100 Things

100 Random facts about Mammaren

1. I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
2. I have spent the largest majority of my life in Texas, so I really consider myself “from Texas”
3. My husband was born in Texas
4. I have been around the world, literally. I have visited, the US, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, England, Japan, Pakistan, and Thailand. I spent the better part of one day in the airport in Dubai in the UAE, but I don’t really consider myself to have “been there..”
5. I spent three months in Pakistan in 2000 teaching English to Afghan refugees.
6. I got pretty good at Farsi in that time. But I have lost all of it. Too bad, I really thought Arabic was a beautiful language.
7. I spent two years on staff with Youth With a Mission Denver.
8. I lived in the mountains outside of Boulder, CO for my training for YWAM in the fall of ‘99. Some of the best times of my life @9000 feet.
9. I am really really really really bad at sports - all of them, like horridly bad.
10. I don’t run. at all, never will.
11. I can swim pretty well, but don’t like to swim anymore.
12. When I was five I fell out the door of my house and cracked my face open. I still have the scar.
13. I have an older sister and an older brother. We are all almost exactly three years and nine months apart.
14. My sis and brother have a different dad from me.
15. I have never met my biological dad. He and my mom divorced when I was an infant. I heard he had died a few years ago, but apparently he did not. I remain indifferent.
16. I grew up moving around a lot. My stepdad was in the oil field and we moved a lot, a lot.. all the time..
17. I had my first kiss when I was 14. I still remember it, it was so awkward.
18. My first “crush” was a guy I met in Waco.. He was a cute long haired musician.. (sigh) always a guitar player..
19. I never saw that guy again once I moved away.
20. I used to have reeeeeeeeeallllly red hair. really really red.. Evidence here.
21. I always kinda want to dye it back.. Now it is blond (and yes I am a real blond)
22. I have one tattoo.
23. I want more tattoos.
24. I have had my nose pierced three times. I have stopped doing that.
25. I am addicted to yoga.
26. I have been doing yoga since ‘99.
27. One day I’d love to teach yoga.. One day. maybe.
28. I am a total dreamer.
29. I have an insanely large collection of black pants. I wear black pants almost every single day..
30. I don’t get tired of wearing black pants.
31. I drive a black Honda Element. It rocks.
32. Black is my favorite color. But not in a goth kinda way.
33. My living room walls are orange. My kitchen is red.
34. I have a beautiful baby grand Baldwin piano. She’s my beautiful lovely.
35. I am working every day to learn to play her better.
36. I started singing when I was four.
37. I auditioned for my first singing group when I was six.
38. I made it, they took me, I never looked back.
39. I also play guitar, pretty well. I’m working on that too.
40. I wrote my first song last year.
41. I have been married for six years.
42. I went to Thailand for my honeymoon..
43. I recently found a strong strong love for Pumas (the shoes..) Not sure where this came from as I have never been that into tennis shoes. But I just LOVE them, and always find myself looking for new styles. I have to keep a healthy distance from the Puma store at the Galleria. It might get ugly if I have too much access to that place.
44. I recently spent 60 days doing yoga every single day.. You can find blogs about that on the main page.. I loved it, hated it, and can’t wait to do it again.. Bring it on!
45. My middle name is Elizabeth. I always wanted to go by “Liz” because I thought it sounded hipper than my name. But it never caught on. I remained Karen until friends dubbed me “Ren” and then “K”.. Now I have more nicknames, probably more than I should have. But none of them are “Liz.” I think I have made my peace with that loss..
46. I am legally blind in my left eye. I have been that way since, well, forever. I wore a “patch” over my right eye for a while to strengthen my left eye. That didn’t work out so well. I’m still blind and as an added bonus I have many pictures of me with that patch on my eye. As a consolation, though, I recently learned that a friend of mine’s super cute husband suffers the same affliction and HE wore a patch too. So, there is justice in the world. Blind people are HOT..
47. I fell out of a river raft into the Arkansas River just outside of Buena Vista, CO when I was 17. It was a class IV rapid, I had never been whitewater rafting before. While I can’t really call it a “near death experience” I definitely developed a serious reverence for moving water and for super cute river guides..
