100 Things...Part 2

So I promised the 2nd half of the list before Christmas, and didn't quite make that deadline. SORRY! So, here is the 2nd half of the list (better late than never!).

1. I already mentioned my love of music, but I didn't mention that I took piano for almost 7 years and I played the flute while in middle and high school.
   
2. I usually can memorize the words of a song by the 2nd or 3rd time I hear it.
   
3. I love to dance and took dance lessons for 13 years. I quite in high school when I made the cheerleading squad and the schedules conflicted but I never lost my love of dancing. In college I participated in the sorority dance competitions every year and loved it. We won 1st place 2 years and 2nd place one year (I left South during my Junior year of college).
4. I don't like to go into a dark room. If possible, I will always turn a light on before I completely enter a room. (Ok, so I am afraid of the dark--but I have a reason...)
5. I hate to wash dishes and clothes.
   
6. I used to have a "master list" of all of my friends birthdays and would send birthday cards (real snail mail!) on their birthdays. I hate that I have let this habit slack, I need to start doing it again.
   
7. I have met Paula Deen twice and hope to one day cook with her. We had a quick but good conversation this fall about how I love teaching kids to cook. When I say quick, it lasted less than 2 minutes but I did get to talk to her about it!
8. I have met Nicholas Sparks. I was so excited and so nervous that all I could say was, "I like your books." What a dork!
   
9. I am a klutz.
   
10. I remember peoples faces but I'm bad with names.
    
11. I hate for my food to touch on my plate.
    
12. I love to paint and at one point took formal painting classes.
    
13. I hate to go shoe shopping. I tend to wear a pair of shoes until they fall apart.
    
14. I love fresh flowers.
15. Peachy pink roses that are not tightly closed are my favorite flowers. I also love lilies.
    
16. I don't drink coffee but love hot chocolate and apple cider.
    
17. Jay and I hope to one day open a restaurant. I hope to also do some catering along with the restaurant.
    
18. I'm really starting to understand the meaning of "let go and let God."
19. I love my family (all of them, the whole big extended family)
20. I always get a knot in my stomach before someone tries something that I have made. I really hope they like it. For example, last night I made a new type of cheese ball. I have a recipe for homemade pimento cheese that everyone seems to love, so I made a batch, added a little extra cheese, and rolled the balls in pecans. The adults loved it but when it came to my little cousins trying it, I had the biggest knot in my stomach. Katie made my day though with her comment, "this is really good!" and she ate more than one cracker!
21. I am an American Idol fan.
    
22. I have been going to Camp Sumatanga since the 2nd grade. My first camp experience was a weekend for elementary campers and loved it so much that I begged to go back the next year. I went for one week every summer until I was 16. When I was 16, I had the opportunity to be a junior high counselor and was one for 2 years. Then I moved to Mobile and worked with Camp MASH (Make Arthritis Stop Hurting). When I moved back to Montevallo, I contacted a camp friend and volunteered to be a counselor. I ended up being a counselor 3 weeks that summer. The next two summers I was Team Coordinator for the Jr. High and Sr. High camps. For the past 2 summers I have been a junior high camp director. Funny enough, I used to always go to JH2 and that was the camp that I first was a counselor for. Now, I direct JH2.
    
23. I am very conservative.
    
24. I collected water globes.
    
25. I have broken my arm twice and hyper-extended my foot (which I had to wear a cast for).
    
26. I am a condiment queen.
    
27. I am a Daddy's girl but my Mom is one of my best friends.
    
28. In high school, I decided that I would be a "semi-vegetarian" on year. I only ate fish and chicken, no red meat or pork. I lost 10 pounds and drove my parents crazy.
29. I got my first car when I was 16, a Saturn, as a gift from my parents. I have only ever driven Saturn cars. I bought my first car (all on my own) when I was 24 a Saturn Vue.
    
30. I am fairly superstitious.
    
31. I hate to write papers. I would much rather go through an interview/oral presentation than write a paper.
32. I once entered 5 photographs into a photography competition the City of Montevallo was hosting. The winners were supposed to have their pictures printed in a Calendar the city was to produce. Much to my surprise I placed in both the professional and non professional categories. My pictures were on display with the award ribbons. I never received my awards and I don't think the calendar was ever made but it was exciting to see my photographs on display.
    

