25 things

I inherited a love of all-things-celebrity from my mother and grandmother. Hence, I adore Us Weekly magazine. One of my favorite features in each edition is the "25 Things About Me" section. So, in that spirit, here you go!

1.  In 1996, my friend and I bought a vintage tandem bike and rode it around town all summer. Because what high school freshman doesn't look cool on a tandem?
2. I don't like to exercise, so I don't do it.  I once grape-vined out of an aerobics class in college and never went back. Truth. 
3. I don't eat pork or ham because I was disgusted to see pigs roll in the mud at Upland Hills Farm in 1988. Yet I love bacon. Go figure...
4. In the past ten years, I have probably consumed no more than five glasses of soda. I love water!
5.  I caught the kitchen on fire four years ago while making bacon. (see above)
6. By the time I was four, I knew all the words to "Only Lonely" and "Shot Through the Heart" by Bon Jovi. I have the proof on a Beta tape. 
7.  Until high school, I thought ALL parents took a bath together every night. Mine did. 
8. I think that life should have a soundtrack in the background. 
9.  I get really nervous speaking publicly in front of adults, yet I have no problem acting like a fool, singing and dancing around  in front of my students. 
10. I never bought laundry detergent in college. I just used everyone else's! Confession!
11. I've known my best friend for 26 years. We take an annual picture in the same pose every year, and have done so since 1986. She knows me better than I know myself.

12. I can't wear nail polish because I will pick it off by the end of the day.
13. I am going to be an aunt for the first time in October, and I can't wait to meet my niece or nephew!
14. Growing up, whenever I couldn't sleep, my mom would sit on the edge of my bed and bounce it up and down. This was (and still is) the definition of comfort for me.
15.  I tend to think that deadlines don't really apply to me. 
16. By the time I was 18, I had been in 17 fender benders. Thus, I was voted "worst driver" in my high school class. 
17. I sang in Carnegie Hall when I was 17, but didn't realize what a unique experience it was until years later.
18. On the same trip (see above) I got my belly button pierced in NYC, which was forbidden by my parents. I had it in for three weeks until my mother caught me and chased me around the house, threatening to pull it out. 
19. Driving at night makes me very nervous. 
20. Living 220 miles away from my family is getting harder as the years go by. I miss them terribly. 
21. If I could eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be sourdough toast and butter - real butter only. I don't eat margarine.
22. I used to think that everything happens for a reason, but I am starting to believe that isn't true.
23. My biggest pet peeve is when adults misuse their pronouns in writing (there / their / they're and your / you're)
24. I don't believe in "the one." I believe in good decision making based on locality. 
25. If I could hire one person to work in my household, I'd hire a cook.