1. I check the weather of places where my nearest and dearest live every day. It gives me a moment to think of each one and how they might be spending their day.
In case you are wondering, the cities checked are:
New York Mills, Minnesota
El Paso, Texas
Chesterfield, England
Portland, Oregon
Tainan City, Taiwan
Sacramento, Oakland, San Fransisco, El Sobrante, Pioneer and Boonville, California.
2. My favorite Pandora stations (other than Rhett Miller and Old 97s): Freedom ’90 – George Michael and Raffi.
3. I always have multiple games of WWF going with V3 and the husband. I have been playing the same random stranger since my very first game 2 years ago. He taught me almost everything I know by slaughtering me every game for a year.
4. In addition to dairy, I am wildly allergic to shellfish and melon. Yes, it is really hard to find something I can eat in most restaurants. There is cheese everywhere!
5. I despise bananas and being invited to people’s houses to eat is really stressful. I don’t want to be any trouble and yet here’s my gigantic list of food allergies.
6. Son Volt’s Trace is my favorite road trip sing along music. Followed very closely by The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Wreck Your Life and Too Far To Care by Old 97s.
7. I covet other people’s swimming pools and dogs, but really don’t want my own because of the maintenance. Plus those things truly make you a grown up.
8. You can almost always find some sort of allergen free snack in my purse.
9. I hate sleeping in a house alone. Apparently I still think there is a Boogeyman.
10. Ever since switching Ruby to a back carry, I have secretly enjoyed the puzzled looks on strangers’ faces as I walk through Target looking like I am talking to myself.
11. It took me a long time to really enjoy restorative yoga and now I am on a quest to make up for lost time. Why did I make everything so hard?
12. Airports are one of my happy places. I love going bye-bye! Other happy places include: in my daughter’s arms, in the presence of Redwood trees, being snuggled by my sweetheart, on my yoga mat and at the ocean.
13. Teaching feels like home. I am so grateful to be able to help people and support my family by doing something I love.
14. Seeing my friends with their parents and siblings makes me very happy and makes me feel less alone. Everyone’s family is nutty!
15. I briefly thought about studying to be a librarian but decided against it because the library world was in transition from card catalogs to computer systems and programs were closing all over the US. Plus I needed a J-O-B.
16. Funeral director was the number one career that came up in every aptitude test I took in college.
17. I volunteered and worked in reproductive politics for almost a decade.
18. I am against the death penalty. Have been since I was a child. And yes, I have thought about it. A lot.
19. I am very intrigued by glamping and would possibly give up my anti-camping stance if someone took me under their wing. A camping mentor perhaps?
20. I miss my 20s, but am so much happier and self-aware/at peace in my 40s.
21. At age 20 I had bunions removed from the little toe sides of both feet and beginnings of hammertoes corrected. The result? No more foot pain, second toes which do not bend, and an expensive comfortable shoe wardrobe.
22. I am so thankful the Internet wasn’t widely used in my 20s so I don’t have to cringe at my stupidity being documented forever. You really had to be there to enjoy it.
23. Listening to Jack Kornfield’s Beginner’s Guide To Forgiveness changes my life with each listen. So much wisdom.
24. Loving the learning process hasn’t come easily for me. As a child I didn’t really learn to learn – ie break down problems into smaller steps and work hard and use failure as a teacher – I either got something or I quit. Turns out this is common for children, especially girls, labeled “bright”. Who knew giving what you think of as a compliment, could stunt the learning process?
25. My husband and I were acquainted in high school and share mutual friends and memories from that era. It is so nice not to have to explain ElSob#1.
26. Many people I have met online I absolutely adore. I thank my lucky stars Rhett Miller introduced me to Twitter, JojosUK introduced me to Facebook and Michelle introduced me to blogging.
27. My feet are so ticklish it almost kills me to get a pedicure.
28. My hair stylist (one if my BFFs) is completely responsible for anything awesome going on with my hair. I just sit in the chair and let her work her magic. She’s the trained professional and I have zero idea what looks good until I see it.
29. Once I decide I like you, you are totally stuck with me.
30. At 42 I am finally starting to forget some things. Prior to losing brain cells from so much time online and aging, I could pretty much remember ever name, face and birth date of every single person I ever met. It was weird. And kind of awesome.
31. My best learning comes from watching pros demonstrate a couple times and being able to ask a couple questions. I see, I do, I got it. Give me written directions? Forget about it.
32. In 5th grade one of my teachers referred to me as charismatic. When I asked what that meant she told me that people can’t help but like me even if they didn’t want to.
I understood that as I bugged her, but she couldn’t help but like me. Or it bugged her that other people liked me when she didn’t.
33. Spending an entire day reading is one of my favorite activities. Finding a café in a new city and spending a day reading and people watching is my idea of heaven. Way better than sight seeing.
34. Coffee is wrong according to my taste buds.
35. I started wearing glasses daily the first day of college because I decided learning was more important than vanity.
36. I briefly participated in a contact lens study and decided glasses were for me after all. Turns out boys do make passes at girls who wear glasses and they are the kind of boys I like.
37. If the word simplicity is attached to something, I have probably read it and applied it to my life.
38. Napping with Ruby is a reminder to me to slow down and rest every day.
39. Nothing makes my heart sing quite like Ruby running toward me laughing and wanting me to pick her up. We got the right baby.
40. When facing a potentially unpleasant situation, I always try to remember the motto, “If it can’t be fun, it better be funny.”
41. It took me a long time to catch on that every yoga class ends with Savasana. Imagine how delighted I was when I finally figured it out!
42. My first concert was the Police Ghost In the Machine Tour 1983. It changed my life and made me a life long live music lover. I still listen to music like I’m 13.
43. A friend I didn’t know read anything I’d ever written declared that I am a good writer. Best compliment I ever received – unexpected and completely appreciated. It blew me away.
Now you, what are some little known nuggets about you? Leave a comment or write a post of your own and link back here.
Teacher Goes Back to School 