Who doesn’t like a good game of tag? In the blog world, that includes participating in sharing 10 random facts about yourself. I like to think of it as the equivalent of virtual flashing.
The rules state that after I flash list my 10 things, I am to tag four others to do the same. A courtesy is to ask the bloggers if they want to play before you tag them. Natalie did that for me and I’ve done the same for my victims new players.
Before I expose my wares, I’d like to give a shout out to my tagger, Natalie Hartford. Natalie writes the blog Life Out Loud. I first met Natalie when we both participated in a 31 Days to Build a Better Blog workshop led by freelance writer and blogger, Walker Jones Thornton. It was there that we became “blog buddies” and committed to regularly reading each other’s work. We got to know each other more via Kristen Lamb’s Blogging to Build Your Brand workshop. Natalie is an open and giving friend and supporter. One day she even Twitter DM’d with me for almost an hour as I had a theme/”where is my blog going” breakdown moment.
After applying what we’ve learned, her blog has taken off in topics and fabulous design! In fact, she just received a “Blog on Fire” award. Her posts range from spurt your coffee funny to poignant and reflective. Plus she’s one of those people that I know if I ever get to meet in person; it will be one heck of a party. Woot woot!
On to my randomness:
1. As a child, I used the wrong colors in my Disney color-by-number books. I had a thing for Burnt Sienna, Brick Red and Plum. I also colored outside the lines, which led my older sister to tattle on me as if federal rules had been broken. By this point, my mom knew I liked to creatively interpret rules and she left me to my doodling.
Flickr image by atibens
2. I took my first trip to Disney World at age 23. Growing up, my father’s idea of family vacation was riding down south to visit relatives. The Disney trip came when, at an employee picnic, I won two airline tickets to anywhere in the U.S. Just like the quarterbacks winning the Super Bowl, Disney was the only place to go. Ever seen adults singing “It’s a Small World” at the top of their lungs and running to tackle hug Mickey? My mom, sister (who we invited along) and I had a great trip.
Walt Disney Statue by Michael Sult at stock.xchng
3. I didn’t get my license until I was 22. The required driver’s ed course offered by my high school conflicted with my after school theater and dance rehearsals. So I negotiated with my dear parents for them to pay for a private course that better fit my schedule. Yeah, lost that debate. When I did turn 18, we were in the midst of their divorce and the freedom of wheels took second place. Then in college, I was able to walk everywhere and hang with friends that had cars.
Flickr image by Clay Smith at stock.xchng
4. Staying with the car theme, I’ve been in three serious accidents—all caused by other drivers. The first in ’97 is when I lost Firestarter, my Toyota Corolla. I take comfort that “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” was on the radio when it happened and that we were singing together. The other two were last year with my current car Platinum Poison, a Honda CR-V. I refuse to let the hits kill my love of driving and am typically in a rental and back behind the wheel within a few days.
Google image Honda CR-V
5. I love chocolate – dark chocolate to be exact – but it is now one of a slew of triggers for my migraines. Yes, I’ve been instructed to leave it alone. Never one to give up that easy on love, I have conducted some field tests and learned that I can eat two ounces before crossing the trigger threshold. Did I mention that I also have stubborn tendencies?
Chocolate cake by Amethyst D at stock.xchng
6. I eat Quaker Oats Maple and Brown Sugar oatmeal, with a half cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal mixed in, paired with an extra hot grande skim latte from Starbucks for breakfast every work morning. I am not a morning person and think this ritual helps alert my brain to zone in for work tasks.
7. I consider myself to be a lucky person. Going along with surviving those three car accidents and winning the airline tickets, I won Prince concert tickets by singing the Sesame Street theme song on the phone for a radio contest. For Tina Turner’s last U.S. stadium tour, I landed fifth row floor seats and was close enough to see how perfect her legs were and that she wasn’t wearing pantyhose. A few years back, I won almost $800 playing a 25 cent video poker machine in Vegas.
8. I’m a reality TV addict. I mean from way back with the first season of The Real World in NYC. I’ve survived Joe Millionaire, Paradise Hotel, Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?, Pop Stars (shout out to “Eden’s Crush”), American Juniors and multiple iterations of Making the Band. And many more. Sometimes I’ll say I’m semi-reformed, but that just means I’ve established a trick where if I avoid watching any episodes, I can then not get hooked to that show. I’m now quite hyped that I can move from America’s Got Talent ending last night to the start of both The Sing-Off and X-Factor next week. Heaven!
Google image NBC logo The Sing-Off
9. In ninth grade, I had this thing about taking dares or doing stuff to make my friends laugh. This included pulling a long skirt over my head in the hallway and lighting Coke cans on fire on the sidewalk in front of the school’s office. I prided myself on being unpredictable. I’ve grown out of that. Um, sort of.
