By Heather O.
Because I’m a narcissist and think you might care.
1) I’m not a germ freak, but I get seriously yicked out at the ATM. Pushing all those buttons that all those other people have pushed makes me scramble for the Purell every time. For some reason, I don’t feel the same way about hotel remotes, which are certainly crawling with more tiny beasties than an ATM. But, whatever.
2)Along the same germ freak lines, I also hate touching public restroom doorknobs. I once heard that 70% of people don’t properly wash their hands in a public restroom. Again, I say yick.
3) I am doublejointed in my left thumb. I know, everybody says that, but in my case, it’s really true. Promise.
4)I once danced as a Hot Box dancer in a production of Guys and Dolls. I was the tallest one in the cast. And the gangliest.
5) Along those theatrical lines, I also got a theater scholarship to a small liberal arts college before I decided to pay full price to go to BU. Yes, that’s right, I was this close to being an actress once. I know, y’all are shocked that I lean a little on the dramatic side.
6) I have seen every organ of my body on ultrasound (except my lungs-can they ultrasound lungs?). My spleen is especially nice.
7) I have never been to Mexico. But I’ve been to Italy, twice, and once paid the equivalent of 15 American dollars for a gelato. Darn language barrier.
8)I hate beets.
9)When I was in Kindergarten, my teacher had a pet tarantula that he would pull out every week and let us pet it. I could never bring myself to do it, even though the rest of the kids did it. I’m a pretty pro-bug kinda gal (except for ants. I hate ants, but you knew that already. You did, right?), but I just couldn’t do it. Years later, at the Smithsonian’s Bug Zoo, they had a similar demonstration, and although I encouraged my son to pet the arachnid, I felt all the feelings of Kindergarten rushing towards me, and I froze. Again. What a wuss.
10) Our pet ball python died. Like, a long time ago. I didn’t blog about it then, because I didn’t want to admit that I had failed another pet.
So, anybody else out there like me? Please share what things I might not know about you, so we can all bond.
7)




Ew! I never thought of how gross the ATM would be- but hotel remotes totally gross me out, as well as the bedspreads. I’m sorry about your snake! That’s sad…
I hate beets too. No matter what you do to them, they taste like dirt.
I was adopted by my dad when I was 2.
I wanted to name Beanie “Henry Aaron”. DH wouldn’t let me.
My eyelashes are patheticly sparse.
I love salt.
Comment #1 by Tracy MOctober 25th, 2008 at 3:47 pmThey must not be able to use an ultrasound to look at lungs because they always do x-rays to check the heart babies for fluid in and around the lungs. I’ve heard heart parents joke that their kids will eventually be glow in the dark from all the radiation.
I’m glad you have a nice spleen.
I can’t think of ten things to share about myself but here are a few.
I hate having water on my face.
I love bike riding but can’t stand to wear a helmet. I wear one anyway to ensure that my children grow up with a mother.
I finally figured out after I had my fifth child that I don’t particularly like being a mother and I’m not particularly good at it. It’s very liberating to realize that because it allows me to move forward without all the emotional baggage I’ve been dragging around for the last 13 years.
I don’t have double jointed fingers, but I do have double jointed toes.
Comment #2 by ResearcherOctober 25th, 2008 at 4:21 pmI have seen the inside of my stomach. I had to be scoped for ulcers and the doc asked if I wanted a “look-see”, his words, not mine. Nice, shiny and pink. (No ulcers) The MRIs of my brain were quite nice too. Nice to have proof for DH that I don’t have this little tiny brain floating around in my head. He said it just must be “extra fluffy”.
The ONLY reason I picked up the tarantula in college zoology is because I would have failed the class without doing so. I dropped it.
My fish is named “Fish” and, much to my children’s disappointment, I love him more than the dog. We wouldn’t have the dog if I weren’t a sucker for cute puppies. The brain just shuts off.
I am afraid of the dentist, to the point that the anesthesia no longer is effective. Anxiety can overrule novecaine (and I can’t spell it).
I joined the swim team in HS without knowing how to swim. Needless to say I earned the most improved award for the season.
I’m too cheap to hire anyone so I check out books on wiring, plumbing, and general handyman stuff. I installed all the toilets, sinks, etc. in our new house and most of the lights.
I don’t like strawberries, but I love homemade pickled beets.
I almost beaned a bear cub with a slingshot when I was in fifth grade. I thought it was the neighbors really mean dog until it walked completely out of the bushes. I’m glad that I missed.
Silverware and socks don’t need to match.
I wear hats so I don’t have to fix my hair.
Comment #3 by JuneBugOctober 25th, 2008 at 4:56 pmHmmmm…some things you might not know about me…
I bite my nails. gross, I know.
I’ve never tried a beet. they just look icky. And smell icky too.
