200th Post: 100 Things About Me

For my 200th post, I'm going to attempt to write 100 things about me. I didn't do this for my 100th post, so I figured that now was as good of a time as any. Most of the entries are about my life before marriage, since my blog covers a lot of my life post-marriage. I know some people don't like these, so you folks can just move along now.

1. I'm the 2nd of 4 kids, born on July 14th.
2. My siblings are all 2 years apart: boy, girl, boy, girl.
3. When I was 2 months old, my parents moved into a new house. It was the same model as their old house.
4. I lived in that house until I moved away for college.
5. This summer, Jake and I NEARLY bought a house of the EXACT same model.
6. I shared a room until I was 16.
7. I hated it, but now I think sharing a room as a kid is a good idea.
8. I share a room now.
9. My first memory is of my 3rd birthday, when my parents made me throw my "binky" in the trash can outside.
10. Since my birthday is 7-14, I became obsessed with all things related to the number 7 when I was 7 years old. I memorized all the numbers that multiply by 7 up to 100 then. I didn't know that multiplication existed.
11. In the 4th grade, I must have held my pencil too tight because I developed a huge bump on my middle finger. It's still there.
    
12. I'm not too picky with food, but I don't like bananas, french toast, oatmeal, and most cereal.
13. Because of this, breakfast has always been a challenge for me.
14. I went through a phase around 6th grade where I ate a baked potato for breakfast every morning.
    
15. I have 2 cousins born in the same summer as me. We've always been friends, although I was "the bossy one", so they didn't like me very much until maybe junior high.
16. I had 3 friends in my neighborhood-Erin, Mandi, & Lauren. We were all in the same grade.
17. I ditched them in 1st grade for my new best friend Kellie (but I still keep in e-mail contact with 2 of them, and Erin even reads my blog every once in a while).
18. Kellie and I hung out non-stop until 7th grade. We went our separate ways, friendship wise, but always liked each other, and still do. She came to my Halloween party and baby shower.
19. I took synchro lessons for 2 summers.
20. I can tread water better & longer than anyone I know because of them.
21. One time, Kellie and I tried to sneak into the clubhouse in her condo community. The easiest way in was to climb through the bars of a gate. I made it through, but she got stuck at her waist. We almost had to call the fire department.
22. We never told our parents about that.
23. Kellie & I once snuck McDonalds cheeseburgers into the movie theater in out pockets. They became quite smashed. We thought they tasted extra delicious that way, and still today, I smash my McDonalds cheeseburgers with my fist (still in the wrapper) before I eat them.
24. Kellie and I had to be put in separate church primary classes. I don't blame them for doing that.
25. I took piano lessons from 1st through 10th grade. I was never any good.
26. My first piano teacher refused to give me lessons one year because I didn't practice (she fired me). We had to find a new teacher for me.
27. I was in the Spelling Bee in 6th grade. When I got buzzed out, I was only 1/2 way through spelling my word. To this day, I still wonder if the judge thought I was done, or if I really did mess up before I was buzzed.
28. I was in "ELP" (Extended Learning Program) in elementary school, but I never really understood what it was. I quit after 5th grade.
29. All through elementary school, I stood at the front of the picture line because I was the shortest kid in my class. At the beginning of 7th grade, I was 4'10", and weighed 78lbs.
30. I'm now 5'6".
31. I had a hard time making friends in Junior High. I had a crowd that I hung out with in school, but didn't have any friends outside of school.
32. In 9th grade (still Jr. High), I met 2 girls that I became really close with.
33. One time, we wanted to have a sleepover, but my parents said no. They ended up coming over to "kidnap" me. I really had no idea they were coming, and my parents were pressured into letting me go. I was grounded for it afterward.
34. My junior high got split into 2 high schools. Those 2 girls were in Mtn View boundaries, and I was in Westwood's. I got a boundary exception so I could go to high school with them.
35. They ditched me in 10th grade.
36. Luckily, Robin moved to Mesa in 10th grade, and so I had a friend again.
37. In high school, we had a '2-minute bell', and I used to count during that time. I became extremely accurate in counting exactly to 2 minutes.
38. I count a lot. Sometimes I count my steps. I count at the gas pump. I always count when I blow-dry my hair. I count the number of pats I give Sophie when I'm burping her and I counted her swing motions when I was putting her back to bed in the middle of the night for the first month of her life.
39. I love maps.
40. I have a funny walk.
    
41. I've never broken a bone, but I've had stitches twice (both on my lips).
42. I don't have a cowlick.
43. My tongue is too big for my mouth (I have permanant teeth indents along both sides of my tongue)
    
44. I used to have a hard time remembering the definition of "subtle". I could never remember if it was the same or opposite of "blunt".
45. I've tried the following things once: water skiing, sushi, snow skiing, surfing. I would try all but sushi again (but at least I gave it a shot!).
    
