25 Random Things About Me

(This was on Facebook, but I decided to add it here, too)

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1 - I was born in a raging dust storm in Colorado. Dust was so thick that my mother or father (don't remember which) wrote my name in the dust on the hospital window sill. The nuns in the Catholic hospital were upset that my parents named me a non-Christian name and wanted them to change 'Cindie' to Cynthia. I am so glad they didn't.

2 - While in high school in Colorado Springs, I read a very large part of the fiction section of the school library. I still remember details from books I read on climbing K2 and Everest. I still prefer fiction. I read a wide variety, sci-fi, mystery, romance, historical fiction, fantasy. You can go so many places and do so many things in a book and never leave home.

3 - My favorite place in the world (so far) is the Navajo Nation. I would love to explore it in depth.

4 - I am afraid of heights yet drawn to canyons. I'm terrified at the Grand Canyon but always want to go there when we are in Arizona. I am also afraid (for lack of a better word) of the Pacific Ocean, yet whenever we are on the west coast, I ask Mel for at least one day when I can sit on the beach, walk in the surf or stand and feel the spray from the violent waves hit my face. Canyons and the Pacific are so immense and I am so small. I love that feeling, even though it scares me.

5 - I can stand for hours at a time at -50 degrees if I can watch the Northern Lights. Ditto watching meteor showers.

6 - I enjoy walking country roads at night, in the dark or in the moonlight. Can't do that where I live now. I like the dark, but I like the light better.

7 - I am a very visual person, love looking at photos and pictures, but am not a big fan of paintings and especially do not like "modern art."

8 - I have a hard time remembering the names of Classical music pieces, but when Mel puts on a movie in the other room, I can usually identify it by name within the first 10 seconds of the soundtrack.

9 - I played the violin for 8 years in schools and disliked it the whole time. Of course I was next to last chair and pretended to play for many of the concerts because I was usually lost. Why did I keep taking the class? I have no idea now. I got sick to my stomach before every performance.

10 - I like to write, but only when the mood is upon me.

11 - I have more than 25 projects started and in various stages of uncompletedness (is that a word?) - knitting, needlepoint, embroidery, sewing, etc. This fact drives my mother crazy, but is normal for me. I would rather work on a project than finish it.

12 - I like learning about handwriting analysis, personality profiles, how to increase your IQ. I'm not very good at Soduko, but I'm trying to get better.

13 - I like taking tests on the internet.

14 - Where I live is more important to me than how I live. I've lived in a one-room cabin in Alaska w/o running water or inside toilet and enjoyed that lifestyle because my surroundings were beautiful. Living in Ukraine has been difficult because my surroundings are not beautiful. The saving grace of Ukraine is living in another culture (culture shock and all). I have had to surround myself here with beautiful photos of natural places, lots of live houseplants and living creatures (fish and cat - the ants in our flat don't count) to keep depression at bay in the winter.

15 - I've been to 38 United States, 3 Canadian provinces and 14 other countries, plus in the airports of 3 more.

16 - I like working with mail. Writing it, reading it, preparing the envelopes, sending it. I worked in and/or supervised a mailroom for 6 years. I have a large collection of postcards, some of which I may actually send to someone someday. I used to collect pretty or unusual stationery.

17 - I read a lot. My husband reads a lot. All 3 of my children read a lot. I am thankful for this fact. I pray that my grandson learns to love to read.

18 - I would love to be on a real Starship Enterprise and explore the universe. Since that is impossible, I explore the universe via internet and reading about it. There is so much we do not know, so much still to learn.

19 - I enjoy watching people and trying to figure out what makes them tick.

20 - I never graduated from college and rarely regret it. I would, however, like to go back and take specific classes. I really enjoyed Anatomy and Physiology in High School but now it would be a toss up between Ancient History, Biology of some sort and Astronomy of some sort. Or maybe Geology, that is very interesting, too. I need to get 4 PhD's, I guess. How do people ever decide that ONE thing is what they want to spend their life in????

21 - My favorite books of the Bible are Isaiah and Ephesians.

22 - I look forward to heaven more and more every year.

23 - I dislike vacuuming because it is so noisy. I love silence - no music, no kids yelling, no dogs barking, no cars/buses going by, just the sound of the wind in the trees and grasses. Vacuuming is jarring to the soul, wind in the trees and grasses is calming.

24 - I enjoy wild weather. Blizzards, thunderstorms (my favorite!), and windstorms, but I do not enjoy hot days. Of course I enjoy wild weather from a safe place. On the other hand, the idea of being a tornado chaser is very appealing to me. I would enjoy doing that a lot.

25 - If I had it to do all over again, I would marry my husband again, without question! I love him dearly. He is the greatest gift God has given me, other than salvation. He keeps me on my toes intellectually and spiritually. I am thankful that all 3 of my children as well as my son-in-law are Born Again Christians. My extended family are almost all Believers. I am very aware that God has been very good to me in this.