I've Been Tagged: Seven Little Known Facts

The rules are: People who are tagged start by thinking about 7 random facts/habits about themselves. Each player then must write about those seven things on their blog, as well as include these rules. Players then need to choose 7 people to tag and list their names. Don’t forget to leave each person a comment telling them they’ve been tagged.
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1. I only wear skirts. It started about three years ago when a friend made me six or seven long, flowing, beautiful skirts. I wore them and loved them. Since then, I have worn a skirt nearly every day. In fact, the number of days that I have worn slacks or shorts in public (not while playing tennis or otherwise exercising outside) in the past two or three years is less than a dozen times.

2. One of the reasons I have enjoyed skirts so much is because I am absolutely phobic about germs in bathrooms. The only bathroom in which I feel totally comfortable is the one in my own bedroom. So skirts are perfect: no need to worry about slacks touching the floor of an unfamiliar bathroom. Yuck! I know; it's a little obsessive, but it's who I am.

3. Spelling and grammar mistakes drive me nuts. When I read a book and find a spelling error, I am often tempted to put the book down and not finish it. When the children and I are homeschooling and we find an error in a book, we spend quite a while talking about why it's wrong. Misspelled words on the screen at church, in emails, those short codes people put in text messages - make me wanna scream!!! I know I'm not a perfect speller, nor am I an expert at grammar. It's just that obvious mistakes make me want to become an editor or spell checker or something along those lines.

4. The sound of people chewing their food is also an abomination to me.

5. I am not much of an alcohol drinker, but when I do imbibe, the drinks must be sweet. My sweet tooth is not much of a secret, and my addiction to sweets extends to my drinks. Midori sour, fuzzy navels, regular and mango mojitos, strawberry daquiris, white zinfandel - yum, yum. I do not like coconut, so pina coladas --> no, thanks.

6. I still haven't fallen in love with Maya. She's cute. She's funny. She loves to run and play with all of us. But if she went to live with someone else tomorrow, I don't think I'd miss her at all. Plus, it's been difficult to find a kennel to take her to when we go on vacation. I miss not having to worry about a dog and what she needs.

7. I wish we could take a year off from this life, rent an apartment in Madrid or Rome or London, and just forget about the American rat race, the stupidity that pervades our political, social, and educational systems, the gun violence that plagues our nation, and start all over someplace else. No grass to mow, no large house to care for, no church responsibilities, no extended family obligations, none of it. The truth is that I wish we could leave this all behind for five years. I know that there are problems everywhere - including my beloved Spain - but I just want an extended, all-expenses paid getaway from all of this. In a place where no one knows us or expects anything from us except for a smile over our morning coffee at the local cafe.

8. It was hard for me to come up with these seven things. But now that I've started on the list, more things are coming to mind. Like...

* I would put both of my children in school and become a full-time working woman if I could be a tour guide that traveled regularly to Spanish speaking countries.

* I would stop exercising this very day if it weren't the only thing keeping my insatiable sweet tooth from turning me into one of those people they do shows about on Discovery Channel: 800 pounds and in bed for seven years.

* I wish I could spend entire weeks in bed with piles of books and my journal and markers at my side. Weeks at a time... in my apartment in Madrid.

* Sometimes I think about what I would be doing, where I would be living, and what my life would look like if I'd never gotten married and had children.

* I wish I had/took more time to do the things I secretly want to get really good at, like playing tennis, making jewelry, making cards, scrapbooking, and cooking. Unfortunately, I have not yet made the decision to reduce the serious stuff that's not as much fun. This summer will be a start in that direction. I will be taking the summer off from the two classes I teach at our church and taking quite a few weekends off from translating as well. I need a serious break.

One final confession: When I blog, I obsess about mistakes I make in my writing. I read each post over and over and make dozens of changes while I write it. Then after I publish it, I read it a few more times and go back into editing mode. True to form, I will undoubtedly read this blog four or five times today searching for spelling and grammar errors. My goal will be to not make any changes. Yikes - here goes!