JUMPING ONTO THE BANDWAGON!

Got this idea from my friends Angie and Kelly, so we'll see how hard this is!

100 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ME:

1. Only 100?! There's a million things to know about me!
2. I love to tell stories...in great detail
3. My dad hates that, and wishes I could just skip to the point
4. I've moved 24 times in my life
5. The last big move was to Switzerland, where I've been living for 5 1/2 years
6. I speak French fluently
7. I will start Spanish courses in September
8. Looking after other peoples' kids is a blast,
9. But dealing with the parents is a pain (sometimes;) )
10. I have 3 older half brothers, 1 real sister, 2 real brothers, 1 stepsister, and 1 stepbrother!
11. I love big families and I want 4 kids!
12. I started dating a Mexican guy 3 months ago and I am extremely happy with him:)
13. What are the chances that I meet a Mexican in Switzerland and start dating him?!
14. The only people who have come to visit me in Europe are my sister and her husband, and Kim
15. I worked up to 4 jobs while going to grad school
16. And made barely enough to support myself
17. I worked at McDonalds and Starbucks, both with a BA in Psychology!
18. I can't stand the thought of eating at McD's anymore
19. But I LOVE Starbucks more than I thought I ever would
20. I love all kids, but my favorite ages are those under 5 yrs. old
21. They say the funniest things!
22. I love soccer, and have played since I was 8
23. No one here can believe that a girl can play soccer (or football, as they say)
24. I proved them wrong last weekend when I scored 4 goals, out of 10
25. The guys thought I played at least at the semi-professional level
26. And it took me forever to convince them that I am nothing compared to the girls in the States.
27. I love it when people come watch me play
28. I play on 2 softball teams, one slow-pitch and one fast
29. I am taking karate twice a week during my lunch break
30. I run 3 times a week with my friend Nina
31. I am extremely picky with grammar,
32. And can find mistakes in almost anything,
33. Which brings me to Angie's posting....it should be 'I've never eaten'
34. And not 'I've never ate'.....you know you love me!
35. Since I've learned French, I make more mistakes in English
36. And forgot how to say things
37. I dream a lot in French
38. I have an excellent memory
39. What was I doing? Oh yeah!
40. This isn't so hard;)
41. I am closer to my siblings now that I'm living an ocean away
42. I work for a United Nations organization
43. I can't stand office politics
44. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from grad school
45. And will walk the stage on June 3rd, 2007
46. I was born in Newport News, Virginia
47. But lived in Northern VA, near D.C., til I was 14
48. I love the Fall in VA
49. I kicked and screamed all the way down from VA to TX, when we moved
50. I hated country music until I heard 'Don't Take the Girl' by Tim McGraw
51. I will never, ever learn to line dance or do any 'country' dancing!
52. Well, never say never, I guess
53. I am writing this 20 min. before I leave for work!
54. I love bags....have a million of them
55. Once I have an idea in my head, I won't stop til I do it (or buy it!)
56. My dad is my hero
57. He is also a genius!
58. I haven't seen my grandparents in 5 years:(
59. I love technology
60. I prefer doing the dishes to cleaning the bathroom, unlike my roommate
61. I have 2 roommates, both in college here
62. There is no air conditioning over here, and I feel as though I am melting during the summer
63. I miss being able to go to the stores on Sunday
64. Or being able to do my grocery shopping after 6.30 pm
65. My favorite season in Switzerland is the Spring....they spend millions in planting beautiful flowers
66. One of my favorite countries is Scotland
67. I believe in ghosts
68. And don't laugh at me when I say that, or I'll whip out a karate move
69. I have two beautiful nieces...Madyson Layne Butz Wagner and Lucille Concetta Bonacci
70. I have learned a lot from the mothers I have worked for:
71. How to cook and when to pick my battles
72. I have mastered the art of patience when it comes to children:)
73. My next vacation will be to Texas, Mexico, and Brazil
74. I lied...my next vacation will be to Rome in just 3 weeks!
75. My favorite T.V. series right now is 'The Office'
76. Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn are 2 of my favorite actors
77. I always go eat at the same places when I go back to Texas for vacation:
78. Arby's, Sonic, Applebee's, and On the Border....and, of course, Chili's
79. I eat very healthy over here
80. My goal for this summer is to tone up my legs
81. Hence the 69 sports that I am doing (that number was a tribute to Robin from college soccer)
82. I played my freshman year of soccer at University of Denver, and hated every second of it
83. After I transferred to Midwestern, I had a blast playing
84. In my first month of playing at MSU, I broke a teammate's wrist when I took a shot on goal
85. I once drove 2 hours in my pyjamas to buy fudge
86. I also once ate an entire box of Thin Mints before a high school soccer game....barf
87. I am allergic to avocado and, apparently, gambas (big shrimp)
88. I am going to be late for work!
89. I live in one of the nicer areas of Geneva
90. I am obsessed with time, and always have a watch on
91. I wear my watch on my right wrist, and I am right-handed (try saying that 10 times in a row!)
92. I love to laugh!
93. My favorite movies are the slapstick comedies (Spaceballs, Tommy Boy, Ace Ventura, etc)
94. I can quote movies and t.v. shows like you would not believe!
95. I feel that I am a strong woman
96. But I do have a sensitive side, too! Hard for some of you to believe, I know;)
97. I think about God, and what he wants me to do, daily
98. I have learned to be a good public speaker.....which has surprised me more than anyone else!
99. One of my favorite hobbies is photography
100. I am now late for work!

