Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Things I Bet You Didn't Know About Me

1. I once ate 11 catfish fillets at an all you can eat restaurant. I was only 13 and only stopped at 11 because everyone was staring at me, and the waiter kept saying “Do you REALLY want another one?”  I really wasn’t full but was too embarrassed to continue, so we left there to go get ice cream. People often referred to me as having a hollow leg and this is a perfect example of why. 
2. My brother once scared me so bad I was left completely speechless.  I was a freshman in High School and we had a Halloween decoration that we had named George. George had little boy blue jeans and a top on, but over his top he was dressed as a child dressed up as a ghost.  My friends and I came home from the football game and were in my basement when my dad said, “Aren’t you going to introduce them to George?” So I said “This is our buddy George” and grabbed hold of him, only to be scared senseless when he grabbed hold of me back. My youngest brother was inside of George’s disguise and although my friends didn’t know if he was supposed to move or not, I knew, and he definitely was NOT supposed to move.
3. The very first concert I ever went to was a BJ Thomas concert. I believe I have now seen him in concert 6 times (which means I have been to more of his concerts than any other artist except Blake Shelton). BJ Thomas is also the very first concert I took Ashley to. She was a baby when he came to Warrensburg, so Mom and I took her with us to see him. I spent most of the concert pacing along the back to keep her content. When I was little we saw him at the Phelps County Fair and got to meet him afterwards. The only thing my mom had he could write on was my preschool picture, so that’s what he autographed. In addition to that there is also a picture of my mom, and I with him from when I was in High School and we went to see him. It was framed in my room in college and everyone always thought it was my dad.
4. My youngest brother is named Nicholas, okay okay so you already knew that, but I bet you didn’t know he was named that because while trying to decide on a name I declared “I don’t care what you name him, I am going to call him Nicholas.” Well my parents decided the poor kid should only have one name, so that was that. My mom to this day refers to me as his second mother, which I guess started when I named him many years ago. I was also upset when on the day of his birth I was informed he was a boy. I replied, “but I wanted a sister.” I already had one brother, so I guess I thought that was enough. I definitely wouldn’t trade him for anything now though.
5. I lived at a campground for an entire summer between 5^th and 6^th grade. We had moved from Iowa to the Kansas City area, and my dad had started working, but we hadn’t found a house yet. So… My parents, two brothers, a dog, a cat, and I lived in a 29 and a half foot camper, and one pop up tent. I am sure it was the longest summer on record for my parents, but as for me I loved it. We got to swim every day, and have campfires every night.  I think every child should have a summer like that. 
6. It has only been in the last few years that I made it an entire year without someone close to me dying. This started in Kindergarten when one of my best friends drowned, and continued throughout college. I can honestly say it never gets easier, and funerals are never something you get used to.  On a related note I am very insistent on people being safe and using precautions around water, and actually this summer alone I have had to pull two children out from under the water at our pool. One little boy got out where he couldn’t touch and his brother was too little to pull him up, and another little girl got so excited to see Ashley she jumped in well over her head before putting her floaties on.  
7. I have had a long standing fear of crashing off a bridge and being submerged in water unable to get out. I don’t know where this fear came from, but it has been with me as long as I can remember. Speaking of odd fears I also have a fear of people being declared dead who aren’t actually dead. I worry about this for other people and myself, and always look at people very closely in the casket. I realize now that people are embalmed they aren’t going to wake up in their casket, but honestly if you look into it, it really isn’t an unfounded fear at all. Way more people than you would imagine have woken after being declared dead. I guess also on this topic, and a bit on the last one, telling a teenage girl that when someone dies they are always watching over you is not the smartest idea in the world. Like I said I had lost a lot of people in my life and after being told this I was terrified of them (especially male relatives) being able to see me when I was taking a shower. 
8.  As a child, Stephen (my other brother), and my favorite movie was Follow That Bird. I could watch it over and over again. Much to my dismay, and my parents delight, my babysitter accidentally recorded over it one summer. My parents assured her she didn’t need to replace it. When I was pregnant with Ashley, I was given two copies of the movie as gifts. Ashley has seen it, but definitely isn’t as enthralled with it as I was. Also, while Stephen and I both loved Follow That Bird, Nicholas was obsessed with Roger Rabbit. Seriously he could watch it back to back for hours on end.
9. I have always been very interested in learning about people’s faith. Two poor members of the LDS church made the mistake of visiting our house at the same time I was going through the confirmation process at my church. They were there to try and encourage us to become members of their church, but I asked them so many questions about their beliefs, and the difference in what they believe, and what I believed, that by the end they hadn’t convinced me to join their church, and instead were debating their own belonging in the church. Similarly I dated a guy from a Baptist church and was invited to their Bible Studies. I asked so many questions about things that I made the leaders a nervous wreck. I really wasn’t trying to challenge anyone’s beliefs, I was just interested in exactly what they believed and why. This is still a topic that fascinates me, and I am always interested in hearing about peoples differing beliefs.
10. South Carolina is my favorite state. Sometime during high school, having never even been there, I decided that it had to be the best state in the country, I mean after all you could take a daytrip to the mountains or to the beach. Well the summer after my senior year we took our first trip out there and I wasn’t disappointed in the least. I loved all the older houses, the beaches, the gardens, the people, and everything in between. To this day I still think it is probably the perfect place to live. 

So there you have it, 10 Things I Bet You Didn't Know About Me. Leave me a comment and tell me something I don't know about you. Then head on over to the blog hop and check out some great blogs.