100 things...

I like my feet and 100 other tid bits about ME!!

1. I sleep with my thumbs tucked in.

2. I love cotton candy.

3. I like to watch my children sleep.

4. I love the way air smells before it rains.

5. I miss my Grandmother and still call her phone number sometimes just to see if she might pick up in heaven. 1-801-277-2925

6. I can remember a lot of my dreams.

7. I fall asleep in about 5 seconds each night.

8. Music moves me. Vivaldi Four Seasons is my favorite. Once I fell asleep during a performance of this because I was so happy and comfortable.

9. Lately I have had to change most things familiar to me. It was hard but necessary.

10. Family is important. Friends are important. Family is more important.

11. Sometimes it is okay to be sad and feel sorry for yourself.

12. I have hiked miles in the wilderness with juvenile delinquent boys and always felt safe.

13. I am a very good teacher.

14. I yell a lot and wish that I didn’t. I am always working on this. I am hopeful that one day I will NEVER yell.

15. I love my boys more than my own life. I would do anything for them.

16. I like to read poetry and wish that I could write it too.

17. I am friends with many of my elementary, middle and high school friends as well as my college friends. I have always been blessed with good friends.

18. I wish I was more like my mother. She is 100% pure and sweet.

19. I have my father’s temperament and drive. This is both positive and negative.

20. Eric is the love of my life. I deeply love, respect and adore him.

21. I like to research things… I want to know about life and how to raise my children in a better world.

22. Lately I have wanted to move away and start over. I am not a fan of change so this comes as a surprise especially to me.

23. I have a touch of ADD.

24. I am a paper addict. It is inherited.

25. I need to slow down and prioritize.

26. I am a computer chicken.

27. I bite my fingernails and have for as long as I can remember. I have been growing them out and then biting them off a week or so later. It is a great stress reliever.

28. I do not have a favorite color. I wish I did. I think life is more fun with favorites.

29. I am a believer in alternative medicine.

30. I love the swing in my yard. I try to swing with Finn in it everyday. We both love it!!

31. My home is beautiful and I am proud of it. It is a work in progress, but it will get there and be AMAZING!!

32. I have seen a friend die in front of my eyes. I was the first on the scene and will never forget that night or the noises associated with that tragic night.

33. I have also had a good friend commit suicide. I miss her and wonder what her life would be like if I had stepped in to help her more. We ate pizza together every Friday in high school.

34. I want to be a kinder, gentler, quieter and nicer person. (yes, I said QUIETER!!)

35. I like it when Eric calls me Anjanette. It is sweet.

36. My Grandmother, Eva Madonna Poulsen Coleman is 94 years old. I don’t want to live to that long. She suffers way too much. I admire her though and love her to pieces!!

37. People think I am a bad driver. The truth is I am a very good driver, but don’t prefer to drive so people have interpreted that as bad driving…. silly them!

38. I like to drive fast and listen to loud music!! (not as fast as Eric, that is scary fast… I am just busy fast!!)

39. I look forward to fall. I love everything about Autumn.

40. I love and hate to decorate my house for holidays. I hate doing it and love having it up….then I hate putting it all away. I once asked Eric what he would do if I died with all the holiday decorating and he said he would hire someone to do it all. That says it all…

41. I like Facebook. It is fun to catch up with old and sometimes new friends. It is like being snoopy with permission. Eric says I like the drama of FB. Sometimes he is right!! Sometimes it even gets me in trouble… I don’t really care. (O:

42. I am redefining myself and am enjoying finding a new me.

43. I have learned that sometimes disappointment leads to clarity. A lesson(s) hard learned…

44. I use this a lot in writing… I think it implies a thought process…

45. I have always wanted to teach Relief Society. I am still waiting. I guess I am just not ready.

46. I swear and am trying to eliminate that very bad habit. I do it for the shock factor only. It doesn’t really make me feel any better.

47. Sometimes I put my foot in my mouth. I hate that!! It is happening less and less.

48. I love my Mother-in-law’s cooking and think about it when I am hungry and sometimes lonely.

49. Unconditional love is hard to give.

50. I have many buried talents and am searching for my shovel. Right now I have found a spade as a substitute.

51. I love my sisters so much. They are fun, wise, sweet and know me so well. People think they know me, but not like they do.

52. Sometimes I find it hard not to gossip.

53. I know the gospel is true. I have felt the Spirit and cry almost every day during my personal prayers. It is like my heart is softened every day for just a few minutes. I look forward to that special time with my Heavenly Father.

54. I have run away from home twice.

55. Laughing is my favorite pastime, but I don’t get around to that as much.

56. I am going on a trip with Eric in October and am so excited I wake up and can’t go back to sleep. It will be our first trip where I am not pregnant and/or nursing. *** I went on that trip and it was worth waking up for!! Italy is wonderful! I love Eric so much for planning such a special, fun trip.