46. I got my first job at 15. I was a paper boy with Robin. We would wake up at 3:34 and deliver the Tribune to downtown Mesa. It pretty much sucked, and the pay was crappy. We had a good time though.
47. One time, we came to a house that had a big cardboard sign that read "Please put paper on back porch" (or something like that). It was written in both English and Spanish for us. We stole that sign.
48. My second job was as a lifeguard at a waterpark.
49. That job gave me a tan so deep that it lasted through Christmas.
50. I haven't been able to get a tan since then.
51. My junior year, I decided to join a new group of friends. I just started standing next to them during class breaks, and eventually, they must have just thought I always belonged (I was tricky like that).
52. At the beginning of Senior year, I started joining them for lunch, acting like I always belonged. It worked.
53. During the first semester of my Senior year, the power went out at our school one night. School was cancelled the next day. We called it our "Snow Day", since snow days don't exist in Arizona.
54. Robin & I did the most awesome 12 Days of Christmas to our friend Dustin that year. It included such classics as “7 Pawns a’Sinning” (7 chess pawns with custom-made t-shirts saying things like “I lie” and “I steal”) and “3 Drenched Men” (Ken dolls in a bucket of water).
55. While I had mostly guy friends (basically all but Robin were guys), I was never asked by any of them to a formal dance.
56. My years in high school were definitely not my glory years, and I wasn't sad at graduation.
57. I bought my first car the summer after graduation. It was a Geo Storm. I had wanted one since I was 12 because I thought the front of it looked like a smiley face.
58. That summer, I also started working for Haws Flowers, and continued working there until I graduated college (working just summers for the last 2 years).
59. Whenever I'm driving next to a cop, I sing along to the radio. I think it makes me look more innocent.
    
60. The only traffic ticket I've ever received was for making a U-turn in front of a hospital.
    
61. After high school, I went to Mesa Community College for 2 years.
62. It was there that I really realized I was smart.
63. I got my Associates Degree with straight A's.
64. I'm deathly afraid of public speaking.
65. Because of that, I postponed taking "Public Speaking" (a required course) until my last semester at MCC.
66. I decided in that class to conquer my fear (or at least face it). I entered a public speaking contest at the end of the semester, and won 2nd place. I'm a good writer, so my speech content was always good, even if my execution wasn't.
67. I took a gym class at MCC, and used to study for tests whilst walking on the treadmill. It was there that I invented Study Walks.
    
68. I don't remember deciding to go to BYU, and I don't remember filling out the application and mailing it in, but that is where I went next.
69. I got in on a full scholarship.
    
70. I had never been to Provo before moving there.
71. I moved into a house with 5 strangers.
72. During my first year there, I started getting migraine headaches at night. I would get an average of 3 a week, and they would only occur after about 6pm, but they were severe enough that I couldn't drive or think, so I just had to go to bed.
73. I had a CAT scan and a bunch of blood tests done, but nothing turned up.
74. I lived with my migraines for about 5 years.
75. I was scared to have kids since I was basically useless 3 nights a week.
76. My migraines mysteriously disappeared during my second trimester with Sophie.
77. They've started to return this month, but I'm extremely grateful for the year I had without them.
78. At BYU, I took a class where my final project was writing a children’s book. My professor told me I should try to get it published.
79. I'm working on it, but the children’s book industry is EXTREMELY hard to get in to unless you're famous.
80. I graduated BYU with Highest Honors.
81. I was nominated to be valedictorian of my school (within my degree).
82. I wasn't chosen, and was slightly grateful since the valedictorian had to speak at graduation (see #64).
83. While in college, I learned how to SCUBA dive.
84. I’ve been to the Bahamas twice, where I dove with sharks, and I've been to Catalina Island once, where I dove with sea lions.
85. On my first trip to the Bahamas, I got sea sick. Since then, I haven't been able to go on a boat or a roller coaster without throwing up. I used to love roller coasters though.
    
86. I loved my time at BYU, but was glad it was only a 2-year deal, and was happy to move home.
87. I had absolutely no idea where my life was headed after graduation.
88. I met Jake about 2½ months after moving home.
89. I pursued him from the second I saw him.
90. Jake was the first person to point out to me that I have a ridiculously good memory.
91. Sometimes I'm a little embarassed by it, like when I remember little details about someone I've only met once.
    
92. We were married on Jake's 23rd birthday.
93. Since being married, I have discovered I love good food. Jake and I have become food snobs (when we can afford to go out), and are always on the lookout for new and delicious places to eat. In other words, you won’t ever find us at an Applebees.
94. I have also discovered a love of decorating.
95. I LOVE ice cream.
    
