Real Life Wednesday: On 52 Random Facts.
[hi hi. i’m finishing up my book edits and coming out of obscurity later this afternoon. for now, we’re doing this. i jacked this idea from, oh, i don’t know, like thousands of blogs i’ve seen over the last four+ years. it’s long. i’m wordy. i don’t ever shut up. it can be a bit much. i get it.]
[p.s. please share something random with me so i feel less vulnerable and freakish. k thanks bye.]
1. I have zero fashion sense and no eye for interior design. I mean, I can pick things out that I like (hello neon, pastel, black, leopard print everything), but when it comes to putting things together it is one giant hot mess.
2. I still haven’t changed my last name. I never intended to keep my maiden name but I did so… mostly out of laziness… and five years later I’m still using it. I actually would like to change it but it seems a little late (and confusing) now.
3. I was petrified of animals when I was a kid and cried for hours when my parents said we were getting a dog.
4. I went into college as a history major and have an absolute fascination with all things American history.
5. The only thing I like to drink cold is iced coffee, otherwise I prefer my water or beverages to be room temperature. So weird.
6. I still can’t get into the habit of making our bed every morning. I need to grow up.
7. I don’t understand how people can’t be insanely passionate about SOMETHING. It’s just how I’m wired.
8. As a kid, I hated butter. My mom used to butter our bread for sandwiches and I’d have a complete meltdown. On the same note, I once walked into the kitchen and found one of my brothers eating a stick of butter straight up.
9. The most challenging time in my life so far was the first year or so of marriage. If you read my blog back then, you probably get this.
10. The second most challenging time was my freshman year of college. Never ever want to relive that.
11. The only drink I ever crave is water. Carbonation burns my throat.
12. I rarely can read an entire book without reading the last few pages first. I ruin everything.
13. I could never go camping. Please don’t make me.
14. I rarely have interest in the bread basket on the table at dinner. I find it to be boring.
15. Also, I can pass up cake at a birthday party 85% of the time. It has to be over the top to interest me.
16. I am insanely disgusted by entitlement. See also: I don’t think there is a thing such as working too hard.
17. I love my work so much that many nights I wish I didn’t need sleep to function.
18. Even though I get emotionally attached to TV shows and books, I don’t get emotionally attached to objects and can throw most stuff away without batting an eye. I’m not a pack rat.
19. I succumbed to peer pressure and did a juice cleanse last year… and thought it was horrific. Made it all three days though.
20. I’ve never drank (drunk?) a glass of milk in my life.
21. I never cared for cartoons when I was a kid. I’ve never seen the little mermaid or bambi. Who am I?
22. I didn’t get my ears pieced until I was 18. My mom still doesn’t have hers pierced.
23. I’ve had my hair done by the same person for over 20 years and can’t imagine anyone else touching it.
24. I’m not super into astrology but believe I’m a scorpio to a T. Seriously. Like to a TEEEE.
25. I took over six years of Spanish but absorbed nothing other than “Hola.”
26. I am scared of the dark. Not kidding.
27. I cannot stand someone touching my feet. EVER.
28. I have a killer memory. My husband hates it. Apparently not when it comes to learning other languages though.
29. I couldn’t have cared less about antiques until I started photographing food.
30. I never get road rage and don’t believe in it. I feel like it’s the biggest waste of time and a ridiculous use of emotional resources.
31. I’ve never put a cigarette to my lips, ever.
32. I couldn’t get into Breaking Bad. I know. My taste is wretched.
33. My first job was at a car wash. And I definitely wrecked a customer’s car while pulling it out of the wash.
34. I fangirl over my favorite authors way more than any actor or musician.
35. I did my own makeup on my wedding day. Looking back now, I so shouldn’t have.
36. I can no longer watch horror films. The Strangers ruined everything for me.
37. One of my life fears is that my future kids will be bullied.
38. I can’t fathom what it’s like to “forget” to eat. That is a foreign concept to me.
39. I got my belly button pierced in college and it was a nightmare. It lasted about a month before I decided that I hated it.
