I'm It!

I was tagged by Kristin to come up with eight random facts about myself. Here are the rules, as copied verbatim from Kristin's blog:

1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

So, without further ado (drumroll, please...) -

1. Since I left my parents' home for college in 1989, I have moved 16 times. Yes, that's right: 16 times in 18 years. You can see why I am so happy to finally live in my very own home, and why we intend to stay here FOREVER.

2. Matt and I have the same birthday. I had my first son on my aunt's 50th birthday and my second son on my grandfather's 85th birthday.

3. Until I was in 2nd grade and moved to a more racially balanced community, I was the only white child among a sea of African American and Hispanic peers. I'll post my kindergarten class picture when I can get it scanned for you. I am most comfortable in diverse settings, and this has always been a major factor in how we choose where we live and where the kids will go to school.

4. I have the uncanny ability to guess the correct time (within a few minutes) when I haven't seen a clock in hours. Matt tested me on this throughout much of our honeymoon. Similarly, I can estimate the time I will arrive somewhere within 1-2 minutes, about 95% of the time. When I call home, for example, I can tell Matt, "I'll be home in 17 minutes" and I'm usually right, even with traffic. He often sets the kitchen timer to see how close I am.

5. I can't wink. I only blink when I try. This has been a source of endless amusement to my husband for, oh, about 13 years now.

6. When I was 4 and my brother was almost 3, we wandered away from our front yard, got into our car to go to McDonald's, released the emergency brake, and put the car in neutral. We rolled down a very steep hill in Hartford, CT, and totalled both a Volvo sedan and a neighbor's brand new Cadillac. We walked away unscathed, but I'm not sure our parents ever recovered.

7. I once got fired by my own mother. (It was deserved.)

8. Growing up, I knew 6 young people, ages 2-22, who had been orphaned (by AIDS, a car accident, and other illnesses) and became part of our extended family. One such little boy lived with my family for half a year. I believe this fact explains my drive to take and organize family photographs, write birthday letters for the boys, complete baby books, write this blog, and have plenty of video footage. It's all for my kids to have down the road. Because you just never know.


Okay! Now, many of the regular bloggers on my reader list have already done this little game, so I am going to tag some friends and family who may blog less often but certainly have no less to say. Please do it!

1. Becky at Go Team Spanson!
2. Cara at MiCaDaNo (yes, folks, Cara has a secret blog - oops! I outed her!)
3. Cassie at Cute and Evil
4. Matt at eyepop
5. Dana at Kaffee, Nicht Kanguruhs
6. Crissy at Random Thoughts
7. Julie at JEBM
8. Ben at The Penny Ante