my 100 things

1. If you told me when I moved to Africa that I’d marry a South African, I’d have said you were smokin’ something.
2. Eight years ago I married my fair skinned, blue eyed, blonde-haired, 100% African McHotty.
3. He’s the only man I’ve ever kissed.
4. I got my hair cut really short in fifth grade.
5. I looked like a pretty boy; I swear, my school pictures from that year should be burned.
6. As an adult, I really wished I could have Meg Ryan’s hair,
7. but was afraid of looking butt-ugly again.
8. After years of deliberating, I finally chopped my locks off.
9. I loved it.
   
10. Husband didn’t.
11. It’s currently growing out again.
12. I’m a pillow snob
13. because sleeping on the wrong pillow locks my neck up.
14. I hate how that makes me sound like an old lady.
15. I’m really only a pillow snob because I landed on my head as a child.
16. I wasn’t dropped;
17. I was catapulted. (I’m not kidding.)
18. I’ve never broken a bone
19. or been stung by a bee.
20. But I almost died from Tick Bite Fever my first year in Africa,
21. and I pretty much always have some degree of pain somewhere in my body.
22. I get motion sickness pretty easily.
23. I’ve been known to feed the fish on boating trips
24. and use the little lunch bags on small airplanes.
25. I squirm at the mere mention of needles
26. and the sight of blood makes me react with very strange sounds,
27. but typically I can’t look away for long.
28. (Unless it’s a bloody nose, which I need to be as far away from as possible.)
29. Yet I love watching medical and crime dramas on TV.
30. I love sleep
31. and could easily take in twelve hours every night,
32. but I tend to stall falling asleep as long as I possibly can
33. because I hate the lag time between closing my eyes and actually slumbering.
34. My iPod has 14.1 days worth of songs on it.
35. Music resonates with my heart in ways I can’t describe,
36. but I’m not a musician.
37. Although I did play piano for a while when I was really young.
38. I often sing as though I actually can,
39. but the reality is I cannot.
40. I wish I could play guitar
41. and sing,
42. and do both at the same time.
43. I secretly envy those who can.
44. I love writing, but not by hand—
45. so I’ve never been a consistent journaler (which surprises most people).
46. Backspace is my BFF.
47. I type pretty fast but make lots of mistakes.
48. Typos are one of my biggest pet peeves.
49. I have more books than I have shelves for,
50. which I consider a good problem to have
51. but still a problem nonetheless.
52. I love eating out,
53. which makes it a bummer that I live in a town with only five dining-out options,
54. one of which is KFC.
55. I don’t consider KFC a dining-out option.
56. I suck at sports
57. but I love watching them,
58. even when I don’t know what’s going on,
59. and I inevitably cheer louder than I probably should.
60. I’m ashamed to admit I was a cheerleader
61. and that my graduating class was only ten students.
62. We were all girls.
63. I got straight As all through school
64. and hated getting lower than 99% on anything,
65. cause that was already less than what I should have achieved.
66. I don’t think I would have done nearly as well in college
67. but would have still been driven to try.
68. Some days I regret never going.
69. Some days I’m even embarrassed that I didn’t.
70. I love taking pictures
71. and would love to take a photography course so I actually knew what I was doing,
72. but, to be honest, I lack the umph to really do it.
73. I’m lazier than I like to think I am.
74. I have a difficult time declaring favorites
75. or voicing an opinion.
76. Which makes me feel like the chick in Runaway Bride, who didn’t know how she liked her eggs cooked.
77. That movie is one of my favorites.
78. And I wish I had some of Julia Roberts’ height. (Does she really need 44″ from hip to toe?)
79. As a child, I used to stick out my tongue when I was concentrating.
80. Thankfully I broke that habit
81. by sucking in my lips.
82. Now I look like I’m impersonating a toothless senior citizen anytime I’m working on my computer.
83. I have no idea how to break this habit.
84. I used to hate to shower.
85. So much so that my parents made me a t-shirt that read “Try Soap”.
86. I wore it with pride.
87. I’ve never consistently brushed my teeth before bed
88. or washed my face at the end of the day.
89. Yet I wish I had whiter teeth
90. and a better complexion.
91. I like things to be in order, like my desk and kitchen counters,
92. but they’re usually not.
93. I pride myself on my diligence,
94. but I typically procrastinate.
95. I hover whenever I use a public restroom,
96. and I almost always flush with my foot.
97. I hang my head as I admit that I typically only wash my hands when someone is with me.
98. I know God made me me for a reason—quirks and all—
99. and I’m confident of His overwhelming love for me
100. despite my faltering faith.