Raising the Bar

For the record, I generally avoid bandwagons. But this one looked fun. Lots of people were on it! There was dancing and laughter and music! My friends were all there, and I was learning all these REALLY cool things about them. My husband's not home, and I am a sad, lonely parasite desperate for people to love me, doggone it! So I jumped in. The swing band was playing! There was lots of cheese to eat, and there was no Tang anywhere to be found. Everyone was having the best time! Draped across the side of the wagon on a gaily decorated banner was the sign "100 Things About Me." "Yes!" I thought " I can do this! There are at least 100 interesting things about me!" So I did it! It was GREAT FUN. The people were happy!

but then....

Then I looked over, and there, where previously there had been nothing, was another wagon. The band was warming up, but now, an entire symphony orchestra was set to play. There were fireworks and lighting effects! There was an all you can eat seafood buffet! There was one...lone....occupant. And as I watched that smug little woman tacked up a bigger, fancier, more glittery, glitzy banner that read: 200 Things About Me. Well, well, well. At first I told myself it was because she looked lonely. Then, I reasoned, that with Craig gone I have nothing better to do but take antihistimines like candy, drink coffee and sit at the computer until my eyes become enlarged and glowing in the most gollum-esque manner. Finally, I convinced myself that it was simply because there was no way that one little tan old woman could finish the all you can eat seafood buffet. But as I closed my eyes and stepped out over the edge of my wagon and blindly crossed the chasm to hers, a great epiphany dawned on me..........

She raised the bar and I, I must answer the challenge.

101. I am extremely competitive. It's all part and parcel of the whole first born package.

102. The last time I played Monopoly with my husband I threw the game board across the room.

103. It's been almost 10 years since I played monopoly.

104. I HATED group assignements in school. Left to my own devices, I can do it, better, faster and more competently. Try me.....

105. My husband is the exact same way.

106. I have no idea how this marriage works, but I say without hesitation that we are one of the most in love couples I know.

107. Craig is the most romantic man I have ever met. He swept me off my feet at 18, and I have yet to regain my footing.

108. The longer I am married, the better the sex gets. And it wasn't bad to begin with.

109. Craig also sings.

110. and plays the guitar. He's better than he thinks.

111. He sounds a lot like Mac Powell, lead singer for Third Day.

112. I love Third Day.

113. I have very small, very cute feet (also rather wide, but that only adds to the cuteness)

114. My toe nails have been painted since 1994--the year I met Craig. He likes nice toes. (no, it's not the same polish!)

115. Over the course of my life, I have gone from hair half way to my knees to being completely bald (and just about everything in between).

116. There are definite perks to being bald.

117. But I am currently growing my hair long again.

118. It's taking a stinking long time.

119. In my opinion, if a woman can't color her hair to suit her mood than why even have any hair at all.

120. I have been just about every hair color.

121. Including pink.

122. Pink Hair got me on the promotional poster for the 2004 National Race for the Cure. If you were in DC, that pink haired chick was me!

123. I've never had black hair.

124. In real life, my hair is a light ash blonde.

125. BORING!

126. my highest weight was 200--9 mos pregnant with Olivia.

127. My lowest (adult) weight was 112--shortly after starting chemo.

128. 112 for me is too skinny. All my ribs were very visible. I looked unwell. I was unwell.

129. I'd settle now for 130.

130. I am only 5 ft tall.

131. Craig is six feet tall. We look a little silly together, and I can't really kiss him very easily if we are both standing up.

132. I love high heel shoes.

133. Who am I kidding?--I love shoes. I have over 50 pair.

134. most of which were bought by Craig, or my mom.

135. I inherited my love for shoes.

136. My oldest daughter is projected to be 5' 10". She is already almost to my shoulder. She is 6 years old.

137. Niether of my parents were tall. 5' 3" and 5' 8"

138. But all three of my brothers are over 6 feet.

139. I do not like tea. Not sweet, not unsweet, not hot, not cold. NO TEA.

140. I also do not drink pepsi. If the choice is pepsi or parch, I'll parch every time.

141. Yes, there is a difference. Yes, it matters.

142. I have a very eclectic collection of friends. I like that.

143. I have a definite need for solitude. I don't get it often, but I revel in it when I do.

144. 5 nights of solitude, however, is too long. About 4.5 nights too long.

