100 things

This is a long post. I'd read on several other blogs (bleeding espresso, 2 Baci, and others) this list of "100 things about me" and found it very interesting and fun to read. It's interesting to find the items that make you laugh, or others that have you saying "me too!" out loud. This started as a "meme" tag game between bloggers so I thought I'd join the fun.

So enjoy, laugh, roll your eyes, or take a nap :)...but buckle up, it'll be a long ride.

100 THINGS:
1. My name is Erin.
2. I was going to be named Gracia (gray-shah) after my mom told the nurse that looked over her mother who was dying of cancer a month before I was born, that she would name the baby after her.
3. Dad didn't agree
4. So I was named after the little girl on the Waltons
5. I wanted to be "different" in high school (like everyone else) so I began to spell it "Airyn"
6. I really liked names with "y"s...and "q"s although Q didn't fit
7. But quickly reverted to the original and am now proud of my name and the Irish heritage that I have somewhere on my maternal side of the family
8. I also have English and French - but no Italian
9. My husband has some European as well, and Cherokee Indian (which is why he has no hair except for his head)
10. but also no Italian
11. I was born in Illinois in a one-stoplight town and always wanted to move to Florida
12. I thought Florida was all beaches, palm trees, and parties with Mickey Mouse
13. I remember hating the cold weather and the biggest decision as a kindergardener was: a) do I RUN from the bus to the classroom and be colder, but for a shorter amount of time, or b) do I WALK and not be so cold from the wind, but take a little more time to get inside
14. When I was 5 we went to Disney for a vacation and I got seasick on the ferry
15. I still loved Florida after that
16. When I was 6 my parents sat me down and asked where I'd always wanted to move - I said "next door" since I was trying to be more realistic and next door was a 2-story house
17. They said "how about ANYWHERE?" -and I said Florida - then they said we were moving there - and then I cried.
18. I had to get glasses in 2nd grade and then quickly upgraded to contacts in 3rd grade - which I still wear
19. My sight is really pretty bad, and I hope to get Lasik surgery in a couple years
20. I thought cuss words were invented in the mid 80s. I guess this is because it's when I began to hear them occasionally.
21. I thought I was popular in school, but looking back I really wasn't popular as in "cool" so much, but more just "known"
22. I got straight "A"s all the way until 10th grade, then had some "B"s thrown in. Even through college I never got a "C" -but looking back I'm not sure what the big deal was.
23. One of the worst photos I remember being in is in 6th grade, wearing high-waisted pants that were royal blue and stopped above my ankles, white thick socks with brown leather penny loafers, a tucked in college logo t-shirt, and the "big bangs"! (now you know why I wasn't the "cool" type of popular)
24. Either this one or my marching band photo in 7th grade with my hat that was taller than my face. This is because the hats were proportionally tall as wide and I have a really big head.
25. No, I'm serious, I've measured - only me and the tuba player had to get size Large. ...no one believes me because the rest of me is so small.
26. I've played piano since I was 8, and studied under college professors from 7th grade through 12th and attended a performing arts high school.
27. I played the saxophone in middle school and guitar since high school - but not very much and I'm not very good.
28. I miss having and playing a piano - we've never had enough room to bring mine from back home.
29. Once when I was little, Mom told me that she could breathe out of her ears. She told me to feel for her breath out of her nose or mouth -which I proceeded to do for (what seemed like) a long time, and never felt any breathing. ...I still don't know how she did it - maybe she can breathe out of her ears!
30. Steve Martin reminds me of my dad for some reason (just a little goofier)- so his movies always give me a warm nostalgic feeling. I almost cry the entire length of Father of the Bride.
31. My dad and I stayed up the night before my wedding to watch this movie together because we for years we'd said that it was something we'd do
32. I met my husband, Chris, the summer after my freshman year in high school at a youth event in North Carolina. He was passing out pencils and I needed one.
33. We hung out for 4 days and then I went back to Florida and told all of my friends that I was going to marry him.
34. He is one year younger than me
35. This is true for most of the couples on his side of the family...the older women with the younger men!
36. I think our wedding was one of the most tearful ever (a good thing!) - I literally giggled and balled at the same time walking down the aisle
37. All 4 of our parents spoke during the ceremony - they all got to say whatever they wanted and we didn't know what it was until that day.
38. I forgot to throw my bouquet when we left
39. Fun wedding facts: We had a fondue buffet and live butterfly releasing at the reception, our recessional songs were by Weezer ("You Gave Your Love to Me Softly" mp3) and Reggie & the Full Effect ("From Me 2 U" mp3), we rented a huge inflatable "bouncy" castle at our rehearsal dinner
40. 5 movies I'd bring with me to a deserted island: Talented Mr. Ripley, Amelie, Father of the Bride, Vanilla Sky, and (*space open* b/c it always changes)
41. I use a Mac and prefer to only use a Mac, and love to talk people into getting a Mac - but don't consider myself a complete Apple-snob
