7 Things You May Not Know About Me

1. I have a scar on my right hand "bird" finger. I caught it on a door jamb during an epileptic seizure. I had seizures all throughout my childhood. They were like severe temper tantrums with no one home - and started in infancy. These black out tantrums would last for hours and hours until I fell asleep exhausted and dripping in sweat, or until I was shocked out of it (they held my cousin in a freezing cold shower to shock her out of hers). Luckily I grew out of all but the inattention seizures which I still have if I'm tired. These seizures were not like the kid's rages.

2. As a military brat, I lived in nine different states and countries before age 6. (Including a remote site in Italy, Las Vegas, and several all over central Texas). After that I moved every 6 to 9 months until I got married. Hubby and I lived in our first house 5 years and have been in our current house over 10 years. I had learned how to "declutter" only by moving. Since I'm a packrat this makes my house a bit of a mess.

3. Hubby and I met through a dating service. In the University of TX School of Social Work all my classmates were women or gay. OK, there were a few married older guys. The one single straight guy was in none of my classes and so popular I would never have had a chance. I used some money my uncle gave me for graduation (from undergrad) to join a video dating service. I was so popular (being only one of two under the age of 25), that I'd almost put my account on hold. Luckily I accepted Hubby's date request, and the rest is history!

Some day I'll tell y'all about some of the guys I met and dated. Like "Not a Dime A Dozen."

4. I've had a lot of unusual jobs. Some of the highlights:

Blackjack dealer
Preschool gymnastics teacher
Professional seamstress focused mostly on bridal, but did work on brassieres as well.
Children's counselor at the Center for Battered Women
Contract field interviewer for homestudies for potential foster parents
Runway model
Director of a large private preschool
Sewing teacher for emotionally disturbed girls in residential treatment
President of a product development consultancy
Therapeutic parent

5. My parents were divorced when I was 5 years old. I lived with my Mom in a working class part of town during the school year, and with my dad who was upper middle class every Summer until my mom remarried when I was 13. I moved in with my dad for 2 years, but discovered that no one loved me like Mom did. I moved back in with her for my junior and senior year in high school. I think this helps me understand my kids, moving a lot, changing caregivers, living with people I don't know well (step-siblings and step-parents), fighting with step-siblings, dealing with my own depression and mentally ill family members, verbal abuse, anorexia...

6. I was anorexic (it's a control thing) for most of my early teen years. At 5'6" I weighed 107lbs. I lived on a daily Snickers and a diet Coke and not much else. I've fought my weight ever since and have bounced between a size 6 and a size 18. (No more anorexia though) I gained 70lbs with both my pregnancies, but lost all the weight and even did some modeling afterwards. I fluctuate between a 32DD when my weight is low to a 38J when I was nursing, and right now I'm a 36G. Big boobs are a pain! Makes it hard to maintain my clotheshorse ways, but I love shopping (at thrift stores) so it's a good excuse.

7. I started going grey when I was 21 yrs old. When I got married at 23 I decided to dye my hair. It was perfect, but all washed out the next day. I had it redone and they did it so dark that Hubby teased me about looking like a Geisha girl at the wedding. Now I'm almost 40 and have no wrinkles yet, but my hair is about 75% grey.

So that's my list. Your turn!