Seven Random/Little Known Things

I've noticed in some of the blogs I've been reading that many writers (who say they've been "tagged" by their friends) are putting up posts of "Seven Random or Little Known Things About Me". And while I have yet to be "tagged" to do this myself, I got tired of waiting and have decided to do it anyway. So here goes:

1. When I was about six years old, my butt got stuck in the hot tub drain at my godmother's house. They had to shut down the system and it took both my mom and my godmother to pull me loose. (Ever the wary child, I had been inching my way around the perimeter of the tub, staying far away from the deep part in the middle. Had I been a bit more adventurous, I might not have had to sit on a plastic donut for two weeks afterward.) They rushed me to the ER and were concerned my intestines may have been reorganized in a detrimental way--I'm not sure what tests they came up with to prove that this wasn't the case, and I have to say I'm glad I can't recall the details. I also remember, as a teenager, being mortified when my mom informed me she had taken photos of my horribly bruised tushy to send to the insurance company. As a 14 year old, you just don't want to know that pictures of your butt may be floating around anywhere, even when related to a long-ago insurance claim.

2. While I love and adore the Christmas holiday and all the festivities that go along with it, I have to say that Fall is my favorite season. I love the cold air, being wrapped up in big blankets on the couch, cooking homemade soups, and drinking red wine. (Beer in the summer, red wine in the fall and winter. Duh.)

3. I love doing laundry. So much so that I must pace myself throughout the week, only allowing myself to run loads on Thursdays and Sundays. Otherwise, I would needlessly run the machines every day of the week just for the satisfaction of seeing neatly folded piles of laundry at the end of my bed. And it drives me nuts when Zoey destroys these neat piles, although I try not to show it.

4. I am fascinated with the TV shows Wife Swap, Jon and Kate Plus Eight, and 17 Kids and Counting. I always wonder what kind of family I would be traded to if I were entered on Wife Swap--a conservative home-schooling family who believe in helicopter-parenting?--and I snicker to think about what kind of wife Bryan would end up with in the trade. (A conservative home-schooling wife who believes in helicopter-parenting? Ha!) Also, any family with more than one child is amazing to me at this point in life...my hands are so full with Zoey, I can not imagine adding more to our brood at the moment. (Perhaps Michelle Duggar and I could trade families for two weeks???)

5. My favorite snack is the trail mix my mom always used to make when we were little: peanuts, rasins, and M&Ms. Simple, but oh-so-satisfying.

6. While I love to cook and bake, I simply can not make banana bread. No matter what recipe I use, it NEVER turns out. The results are generally the same: dry on the outside with a crater of uncooked dough in the center. Terrible. This morning I attempted banana-bread-muffins and while they were slightly better, they still turned out gooey. For a long time I used my great-grandma-Ruth's banana bread recipe, trying it over and over, with the same results, imagining her somewhere in heaven somehow smiting my banana bread attempts. But then I tried other recipes and the same thing happened. So apparently it's not Grandma Ruth, it's me.

7. I love cooking for our friends Kendra and Matt because they are such a gloriously appreciative audience. Not that Bryan doesn't understand what a good thing he has going for himself around here, it's just that he's pretty used to my cooking and he's an awesome cook himself. So while he appreciates my efforts, there is NEVER the amount of raving in my house that occurs when I cook at Kendra and Matt's.

So there you have it. Now, consider yourself "tagged": I'd like to hear about your own random bits of information, including those of you who may or may not have had your butt stuck in a hot tub at some point in your life.