145. I cannot sleep late, not that I am physically unable, but I mentally feel that it's such a huge waste of life.

146. Wasted time is one of my pet peeves.

147. However, recreational time is not wasted time. There IS a difference, again, it really does matter.

148. There is an artist hidden way down deep in me somewhere. I hope I get to meet her someday.

149. I love words, and I love to write, but I read how other people write stories and novels, and I don't think it's something I could ever/ will ever do.

150. Of course of all the people I ever met, I would have been voted "least likely to be a minister's wife"

151. And look where I am now.

152. God never ceases to amaze me.

153. I think that is why life is so fun.

154. I look on my own cancer as a blessing.

155. But on the whole, I hate cancer with every fiber of my being.

156. The one thing I can't relate to when I talk to my survivor sistahs is when they talk about "life before cancer."

157. I never really had life before cancer. I was just getting started.

158. My husband shaved my head. It's one of our most intimate moments.

159. You know someone really loves you when they think you are sexy as a bald woman.

160. Speaking of bald women, I love a good creature feature.

161. JAWS is one of my all time favs.

162. I think I have seen it 50 times.

163. I also loved Lake Placid!

164. And while I have absolutely no problem swimming and playing the ocean

165. I won't even dip my big toe into Florida fresh water.

166. I almost have a fear of heights.

167. I can handle them, but I don't really like to. It makes my stomach feel funny, and I play the what-if game.

168. but I love to fly.

169. I was 22 years old before I got my driver's liscence.

170. That means I have been driving less than 10 years.

171. I have never had a speeding ticket.

172. Though I love to drive fast.

173. I also can't drive a stick.

174. I have an almost incessant inner monologue in my head at all times.

175. It's a little odd, but I've learned to live with it.

176. Sometimes I expound upon some interesting things in there.

177. It's not like voices, really, I mean, it doesn't tell me to do things. It's kind of like a commentary on my life in progress. Sometimes what you read here is a result of that inner monologue, and you keep coming back so it can't be all bad.

178. I have met some really, truly amazing people on-line. I am blessed by their friendships.

179. My mom totally does not understand how I can be friends with someone I have never "met"

180. She needs someone to date.

181. We lost my dad 5 years ago.

182. You never really get over that. You just kind of get used to that hole and carry it around with you where ever you go.

183. My dad is in an urn on the mantle at my mom's house. It makes me feel good to have him there. I totally don't believe that "he" is still there--in the urn or anything--but somehow it makes him feel closer. I know that's really weird.

184. It's even weirder that a few years after my dad died, his German Shepherd died, and we had him cremated and put his box of ashes next to my Dad on the mantle. If you had ever seen my Dad and Frank, you would know how utterly right that is.

185. My Dad was a total goof-ball. I loved that about him. I look nothing like him on the outside, but on the inside he is a big part of me. I also have his hazel eyes.

186. My Dad was far from perfect, but he was my hero, and I was his little girl.

187. I married my dad (figuratively), and I don't regret it.

188. I want to be cremated and thrown into the sea in a clay urn to become part of a coral reef. You can really do that you know.

189. Actually, what I really want is for my whole family to be at dinner one night and just get whisked away in the rapture.

190. Yes, I believe in the rapture. I do not believe in evolution--any part of it.

191. My family thinks I'm totally off the deep end with the whole "religion thing"

192. I am. And I think it's a good thing.

193. I am a great planner, a dreamer, a lofty goal setter

194. I suck on the follow through.

195. I am highly allergic to ibuprofen--highly.

196. I am also allergic to surgical tape--I found that out the hard, painful way.

197. I have no gag reflex.

198. If I could get away with it, I would never wear a bra again, ever.

199. my belly button is pierced. I like it.

200. My family is genetically prone to Nuerofibromatosis (Elephant Man's disease) and Fragile X syndrome (look it up.)

Comments

[Janice]

You are so blessed to have such a wonderful husbandand be so in love with him and to have had such a great dad. I would bet that having that great dad is why you are able to love your husband so much.