40. I can’t keep the inside of my car clean to save my life. Like to the point where Eddie refuses to drive it.
41. The smooth jazz Pandora station is playing on my computer right now. And often.
42. For over 10 years, my go-to quote has been “when you want something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done.” A Thomas Jefferson one, I believe.
43. I broke my arm twice: once when I was 18 months old and the second when I was a tween and one of my brothers threw a football under my bike tire. While I was riding it.
44. I don’t miss personal training at all, even though it was what I wanted to do from the age of 16 and I was obsessed with my job at the time.
45. I still wish that skinny jeans never came into style.
46. I’m don’t feel ready to have kids but want a big family in the future so riddle me that. Time’s a tickin’!
47. Twice in my life I’ve cut my hair to almost chin-length, removing like 10+ inches. Hilariously enough, it was after my college freshman year and a month after I got married (see #’s 10 & 11) I’m such a cliché.
48. I call myself a faux country music fan because I wasn’t really into it until I met Eddie. Now, however, I’m obsessed and it’s almost all that I listen to. I like the new “pop-pier” stuff though. You can hate me. It’s okay.
49. I have zero desire to eat most fast food, and it’s not even a food snob thing. I just don’t think it tastes that good?
50. I did tae bo religiously in high school. Billy Blanks for life.
51. My first real crush was on Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing. I started my blog on the day that he died and reference him in my first post.
52. I loathe almost everything I “create” or write when I look back on it later. I’ve heard this is normal behavior for someone in a creative field but I definitely never consider myself to be a creative person.
175 Comments on “Real Life Wednesday: On 52 Random Facts.”
I absolutely can NOT have my feet touched either. I got a pedicure before my wedding for the first and only time – it was pure torture.
I hate cilantro. Not sure if that’s freakish enough for you, but anything else is a little too kinky for your intended audience
I HAVE to make the bed before I can get into it. Like, it has to be completely made to my liking or I will adjust until it is. My husband makes the bed (very infrequently) and I will go behind him and “fix” it. Is that weird enough for you? :-)
I’m the same way! I can’t STAND to get in a bed with wrinkled sheets.
Same! In fact, sometimes I like to iron my sheets. So weird.
I never understood how someone could decide as a kid what they want to be when they grow up (a doctor, lawyer, biologist, etc…) and then never change their minds. And I hate most everything I design.
…now you have me wanting to read your blog from the beginning!!!
Elizabeth, I had the same thought about wanting to start to read from the beginning!
you guys. please do not. you’re giving me anxiety. ha.
i did. at my last job, work was really slow. I’ve read nearly every post. sorry Jessica!
I’ve read every post. I was suppose to be, ahhh, cleaning my closet, doing laundry, picking my kids up from school. Heck I’m not even a foodie, couldn’t cook a meal if you were standing here instructing me.. but I love you wit and sense of humor… and your mad creativeness. you my friend are talented on so many levels-
I can’t stand coconut or anything coconut flavored with the exception of Trader Joe’s Coconut Body Butter!
The Strangers ruined me for life! So scary
I’m so glad I’m not the only one out there for this–I’m also afraid of the dark. I watched my first horror movie (The nightmare on elm street) when I was somewhere between 5-7 years old and ever since I have trouble even sleeping in the dark. Plus I no longer watch scary movies or else I’ll have trouble sleeping for weeks.
Sam the Eagle from The Muppets terrified me when I was a child. I also loathe peanut butter. I know, I know.
Hahaha that’s the best childhood fear I’ve heard in ages! I was deathly afraid of Wallace & Gromit, so I can’t throw stones.
I’m with you on the feet. Like Claire said above, pedicures are absolute torture. I’ve only had a few and it’s been years since my last one. I’ll stick with painting my own toenails thank you very much :)
My sisters forced me to eat ladybugs as a kid (I was two–so in my defense, I was completely unaware of what I was doing)–I would literally give them a kiss and then….eat them. So I’m fairly positive I have you beat on the freak thing.