I sometimes wish our church was the jump up and down and shout hallelujah and sing lots of gospel songs kind. It’s really fun to do that once in a while. But then, I suppose I could just go to more concerts and jump up and down and shout things there. Meh.
I don’t mind snakes, and I think most bugs are gross, but also *really* fascinating. I still will kill them if they are in my house, though.
Comment #4 by mellocelloOctober 25th, 2008 at 4:58 pmFun topic. Let’s see…
Comment #5 by Keri BrooksOctober 25th, 2008 at 4:59 pmI’m not a mom, but I like to lurk on your blog.
My elbows are double jointed, and as a result, I can’t shoot a bow.
I have nearly perfect pitch, but no sense of rhythm.
I write with my right hand, but do everything else left-handed.
I hate beets too.
Comment #6 by The WizOctober 25th, 2008 at 5:51 pmI love Pepperidge Farm anything.
I think Pottery Barn is overpriced but I love all the stuff.
I think butter, and/or bacon, and/or cheese will make any food taste better.
I can move my little toes independently of the other toes.
My favorite vegetable is Brussels sprouts.
I can give speeches in front of crowds without the slightest self-consciousness, but I get stage fright answering a question in Sunday School.
I once had a tooth drilled and filled without anesthesia because I didn’t want to make the dentist feel bad by telling him that his new gas anesthetic didn’t work.
Even butter, and/or bacon, and/or cheese couldn’t make cola drinks or cilantro taste good to me.
The toy I never got despite asking for it every Christmas is a Spirograph.
Comment #7 by Ardis ParshallOctober 25th, 2008 at 6:05 pm“I joined the swim team in HS without knowing how to swim. Needless to say I earned the most improved award for the season.”
That one really cracked me up. Thanks for the laugh.
Comment #8 by RayOctober 25th, 2008 at 6:25 pmWell, I love beets. Just had to get that out of the way.
Asparagus is a food of the gods.
So is summer squash–and winter squash, too.
Fish, however, really grosses me out.
I watch hours of TV online and feel quite guilty. But not enough, obviously, since I’m sure this will continue.
I’ve broken every small toe multiple times. Five weeks ago, I really broke my pinky toe. As in, broken badly enough that it was rotated 90 degrees in the wrong direction. I pushed it back in place. But it still hurts and I can only wear one pair of shoes. Maybe I should call someone.
And Heather, I stand in awe at your ability to own a snake. That would never happen in my house.
Comment #9 by AhnaOctober 25th, 2008 at 7:04 pmYou know what grosses me out worse than the ATM buttons? The pumps at the gas station. I can almost feel the germs crawling on me when I finish pumping. Ewww.
Comment #10 by normal mormon wifeOctober 25th, 2008 at 7:07 pmOh, and Ardis, I always wanted a spirograph too but never got one. So of course I bought one for my child who never has liked it.
Comment #11 by AhnaOctober 25th, 2008 at 7:08 pmArdis, that’s true. Nothing will make cilantro good.
Comment #12 by The WizOctober 25th, 2008 at 7:08 pmThey don’t do ultrasound of lungs because it doesn’t work.
US images are created from sound waves reflected off boundaries between substances with different acoustic properties (say, your spleen and the rest of your innards). Air is so different from your—mostly water—body, that any air between the target and the transducer reflects all the sound waves and messes up the signal. Since lungs have air, no US.
Also: the air issue is why they smear gel on you where the transducer touches your skin. It makes it so there is no air between the transducer and the target.
Comment #13 by Medical Image NerdOctober 25th, 2008 at 7:14 pmmellocello-
I bite my nails, too! I think I started when I realized biting them was faster than cutting them. And its made my piano life easier.
Other Stuff:
I don’t actually have a “piano life” although I occasionally play in church and teach 10 students.
I hate celery. But only raw celery. Yuck.
I love to watch football. And I actually know what’s going on. I totally called a holding foul on BYU today and shocked my husband when I was right. I mean, we were in the Nosebleed seats, but I was the only one around us who had seen it.
I ignore all thoughts of public germs. The repression seems to work.
I broke my nose by literally running into a bar. Seriously! I should blog about it sometime soon…
I find Nevada and Florida both equally unattractive.
Comment #14 by cherylOctober 25th, 2008 at 7:20 pmI’ve had a ultrasound done of my neck, feels really weird.
Comment #15 by ModdyOctober 25th, 2008 at 7:23 pmcan’t stand bugs or spiders, ick
beets, yuck!
Fish, the smell of fish, looking at fish totally grosses me out
I can’t touch the door of public bathrooms either, to many yucky things
my husband wanted to use the name Archibald for our son’s middle name, his intials would have been P.A.P. I thought about it for a fews minutes before I said no.
