Ten Random Facts About me

Since it’s my birthday and my party, it’s all about me, right?

Ok, maybe not. That is just totally not true. The reality is that this blog is all about you, my readers. However, I am going to spend a little time, and tell you, just in case you were wondering, ten random facts about me that you probably don’t know. (Feel free to reciprocate by leaving random facts about yourself in the comments. Seriously. I’d love to read them all!)

Me and My Cuties

1. I play the piano. I’m not a professional by any means, definitely just an amateur. I’ve been playing - or learning to play - since I was 5 or 6, nobody in my family seems to know exactly which it is. I particularly love to play in church, accompanying the choir, ensembles, soloists and congregational singing, as well as playing offertories like this.

2. I am the middle child. The middle child of 11, which means I’m #6 (I’ll spare you the math). And by middle child, I mean the middle child. You know, the classic middle child: ignored and insecure and the whole nine yards. Yup, that’s me, although I’ve gotten over most of that in my adult life.

3. I met my husband on a blind date. Well, that’s not exactly true. His cousin, my friend, arranged for us both to be present at a group outing. The outing failed miserably (Who knew that you would actually need to buy tickets in advance to an Orioles game? And since when?) but thankfully, our relationship fared much better. Still in love (cue the strings)….

Suh-Mooch!

4. I have 3 favorite TV shows: NCIS, Bones and Psych. Which is funny because I used to never watch TV, at least not network TV. But now that I have small children, at the end of the day I don’t want to do anything but veg on the couch and watch mindless TV (oh, and blog a little).

5. I lived in Russia for 5 years. My dad was a missionary there when I was a teenager. And yes, I speak Russian. Not all that well anymore, but I can carry on a decent conversation. And I taught my DH to say “Ya tebya lyublyu” which means, of course, “I love you”.

6. I like a wide variety of music, but my favorite genre is crossover. People have a hard time defining it with a term: pop opera, vocalists, easy listening, classical pop are some of the terms I’ve heard. It includes such notable artists as Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Il Divo, Hayley Westenra and the like. My other favorite is contemporary Christian, especially Steven Curtis Chapman, MercyMe and Casting Crowns.

7. I miss teaching. I’ve alluded to my former job as K5 teacher, an experience I enjoyed tremendously and would love to have again. What I loved most about teaching? Two things, actually, planning being the first. Yes, I loved, totally loved, planning the lessons, especially phonics. (I really do love phonics.) The other thing I loved about teaching was that moment when my students realized they could read anything using the skills they had learned. That was the point when they would start picking up the children’s books I kept available for them, and instead of flipping through and looking at the pictures, they would actually start reading the stories. It made everything else about teaching totally worth it.

8. I have very little patience. Remembering my experiences as a teacher reminded me of this one. Yes, patience is a virtue I sorely lack, but one I’m trying to learn. Let’s face it: mommies of two-year-old boys need a lot of patience.

9. I really hate people reading over my shoulder. I was reminded of this because my DH just said, “You do too have patience!” Which was sweet of him, so in this instance I’ll forgive him for reading over my shoulder.

10. I do not like to exercise. Which is kind of funny because tomorrow, thanks to the generous folks at Wellsphere, who, among other things, organize a network of health bloggers, I am going to be attending the FitBloggin’ 11 Conference in Baltimore. Thank goodness they cover a lot more than exercise, although I admit to being afraid that I will be out of place with all of those bloggers who do love to exercise. Pilates is about the most I can handle (and I actually do like Pilates).

So there you have it, folks. Ten things you never knew about me, and now you know them. Your turn! Tell me some random miscellaneous facts about yourself!