10 Things

I was tagged by Leigh (who is also a YA writer and whose first book will be out in May/June and who lives near me–we found each other through NaNoWriMo!) to tell 10 funny/weird/random things about myself.

1. When I was a kid, I tried to convince the girl who lived next door to me that I was my own identical cousin named Summer. I told her that Shana had gone to our grandparents’ for the weekend. Somehow, I just don’t think she ever really believed me. And I blame my lies on reading Triple Trouble by Michael J. Pellowski, which is about identical twins who also have an identical cousin.

2. I’ve always had a fear of heights. In kindergarten, I got terrified on the see-saw on the school playground when my end went up. I started crying and was clinging to the handlebar so tightly that I couldn’t move at all. Some older kids had to hold onto me while they slowly lowered the see-saw to let me off.

3. I know it’s supposed to be stereotypical weird pregnancy food, but I actually like to eat pickles with peanut butter and I’m not pregnant.

4. I don’t like seafood of any kind except for tuna from a can (mixed with Miracle Whip and put on bread, no other way).

5. In the seventh grade I decided to become a vegetarian. It lasted a few weeks, until I was so hungry for chicken that I snuck back into the kitchen after everyone else had eaten, grabbed a chicken thigh, locked myself in my room, and gobbled it down before anyone could catch me. It wasn’t long after that I just decided to give up the vegetarian thing. I still don’t eat a lot of meat and I prefer vegetables and fruit much more, but I have no plans to cut meat out of my diet entirely again. Besides, I’m too lazy to make special vegetarian meals to make sure I get all of my nutrients.

6. Which leads me to the fact that I can’t cook very well, don’t care to learn, and would rather pull out my own toenails one by one than spend more than fifteen minutes standing around in the kitchen.

7. I used to be obsessed with the show Kids Incorporated when I was a kid. I’d spend afternoons standing on my porch, singing to an imaginary crowd, and pretending I was Jennifer Love Hewitt (who, during the time she was on Kids Incorporated, went by just Love Hewitt). I’m sure my neighbors enjoyed the little shows I put on. I also would sing Madonna songs whenever I wasn’t singing Kids Incorporated covers. There was a phase when I was certain I was destined to be the next great pop star. The fact that I couldn’t carry a tune didn’t deter me.

8. Before my sister was born when I was six, I wanted a sister so badly that I made one of my younger brothers put on a dress and called him Michelle. Um, sorry about that. (He got me back though. I have a scar on my forehead from where he got mad at me one day and pinched me with pliers.)

9. I’m not a sports fan at all and know nothing about which team or athlete is good, so whenever I watch football with The Husband I have my own method of choosing who I want to win: Whoever has the best helmet. My favorite helmet in all of the NFL belongs to the Cincinnati Bengals. I love the tiger stripes!

10. The Husband says I pronounce “donut” weird. He says it comes out sounding like “daw-nut.” I never noticed it sounding weird until he pointed it out and now I’m self-conscious about it and always make sure I clearly pronounce it “dough-nut.”