When I was little I wished I had been named Jennifer. And now I’m just grateful that my mom choose to name me a version of my grandma’s name instead of her real name, I wouldn’t want to share my name with the little explorer girl on nick.
10 things:
1) I can do a voice impression of Barney the Dinosaur
Comment #16 by 2boys1crazyMomOctober 25th, 2008 at 8:58 pm2) I have really crooked pinkies naturally
3) I HATE spiders, cockroaches, and scorpions
4) I am allergic to cats
5) I shudder when people GULP their beverage loudly
6) I am grossed out by long toenails
7) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE CILANTRO! The more the merrier
8) I don’t let anyone (including myself) touch my face (it just grosses me out for some weird reason)
9) I never had braces, and my teeth are actually straight
10) I truly believe that nuts & dessert do NOT go together
-I dislike bare feet touching me. I will ask you once (nicely) to remove them from me. After that, you may pull back a bloody stump.
-I have to park on the right side of a parking lot. It feels wrong if I don’t.
-Love to read in the car while it rains.
-After washing my hands in a public restroom, I dry my hands with a towel and then use that towel to turn the water off and open the doors, because of all of those nasty things that may be on the faucets, doors, everything.
-Learned to play 4 instruments growing up, but can barely pick anything out now.
-I can learn and do anything crafty.
-Taught myself to knit and tat.
-Hate scrapbooking though.
-Have never been on an airplane.
-Major procrastinator.
Whew that took awhile. Oh, and beets taste like they smell. Like DIRT!!! Ick, not for me.
Comment #17 by All8October 25th, 2008 at 9:10 pmFun!
10. I am deeply saddened that the Mars company has apparantly ceased making peanut butter twix bars.
9. I am equally saddened by Bath & Body Works discontinuation of Brown Sugar and Fig. Boo to them.
8. I think beets are nasty. Any food that dyes everything it touches should not be ingested (unless it’s something totally unnatural like Kool-Aid).
7. But I love sprouts. Alfalfa, radish, bring it on.
6. I wanted to name DD Magnolia and call her Maggie. DH said no, so her name is June (she was born in July).
5. Of the six common factors contributing to chronic nose-stuffiness, I have four. I am thus, very likely addicted to nasal spray.
4. I really, really want to see Love Actually and Garden State, but we did the whole, “no more R movies” thing about six years ago, and I just can’t be the one to break it.
3. I am dreading January because our church will start at 9am.
2. Moths freak me the hell out. Even more than spiders.
1. I finally found near-perfect recipes for French Onion Soup and chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.
Comment #18 by teresaOctober 25th, 2008 at 9:29 pm1. I have the same genetic abnormality as Ardis and The Wiz regarding Cilantro. bleh.
2. I once won tickets to Disneyland for my daughters by using my Kermit the frog voice on the radio.
3. Germaphobe! I’m reeling at the thought of ATM machines. I had a friend, who was once a maid in a large hotel chain, tell us the only thing to remember when staying in a hotel is to stay between the sheets! They do get changed every day.
4. I learned How Firm a Foundation as a child, committed it to memory. It still bugs me that they changed the words in a couple of lines.
5. I like uncooked peas. Cook them and yuck!
6. I just applied for a seasonal job at Sees Candies. I have waited years for the opportunity to work there. It’s a silly job to some, but I can hardly wait!
7. I am not a baby person. Give me your two year olds though, I could spend hours with one!
8. One of my favorite movies is Joe Versus the Volcano.
9. I have a superb sense of humor. I can laugh almost anywhere, especially when I shouldn’t.
10. I love watching people in public. You never know what you’ll see happen.
Oh Ardis, I can’t imagine how much that must have hurt. You must have a really high pain threshold!
Comment #19 by robynOctober 25th, 2008 at 9:31 pmHeather, I’ve also never been to Mexico, though I’ve lived overseas and visited some twelve other countries. Funny how that works out.
I hate green olives. I tried one when I was a kid and hated it. dh tried to changed my mind. (He did convert me to guacamole after all.) It was the nastiest thing I’ve ever tasted. Turned out it happened to be a bad one (he tried the other half), but I’m done with tasting green olives.
I buy salmon at the store thinking I should because it is good for me, and then never eat it. Anybody want some frozen Costco salmon burgers?
Comment #20 by ddrplantOctober 25th, 2008 at 9:37 pmBoth my thumbs are double-jointed. I didn’t realize this for many years — I just thought everyone’s thumbs were like that.
I hate novicane. Absolutely hate it. It’s the only reason I hate the dentist. The last place I lived I found a dentist who would fill my teeth without using novicane, and it was completely and totally wonderful.
Hair totally grosses me out. Well, hair that isn’t connected to a person anymore, that is. The longer the hair, the grosser it is. Wet hair is exponentially grosser than dry hair. Because of this, I cannot clean out pipes.
