1) I have really open hips. No, seriously though. If you've seen this:
you know what I'm talking about, and again I'm not kidding. My hamstrings are super tight, it's really hard to straighten my legs, but anything that involves my hips is a breeze. This past Monday I did yoga with one of my friends at work and one of her fellow teachers in training. When I got in pigeon they pushed on me and pulled on me and were astonished at my chest being on the floor, leg up towards top of the mat, and other leg coming straight out. So yes, they're very open.
2) I used to hate running. A whole lot. I was forced to run the Peachtree Road Race as a child. Well not really, I ran the AJC Peachtree Junior from age 8-12. I probably walked most of them. The best part of this was getting this stuffed animal in '92 or '93 when they announced the Olympics would be in Atlanta.
Ok well that's the life-size version, but still. I swear his name was originally "WhatzIt" though Google is telling me it's "Izzy." Anyways, I was excited to get him. I also had my picture in the AJC for running the Peachtree Junior all 5 years of eligibility. Then came running Cross Country. For some unknown reason I ran on the JV team my 8th grade year in middle school. I would get there with three of my best friends after practice started because our school got out later than the high school. The team would have already taken off so we would "catch up." Really we would just cheat the course. This is really sad now that I think about it. I only lasted through my freshman year. Our coach was Crazy Eddie and he was probably the best CC coach ever, but he didn't like me. I walked too much. If only he could see me now.
3) I loved my "cuddles" as a kid. No, not like snuggles. Cuddles are what I used to call the shorts I wore. I was meaning to say "cut-offs" but my best friend always insisted I was calling them "cuddles." In reality these were my brothers' khaki shorts that I would cut to be a bit shorter. I would also wear them with my brothers' t-shirts. So yes, I wore boy clothes, a lot. They were both in private school for a few years so we had an abundance of khaki shorts. Also, random fact number 5.5- my wrist and lower arm are the perfect size to hold a coat hanger. I would go to the uniform store with my brothers and hold my arms out in a T. They would hang all sorts of clothes on me. So sweet.
4) I minored in Spanish in college. This was one of the best decisions ever. I love the Spanish language. I now wish I had been an international business major, because I ended up taking tons of Spanish classes. I studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain for six weeks. That I wish I had done for a whole semester. Now, my Spanish is very helpful when teaching. This year I have a student who speaks very little English. He's supposed to be learning the language, so he tries to speak English, and it usually ends up in him speaking broken English to me, and me responding in broken Spanish. Good thing I've got my numbers down so well.
At San Fermin, the running of the bulls. AMAZING time. Spanish Mardi Gras as I like to think of it. Our white clothes ended up covered in red sangria. My senora incredibly got out every last stain.
5) I love Friends. The show. I have all 10 seasons and have seen every episode a bigillion (yes it's not really a number, and yes I am a math teacher) times. I could probably recite the last episode. I cry every time I watch it, even the times I watch it with commentary, which I do. One of my favorite lines ever is in the season 1 when the three girls are having a spend the night party. Phoebe is in her onesy pajamas and Monica says, "Pheebs do you have a plan?" Phoebe responds, "I don't even have a pla." I feel that way often.
6) My lifelong dream is to say "GENTLEMEN START YOUR ENGINES!" at a NASCAR race.
My first job out of college was working for a sports marketing firm. I had some pretty incredible experiences there. Here I am signing the start finish line in Daytona.
7) I played golf in high school. This is what I always use for the two truths and a lie icebreaker game. My brothers both played it, so I did too. If you can't tell they had/have significant influence on me regarding pretty much everything. I actually really enjoyed golf. I am much more competitive now than I was in high school. Golf was a very low-key sport. We practiced once or not at all a week, and had a match every Friday afternoon. This involved us getting out of school an hour early, which was fabulous. We also went to the beach every year for four days for the state golf tournament. The boys team was pretty good, but never good enough to place. The girls team- not so much at all. I was the only one on the team freshmen year, but grew the team to six people our senior year! I never shot anywhere near par, or even 30 strokes from it, but it was a lot of fun and I feel like it's an important sport to know how to play.
8) I love Barbies. As a child I was given them for my birthday and Christmas, and my dad gave me a Barbie for Christmas every year until I was 26. Yes, only two Christmases ago did I stop getting them. It was a sad day. I still have them all, in the bedroom in Atlanta. I remember all of their names, the basic ones to the collector's dolls.
Picture care of http://happyorhungry.com/2011/12/22/my-favourite-childhood-christmas-presents/
This is Hollywood Barbie, or Kelly from Kelly and the Killers as she was to me. My best friend and I created this band of Barbies. They rocked. We even wrote a few songs, "I Walked into The Door" and "Dandelion." Oddly, I remember the lyrics to both songs.
9) I always wanted to be on a Reese's commercial for their "There's No Wrong Way to Eat a Reese's" campaign. There is a very specific way I eat Reese's. It has been my favorite candy for as long as I can remember. I don't know how or why I eat Reese's this way but... I eat the chocolate around the edges first. Then the chocolate on the top and the bottom, saving all of the peabut butter for last. I eat it tiny bites at a time. I used to eat Reese's so often, then one time I thought there was chocolate stuck in between my two fingers, but after licking it really hard, I realized it was just a freckle.
10) This brings me to my next point. I LOVE peanut butter. It is the best food ever. I will put it on or in or with anything. Jelly and peanut butter, apple and peanut butter, banana and peanut butter, PB on a cookie, PB on a brownie, PB with oatmeal, PB in a spinach smoothie (my students are so curious about the green concoction I eat many mornings) just a plain old delicious satisfying spoonful of peanut butter. Peter Pan is my jam, smooth not crunchy, but Kroger and Trader Joes have good store brands too.
Lately I've been mixing PB with plain fat free yogurt and granola. Mmm.
11) I have been laid off, twice. First from my marketing job and second from my teacher assistant job. The later I bounced back from pretty quickly. Getting laid off from my marketing job was tough. It was my first real job. I was definitely ready to go. I had already decided to go back to school so I could teach, but it was still scary. It happened at a great time of year in which I was able to get a job as a lifeguard and enjoy the spring and summer. But it certainly took a shot to my confidence. That being said it was the tipping point for me changing careers. It changed my life. I now do something I believe in, and that I know has such a positive impact on others. I have been on an ever-changing journey since then, and my dreams are slowly coming true.
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