25 Things About Me (Jamie)

1.) I never read any e-mail forwards, no matter who they are from, no matter what they are titled. I hit delete. Also, I have over 8000 e-mails in my account, because I almost never delete any other type of e-mail. I have over 3000 unread e-mails (mostly junk mail, I hope...)
2.) I remember every mean thing you have ever said or done to me (something I probably should work on, right?)
3.) I have a phobia of opening the toilet lid and finding something horrible in there. (NO, not poop. Something REALLY bad, like a severed head.) I think this is probably to do with the time I was young and there was this huge frog in our toilet.
4.) Since I was a teen, I have suffered from/struggled with varying degrees of something called trichotelemania. This is where I have an insatiable urge to pull my own hair out. I know it is really bizarre. For some reason, it is a great source of calm to me. Thank goodness I started out with tons of hair. It is much sparser than it used to be, but I still have plenty.
5.) I have fibromyalgia. I have pretty much stopped talking about it to most everyone, because I am just miserable from one thing or another and have been for at least 2 years now. Also, I have gotten the sense from many people that they think fibro is an imaginary ailment, or that I just want to be sick. Certain people were sympathetic at first but now express impatience with me. Like obviously I should just be over this by now. I have a lot of migraines, and a lot of problems with numbness in my face, hands and feet. I have lots of visual disturbances and lots of whooshing noises in my ears that drive me crazy. Some days lifting my arms up to put my hair up is too exhausting. I hate this about myself. I hate that I don't feel well most of the time. I hate, hate, hate this. I don't want it.
6.) I am fiercely loyal and devoted to my husband. I never flirt. I don't even know how. If it appears that I am flirting, I am not doing it on purpose. I never look at others. I don't always understand this, since I was never exactly a devoted girlfriend before I met him. But I am so utterly his that I don't even consider that other men ever look at me, or that I would ever look at them.
7.) I love my current job so much that I would probably do it for free (if this were practical..).
8.) I am turning 30 this summer, and I feel like I should be older. I guess it is because I'll have a 6 year old, a 4 year old, will have been married for 8 and a half years, etc. I am not as far along with my career and/or educational goals as I thought I would be by my 30th, but I feel very content with who I am and where I am.
9.) I never let my kids play outside by themselves. Not even in the fenced backyard. I just think it seems way too dangerous for them to be out of sight.
10.) My favorite part of the day is when I get in bed with Jon and Anna (they share a queen size bed) and we read lots of books. Then they turn the light out, and I sing them to sleep. I think the reading and the singing calms me down just as much as it does them.
11.) I have an uncanny sense of discernment about people. Within minutes of meeting them, I can tell you quite a bit. I don't think I am psychic or anything, just blessed with an odd sense of knowing before really knowing.
12.) I have a tendency to be content, almost to the point of complacency. Like our living room furniture, for example. It is really, really worn-out, but I just don't yearn for any replacements. I feel like it is good enough. Every once in a while, I think, Oh, I would like some new furniture for in here, but then it just passes away. I feel like most everything about my life is just good enough. I am satisfied with my car that we purchased when Jonathan was a baby, and I hope to keep driving it as long as I can. The bedding that my Mom got me 3 years ago for my birthday? LOVE it. Have no desire to replace it. I just don't care about most stuff. It is very freeing not to want lots of stuff.
13.) But don't get me wrong! I can be materialistic. I yearn for 20 dollar tubes of Lancome mascara, and I get envious of other girls' purses, shoes, etc. I am very snobby and particular about my coffee habit. I "need" a pedicure every few months. I can be a princess about some things.
14.) When we move, I want to decorate our entire home in blue, yellow and white. Sort of a cheerful, beachy-cottage look. I love blue and yellow together very much. It is sunny and calm at the same time.
15.) I have an aversion to pennies. I have actually refused to accept them as change before, and more than once have thrown them away. They just unsettle me in a way I can't explain.
16.) An entire English degree, and I still can't tell you whether it is who/whom or me/I.
17.) I am terrified of bees/wasps. I have never been stung, and I think I have built it up to worse than it really is.
18.) I hate driving at night and/or in the rain.
19.) I want to own 2 Cavelier King Charles Spaniels when the kids go away to college. I hope Dave will go along with this dream of mine. I've always wanted these type of dogs.
20.) I buy wine based on the label. If it is cute, pretty, or clever, then I think it must be good.
21.) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are my all-time favorite candy. All the other candy in the world could go away, and as long as peanut butter cups are still around, then I will be okay.
22.) I've always wanted to be thinner or smaller, no matter what weight I've been at.
23.) I am terrible at wrapping gifts, and I really, really don't like to do it.
24.) I am very, very nearsighted. I sleep with my glasses on most of the time because it scares me to wake up and not be able to see.
25.) I don't have much of a sense of direction. It's a good thing I married Dave.