WARNING: Personal – 40 Things About Me

So many of the group I “hang with” online has been doing this… I believe Nicole Dean got it started (actually, it appears that she was spurred on by a couple of her friends). Regardless, I’ve had so much fun reading them all that I felt it was time to get on board… Yep, there ARE the occasional times that I’m willing to follow the crowd. LOL So, here goes nothing…

1. My favorite ice cream is Pistachio Almond but I’m definitely addicted to the Mango Sherbet I found last year!
2. I’m afraid of heights but have jumped out of an airplane 3 times (to prove I could be afraid and do it anyway). I’ve also taken a ride in a hot air balloon with my son (because I figured if my 81-year-old aunt could do it then so could we!).
3. My son tried to kill me when I was pregnant (with a bit of help from an inept urologist). I weighed less at 9 months pregnant than I did before I got pregnant… I could nearly wrap one hand around my thigh… and my pregnancy made it into the medical journals.
4. My mom, grandma, great-grandma, and step-grandma all died of breast cancer.
5. I believe that DDR has got to be THE best form of exercise I’ve run across yet. My son & I used to do it regularly. I just wish I could fit a machine in my house!
6. I have a motorcycle license and love to ride.
7. I talk to (and for) stuffed animals & pets (my son made me admit to this or he was going to post video).
8. We owned 7 ferrets, 2 sugar gliders, 2 cockatiels, a gerbil & a bunny at one time. We currently have NO pets.
9. When my son’s first gerbil died, I bagged and boxed him, and put him in the freezer till the ground thawed enough to bury him (it was winter in IL).
10. I can say the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish. Why anyone would EVER need to pledge to an AMERICAN flag in SPANISH is beyond me but my 8th grade teacher had us do it every day at the beginning of class, and I was too dumb to think that far ahead.
11. My boyfriend was born in Mexico (and he’s not pledging allegiance in Spanish either!). LOL He asked me when we met if I’d ever dated a Hispanic. I told him where I grew up there WEREN’T any!
12. I’ve been signing since 7th grade when they integrated deaf friends into our school & was originally a Deaf Education Major in College (but a wrist injury put a damper on my being able to sign for a living).
13. I’ve traveled with my son to Bali Indonesia (we rode elephants, danced at the local disco, and visited the temples), the Fiji Islands (we got to snorkel, kayak, & have dinner with a local tribe), Cancun (we relaxed on the beach when I wasn’t on stage), Singapore (the zoo was the best part), Hawaii (the greatest limo guy ever showed us all the local sights… gorgeous!), and Paradise Island Bahamas (3 times at the Atlantis Resort & I actually made it down the shark slide!). My son & I agree that the Bahamas is our favorite!
14. I got a tattoo in 2007… a custom design for my Mom with her birth & death years.  I swore I’d never get a tattoo in my lifetime, but when my mom died, she chose to be cremated and have her ashes spread. And because we never buried the urn either, there was nothing on earth, not even so much as a headstone, to mark that she was ever here so I decided to keep her with me.
15. I took 8 years of Spanish between High School and College but with no one to practice with, I forgot a lot of it… until I met my honey.
16. I have one kidney. One was a hollow shell when I was born but they didn’t know until I was 5. I started getting sick so they removed it. My one is the size of my liver so it compensates well.
17. I smoked… more off than on… from high school till about 2001. I found that I smoked more when I was with friends who smoked. But even when I smoked, I thought it was a gross habit so I was a closet smoker.
18. I tried weed in 8th grade (It was part of the high school at the time). Then I walked into my math class before the bell rang, couldn’t figure out why someone was sitting in my desk, & listened to everyone chanting “stoner” on my way out… that’s when I decided I’d stick to alcohol.
19. I served jury duty once for a day.
20. I was a Pom Pon girl during my Junior and Senior years of High School.
21. I was a full-sized Winnie the Pooh character at our July 4th “Lincolnfest” weekend one year. Those costumes are HOT!
22. My son and I moved 9 times in 3.5 years to 4 different states. Since moving to Arizona in 1998, we’ve moved 5 times.
23. I’ve never been married because I’m very selective. I’ve only had 4 relationships in my lifetime that have lasted longer than a few months. I was with my son’s father for 3 years, a really great guy for 18 months, another college sweetheart for 5 years long distance, & my current sweetheart who I’ve been with 5 yrs come July.
24. I get bored really easy, which could explain the previous 2 items on my list.
25. I used to play pool for money in my early twenties as a way of supporting myself.
26. I’m very opinionated, open-mouthed & ready to “debate” at any given time on any topic. I love debating with those who aren’t afraid to disagree, stand their ground, & can agree to disagree.
27. I’ll bend over backwards to assist those who are willing to help themselves.
28. I’m pro-choice (in all things) and pro-gun (I carry 24/7).
29. I have no problem admitting when I’m wrong, as long as you can prove to me I am, otherwise we may just have to agree to disagree. LOL
30. My son doesn’t allow me anywhere near his electronics because for some reason every computer I touch seems to blow up.
31. I’m left handed, but I bowl, golf, use scissors & my computer mouse with my right hand. I can pitch, throw frisbee & play darts with either.
32. I got my CDL in 2007 and have been driving an 18-wheel truck since. Since then I’ve loaded and hauled raw milk from dairies to the processing plant, taken containers into the ports of Long Beach, and watched a potato machine at Lay’s treat a 53-foot, 40k pound trailer like it was a Matchbox truck!
33. The best day I had in my business was $50,000 net earnings, which is more than I ever made in a year as a computer programmer… so much for that whole “gotta go to college and get a degree” theory!! Some of my closest friends are self-made millionaires with 10-grade educations and G.E.D.s
34. I typically just say what’s on my mind so friends always know where they stand with me. They have however, learned that if they ask me my opinion on something they better want to hear the truth (ALL of it) or don’t ask!
35. My favorite thing to do when I have free time is to go camping or work on my family tree stuff, neither of which I’ve done in years.
36. I’m willing to trust people until they prove they can’t be trusted, which only takes one time of being lied to.
37. I can tell you within the first 3 minutes of meeting someone whether or not they’re genuine, honest and someone I want to get to know.
38. As a single mom, I was willing to try just about anything to make sure my son had food & shelter… When I couldn’t get anyone to hire me because I was “over qualified” as a computer programmer, I answered calls for 2 different types of 900#s… one lasted a day, the other lasted a week… there are just some things I WON’T do. 
39. I took guitar lessons when I was 13. It lasted about 4 months before mom figured out that the boys were more fun to me than practice.
40. My first ever out of high school was McDonald’s. Since then, I’ve worked all types of jobs, from pet sitting and cashier to security guard and trucker to computer programming and success coach.

Well, there you have it. All the personal stuff you could possibly want to know (and not know) about Debi J.

Your Turn: If you haven’t done one of these yet, it’s really a great way for your followers to see that you are indeed a real person. And you don’t have to go into lots of detail. Just 5 things that may include a hobby, a favorite color and such would work too!

NOTE: If you missed the mind map with the blog challenge participants “Things About Me”, you can get that here: The “All About Me” Posts by Blog Challenge Participants

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