fifty-one is tons of fun!

Here are 51 fun and interesting facts about me - in case you're interested. Even if you're not interested, pretend you are and read this anyway.

1. My birthday happens to be on the 4th of July
2. I'm left-handed
3. I am the middle child - mom always said I was the "special link" that held the family together
4. I'm already having trouble thinking of fun and interesting facts about me!
5. When I was 16 I had major reconstructive jaw surgery to correct an "open bite"
6. My first job was working at Gap Kids - I despised it!
7. My first car was a 1982 Honda Prelude which my sister and I named "Rhonda the Honda"
8. I went to UNC Greensboro and majored in Human Development and Family Studies
9. I still have my baby blanket, but don't even think about asking what "his" name is
10. I once was caught in the Bahamas during a hurricane
11. I thought the characters on stage at Chuck E. Cheese were real people in costumes
12. I used to think 30 was old
13. At a NKOTB concert when I was 11, I wacked a lady's glasses off doing the Hangin' Tough arm swing
14. I get sucked into celebrity gossip
15. I love to be outdoors, especially when its not hotter than 80 degrees
16. I prefer the mountains to the beach
17. One of the members of Hanson literally RAN into me in the LA airport in 1999
18. I love playing clean practical jokes on people
19. I love laughing until I cry, its so cleansing
20. I married my next door neighbor
21. I learned how to do some really good sound effects while I was in college
22. In 2nd grade, I got in trouble for singing the alphabet during rest time - I had to go out in the hall and do 50 jumping-jacks. Fortunately for me we had just learned to count by twos, so I really only did 25 jumping-jacks!
23. I love cheesy teen movies like "Clueless","10 Things I Hate About You", "Bring It On", you get the picture.
24. People constantly mess up my name and call me Carolyn. Before I was married and my last name was Owen, one lady thought my name was Carolyn Ellen...yikes!
25. The combination of peanut-butter and chocolate is oh so good!
26. I ran my first 5K footrace three weeks ago
27. My senior year of high school, my BFF, Stephanie and I sang a solo at youth group. I TOTALLY forgot all the words to one verse
28. I never went to my high school proms
29. I got engaged at the prom (I'll post about this later)
30. My siblings and I used to play endless amounts of "Little House on the Prairie". I was always Carolyn (a.k.a. Ma Ingalls)
31. I used to think Charles in Charge was sooooooo good looking!
32. My first kiss wasn't until I was 18
33. I have traveled to Ireland twice
34. I have had 7 jobs since I was 16. My most favorite job is the one I'm doing right now...Stay-at-home-mom!
35. As a newborn I slept through the night (8 hrs. +) at only 5 weeks old - Mom, you sure were lucky.
36. Also, as a toddler, I would ASK to be put down for my nap or bedtime by saying "Down". Perfect child? I think so.
37. My mother once smushed a piece of bread w/butter into my face
38. I used to think Ghostbusters was a scary movie
39. My first pet was a tiny turtle I named HD (Half-Dollar). I got him from my friend Dusty Pearson and just showed up at home with him without asking my parents. That went over well. HD only lived several days. I guess his blade of grass meal and inch of water wasn't sufficient for his survival.
40. I LOVE roller coasters and am trying to convince Adam to go to Carowinds with me this summer!
41. I used to think the fireworks on the 4th of July were just for me!
42. I love Chick-Fil-A sweet tea
43. My favorite food as a child was McDonald's cheeseburger and fries. Hooray for the Golden Arches!
44. I really did used to think new tennis shoes made you run faster and jump higher
45. When I was young, I also thought I could fly like Peter Pan and attempted countless times to take flight off of a stone wall in our front yard.
46. I once (when I was like 2) stuffed monkey-grass berries up my nose
47. I don't like scary movies (Ghostbusters doesn't count anymore)
48. I love the smell inside the house when the windows are open
49. I suffered two direct hits by the same batter (consecutive at-bats) during a softball game. One was to the side of my knee, the other to my pelvic bone - Ouch!
50. I have never broken a bone (okay, now where's some wood I can knock on)
51. I'm done with this post!