It is blogging tradition to post 100 things about yourself as your 100th post. Being a procrastinator nontraditionalist, I put it off saved it to publish as my 205th post instead.

Fair warning: It actually is 100 things. That’s a lot. And not all of them are pretty. Proceed at your own risk…

  1. I am an expert at tupperware selection. This is a skill I’m proud of and it essentially means that when we have leftovers, I’m in charge of putting them away. I always select the size that just barely fits all the food so as not to waste fridge space. Seriously. It’s a rare art.
  2. I have had freckles for as long as I can remember, but never once tried lemon juice or any other way to get them to fade.
  3. I decided long ago that covering my freckles with make-up was not for me, so I usually go makeup-free and once or twice a year I put on mascara.
  4. My checklist for future spouse was pretty short: Speak a Latin language and play soccer well. I was dating two such men when Scott started asking me out. But I tore up the list, broke up with the other guys, and fell madly in love with Scott. He took Spanish 101 and 102 at BYU and came and played pick up games with me sometimes, so you have to give the guy credit. ;)
  5. I played soccer competitively, and have traveled to Hawaii, Washington state, and Costa Rica to play.
  6. I’ve only touched a soccer ball once in the last year and a half and it feels like a small part of me has died. :(
  7. I’m a fan of the Olympics. A huge fan. I would stay glued to the t.v. for the full 2 1/2 weeks every time they come around, if I could. I’m a sucker for those “special interest” stories, especially.
  8. I love chemistry and one of my lifelong dreams is to be an over-qualified high school chemistry teacher.
  9. That may not happen, because Scott and I are strongly considering homeschooling our kids.
  10. I have completely revamped my taste in food twice in my life. Once, when I was 12 and my friend’s family convinced me that flavorful food (like roasted garlic) was good. My mom doesn’t eat spices of any kind, so I had no idea how yummy they could be. The second time is ongoing and began about two and a half years ago when I decided to become vegetarian and eat mostly whole plant foods.
  11. I now enjoy lentils. Eggplant. Broccoli. Spinach. Whole grain hot cereal without brown sugar. Fresh sliced strawberries without sugar. Almond butter. Hummus. Mmmm…
  12. I consider myself low-maintenance because I never do my hair. Oh, and I hardly ever shop for clothes.
  13. I’m actually pretty high-maintenance now because I don’t like to eat most foods other people do: Fast food, white bread, meat, chips, crackers, candy, soda, etc. So I often pack my own food or pretend not to be hungry.
  14. I have an incredibly generous family. Sometimes I forget that not everyone is so blessed.
  15. I have an enormous bladder. The nurse who gave me a catheter when I had Mackenzie was in shock. I was so afraid of peeing on the table (my water had already broken and it’s hard to tell what’s what) that I had “held” over 800 ccs of urine in my bladder and hardly felt it.
  16. The single greatest source of happiness and peace in my life is my religion.
  17. I am constantly torn because I want to share that happiness with everyone I know, and shout it from the rooftops. However, I know that many people are sensitive about discussing religion, and I would never want to leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth because they perceive me as being “pushy” about my beliefs.
  18. I feel similarly (but to a lesser extent) regarding healthy eating. I see so many people who are not living life to the fullest because they’re troubled with obesity, heart disease, or low energy… and I just want to tell them the secret to health and vitality. ;)
  19. We gave up television 2 years ago and haven’t looked back. Well, until the olympics came around!
  20. I used to think I was good at painting my toes. Until Scott painted them once. He’s much better.
  21. I love to travel. I typically have a terrible memory but I can remember every detail of every trip I’ve taken.
  22. In one fabulous trip to Australia, I went skydiving, scuba diving, bungee jumping, held a wombat, and drove a stick shift (offroad in a bush camper)… all for the first time.
  23. I’m spoiled by good photography. My dad and two sister-in-laws take fantastic photos and I wish everyone I know could be so lucky.
  24. I bought cloth diapers and have been dabbling with using them. I plan to jump in with both feet… soon. Wish me luck!
  25. I love to run, but my body doesn’t always enjoy it. Knee pain has plagued me for years, but when I do have a pain-free run, it’s one of the best feelings I can imagine.
  26. I love to walk. I’d rather walk to the grocery store than drive. I walk to the library regularly and when on vacation, I love to walk all around new cities to get a feel for their flavor.
  27. My two favorite foods are fresh pineapple and fresh strawberries.
  28. I sometimes eat so much fresh pineapple that my mouth hurts.
  29. I always introduce myself as “Annie” but lots of people just call me “Ann” instead.
  30. My parents named me “Anne” so that I could choose between Ann and Annie.
  31. Lots of people call me Bobe. It’s a family nickname but working for a family company made it free game to all my co-workers as well.
