100 Random Things

1. My name is Paula Diane but no one who knows me ever called me Paula. I dropped Paula when I married my first husband, Darin, in 1997 only to be forced to take it back when I married Charlie in 2008. Apparently the laws changed since the first time but I'm really okay with it. I don't even mind being called Paula at the Dr's office anymore.


2. My mom's name is Becky and my dad's name is Paul, my namesake! They divorced when I was 5 and both remarried fairly soon after that. They are both very warm and caring and I have never doubted their love for me.


3. As a result of that, I have two younger half brothers and a stepsister. My mom was also married briefly before my dad and I have an older brother from that marriage. My dad adopted him while he was married to my mom though so we had the same last name. Ya got all that?


4. I was born in Rome, Georgia and lived near there in Silver Creek until I was 15 years old and we moved to North Carolina for my stepdad's job. I'm still here and have no desire to live anywhere else.


5. I LOVE animals. Always have. They bring such joy and love to our lives if we let them and I believe we can learn a lot from them.


6. I was extremely shy as a child until I got to know someone really well. I do much better now though I will never be a social butterfly. This used to bother me because I felt I needed to change but now I know it is just who I am and the only time it does now is when I hear that someone thinks I don't like them or that I'm "stuck up" when that is so far from true.


7. I hate conflict or being involved in it in any way. Never been a drama queen and just have no desire to be around someone who is.


8. Also goes for negativity or woe is me attitudes. Everyone you meet is struggling with something in their lives at any given time. Pray about it, hold your head up and press on but please, don't whine about it.


9. When I was a very young child, my most prized possessions in all the world were my "cold rabbits" and the funny thing is, they weren't really even rabbits but giraffes. They were these small rubber squeaky giraffes wearing turtlenecks that I held in my right hand and sucked my left thumb in order to fall asleep. They felt cold to my touch so I would hold the cold one until it got warm and then alternate it with the other one until I went to sleep. I'm realizing how nuts this sounds now...lol! I still have those things in my hope chest in the basement.


10. I am not a slob but I have always struggled with organization. I like for things to be neat...just have a hard time keeping them that way. I will never win any awards in this category. My male rugrats are not helping to combat this issue but I can't send 'em back now...I love 'em too darn much! :-)


11. As a result of number 6, I often find it somewhat challenging to get close to people but once I do, I get really attached and like to keep them around. I always had an awful hard time with breakups even when I knew it was just not working.


12. I have had the same best friend, Michelle P, for over 23 years now. We met in Biology class at the beginning of 10th grade because we were both the new kids in town. We don't see each other as often as we'd like but we are always there for each other when it counts.


13. I'm addicted to Yoplait yogurt.


14. I wear a little night guard on my top two front teeth at night because my dentist says I grind my teeth in my sleep. It makes me look like Bugs Bunny but Charlie thinks it's cute.


15. I feel that I have grown by leaps and bounds as a person and as a Christian since losing my first husband, Darin, in an accident when I was 32.


16. As a result of becoming a young widow, I met three of the most amazing ladies I have ever known and am so proud and honored to call them my friends. (Kari, Jenn and Michele...love you girls!) Thanks, http://www.youngwidow.com/!


17. I'm a chocoholic but I'm doing much better. Yoplait's chocolate mousse flavored yogurt helps!


18. Never been a morning person. Okay, this is an understatement! Don't look at me until I've had at least 3, no make it 5, sips of coffee in the morning and whatever you do, please DON'T SING first thing in the morning! My little one, Dracen, unfortunately got this gene too. Poor Charlie and Devin.


19. My first "baby" was a longhaired Dachshund named Dixie. She was with me for 14 years until she died last year (Sept '09) of congestive heart failure. I think of her and miss her every single day but my God is an awesome God so I know she'll be in my heaven.


20. I adopted two more longhaired weiners from DRNA (http://www.drna.org/) after losing Dixie last year. They came with their Andy Griffith Show character names, Brisco and Charlene Darling which I kept but seems I usually end up calling them Big Boy and Li'l Bit...just kinda happened. I want to adopt a couple more but Charlie says we need a bigger bed first cause they sleep with us and he knows I won't show partiality.


21. We should be getting that bigger bed soon as we are in the process of buying a bigger house, after 19 months of looking! We are set to close on 3/30/10. Yay!


22. I am super blessed with good inlaws and not only one set but 3. I could just be easy to get along with and I am pretty much but they really are just "good people" and I am so thankful.


23. Charlie tells me often how lucky he feels to have me in his life and I think I'm pretty darn lucky too. Thanks, Yahoo.


24. I used to always keep a good tan going in the summer but since having a basal cell carcinoma treated on my chest last spring, my tans now come from a bottle and I'm always packin' sunscreen. You should too.