Also, the only part of this post where I was like “WHAT?!!!” was the fact that you’ve never seen the Little Mermaid or Bambi. This must change!
HAHAH this is cracking me up! Lady bugs!
you have now scarred me with ladybug thoughts.
Me too! Thanks for the good laugh. Kiss, gulp. :)
I (kind of similarly) ate something disgusting from nature when I was about 4..a robin’s egg!!! So so disgusting. It was around Easter and I thought it was a malted chocolate egg. To this day I can’t eat Cadbury Cream Eggs…the “yolk” brings back bad memories.
omg no. nightmares.
Love this. Ditto on #7, 23, 31, 37, 38, definitely 49, and 52… :)
Omg what a list! No milk, no feet touching, no interest in bday cake, no bread & butter, so many things about you that I really wouldn’t have guessed!
I am the same with antiques, entitlement, and yes, fear bullying. It does happen and it starts very, very young. So sad, but true.
On a happy note, my random fact was that I flew to Vegas and was there for 14 hours over the weekend, saw the sunset, the sunrise, had a blast, and flew home :)
I can’t get over how similar we are.
The first year of marriage is definitely the hardest! I wish someone told me that! Everyone tells you ‘you’re still in the honeymoon phase.’ SO NOT TRUE.
I love what you say about being passionate, working hard, doing things you’ve never done before, and most of all: hating your creativity of the past. I struggle with this so much. It makes me feel so much better to know that you do too :)
Something weird about me: I feel guilty that it took me 28 years to realize what I’m really passionate about. I feel like I wasted college and grad school. Like I should get a do-over and go to cooking school instead.
Yes yes yes to being so passionate that sleep is annoying! I felt like this last night!!
It’s never too late! :)
This whole post only makes me love you more.
I’m with you on the freshman year of college and first year of marriage. Whoever said those were the best times of a life is completely wrong and misguided.
I can relate to ALL of these … except passing up cake. Nope. Never. ever. ever.
#39: I read somewhere that according to acupuncture (I think?) your bellybutton is considered your “center balance,” so if your belly button is not pierced EXACTLY in the center, it can throw off your body’s balance and you end up having stomach problems, etc. This might be total BS, but it’s why I never got mine pierced.
huh, this is really interesting. I have my belly button pierced and have stomach issues although the stomach issues didn’t happen immediately after I got it pierced. I’m not sure I could believe they are related but it’s an interesting thought.
This is crazy! I have had my belly button pierced since 16 (am 27) and have struggled with tummy issues for many of those years… but also a postural imbalance. I find this SO interesting thank you!!
#12! I thought I was the only one who did that! It’s such a weird compulsion. Sometimes I spend the entire book trying to piece together how the last page fits in.
How did you come up with all these? I feel like anytime I’m prompted to come up with even just five unique things about myself, I draw a blank. But i’ll randomly think of stuff at other times! I crave water too, I can’t even sip soda anymore because it HURTS. (but it needs to be cold water!) Also, I envy your ability to pass up birthday cake as well as the bread basket. But I’m glad you don’t know what it’s like to “forget” to eat. We will never understand those people!
I hate having my hair touched. It is torture for me to go and get my hair cut and sometimes I go less than once a year. I don’t know what I’m going to do on my wedding day.
you can totally do your own! my mom has always said she loves when people do their own hair on their wedding day because they “look like themselves.” i would have definitely done my own had i not totally trusted my stylist and been with him for years.
Also not a packrat. I don’t like clutter, so if I don’t need it or think I’ll go back to it, I pitch it. I went a little too far one day and threw my husband’s wedding ring away by accident (don’t worry – we found it in the trash!). So now he always kids me when I’m on a cleaning streak.
BILLY BLANKS FOREVER!!! hahaha love this. and i am so with you about breaking bad! i tried and tried but never got into it.
ooh and a random thing about me is that i’m wearing a tie dye shirt that i tie dyed myself at summer camp.
ummmm tie dye? now we’re obviously soul mates.
Going low-carb has turned me into a total foodie-snob. Like, only the very best of everything.
