7 things about me

1. I was a voracious reader as a young girl, spending my babysitting money (I started babysitting at the age of nine! Can you believe it? I'd never leave my kids in the care of a nine year old!) on books from The Babysitters Club series or books about horses. I'd come home from the mall on a Saturday afternoon with two or three new books and often have them read by the end of the weekend. These days, the list of books I'd like to read/re-read is getting longer by the week. (le sigh)

2. I was a band geek. A serious band geek. I played alto saxophone. I played in the one of the high school wind orchestras (which is just a way of trying to make "high school band" sound fancy) and one of the school jazz bands. THE TOP ONES, at that. I was also a part of a community band. In its hey day, this organization was recognized by Canada's Governor General as the "citizenship machine of Canada" and HOW CORNY IS THAT. I was a member of the concert band, jazz band, jazz combo, and within the marching band (yes, marching band) I was at various times either in the auxiliary percussion (ie, xylophones, marimbas, tympani... I'm not making myself sound any cooler, am I?) or the cymbal line. Yes, I played cymbals. But only in marching band, the rest was all saxophone, all the time.

(Except for part of one year when I was convinced to give the oboe a try. Mostly this was for image purposes, as a band just didn't look complete without an oboe. APPARENTLY. They went so far as to schedule and pay for private lessons with local legend and published Canadian composer, Elizabeth Raum, who told me I'd have to file my front teeth down if I wanted to be a SERIOUS oboe player. Um, oookay. What I didn't tell her was that I only agreed to play the oboe because it let me sit closer to my friends during practice... and because the maker of the oboe given me shared a last name with my crush at the time (who I ended up marrying, so good thing I liked the name!). Aren't teenage girls silly things?)

My older sister and I, circa 1996. (Yeah, that's right, I got a cape. 

Cause I was part of the drum line. And drummers need capes.) 

3. During college, my older sister and I were in a ska band. A Christian ska band. We even recorded an album. STOP LAUGHING. It was fun. I'll have to dig up a picture from somewhere...

4. I have a irrational fear of sharks. I grew up in a COMPLETELY LANDLOCKED province, yet I am terrified of sharks. Like, I feel ill just thinking about Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. Click through to that link and look at the ad. Two seconds of that has my stomach in knots and my throat tightening up.

This image freaks me out,

even though I know it's just a dolphin.

This one actually makes me teary and faint-feeling... 

EVEN THOUGH I KNOW IT'S COMPLETELY FAKE.

5. We've been living in this house for over a year and a half and the only things up on the walls are a world map and two maps of Southern Sudan (both in our bedroom... I know, romantic), and a ceramic gecko that Liam made at a birthday party just before we left Calgary. There happened to be a nail already in the wall in our basement bathroom, so we stuck it up there. There are also a few homeschool aids (calendar, weather chart, numbers to 100, etc) and an advent calendar leftover from Christmas. AND THAT'S IT. Sad. Gee, if only I had a few pictures of my kids or knew someone who could take some... 

6. There are two food items that I refused to eat as a child and now, as an adult, really love. The first are olives, which I didn't try until our trip to Europe in 2001, and didn't fully appreciate until our trip took us down to Argentina where there are olives on/in EVERYTHING. I love them now. The second item is avocado. I still don't like guacamole, but I adore avocados. In smoothies, salads, dips, spreads, on crackers or toast... mmmm. Looooove 'em. 

7. I've never tasted beer. I'm pretty sure my Canadian passport might be revoked if the authorities ever read this blog, but it's true. After 12 years of community and school band AND BOTTLE DRIVES TOO NUMEROUS TO COUNT, my mind just can't erase the smell of old, stale, months -or even years- old beer. *shudder* Sorry, but beer stinks.

Thanks, Tia, for tagging me with this meme (over a month ago now, I think... do I get a prize for being last to finish??). For my part, I would looove to read seven new things about the following seven blogger (in no particular order, of couse):

• my sister Lynette (who has -I think- the only blog out there on becoming a funeral director... and it's pretty good WHEN SHE ACTUALLY BLOGS)
• my sisters-in-laws, Susanna (who innocently suggested on day that I start a blog and unleashed a monster *wink*), Sara, and Kristi (whose blogs I won't link to prior to asking if they actually want a hundred strangers visiting)
• and now a few of my favourite Ottawa bloggers: Julie from Thoughts of a Smother Mother (because she actually seems to participate in meme... ha! how's that for pressure!), the pie-making phenom (or at least soon-to-be-phenom) Lynn from TurtleHead, and Kym from Relishing (whose writing is so poetically beautiful I sometimes have to take a little moment to myself after reading... even if that moment is to try to pretend that I understood it all)