25. I love shoes! Need I say more?


26. I have a lot of "girly girl" qualites but I am not high maintenance...no, seriously, I've been told so!


27. I majored in Criminal Justice. Apparently, I thought I wanted to be a police officer but my mom said she knew that would never happen because I would never be caught dead in one of those uniforms. Needless to say, I never became a police officer.


28. I have a STRONG desire to travel and while I have been able to check a few places off my list, there are still many I long to visit and am convinced I will see them all.


29. My boys test my patience and sanity on most any given day but my life has truly been about so much more than myself since the day I became a mother and I cannot imagine any greater role in life.


30. I worked in the mortgage/finance business for 5 years after college before co-owning a florist with one of my best friends, Dana. I hated being couped up in an office every day, loved arranging flowers but did not enjoy the business side of owning a florist. I've been a stay home mom since 2003.


31. Cooking is not a passion of mine though I can do it and I've been told I make a mean lasagna.


32. I always loved to read but had gotten out of the habit of doing a lot of it after having my youngest and most mischievous child, the Dracenator! I have recently rekindled the passion and sometimes have trouble pacing myself. It's so easy for me to get whisked away while reading a good book. I caught myself calling the Dracenator by the name of a character in one of my books while trying to wake him up one morning.


33. I started working out when I was 17 and for the most part, it has been a big part of my life since. I love the gym I belong to now. (http://www.theperfectworkout.net/) The classes are my thing: pilates, yoga, boot camp, zumba. I get bored with the same ole routine.


34. I have Thalassemia minor but did not find out I had it til I was pregnant with the Dracenator....was always misdiagnosed as having iron deficiency anemia. Both my boys and my dad have it too. It is commonly misdiagnosed as my dad was misdiagnosed as having Pernicious anemia. Half of our red blood cells are normal and half of them are not which basically just boils down to us always having a lower than average hemoglobin level and sometimes we tire easily. Thal Major is bad news and requires blood transfusions to live but both parents must carry the Thal minor or major gene to pass that on.


35. I love key lime pie when it's done right.


36. I bought a brand new red Mustang when I was 23. I traded it in for a 4 door mommymoblie when I found out I was pregnant with Dev but I long to own a classic convertible Mustang some day.


37. Redbirds, particularly Cardinals, hold a special place in my heart. I always liked them but in the early days of my grief a few years ago, I was blessed with a front yard full of them all at once and have always viewed that as a gift from God; I cannot see one now without thinking of that day.


38. Spanking my kids is not my thing. I have tried it in the past and it just doesn't work for us. Instead we suspend privileges. I think this is more in line with how the real world works.


39. When I was a kid, I wanted more than anything to be a Solid Gold Dancer when I grew up.


40. I acquired a taste for red wine several years ago and though I don't drink often, it is always my drink of choice.


41. I didn't go to kindergarten. It was still optional then.


42. Going underwater makes me uncomfortable though it didn't so much when I was younger.


43. Motorcycles used to excite me but now the risk of riding one frightens me.


44. My mom always worked but I had an awesome babysitter, Mrs. White. She was in her 70s and had white hair and I loved her like she was my own grandmother. She never ran out of circus peanuts, orange slices, and peppermint sticks.


45. I LOVED Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers as a child and sat in the floor watching them on that big floor model television every afternoon.


46. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 18.


47. My childhood best friend was Jennifer T. She lived in my neighborhood and we were practically inseparable for many years. We logged in lots of hours on our bikes and her trampoline and she introduced me to raw cookie dough and shared my love of animals. She has a small zoo of sorts in GA and is making some beautiful jewelry these days... http://www.jnicdesigns.etsy.com/.


48. I was absolutely terrified of needles, as in shots, when I was a kid and after waiting in a long line to get an immunization I needed to start school, I bolted, forcing my poor mother to chase me down the hall before catching me and dragging me back. I still don't like 'em but I don't run anymore.


49. I've always loved Magnolia trees, maybe because Mrs. White had two giant ones in her front yard. That Steel Magnolias movie wasn't too bad either. ;-)


50. Weeping Willows run a close second though I can't really say why.


51. I love the ocean and can spend hours staring out at it...makes me feel close to God.


52. I find the mountains pretty majestic too and am fortunate to live so close to them.


53. I had never watched The Sopranos (cause I don't have HBO) until about a year ago when Charlie and I bought the entire series on dvd. We were both totally addicted and went through DT's when we were done watching them. Genius.



54. I totally do not get how people can watch that reality show about privileged housewives...yuck!


55. The fame and popularity of Spongebob baffles me! It's about a nerdy sponge living in a pineapple under the sea and hanging out with a bucktoothed squirrel and a very slow starfish. Oh, and he has a pet snail that meows! What tha? Somebody had to be smokin' something to come up with this stuff! I'm just sayin'....