Hearing/reading over-used terms like ‘cute & comfy’, ‘pin now read later’, ‘shoved down our throats’, ‘period’ (used as a complete sentence at the end of another one), literally makes my skin crawl.
I’m a 33 yr old ‘professional’ in my career, and I feel like I still don’t know what I want to go when I grow up- and I don’t think I ever will. I would go back to school or try something else, but my current job pays me way too much for how little is expected of me and my employer provides good insurance and I carry the 5 of us in our family. Which was a lifesaver this past year, when one of my stepsons needed major surgery for scoliosis out of the blue- and all the accompanying treatment and related costs.
I used to be a packrat- until losing everything in a hurricane. Puts things into perspective.
2. Got married in November and still haven’t changed my last name! I keep pushing it back and it just seems like its going to be such a pain to do
So with you on 45I Can’t wait until they go away. On 46 – I felt the same way and now I don’t want to have kids at all. I feel like so many people are afraid to say that or feel like they’re supposed to have kids (especially after getting married!). But since admitting to myself that I love my lifestyle and don’t want to change it, I feel so free and relieved, despite everyone around me having babies.
I must disagree on the camping though. I backpacked through New Zealand in a tent for 2 months. Best 2 months of my life :)
My mom never got her ears pierced either, and I didn’t get mine done until I was 26. I think that was the closest I ever came to passing out, lol. Ditto on #38, I have never understood how that could happen. And I think I’m going to adopt #42, love it!
I got my ears pierced at 16 and I almost passed out after the first ear! They asked if I wanted to do the second one and I said no lol. I did end up with both pierced though.
I’m SOOOO afraid of the dark it’s almost painful. I can’t even watch scary movie commercials.. like to the point of even if I’m in a seperate room and it’s on the TV my fiance will change the channel because he knows I’ll get freaked out just by hearing the music.
Butttttt I love Halloween (the holiday) at least I love getting dressed up. No masks, no scary movies, just getting dressed up. The struggle is real.
I have to say, this is great! And, I can totally relate to a few. #43, my neighbor through a brick at my bike when I was like 5 … spent that night in the ER. Then like two days later, I fell at a theme park and split my head open. I survived. #46 … seriously, I want a big family (4 kids) but I’m still waiting on Mr. Right and well, the right time! #50 Billy Blanks for life. Still one of my fave workouts. I found a disc of his at Target for like $8 a few years ago. Still rocking tae bo today.
I also haven’t cut my hair in a big way (like 8+ inches in nearly 7 years)… I’m thinking it’s time, but seriously! It took me seven years to get it back.
Happy Wednesday!
First, I loved this post and love reading stuff like this. I totally don’t get how people can “forget” to eat. When I finish a meal my first thought is of the next and I eat at the same times always.
Personally, I cannot stand when people whistle or sing or randomly talk to themselves when no one is around.
I just laughed out loud ot most of these. 1) because most of them remind me of myself, and 2) it makes me think of all of the wierd things that make me, well, ME! I have a serious phobia of the water that people boil hot dogs in. I have seen Titanic in the movie theater 13 times. I had a stuffed animal cat, that I named Kitty growing up. Because I am a realist. And she was a kitty. I wanted to be a dentist when I was a little girl. And I am allergic to chocolate (I’m normal. I promise!)
I completely agree about birthday cake. And breaking bad. Ugh. I tried so hard, but it just wasn’t happening.
7. I don’t understand how people can’t be insanely passionate about SOMETHING. It’s just how I’m wired. – I completely agree with this.
36. I can no longer watch horror films. The Strangers ruined everything for me. – I never really enjoyed scary movies. Even the silly ones would get into my head even though I know they are dumb and it could never happen in real life. BUT I watched The Strangers and it STILL haunts me to this day. My grandparents’ house reminded me of where the movie took place… ugh, it’s horrifying which I guess was the goal of the movie. Well played.
37. One of my life fears is that my future kids will be bullied. – The fact that I wouldn’t be able to protect them all the time is a big reason I am scared to ever have children.
