Ten Things Most People Don't Know About Me

This was a tough Ten on Tuesday because I'm pretty much an open book and there's not just a LOT of stuff that people don't know about me...and the few things that there ARE are things I don't really WANT people to know!! LOL!! But, I decided to give it a try! Maybe there are some things on here that SOME people will know and some won't...perhaps you'll be surprised!

1. I'm an orphan---seriously. My mother died when I was 10 and my father died when I was 16. So, I was a literal "I-don't-have-anywhere-to-go" orphan! Luckily, I had grandparents and such, so I didn't have to go to foster care at 16, but it sure sucked, all the same!!

2. I used to be fat---when I was in high school people would "moo" at me when I was standing at my locker! I can't remember how tall I was, but I'd be willing to say somewhere in the neighborhood of 5'7" and weighed, easily, 185 pounds, most of which was in my butt...and wore a size 16. Kids are cruel! Which brings me to my next one......

3. I have an eating disorder---while this is not directly related to #2, because it's not a body image issue, I still look a lot better NOW than I did in 1996. This is convenient because I was a 1997 graduate, therefore, my reunion is coming up in August! My eating disorder, though, is caused by emetophobia, which is the fear of throwing up. I ate something once that made me feel sick to my stomach and ever since then (2004) I've been AFRAID to eat! Crazy, huh?

4. I'm a "germ-phobe"---and I have this "OCD" thing about washing my hands. It carries over into everything else as soon as someone who is sick comes in my house...I'm following them around with a can of Lysol in one hand and a disinfecting wipe in the other!! I do my best (usually a moot point as I have no power) to keep sick people away from me and my daughter...assuming that I know ahead of time that they're sick.

5. I was in a rock band---people who knew me in college would know this because they saw it. It was a college sponsored band and I was a singer.

6. Had I been born a boy, I would have been named Richard Carl---Richard after my mother's father and Carl after my father and my father's father. They would have called me Richie. All I can say is, thank God for my "girly part"!

7. My daughter was 2 days old before she GOT a name--she was Mariana Katherine until I was about 8 months pregnant and my grandpa offered to leave money to pay for her college if I named her after my grandma. So, we had roughly a month to come up with something that would go with Frances. So, after 2 days and many eliminated choices, she became Alyssa Frances.

8. I hoard craft supplies---and not JUST the stuff I can buy on clearance at Michael's and Hobby Lobby. I save junk that "could be used" to make something else. Stuff like baby food jars and pine cones and old CDs. I'll use them "one day".

9. I'm petrified of spiders, cockroaches, mice, rats, dogs, heights, water over my head, lightning, tornadoes, driving over bridges, driving over railroad tracks, and eating while I'm by myself (I've always been afraid I'd choke to death while no one was around).

10. I can't sleep without chapstick and a ceiling fan---I've tried...can't be done!