Well, not too bad. For my first time;) Talk to you guys later!

Whatta weekend!

Don't you hate it when it's Sunday night and you have to get up early for another week of work the next day?! Where does the time go?!!! Well, in my case, it was spent hanging out with friends and eating a lot.

On Friday evening, I ate Filipino food for the first time in my life. I have to say....the noodles I ate were some of the best I've ever tasted. The lady who ran this little (tiny!) restaurant was so nice, but a bit funny. When we were leaving, she said, "I'll see you in 5 years!" Uhhh, ok. Anywho, it was still excellent.

On Saturday, I got up to do the normal run around town to try to get all my errands done before everything closes at 6 pm. It's always sooo stressful trying to fight everyone in the stores on Saturdays since everything is closed on Sundays. Fortunately, Alejandro came with me and volunteered to carry stuff so I didn't break my back in the process. Since our bathroom just got repainted, I wanted to make it look newer by buying a new shower curtain and bar. Let me tell you how exciting that was when I tried putting it up myself tonight. I thought, "I can do this...how hard can it be to put a bar up and attach the shower curtain?" Apparently, extremely hard.

Let me just tell you something...if the bar's spring is not working like it should, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT assume that stuffing newspaper into the bigger pole, in order to create resistance, will solve the problem. Also, DO NOT think that the paper will slip back out if you pour olive oil down the pole....you know, to grease it up a bit. And DO NOT ruin a perfectly good hanger by straightening it out (breaking off part of it in the process) to stick it in the pole to jimmy out the newspaper. And finally, DO NOT run bath water into the pole, thinking that maybe the newspaper will dissolve instantly, thus clearing the passage. None of these things will work....not that I tried or anything! Just a few tips if you were ever in the situation I was in....

What I do propose, however, is to look CAREFULLY around the bathtub to see if any small parts have fallen on the ground....say, the round washer-looking piece that creates resistance in the pole. Once you have examined the ground closely enough, you will probably find the part you are swearing they forgot to put in the package somewhere right in front of your nose. This would definitely be the easier solution to the problem!

You're probably thinking,"How stupid could she possibly be to do all of that?! That is why women should not attempt to do things like this." Well....you're right. BUT, since there are no guys living with us, we have to make do without. At least my sweet, thoughtful roommate, Sylvia, took a picture with me in the bathroom holding the bar which was dripping with water and olive oil! Despite all those setbacks, we managed to squeeze the bar onto the wall. It's a bit bent, but it's sturdy....and that's all that matters!

So, apart from my fun-filled, action-packed day putting up the shower curtain, I participated in this year's BBQ kick-off with Rick and company.

It was great to have some of my favorite people together for a little 'chill' time and some good cookin', courtesy of our Master Chef, Rick. I'm definitely ready for more of that! So, in this pic you see Alejandro on the left, then Sylvia, Rick, Nina, and me. Also there, but not in the pic, were Katherine, Mayka, and Karim (and friend). This was one of those 'timer' pictures, and I thought it turned out awesome considering there was no one on the other side of the camera!

Other than that, I went to a friend's birthday party Saturday night. I spent the almost the whole evening talking to Alejandro (who, by the way, is VERY cool to talk to!), as well as arguing with Rick about the definition of 'dork'. Has anybody else, besides Rick, heard that a 'dork' is a whale's penis?!!! I am not even going to continue with this......as I like to say, and Kim can back me up on this, it is cra-zazy!

Well, that was my weekend, not summed up. And I think that my upcoming 4 day weekend will be along the same lines....minus the shower curtain pole incident. So I should be pushing one of these updates out soon. STAY TUNED!

P.S. Notice the original name the Europeans came up with for the Doritos distributed here! Dangit! We are cool!