Fifty Things About Me

1) I was born a week late and refused to turn my head in the right direction so I had to be delivered by c-section.

2) I have only ever had one pet. He was a goldfish and his name was Sven. I named him after my uncle.

3) I have only been a patient in the hospital three times. The first time was when I was born. The second time was when I fell off the jungle gym and had to get stitches in my chin. The third time was when my dad accidentally slammed my finger in the car door. The second and third times were both when I was in second grade.

4) I hate walking over grates in the street or sidewalk. I almost always walk around them unless they absolutely can’t be avoided.

5) I think that toilet paper should come over the top of the roll. If I am at someone’s house and their toilet paper comes from underneath the roll, I will change it around to the “right” way.

6) My ancestry is half Swedish, one-quarter Norwegian, and one-quarter Slovak.

7) My favorite flower is the tulip.

8) I hate bananas. Sometimes even the smell of them makes me want to throw up.

9) I like to mix Coke and Orange Fanta together.

10) I like to dip my french fries in mayonnaise.

11) I prefer dark chocolate over milk or white chocolate and I don’t like chocolate with fruit flavors (e.g., orange or raspberry).

12) I’m not a big coffee drinker, but I normally drink two mugs of tea with milk and Splenda in the morning.

13) My family and I lived in The Hague for three years when I was in high school. I haven’t been back since we moved back to the US almost ten years ago and that makes me sad.

14) I have traveled to the following countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, England, Ireland, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Kenya, Australia, and Canada.

15) I have been to nineteen of the fifty states, although some of them only for a few hours.

16) I took piano lessons for ten years when I was in elementary, middle, and high school.

17) I took horseback riding lessons for three years when I was in high school. My favorite horse was named Mr. X.

18) I can speak, read, and/or write in all of the following languages (although to varying degrees): English, Swedish, German, Dutch.

19) My mom was born and raised in Sweden. She only came to the US in 1974.

20) My paternal grandfather used to be a traveling salesman. I have this old keychain that was an “extra” he used to give to his customers. It says, “It will pay you to remember – [his name].” Looking at it makes me happy.

21) My favorite colors are red and blue.

22) I have met one American president, George Bush Sr.

23) I much prefer white wine to red wine.

24) I love collecting nice china. My favorite part of my china collection is my Rörstrand teacups and saucers. They are blue and the pattern is called Swedish Grace.

25) I have held a koala bear and I have the pictures to prove it.

26) When I was little my dad and I used to make up stories about a girl named Goofus Roofus. My favorite one was about when she dug a hole in her backyard all the way to China.

27) I have a mental aversion to Chinese food, but I have no problems eating Thai or Vietnamese food.

28) I have one sister. She is four years, eight months, and nine days younger than me. She has naturally red hair.

29) Both my paternal great grandfathers were named George.

30) I always face my bills.

31) I hate make left turns when driving. I avoid them if at all possible.

32) I have been a registered nurse for four and a half years. I have licenses to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia, but through the compact agreement I can actually practice in twenty-one states.

33) My paternal grandparents had eight grandchildren, all of them girls.

34) I am left handed and even to this day hold scissors the wrong way.

35) I had the chicken pox when I was in second grade. I have three pox scars: one on my left forearm, one at the base of my nose, and one slightly above my upper lip.

36) I like my apples and grapes to be of the green variety, as opposed to the red variety.

37) I still have one doll from when I was little. His name is Smelly Pelle.

38) I love doing family history research. I could sit and look at census records and ship manifests on microfilm for hours.

39) I don’t really like gold jewelry. I much prefer silver, platinum or white gold.

40) Both my hands are double jointed. I can make them look really disgusting or so people tell me.

41) I am a total snob about Christmas decorations and I think colored Christmas lights are incredibly tacky.

42) When I was very young I forgot how to speak English for a few days and could only speak Swedish. Boy was that frustrating since my babysitter only spoke English.

43) I get to watch babies being born for a living. It is amazing every time. It never gets old.

44) I prefer Coke over Pepsi. I beat the Pepsi challenge once. You can TOTALLY tell the difference.

45) I got my first walkman when I was in first or second grade. The two tapes I got with it were “Madonna” by Madonna and “Whitney Houston” by Whitney Houston. I still have both tapes.

46) The embroidered curtains that hang in my dining room were made by my great grandmother. I think that they are gorgeous.

47) My favorite mixed drink is the Grape Crush.

48) My favorite food is potatoes. I will eat them prepared in almost any fashion.

49) I always eat the European way, with my fork in one hand and my knife in the other hand the whole time. It drives me crazy how many Americans cut up all their food first and then eat only with their fork.

50) One of my favorite books as a child was “Andrew Henry’s Meadow” by Doris Burn. A couple of years ago my dad found me a used copy. I read it all the time now.