Flickr image unpredictable by jbelluch
10. I’m a dancing machine. I LOVE to dance and have my whole life including wanting to be a go-go dancer when I was 12. The drive is internal and dancing is like breathing to me. My mom started me off with gymnastics, which I hated because music was only allowed for one apparatus (floor routine), and they wanted me to do flips on a very narrow bar. I then moved on to lessons in ballet (too many rules), tap (too repetitive), jazz (good, but cheesy at times) to modern (freedom). I still dance every day and start my mornings off wiggling while I get dressed.
Disco by Gabriella Fabbri at stock.xchng
Now it is tag time: Michele Chiappetta, Jen Groepl, Angelina C. Hansen, Lesann Berry and Scott Bury you are it! What? You say that I tagged more than four people? See number 1 above.
Barbara McDowell 
Here’s to the dancing machine :)! Great facts. I didn’t see Mickey until I was 19, so I understand the adult enthusiasm. I lost a Toyota Corolla in a car accident too…hmmmm.
Having good luck can’t be beat. Need to go to Vegas with you.
Thanks for stopping by and reading Isis! My luck continues. On Tuesday, I was at a casino in Seneca, New York and hit $45 in about 20 minutes of play…playing with bonus money I got from the casino. 🙂 I so need to learn table poker!
And sorry to hear about your Corolla…yep weird coincidence. I felt so sad for mine and thankful at the same time for it protecting me in the crash, and gave it a hug at the storage lot. Great cars.
Thank you so much for the fahhhbulous shout out Barbara! Love your random facts. Sooo cool! Love that you color outside the lines of life and you dance like no one’s watching every single day. Live it. Love it. Go for it! :))) You rock honey….have a fantastic weekend!!
BTW, LOVE your blog and so glad we become blog buddies almost one year ago!! Can you believe a year has gone by already?!?! :)))))
Thanks for the continued blog love Natalie!!! Right back your way a million times. Man, where I was with blogging a year ago… Quite funny how much I didn’t know. It is all a “process.” Love your blog too. Your voice, humor and joy of life comes through so effortlessly. And after that post of yours, I’m busy trying to see if I can config the pole in the back of my CR-V. Bwahahahaha. 🙂
Since I’ve got a little exhibitionist in me (heh heh), I’ve been known to do some foot tapping and shimmying in public places. Live it – absolutely!
Love your ten random facts – really entertaining to read 🙂
Thanks Ruth! I appreciate you reading and commenting. Glad you enjoyed my list.
Barbara…we have so much in common! I didn’t get my license until I was almost 21…I’ve been in 6 major accidents and none of them were my fault – I was the passenger in 5 of them and in the very first one the power steering went out in my Dad’s old wagon :p And, I love dark chocolate! It’s my addiction…I wouldn’t kick it even if I had to lol
Great post…thanks for sharing 🙂
Wow Kate! We are separated at birth by different parents and a few states! Ha! Yeah, when I realized the chocolate thing, it was a cruel twist and I had to find a way to make it work. I also reasoned that if I quit cold turkey, then it would be worse if I ever ate it again. This way, if I have it occasionally, my body doesn’t react as bad.
So glad to find another “late” license person. Folks used to make fun of me. It worked out for the best and I’m sure I had lower insurance costs because I was deemed “safer” in my older age. 🙂
It’s great fun to get to know these random facts about each other. Dance on!
Thanks Patricia! I was wondering what I could share and then started find all kinds of stuff. Dancing away!
Love your random facts Barbara, it’s so nice to get to know you better. Keep dancin’, your blog is wonderful.
Thanks for reading and commenting Kate! The ten things game is great for seeing a part of each of our worlds.
#9 made me laugh. I’m glad your accidents haven’t made you afraid to drive! I’ve known that to happen to people if they don’t get back out on the road right away. Here’s to no more accidents in the future, though!
I know right Angela…like skip over me oh accident fairies. My fave was the look on the car salesman’s face back ’97 when I limped in asking for a test drive with my lower right leg in an aircast. Gotta face fear and nerves head-on.
I LOVE random stuff! Great facts. And…could you please send some of that luck my way?
*concentrating on sending luck vibes to Elena* Thanks for popping by and commenting. Random stuff is fun!
I nominated you for the Versatile Blogger award. I love reading your blog so wanted to share it with others.
http://dawnall.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/im-a-versatile-blogger-award-nominee/
Thanks for the award Dawn and for the blog love!
Thanks, Barbara! I’m a little late getting here, but it’s great to learn so much about you! I love dark chocolate too. My favorite.
Thanks for popping by Jen! I love reading everyone’s lists too. And dark chocolate can soothe anything.
I cannot believe your sister tattled on you for coloring outside the lines! Both of my kids did that (well, Michael because he’s a spaz and hated coloring, Alexzandra because she was artistic) and I thought it was great.
I so get you on that chocolate thing. My thing is coffee. Makes me sick, literally, but I’ve got it down to where I know exactly how much I can have and by what time in the day. It’s truly sad that I barter with my health like that.
And what is up with parents thinking a trip to visit relatives is a vacation? Mine always did that! Ugh. I didn’t get to see Walt Disney World until jus this past March, but I go to Disneyland all the time and have since I was about 4 years old.
Keep dancing my beautiful friend!
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