1. I went to 4 baseball games in 4 days with 4 different sets of people to celebrate my birthday.2. This makes the second time this year that I've been to more than 4 games in a week. In July I did 5 games in 6 days, only skipping the 4th of July so that I could attend the organ concert at the National Cathedral.
3. I have never played organized baseball (or softball) outside of gym class in school.
4. I have been known to do face tattoos and face paint when cheering for my teams. Even if I'm the only one doing it. I bleed black and gold, and will proudly wear my Vanderbilt Commodore gear anywhere.
5. This includes forgetting sunscreen on occasion and therefore having a reverse tattoo on my face for over a week. We won that game, on the road, at Georgia, and it's one of my favorite band trip memories ever.
6.My girls both share names with Australian cities, but that wasn't planned. Didn't even realize we'd done it until someone asked me what the connection was.
7. They both want to visit Australia someday, so they can each see their very own city, and more importantly their very own opera house.
8. Both my kids LOVE Opera. They do not get this from me. I expose them so they can learn, but it's not my favorite. Exception: Opera in the Outfield. This way, we get opera in the ballpark so everyone is happy. We celebrated A's 5th birthday at the event this spring. She's already asking about doing it again next year.
9. I cry at movies. Even ones on the Hallmark Channel. I also sometimes cry at commercials. I am a weeper. So if you want to take me to a movie, even if you think it's a comedy, bring the Kleenex.
10. I am officially now a soccer mom. (sans mini van).
11. My birthdays have been some of my greatest joys (1994) and my worst nightmares (2009). So now I try to consciously find small, or big, joys especially on my birthday. Nothing wipes out a lousy moment like replacing it with lots of little good ones.
12. My favorite way to spend a night alone is curled up with a good book (and maybe a mug of hot chocolate. Or a box of Thin Mints).
13. If I drink soda, it's Coke or Cherry Coke. Not Pepsi, and nothing diet.
14. I prefer to set my watch on military time.
15. I may no longer be an Army wife, but my time as one left me with a new respect for our troops, their families, and a host of delightful friends who have stuck by my side long after my Army family years were done.
16. For my past two solo holidays, I have spent an amazing week in Paris with 3 girlfriends, and spent a fantastic 5 days in Dublin with long time friends and their kids. Including American Thanksgiving in Ireland. (Read that adventure here!)
17.I play lots of board games and card games. Euchre & Cribbage are my favorites.
18. My dad's career path has allowed me to meet a ton of really cool people. Favorite: President Reagan, He served me spaghetti and meatballs. I was 12, and he talked to me like a grown up instead of a kid. That's still one of my favorite memories.
19. I celebrated my birthday in Fenway Park with my dad 2 years ago. As far as birthday memories go, that one went a long way toward erasing the one bad one.20. I learned Flemish for a trip to Belgium. Turns out that was the smartest move I made, as I needed it to navigate the bus system to get to the towing company in the next town when our rental car was towed.
21. The WWII Memorial at sunset is one of my favorite places in Washington, DC.
22. My 2 best friends live in Nashville and Seattle. So between the 3 of us, we have the whole country covered. One loves orange (she went to UT).. The other had me pick all the orange M&M's out of the candy dishes for her wedding reception. I love orange only in the context of a rainbow, a sunrise, or a sunset, so I land clearly on the side of removing all the orange candy from the bowl. The things we do in the name of school spirit and rivalries...
23. I have had the same pen pal for over 22 years.
24. I've learned some valuable lessons from my mom. The best one is this: If you can laugh about it tomorrow, you might as well laugh about it now. Read more about my amazing mom here.
25. I've walked over 157 miles in 4 years in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. (on actual walk weekends. This does not count the training miles). This is why I walk. And this is the story of the 2013 walk.
26. My perfect date would be a picnic supper on the beach watching the sun sink over the horizon.
27. But a night out without my kids with adult conversation will just fine in absence of a Pacific sunset picnic.
28. I am a proud band geek and hope my kids grow to see the value in that someday. I've met most of my dearest friends through the band or some connection with a band friend and that's been well worth every long, hot day of practice.
29. I'm really proud of how well my girls are learning to respect our country. They stop when they hear the National Anthem, put their hands over their hearts (even if they sometimes choose the opposite hand - still working on that) and stand still until it's over. Sometimes they sing along. They did it once when we were still in the hot dog line, and I was delighted to see the adults follow their example.
30. We try to learn history in fun ways with our adventures. Living so close to so many amazing monuments and museums in DC makes it tough to do it all, but we give it a good effort!
29. My dad taught me how to dance.
30. I love jigsaw puzzles. They're extra fun with my brother and my parents, but I will do them on my own, too.
31. I own cowboy boots. I bought them when I visited Vanderbilt for the first time in 1993. I've had them resoled twice since then, and they're still my favorite pair of shoes.
32. I am a coleslaw snob. My great-grandmother's was the best. It used to be a staple at our family gatherings - even Thanksgiving dinner - and I've never had it better. My Grammie, and later my Aunt learned to make it pretty close to Great-Grandma's and that makes me smile. I am LOUSY at making coleslaw.
33. I participated in the chocolate pudding wrestling fundraiser for our Student Council. I've never been messier, nor had more fun, all at the same time.
34. I am seriously considering using spring break next year for a road trip to hit several MLB parks that I've not been to yet. If I have to be without my girls, I can't think of a much better week than a road trip with baseball and a girlfriend?
35. I love to get, and send, postcards.
36. I love socks. The crazier, the better.
37. I took a Braille class in college. Considering how terrible my eyesight is, I thought it would come in handy someday. For now, it just makes my kids think I am cool since I saved my "dot" flashcards and they can study from them.
This year lands in the pile of great birthdays with fun memories. My girls fixed me breakfast in bed (a graham cracker sandwich on toast) and went off to the first day of school with happy smiles.I got my fill of baseball (see #1) and laughed until I cried sharing memories and making new ones. Sitting here on day 2 of my 38th year, I am really thankful, and very, very blessed.
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