39

in

today, i am 39. Â and it's definitely a bittersweet birthday this year. Â a day that is supposed to be celebratory but it's not--because steve will leave this afternoon, to return in 204 days (may 6th 2009). Â steve and the kids were so sweet last night...dinner, birthday songs all night and such thoughtful (and funny) presents. and well, it just seems weird to be 39. Â not old, but old..er. Â i think i say it every year, but i don't feel my age. Â not that i know what 39 is supposed to feel like or even look like.

yesterday, a friend/parent at sky's school said,Â

you don't look that old. Â

i guess that is good...to not look that old. ;-)

so in celebrating my 39th, i share 39 things that you might not know about me...or maybe you do. Â might be fun to read. Â or maybe not. Â might be TMI. Â who knows, but i share.

  1. i have a younger sister and two older half brothers, one which i have never met.
  2. i have had a tongue ring since 2000.
  3. i have three tattoos. Â i had four, but had the one on my wrist surgically removed b/c i didn't like it, while i was active duty.
  4. i was enlisted in the army reserves, as a unit supply specialist, while i was in college. Â they called me private benjamin.
  5. i always knew nursing wasn't the right fit for me, yet i proceeded anyways.
  6. i got an air force scholarship to get my masters in nursing, specializing in systems management.
  7. my favorite job as a nurse was working as a health care integrator.
  8. i was a pom-pon girl in high school and we were MI state champs my junior and senior year.
  9. i've been running for two months now, something i haven't done since 2002, and it feels awesome.
  10. i hope to someday do a half marathon (at least).
  11. if i had guidance in high school, i think i would have pursued accounting.
  12. i graduated high school with a 3.75, but no scholarship, and struggled to pay for college.
  13. my dad is OCD (organizationally and cleanliness)Â and i have his tendencies (but not to that extreme).
  14. my toilet paper has to roll over (not under).
  15. i rarely dress in colors other than black, white and kahki, except for exercising.
  16. steve is five years younger than me.
  17. i'm afraid to ride in an elevator alone.
  18. i'm an overachiever, sometimes to a fault.
  19. my mother was born and raised in germany. Â i wish she had taught us german.
  20. sadly, i don't talk to any of my family very much at all.
  21. i'm excited to live on a sailboat and travel around the americas, when steve retires (2017).
  22. i love coffee; mornings are tough without it.
  23. i miss being in the military.
  24. computers frustrate me to no end.
  25. i'm 5'5" and weigh 126.
  26. i have an obsession with jackets because i didn't have many growing up.
  27. i love alternative music.
  28. i wish i read more and had a larger vocabulary.
  29. i have always loved school, from elementary through college.
  30. i struggle with having a healthy body image (always have), but want to teach my children to think differently.
  31. i have always crossed my legs like the photo below--entwined like that. Â it looks odd, yet it's crazy comfortable for me.
  32. i have this thing about wanting dreadlocks (my husband thinks i'm crazy).
  33. i stink at sports.
  34. i hope to write a book someday.
  35. kiele reminds me so much of me, as a child.
  36. i cherish the friendships that i have.
  37. i am proud.
  38. i am in love.
  39. i am blessed.