101 Things About Me

So I saw this on someone's blog and thought it was very cool. I worked on it four different times, it took forever! Hope you have fun reading it!

1. My full name is Carolyn Diane Shaffer. I think the idea for Carolyn came from the mom on Little House on the Prairie (Caroline). My nickname, Carrie, was one of the daughter's names on Little House!

2. I have one sister, Kim. We thought our family for 4 was the perfect size.

3. I am almost always cold. So I put way too many blankets on me at night and often wake up sweating! I even lay on the couch in the summer with a light blanket on me!

4. I have four uncles, two from each side of the family- Bob and Larry, Bob and Larry! Both of my grandpas' names are Earl, although one went by Gene.

5. I inherited by dad's teeth grinding and jaw issues and my mom's occasional heart palpitations- thanks guys!

6. I wore reading glasses in middle school and high school. My favorite pair was purple in the 6th grade.

7. I was in the select choir in high school- Chorale and Mixed Ensemble with Mr. Grant. I also sang in the select choir at John Brown University- Cathedral Choir with Mr. Smith.

8. I treat my two dogs, Molly and Annie, like my children. I guess they are spoiled, but they really don't act like brats!

9. One of my favorite places is Pine Cove Family Camp in Tyler, TX. I worked there for 4 or 5 summers in high school and college. My camp name was Prodigy.

10. I graduated from Emporia High School in 1996. Go Spartans!

11. I played the clarinet in the junior high band. It was the same clarinet my mom played when she was young. I was the drum major in 8th grade- I got to lead the band in a "large" Emporia parade!

12. Before I turned 30, I wanted to learn sign language. Guess I'll do that before I turn 40!

13. My favorite smell is almond.

14. My grandma Evelyn's recipe for poppyseed bread is the BEST EVER! If poppyseeds weren't so expensive, I'd make it more often.

15. My favorite current TV shows are Lost, NCIS, How I Met Your Mother, Grey's Anatomy, and CSI.

16. I have seen every episode of Friends probably about five times. When the show ended, I felt like my real friends were leaving.

17. I LOVE mexican food, although I usually eat way too many chips and salsa before my food arrives.

18. Every year, I make and can salsa, jams, and applesauce. I also can peaches, sometimes pears and tomatoes.

19. I pick my own strawberries, blueberries, and peaches every summer.

20. I love a big summer thunderstorm in Kansas. Erie just doesn't get good thunderstorms very often.

21. In Kansas, I slept in the basement and even in a basement concrete room during tornado warnings more times than I can remember. Usually, my dad was out watching the tornado as most dads do!

22. My husband's real name is Drew, not short for Andrew.

23. I am allergic to a few certain types of trees that I can never remember but that must grow near my house. I'm allergic to dust, and just a little bit allergic to dogs. I take an allergy pill and use a prescription nasal spray every day. I get allergy shots every two weeks. I didn't have any allergies until I moved to PA and had mono. Then I blew my nose every 5 minutes for almost 2 years before I went to an allergist! Now I'm great!

24. My group of friends in high school made a name for ourselves- JACK'S (Jessica, Amelia, Carrie, Kelly, Sharae). Then when one more friend joined our group, we became JACK D'S (add Dusty). We were going to someday own our own coffeehouse/bookstore called JACK D'S.

25. I have never broken any bones or had stitches. I did have a cut on my lip glued shut- my sister threw the remote control at me and it cut my upper lip open. I couldn't get it wet after it was glued, and this was right before my family vacation during which I would want to swim, a lot.

26. I called 911 when I was little and blamed it on my sister, who was too young to even know how to dial 911.

27. I had a storage area in my room, about 4 feet above the floor over the hallway stairs- it was a time machine. It took me and my friends to many different times and places to play. "The Hole" as I called it, was also a good place to jump from and land on my bed.

28. Dacquri Ice from Baskin Robbins was my favorite ice cream. Then they "improved" it, now it tastes aweful, and I don't have a favorite anymore.

29. Pepperoni, extra cheese, and onions make the best pizza.

30. My cell phone is a cherry chocolate, it was fun at first, now it's just annoying to have touch pad buttons. I liked having a flip phone better.

31. I read novels very quickly; I read to understand the plot, not details, which means I really just skim when I read! I love to read books by Clive Cussler, James Patterson, Karen Kingsbury, Patricia Cornwell, and many many more.

32. I've played piano for as long as I can remember. I took lessons for about 8 years. I can work through and play most music put in front of me, but I can't, at all, play by ear! I can't make up my own music, which is a skill I wish I had.

33. I cry at EVERYTHING- commercials, shows, songs, when other people cry, stories, my students' graduations, weddings, new babies...

34. I have the best husband in the world! He takes care of me when I don't feel well, he loves to bake desserts, he does laundry (and doesn't even shrink any of my clothes anymore), he likes my crooked smile and freckles, he helps me mow even though I could do it all myself, he encourages me to exercise and eat healthy foods, and he is patient with my never ending questions.

35. One of my favorite places for vacation is Colorado. When I was young, my family went at least every other year. We loved the mountains, I still do. There is nothing like the first view of the Rockies as you drive near Denver.

