Here are my 100 Things. Knock yourself out.
1. I found the name Chilihead when my husband and I stopped at Chili’s for lunch one day. They had a spice on the table named Chilihead and it was the exact color of my hair. My husband used that as my nickname for a while.
2. I use the screen name Chilihead because of the thing above and because I have red hair.
3. A few people used to call me Chili in high school because of my hair, but it didn’t stick.
4. I had to use Chilihead2 on Blogger because Chilihead was already taken.
5. But I am second to no one!
6. I am 35 and I still get carded. Woot!
7. My husband is 40-ish. He doesn’t get carded and hasn’t for a while. Frankly, I’m not sure he ever got carded.
8. My kids are Max, 8 and Wild Thing, 6.
9. My daughter wants us to dress alike.
10. I secretly want us to too.
11. I have a younger brother who is my “Irish Twin”—which means we’re about a year apart. He’s a Marine and I’m pretty close to him.
12. I wish my brother and his family lived closer so I could be a bigger part of my nephew’s life.
13. I used to want to try extreme things (parachuting, bungee jumping, etc.), but since I had kids that desire has completely left me. The most extreme things I do are roller coasters.
14. I don’t like golf, but my husband loves it. I think my kids should learn to play it too.
15. I want another baby and sometimes it breaks my heart that we’re done. Other times I’m OK with it because I have more free time. And I’m not sure we could swing tuition for three kids (private school nor college).
16. My husband loves me so much I can’t believe it. He is truly devoted to me.
17. I have a BA in English with an emphasis on Technical Writing. When I found out about technical writing I was in heaven! It was right up my OCD alley.
18. I have an MA in Technical Writing.
19. While I was in college I had one of the best mentors in the world. I still think of him when I write and consider how he would react to certain things and change them accordingly. He had quite an influence on me. I still send him Christmas cards.
20. When/if I go back to work, I don’t want to be a technical writer. It’s too boring.
21. I love to teach short training classes. I like meeting the new “students” of each weekly session. I’ve taught classes on how to make web pages and how to make video games. I’m thinking about putting together a class on blogging.
22. I’ve taught technical writing to college students. It was OK, but I hated grading the papers.
23. I was captain of the swim team in high school, but I was on the diving team. I sucked at diving and swimming.
24. I am currently in the process of trying to lose 10 lbs—and have been for the last five years.
25. I love the idea of working out, but I hate the activity.
26. If left to my own devices, I will squander away a perfectly good day.
27. I prefer to be inside instead of outside. Preferably reading a book, working on my computer, or watching a movie.
28. But I like to dine outside if it’s warm and there are no bugs.
29. I hate doing my hair. I wouldn’t mind shaving my head, but I fear it’s a deal-breaker for my husband.
30. I love to go out dancing. Ever since I was a kid I've wanted to learn how to swing dance. My husband won't take lessons with me and I won't dance with anyone but him. I think we're at an impasse.
31. I’ll take funny over handsome any day. Even though my husband is handsome, it’s his humor that first struck me and cinched the first date.
32. I’m a night owl and I hate mornings.
33. I have my own drummer and he’s caused quite a few problems throughout my life. Everything seems to work out, though. I’m beginning to get the rhythm of his beat.
34. I have been told that I’m scary and intimidating. Apparently my face in repose can drop you from across the room. Sometimes I’m very, uh, firm about things and I don’t really take into consideration how it is reflecting to others.
35. Those who know me know that’s not my real personality.
36. I don’t have a poker face. If I think something is great, you’ll know. Likewise, if I think it’s totally stupid, I can’t really hide it.
37. I am a lucid dreamer. I had to figure out a way to control my dreams because I have unbelievably scary nightmares. I remember my dreams every morning.
38. I’m kinda shallow and I’m trying to work on that.
39. I can’t think quickly on my feet. It’s very annoying, especially when having an argument or trying to debate a topic. I have to mull everything over and think about how I’d like to respond.
40. I dated a lot of boys I should not have dated, but I always knew I’d marry a man like my husband. I just wish everyone around me would have had the same faith in me.
41. I am the most loyal friend you will ever have.
42. Until you betray me. Then you are dead (figuratively, of course).
43. I love to plan things.
44. Once the planning is over, I’m pretty much done. Whatever I’m planning doesn’t actually have to happen.
45. If I practice, practice, practice and know I can achieve a goal, I allow myself to quit before I get to the goal because I already know I can achieve it. I don’t have to physically do it.
