Eight Random Facts About Myself - Meme

I was tagged last week by Linda, at "Are We There Yet," for another meme and the object of this one is to blog “8 Random Facts About Myself”. The rules are as follows:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Are you ready for a flight into boredom? Here we go

1. I am a night owl . I grew up watching the old Steve Allen show, then Jack Paar. I have a real hard time getting to bed before midnight!

2. I absolutely love anything to do with ferns, forests and lofty glens - they're cool and quiet; must have running water...a stream, river, brook.

3. I am captivated with dolphins! They fascinate me - especially after we were lucky enough to encounter a wild "pod" (?) of them while snorkeling in Maui. I had always been intrigued by their intelligence, paired with their playfulness. This was just the icing on the cake!

4. I love to eat! I am an addict!!! I get just as excited over my triple-decker BLT with avocado and swiss cheese as I do Lobster Thermador or Newburg! Gourmet or down-home! It's all good! And it goes right to my big, fat butt...I now weigh 150 and fight to keep my weight at this level. My all time high was 269. By posting these numbers for the world to see, perhaps I will be more diligent in my endeavors!

5. I have a parrot, a Nanday Conure, named Spanky. He came with that name. I probably would've named him Brutus or Atilla. I bought him from a man whose wife hated him and they kept him outside in the backyard in a dirty cage.

He is mean and cranky. He will bite me just for the fun of it. He will be sitting with me, cuddling, giving me kisses, and all of a sudden! Oops! There goes a chunk of my cheek! He really has gotten better - I think he was going through the teenaged-years and was acting out. And the reason I still have this vicious creature, you ask? I'm a sucker. No one would take him. He'd be relegated to a poor home or a breeding program some where and I've loved and cared for him. Who'd want him? My hubman has already told me, that if anything happens to me, the bird is toast! Hubman can't get near him so his fate is cast. My kids can't stand him, either...so the bird had better hope he predeceases me!

6. I love critters of most kinds, especially dogs, cats and birds. I even like frogs! I have quite a collection of non-living frogs, most of them are realistic in appearance. I think most snakes are beautiful but I can't stand tarantulas! Everyone has a phobia and these hairy arachnids are mine. The hair on my arms is standing at full attention...eeeeeek! The photos of those spiders in Afghanistan nearly drove me to drink! I'd want an Abrams tank if I ever saw one of those guys.

7. I'm a conservative, politically and religiously. But I am not soft in the head! I didn't park my brain at the door and appreciate people of different values and beliefs than mine. My faith was not arrived at easily - I'm a Calvinist (Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian) and they actually encourage thinking! I'm not into the church-growth movements or the mega-churches. Often times too much theology is sacrificed for practicality. Not for me, thanks...and I don't watch TV preachers! Especially of the Benny Hinn variety.

8. This came up somewhere else today - one of my all-time favorite comedies is "Blazing Saddles." Mel Brooks had the cajones (pardon me) to bring up several social issues in one movie and make it impossible not to laugh at your own prejudices! We had some young black friends staying with us during Easter week. They went to the video store with my kids and step-kids to pick out a couple of movies. Guess what they came back with! I just about died!!! They assured me they had heard about it and were okay with it...Against my better judgement, we watched it together. We have never all laughed so hard and so long in our lives! That was 20+years ago. Today, it seems as if every group is looking for an apology at some sort of real or imagined insult. It's too bad we can't all laugh at ourselves once again. It's a lot healthier! I am going to "tag" eight people I don't know very well. They are certainly under NO pressure whatsoever to participate - I just thought it would be fun to throw this to someone I don't really know in the hopes that I will!

Here are the lucky folks!

"And Miles to Go...",

Maiylah

Shaz and Us Danes

Gledwood

Shasha

Simply Dawn Marie

Random Musings of the Terminally Bored - FainAngel7

Lori