56. I think Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle are three of the funniest men on the planet.


57. You can say what you want about Simon Cowell but the man is almost always right and American Idol will never be the same without him.


58. Dr Seuss books are BEASTIN'! Dev and the Dracenator taught me that word. They'd be so proud that I used it in a sentence. I'm told it's a really good thing!


59. I love the Griswolds! Poor Clark never could get it right but he tried oh so hard.


60. I hate instant mashed potatoes. Some things just shouldn't be "instant".


61. I could sniff Play Doh all day. I know I'm not alone on this....you all know who you are...Jeannie?


62. It never occurred to me, however, to make my own though my BFF, Michelle, apparently does and assures us that it smells the same. Hmmm....


63. While I don't like instant mashed potatoes, for some reason I have no problem with instant grits... and me a respectable Southerner and all.


64. I'm a big music lover and have a very diversified taste in it.


65. The only instrument I ever learned to play was the clarinet. I still cringe when I think about that wooden reed touching my teeth...eww.


66. I swear I'm going to learn to play piano one of these days...


67. My sense of smell is very keen and it amazes me how a certain smell can trigger a memory in an instant.


68. Some of my favorite smells (besides play doh) are: vanilla, puppy breath, lavender, shoe stores, leather, new cars, certain roses, coffee, ocean air and dog paws...yes, I said dog paws. Is that weird?


69. I read the book, Embraced By the Light, by Betty Eadie, 10 years ago and it had a more profound effect on me than I ever thought a book could have. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. (http://www.embracedbythelight.com/)


70. My favorite time of day is late afternoon to just before dusk.


71. One of the most awesome places I've been to date was on top of Gibraltar last summer. Those tailless monkeys combined with that amazing view of the Mediterranean truly took my breath away. (http://www.gibraltarmonkey.com/)


72. I hate cigarette smoke with a passion. I'm so happy North Carolina passed the smoking ban.


73. I love that snow is magical where I live. School is out, half the town shuts down and everyone buys out all the milk and bread from the local grocery store at the mere mention of it in the forecast. It brings out the kid in most all of us Southerners.


74. I like to get dressed up as much as any girl but when I'm at home, I want to be comfortable so I spend a lot of time in sweats and t-shirts.


75. I took a personality test once that told me I have a calming effect on those around me. This does seem to be true with most everyone except for my offspring....oh, how I wish!


76. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday though it means something so much more to me now that it did as a child. The gifts are fun, especially for the kids, and I do LOVE giving them but the celebration of the birth of Jesus fills my heart and soul with so much love and joy.


77. My favorite flower is the Tulip but I also love daisies, freesia and lavender roses. I find lilies very beautiful but they wreak havoc on my allergies.


78. When I was about 21, I decided I wanted a pair of snakeskin cowboy boots. I think I only wore them once, maybe twice. Still not sure what I was thinking.


79. I had some BIG HAIR back in the 80s, early 90s and I was so proud of it. It took me hours with the curling iron, blow dryer and Rave hairspray to get it to my liking.


80. I'm a researcher and like to know all I can about something before I jump all the way into it. This only applies to big or important things though.

81. Google is my best friend. I don't know what I ever did without it.


82. The older I get, the more interested I become in antiques and history in general. Hmm...


83. Spiders terrify me and I'm not kidding! Except, for some reason, writing spiders....those don't upset me.


84. I think Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were spot on when they wrote...You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need!


85. I had two c-sections. The first one was not planned and I went through about 26 hours of labor before I agreed to it...turned out Devin was more stubborn than I and he has a very big head.


86. The worst physical pain I've ever experienced, next to labor, was gallstone attacks. I had my gallbladder removed in 2000.


87. I love porches and porch swings and have spent many contemplative hours on mine.


88. I am always on time and I get quite annoyed by chronic lateness.


89. I believe that if you promise someone you're going to do something then you should do all in your power to uphold the promise.


90. Wonder Woman was always my superhero of choice and I wanted to be just like her.


91. My favorite kicks are my red boots.


92. I play the music in my car way too loud and sing at the top of my lungs when I'm driving alone and I don't have the best singing voice.


93. I love jewelry but I love it most when it has special meaning so I don't typically buy it for myself.

94. I have attended May's Chapel UMC since 1994 and have been a member since 1997. Having a supportive church family has been such a blessing in my life over the years and I am so thankful for that. (http://www.mayschapelmethodist.org/)

95. I love lazy, Sunday afternoons. Most everyone in my neck of the woods seems to have the same relaxed state of mind on Sundays and I find such a peace in that.

96. While I do love to travel and visit other parts of the country and world, it's always nice to come home to the simple living of a small town.

97. Humility is a quality I greatly admire.

98. The ability to really listen and hear someone out without interrupting is another.

99. This whole 100 things thing has been way harder than I expected.

100. It was also a lot of fun!