  32. Scott calls me “Babe” and “Nac”. It’s because he thinks I’m a total babe. (I hope).
  33. I am fanatical about hot-air popped popcorn. I go on kicks where I pop a big bowl every day. I eat it plain, no butter no salt.
  34. Scott always feigns interest so I’ll make a lot, and then he lets me eat it all.
  35. I have a “no kernel left behind” philosophy when it comes to popping. I hover next to the bowl and quickly toss stray, unpopped kernels back in the popper so they are not wasted. Bliss is when every kernel gets in *right* as the first popped ones start overflowing the popper. That means all those unpopped ones are trapped at the bottom for a time and thus, more likely to pop. (Oh man, that’s really weird and I never realized it until I typed it.)
  36. I have spent many many hours cross stiching. I haven’t done it recently, but I do enjoy it. It’s strangely satisfying to work on something so small and special, but it bothers me that it’s not a very practical hobby.
  37. I’d prefer it if I loved something more productive, like knitting or crocheting. Then I could make fun baby hats and beautiful scarves.
  38. Learning how to knit or crochet is on The List of Things to Do in My Lifetime.
  39. Also on the list: Surprise someone with a beautiful quilt I made for them, make great homemade tortillas without shortening (or lard), and play in a soccer league when I’m over 50.
  40. I’ve read the book “Little Women” cover-to-cover more than any other book.
  41. I hate shaving my knees. I think it’s because I had knee surgery, but the idea of accidentally nicking the skin makes me physically squirm. Something that’s not conducive to nick-free shaving, unfortunately.
  42. I’ve have kissed three boys in my life.
  43. The first one was when I was 13. He kissed me and I pushed him away and wrote him an angry note. Poor guy. :)
  44. Warm chocolate chip cookies are completely irresistible to me. I must have one.
  45. I no longer keep chocolate chips in the house.
  46. I love my blue eyes, my freckles, my cheekbones, and my toes.
  47. My knees and shins are beat up from playing soccer. They’re full of bumps and scars. :(
  48. I think I separated cartilage in my nose while playing in an intramural championship soccer game. Our own goalie took me out and although I never got it checked out, if you look at it closely you can see there’s a spot where the cartilage is pushing against my skin, making a light spot on my nose.
  49. Now if I see you looking too closely at my nose, I’ll know you read this.
  50. I think I could have been a model.
  51. Despite that fact, I don’t see myself as beautiful. Not that I don’t appreciate and love my body, but because I never get “done up”, I never think of myself as someone who’s pretty at all. Pretty girls blow dry their hair. Growing up a Tom boy has never really left me and I still feel a bit awkward in heels and a dress. Don’t even get me started on lipstick.
  52. That doesn’t really bug me, but I hope Mackenzie can be a girly enough girl to really feel beautiful.
  53. I’m in continual awe that Scott loves me for who I am. He accepts me completely, yet manages to encourage me to improve on my weaknesses.
  54. I have lots of weaknesses, like: impatience (with wasted time), frustration (with things outside my control), and inconsistency (with sticking to habits I’m trying to develop).
  55. Here are habits I do have: Morning and nightly prayers on my knees alone. Nightly prayers on my knees with Scott. Reading and singing to Mackenzie before every nap and bedtime. Wiping down the bathroom counter, picking up the house, putting away dishes, and making the bed every morning. Staying up too late at night.
  56. One thing I never hope I lose: My enthusiasm for life.
  57. I wear socks to bed.
  58. I have terrible circulation. If they get cold and/or wet, my fingers and toes will turn completely yellow/white and take a long time to get any color back. I have to soak ‘em in warm water and it hurts like crazy.
  59. But don’t buy me any gloves. They actually don’t help because isolated, each finger produces zero body heat so I end up with icicles.
  60. I had a full scholarship to BYU for my undergraduate studies. I could have had a one-and-a-half scholarship, but the grade point requirement was 3.85 and my high school calculated three different grade point averages on our transcript and one of mine was 3.83. Though the other two averages were above 3.85, and I met all the other (more stringent) requirements, I still didn’t feel right about applying for the scholarship.
  61. Scott came into my cooking class at BYU and pulled me out into the hallway to tell me he had heard good news from a medical school. He was all jazzed about getting a scholarship to OSU but my response was more like “You pulled me out of class to talk about OSU??” It was not at the top of my list at the time. Now, I can’t believe we considered going anywhere else because we love it here so much.
  62. I suspected I was pregnant with Mackenzie when I was out for a run with Scott and started to feel nauseous. It was right after he confessed he really wanted to be a father soon.
