100 things about me

1. My name is Tiffany Lynnette Verwey
2. I was born on September 9, 1980
3. I am 5'9” tall
4. I wear a size 9 or 10 shoe, depending on the shoe.
5. My favorite shows are Grey's Anatomy, House and Biggest Loser
6. My favorite author right now is Janet Evanovich. Specifically her Stephanie Plum series. I highly recommend it to anyone.
7. I have a crush on both Joe and Ranger. I don't blame Stephanie one bit.
8. My favorite movies include Ever After and the Princess Bride.
9. I always knew my first baby would be a girl. I was the first born, my mom was the first born and my grandma was the first born. It only made sense that my first born would be a girl too.
10. I settled on the name Jordan Patricia when I was 16 years old. My favorite movie at the time was G.I. Jane. Demi's character was named Jordan. I was sold. Patricia is for my maternal grandma. I've always adored her, even if I don't tell her very often.
11. My boy names were both Aiden and Connor. Steven vetoed those. That's okay. As long as I got my Jordan Patricia I wasn't quite so hung up on the boy names.
12. I hated cabbage rolls when I was a kid. I didn't like the tomato sauce gravy or the cabbage. I unrolled it and gave the cabbage to my mom and ate the meat out from the middle. I reluctantly put the tomato soup on my potatoes because the only thing I liked less than tomato on my potato was dry potatoes.
13. I loved Denver sandwiches.
14. I used to write stories as a kid. I'd fill scribblers with all kinds of different stories. I still have one or two of them. I stopped writing stories when I hit my teens and became really critical. I'm still in the “self-criticizing” slump. Not sure if it'll ever happen.
15. I've always wanted to take piano lessons, and was insanely jealous of Angela.
16. I took band for 7 years and played the clarinet.
17. I had really bad clarinet-playing posture. My band teacher used to yell at me about sitting up. I believe his exact words were “You are not on the toilet!” I straightened up for a minute, and then slouched back down when he wasn't looking. Then Garry, Naomi and I would laugh. Then the band teacher would catch me talking to him and yell “Stop romancing that boy!” The band teacher always assumed that if a guy and girl were talking they were romancing. He yelled that a lot, at a lot of kids. It was funny. Then we'd all point and laugh at the romancers. To be told to stop romancing was worse than being told I was on the toilet.
18. When the band teacher would tell us that the clarinets needed to play louder we'd blow as hard as humanly possible when our turn came. The instruments would go out of tune, squeal, ruin the song, and we'd all be laughing so hard we'd have tears streaming down our faces. One time the band teacher threw the microphone at the kid beside me. The cord wasn't long enough and it bounced back before hitting him in the face. We were pretty amused by that one.
19. I really missed that teacher when he retired.
20. I have one brother – Trevor, born March 10, 1983.
21. We moved from our house in town to a house in the country in the fall of 1990. We had cattle, chickens, horses, dogs, cats a goat and a sheep.
22. We butchered 800 chickens one summer. I could still kill, clean and prepare you a chicken. Not that I'd want to.
23. I once had to help deliver a calf. I stuck my hand “in there.” It was yucky.
24. My first horse was named Angel. She died. I cried for days.
25. My second horse was named Star. She was insane. Eventually we decided that nobody but my dad would ever be able to ride her so I gave her to him.
26. My third horse was named Tasha. She ended up being short. I traded her to my mom for her horse, Brandy. The laziest horse in existence, but possibly one of the nicest.
27. My parents separated in 1996 and we moved back to Austin.
28. I do not miss the chickens. Or cows' bums.
29. I do miss living in the country; the big yard, the bonfires, no six foot privacy fence, the creek, the horseback riding. That stuff was nice.
30. I'm pretty left-wing. I bet you didn't know that. I'm all for social programs and gay rights. I am NOT, however, pro-choice.
31. I'm pretty feminist, even if I don't go on about it.
32. I type at least 90wpm. That makes things like this possible.
33. My kids have 12 grandparents.
34. My kids have no first cousins.
35. I always wanted a sister. I used to think “if only Trevor had been a girl.” Not that I didn't like him just fine. If he was a girl, his name would have been Christine.
36. My first pet was a dog named Fluffy. She was a poodle.
37. I had hamsters. When I was a kid I used to have hamsters all the time. Eventually I'd forget to water them. You know what happens to hamsters with no water? It was very sad. Once I had one that had babies. I didn't know she was going to have babies. She had eaten all but 1.5 of them by the time I found her. When I lived in Winnipeg I bought a hamster. I don't remember its name, but it should have been Bitey. One day Lyla and I decided that we should release it into the wild (okay, “green space” in Winnipeg isn't terribly “wild” but it would have to suffice). We took it over to the nearest park and tried to let it go by the river. It was a little overwhelmed and kept trying to crawl back into the bucket. We felt guilty and let him come home.
38. I never bought another hamster after Bitey.
39. I refuse to use my dishwasher. It came with the house. It's all hooked up and ready to go. We even bought soap for it, and I tried to use it once, but I just can't do it. I get them WAY cleaner. I wash and rinse them all by hand, from 1 to 3 times a day.