46. I am an introvert.
47. I was a late bloomer.
48. I worry too much about what people think of me.
49. For a long time, I thought my beauty had to be on the outside. I’m getting past that thanks to my friends and my family.
50. I say the wrong thing at the wrong time every time.
51. I can laugh at myself.
52. I have been diagnosed as having “major depression” and have taken medication since my mid-twenties.
53. I wish I’d had the meds earlier. I think it would have made a big difference in my high school and college years and the relationships I had (male and female) and my self-esteem.
54. I have a short temper. I really hate to offend, but I don’t suffer fools gladly.
55. I’m a Libertarian and I hate to be told what to do.
56. I love to read. A few of my favorite books are East of Eden, LOTR trilogy, Devil in the White City, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Interpreter of Maladies.
57. I love to watch movies. Movies I can (and do) watch over and over: The Thin Man series, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, LOTR trilogy, and Princess Bride. I also love anything sort of thrilling and mind-boggling movie like Memento, Mulholland Drive, The Butterfly Effect, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
58. I love. To. Shop.
59. I like hip/hop music.
60. I also like The Killers, 10,000 Maniacs, Harry Connick, Jr., Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin. I’m a sucker for anything 80s as well.
61. I don’t like to paint, but I do it anyway.
62. I am disgusted with what passes for “celebrity” these days.
63. I used to love Tom Cruise’s winning smile; now I truly think he’s a nutcase. I called him Freaky McFreak in my December 2005 post and I stand by that moniker.
64. I really can’t stand to be around negative people. They suck the life out of me because I want to do everything in my power to fix their problems. The bottom line is that they have to make the choice to help themselves. It’s taken a long time for me to realize that.
65. I dislike video games.
66. I have an aversion to crowds. I used to love crowds but having kids changed me.
67. I love wine.
68. I hate martinis.
69. I love dark beer.
70. I love bread pudding.
71. The best friends I have ever had are the ones I have now. You know who you are.
72. I love to spend the entire day with my friends and their kids. My perfect day is having everyone at one house and talking, eating lunch, and laughing while the kids run around and play.
73. I can see my son struggling with many of the feelings I had as a kid and I worry for him.
74. I grew up in a smaller town than the one I live in now. We had one high school and I graduated with about 400 people. My kids will graduate with double that. I’m scared of the bigger schools they will attend in a few years. It actually keeps me up at night.
75. If I have to go back to work next year (when the kids are in school full time), I want to work for tuition, not more “stuff”. In other words, I want to send the kids to a small private school.
76. Alzheimer’s runs in my family and I’m scared of it. I do sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, and anything else I can to keep my mind occupied in a futile effort to ward off dementia as long as possible.
77. I am afraid of spiders. Like, wicked afraid.
78. I don’t want to move, but I want to travel constantly.
79. I prefer beaches over snow-capped mountains.
80. Even at a beach, though, I’d like to be in an air-conditioned cabana with the door open.
81. I want to see all the touristy sites of the US with my kids (e.g., Mt. Rushmore, St. Louis arch, Grand Canyon, Old Faithful, Redwood forest, etc.).
82. I really, really, really want to spend a summer in Europe with my family.
83. I want to go on safari in Africa.
84. I want to visit Australia.
85. I love it when we go on vacation with other people in addition to our own family.
86. I want to visit NYC with my friends.
87. I know a boatload of information on Disney World and how to plan your vacation.
88. Before I went to DW, I thought it was for goobersmacks and dorks.
89. When I went to Disney World, I fell in LOVE with it. If I could live there, I would. I am a goobersmack and a dork.
90. I can’t sing or draw. They are both things I’d love to be able to do well.
91. I have always wanted to be an astronaut.
92. I want to make a difference in someone’s life.
93. I would like to learn to play the guitar.
94. I’d like to write a book.
95. I secretly would love to be a stand up comic. I love it when people laugh. Even if they’re laughing at me. Let’s face it, when you’re a goobersmack and a dork, it’s bound to happen.
96. My favorite month is October because it’s Indian Summer in Oklahoma and Halloween isn’t far off.
97. My favorite holiday is Halloween. I go all out and plan it bigger every year.
98. I collect vintage Halloween decorations, posters, and ads.
99. I have never enjoyed Easter.
100. I love summer and sitting by the pool. I take the kids almost every day in the summer.
