Countdown to 30…a trip down memory lane

I’m not really a big birthday person. I mean, I appreciate that my family remembers my birthday and I do love a yummy cake or ice-cream cake, but I’m not really a “tell everyone and hope they sing to me in a restaurant” kind of birthday person. That said, I’m already thinking about my 30th (which is still 3 months away). Maybe it is because RRL and I are planning our birthday get-a-way; maybe it is because it is a big milestone; but really I think it is just because as a child 30 always seemed so grown-up and now it suddenly doesn’t. 30 does not really scare or depress me, it just amazes me. Can it be? Am I really old enough to be a mommy, a wife AND A THIRTY-YEAR-OLD? I do not really feel any different…I’m basically still 17, right?

While I’m thinking about ME, I thought I might just start blogging about ME. On each 29th between now and the big day, I’m going to blog a total of 30 random things about me. Thanks for humoring me, it has been a fun trip down memory lane.

We’ll start with a few “blasts from the past”

1) I once appeared in Seventeen magazine. It was a really small picture and not a great shot, but it was pretty cool, none-the-less. It was part of the High School highlight they used to do and they did a story about my high school.

2) I used to be a soccer referee for little kids. I loved helping them learn about the game and it was good money for a Saturday-only job in high school. KJ got his name because one of the cutest little boys that played. I did not ever really get to know him, I just liked his name.

3) In 7th grade I won the regional science fair for my experiment on how electro-magnetic fields affect the growth of vegetation (powerlines and plants). As a result, I got to attend “Environmental Camp”. It was totally as nerdy as it sounds and I loved every minute of it.

4) I had 11 bridesmaids (4 college roomies/friends; 3 childhood best friends; 2 sister-in-laws; 2 might-as-well be sisters that I babysat). I love each one of them so much that I could not narrow it down at all. RRL managed to come up with 11 attendants as well so we indeed had a “host” of witnesses clustered around us.
5) In middle school I won a speech competition in the humorous category with a Brer Rabbit monologue. Don’t ask- I don’t remember it. I do still love public speaking. Sometimes that makes me wonder if I just love the sound of my own voice.

6) My brothers and I used to love to play cowboys. I just had to put that so that I could include
this picture. It is my favorite of the three of us and still sits beside my bed.
7) My college roomie, M, was really the one who taught me that jogging could be fun. She and I had a goal to run all of the stairs in the coliseum. I think we only ever made it about 1/2 way.

8) I studied abroad in Oxford, England between junior and senior years of college. It was one of the very best things about my college experience. One of my favorite memories was that I got to go to Wimbledon. One other girl and I decided to go out to the campus to just look around while the tournament was going on in hopes that we could see something. After we bought our $2 tickets to get onto the grounds we met a very nice Englishman who offered to GIVE us his day passes for the rest of the day at CENTRE COURT! We got to see the men’s doubles finals. It was awesome…RRL, who actually likes tennis, may never forgive me (at least until I find a way to take him).

Stay tuned for “A bit about me”