I've been tagged!

Andrea tagged me:

I had to think about this one for awhile, but here they are:

1) I love to dress up. And by dress up, I mean wear nice slacks and a nice sweater or blouse, or a skirt, or a dress with heels and jewelry...everyday, all the time. I know that may come as a shock to some of you, because I rarely do dress up, but I seriously envy the women of the 50's with their cute dresses, pearls, and heels. Now, why don't I dress up more often? There are three reasons: 1) My kids. I love them, but let's face it, they're messy, which means I get messy just by being around them. 2) Lack of money. A wardrobe like that requires more money than my current wardrobe of two pairs of jeans and a handful of T-shirts. 3) It's hard for me to find grown-up type clothing in my size. Now, you can all roll your eyes and sarcastically say "poor Heather", but I'm a little too tall for most petite brands, and I'm too thin to fit into most stores smallest size in women's clothing. That leaves me with Juniors clothing...I just don't have as many options as everyone else, and it burns me up inside! Actually, the money thing is my biggest hang up. If it weren't for that pesky little problem...

2) I love to shop on the internet. I'm obsessed with finding good deals, and some of the best ones are to be had by sifting through that glorious thing I call cyberspace. Of course, you have to know what you're doing, and I've dedicated more time than I care to admit to unlocking many internet shopping secrets. Also, many internet-based stores carry a wider range of sizes, which means that, I too, can dress like a woman, not a kid.

3) I believe in ghosts, and in fact, I am convinced that at least one calls my parents' barn home. There are lots of stories that I could share, that I'm sure will lead you to the same conclusion, but I'll share just two. First of all, you need to know that the people who owned the house before my parents built the barn, and instead of a traditional loft, they opted for a half-court basketball court complete with polished wood floor and painted on key. One afternoon, I walked out to the barn with my tennis racket and a can of tennis balls, to practice (I used to love hitting tennis balls against the far wall..it helped with my speed, agility and reflexes). When I opened the barn door, I could hear someone bouncing a basketball. Assuming it was my brother, Brett, I crept up the stairs, and peeked around the corner, thinking I would sneak up on him and scare him. Instead, as soon as I poked my head around the corner, the bouncing immediately stopped, and there was no one there. NO ONE! Just a basketball that was rolling around on the floor, like someone had just dropped it. And, in case you're a skeptic, I'm sure that no one was there. There is only one way up to the court: the stairscase, and I was on it, and there is nowhere to hide up there. It's completely open. Let's just say that I RAN down those stairs as fast as I could and it was a long time before I had the courage to go back. Then, there are the darts. Darts? Yes, darts. My family doesn't play darts, we don't own darts, but one day we found several darts all clustered together on the wall...way up high near the ceiling. Now, some of you are probably thinking to yourselves that the darts could have been there before we moved in and that we just didn't notice them. Yeah, we thought that too. Until they started to move. Every so often the darts change location, but they're always clustered close together, and they're usually up high. Even my parents haven't come up with a good explanation for that one.

4) I hate taking naps. I hate the feeling of waking up in the middle of the day, groggy and disoriented. That's not to say that I don't, on occasion, nap. But, I hate it just the same.

5) I love to collect things. Most of my collections are in my head, since, once again, I lack the money to indulge. Right now, I collect pretty saucers that I use as dessert plates...a whole pretty collection of mis-matched plates. Someday I hope to collect old antique and vintage cameras, dishes of all kinds, and children's books: from the 1800's, the Victorian era, and vintage. Awesome.

6) I love color. Someday, when we get a house again, I will not be afraid to use color. I begged James to let me paint our old house, but he was reluctant to put that much time and money into a house that we would be selling in a few years. But, when we do get another house, my kitchen will be yellow with red accents, and every room in the house will be a different color scheme. Watch out!

7) It's hard for me to live in communities where I am surrounded by other Mormons. That's not to say that I hate other Mormons, or that there aren't advantages to it, but I've just never gotten used to it. I loved being one of the only LDS students in my high school, and I miss the thrill you get when you come across another member at unexpected times. Let's face it, I'm lazier here because I think "someone else will do it", and I don't like that about myself, but it's true. It's easier for me to be a good example when things are more black and white, rather than varying shades of gray. I really hope to be living somewhere other than Utah at the end of James' schooling. (Even though it kills me to think about not living close to family, which we have LOVED)

There. I tag Rachel , Summer , and no one else because that is the end of my blogging buddies list...yes, I'm a loser, thanks for rubbing it in!