40. I don't love doing dishes, Lyla, I just like when they're clean! :)
41. I'm hopelessly addicted to granola bars. I don't even buy them because I'll eat an entire box in the afternoon. Steven sometimes buys them. I just ate 3 to help wash down my lunch. I'd have made it four, but Steven made me share. I love them. I want more now.
42. I don't like licorice. I don't honestly believe that anybody truly does.
43. I love mushrooms. I once had a roommate who would actually drink the juice out of the mushroom can. I won't name any names Lyla, your secret is safe with me! Steven was not a fan of mushrooms, but I put them in everything, so he's come to terms with them.
44. I like to lay down while watching TV. I'll do anything to get my favorite spot on the couch, even if it's slightly dishonest – like asking Steven sweetly if he'd get me a drink while I set up the DVD player, then I steal the spot back. He's come to expect this.
45. I'd rather record TV shows than watch them when they're on. I hate commercials. I'll tape something and then watch it when it's over just so I can fast forward through the commercials.
46. I'd really love to slim down, but I may like food too much.
47. I actually enjoy exercising when I get the motivation to go. I don't really care for the strength classes. I like running or aerobics, if I don't sweat I don't feel as though I've gotten much out of it.
48. I used to take aerobics in MacGregor with Sonya and Sara. I'm surprised they let us stay. Anyone who knows Sonya knows that you can't be serious around her, especially when doing something with a lot of amusement possibilities, like aerobics.
49. One time we did a “Mission: Impossible” lipsynch for a talent show. I think it was grade 11 or 12. Only, Mission: Impossible doesn't have any words. We just all dressed up as spies, had a guy pretending to be Romeo get pushed off the stage, and show off all our aerobics moves. It was hilarious. Again – Sonya was involved. We had lots of fun in high school.
50. Ange and I used to pretend we were figure skaters. We'd run around her basement and jump in the air and twirl. We were awesome!
51. Ange and I used to play hide and seek in the dark in her basement. It was fun. Part of the rules included having to physically catch the person in order to have officially found them. Grandma discovered that were were chasing each other around in a dark basement and put a stop to it. Apparently it was dangerous.
52. My Grandpa once got out the pliers and told me that if I bit my brother again he was going to pull my teeth out. I was pretty scared. I never bit Trevor at my grandparents' house again. As I got older, I figured out my grandpa. He's never serious. Steven says I have Grandpa's sense of humor, in the sense that he's not always sure when I'm kidding or whether I'm being serious. I'm flattered by that. Any comparison between me and my grandparents is a gift and a compliment. They're awesome.
53. Ange, Trevor and I took swimming lessons together. I passed them. Then Ange quit. Trevor took the same level for a few years before giving up. It was hilarious to watch him. The kids would all be swimming lengths, and Trevor would be the one who veered off and careened through all the other lanes while doing the back stroke. Then he'd get tired and hang onto the wall and have a break while the others continued without him.
54. I learned how to water ski when I was eight. I used to stand on the front of my dad's skis and do laps around the lake. He'd lean forward so I could hang onto his arms or the handle. Looking back I realise how uncomfortable that must have been, and how much he must have loved me to indulge me in lap after lap around the lake, standing awkwardly so that I'd not fall off.
55. I absolutely abhor spiders.
56. I cannot sing if someone is listening.
57. I cannot really sing at all. The kids don't notice.
58. When Ange, Trevor, Chantal and I would play, I'd always insist on being the youngest. I figured if I was the oldest in real life, the least I could do was be the youngest in play. I may have been slightly bossy. Didn't stop them from playing with me!
59. I was the first kid in grade 1 to read and read well. In October my teacher sent me with a book to the Principal's office to read to him. I was petrified. I was the quiet kid who didn't look for attention. I was also convinced that the principal was mean (he was pretty gruff) and kept a strap in the desk. I wasn't all that excited about being singled out, even if it was a good thing.
60. I've been reading ever since.
61. I was the first kid in my class to wear glasses. It was grade 2. I was shy already and never said anything to anyone, imagine my horror at being the only kid with glasses. Earlier in that school year I remember wondering how all the other kids were able to read stuff off the black board. It was so far away. I remember timidly putting my hand up to ask the teacher to repeat what was written on the board. She made a loud, annoyed, breathing-out noise, stopped the class, and said “Okay class, can we please all tell Tiffany what this sentence says since she was obviously not listening?” I was mortified. I didn't ask for help anymore. My grades were horrible.
62. I like cooking.
63. I'm not a big fan of baking. Sometimes I'll bake something so I can feel all “motherly” in the kitchen, but by the time I'm taking the 4^th pan of cookies out of the oven I'm a little annoyed by the whole thing.
64. When I do bake, stuff actually turns out pretty well.
65. I like a clean house, but sometimes it gets away from me a little.
66. I wish I could snap my fingers and have the house clean itself.
67. I hate clutter. I want the clean sweep people to come over, but it's not bad enough for that.
68. My front door is crimson red. Makes me feel bold.
69. I want to run in the Manitoba Marathon this spring, in either the half or the relay.
70. I want Lyla to come with me. Anybody else interested? Relay perhaps?
71. I dislike mowing grass. I haven't mowed grass since I was 15. Steven is wonderful, he mows grass. When he does, I feel guilty and bring him drinks and stuff in the yard, and I clean the house. I can't justify watching TV while he's mowing.
