Completely Random: Part 1

My dear friend Donna (in real life and in the blogosphere) of Beating Limitations tagged me an embarrassingly long time ago for the 11 Things blog meme. She graciously asked my permission before tagging me, and I graciously agreed to do it. But then I let it fall to the bottom of my inbox for three weeks.

Better late than never, though, right?

I don’t usually join in blog memes, but this one sounded like fun! You can get to know me a bit better, I can get to know some of my other blogging friends a bit better, and hopefully I’ll get to know YOU a lot better (more on that later).

The Rules

1) Post these rules.
2) Post 11 random things about yourself.
3) Answer the questions set for you in the post of those who tagged you.
4) Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5) Go to their blog (or email them or tweet them) and tell the people you tagged that you’ve tagged them.
6) No stuff in the tagging section about “you are tagged if you are reading this.” You legitimately have to tag 11 people.
My 11 Things effort will be broken into two parts. Today I’ll post my 11 Random Things and tag a few of my fave bloggers. Tomorrow I’ll answer Donna’s questions for me and post a few for the bloggers I’ve tagged.

11 Random Things About Me

(1) I’ve lived in all four corners and the middle of Alabama at some point in my life, but I’ve never lived outside the state.

I was born in the middle, near Birmingham, grew up in northeast Alabama, went to Auburn University in southeast Alabama, and Mr. Andi and I have lived in the middle, northwest and northeast Alabama and now the Gulf Coast. Mr. Andi, on the other hand, has lived in multiple states and two countries.

(2) Despite the fact that I’ve always lived in Alabama, I don’t drink sweet tea.

I think it’s nasty. But I do keep a giant Tervis Tumbler full of unsweet tea with me all day long – I even drink it during my TurboFire workouts instead of water (it’s decaf). Oh, and I drink almost exclusively out of a straw – a habit I acquired when I had Bell’s Palsy right after Nathan was born.

(3) Although we have a boat that Mr. Andi frequently takes out into the Gulf, I’ve only been on it once in three years because I have issues with motion sickness.

When we bought it, we lived near Lake Guntersville in north Alabama and I envisioned sunning myself on the deck of the boat on the calm lake waters. Three years ago, I went out fishing in the mouth of the bay with Mr. Andi and felt sick most of the time. I’ve only been on it once since then, and that was on the river, not in the Gulf.

(4) I was my class valedictorian, and I’m not the first female valedictorian in my family.

I’m not even the second. My mother and her mother were also valedictorians in 1963 and 1938, respectively. I graduated in 1988, placing us each 25 years apart.

(5) As a tween, I served as a page in both the Alabama House of Representatives and the Alabama Senate.

One of the times was during the Coke promotion where you collected bottle caps to try to spell “Coke Is It” and win big money. Another page and I spent most of our time fishing bottle caps out of vending machines with tape and wire coathangers, rather than actually performing essential tasks for our legislators. Your tax dollars at work!

(6) I was a member of the first pledge class of my collegiate chapter of Sigma Kappa sorority. My name is on the charter.

I have the tattoo to prove it. Kidding! But I do have a small tattoo of a violet – the Sigma Kappa flower. I got it as an adult, in large part so I’d always have something to remind me not to take myself so seriously. The one and only time I’ve ever regretted it was right after Sarah Kate was born – the doctors anticipated she might need a transfusion, and my blood type was a match, but I wasn’t allowed to donate because I’d gotten a tattoo in the twelve months preceding. My friend Sandy’s husband donated instead, but thankfully Sarah Kate didn’t need the transfusion.

(7) Despite an aversion to anything outdoorsy, I have in the past owned both my own kayak and a four-wheeler.

I still have the kayak but haven’t been in it in years. I need to sell it but I can’t imagine parting with it, because it reminds me of the years that Mr. Andi and I were childless save our lab mix, Tess. She was always up for an adventure! She died a few months after Nathan was born at the ripe old age of thirteen.

(8) I’m a bag lady.

Jewelry? Blah. Earrings? I wear the same two pairs all the time (one the rare occasion that I wear any at all). Purses? Meh. But tote bags? I can’t resist them.

(9) Mr. Andi and I met at a job interview.

We were vying for the same entry-level engineering position with Alabama Power Company. We were both hired, but in different locations. His starting salary in 1995 was higher than mine, but when we both quit the company in 2003, mine was higher.

(10) Have you ever seen an electric lineman climb a pole? I know how to do that (go here if you aren’t sure what I mean).

All entry-level electric distribution engineers for Alabama Power Company were required to attend pole climbing school during the first year of employment. We have photos somewhere of me building a distribution line in training. Pole climbing wasn’t particularly handy when I moved from engineering into commercial marketing and then wholesale energy trading. It may, however, come in handy as Nathan gets older and braver.

(11) I’m not a cradle Catholic; I converted as an adult.

No one else in my family is Catholic, or even Catholic-Lite (i.e., Episcopalian), including Mr. Andi. I came into the church after years of seeking and study, and I’ll leave it at that for this post. Email me if you want to know more. 🙂

Who I tag

I thought long and hard about who I should tag – special needs bloggers? fitness bloggers? Down syndrome bloggers specifically? But then I decided to tag the people I wanted to learn more about, regardless of their subject matter. Without further ado, here’s my list:

K of Where Love and Chaos Reign
Beth of Snaps of Our Life

Sarah, the NapTimeMomTog –
Anna of The Chronicles of Ellie Bellie Bear
Hailey’s mom of The Hailey Herald
Shasta of Outrageous Fortune
Starrlife of Life Decanted
Sarah of Stand Tall Through Everything
Gretchen of Julian’s Journey

Katie of K80K.com
Joan of Who Am I?