Tag, you're it! I have Base Power!

I just got tagged by my long-time friend, Carrie. There are very few friends that I remember the very first time we met. Carrie is one of them. I was in seventh grade, she was in eighth. She had just moved to Virginia and she joined us in a church leader's van to go to the Washington D.C. temple. We were friends instantly, and seeing as she was from California and had all these AWESOME shirts that she made (kind of like puffy paint shirts) I thought she was SOOOO cool. Carrie is right between me and my sister, Mary in age (Mary and I are 19 months apart), so through the years Carrie would be more my friend, more Mary's friend, more my friend, more Mary's... you see where I am going. Now it is great because we are all friends. Thank goodness my older sister got nicer. HA! Just kidding, Mary. I know I'm the annoying little sister (on a side note, one of the two disagreements Carrie and I had growing up had to do with her bossing her younger sister around. I stuck up for her sister, Syd one morning in high school when Carrie told her to run inside and get her shoes. I told Syd not to do it, that Carrie should. I mean, hey, younger sister's unite! I had done hundreds, no thousands of things for my sister, just because she said so. Those older sisters need to learn to do things by themselves). Carrie's kids are right around my kids' ages so it is so fun when we all get together. And, our two oldest are betrothed.

So, I am to list 7 random things about myself. Here goes:

1. I am not OCD, but some of the things I do may lead one to believe that I am. For instance: my clothes are arranged in my closet according to the rainbow, my shoes are also arranged according to color and style. My CDs that are in my CD book are arranged according to genre, listed alphabetically. I have to make sure that my door is locked every night. Sometimes S. has to go downstairs and double check (or I will wake up at 3am and check).

2. I had a perfect childhood, or at least my selective memory believes I did. Apparently I have blocked out the bad. My siblings will be talking about times they tortured me (throwing sleeping bags from the balcony above on me, making me eat weird "food" and such) and I have have no recollection. I still have a selective memory. And for the record, so does S.

3. When I was 5 we had fish sticks (my mom's first mistake). I broke out in a rash that went down my esophagus and it was decided that I was allergic to fish. I never touched fish until randomly, when on a date my sophomore year of college I decided to see if I still was. It's not that I was trying to impress the guy (I can't even remember his name), I just thought I'd see. What better way to get back into the fish gang then to eat Tuna---raw. Yes, I chose to test my allergy at a Japanese restaurant in Provo, UT with sashimi. I discovered I am not allergic to fish, but I am still developing a taste for it after all those years.

4. I have this odd attachment to my body. I have to be in control. This led me to lie that I was "studying" instead going skiing with my Uncle and siblings while in Utah. Why would anyone attach 4+ foot long extensions to their feet and go down a hill? I just snow plow the whole way so I feel like I am in control. Not very fun for the aftermath--my thighs KILL! This has not completely limited me in how adventurous I am, however. If someone else controls me I am more willing to try new things. For example, I have done parasailing, gone on those Skyflyers multiple times, and I love roller coasters.

5. I can be quite loud. I like to think I have gotten quieter with age, but S. might disagree. I have been told I am the loudest in my family and my mom has told me numerous times, "You're going to ruin your singing voice!!" In my high school Jazz choir my teacher asked me almost everyday how I felt and I would stand up on my chair and yell, "I feel GRRREAT!" It was kind of how we started the class. When I was in London on a study abroad I was given the nickname, "Cajun Mama" in part because of my loudness, but also the way I would speak and my intonations, "Let me tell you something about..."

6. I was born in Belgium. We moved back to the states when I was three and when I went back in 2000 I didn't remember anything (again, see #2--selective memory). In fact, in the past year I even researched to see if I could get dual citizenship--no. I had to live there for 10 years instead of 3. Oh well, I don't know French anyway.

7. I have performed an array of characters. When I was 8-10 I performed with a patriotic group called Young Citizens of America. We performed at schools, and were even in parades in Washington D.C., and Phili (the same as my girlfriend, Carrie before I knew her and she was there from CA!). I have performed Sixteen going on Seventeen when I was the one turning 18. I was basically Chiquita Banana in my high school's performance of Guys and Dolls. I wore this crazy outfit with all kinds of ruffles and showing lots of leg amidst those ruffles. I have performed at Disney World's Epcot Center 2 times, I was "Julie" in a tri-stake church production of Saturday's Warrior my senior year of high school. It was so cheesy, that S. hates to admit that he married one of the stars of that show. I have sung at weddings, and even a high school graduation (one that I had not attended). I was co-director and a soloist of a church program about women in the Bible entitled Women at the Well.

Okay, I hate it when people don't officially TAG others because then nobody does it, so here is who is tagged, and I hope you tag some people on your blogroll because I want to read theirs, too. Okay, 1) Michelle 2) Lynn 3) Vanessa 4) Tracie and 5) Haley. I can't wait to read yours!