Twenty things

Here are twenty things you might not know about me. (Sorry if any overlap the first 100+ I wrote earlier, but who has time to double check that kind of stuff?)

1. I have a nervous quality about pleasing people.
2. In jr high I thought about changing my first name by either shortening it to a nickname, or going by my middle name. The ironic thing is now my brother-in-law calls me by the funny little nickname I was going to create for myself! (thank heaven it hasnt caught on with the rest of the family.)
3. Like the story about the pen, I save the most ridiculous things in case they might be useful later on, like all the twisty-ties that come on bread or other bags, or magazines (large numbers of them), or socks that have no partner!
4. Along those same lines, I wont throw away toothpaste, salad dressings, shampoo, ketchup, etc until every last drop is out of that container. I know this is not necessary, but for some reason I must use every ounce of it.
5. I am quite melancholy, although on the outside most people (other than family) probably see me as outgoing and assume I am happy.
6. It is easy for me to be an aquaintance but difficult for me to make true friends.
7. I have a lot of fears...they probably keep me from accomplishing a lot of what I could accomplish without them. (Fear of me or daughter being kidnapped (and everything that goes along with it) fear of getting sick, fear of traveling with the baby, fear of abandonment, fear of flying, fear of exercise (just kidding.)
8. I am quite stingy with money (although I dont mind hitting the thrift store every now and then.) I think this comes from not having much money to be loose with! It's pretty easy to be stingy when there isnt much to spend!
9. I have trust issues in all shapes and sizes.
10. I think actors and singers get too many awards for the jobs they do. Is it me or are they creating more award events each year. Pretty soon they will have an awards show for all the entertainers who got the most awards that year to see who deserves the "most awards" award.
11. I think most people would describe me as conservative in an all inclusive sort of way (clothes, hair, to bed early, fear of staying out late (ha!) speech, morals. What's funny is that I know it's true, but because I am also so quirky about things I see myself as outside the realm of normal (what I consider conservative.)
12. This year I have learned that "this is life." When things go haywire and get out of control I usually freak and ask "why me, why now?" But this past year I finally got it. This is the rollercoaster of life. Enjoy the calm, easy times, and realize in the midst of the storm that the pleasant times will come again.
13. I hate putting on freshly washed jeans.
14. I have always wanted to be fluent in Spanish.
15. I now realize what parents and other "older" people meant when they told me to enjoy my youth. Sometimes I wish I could go back to those days of stress equaling not being invited to a slumber party or paying for things meant deciding which 10cent candies you had to decide between.
16. Ive begun to get gray hairs....this is quite interesting considering both of my parents started going gray in their mid-thirties.
17. I try to be very thankful for all I have. My husband is a gift from God, and so is my daughter. I have family I love, a warm place to sleep at night, food to eat, and clothes to wear. I have chairs to sit on, a car to get me where I need to go. Is there really much else we need to have?
18. I love summer. Not hot-hot summer, but the nice weather, being outdoors, eating outside, feeling warm.
19. There's a lot I need to work on. I am very aware that there are things in my life that continually need to be evaluated and taken to God. After all, that is what this life is, preparation for heaven. We are given these lives to get right, to know God and become what we were created to be. That makes the highs and lows more of a training ground than a whirlwind.
20. I want to be a better person. I want to be more patient and kind, more joyful and loving. Less stressed and frustrated. I want to be at peace, to be gentle, faithful and good. Self-controlled. these are the fruit of the Spirit and they are what I hope to be.