I've Been Tagged!

Thanks to my awesome friend Jen W, I have been tagged.  How cool is that?  I think everyone knows the rules:  share three joys, three fears, three goals, three obsessions/collections and three random surprising facts.

Joys

1.  I know this is pretty obvious but I love to cook.  I love trying new recipes and spending all afternoon in the kitchen creating new dishes.  I have way too many cookbooks, cooking magazines, and internet recipes.  The best part about cooking is sharing with all my family and friends.  

2.  I love my car!  I've driven ratty old cars all my life and last summer I bought a 2005 Lexus ES330.  It is so comfortable and quiet and drives so smoothly.  Every day I get in my car and I just love it.

3.  I really love Paris, it is seriously my favorite place to be on earth.  I love walking the streets and following the Seine, discovering Medieval churches around the corner,  sitting at a cafe drinking hot chocolate and people watching, traveling the metro, wandering through my favorites museums.  I connect with that place on such a deep level.  Starting in a few weeks, Delta will be offering nonstop flights to Paris.  Something tells me I won't be able to resist that for long!

Fears

1.  Deep water freaks me out.  I get so uncomfortable in oceans and lakes.  It's not that I won't go, but the whole time my anxiety level is pretty heightened.

2.  I am afraid of running into snakes while hiking.  I'm constantly scanning the trail ahead to make sure I don't get a surprise ( like last summer, not so good!).

3.  I generally sleep with my back to the wall, that way I'll see the boogy man if he comes after me.  If my lights are turned off I have to jump into bed.

Goals

1.  Read the biographies of all of our U.S. presidents and founding fathers.  So far I've read Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Truman, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR and JFK.  I have a lot more to go, I'm sure I can learn something about Millard Fillmore!

2.  To truly call myself a photographer.  I have taken a photography class but I still have a lot to learn about F stops and aperture.  

3.  Whether its running or walking I want to finish a marathon.

Obsessions/Collections

1.  Big surprise, I am totally obsessed with traveling.  I think about it more often than I care to admit and there are just way too many places to explore.  If I won a million dollars I would first, of course, spread the love a little and then I would head out for a yearlong walkabout, I would go everywhere! (ok, maybe two years would be better).

2.  I am obsessed with lotion, I hate dry skin.  When I see scaly elbows, hands, knees or heels on people it totally grosses me out.  I'm pretty much ocd about making sure my skin is all lotioned up and soft.

3.  I have a huge pottery collection.  Everywhere I go, I love to buy the local pottery, my family still makes fun of me for buying a $300 bowl in Florence when I was 19.

Random Surprising Facts

1.  I love the rain, in fact, I could totally be comfortable with living in the Northwest.  When I'm talking with someone who is complaining about the weather, I'm like "yeah, this totally sucks", but inside I love it!  This is also not good for me to admit considering my profession,  rain is not appreciated in the construction industry.

2.  I am totally OCD about my grocery cart.  I arrange my groceries so that everything is separated by produce, canned goods, dairy, meats, frozen items, etc.  Then when I'm checking out I have to keep it all together.  It drives my mom crazy.

3.  I like to read the obituaries.  It's interesting to me to see how old people are, what they died of, what their life was like.  

4.  I'm a list maker.  Whenever I get stressed out, I make a list of everything that is on my mind, any task I have to do, things I want to accomplish.  

So that's it, I tag Moo and Jen Spencer!