36. On those family vacations, I could make a bag of skittles last a whole day of driving. During one candy eating contest on vacation, I made one sweet tart last for over an hour!

37. On one of those family vacations, my sister put too many skittles in her mouth, and we laughed so hard that she drooled skittle juice all over a blanket. I still have the blanket in my Jeep for the dogs to lay on. It still has a colorful stain!

38. I drive a gray 2001 Jeep Cherokee with a bike rack and roof rack on top.

39. Drew and I bought an old, purple Jeep CJ on ebay a few years ago. It was going to be so fun, except that it had a lot of issues that we were going to fix and never had time to fix. I tried to drive it to the grocery store with my mother-in-law. The brakes went out on the way, I pulled into a Perkins parking lot and backed into a pole in order to stop. We sold it on ebay a year later.

40. I mow our lawn with a riding 77 john deer tractor. I can't start it, the pull start is very hard to work. If I mow in the third and highest speed, it only takes 30 minutes to mow! I was never allowed to use the high speed when I mowed my parents' yard.

41. I mowed my parents' yard all though high school. It took almost 3 hours, in the middle speed. I would mow in a tank top and shorts to work on my tan. I ran over half of a bush once, I don't think it ever grew back totally.

42. I also helped my dad split wood during the fall and winter. It was so cold that I had to wear coveralls that made me look enormous! Of course, my mom took pictures.

43. I took ballet lessons for many years. Of course, my mom took pictures of that too... even videos... that she showed Drew one time that we visited Emporia. The outfits were interesting.

44. When we were little, Kim and I loved to do My Little Ponies hair. We would set up a hair salon and do them all. Once, I even did Kim's hair- I cut a lot of her hair off and hid it behind the large chair in the living room.

45. My favorite fast food restaurant is Sonic. I love strawberry dr. peppers and strawberry limeades. They make my favorite snack- cheddar bites with ranch. I had a strawberry dr. pepper and cheddar bites the morning of my wedding. The closest Sonic to Erie is 4 hrs away, so I don't get to one very often.

46. My favorite meal at Applebees is the quesadilla burger and fries.

47. My Starbucks drink of choice is a tall, non-fat, caramel, white chocolate mocha. I can't drink that after 2pm or I won't be able to fall asleep at night.

48. I love love love my job- I teach high school math and am the vice-principal of Community Country Day School. It's a small, private alternative school for kids in the Erie area who aren't being successful in the city districts. I've been there for 8 years and am thinking about taking classes to get my Principal's License.

49. I talk to my parents on the phone at least 3 times a week. I miss them a ton and wish we lived close enough to get together for dinner or coffee.

50. I love waking up to the sound of birds chirping in the yard. My favorite is the mourning dove, it reminds me of western kansas.

51. I love strawberry blow-pops, sometimes I let the dogs lick them too. They don't like sour apple flavor.

52. I like to scrapbook and LOVE scrapbook kits that have all matching accessories. I feel that I need to find my own scrapbook style though, not just follow the kit style.

53. I am recently scared of the dentist. I decided to try a "gentle dentist" and that is much better- no shots!

54. One morning on the way to school, I heard on the local Christian radio station that Casting Crowns was going to be in their studio that morning before having a concert in town that night. I decided halfway through breakfast with my students that I wanted to go meet Casting Crowns. I tossed another teacher my keys and ran out the front door! I went to the radio station, met the band, and asked one of them for tickets to the concert because I couldn't afford to go. (They were opening for Steven Curtis Chapman and Chris Tomlin, so tickets were expensive!) Hector (guitar and singer) said he would see what he could do and got my cell number. He called that afternoon, said he had tickets and "meet and greet" passes for before the concert! Drew and I got to meet with Casting Crowns and Chris Tomlin before the show and then had seats in about the 10th row on the floor for the concert. That was one of the best days of my life- so fun!

55. I once spent over $100 on candles at one store! It was a candle outlet in Siloam Springs, AR, near my college. Drew and I were driving through the area, probably for the last time in many years. We stopped and bought 3 boxes worth of candles, most from the "Bent and Dent" section. That was in 2001 I think. We still have some candles left today!

56. I don't have cable tv- we only get 5 stations. If I did have cable, I think I would watch the Weather Channel a lot.

57. I graduated from John Brown University on May 6, 2000. My major was Elementary Education, Intermediate Mathematics and Social Studies Emphasis.

58. I got all A's and one B in high school. Even though I had over a 4.0 GPA, because of the one B, I didn't receive the special award for grades. I was devasted at the time, they told me I wouldn't even care or remember late in life. I remember... I'm still sad I didn't get it.

59. I have a subscription to two magazines- Simple Scrapbooks and Creating Keepsakes. I am not going to renew the subsciptions because the magazines only come six times a year and are too full of ads.

60. I have had my nails done once, for a wedding. I've never had a pedicure.

61. I am a huge clutz- I bump into walls and counters a lot. I always have lots of bruises.

62. I'm not very good a trimming shrubs. I take off too much. I trimmed one in our back yard a few years ago, it's never looked good since.