3rd Place Professional Photography











Honorable Mention Professional










2nd place Non-Professional











Honorable Mention Non-Professional









No award








33. If I wasn't a teacher, I would like to be a caterer or something in the medical field.
34. I am an Auburn fan. Before I decided to go to South Alabama, I was going to Auburn. I had plans to try out to be Aubie.
35. The strangest place I have ever visited was Eureka, Arkansas. It is a lot like Gatlinburg, TN but stranger. Don't get me wrong, it is a really neat place, just a little different.
36. I am scared of heights.
37. I am very self conscious of my birth mark.
38. I had Lasik surgery 3 years ago. It was one of the scariest things I have ever done and almost backed out. Did you know that you are completely awake for the surgery and it takes less than 5 minutes? I was on the table and the nurse asked me what time it was (there was a clock across the room). I was so scared and mumbled something about "I don't know". A few minutes later, she sat me up and asked again about the time. I amazingly could see across the room and told her that it was 3:15! 20 minutes later my mom was driving us back to the hotel room (she had the surgery right before me). 5 hours later (after a deep medically induced sleep) we woke up and both of us had perfect vision.
39. I only cut my hair 2-3 times a year. I always get really nervous before I cut my hair.
40. I play tennis and softball. I was on a softball team in elementary and middle school and on the tennis team my senior year of high school.
41. I love reading the al.com message boards.
42. I find astronomy fascinating. I want to get better at identifying constellations. I believe Pluto should still be considered a planet.
43. I like to take a recipe and put my own twist to it. I love making soups this way. One day, I will begin packaging my soups and selling them (maybe with homemade bread/pastries). Today, I made my take on black eyed pea soup. I call it New Year's soup. It had black eyed peas, turnip greens, bacon, onion, bell pepper, and various spices. Its a very hearty soup.
44. Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World is one of my favorite songs; such a classic!
45. I love a good challenge.
46. One of my favorite memories from this summer was our "underground church"/communion night. I had just come back to camp from a long day at AMSTI training and knew that I had to jump right into helping Jason (my wonderful co-director) set up for underground church. I was exhausted and didn't know how well this activity was going to work. The kids had fun with the activity but what really hit me was our wrap up discussion at air conditioner rock. The look on our campers faces as what Jason was saying really hit home with them. Then we sang Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone. It was my first time to hear that version of Amazing Grace but, oh my, was it beautiful. Just a guitar and 60 voices lifting up a song of prayer and praise to God in the middle of the woods on some of the most holy ground I have ever walked on. It was absolutely amazing hearing our voices sing as we sat still and watched God surround us with his love. He graced us with a cool afternoon after a long hot day and refreshed us for communion that night. After everyone returned to camp, we set up for communion. Instead of a traditional communion, we set it us as a feast with friends. We set tables up in a U shape and everyone sat on the floor. We lit a ton of candles and there were huge plates of grapes, apples, bread, and cheese set out. We had a great time conversing with friends and listening to the beautiful music being played by the band. Then two of our counselors began acting out the Last Supper. At first the kids didn't know what was going on, but when they realized what was happening, you could see it in their eyes. Communion is one of my favorite parts of any camp week. I can't put into words how special this communion was and when the campers wrote about it in their evaluations, I knew that it had been special to them too. This day is one that I will remember forever.
47. I hope to have 3 kids one day, Jay would like 1 so I think we will compromise with 2.
48. I hate feet. I don't mind my own feet but I will not touch another person's feet.
49. I always have my toe nails painted. I can't remember the last time they weren't painted. I don't like to paint my fingernails though.
50. I have visited 27 states: Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Philadelphia, New York, Arizona, and the District of Columbia. I have also been out of the US to the Bahamas.

If you made it through all 100 things--way to go! I know it was a lot to read and now you know more about me. But guess what! I would like to know about you. Please leave a comment and let my know who you are. You can leave a comment even if you don't have a blogger account. Click on the Comment button. Type your comment in the comment box and then you can click on the Name/URL option. Type your name here (unless you are a blogger and you can leave you blog link). Please do not choose anonymous, I would like to know who you are.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful New Year!

Jay and I hope that your year if filled with laughter; you love those closest to you and yourself; and live life to the fullest.