I've got the fever!

I don't know how else to describe my feelings right now, unless maybe I use the famous Indiana expression, "I'm like a fart in a skillet!!" It might be because the weather is starting to warm up and spring is coming, but something in me has sparked, and I've really got the itch to try new things and do stuff I've always wanted to but never have had the chance......mostly, I guess I'm in the mood to travel. I've made a list of places I'd like to visit in the near future, most are places I've never been, but a couple are repeats. I'm a list maker, and I have a special list I'd like to share later on in the blog.....sorry about the eye strain you may get, but give me a break, people, I haven't blogged in nine days and I'm never at a loss for words.

My Travel Top 10:
1. Costa Rica (we want to visit a friend, Jim, at his water ski resort- (http://www.waterskicostarica.com/)
2. ANYWHERE BEACHY - (I crave sun, warm weather, sand between my toes, and ocean!)
3. Quebec City, Quebec - I need to see more of Canada, and this is one of the most historic sites.
4. Anywhere in Germany - 3 hours in Amsterdam made me want to see more of Europe!
5. San Diego, California - I was there when I was 6 and I still remember the ZOO!
6. Washington, D.C. - Been there twice, but never as an adult, plus it's a photographer's dream
7. Montreal, Quebec - See reason #3
8. Halifax, Nova Scotia - See reason #3
9. Newfoundland and Laborador - See reason #3
10. A trip out west, including Vegas, Denver (my Jessica Baker lives there), the Dakotas, and Arizona....another photographer's dream and Gary keeps talking about the BIG SKY!

Since we can't go anywhere right this second, I'm settling for trying something new this weekend--Gary and I are joining our friends Paul & Robyn and Joe & Tina for some downhill skiing at Snow Valley in Barrie. The rest of the group has skiied (or is it skied?, I don't know) before, but I never have. They're trying to set me up with a beginner course, but I tend to be a girl who operates without instructions and manuals and lessons, but rather trial and error. We'll see. I think I'm going to get there and see what it looks like before I decide whether I'm going to brave it on my own or head for the bunny hill. Wish me luck. Here's the website for Snow Valley, in case you're interested--they even have webcams of the hills! Cool! http://www.skisnowvalley.com/

So another list I have compiled in the past couple of weeks is a list of 25 random things about me. It was a "chain letter" of sorts that was going around Facebook, and I had so much fun reading everyone else's and was tagged enough times that I actually did a list of 50 random things. If you want to read those, get Facebook and be my friend, but I had so much fun that I want to do 25 more (I just don't want my Facebook friends to realize that I am this big of a loser).

25 More Random Things About Me:
1. I am always curious if anyone besides me actually ever reads this blog...ha.
2. When I was growing up, I only ever wanted to be one of three things: A Marine Biologist, a lawyer, and then a teacher. I'm proud to say I actually was a teacher and hopefully will be again.
3. I am a huge internet/technology/pop culture junkie, yet I have no idea what the definition of the word "Twitter" is. I think I'll have to figure that one out.
4. I check iTunes every Tuesday for the free song of the week and make a purchase from the site probably on average once a month. It's the equivalent of my sister's shoe habit.
5. Unless I'm super tired, in order to fall asleep, I have to be laying on my stomach with my head turned to the left and my left leg hiked up and out of the covers.
6. I never thought I'd get into it, but the closer it gets to my sister's wedding day, the more I want to help her plan it. Funny how I never got that into it for my own wedding.
7. I am obsessed with Lawry's Seasoned Salt. I put it on popcorn, eggs, salads, cottage cheese, meat, potatoes, and pretty much anything else that needs a pinch of salt.
8. My bedroom in college was decorated in an I Love Lucy theme. It's my favorite classic TV show....I think I've seen every episode and own quite a few on DVD. I will own the entire series one day, mark my word.
9. Speaking of Classic TV--once, in elementary school, our music teacher had a contest to see who knew the most TV theme songs. She had a CD that had a bunch on there and played them until someone answered. I won, hands down, and she even gave me some really old ones that she thought I would have no clue about. Her mouth hit the floor when I identified the "Barney Miller" theme song, and she stopped challenging me.
10. My favorite kind of pizza is a Pizza Junction Deluxe minus sausage with CANNED mushrooms. I pick the mushrooms off and eat them last because they're my favorite.
11. I have never broken any bones (knock on wood).
12. I have seven nieces and nephews ages 6 and under, and I love to spoil them ALL.
13. If I ever go back to school for my master's degree, I want to specialize in either Library Science or Special Education with a concentration in working with autistic children...I love them.
14. I hope to write a children's or young adult book someday, but I feel like every topic I'd like to write about already has a book written about it. I'll come up with a creative idea one of these days.
15. When I was in high school, I was a basketball referee for a YMCA basketball league for 5-10 year olds. I loved it, it was great to see them learn the game and watch the joy on their faces when they scored their first basket.
16. I was MVP of my high school volleyball team during my senior year....I even had an article written about me in the Fort Wayne paper, which was considered to be a pretty big deal. It's so funny how stuff that was life-altering then is so trivial now. I'm still proud of my accomplishment, though.
17. My family and I hosted a foreign exchange student from Brazil when I was a sophomore in high school. The cool thing was that she was my friend first and it didn't work out with her host family, so she moved in with us! We loved having Gabi and we miss her so much--it's been ten years since we've seen her!
18. I'm really good at remembering people's names. When I was substitute teaching, I used to try to memorize all of my student's names whenever we would line up to go anywhere. Now that I work in a place with about 900 people, it's a bit harder, but I probably can recognize 75% of the people by name, and I've filed enough paperwork that if they give me one of their names, I can usually get the other one. Uncanny, I know.
19. As mentioned above, I really like to travel--problem is, that requires TIME and time off of work, both of which seem to be scarce lately. I have a big list of places I would like to visit.
20. I've been working on our honeymoon "scrapbook" (it's really a digital photo album) since our honeymoon and I'm only to day three and there are already 50 pages! It's a very painstaking process.
21. I really like the idea of having clothes and shoes that are of really good quality, but I'm way too cheap for that to actually happen on most occasions. I don't really like shopping for clothes and have to be with particular people or in a particular mood in order to do so. I just need to be nominated for What Not to Wear so I can spend someone else's 5000 bucks and they can tell me what looks good.
22. Speaking of makeovers, I have a slight phobia about hair dressers due to a very traumatic experience that led to me having a half-butch haircut in seventh grade. I still wanna puke every time I think about it.
23. I love sports--talking about them, watching them, playing them, reading about them--and most importantly, impressing men with my knowledge of them.
24. I don't drink coffee, however, I thoroughly enjoy President's Choice Green Chai tea, Tim Horton's French Vanilla Cappuccinos, and my favorite--a Starbucks Nonfat Chai Tea Latte. YUM.
25. I hope I didn't give you eyestrain...that is, if you're even still reading.

Pictures of the upcoming concerts and hopefully of the ski adventure to come soon!