Eight Random Things About Me

I was tagged by Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for 8 random things about me. So here we go...

~ I am pictured on a website for a Bed and Breakfast in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Jason and I went to New Zealand and Australia for our honeymoon and our stay at Clanaboy with Lyndsay and Allan Dodd was quite memorable. We still exchange Christmas cards!

~ The one activity I miss the most since having children is scuba diving. I am an Advanced Certified diver and honestly have no clue how many dives I have under my belt. Most were in the Carribean, and of course some were in Australia in the Great Barrier Reef off of Cairnes. We took a live-aboard dive excursion for 3 days and 2 nights. Yes, I saw some shark. I'm sure they were small, though they were big enough for my liking!

~ My entire life I have lived in one state, Illinois. I dream of experiencing life in another state, but I don't know if that will happen in my lifetime. Which I guess means we will have to do more travelling!

~ My favorite course in college was Anthropology. I was enthralled with learning about the cultures of people in different lands and different times. I sometimes wonder if I should have become an Ethnobotanist with my biology background and interest. I didn't even pursue that field because it meant a lot of traveling to third world areas and learning how to communicate/gain the trust of the Shaman of each village. It would have been exciting (maybe a little dangerous), but clashed with my desire to one day have a family.

~ Of my 10 yr career at the same company, my best year was my last (which is good to end on a positive note). During my time there I contributed to about 20 scientific publications in peer reviewed journals.

~ I have a TERRIBLE time in social situations when there is a crowd of people and one person is talking to me. I cannot filter out the other voices and sounds at all!

~ I correctly dreamed of the genders of both of my children while pregnant. We didn't find out for sure their genders until birth, but as I said, my dreams were correct!

~ I was a baton twirler, or as some say, majorette from the age of 5 until about 21. I was a member of several teams and corps and competed individually for years. I was not the BEST but I think I was pretty darn good. I was in the highest skill level for competitions and participated at the State and National levels. I also twirled in HS and college. I believe performing was the best part of the whole twirling experience! Competing was very nerve wracking.