  63. I think I was a cute pregnant lady.
  64. I’m worried I won’t be as cute with my next pregnancy.
  65. I loved delivering Mackenzie. My epidural wore off in time for the pushing but I felt like I was in an athletic event and I loved every minute of it. Granted, there were only about 25 minutes to love.
  66. I didn’t really feel like a mom until several weeks after Mackenzie was born. Now I have a hard time remembering what it was like NOT being a mom.
  67. I hate my hair, but I feel like it’s not my hair’s fault. Like maybe I’ve abused it in some way and it’s really me that’s to blame. Poor, neglected hair.
  68. I frequently experience hair envy when I see other women with gorgeous hair, but I try not to let it get me down.
  69. I was married to Scott in one of our church’s temples. That means we are married forever, not just for this life on earth.
  70. I’ve completed a 56 mile bike in a half-ironman relay, a half marathon (running alongside my dad in his first ironman), and a half ironman.
  71. I am gearing up for a half marathon in a few months, and when I’m done having babies I’m determined to do at least one more half ironman.
  72. I’m hooked on triathlons and wish so many weren’t on Sundays. :(
  73. We don’t work, watch t.v., buy stuff, go to parties or events, or study on Sundays. Instead, we spend the Sabbath at church and as a family at home or out in nature. I try to clean the house and have some food prepped beforehand so there is less to worry about.
  74. Keeping the Sabbath day holy saves my sanity. It means more work during the week, but a peaceful Sunday completely rejuvenates me.
  75. As a mom, Sundays are less restful than they used to be.
  76. Habits I’d like to develop: Actually remembering my reuseable shopping bags so I don’t have to carry stuff bagless out to the car. Taking more time to read my scriptures each day.
  77. I once came in second in a pizza-eating contest at the county fair. Although that sounds impressive, it was actually a race to eat pizza the FASTEST, not a competition to eat the most pizza.
  78. I love my family’s dogs. Scott thinks dogs are animals and I guess he has a point there, but really? They are like family to me and I’ll be devastated when they die.
  79. I want lots of kids. Ideally, six. I know I only have one so far, but most days it seems like six might not even be enough!
  80. Miscarrying at 9 weeks was one of the most painful experiences of my life.
  81. I love my work at SmugMug. I’m passionate about the company and helping our customers, and I’m good at what I do.
  82. I didn’t used to cry very often until I met Scott. I think he really brought out my emotions because now I cry almost every week. Sometimes just happy tears, other times they are tears of empathy, and sometimes from frustrations at work or life.
  83. But, I won’t work there forever. At least not full-time. Being a mom and raising great kids is truly my calling in life. Maybe when they’re out of the house, though?
  84. I’ve broken my right hand twice. Both times while playing soccer.
  85. I want a huge garden one day.
  86. I love reading and especially appreciate humorous or high-content stuff. I have less patience for fiction and fluff reading now that I’m busier.
  87. I constantly wish I was a better writer so I could express myself the way great writers do.
  88. I make friends easily but I’m not very good at keeping them. I’m usually up for hanging out, but rarely think to initiate it.
  89. I took tap dance with a friend in high school at the community center. We were the only two people under the age of 70 and we had a blast.
  90. I think I could snorkel in Hawaii and watch the beautiful fish every day for a week. As long as I remember to put sunscreen on my back. Otherwise I’d have to spend a full day in the hotel room with a cold, wet towel on my back. Hypothetically.
  91. I have 7 nephews, 15 nieces, 1 step-nephew, 2 step-nieces, 1 great step-nephew, and 3 more nieces on the way. That includes two sets of twins.
  92. I only really knew two of my cousins growing up.
  93. I can roll my tongue into a clover leaf. I can’t tell you how, though. I was just standing in front of the mirror one day and I did it!
  94. I talk to my mom on the phone at least once on an average day.
  95. I hope Mackenzie still wants to be friends with me in 23 years.
  96. When my dad took me on a schmatzy overnight in San Francisco, I got food poisoning from one of the nicest restaurants in the city. I proceeded to lose the contents of my stomach all over the plush carpet in the lobby of the St. Francis hotel. That lobby now has a marble floor.
  97. My mom gave away my wedding dress on Freecycle. With my permission, of course. I felt beautiful in it on my special day and hope someone else will as well. :)
  98. If I start a worm bin, I know I’ll get attached to the worms. I’m a total softie.
  99. I paid for Scott’s wedding band by washing windows at BYU. Specifically, I was in charge of four doorways and I spent two hours every afternoon vacuuming the mats and making sure the glass doors were streak-free. Yeah, BYU has a spotless campus.
  100. I make up songs in my head all day long. Not good songs.. crazy songs with made-up words. I used to just keep them in my head but now I belt ‘em out and dance around the room with Mackenzie. Poor thing!