48. Are you still reading? Wow, I hate it when people ask what your favorite movie is. I don’t have a favorite. I have tried and tried to name a favorite, and I just can’t.
49. I’m a sucker for cute Southern boys who sing..
50. I’m a sucker for any cute boy who sings, or plays, didn’t we cover this already?
51. Yes, I have inhaled. It was a long time ago, but I don’t regret it.
52. I am a water snob. Big time.
53. I’m very very very picky about who cuts my hair. Very picky. I’ve had WAY too many bad haircuts.
54. My hair is longer now than it has ever been my entire life. I like it and I’m going to keep growing it.
55. I have two kids, both boys. They are amazing and wonderful and they drive me insane all at the same time.
56. I used to think I wanted a dozen kids. Then I had the two that I have, and I am happy with just the two.
57. I was accepted to NYU but never attended.
58. I have slept overnight in a vehicle more than one time.
59. Most people who know me say I am incredibly sarcastic. I agree.
60. I kinda like yoga.
61. You know how some people have crushes on teachers from high school? I never had one.
62. I was invited into the National Honor Society in High School but was never “tapped in” because I went on vacation with my mom and missed the ceremony. So I didn’t graduate with an NHS Stole. I’m still a little bitter about it.
63. I love to read.
64. I collect books. Many of them I have not read yet.
65. I didn’t have a PC until about two years ago. I was kinda behind the times..
66. I despise swimming in lakes.
67. I have an inexplainable fear of large bodies of water.
68. Writing 100 random things about yourself is really difficult.
69. I am kind of a freak about being clean. I shower at least once a day. Most of the time more than that. I firmly believe it’s one of the reasons I could never live in a hut in Africa.
70. I would probably sell my soul for an opportunity to travel the world in order to write music, do yoga, and take photographs. That’s my dream job.
71. I WILL travel more in the very near future.
72. The longest flight I have been on was 14 hours. San Fran to Tokyo baby..
74. I really like fancy hotels. Really really a lot. On my honeymoon, Dave and I stayed at a really ritzy joint in Bangkok called the Mandarin Oriental. Seriously posh. We had a floor butler. No joke. I would love to go back.. Wait, no, I’d love to move in to that place..
75. I’m addicted to music.
76. I listen to music constantly. On my computer, in the car, on the MP3 player.. all the time.
77. I sing in the steam shower at yoga. The acoustics ROCK!
78. I sing in the regular shower at home.
79. I pretty much sing all the time.
80. I think almost everyone looks bad in overalls. Especially grown women. Overalls make everyone look like a farmer.
81. I used to love to wear overalls, until I realized how bad they looked on me. That’s how I came to the previous conclusion. No offense to anyone, of course..
82. I tend to be very opinionated, can you tell?
83. My husband loves me for being so opinionated. He really does.
84. I am almost nine years younger than my husband. The age gap works for us.. Really well.
85. I got engaged waaay up in the mountains in Colorado, looking out over a lake (no lie) at he Continental Divide. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.
86. I have a really big spot in my heart for those mountains, and always will.
87. At our wedding, Dave stepped on my dress on the way up a flight of stairs and popped all of the buttons off of the back that held my train in a bustle. Dunno why I shared that, but I did..
88. My current favorite singer/songwriter is Matt Morris
89. I like to hyperlink my blog entries..
90. I also maintain a Twitter Feed
91. Before I die I WILL see the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
92. Georgia O’Keefe is my favorite artist of all time.
93. If I had to listen to one artist catalog for the rest of my life, and only one - I would pick The Eagles.
94. I despise artificial plants.
95. Having said that, I cannot keep plants alive. So, I tend to go for flowers.
96. Roses are my favorite flower. I dunno why, I just love them..
97. All of the flowers at my wedding were roses.
98. I will be 29 years old in 24 days. (Feb 18, 200
99. I have named my piano Memphis.
100. I cannot believe I got to the end of this list. I am grateful if you read it..