25 Things About Me: Kat

Since Jared did it...

1.) I have trichotiliomania (i pull my hair out).
2.) My biggest fear is hitting a pedestrian while driving.
3.) I love to-do lists.
4.) I love clothes, shoes, purses...
5.) My left foot is bigger than my right foot.
6.) I love to ski/snowboard but I hate being cold so I don't do it.
7.) I had cat-scratch fever as a kid... no joke.
8.) My favorite sport to watch is college basketball.
9.) My favorite sport to play (by default) is soccer.
10.) My biggest pet-peeve is tardiness.
11.) I hate texting. Just call me.
12.) My greatest accomplishment is my family.
13.) My greatest regret is a missed opportunity for a great relationship with Jared's youngest sister.
14.) I'm a Democrat.
15.) I'm highly patriotic.
16.) I'm a very picky eater.
17.) I have horrible hand-writing.
18.) I love 80's music... Depeche Mode, A-Ha, New Order, Erasure.
19.) My dream job would be on broadway... or the voice of a Disney character.
20.) I've been bitten by a bird, goose, cat, dog, and mouse.
21.) C-sections are the best way to give birth!
22.) I can touch my nose with my tongue.
23.) I'm saving up for lasik eye surgery.
24.) I just read my list... I'm boring.
25.) Some day I want to get a degree in Criminal Psychology.

Hello Sir

Siblings often have nicknames for one another. Growing up I called Janiel "Shadow" and Mandy was "Lunchmeat". Leanne has asked that her nickname no longer be mentioned so to honor that request I won't post it here but it is alive and well and every time she calls me on my cell phone I am reminded of its greatness.

Ella is no different. On any given day she might call Abby "Abby-Cadabby" or "Abracadabra" (which is very different from Avada Kedavra). But most recently Ella's nickname of choice for Abby is simply "Sir".

Working Mom: Swine Flu

Swine Flu. So apparently it's threatening to be a pandemic. Dozens of cases already in the states, nothing yet in Colorado. But when I talked to the El Paso County Health Department tonight that's exactly what Susan Wheelan said, "Not yet. Not if, but when."

Great.

So my husband, Jared, called in a panic tonight because our 14 month old has a 104 degree fever. And what do I do? I think about Swine Flu.

As I have transitioned in this career from being a young working professional to a working mom, the way I look at news and how it affects me has changed as well. With a three year old and small baby at home stories impact me differently, and this one is no different. Before, news had a "distant" impact on me. I recognized, and sympathized with victims, but never empathized. Now, I can put myself in the shoes of parents who have lost a child... scared to death it will some day happen to me. Now, when an illness poses a risk to our community I pray, "Please, not us!" Now, when a crime happens near my home, when natural disaster strikes, when a car accident takes a life I wonder with fear, "What if that happens to me?"

On the reverse side, the education and information I receive in this job gives me the proper perspective. The swine flu may threaten to reach pandemic levels, but I know how to protect my family. I know most crimes aren't random. I know how to safely install a car-seat.

I suppose that is just one reason I love what I do. Being well informed, though it comes with it's downfalls, definitely comes with it's benefits.

Friends and family are always saying that I'm full of useless information. I would argue I'm well informed.

A Random List of Things About Me.

There was a Facebook deal going around a while back, 25 Things about me, that I never got to do since its blocked here at work. But I made a list anyways and i'm going to publish it here. Enjoy...

- I don't like candy.
- When playing soccer my shirt is always tucked in the first half and untucked in the second.
- I'm creeped out by feet with more or less than five toes.
- Rice first, then beans, always.
- As a kid my motivation for playing soccer was cheesecake.
- Standing in lines makes me hate the people around me.
- I try to make phone calls as short as possible.
- I was soda sober for over four months (I recently fell off the wagon).
- I only chew a half stick of gum at a time and I always save the wrapper.
- I carry a little notebook to record my random thoughts.
- The past tense of the word Squeeze should be squoze.
- No one should ever blow there nose in public.
- If I watch the Colorado Avalanche play they lose. So I don't watch anymore.
- I can't hold a pen or pencil without twirling it.
- I do not own any white socks.
- If I'm walking up or down stairs I'm counting them.
- I have a bigger problem with public doorhandles than I do with public toilets.
- If I were excentrically rich I would never wear the same pair of socks twice.
- Animals should never have human names.
- While driving I constantly calculate velocities and estimated arrival times in my head.
- I don't like my laugh.
- When I was fourteen, while on vacation in Bavaria, obsessively playing the arcade game Ten Yard Fight I started doing this odd finger stretching/pointing thing that I still do today.
- I've always wanted to have glasses and braces.
- I hate watching commercials.
- When traveling alone, I fantasize about being in a plane crash. But only on landing, I'm not crazy!

There it is twenty five things.