Only 10 things you didn't know about me

Lori Anderson recently revealed "Thought Balloons: 25 Things You Didn't Know About Me" on her blog, "My Pretty Things." 


I thought it was such a cool idea, I wanted to try it.   (I used to be an over-achiever and would have tried for 50, but I'm giving that up lately and so I'm only reaching for 10.)  


I'm not sure what process Lori used to come up with her list, but I just sat down and "brainstormed" and wrote the first 10 that came to my mind.  I wasn't sure I could get to 10, but it wasn't too hard:


1) You can guess some of my favorite colors if you know what color cars I've owned:   metallic blue, metallic silver, deep purple/eggplant, and a muted lime green.


2) My husband's family is from Western Australia, and I've visited there twice.   Really nice place, really nice people, amazing flora and fauna, lovely beaches, cool accents.  I always "sort out my priorities" when I visit.  Miss the place and family every time I think of them.


3) I have a giant magnet on my desk that reads, 
"One person can make a difference, and everyone should try."  I keep it there to remind myself.

4) One of my life dreams is to visit Europe.  I had planned to go with a friend in college and never made it.  I'd like to start with the beginner tour where you go to a lot of countries so you can say you've been there, then go back additional times to the more hidden spots of England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Greece, France,...  I really want to see:  1) Anyplace in Ireland before I die.  2) Bath, England because of the vision I have of it from Jane Austen's writings. (Also before I die because, frankly, I doubt it's  much use to go later.)   

5) My next car color should be aqua.


6) I have an orange-colored mouse.  (Actually you might know that one.  I included a photo of it on my room redo entry!)  Okay, I'll give you a "bonus" one instead:  I have a Jane Austen "action figure") on my desk--a gift from my son he got at the university book store.  They have all the cool stuff there!

7) The first gift my husband gave me, just after our first date in graduate school, was a pair of pliers for making jewelry.  More than 20 years later, I'm happy to say, I still have the pliers and the husband!  

8) I spent more than 10 years at universities after graduating from high school.  I still do not have a Ph.D.  I have a B.A. with a double-major and two masters' degrees (4 totally different subject areas) and not one of them was in art or design.   (What was I thinking?  Wish I could try for a 5th!)


9) I love to flower garden, but can't grow a vegetable.  (A real shame coming from a family that turned vegetable gardening into a competitive sport!)  


10) My bedroom looks nothing like Lori Anderson's (#15 her list), but I wish it did!   I would never iron jeans or t-shirts (her #21).  In fact I tend not to buy clothing that requires the use of an iron.  (Sorry, Lori!  I know your way looks better!)


11) If I were younger, stronger, braver, I would... join the Peace Corp.

12)  I've never been able to... turn a cartwheel.  Even as a kid, my wrists would collapse and I would fall to the floor on my face.  Not very becoming or an encouraging result to make me try again.  And it's a bummer, because cartwheels really look like they should be fun.


13) I became a vegetarian because my son decided to be one.  He was 5.  I had tried when I was in my teens and had gotten a lot of flack over it.  So I decided I would support him for as long as it lasted by not eating meat either.  We are both still vegetarians 15 years later.  Can't imagine eating meat now, even if he ever changed his mind.  Have a hunch he feels the same.  (My husband on the other hand is a complete carnivore.)

14) My favorite colors in elementary and Junior High School were hot pink, bright orange, lime green, and purple.  While I never want to go back to the avocado green and harvest gold interior design colors of the day, lately I've found myself oddly attracted to the brighter colors that I liked back then.  (In 4th grade, I had shoes and a purse in these colors that were to die for!  They were probably my last major fashion statement!  Well those big red-and-white checked bell bottoms in 7th were lovelies too!)

 

15) And here I am making another fashion statement.  I've loved jewelry since I was very small.  This is a photo that was taken of me when I was 3 years old with an arm full of silver bracelets.  I still like to wear them that way!


Uh-oh, just realized I overshot my goal of 10.  (Some things will never change...  You should know that about me.)


--Sharyl


P.S. Thanks to Lori Anderson for an idea so good I couldn't help "copy-catting!"
   
Image Credits:


Girl making a list:  http://www.wpclipart.com/education/kids/students/student_writing.jpg

Entry #3--John F. Kennedy saying magnet, photo by Sharyl


Entry #4--Bath, England:  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/The.circus.bath.arp.jpg/789px-The.circus.bath.arp.jpg; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The.circus.bath.arp.jpg


Entry #6--Jane Austen Action Figure, Photo by Sharyl.


Entry #8--Book stack:  http://www.wpclipart.com/education/books/books_1/book_stack.jpg


Entry #9--Tomatoes:  http://www.wpclipart.com/food/fruit/tomato/tomatoes_1.jpg

Entry #12--Girl turning Cartwheel:  http://www.wpclipart.com/cartoon/people/kids/kidz/Kids_smiling_girl_cartwheel.jpg

Entry #14--Flowers:  http://www.wpclipart.com/plants/gardening/Naturefine.jpg


Entry #15--Portrait of Sharyl at age 3.  Portrait photographer, unknown.  Reshot by Sharyl.