I am amazingly talented at Word Twist (and pretty good at other word games, too). Just ask Kaimi.
I have naturally straight teeth, and I don’t have any wisdom teeth. I think it’s hereditary, because my dad doesn’t have them either. All my sibs did, though.
My job used to be packing museum artifacts for moving. I can wrap a Christmas gifts with amazing precision. Also, if I pack your house, nothing will break, even if it gets thrown down multiple flights of stairs. Nothing will even move. Of course, it takes a long time, and most of your house probably wouldn’t get moved
This was fun; thanks!
Comment #21 by VadaOctober 25th, 2008 at 9:51 pmI love, love, love cilantro. When we moved 7 years ago and couldn’t find it in the grocery store for a few months, my husband joked about going to seedy parts of town to buy me a dime bag of cilantro.
I have some weird crafts disorder: I love to sew and refinish furniture, but I think scrapbooking is an utter waste of time.
My kitchen has to be clean or I can’t stand to be in the house. Strangely, this does not carry over to any other room.
I would probably hoard food even if I had never heard of food storage.
Germs in public places don’t bug me.
But then, I bite my fingernails too.
I always think it sounds like fun to stay in my pajamas all day, but I end up feeling icky.
I hate to shower. I get up early so I have time to take a bath and read in the tub.
I’m fascinated by bridges and tunnels and rapid transit.
I’ve been craving chocolate chip cookies for about three weeks now, and still haven’t made them. And it isn’t willpower — it’s laziness.
Comment #22 by LibbyOctober 25th, 2008 at 10:15 pmI kick butt at Word Twirl, vada. Bring it.
Comment #23 by The WizOctober 25th, 2008 at 10:40 pm1. Beets, blaugh!
Comment #24 by mormonhermitmomOctober 25th, 2008 at 10:47 pm2. All fingers and toes double jointed - doomed me from playing a stringed instrument.
3. Not too wigged out by public bathroom doors, just the toilets.
4. If I don’t get a shower before 8 a.m., my productivity drops severely.
5. Never get enough sleep, but still stay up late at night reading/blogging/watching PBS, because it’s quiet and the kids aren’t buggin me
6. Got told off once when I wasn’t wearing a bike helmet - by a pedestrian. I thought, “I grew up riding a bike without a helmet. Rode one all through college without a helmet. Why start now?” I do now only because the cops around here will give out tickets for no helmets.
7. I was more brave around bugs when I was a kid. Can’t stand them now. They are worse than public toilets.
8. I’m a knuckle-cracker, not a nail biter.
9. Dentist? Been a while. Guess I ought to go one of these days.
10. I had a “half year” theater scholarship to a small four year college. Did more tech stuff than acting but it wasn’t for lack of auditioning.
I love cilantro and beets, but somehow think they would be gross together.
I never thought about touching ATM machines and gas pumps but now will be disgusted by them. I refuse to touch restroom knobs, and hold on to a paper towel while turning the knob and throwing it away when I leave the restroom.
We had a pet tarantula. It died. We were all sad, mostly my husband. We haven’t killed our snakes, but gave them away.
Two of our frogs died though when they got out and got squished.
The only part of my body I’ve seen on an ultrasound is my uterus, as many times as there are stars in the sky–too many times to count.
I can’t stand a dirty kitchen, or floors. The clutter I shut my eyes to.
Comment #25 by mmilesOctober 25th, 2008 at 10:50 pmIf we’re talking about public germs, the worst (next to the restroom doorknobs) has to be a payphone. People put them up to their mouths. And breathe on them.
I killed our pet baby crocodile. It was an accident. Sort of.
We’ve lived in our current apartment for four years and it’s the longest we’ve lived in one location during the 19 years we’ve been married.
I moved away from my family partially because I couldn’t stand the drama anymore.
Comment #26 by Susan MOctober 26th, 2008 at 7:29 amI can grow a great garden due to sprinklers and timers, but give me a houseplant and I will without fail manage to kill it by over or under watering it. I have even managed to kill wheat grass and lucky bamboo. Indoor plants don’t like me. Outdoor plants in pots don’t either.
If given the choice I will almost always choose a bath over a shower, but whenever I actually take a shower I really enjoy it.
I don’t really enjoy breastfeeding, but refuse to stop nursing my 6-month old because it’ cheaper and more convenient than formula, and it helps ease my guilt over hardly ever taking my prenatal vitamins when I was pregnant. I am so excited for when I get to wear normal bras and clothes that don’t work for nursing again.
I love holding my son while he’s asleep in my arms after nursing, though.
I don’t like Sandra Boynton’s Belly Button book. I guess I am a prude.
I love scrapbooks but don’t like scrapbooking.
I like to think of myself as an artist even though I can’t draw or paint a straight line or fine details.