96. I also like sewing and crafts in general, although I'm not especially good at any one thing.
    
97. Jake and I lived close to our families for a year & a half, and then moved to Tucson (still relatively close) for Law School.
98. Sophie Grace was born in October of 2006.
99. She (of course) is one of my greatest joys and greatest challenges.
100. We plan on moving back to Mesa after Law School graduation next summer, and living there happily ever after.

Babyproofing Success

Not only has babyproofing Nana's basement been a success, but we've also gone an extra step and created a play corner for all the grandkids (Three now, FIVE by Thanksgiving!)


This awesome play space includes a big wooden toybox (the one I used as a kid), a bookshelf full of fun books, a big basket of horses, bins full of blocks, duplos, & little people ("Peoples" as we used to call them), a rocking horse (Grandpa's from when HE was a kid), and nice cushy ottomans (great for standing practice).

This is definitely a Sophie-approved area. She will crawl the entire length of the basement to get to it, and then she'll just hang out for a while.




p.s. This little girl now has SIX teeth. Here she is showing most of them off.

Beauty Tip

I know, a beauty tip from Abbie? It doesn't seem right. I’m like the epitome of laziness when it comes to things like makeup and, you know, general getting-ready-in-the-morning stuff. But I do have one secret that I'd like to share with my blogging friends.

(Cue frustrated girl in front of bathroom mirror and infomercial voiceover guy)

Don't you hate it when you spend a long time in the shower scrubbing your eye makeup, only to get out and see huge raccoon eyes in the mirror? (girl looks up, “uh-huh”) It can be quite frustrating. Well not anymore! Here's a quick tip to get rid of raccoon eyes after the shower, or in a pinch: like when you wake up from a nap and need to be somewhere in a hurry, or when you forget to wash your face at night, and need to head out fast in the morning.

Are you ready? You need 2 things: a q-tip and some lotion. I put a tiny drop of lotion on my finger, swipe my q-tip in it, rub it under my lower eyelid, and PRESTO! A brand new forest-creature-less face!

It works great for me. It’s something I do daily – in the morning and ½ way through the day when the Arizona heat has made my eye makeup less than appealing.

(Fast-forward to happy girl with bright, shiny face)

Try it, and let me know what other tips work for you.

Journal Jar #14: Music

What's my favorite music group? Why?

My favorite musician is definitely Ben Folds. Why? Because he's awesome. Now, I have to admit here that since graduating from college, I have been slacking terribly in the music department. I used to stay up on most of the local bands both in Mesa and in Provo as well as other similar, more national bands, but now I hardly even listen to the music I already have.

Anyways, Ben Folds' fingers are like magic on the piano. He's just great. And if you only know him from his "She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly..." song, may I suggest the CD "Rockin' the Suburbs"? Just play it from the beginning and you'll be hooked (can I get an Amen from anyone in the audience here?)



Here is the music video from his song "Still Fighting It". Enjoy.

It's A Boy!

Congratulations to Mel & Robby!
Their Number Two was born last night around 11:30.

Sorry - I don't know any other details.

CONGRATS!!!

Is Anyone Looking for a Roommate?

This is Cathy.

She is 21, single, and a student at ASU.

She enjoys softball & soccer, and is very active and social. She also likes shopping, hosting local shindigs, and spending time with family.

Cathy is quite adventurous. Why, she just spent the last 6 weeks in Hawaii, and went there ALL BY HERSELF. However, while she was gone, her sweet neice Sophie took over her room. Her floor space is now crib space. Her shoe shelf is now a book shelf. Her dresser - a changing table. And her drawers are now filled with onesies and pink blankets.

Cathy is looking for something for duration of the summer, perhaps longer if everything works out. She would prefer something in Mesa, but closer to ASU, and she would love it if she and all her roommates all went to the same singles ward together.

For your chance to get this great roommate, please leave a comment. Thanks!

Journal Jar #13: At Home

What is my most favorite thing to do at home?

This one is obvious. Of course my favorite thing to do at home is spend time with Jake & Sophie. Family aside, I also love decorating my home. It's my favorite thing about moving into a new place, and even though I've lived in my current house for 2 years, I'm always thinking of new decoating ideas for it.

A Day of Winners!

Did you enter the Apronpalooza contest last week? I did. (if you didn't, there's still an apron to be won today!) Did you see who won constest #16? Yep. I did.


And, since today is a winning day, I also wanted to point out that I noticed that Natalie (Who's blog I regularly stalk) won the Design Mom contest too. Congratulations!

A Ponytail!

Sophie has had the very fortunate experience of having all of her hair grow in at the same rate. She looks very well groomed, yet has never had a hair cut. However, because she doesn't have any patches of hair that are longer than others, it has made giving her a pony tail impossible.

I thought I'd give it a try today though.

Sorry the picture is bad. Her hair got washed out by the background, so I had to do some editing to get it to show up.

Shoe Obsession

She already has a thing for shoes.

And this picture didn't exactly turn out,
but I thought it was hilarious.