Turning 30

Turning 30 seems like it should be some big milestone.

Like now I'm really an adult or something (I still feel like a kid)

or my youth is starting to fade (really? cuz again, I feel like a spring chicken!).

My husband just sent me to bed early so he can scheme, plan, and do who-knows-what to celebrate my birthday because he's kind of awesome. 

So before I take advantage of this early-ish evening and get some extra zzz's, I thought I'd jot down 30 of the most random things I can think of about myself.......

1. As a kid, I wanted to be a marine biologist and swim with the whales or something.  Now, I can think of few professions I'd dislike more.  I have a serious fear of swimming in open water and while snorkeling in Hawaii I had to force myself to enjoy how awesome it was instead of looking out for the great white shark that I knew was about to swim up and eat me. 

Look at that sucker!  

2. I was born with 6 toes on my left foot.  True story.  That extra little pinky toe had joints, a nail, everything, and my parents thankfully had it surgically removed when I was 3 months old.

3. I have managed to go through life without needing braces and have only ever had 3 tiny cavities after Kenadie was born.  And then I married someone with the exact opposite dentition as myself.  It'll be interesting to see how much our kids will cost us in dental work in the future. ;)

4. I love to sing and have a bright, show-tunesy type voice; however, if I could have any type of singing voice in the world, I'd want to sound just like Hayley Westenra or any other Celtic singer.  Their clear voices are so pure and I imagine that the angels in heaven sound just like them. :)

5. When I was little I thought my mom and I were BFF's and kindred spirits because we both loved tomato sandwiches with alfalfa sprouts on them.  I remember once when I was between 5 or 6 years old, my mom got seriously mad at me for something (must not have happened very often) and I was devastated because I thought our BFF days were over.  

6. My dad has this weird habit of giving people (especially his kids) the most odd nicknames (my nickname from childhood is "Pitch").  I have inherited this tendency and all three of my kids must endure the weird nicknames that have somehow come to fruition.  "K-Spark" (Kenadie), "Lupita" (Lila), and "Man Cub" (Soren) are just a few of them (and sadly not the weirdest ones!).

Sporting my mom's Miss America
 evening gown from the 70's. Nice!

7. I competed in Miss Alaska two years in a row.  I had no clue how to do my hair or make-up or how to do the "pageant walk" (there honestly is such a thing and I had to practice more than any other girl there because apparently I stomp around instead of gracefully glide).  My experience was literally like the scene in Miss Congeniality where Sandra Bullock stumbles into the backstage dressing room and the other girls rush to her aid to help make her look pretty when they realize how clueless she is.  Those girls seriously saved my bacon and made me looked pageant-worthy.  PS I never got over the mortification of wearing a bathing suit and high heels on stage.

8. I love getting pedicures, but have only gotten 4 of them in my life.  One for a cousin's wedding, one for my wedding, one as a Christmas gift, and the fourth because my mother-in-law couldn't believe I'd only ever had 3 pedicures before and took me out to get one. ;)

9. A few of my favorite books: Les Miserables, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Great Divorce, and Man's Search for Meaning.

He is my very own McDreamy ;)

10. Patrick Dempsey is my celebrity crush.  Luckily, I am married to his doppleganger. ;)

11. Few things make my skin crawl like the sight of the inside of a pomegranate/passion fruit/cantaloupe and if I see a water bottle with thousands of condensation droplets on the inside, I have to shake it up because it gives me the willies. If you have the same problem, you may just have some degree of "trypophobia".  Clusters of holes/circles seriously disturb me and always have.  Honestly, the thought of it is like nails on a chalkboard.  Yesterday for Father's Day we had fresh shrimp that Garrett brought back from a boating trip and when I went to take off one of the shrimp's shell, I discovered a huge cluster of tiny shrimp eggs on its underside--full-fledged trypophobic attack!  Ick, ick, ick!  I think my shrimp-eating days are over for awhile....

12. If I could change anything about myself it would be to care less about what others think of me and stop trying to be such a perfectionist. 

13. Ever since Kenadie was 6 months old, I've slept with ear plugs and now I can hardly sleep without them.

14. I rarely buy clothes/shoes for myself (partially to save money, partially because I HATE clothes shopping) and though I wouldn't mind a wardrobe full of cute clothes, I'm cool with my usual yoga pants and t-shirt attire.  That being said, for some odd reason I'm always wanting to buy another cute swimsuit (um, I think I already have 4!) even though I live in Alaska, rarely go swimming, and don't particularly feel comfortable showing my ghostly white skin in public.

15. If I knew that my Grannie Oberg was proud of who I am and what I do, I'd consider it one of my greatest life accomplishments. 

16. Throughout my life I've had variations of two reoccurring nightmares: in one dream it's the last day of the semester and I realize that I have to take a final for a math class to which I never attended.  In the second dream I'm always trying to make it through a horrible tornado storm.  I usually have the tornado one every few months or so. 

17. If I had a million dollars I would: pay off Garrett's student loans, build my dream house, take our family to a 3rd world country for a service trip, buy a baby grand piano, buy 2 reliable cars for our family, and invest the rest. 

18. My dream house doesn't have to be big or fancy, but I'd want it to use space efficiently, have a fabulous kitchen, and sit on the top of a hill with huge windows and a view of the mountains. 

19. Ever since the Lord of the Rings movies came out, people have told me that I look like the queen elf, Galadriel.  I don't know why, but for awhile it bothered me when people would say this and I took it as an insult. 

20. If I could live anywhere, it would be: anywhere I can breathe clean air, drink fresh, clean water, be active, and have beautiful mountain views to look at.

21. My favorite scripture: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3) 

22. If I weren't a mom I would want to go back to school to become a CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife).  It I weren't a nurse, I would want to be a teacher or perform on Broadway.  However, if I could do anything in the world it would be to do what I do now and be a full-time mom.  Lucky me. :)

23. One of my biggest fears is for someone to think that I am unkind. 

24. As much as a I hate it, I have the Oberg tendency of jumping into debates on hot-topic issues (particularly on Facebook), and its a tendency I've decided I want to squash. 

25. Ever since leaving Argentina 8 years ago, I've had serious cravings for a coconut chocolate Alfajor.  Mmmm, mmm!

The curled-under mullet: awesome

26. I'm a pretty perfect driver with a clean record.....sorta.  A few years ago I backed into Garrett's car and dented the side of his front bumper.  I may have let a few curse words slip, I cried and cried, and Garrett laughed and laughed at me (I don't think I'll EVER live it down). 

27. My mom blessed my childhood by giving me a mullet hair-do.  Thanks, Mom! 

28. I used to collect things and hold onto them for sentimental value (a little like a pack rat).  Over the past 10 or so years I have slowly become the exact opposite and have no problem getting rid of things.  I hate clutter and I like having as few possessions as possible.

29. Whenever I cry, my eyes get a little wet but never really produce tears.  This always made me mad as a kid because I wanted to be a Hollywood actress and I just knew that I'd never "make it" unless I could produce tears that rolled down my cheeks during crying scenes.

30. When Garrett asked Kenadie tonight how old she thought I was, she guessed 33.  Not too shabby. :)

 Thanks for giving birth to me 30 years ago Mama! 

Because really, it's just as much your day as it is mine. :)