It is a struggle for me to not pick my nose when I feel something in there. It is a life-long bad habit that I am trying very, very hard to break, because I think it’s disgusting. But I can’t stand the feeling of anything being in my nose.
I don’t like reading Pride and Prejudice. It bores me horribly. I suspect it’s the constant outdated dialogue that is causing me so much grief (I’m determined to actually finish it for once for bookgroup this next month).
I have a secret love for wordgames like Boggle and Scrabble and crosswords and word searches that is consistently unfulfilled because my DH hates them. I always do the wordsearches on kids’ placemats or Happy Meal bags or whatever whenever there’s one laying around.
Comment #27 by kaduseyOctober 26th, 2008 at 8:34 am• I flush public toilets with my foot
Comment #28 by meemsOctober 26th, 2008 at 11:17 am• I love vegetables - including fresh beets.
• Harold and Maude was my favorite movie for years
• I am really truly afraid of parent conferences (i’m a teacher)
• I love all things cooking - gadgets and pans, cookbooks and aprons - except for the actual cooking part of it.
• Adding plain unsweetened yogurt and cilantro to almost anything improves it!
• I want a kitten but I’m too lazy (or realistic) to get one
• I want a baby, but I’m too lazy (or realistic) to get one
• Have a stage (fits 1-2 people) in our livingroom. Yes, a stage with lights and mics.
• I swear inside my head
1) I have had all of the following as pets at one time or another (and usually simultaneously) as a child and teenager: lizards; snakes; turtles; fish; mice; rats; and tarantulas (3). Plus probably a few more types that I don’t remember. My family (while I was growing up) also had guinea pigs, dogs, cats, a parakeet, chickens, and a goose for a while. Also, I had a colony of mealworms (for the lizards, etc.) in a shoebox that I kept going for 3-4 years.
2) I will cheerfully kill flies, wasps, roaches, earwigs, fleas, ticks, and centipedes. I leave bees alone, unless they’re attacking me. I leave ants alone unless they’ve invaded the house, in which case they’re fair game, and I’ll be pretty ruthless with a can of ant spray. If I find moths or beetles in the house, I will capture them and release them outside. I will usually do the same for spiders; if I have to kill them, I tell them I’m sorry first. No, really.
3) For my birthday this year, my mom gave me her late father’s Damascus steel carving knife — which a Russian butcher used to commit suicide in the early 1930s (my grandfather was one of the investigating detectives). I use it to carve meat.
4) Though I practice good sanitation myself, I have very little in the way of a germ phobia, particularly having served my mission in Central America (Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama) in the early 1970s. I believe more in a “five minute rule” than a “five second rule”.
5) Put me down in the pro-cilantro camp; my pico de gallo depends upon it.
6) Brussels sprouts are my least favorite vegetable (at least of those I’ve eaten). I even like fried okra better than Brussels sprouts. And I definitely like beets more than Brussels sprouts.
7) I dislike wearing shoes and go barefoot almost all of the time I’m home; if I have to run out, I usually put on some Birks. I will go barefoot out into the snow (for short periods) rather than put on shoes.
8) When I am thinking, I unconsciously wiggle my toes in a semi-random, semi-repeating manner. When my sweet wife Sandra first noticed this, she wondered if she could stay married to me, particularly because of (7).
9) When I’m angry, I tend to bite my tongue, with a small bit sticking out from between my lips. Our kids all learned not to mess with Dad when his jaw was clenched and his tongue was showing.
10) I choke up and even weep easily, embarrassingly so. It’s generally frustrating — I found myself starting to choke up while telling a couple in our ward today how well behaved their kids were (by themselves, with their parents gone that day) in Sacrament meeting last week. (Sandra I were sitting behind them.) I have a whole set of mental exercises I use to defuse the choking up/weeping. It seems to date back to the end of my first marriage, but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion. ..bruce..
Comment #29 by bfwebsterOctober 26th, 2008 at 3:24 pmDon’t watch any Japanese horror films (Ju-On, Ringu) or their American equivalents (The Grudge, The Ring). Long, black hair — often wet, usually connected to a horrible ghost — is a standard trope. ..bruce..
Comment #30 by bfwebsterOctober 26th, 2008 at 3:38 pmI had a blast reading stuff everyone sent it! So about me:
1. I went to college to become a child shrink- not to be a teacher.
2. I received a full ride to BYU and decided my heart couldn’t reside where it snowed.
3. I’ve had not less than 10 surgeries on my feet alone.
4. I have been pregnant no less than 10 times.
5. I do not make friends easily- I’m the one who sits and watches it all.
6. I really love teaching high school.
7. I’m the fittest fat person you may ever meet.
8. My doctors are stumped with how to get me to term with a pregnanct- and also how to make the drugs not pack weight on.