57. I have struggled with my weight for years, but not for much longer… (O:

58. I love the smell of campfires, ocean breezes, puppy’s breath, Burt’s Bees baby lotion, lavender, BBQing and gardenias. I also love the smell of Eric.

59. I sat on a beach in Mexico and watched a lunar eclipse. It was amazing and so romantic.

60. My best friend moved to Maine and I cried for more than 6 months. I don’t want a girl best friend anymore. It is too hard for so many reasons.

61. I loved teaching and miss it a lot. I do not want to go back to regular teaching because I dislike tests and parents…

62. I am not afraid of the last days. I am looking forward to a better way of living.

63. My Grandfather used to try to crush my head like a grape and pop off my wrists. It hurt so bad that I used to laugh til I cried. When he died he took a part of me with him. I wish it was just a wrist but I am thinking more like a part of my heart.

64. My college roommates used to sleep with me because I never move in bed. I hardly do now too.

65. One of my dear friends and roommates slept with me in a little twin bed for almost a year because of terrible nightmares. One night she dreamed a good dream and it all stopped. It was bittersweet for the both of us.

66. I have a very good memory.

67. I am sarcastic. Ick!!

68. If I like you, I will send you a Christmas card and remember your birthday.

69. I collect milk glass, creamers and cute bee hive/bee stuff. I never tell anyone because I don’t want excess stuff in my collections.

70. I almost always give gifts to people that I would also give to myself. That is how I know it is decent and thoughtful.

71. I am crazy about a mime.

72. I look at Fox News, Awful Plastic Surgery, the weather and TMZ every day. I think it is a ritual.

73. I have very strong opinions about many things.

74. My favorite movies are Moulin Rouge, Pride and Prejudice and Cinema Paradiso. I also really, really like the Royal Tenenbaums.

75. I worry about my children drowning and being kidnapped. I am no fun at the beach, water parks, pool or any public place where I think they can get lost or nabbed.

76. I used to roam the mountains in Moab all day, build scorpion houses, swim in the creek, etc and my mom wouldn’t see us until we were hungry or too tired to walk. I miss those days. Life was full of easy freedoms.

77. Town house living is sweet and simple. I miss Hart Road.

78. I kind of always knew I would have four boys. I am blessed.

79. I was in a pizza place once when it was robbed. The guy had a gun and I was so scared. I pretended to play Pac Man the whole time so he didn’t think I was looking at him. I remembered nothing about him, his clothing… literally nothing. This taught me to be more prepared and observant.

80. My dad got me and my friends a hotel room for my senior prom. This took a great deal of trust because he knew my friends would drink but he wanted me to be safe. I will never forget this.

81. I was at Natalie’s house for the 9/11 attacks. I will never forget that horrible day.

82. I like dogs, but I don’t want one. I HATE dog poop. It is a pet peeve (no pun intended).

83. I miss Cider my three-legged cat. Sometimes I hear his ghost bell. Creepy!!

84. I am a know-it-all. This can swing both ways.

85. I suffer silently. Not a good thing for the ticker.

86. I read the book, “ The Five Languages of Love” and feel like a new person. Now I know… Now I understand…

87. I want to sew, knit, crochet and all those domestic things but feel completely helpless and stupid when trying to learn. It makes me CRAZY!! I just don’t get it. I would rather build an igloo than try at those types of activities. (oops, sarcasm!!)

88. I don’t like myself in pictures but hate to miss out in all the memories.

89. No one ever made me laugh harder than Bill Sidwell. Where is that guy? He had a sad, sad life…

90. Don’t tell my kids, but I am afraid of dark basements too.

91. I daydream.

92. I never read instruction manuals.

93. I love chocolate and bread. No wonder….

94. Wearing contacts makes me mean, okay meaner!!

95. I loved BYU. College was a very fun, special time in my life.

96. My favorite cereal is Lucky Charms.

97. I am content with my height. I never wish I was any taller except when I slow dance with Eric or when I am thinking of jumping his bones in an elevator or some place like that!! Then it might help to be a little taller!! (oops! a family blog I know…)

98. I don’t like to stay up late and I don’t like to get up early.

99. I like to watch several tv channels at the same time. I just switch back and forth.

100. I am happy.

I have read other 100 lists from friends, bloggers etc and thought it would be impossible to write a list about myself…. Well, I was wrong and this was actually fun. I realize this crazy blog is primarily about my children, but I know that I will not always have the strong memory (see # 66) that I do now and it will be good to have a written reference about MUAH at some later time in life.

This past year has been both challenging and wonderful and I am glad that I can come out of it with a positive outlook and know that I am better, faster, stronger and happier than ever.