42. I grew up with a dog, and thought I was a "dog-person", but now we have 2 cats and I am much more a "cat-person" -dogs are too much like kids
43. We don't see having kids anytime soon at all -but we still have time if we ever decided to...and most of the time think about adopting if we did want a family
44. I once dared my younger sister to stick her tongue out at a passing car while we were on a family bike ride when we were little - she did - and she got in trouble
45. I once sassed my mom on a family bike ride - and then she washed my mouth out with soap - then I got sick that night - so I made sure to wake her up
46. Over the past year or so I've been wanting to get rid of "stuff" and simplify our lives - although sometimes I still want a bigger house... but most times I'm content with our small home on the beach and am glad we don't have much to deal with
47. I try to be a Jesus-follower
48. I don't use the word "Christian" so much anymore because I think Jesus would be embarrassed to be associated with so many things that bare this description
49. I'm not right-wing
50. I respect creation and try to do my part to protect what has been put in our care instead of raping it for our immediate desires
51. I try to be conscious of what I buy and how it effects others on this planet - knowledge changes everything
52. My grandma's homemade mac & cheese is one of my favorite dishes
53. I have a mean sweet tooth
54. but I don't have any cavities
55. I love eating meals that consist of "small things" - like fondue, tapas, apéritifs, fruit & cheese plates, etc
56. My hair is now the longest it's been since 9th grade when I cut it from below my shoulders to a pixie cut.
57. I write a to-do list everyday
58. I recite at least 3 movie quotes a day
59. I hate the smell of cooking mushrooms
60. I'm a vegetarian
61. I went to college for business and fashion merchandising, then changed the fashion for advertising, then went back for graphic design and fine arts when I completed my business degree.
62. I'm now in real estate and also do freelance graphic design
63. Staying with one thing too long normally makes me restless
64. My biggest fear even when I was little (beside tornadoes) was growing up to "live-to-work" at a 9-5 office job
65. I'd rather "work-to-live" and am so glad that our jobs allow for flexibility (even being able to work abroad)
66. Moving to Italy has been a long-time dream of ours and it's finally happening
67. and I'm so excited!!!
68. I daydream about speaking fluent Italian
69. I keep a list of all the places in the world I want to (will) see one day
70. and this list just keeps getting longer
71. I'm inspired by those who quit jobs, sell stuff, and do whatever it takes to take off a year (or more) to travel the world...because really, who would ever regret this?!
72. I have 3 reoccurring dreams: one where my hands swell bigger and bigger, one where NYC is a theme park in a small harbor, and one where I'm on the edge of a building with the big waves of the sea crash up against it - this last one is quite ominous
73. My favorite color is celery green
74. I bungee jumped for my 17th birthday
75. I don't like to talk on the phone too much - especially to people I see regularly
76. Our cats use the toilet
77. ...again, not joking - we don't even own a litter pan
78. I really love my friends
79. and my family, and as I've grown older I appreciate everyone so much more and I find the beauty and wholeness in embracing your background and learning from elders
80. I sing out loud in my car when I'm driving alone (and sometimes not alone)
81. ...but I tone it down when I'm stopped beside someone at a stop light
82. I have a manual 6-speed car and like to drive it
83. but I'm looking forward to being without a car in Italy
84. we name a lot the animals that live around our house: a garter snake that lives under our A/C unit named William, a rabbit in the bushes named Robert, a corn snake under our stepping stones named Toby, and a frog that lives in our dryer vent named Nelly
85. I tend to name all animals with boy names (our 2 cats: Solomon, Bengal and our snake: Urriah)
86. Once, I went to buy a mouse to feed Urriah and it chewed a hole through the transport box and got loose in my car. We could see it through a little hole in the side of my door but he wouldn't come out, even with food and traps.
86. Four days later he died somewhere in the inner workings of my dashboard...and my car still smells funny.
87. I have a small handful of gray hairs already
88. I used to read a lot when I was younger, but then was hit-or-miss for years. Just in the last couple years I started reading consistently again.
89. I think I'll always see people who are older than me, as older than me in photos where they are younger than me now.
90. I think my grandparents' generation all looked like they were pushing 50 in their high school yearbook photos.
91. My parents raised me with a good grasp on how to handle finances (tithing, saving, and spending w/in your means) - and I'm very thankful for this!
92. I'm not sure that I'll ever buy a brand new car, and I will never rack up consumer debt or own a store credit card.
93. Shopping isn't fun to me unless I can find things on sale
94. I really don't enjoy malls very much (at least after about 3 stores)
95. Anthropologie overwhelms me (although it's one of my favorites shops) - so I normally leave without buying because I can't decide on anything
96. I prefer wildflowers to roses
97. I like to laugh a lot...especially those rare times when it leads to tears
98. I'd like to keep living simpler and simpler
99. and making dreams with my husband
100. and loving people more