25 Things about Me

I'm feeling a little pressure here, so here's the first twenty-five:

1. When I was little, my parents (yes, both mom and dad) were in the Marine Corps. My first memories are of living in the Philippines. We had a maid named Fili, went scuba diving, and rode motorcycles with our parents. There was a big river that we called the "Stinky River." I believe it was raw sewage.
2. When I was 7, we came back to the US. We ate at a McDonalds in the airport. I remember thinking it was the most disgusting thing ever.
3. We moved to South Carolina and bought a farm. We had goats, cows, pigs, ducks, chickens, geese, donkeys, ponies, and horses. My mom has a soft heart for animals and does not know when to stop....so we were always busy. My older sister and I used to play in the pig pen and have mud wars. (There are pictures to prove this unfortunately.)
4. When I was eight, I got my very own horse. I named her Dawn's Maagic. She was a pure-blood Arabian. I raised her from a colt. She was pretty stubborn. She would only let me ride her. I remember riding her and when she thought she was done, she would nip my foot when I tried to kick her to make her go. When she was two and a half, she got spooked and pulled a post that she was hitched to out of the ground and broke two of her legs. I still remember how traumatic it was to have her put down.
5. My childhood seemed to go down hill from there, so we'll skip a lot of that....I'll tell you funny stories that I remember. I remember finding my mom's razor in the shower one day. Being the brave person that I am, I proceeded to shave my legs, arms, and eyebrows. I just remember being proud of this accomplishment, not the aftermath.
6. When I was a teenager, I finally became active in the LDS church. I owe my activity to some wonderful Young Women leaders and some great friends that fellowshipped me. Our branch's boundaries were so big that we lived 45 minutes from the church building. I was the only church member in my high school of 1000.
7. I was pretty geeky as a teenager. I listened to classical music and studied....I was a nerd. I was constantly aware of my class ranking.
8. I played church basketball. I was not nice.
9. I ran track all thru high school. I went to state finals three out of the four years.
10. My first job was at Taco Bell. I worked so I could buy clothes at K-Mart and my own eyeglasses. (My mom thought I just 'wanted' them.)
11. When I was 16, my family moved to Clay Springs, Arizona. I was scared that I was going to get abducted by aliens (Snowflake was 20 miles away). This was my first experience living in a little Mormon community. It took some getting used to.
12. I finally started dating in AZ. My first date was target shooting.
13. I worked at Burger King in Show Low, AZ. I still have a hard time eating there...
14. My first kiss was on Valentine's Day of my senior year. I was thoroughly disgusted and avoided the boy from then on.
15. I converted to 'hickism' the end of my senior year and went to prom with a cowboy.
16. I went to BYU from 1995 to 1997. It is the only college I applied to.
17. My room mate Susie Eagar taught me a lot our Freshman year. We are about as different as two people can be, but we had a lot of fun. There was always an invisible line down the middle of our dorm room--I am fanatically clean and she was not so much so.
18. I have OCD. I believe my father had it also. I remember how our house ran when he was alive and he definitely displayed classic signs. I am now medicated for it and everyone is a lot happier.
19. I met Jeff at an off-campus BYU homecoming dance. My roommates and I had just done home perms, so we stank. Jeff's group was dancing by ours and I asked him if my hair stank. Later, his roommates left him at the dance so that I would have to give him a ride home. He asked for my phone number and was pretty sure I gave him a fake.
20. After our first date, I went home to help my little sister with her High School homecoming. On the way back, I got in a head-on collision 45 minutes outside of Blanding, UT. Jeff's parents came and picked me up from the clinic. I had a busted lip, cuts all over my face and body, and a leg brace on. That is how I met my future in-laws.
21. Jeff is the first guy that I had ever dated that I could totally be comfortable around. I used to be so nervous on dates that I would not eat. He cooked me dinner for our first date.
22. On January 19, 1997, Jeff proposed to me in the play area at McDonalds. My ring was in a chicken nugget box.
23. We got married on May 1, 1997 in the Salt Lake City temple. There were snowflakes falling during our pictures.
24. We went on our honeymoon to the Bahamas. We had plane trouble in Florida, so we flew really late into the Bahamas. The flight was really rough and we thought we might die that night. When we finally got to our motel, the airconditioner was not on in our room. Jeff went to turn it on and leapt backwards into our bed. He got me in the eye with his elbow. I had never seen stars before. Needless to say, I looked like a battered wife for our entire honeymoon.
25. The first three months of our marriage, we camped in a little travel trailer we called the "Love Shack" on their family's ranch in Colorado. We had no running water or indoor facilities. We used an outhouse. I am squeamesh about swimming in lakes, so I would not bathe all week until we would go into his parents' house for the weekend. His little brother Greg slept in the same room with us for most of the three months. (Welcome to Marriage!!) I am no longer a die-hard camper, not that I ever was.

Wow, this took forever!! Thumbs up to all of you that can do all 100!!