So weird random fact about myself. I can’t handle people rubbing their eyebrows and not brushing them back the right way. It’s like petting an animal backwards. I have to fix it. I also can’t handle people who drink soup or the milk out of the bottom of cereal. I think this is a texture thing for me. I also just stared at the word “soup’ up there and couldn’t decide if I had written soup or soap. Wednesday is clearly getting to me.
One more, I can’t stand the phrase, “It is what it is.”
Okay I’ll do my best to make you feel less freakish…my cousin, when she was little, would eat butter all by itself all the time. Finally my aunt gave her a spoon and a tub of margarine and said “have at it.” She ate so much, became sick, and 20 years later still cringes at the thought of eating butter on anything. I’m exactly the same with birthday cake (or any cake), I prefer ice cream or cheesecake. I didn’t even eat the cake at my wedding. Same with #31 (ewww) and #35 (but I’m okay with it). And oh my gosh The Strangers! Ruined every scary movie forever, ask my husband, I’ve never been more petrified in my life! It was quite the experience. And #48 <— oh honey, not the "pop-pier" stuff. The older stuff is country. This "pop-pier" stuff, well it's "pop-pier" stuff. And Patrick. I cried for hours that day, and dedicated my evening to him by watching, Dirty Dancing, Ghost, and Road House. BTW, I love get-to-know-you-facts posts :)
I also waited five years to change my last name. It’s such an annoying process! But not too hard. The only reason I ended up changing is because I wanted a target red debit card….priorities ;).
This post made my ENTIRE Wednesday. Random facts posts are pretty much my favorite most of the time. I’m the same with road rage and don’t understand why my boyfriend gets so upset…It feels like the biggest waste of energy! Except one someone almost hits me, then I honk (but that is definitely within reason!)
so candid in this post–I love it! i have to say these “real life wednesday” posts are becoming my most anticipated internet update each week…keep ’em coming, girl! it’s funny you mention cutting your hair significantly after coming out of a tough time. i have absolutely done the same thing! something about being able to control that little peice of my life has allowed me to break free. maybe it was the same for you :)
#s 1, 5, 8….=my LIFE. I hate ice, like, HATE. But ice cream? Popsicles? Sorbet? I want ALL THE THINGS icy. Just not actual ice.
– Country all the way
– Pretty sure I’ve never even touched a cigarette
– I found out my hair dresser may move to LA and I’ll probably cry the first time someone else cuts my hair
– Mi llamo Amy, that is about it.
– Could never drink milk, as a little girl I had bottles of apple juice, my mom had to start watering it down for me so I wouldn’t be ingesting insane amounts of sugar
– have pretty bad road rage but I’ve lived/driven in Boston my whole life, I think it’s just in my blood now, oops.
I completely agree with you about camping and Breaking Bad – I am so glad I am not alone! Also, I have never broken a bone and I used to be the pickiest child EVER – I only liked cheese and ketchup (though never together) and I hated tomatoes… I am also an OCD list maker. If I don’t have a list, I feel like part of my soul is missing…
Eric and I got married in August and I chopped 10″ off my hair in November, to just about chin length. I miss it horribly and can’t wait to get it all back. Strange thing was though, I loved haircut for the first month or so. Then, one day it hit me like a lead balloon. Bam.
Needless to say, Project Hair Grow is in full swing.
Good grief, I love reading you!
Also, Scorpion – despite not really believing it…yep, all the way.
I just can’t believe people forget to eat. Nope. Not possible.
You could always take your maiden name as your middle, then change your last name to your husband’s! That way you can still feel comfortable using both; it’s not too late! :)
Loved this post! #12–My husband doesn’t understand why I do this! I almost always have to know how books, TV shows, and movies end. During the Olympics, I just could not stand the tension and googled the results of the event we were watching. Hubby just looked at me in complete disgust. And #38–I will NEVER, EVER understand this. Forget to eat??!! Seriously?