It is good to be off the deep end when it comes to faith.

[Maria]

Love ya Dana!!! Here are more similarities. I am 5'2" and Steven is 6'2" We are Mutt and Jeff as well. My oldest is also predicted to be 6'+ amd is almost up to my shoulder she is only 5 (going on 16, however)

I also have a conversation in my head most of the time;-) Right now it is I should have written this or this or this. so I may have 101- 200 coming up too. ;-)

[Becky Perry]

I absolutely will not be following in yours and CJ's footsteps. 100 things were hard enough. I was thinking about 100 things about my hubby...think you could pull that off?? Might be fun, LOL!

[Tiff]

I like solitude as well. If I could have one day once a month I would be so happy!! How did you find out you are allergic to Ibuprofen? That is so scary

[Tookshire]

#174 through #177...I have to laugh because my inner commentator piped up with "Man, that's just crazy."

[Stacey]

Did CJ just challenge you to do another 100?????

[Cathie Jo]

OH MY GOSH!!!!!! You have a toy box too?.. Oh now see just like with Joanne this is getting twilight zonie..lol. Love, Cathie Jo

[Tiff]

You are darn sure competitive. I couldn't even finish my first 100. It's going to take me years to come up with the last 30. LOL! How wild that you are of the shorter sort. I pictured you tall. :)

[naomi]

I am totally impressed. You and cathie jo are my 200 things about me blog heros and just thinking about coming up with 200 things about me makes me sweat.

[Cathie Jo]

This is going to be long and I make no apologies. 108 - Hold on sweetie you are just coming into the most wonderful time of a womans life. I promise you it gets better and better.
Ty and I are Mutt and Jeff too, he is 6' and I am 5'1 1/2" and shrinking. I also change my hair color often, amazingly I mostly use Light Ash blonde..lol. And I change hair styles often too, I get bored easily. I so won't sleep in either. When we go camping Ty will take a nap, I just can't, what a waste of time to me. Now when the girls were little I would have killed for a nap.
Blah to pepsi, nasty stuff.

Ok this is weird, do you when you are up high stand and look, and does the thought what if I would just fall or worse jump go through your mind? I have done that all my life, I didn't know that happened to anyone else. I think it plays a part in my fear of heights.. How incredible.

The mind thing. Never met anyone else that does this either. It wasn't until the last handful of years though that I found out not everyone's mind works like that. I asked Ty once about it. Since I can remember I have always had things running through my mind. Just driving I will see something and a story will start. My mind never stops either. How encouraging to know someone else lives like this. I myself love it. It will drive Ty crazy sometimes though. I will have been thinking on something and out of nowhere say something outloud, sometimes to myself, sometimes asking him something. He loses either way, if I am talking to myself, I wasn't asking him anything, and if I was he hasn't a clue to what I am asking. Now in my mind it's like everyone should know what I am thinking about I guess.. Poor fellow.

I still think the best thing I have ever read in my life was the story you wrote about your father and his dog. I could cry just thinking about now. So touching and moving.

Ok now let me help you here. You being a dreamer, a lofty goal planner, a great goal setter, that points to one thing, a gift of leadership.

Leaders do exactly what you are discribing, then they hand it off for others to follow through. God didn't intend for leaders to handle it all, they come up with the ideas, others implement them. So what you are seeing isn't a weakness, but just part of your gifting.

Well, I could go on and on with that but I've taken up a huge part of your blog space. Anyway,I didn't understand that we were suppose to be putting "interesting" things about us. I might just have to shoot for 300.

And you didn't put one "exposing" thing about yourself. Like limber, a flexible tongue etc. Come on, it's in you.. You can do 300, you know you want to.

201 -300 has to be truly things that people don't know about you. And for us that talk a lot that will be really hard to come up with, I share most everything, ask Joanne sometimes too much... Love, Cathie Jo

[Tookshire]

Cant we all just get along?

I'm going to be blogging a stern lecture later this afternoon.

[Kelly]

That was so fun, and funny to read. The throwing of the Monopoly...SO me. =) Sorry it's taken me so long to come around, life has been, while not grueling, excessively busy.