6.24.2009

Betcha Didn't Know....

That I was a candy striper in high school. I volunteered at a local hospital, and, yes....I even wore the cute little pink seersucker outfit.

That I was bitten by a very poisonous tropical spider when I was 5 years old. The doctor had to dig (literally, dig) the poison out of my leg. In my head, I can still see the green gunk as she dug it out.

That I am still traumatized by that whole incident.

That they baled our field for hay today. I love the smell of cut hay.

That I am a published author. (Don't get excited....it was a short story in a college publication...but, hey....my daddy was proud of me!)

That I was on the Speech and Drama Team in High School, and that I competed all over the state of Missouri in SD competitions. I went to State Tournament for Dramatic Interpretation. Can you believe it? Me? Dramatic? Shocker.

That I still have all my trophies in my attic.

That I probably will never get rid of them.

That I bribed the children today with my leftover Canadian money.

That they thought they had won the lottery.

That I sliced my thumb open on a metal paint roller while painting a clothing closet on a mission trip to an Indian Reservation in Wyoming.

That I passed out cold while getting stitches.

That I was given the Indian name RED THUMB as a result.

That I'm still irritated that I don't have something cool like RUNNING ELK or FLOATING BREEZE. Nope. RED THUMB. Awesome.

That I pop my gum, even though I know it tops most every pet peeve list I've ever read.

That I've tried to stop. And can't. So sorry.

That I'm a food snob. But not in the way most people are. No. I'm a junk food snob. Only the best of everything terrible for you can enter the pipes of mi familia.

That I sleep with a blankie.

That I know that you are laughing at me right now.

That I checked out a book at the library today.

That I probably won't even crack the cover because I'm still irritated that our library stinks like skunk and didn't even carry the book I had my heart set on getting.

That after a wreck I had in high school, I was called "Petey" (from the Little Rascals) because of a nasty black eye I had.

That I used to wish my parents had named me "Amberly."

That I now know that would only make the case worse for me and those of you that think I'm 12.
Ahem.

That I would have named my daughter "Emma."

That I still would if I were to have a daughter today.

That I wanted to name one of my sons "Titus" and another one "Micah."

That the husband wouldn't let me.

That I have it in my heart to adopt a baby.

That I wonder everyday if it will ever happen.

That I'm overly exhausted and probably won't remember typing any of this in the morning.


Enough ramblings for one night. G'Night, Friends.

18 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my, I'm still getting over mean spider bite....

Ok, I think I'm better now...I loved reading this list!

I wanted to name my son Tristan. The Mister wouldn't have it.

And I have more than one adult friend who sleeps with a blankie...so you are definitely not the only one!

Michele said...

WOW girl, you've lead one exciting life. I loved reading these random facts about you. Red Thumb, I think you should adopt a girl and name her Emma - so very sweet! There are SO many times I feel my family is not yet complete, yet I KNOW I don't want anymore babies . . .who knows?

P.S. I love the name Micah too and I wanted it to be one of our boy names in case Hanna was a boy. My husband gave me the "No" too.

Glo said...

I am very impressed on this mighty list of yours! I love it when people can pop their gum, so I guess I am in the minority. I wish I COULD pop my gum.LOL I love the name Emma! I too had my girl name picked out, but I had it picked out since I was in my 20's....which means I wasn't even close to getting married. When I finally got married eleventy thousand years later and got pregnant, I told my husband that if we have a girl, her name is going to be Miranda Hope...no question! Luckily he liked the name. It wouldn't have mattered if he didn't, I was still going to name her Miranda Hope. I was just blessed to have her! Okay, sorry to take up space on my rambling.LOL Have a good rest of the week Amber!

Mich said...

Yeah, I knew most of those...

You were so cute in your candy striper outfit.

and the black eye - I have pictures of that one because it was right before my wedding shower.

the spider bite...not going to even go there, it was bad.

thanks for the list of memories. I love ya!

Jim said...

Am...Amb...Amber...Amberly,
Oh, how I remember those memories...how I hurt each time I see in my mind that "spider-bite" episode in the clinic in Bangladesh...you on the floor of the Indian church fellowship hall, with, thankfully, your own doctor from home doing the stitching...the imagined image of you in the wrecked upsidedown car as we sat in the emergency room of the hospital, thankful you were still with us...and, oh yes, the "candy-striper" days when you stepped out to serve others, had thoughts of being a doctor, an astronaut, a nurse (do you still have those dreams, I wonder?)...an author whose very earliest writings, published or no, were points of pride that were saved by this author-dad...whose drama work was both a point of pride, and the stimulus that hooked me and drew you mom and me into our own drama ministry (did you know that?)...and you know what? If you all want a "frilly-rascally" we're your ready "spoil machine"! SO, "POP YOUR GUM" HON! BRING ON THE NEW MEMORIES (MINUS THE HURTIN' ONES, A-CORSE, IF YOU CAN!)