9. My trainer is also stumped.
10. I have a Wii, and I love playing it WAY more than my 10 year old.
:)
Comment #31 by MelOctober 26th, 2008 at 5:02 pmI lurk on your fun blog and ya’ll make me feel normal…
Comment #32 by KateOctober 26th, 2008 at 5:07 pm1. I too am not a baby person but give me a toddler any ol’day! I just love them!
2. Beets are horrible. Green Peas are so wonderful.
3. Public restrooms in general are putrid, so if I have to go while out, I go home, go, then return to the store some other time.
4. Bugs make me crazy with hatred, especially fleas and ants.
5. I take off my wedding ring at night. If I forget to put it back on in the morning, on my way to work I will notice and turn around to go back home to get it. It doesn’t matter how late I am.
6. I don’t like the smell or taste of cloves. It may be because when I was a little girl my friend dared me to eat a whole clove. The smell of them bring me back to that awful memory.
7. I’m also an embarrassing weeper! I will tear up if someone is telling me something funny! It makes me feel really weird and I’m sure that who ever is telling me something feels weird too! Bruce, I’d like to learn some of your mental exercises that you use…
8. I don’t particularly like baths. They make me feel like I’m sitting in my own goo.
9. Nothing on me is double jointed.
10. I’m a news junkie. I love to read the news online from everywhere.
Your blog really makes me smile! Thanks so much for being so much fun to read!
1. I have purell in my purse. In my car. In dh’s car. In his church bag. In my kid’s church bag. In random places around the house. Yeah, I hate germs.
2. I hate my hair to touch my face. Therefore, I wear a ponytail a lot of the time.
3. Speaking of hair…I could seriously puke if hair got in my mouth.
4. Speaking of puking. I have not thrown up in 17 years. Yep, it’s a record, but not as big as my dad’s. He hasn’t in like 40+ years!!
5. I hate baths…like they say on Seinfeld…”it’s like sitting in a tepid pool of your own filth”lol Yuck!
6. I used to play the clarinet, and very well too, I might add. I stopped playing about 16 years ago because my son hated the sound of it. I can no longer read music to save my life. He now plays the clarinet. Go figure!
7. I love marching bands.
8. I love babies and toddlers. Only one problem…they grow and turn into teenagers.
9. I am a huge procrastinator.
10. My sisters and I all have one thing that really grosses us out. Each person’s thing is different, but we all know what it is that grosses everyone out. When we’re mad at eachother or just want some good fun, we start up a conversation about that thing. Weird, I know, but it’s hilarious.
Comment #33 by BOctober 26th, 2008 at 6:27 pmThe issue (for me) is really my choking up or tearing up when trying to speak, whether in conversation, in a (Church) class, or speaking over the pulpit. And it’s not an image issue — it’s that I don’t want it to be about me. It also can get in the way when trying to sing (we’re doing “Come Thou Fount” in ward choir, and it can be a really struggle for me to get through it).
OK, that said, I have two basic techniques:
1) I visualize my ‘heart’ (not my actual physical heart, but a classic heart-shape, representing the emotion that’s welling up) and then mentally projected it out of my chest and to somewhere else, such as a point in the room (the clock on the wall) or even somewhere outside of the building. I maintain that visual image clearly in my mind while letting my mouth (and, hopefully, my brain) continue to stay the things I’m trying to say.
2) I picture whatever I’m talking about or describing, or at least something related to it, taking place on a computer screen in a “World of Warcraft” game. (Note: I’ve never played WofW, but I have played a few other MMORPGs.)The resulting mental image is usually pretty goofy, plus it usually creates an emotional disconnect (it’s a game on a computer, not the thing itself).
Hope that helps.
..bruce..
Comment #34 by bfwebsterOctober 26th, 2008 at 6:59 pmBruce, I love you, man, but you’re twisted, dude.
My oldest son would love your #2, btw.
(Actually, I prefer your approach to the maniacal laughing that tempted me when I tried the classic “picture the audience naked” approach. Better tears than a straight-jacket.)
Comment #35 by RayOctober 26th, 2008 at 8:25 pmBecause I can’t think of things you don’t know about me I’ll just post my questions and agreements or dissents. (not to mention the fact that you don’t know me anyway
What are “the six common factors contributing to chronic nose-stuffiness?”
I bite my fingernails too
Beets are yummy, especially pickled.
Cilantro is too, but not pickled.
thanks for your techniques for diffusing a cry because I’m sick of doing it nearly every week in church. They are hugely different from my usual, which is to change the subject or make a joke.
OK I give in, here’s one:
Comment #36 by jendoopOctober 26th, 2008 at 8:52 pmI really want to start working again, to have a profession, study and contribute to the overall productivity of the world. But I am scared.
10. Love pickled beets, grew up on them.
9. Have Purell stashed everywhere.
8. Never use the ATM.
7. Toured with two Broadway National Tours. I sometimes
miss that life.