72. The last time I mowed for my mom I was apparently really grumpy about it. I don't remember being grumpy about it. After that she just always did it. She's coat herself in oil and wear good tanning clothes and mow. It took hours, the house was on a few lots. I offered once or twice to help but she said it was her exercise and sun-tan time. Then I'd feel guilty and clean the house from end to end. My mom loved when I cleaned the entire house, and I mean clean – floors, bathroom, dusting, dishes, you name it.
73. I have no hobbies or interests. I am interested in finding some. Steven says that blogging and reading count. I hope so.
74. I can drink a glass of water really fast.
75. I hate coffee and coffee drinks – except for Tim Horton's French Vanilla Cappuccino, which I discovered and overindulged in while I was pregnant with Mitchell. The taste for it remains.
76. If I won the lottery I'd be on a plane the next day. I'd travel to lots of different places. Then I'd come home and built a big house in the country, enroll my kids in piano lessons and buy a big piano. I'd also adopt kids from other countries and I'd stay home with them all until they were all in school.
77. I like my feet. They're nothing special, I just like them. I like being barefoot outside in the summer and having a sandal tan.
78. I do not like my hands. When I was young, some girls at school said they were “scaly” and I've hated them ever since.
79. I don't much care for shoveling snow. Steven shovels. The kids help him. Oddly enough, I don't feel guilty about him shoveling snow, and I take advantage of the empty house to vegge for an hour.
80. Breastfeeding is a good excuse to sit and watch TV for half an hour, especially when used to justify watching TV while the husband shovels.
81. I daydream. Not so much in the last couple of kid-laden years, but up until just recently (and for years before) I'd daydream like crazy. Not in a mind-wandering kind of way, but in such a way that I'm a character in a story that I'd unfold in my mind. I'd have grand adventures. Some nights if I couldn't sleep I'd lay in bed and day dream for hours. I've never actually told anyone about this, lest people think it weird.
82. It's harder to think up ideas for a story to write than it is to daydream. You'd think it was the same thing. Unfortunately, no.
83. After high school I decided that I wanted to be a journalist. I applied to Red River College in Winnipeg. I crafted a portfolio of written pieces including stories, an autobiography, some of the better essays I wrote in high school, and a resume. I made it to the current events exam and then the panel interview. A few days later, one of the interviewers phoned me at work. He told me that they really debated whether to let me in. They really liked my portfolio and writing style. I had done alright at the interview. I hadn't done especially well on the current events test. He suggested that I come and live in the city for a year and attend a year of university and come back. There was a joint program that included both university and college classes, and in the end I'd have my Bachelor of Communications. As it stood, I was not getting into the college that year. From some of the other things he said, I think part of it was because they felt I was too small-town and needed some city experience first. He actually asked if I knew how to find my way around the city, since a lot of the assignments involved traveling around Winnipeg. He was quite concerned at my not being from the city. I went home and cried.
84. I waited a couple of years and went to the University of Manitoba. I finished my Bachelor of Arts and then my Bachelor of Education.
85. I had no trouble getting into the Faculty of Education. Sometimes I still think that journalism would have been more my style.
86. Since living at home with my mom, I have moved seven times. I hate moving.
87. The last three times we've moved, I became pregnant within months of getting settled.
88. Once was on an air mattress.
89. I am laughing at my imagined picture of your reaction.
90. I love having a yard of my own after living in an apartment for years.
91. All three of my children were planned for.
92. I make bread in my bread maker.
93. I love my husband with all of my heart.
94. I don't make friends terribly easily, but those that I have are huge blessings in my life.
95. I physically feel anxiety when someone is mad at me. I do not like being at odds with people.
96. I care about the people in my life more than I am able to show. I worry that if I seem to eager they'll be chased away. I think I probably over-correct for this, and they think I'm not half as interested as I am.
97. I love when people read my blog and react in a positive way. I love when you think it's funny. I try to be all cool about it, but in reality I'm thrilled.
98. I tap my chips on the side of the bowl before eating them. I never really realized the consistency with which I did this until Steven was looking at me funny one day. I said “What?” and he slyly said “nothing.” A few minutes later after watching him with his poo-eating grin I finally yelled “What??” and he said “Why are you tapping each chip on the side of the bowl before eating it?” I paused, and pondered, and then figured it was to get the extra dust off the chips. I don't like them especially dusty.
99. I pestered my mom to come and look at the house across the street just so I could go see it too. She's not really looking to move, but part of me hopes she'll love the house and impulse buy it. Selfish, I know, but I'd love for her to live here. And as Steven says, what guy doesn't want his mother-in-law living across the street? Our appointment is in an hour!
100. I was up last night until 12:30am cleaning out the storage room and the computer room. We hauled 6 boxes of garbage and recycling out of there. The room is incredibly empty and open and I keep running back down there to peek at the newly cleaned up space! Joy in the small things right?!