Just had a thot! We named you AMBER and your Sis's middle name DAWN. Both of you are the fresh new SUNRISE of our lives.

With rich memories of love,
Jim-Dad

Anonymous said...

Wow. I did not know these. Except for the library, which I heard about earlier today when you were pouting at the car wash.

I really wish you'd post a picture of you in the candy striper outfit. I always wanted to be a candy striper and never had the opportunity. I became a nurse instead. The uniforms are nearly as cool.

Tell Kellie I wanted to name a son Tristan, too, but K wouldn't let me. Nor would he let me have one of my all-time favorite boy names, Trevor. Apparently he had a red-necked cousin named Trevor who grew his own pot. This is what happens when you marry people who grew up in Kentucky. My apologies to anyone I've offended from the great state of Kentucky, but hello, you are the Blue GRASS state!

Kendra said...

Ouch on the spider and thumb, AMBERLY! I knew an Amberly. You're better off not being named that, trust me.

I always thought if you give birth to it you get to name it. Only seems fair. Of course that's all thrown out the window around here! Why are husbands so stubborn on baby names and paint colors???

Get you a baby! There are foundations everywhere which help defray the costs of adoption, and there's currently a tax credit of $11K to help adoptive parents pay for adoption. Just don't adopt my baby!

really.truly said...

I can totally picture you as one adorable candy striper!

If you ever need adoption info I'd be happy to supply some :) It's a fabulous, amazing thing!!

I've given up on the library(shhh, I know that sounds bad) Ours is pretty much only good for borrowing movies, books-forget it.

They baled our field yesterday too! I love watching them do it. The deer are very happy today :)

Tiffani said...

This was SOOO fun!

And, Jim-Dad's comment 'bout made me cry!! Such a sweet Daddy!

I love learning more and more about you!! I was a drama girl myself in college..am STILL hoping for a published 'something' in my future..you've experienced a lot in your "12" years! ;)

I had a BALL last night! I busted out loud laughing again this morning when I thought of the pic you sent me during our convo! SOO FUNNY!! I heart you like a warm bowl of blue mac 'n cheese in October!! I

Carpool Queen said...

I slept with a stuffed animal up until I married my husband at the ripe old age of 26.

And now I say "Stop touching me".

Lindsay said...

Amber...
Fun reading through your list. We have a fair amount in common. Love doing and watching drama.

RE: library. OBU has a community card for free. Might be worth checking it out.

Off and running but see you in a few weeks.

vgrdesigns said...

Once again, you make me laugh! I, too was a candy striper and my niece is named Amberly. :)

Amy Fulmer said...

As I was buckling Kaden in at Walmart today i asked him, "Do you know who that was?" He said, "No, but I know she is nice." I said, "You used to go to her house every day when you were a tiny baby while I went to work." He said, "That's why I love her." Nice to have all of your hard work validated, huh?

Adopt a baby girl. You are a terrific mommy and need to share your skills with someone who wears bows.

Amy Fulmer said...

As I was buckling Kaden in at Walmart today i asked him, "Do you know who that was?" He said, "No, but I know she is nice." I said, "You used to go to her house every day when you were a tiny baby while I went to work." He said, "That's why I love her." Nice to have all of your hard work validated, huh?

Adopt a baby girl. You are a terrific mommy and need to share your skills with someone who wears bows.

Cathy said...

MY daughter's name is Emma!

I love the name Titus.

My son still sleeps w/ my blanket from childhood and I get a little possesive of it when I see him ripping the holes bigger.

I've been thinking about adoption...

Gum popping totally doesn't bother me...it's better than gum SMACKING which is MY pet peeve.

You? Dramatic? :)

Published? You go girl!

...and the spider thing? just downright gross and freaky.

Oh and vaca is making me feel WAY out of the loop. Is it weird that I miss my blogging/tweeting peeps?

Gretchen said...

Yowza...miso soddy about the spidey bite. Ewww. So far, I wasn't afraid of spiders, but you may have ruined me. Thanks.

I wanted to name my daughter Hanna. Until I married a man with that last name. Actually had a very artsy friend who said I shoulda done so anyway. Nah.

Sorry about the skunkin' libarry.

lisa@littlesliceoflife said...

I am going to have nightmares about the spider. Thanks.

You have certainly had a colorful life!

Titus? Really? I'm with Kirk on that one.

Elizabeth said...

You need an Emma! It is my favorite girl's name (other than the ones we used). I bet she wouldn't be dramatic at all:)

So what did you get at the library? Never mind-looks like you got Ted Dekker. I'll send TSKODAM when I'm don with it. The first few chapters are great.

As soon as I saw your title I thought that you should start some sort of carnival called "Betcha Didn't Know." Think of all the things we could all learn about each other!

Still interested in meeting up, Red Thumb?