I've been tagged (eeeer, was tagged. Awhile ago!)

I've been tagged by Andrea and Tiffany (at some point I need to meet the third sister!)

Here's how you play: Once you've been tagged, write a blog of ten weird, random things, facts or habits about yourself. At the end, tag five more people, listing their names and why you chose them. Don't forget to leave them a comment "tag you're it" and to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you -- so let them know when you've posted your blog so s/he can read your answers.

Here goes nothing!

1. My hair is rarely, and I do mean rarely, not in a ponytail. Most days start with a shower and blow dry (upside down for volume and body), but the ponytail comes back within an hour. I even sleep with a ponytail. My ponytail habit is so bad my hairdresser recommended that I wear my hair up during my wedding when I commented that I might want to wear it down "after all." Her reasoning: everyone is used to my hair being in a ponytail, so the up-do would look natural. Luckily, I went with something a little more stylish than just a ponytail ;)

2. During dinner, I usually eat one part of the meal at time ... circling around my plate until it's finished. I'm not a big fan of mixing foods, unless it's peanut butter and chocolate or mashed potatoes and noodles. I've gotten a little better over the years, but I doubt you'd ever catch me putting two different foods on my fork at the same time (mixed veggies and soup don't count).

3. Sometimes I still want to call my grandma when I see things I think she'd like. For instance, I saw a very neat book on the Civil War at the National Building Museum gift shop this weekend and said to myself "hey, Grandma would like that!" Reality check: she would like it, but I can't share it with her.

4. I secretly hate planning trips. Don't get me wrong, I love to travel and I actually like to plan. But trying to plan something when I don't know the area very well gives me a headache. This is probably why Mike and I ended up taking a two-day walking tour of Washington --- trying to coordinate the Metro even after we arrived in DC would have taken more planning than I felt like doing ;)

5. The happiest moment in my day: when I come home and the puppies greet me at the door with wagging tails.

6. I wish my EMT license hadn't expired and worked in Virginia. Some days I really don't love my desk job. I need more time outside and more interaction with people. These days I feel completely caught off-guard when someone comes by to say hello, or the phone happens to ring. The interesting thing, my profession is normally very client-driven ... I'm just not sure who I can talk to about what or when. It leaves me contemplating a lot about future job choices.

7. I REALLY HATE FEET. Especially mine. The only feet I like come in fours and are covered in fur.

8. My favorite season is fall. The mid-western fall where air is crisp, the leaves change colors and you can eat chili during football games and actually enjoy the warmth (here in VA, we still eat chili but it's just not the same as when it's 40 degrees outside).

9. I'm better at thinking about the future than living in the present. I research all sorts of things to do, places to see, restaurants to try ... but I have yet to visit Jamestown, see the Mariner's Museum or eat at Luna Maya. While I really enjoy doing new things, I think the real fun for me comes in discovering them.

10. In fact, I've always enjoyed research projects. When I was in elementary school, I once spent a week of summer vacation doing "country reports" on about a dozen or more countries I wanted to visit someday. My mom probably still has that checkered notebook full of my interesting finds. In 7th grade, we had a project called "the Grandparent Unit." We had to create binders for one grandparent. I chose my grandpa, and for weeks my grandma and I collected pictures, letters and stories to share. The book clearly shows how much people love my grandpa, as it's full of artifacts and stories about his life that I received from all of my family, many family friends and acquaintances. I secretly want to make a similar book for Mike, but I'd never be able to keep it a secret .... and I'd need his help getting contact information for people! I loved a high school history class because we could do research presentations instead of final exams --- I wrote one on the history of the FBI and another on the 1983 Marine barrack attacks in Lebanon. My college experience was full of classes on terrorism, foreign policy and security strategy. Needless to say, I wrote a lot of papers (and wanted to be an intelligence analyst ... which would have required a lot of research!) The most difficult and enjoyable paper to write detailed my thoughts on the recommendations put forth in the 9/11 Commission Report. Today, I love writing grants. I think because it requires quite a bit of research to find funding opportunities and then to answer all of the questions in a concise and compelling way. I suppose what this really means: I love investigating. And writing (can you tell?). Maybe I should reconsider investigative journalism as a career ;)

Were those random enough? I'm sure there are other more interesting things I could share, but these are the ones that came to mind.

I tag:

Jacqui - it'll be a fun challenge if I ask her to share things I don't know yet! Plus, she'll update her blog again ;)

Amy - I know I'll enjoy reading what she lists!

Dana - will she share some France-inspired randomness?!

Kate - I'd love to learn more about her:)

Brigindo - I see she like research projects, too!