Did You Know. . .

25 Random Things

This is going around on Facebook, and I did it there, and then got to thinking it would be fun to post it here for the rest of you. :-) So. . .here are 25 random things about me. And if you have a blog and are reading this post, consider yourself tagged to do it yourself. :-) (Trust me, it's fun!)

1. I have quite the collection of colored Sharpies -- I use them a lot at work, but also for school and at home.

2. When I was really young my mom used to tell me "Magnet Stories" about a dog named Magnet and his friend, a cat named Toby. When I was 8, or so, I hand-wrote (and illustrated!) three short books about Magnet, Toby and their friends.

3. I don't care if they look silly -- I love my Crocs and wear them at work all the time. They are SOOOO comfy! :-)

4. I took piano lessons for about 7 years, but never got as good as I now wish I could be. I didn't like practicing. :-)

5. I started playing clarinet in 6th grade, and not only took lessons but I also played in a small homeschool band, and later our homeschool group's jazz band, with the coolest teacher -- she directs the circus band for Circus Flora in St. Louis -- when we went to St. Louis to visit my grandmother after I finished 9th grade, we got to see her conduct the circus band, and we even got to go backstage and meet the animals afterwards!

6. I also played 1st Clarinet in the Coeur d'Alene Youth Orchestra for my junior and senior years in high school. That was an experience, let me tell you (both good and bad)! :-) (the coolest part was when we played Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" -- which is really long (I think about 14 minutes?) with narration about Lincoln's life -- and Patty Duke came to be the narrator at our concert!!)

7. My family raised 3 guide dog puppies. Each one was special in her own way. :-) None of them made it as guide dogs, unfortunately, but raising them was so fun, and I would love to do it again!

8. I was born and raised in southern California, and wish we had In-N-Out Burger and Trader Joe's here in Idaho, because I miss them! I also miss Thrifty ice cream from Rite Aid.

9. Moving to Idaho was the hardest thing I've ever had to do -- but it has been good.

10. I started Awana when I was 3 years old, as a Cubbie. I earned my Citation Award in 12th grade (the highest Awana award) and was a leader and Bible Quiz coach for a few years after that. I hope to get involved with Awana again, once I'm done with school.

11. I am terrified of spiders, bugs and other things that crawl. I also hate reptiles. But I love butterflies and ladybugs!

12. I have taken two cross-country trips on Amtrak with my mom and brother. We went from LA - St. Louis (and back) after 9th grade, and LA - New Orleans (and back) after 10th grade. They were fun trips, but long travel!

13. One of my favorite childhood homeschool memories is the "hot cocoa breaks" we used to take -- we would make hot cocoa, and curl up on the couch where my mom would read books aloud to us. We read so many classics, but the one I remember reading the most is "Where the Red Fern Grows."

14. I have always loved to read. The librarians at the Thousand Oaks library knew us well, and when we went to the library to check out "5 books, no more" we often ended up with a 2-foot stack of books -- and we read most of them!

15. I read every single Boxcar Children book I could get my hands on when I was younger. Same with American Girl books, and Little House on the Prairie.

16. My friends and I would often play Little House on the Prairie. However, even though my name is Laura, I often had to play Mary because my hair is blonde.

17. I went sledding for the first time last winter, and loved it. I also jumped in a pile of leaves for the first time last fall and loved that, too. However, I am not brave enough to try skiing.

18. I love all things "snowman" and have a small snowman collection that I add to as I find cute things. My mini Christmas tree gets decorated with mini blue and white balls and a whole bunch of little snowman ornaments.

19. I got to go to the California State Science Fair twice for my projects on soapmaking. I didn't place, and it really is a miracle I made it that far! But it was SO much fun (and I am not good at science!).

20. The first movie I saw in theaters was 101 Dalmations. I got scared in the middle, so we left half-way through. I have never seen the rest of the movie.

21. I saw Black Beauty in theaters when I was 7 (1994), and that was the last movie I saw in a theater until I saw an IMAX movie on the International Space Station when I was 15. And the next movie I saw in a "real" theater (non-IMAX) was The Incredibles when the Riverstone Regal opened in 2005 and was showing movies for $1. Of course, I've seen lots of movies in theaters since then! :-)

22. I love Pirates of the Caribbean. I wasn't sure if I would when I was going to watch it for the first time, but I loved it, and I really want to go to Disneyland just to ride the ride again. :-)

23. I am graduating from college with my B.S. in Communication Arts in May!!!!!! I can hardly wait.

24. I have several ancestors who are Revolutionary War patriots, and one of them even had a novel written about him after the war. The novel used to be commonly used in history classes at colleges across the country.

25. I love taking pictures and have my camera with me pretty much all the time. Someday I think it would be cool to mix my communication degree with my photography hobby. We'll see!