She says

Incase you wanted to know, here’s everything I could think of:

- I was born in West Allis, Wisconsin on June 27, 1983 to two very lovely parents — John and Lisa.

- My parents were divorced when I was about 3. To this day, they are friends and for that I am thankful. Their divorce didn’t traumatically affect me, mostly because I don’t think I really ever remember them together. My life, going to dad’s on the weekends, always seemed normal.

- When I was a child I carried a blanket, my NieNie, with me where ever I went. I don’t think my 20-something mother liked this very much so one day she convinced me it would be very “big girl” of me to get rid of it. I vividly remember throwing it over the top of the very tall dumpster of our apartment complex and saying goodbye. I wish I still had that blanket. Now, I sleep with a pillow that my dad gave to my mom as a wedding gift. It doesn’t have many feathers left. In fact, it’s mostly just pillow case and no pillow. I call it my Mushy and don’t care if my 30-something boyfriend thinks it’s cheesy.

- Speaking of my 30-something boyfriend. His name is Jeff. I believe that I’ll marry him someday. I never knew what it was like for your lover to be your best friend until I met him. I tell him everything. Poor guy.

- Jeff and I have a dog, Jack. It was quite an irrational purchase, if I do say so myself. We walked into a pet store and I fell in love with the little guy even though on our way there Jeff told me we were “absolutly not coming home with a puppy tonight.” An hour later, the beagle was on my lap. We had a pretty hard time choosing a name for him and probably changed it 20 times in the first week we had him. Jack stuck. Jack has taught me so much about life, and yes I realize he’s just a dog. But he’s ours and we love him as much as we love each other.

- I picked my major in college based on length of time I could finish the program in. I wish someone would have told me then that print journalism wasn’t a wise choice. Three years post college, I’m faced with considering a new career every day. In October 2008, I took the leap into that new path. Five months later, I lost my job.

- I was always really good at math and English. In high school, my English teacher pulled me aside and told me that I needed to write for the rest of my life. I didn’t know what my choices were besides to become a journalist. Currently, I am a reporter at a small town newspaper.

- I love to cook but did not inherit that trait from my family. My mom isn’t a very good cook (sorry Ma), aside from her bean soup, which I could eat by the gallon. And my dad is the pickiest person I know. He makes rules like, “I will not eat anything that is white.” I, on the other hand, will eat just about everything. Except meatloaf and ketchup.

- I met Jeff on my second night in Oshkosh. I moved to Oshkosh two weeks before I graduated from college and one week after I decided to make it work (again) with who I thought was the love of my life. Jeff changed everything.

- I’m a bad speller and I’m dyslexic. My dyslexia was noticed in a high school business class where we were learning how to do our taxes. My totals were always off by nine. Same thing happens these days when I balance my check book – and yes, I still do it the old fashioned way complete with a check register tucked in the front of my checkbook. I never officially got tested for dyslexia because I was afraid they’d put me in the learning disability classes. Not getting tested worked to my disadvantage in college.

- I’ve never been addicted to anything. I’ve tried my fair share of cigarettes, illegal drugs (not hardcore ones, OK!) and booze and it just doesn’t stick. I don’t think I have an addictive personality and I think this stems from the fact that I like to be in control of everything, including myself. And, for the record, I hate gambling. Boring. One time, Jeff me to a casino and on my first pull on a slot machine I won $80. I would not play anything else for the rest of the night.

- I struggle with depression, but only a few days per month. And it angers me when people believe that it’s some sort of excuse to act like a bitch when it’s my time of the month. It’s not. It’s real, and it sucks. Ask anyone who has ever been through it. Or lived with me.

- I don’t have arches in my feet and yes, I’m wearing flip flops. It hurts both my feet and my back to wear shoes with a lot of support. I know I’ll regret this decision when I’m older.