6. Did not finish college, still feel guilty.
5. Allergic to all animals with fur, I’ve never had a pet.
4. Lived in Japan for two years, thus love sushi.
3. Flying makes me very nervous.
2. Hate cleaning the frig, hubby does it for me.
1. Worked as Snow White for Disney.
Comment #37 by SnowWhiteMommyOctober 26th, 2008 at 10:07 pm*I am not sick of the election. Everyone keeps saying they can’t wait for it to be over… I’m loving every minute of it.
Comment #38 by DoubleLOctober 27th, 2008 at 6:03 am*I can’t keep friends. I have a suspicion that I am only capable of having one friend and my husband is my best friend so as long as I am with him I will be completely incapable of making another friend. (The one friend I had before I got married, we no longer talk)
*I am pregant with our first and now wondering if maybe we should’ve waited longer… part (a little part) of why I wanted to get pregnant was so I could stop working. Now with the economic crisis… I can’t quit anyway.
*I too consider myself an artist but can not draw or paint. I try to convince myself I write (which I haven’t done in years) and collage which isn’t really art, it’s gluing pictures together.
*I was inactive for a long time and took up smoking and having a drink now and then. I still sometimes miss being in a smoky bar with a cigarette.
*I have 7 tattoo’s. I want more but have promised my husband I wouldn’t. I wish he would get just one but wonder if I would just feel sad and guilty after he got it.
I too have serious issues with germs and because HF has a sense of humor, he sent me a boy who cannot be around germs, my paranoia now has turned into pure insanity. We had the elders over for dinner and one had a cold. I used a new dishing utensil each time I had to dish food out after they touched it. After they left, I threw out all the food and disenfected the house. I’ve basically lost my mind but when I try to not go all crazy, I freak out the son will get sick.
And because I have serious issues with puke he also sent me the same little boy that can puke daily if needed. I swear he is laughing some times.
I don’t eat beets. ick
I think walnuts are gross and taste like dirt. There are so many better nuts I just don’t get why people put such nasty tasting nuts in there food.
I’m allergic to wool.
I’ve had ultrasounds of my uterus, my boob and my gal bladder. I had a ct scan and mri of the brain.
I’ve seen the insides of my intestines via a camera that was at the moment shoved up my rear. I was getting a siedomoscopy (spelled wrong) and was sobbing and the dr. handed me the camera to get me to calm down. Pretty cool.
I have a seriously ugly belly button now, I have an innie and an outie. The belly button is the innie, right above it is a bellybutton hernia, and that’s an outie.
I flush the toilet with my foot too. What’s funny with the germ paranoia is its not like my house is clean, It’s other people’s germs that freak me out, i’m fine with my germs.
And the lung stuff. As the parent with the kid who has had probably 50 chest xray’s, ya they don’t do ultrasounds. They can do CT SCANS though. He had a couple of those too. They can do lung biopsies too. I have pictures of my son’s right lung, from the inside.
Comment #39 by SarahOctober 27th, 2008 at 8:22 amTo add to the discussion on how to avoid getting teary in public, what I do is stop and take a couple of very deep breaths. It always works (for me at least) and it’s far less disruptive to have a good long pause than for no one to understand anything you’re saying because of the tears. I fail to find a choked-up speaker cute or charming. Myself included.
Comment #40 by ResearcherOctober 27th, 2008 at 11:06 amHeather O., you had a male kindergarten teacher? Wow. Very, very rare indeed.
Comment #41 by Chad TooOctober 27th, 2008 at 11:18 amI have an extra vertebrate in my spine. It doesn’t actually make me any taller, but it’s there.
Comment #42 by Molly DoeOctober 27th, 2008 at 11:59 am1) My only hobby is finding out information about people. Not to gossip about or judge- just to know it. It’s an Aquarian thing.
Comment #43 by JewelsOctober 27th, 2008 at 12:36 pm2) If I daydream about meeting a famous person it’s not to kiss them or get their autograph, it’s to ask them personal questions.
3) I’m not a very good mom because I’m not consistent in following thru with consequences. Which is dangerous since all my kids are teenagers.
4) I thought I would love blogging, but realized I really don’t because I don’t like talking about myself or my problems. So why am I commenting? hmmm
5) If I could have any talent/gift that I don’t currently have it would be to be able to compose beautiful music.
6) I recently realized I’m a control freak. I’m 41.
7) I’m totally claustrophobic, part of which is that I can’t stand to breathe warm air. It makes me panic.
8) I hate being overweight so much that I worry constantly that my daughters will get fat.
9) Along that line, I hate exercising more than I hate being fat, and it doesn’t bother me that by not exercising I may have a shorter life span (since I’m diabetic).
10) I have travel anxiety, but not when I travel- only when my immediate family travels.