I get the bully thing…I was bullied all through middle school daily for being too fat…it was horrific, but it made me who I am….my daughter who is skinny and beautiful, also gets bullied for being too fat…riddle me that! And yes it is the most heart wrenching thing to see your child go through , however, hopefully in the end she too will be stronger. Or my husband will go and take care of those mean kids (just kidding….sorta).
Your children are going to be beautiful and so lucky to have such a cool mom!!!!!
You will never feel ready to have kids and there is no “right time” to have kids. You just have to have them if that is what you really want. Trust me, THERE IS NO RIGHT TIME! You will make it work and fit into your life. You just have to make the decision that you 100% want to start a family and it seems like you have already done that! I would personally change my last name first so I would share the same last name as my children, but that is completely personal preference. I would change my last name secretly and then surprise him on like Valentine’s day or something that you did it. It might mean a lot to him :)
I’m totally scared of the dark…I run to our bedroom and jump onto the bed and shudder when I have to be the one that shuts all the lights down at night. I also hate being chased, it makes me cry. Getting chased in the dark is basically a nightmare.
I’ve been growing my hair out and chopping it off regularly since I was 10…when I accidentally burned my hair off above the shoulder trying to make hot cocoa. I feel like trying not to get attached to my hair length gives me perspective…I’m a weirdo. Also, my BFF has been cutting my hair since I was 19 and she was 18…I also used to cut her hair (not any more, what were we thinking?!), but now she’s a real-deal cosmetologist and I firmly believe she’s the best ever. No bias here.
As a kid, I hated cake because I hated frosting (unless is was rainbow party chip)…I’d just have a plate of ice cream at birthday parties instead.
I also have not changed my last name yet due to laziness (almost 4 years after our wedding)…though I did fill out the form this week (it’s easier than I thought and instead of going to the SSA office, I’m mailing that shiz in) and am finally doing it because life is happening and stuff.
ugh. I get SO emotionally attached to characters on tv shows. like series finale of the OC, I still have a pit in my stomach about that series ending. like, I lost my 4 best friends. but, I will throw everything away in a second, or give it to my sister.. and a few months down the road, i’m like, “dang, I really wish I still had that sweater and didn’t give it up to easily!”
#28 made me lol! I have a really good memory as well. My friends say I have an elephant memory, but yeah i did not retain any French or Spanish that I took in HS and college.
I cannot even tell you how much we have in common because I literally do not want to list how many of these I have experienced and/or agree with, but an example is #48, my husband totally got me into Country music and I most certainly made fun of him for liking it until I was honest with myself about really liking it. It makes so much sense though because I too am a scorpio – Scorpio Sisters!
I love your references to things. You get me, or I get you, or however those pronouns go.
Here’s some facts:
– I pick up the accent of the person I’m talking to, and although maybe I could help it, I don’t. Sometimes, my accent, though the course of a conversation, becomes even thicker than the person I’m talking to
– along the same note, if I ever try to imitate an accent without hearing it, it turns into chinese. Even austrailian.
– I’m freakish about sleep. LIke, everyone under my care has to get the appropriate number of hours, at the appropriate time. Its weird.
– water dripping inside the car when it rains is the most hateful thing ever.
-I heard on the “Stuff Mom Never told you” podcast recently that forming emotional attachments to tv characters is a social (as in not antisocial) behavior…I was relieved because I do the same thing :)
-Drinking milk is gross so you’re not missing out
-BILLY BLANKS!!!
-I really like everything you create!
1) I raaaaaaaarely make the bed. Sometimes I’ll make it AFTER i get in, if that makes sense.
2) I like cleaning my kitchen, but when it comes to cleaning anything else in my house, I would rather stab my eyes out with a fork. Weird?
3) All of my friends are having the babies and I keep thinking that I’m going to get bitten by the bug since, you know, I’m married, have a house, etc. etc. and I WANT kids someday, but so far it isn’t happening! All in due time.
4) DARK — YES! If Eric goes to bed before me, after I turn out all of the lights, I RUN upstairs and into our bedroom. I swear my blood pressure rises!