10 Things, v2

Despite my best evasive efforts, I was "tagged" on Facebook to present 10 interesting things about myself. I have already written a previous post with 10 interesting things about myself, which can be viewed here, and I'm intending to provide 10 different points of interest in this post. So, that gives you the option of learning 20 things about me should you so choose. Here goes:

1) I was home schooled for all of grades k-12 (and pre-K too I guess). I attended New River Community College for three semesters and then transferred to Virginia Tech, from which I graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2004 with a BS in Wildlife Sciences. Thank you Mama for the stellar education!! I intend to continue the tradition with Eden.

2) I am the middle of five children, all of whom I shared a room with from the time I was 10 years old until I left for college (VT) at the age of 21. Actually, since my little brother was born when I was 12, I guess I only shared a room with 3 siblings for the first two years I mentioned.

3) I was bitten by the travel bug while in college and hopped my first ever commercial airplane flight (My uncle is a pilot and had taken me for a flight in a Piper Saratoga) to South Africa for a semester-long exchange program at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Emboldened by this experience, I later traveled to India for a friend's wedding and sailed around the Caribbean for two months with Joe and his uncle on a 100-ft sailboat. The travel bug is currently in remission, but I feel it will flare-up again in the future.

4) I married the second person I ever dated and the only guy I ever called my boyfriend. The first guy I dated refused to ever "define the relationship" and seemed allergic to the term "boyfriend", a situation that just wasn't workin' for me.

5) I've worked the same quirky but ideal job as a personal farmer/girl Friday for 9 1/2 years now, starting immediately after graduating college. At what point does a job become a career?

6) I've hiked into and out of the Grand Canyon twice, courtesy of my quirky, ideal boss of 9 1/2 years.

The above six points are all what Joe called "historical facts". Without telling him what it was for, I asked him to name some interesting things about me. Here are the four things he threw out there, in his own words.

7) "You have serious beading skills."

8) "You have a level of integrity far above the standard in our culture."*

9) "You pee in a bucket."**

10) "Your weed-eating is interesting."***

*Awww! I can definitely say the same about him. One particular example of my integrity that he still recounts with amazement is that once we were at a major, big-box home improvement store purchasing a large amount of building supplies. When they rang us up and announced the total, I pointed out they'd undercharged us by $500.00 on some plywood, which they corrected and we paid. Therefore, it is with a red-face that I admit I said nothing when a woman at a yard-sale miscalculated what I owed her by $1.00, in my favor. Obviously my integrity can be inconsistent and has poor money-management skills.

**I'm not running to the outhouse in the middle of a cold, dark night just to pee!

***This was on his mind because I had just finished weed-eating the garden, and what he meant to say was that I am a good weed-eater, which is true. I take pride in my weed-eating skills.