63. I am a perfectionist.

64. I'm not an athlete!

65. I love to play badmitton with Drew in our backyard. We aren't very competative, we just laugh and laugh at ourselves!

66. I check my email many many times each day. I'm not going to say how many because that's embarassing!

67. I blush easily, especially when I have to talk in front of my peers at work.

68. If I had been born a boy, my name would have been Jeffrey Earl Gimple.

69. I rarely wear makeup, even though I think it does make me look more put together. I just don't take the time to put any on!

70. The only Playstation game that I like to play is Downhill Domination (mountain biking).

71. Drew bought me a really nice mountain bike after we got married in hopes that I would like it as much as he does. I don't... I do like riding my bike though, just not as fast and on steep hills like he does! I like my biking gloves and shoes.

72. I make the BEST rice crispy treats (thanks mom for the recipe!)

73. I own a treadmill. I told Drew that I would use it every day. He didn't believe me, but he trusted that I wouldn't give up on it. I don't use it every day, but I haven't given up!

74. The only times I have been out of the United States was a missions trip to Mexico and just over the Canadian border at Niagara Falls.

75. I have a lot of plants in my house.

76. The one year I taught 7th grade instead of high school, my class got a hamster as a class pet. Her name was Sierra. She was an orange color. One winter morning, I got to my classroom (an outside trailer) to find that someone had turned off the heat. Sierra froze to death over night. The kids were devastated, me too. They had a little funeral service for her, sang Amazing Grace, and buried her at the top of a hill on school property. Then we got a new hamster, they named her Lena Athena.

77. My least favorite chore is cleaning the bathtub. Drew hates cleaning the toilets, so i clean the toilets while he does the bathtub!

78. I would wear comfy pants/pj pants/sweats all the time if I could.

79. I would eat out every meal if I could afford it and not get fat doing it! Not that I don't like to cook, I just love restaurant food!

80. I don't like surprises. I like to know the the ending of a book or movie before I get to it- I read the last chapter of a book first. I like to know what presents are before I open them. I used to open my presents and rewrap them when I was younger. I only got caught a few times!

81. When I was about 16, my parents put a wrapped birthday present on top of the fridge. It was a very weird shape, and I just had to know what it was. One day, when they were both gone, I carefully opened it, pulled out the present (a watch), rewrapped it, and no one knew. That evening, I asked my parents, "So, when do I get to open my watch?" They looked at me weird, I said, "So, when do I get to open my present?" They were very unhappy with me, almost didn't give me the watch at all!

82. I love to drink pop- especially Vanilla Coke or Cherry Coke. I don't let myself drink it often, only about once a week.

83. Popcorn is best when made in a Whirley Pop and sprinkled with parmesean cheese.

84. Some of my favorite movies are Transformers, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I Robot, Juno, and Sweet Home Alabama.

85. I wish my wedding photographs were better.

86. My closest friend is 15 years older than me and is Drew's aunt Alicea. She lived in Erie for a little over a year, and we became very close. She and her husband moved away because of jobs, I miss her so much. Every time we get together we do major shopping with Starbuck coffees in our hands.

87. I am scared of pregnancy and delivery.

88. I make cards for all occasions and sell them to whoever will buy them. I use mostly Stampin' Up stamps.

89. I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 16 or 18. I can't remember. I do remember being scared! I hardly ever change my earrings now. I did get my cartiledge pierced once. It got infected and I took it out. Now I have a small blue scar there.

90. I love math- doing big math problems, working out logic puzzles, sometimes I even practice by doing sample SAT and ACT tests!

91. I get the same thing every time I go to taco bell- one hard taco, a beef baja chalupa, and an order of nachos and cheese. I eat it all and am stuffed.

92. My favorite time of year is the week when the trees finally get leaves and grass turns green, end of April-ish.

93. I like to color with crayons and coloring books.

94. My favorite color is green.

95. One year for Christmas, I made homemade cinnamon rolls for every child and staff person in my school- about 100 people. I make great cinnamon rolls using a cinnabon recipe. I made about 10 batches in one day. That was crazy!

96. I rolled off of a bed onto a hard wood floor in a cabin when I was a little baby, or so my parents finally told me!

97. I am heavily influenced by infomercials. I have only bought a few things, mostly work-out videos. Drew won't let me buy any more things off the tv! I don't blame him for not wanting me to, I don't use any of that stuff anymore!

98. I live in a two story house built in 1929. It is a weird rust/red/brown/mud color. I want to paint it tan with green trim. We have a pole barn the size of a four car garage next to our house. It's a country blue color. I have no idea why the previous owners had such different colors for the house and garage!

99. My husband is rebuilding a 1968 Ford Bronco. He bought the body on ebay, bought an engine on ebay months later. He took the Bronco all apart, cleaned it all, put it all back together. It is almost finished. He can't wait to take it off-roading! He has to remind himself that his hobby is off-roading, not auto mechanics! I am so amazed by how much he knows and has learned through this process. I'm very proud of him!

100. My favorite worship song is "Shout to the Lord".

101. I think 101 things about me is a LOT to come up with! Whew, I'm done!