- In the summer of 2007, I lost more than 20 pounds using Weight Watchers. It changed my life, my perception of myself and the way I view other women. It also changed the way I look at portion sizes. I still really enjoy eating (and do it quite frequently, thank you) but I believe I’m better at doing it right now. I wear a size 6 or 8 and weigh 137 pounds. 140 on a bad day, 135 on a good one.

- In the spring of 2008, I severely injured my knee and that changed the way I look at things. It taught me how to ask for help, give up some of the control in my household and be thankful for my health. It also taught me that insurance is really hard to figure out and to buy the most expensive plan from here on out.

- I like children and spent most of my life convinced I’d have my own. Now that it’s actually a possibility, I go back and forth. I don’t know if I’m strong enough, or patient enough, to be a good parent. I think my parents hate the possibility of us not having children.

- I wore braces for seven years. The year before I graduated from college I spent nearly $10,000 of my own money on my teeth. They still aren’t perfect, but they are good enough for me. To this day, I have a reoccurring nightmare that I lose all of my teeth. Besides my education, my teeth are probably the single most expensive thing I own.

- I have two tattoos. The one on my back I spent a considerable amount of time thinking about and got shortly after I turned 18. The other one, on my left hip, I got on a whim. I think I like the second one better. I also have my belly button pierced, a decision I now regret.

- I get really worried when people are late. And if I feel like I’m going to be late, I have an anxiety attack.

- If I can’t get a hold of Jeff I call until he answers. Some call this psychotic, he knows it’s love.

- If I do not know the phone number calling me, I will not answer. So, please leave a message. It will save me from Googling the number and then getting pissed because you called from a cell phone.

- I don’t know if I’m a democrat or republican and I hate the classification. I sometimes think I fall right in the middle. I don’t believe in abortion, I believe in responsible spending and cutting taxes and I believe that our educational system needs fixing. I also sometimes believe that politics at a local level can do way more than my national vote.

- I don’t like to talk about politics, in general, because I’m not quick on my feet with responses. You’ll always win the argument because you can say it better and quicker than me. But that doesn’t mean I am not smart, or that I agree. It just means I can’t articulate my opinion quickly enough so I’ve decided to keep my mouth shut. I should probably do this in other areas of my life.

- I went through a phase in high school where I worshiped the band KoRn. Mostly because the boy I was lusting over was a drummer in a band that covered some of their songs. I thought he would love me forever if I had KoRn posters in my room. Well, we’re not still in love but he was the first boy I ever kissed. And, we’re still friends. One time I went to a KoRn concert and almost got killed in a mosh pit. I also have an autographed drum head by all the band members in the attic of my parent’s house. Useless.

- One time when going to see that high school boyfriend’s band play I got in a car accident with a cop (that was pulling a trailer full of police horses). My pants were silver. SILVER. And I didn’t want to get out of the car to see the damage for fear that the cop would see me as the idiot I was for wearing pants that looked like aluminum foil and left nothing to the imagination. But I did and he just teased me. I called my mom at work to tell her about the accident and she said, “Oh no, did you call the police?” When I told her I hit the police she screamed it across her whole office at work. I was so embarrassed. I didn’t get a ticket.

- I loved college, I did. But I don’t think I had as much fun as I could I have. I worked three jobs, almost all the way through and at least 40 hours per week. I thought it was so important to get out with no debt. I paid off my one teeny tiny student loan a little more than a year after I was done with college. But I can’t get those memories I think I would have created if I’d went out more back.

- I didn’t have a strong relationship with my dad until I went to college. And that’s because we both worked hard on it when I was in college. My dad would pick me up from work nearly every Monday night and we’d hit up some greasy spoon on the east side of Milwaukee to eat eggs or pancakes for dinner. I’ll never, for as long as I live, forget those Monday nights.

- I don’t have any siblings. I always wished for an older brother. The closest person I have to a sister is my best friend Tina. I think we’ll always love each other unconditionally. She’s one of the most beautiful and reasonable people I know.