Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you and post it. At the end, choose 5 people to be tagged. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.
Thanks, Maya! Thus…
1. I’ve lived in six states so far, and in four different time zones: Alabama, North Carolina, Michigan, Utah, California, and Colorado.
2. Right after college, I spent the entire summer figuring out the right combination of ingredients to make the most perfect tomato salsa. This past summer I figured out how to make an amazing mango salsa to complement it.
3. I attended the North Carolina School of the Arts for high school. I get a kick out of describing it as a real-life experience akin to that 80s television show Fame.
4. I met my husband Matt McGrath on match.com. We hiked 12 miles in the Angeles National Forest on our first date. We’ve been married 5 1/2 years now.
5. I have about 600 hours of yoga teacher training, and have been practicing yoga since 1999. My favorite posture is janu sirsasana.
6. At about seven or eight years old, my mom took me to an art museum for the first time. When it was time to go, I sat down in the floor and pouted until she was finally dragged me out. My favorite artists as a kid were Georgia O’Keefe and Matisse.
7. I lived in an artist’s loft above skid row in Los Angeles for a year. It was hot and loud, it smelled terrible, and there was nowhere to shop or eat out. After a homeless guy pushed me off the sidewalk and into the road in front of oncoming traffic, I knew it was time to move to Glendale.
8. I had a horse named Beast when I was in elementary school. He was the gentlest, sweetest horse imaginable.
9. I get my love of the outdoors from my dad. On the last trip he made to visit me, we went to Joshua Tree National Park, Prescott National Forest in Sedona, and the Grand Canyon. We took a yack-inducing pink jeep “adventure tour” during which our seatbelts got quite a workout and our cheeks ached from laughing — out of pleasure or fear I’ll never be sure.
10. I’m a southpaw. Once in college I was at a dinner party where everyone at the table randomly turned up left-handed.
11. As a kid I always used to think my dad was lying and/or crazy when he said his favorite color was brown. Now I agree with him. I also have an affinity for orange.
12. I believe the planet is gravely overpopulated.
13. My favorite place to recreate is in southern Utah.
14. The things I miss most about living in L.A. are: my yoga community, ethnic food (especially Thai food), dive bars, my girlfriends, Michael Levine’s fabric store, Swains art supplies, and going to the Staples Center to see L.A. Kings hockey games.
15. The things I don’t miss about living in L.A. are: the too-cool hipsters in Los Feliz/Silverlake, the traffic, valet parking, and knowing that I would probably never be able to afford to own my own home.
16. My favorite ice cream combination is Raspberry Sherbet and Peanut Butter & Chocolate from Baskin Robbins. And yes, I like them mixed up in the same cup!
17. I always try avoid paying for parking. I would rather walk half a mile than pay to park.
18. I am extremely sensitive to loud noises. I always cover my ears when an ambulance streaks by. I’m sure people think I’m nuts.
19. I really need to make a separate line item in my budget just for shopping on amazon.com.
20. I love owning a Honda Civic Hybrid. It gets around 47 mpg, and it doesn’t scream “Look at me!” like the Prius does.
21. After taking a horticulture class in college, I tortured my friends and family endlessly by rattling off Latin and common names of about 300 native and ornamental plants.
22. In college, I wanted to double major in graphic design and landscape architecture, but one of my professors discouraged me from landscape architecture. Although I love practicing graphic design, I regretted following his advice.
23. My mom is my favorite shopping companion.
24. My first job was as a roller-skating waitress at a drive-in burger joint.
25. My favorite wild animal is a desert big horn sheep. They are nimble rock-climbers!
And now it’s my turn to tag five innocent people! Here are my victims:
Danielle, my roommate at NC School of the Arts and author of Dreadsky, a blog about her photography.
Victoria, author of Las Angelenas, a blog about fashion, food, and life in Los Angeles.
Kim, the most literary person I know. She posts irregularly at KimSaid.
Peter, who occasionally teases us with cool retro stuff on his blog, The Grant Report.
And last but not least, my WT... Lisa O!
