekend. There are so many good courses in our area. I'm ok at it. Not horrible but not great either. It's been such a wonderful thing to bring us together. We even bought some disc golf baskets to play at home as we have a large property. If you've never played, it's quite fun. We recently went to the grand opening of a new course about 40 minutes or so from our house. It was a great event with music, food and some friendly competitions. I scored a personal best for 18 holes (yay!), but also picked up a bad case of poison (boo) which is itching as we speak.

5) If I had a female twin, her name would've been Heidi (according to my mom). I used to be obsessed with that fact when I was young. I wanted a sibling so badly, but really wanted an identical twin. When I was 17, dumb blonde jokes were all the rage and I was completely sick of being a blonde, so my best friend and I dyed our hair one day. Dark brown. My mom was so pissed. But I picked up the name Heidi for a bit, lol! Eventually I tried to dye it back because I was having senior pictures taken. Unfortunately a lesson I have learned in life is that my hair is blonde but does not like to be dyed blonde. I have tried cheap box kind and over $100 professionals and the same thing happens, it either turns very brassy or strawberry. So I had pinkish hair for awhile including having to go to my uncle's funeral. Fun colors were not quite appreciated back then. Sigh.

6) I played the french horn in elementary school but I got sick of lugging that giant thing on the bus, so I switched to the viola. I only played it for a few short years. I've picked up the guitar here and there as an adult and have a lovely one my husband got me for my birthday one year. Used to play a few songs for my oldest boys at bedtime when they were little. I can't sing for shit, but they always loved it. Love Me Tender (by Elvis) was a favorite :)

7) My first poem published on Vocal, When We First Touched, was the first poem I ever wrote. Even in high school, the only time I needed to write one, I had my best friend do it for me. I loathed poetry for so many years, only choking down the classics which made no sense to me. I so badly wanted to go back in time and ask them if the teachers' interpretations were anything like what they intended, lol. But now I find it absolutely freeing to write them and read them. It's become a form of emotional release, and I'm genuinely shocked every time my jumble of words and thoughts make any sense to anyone else. Of course there are still times I read poems that seem to sail right over my head with their meaning, lol.

8) I gave birth to four beautiful children, and they've kept me busy for the last twenty-two years. I calculated one time that I changed diapers for 9 years straight. That's a lot of crap!! The parenting road has not been an easy one. They've each had their challenges with health and school and life. Right now, they all still live at home, in different stages of adolescence and young adulthood. Although it makes things chaotic and our food bill exorbitant, I try to soak up these moments with them before they're out on their own.

9) I have an unhealthy obsession with coffee mugs (and the little hot pad/coaster I sit them on). I've always loved mugs. My favorite ones are often those that feel good in my hands and have some kind of unique coloring or saying. I have so many now that I rotate them for the seasons of the year. It brings me such joy to look through them and choose one to set the tone for my day. I'll share a pic of the newest one I purchased last week. As for the coasters, my kids used to make little pot holders with looms when they were younger. I use them each day to hold a little piece of that time with me. My daughter just crocheted a new one this week. (I'm using it today!)

10) I love to laugh and make others laugh. It's one of my very favorite things to do. I let too many things stress me out and worry me or the past creeps up, so I crave, no need, the emotional release. Otherwise, I'd just be crying all the time. I'm great at delivering a funny story in person. I'm even better at cracking myself up. Hey, I have to be with me every day, so might as well have a good time. If I have a few spare minutes, and by that I mean waiting the 15 minutes for the dryer to fluff, you'll find me scrolling through TikTok watching bloopers, comedians, and people doing silly crap. (I love watching people dance too.)

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Thank you for reading! If you want to know even more nonsense about me, take a look at these two pieces :)