Jewels I have the same fear about my daughter getting fat and I wasn’t fat at all as a child. Not till after babies did it become a problem but I worry.
and I hate exercising too, always have. It makes my feet hurt and it doesn’t matter what shoe, and when I was thin, it still made my feet hurt. I finally came to the realzation that as long as it makes my feet hurt it’s not going to happen.
Comment #44 by SarahOctober 27th, 2008 at 1:22 pmSarah, yeah- I wasn’t fat til I had babies either, but I thought I was (oh, to be ‘fat’ size 5 again!). And I’m right there with you- I have mild asthma, so anything more than walking hurts my lungs. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one that won’t exercise!
Comment #45 by JewelsOctober 27th, 2008 at 1:31 pm1. My house is quite cluttery, but I am very organized.
Comment #46 by StrollerbladerOctober 27th, 2008 at 2:31 pm2. I love to snoop on people via the internet. (Google, reading blogs/forums that they don’t know I read)
3. I can be out running errands for hours without feeling like I need to go to the bathroom, but as soon as I walk in that front door, it’s a conditioned response that I’ve GOT to go.
4. I went all through college without using a computer more than a handful of times, but now as a SAHM, I can’t go a day without one!
5. I love being pregnant. But we’re done.
6. I love HFPE meeting. I used to beg to go to Homemaking with my mom and she’d take me a couple times a year since I was 12.
7. No, my home is not all crafty and I don’t scrapbook.
8. I can’t garden. As in: I can’t even get zucchini to grow.
9. I have to sleep with my hair up in a ponytail or bun.
10. I hate Purell. It is yucky because, not only does it totally dry out my already way-dry skin, but it’s not like all those germs disappear. They’re still there, only they’re smeared dead all over your hands. And your hands are still just as dirty as they were before; it’s not like it gets rid of dirt and grime. I am not a germaphobe, but I do wash my hands as soon as possible when I get home, and frequently throughout the day, and a ton while cooking. I am in the “5 minute rule” camp (see above).
Things no one knows about me:
I hate being married - I’d get a divorce if I had no kids.
I love beets.
Comment #47 by anonOctober 27th, 2008 at 7:59 pmOuch.
Ok - I love beets. The minute I smell them, I crave them. I must have them immediately if not sooner. I hated them until about 6 months ago - go figure.
I hate coconut - I can taste it a mile away.
I hate wearing shoes. I get claustrophopic. This too is a new development. As a result I am either barefoot, in flip flops or UGG boots if its cold. When I must wear other shoes, I shed them asap.
Big lifechanging things I can deal with. Pet peeves make me want to poke a pencil through my eyeball: gum popping, finger tapping, whistling (oh make it stop!), not eating all the ice cream off your spoon - eew!
I’m lazy.
I wish I had another dog.
Oh, and I love cilantro - sorry Wiz.
Comment #48 by wbprawOctober 27th, 2008 at 8:27 pmChad Too–
I had a male kindergarten teacher. He was a vietnam vet/hippie back in the early 70’s. Freaked the heck out of me. I think I might still be scarred from that whole experience! I saw him many many years later in a Kinkos and could barely speak! I think I was about 27 at that point!
Comment #49 by BOctober 29th, 2008 at 6:06 am1. I think DoubleL and I might be soulmates.
Comment #50 by KatyOctober 29th, 2008 at 7:39 pm2. I never thought I would read a mormon mom blog.
3. I dated the guitarist from Stone Temple Pilots for 7 months right before I met my husband 3 years ago.
4. I joined the church at 18 and went inactive at 20, 9 years later I became active again, married a non member and he got me to quit smoking, quit coffee b4 he joined the church! We are getting sealed next month.
5. We named our daughter Eloise because I wanted to call her weezer.
6. I think that porn, unrealistic media portrayals of relationships and women in general, adultery, selfishness and desire for immediate gratification are all a MUCH bigger threat to the institution of marriage than same sex unions.
7. I wish my fellow saints would recognize that Sarah Palin would NEVER let her kids play with thier kids… cause we are in a cult.
8.I wish I could dress my daughter (5 months old) in footsie jammies all day every day.
9.I bit my nails from age 5 and I stopped the day Eloise was born, without trying to and haven’t gone back.
10.I love Orson Scott Card books…all of them.
Thank you for the tips, Bruce! I will try them…for me it’s usually when in conversation…and when someone is telling me something. Anything. I just blubber up. Speaking in church, no tearing up at all. I don’t get it myself!
Comment #51 by KateOctober 30th, 2008 at 9:29 pmThanks again!
The first rule should be…if it’s an attorney, just step on over and away from the body.
Comment #52 by Hotellit TukholmaOctober 19th, 2010 at 6:26 pmWrite more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?
Comment #53 by Zilvinas JuraskaMarch 1st, 2011 at 7:16 am