Confessions ...

... and other random tidbits about me.

I have come to really appreciate my blogging world friends and so when I realized there is very little personal info about me outside of my training on this blog, I decided to fix that by creating a list (but of course!). With 68 days to IMFL, here are 68 things you probably don't know (and maybe didn't want to know or don't care) about me, plus one to grow on:

My name is Anne and …

1. I turn my music up as loud as I can in the car so that I can sing (ok, shout) without having to hear my own voice. In fact, it is like a personal concert in my car, and I am embarrassed to admit that Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA in on that play list.

2. When I find a new song that I like, I listen to it repeatedly until I know all of the words.

3. I dance around the living room with my kids like I did when I was 8 years old, only now it is to the Black Eyed Peas and not Paula Abdul. It is because of this that my boys now know the words (well, some of them) to songs like Boom Boom Pow (BEP) and So What (Pink).

4. I eat dessert every single night and I have a serious weakness for ice cream, in particular, Strawberry and Mint Chocolate chip.

5. I don’t like to share my Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches with my boys.

6. Sometimes I eat dessert before dinner.

7. When Andrew asks to stay up late and cuddle on the couch, I nearly always fall asleep before he does.

8. In fact, even when I am not training 15+ hours a week, I can pretty much fall asleep any time, anywhere (it’s a running joke).

9. I think that for the first mile of my morning runs and first 500 yards of my morning swims I am actually still asleep.

10. Some mornings to make myself get out of bed I lie to myself that I will take a nap later in the day, even when I know I won’t have the opportunity.

11. I do my long solo bike rides with my iPod and I listen to teenage literature like the Twilight Saga which I really enjoy … so much so, that I am going to see the movie New Moon (the second Twilight book) opening weekend. This is one of the only things on my calendar AFTER Ironman.

12. I am on Team Edward.

13. I am a celebrity news junkie and I subscribe to US Weekly. I like People magazine too, but I don’t subscribe because the human interest stories make me cry, so I stick with just the trashy gossip of US Weekly.

14. I wear my contact lenses longer than the prescribed 2 week period. I hate contacts and despite having worn them for nearly 15 years, I still struggle some mornings to get them in my eyes. One of these days I will get Lasik.

15. I think that Mexican food should be the 5th basic food group, margaritas included.

16. I love getting mail, email, and blog comments

17. I weigh myself everyday and my least favorite body part (area) is my stomach

18. I have been wearing a retainer to bed every single night since I was 16, including on my honeymoon and at the hospital when I gave birth. We had a (girl) beagle named Zeke that liked to try to eat my retainers.

19. I watched 90210 when it was on in the 1990s and I am watching it again now.

20. My favorite shows on TV are How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory.

21. My favorite band is Bowling For Soup and I am extremely annoyed they haven’t “Come Back to Texas” … at least not very often and nowhere near me (That is one of their songs)

22. I have been listening to the same playlist on my iPod for 2 years (although I keep adding to it)

23. Several nights a week we go to sleep with dishes in the sink.

24. If you asked me 5 years ago what I would do if I won the lottery, my answer (in part) would have been to quit my job and train for an Ironman.

25. I get annoyed when someone describes the ideal family as having 2 children, a boy and a girl. I wanted this at one time, but ideal for you and ideal for me are not the same. I love having 2 boys!

26. I read the Harry Potter series. Twice.

27. I owned children’s movies like Shrek before we had children.

28. I will do a load of laundry with one item in it and this makes my husband crazy.

29. Pizza is my favorite meal the night before a long workout.

30. Sometimes it is strange being the youngest mom in the pre-k class, but I love being a young mom so I wouldn’t change it.

31. If I could go back to school, I would study photography.

32. There are a lot of things I want, but I know that I have most everything I need.

33. I have major bike envy. My bike is like a nice grey suit. It is practical and gets the job done but it will never be that sophisticated Dolce and Gabana number that screams smart AND sexy. See #32.

34. I talk too much. I have to remind myself to use that acronym W.A.I.T. Why Am I Talking?

35. I secretly wonder if my body has what it takes to Kona Qualify one day.

36. I like a lot of movies, but I don’t have a favorite movie. Although I have seen Top Gun, Cocktail, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Shawshank Redemption and Bring it On more times than I care to count.

37. We own the entire Friends series on DVD and when I want a good laugh I put in a random DVD from one of the ten seasons and start watching … and laughing.

38. I love college Football (go Longhorns!) but I don’t care about professional sports (at all!)

39. I would choose a nap over a glass of wine almost any day of the week.

40. I wish I was a better dancer. I love movies that involve dancing (like Center Stage). I took a jazz dance class in college and couldn’t keep up. Like swimming, I think I need to start with the little kid classes.

41. I want my children to be athletes. I have learned so much about life from playing sports. Developing self confidence. Overcoming doubts. Learning what it is like to work hard and still lose and learning what it is like to work hard and win!

42. My favorite color is burnt orange.

43. I (gasp!) am not a beer drinker.

44. I (gasp!) don’t like coffee of any kind either.

45. I think that you learn to enjoy 43 and 44 in college and I missed that boat.

46. My standard drink order is a citrus vodka and tonic with a splash of cranberry and a lime.

47. I have recently rediscovered country music thanks to the likes of Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift.

48. The last movie I watched was Yes Man with Jim Carey. I think that saying yes to everything would be a very interesting experiment. My kids would love it!

49. If I had to be on a reality TV show it would be the Amazing Race. I don’t watch it, but I love traveling and don’t get the opportunity to do as much as I would like.

50. I love surprises, well good ones anyway.

51. I know I will be ready for FL but I am still scared of a DNF, I have just heard too many stories recently about last minute injuries, mechanicals, race day illnesses, etc. This makes me anxious for the race to get here!

52. I have bunions but won’t give up heels … a good pair of heels can do wonders for your outlook on any given day.

53. I often get chills and/or verklempt when I envision crossing the finish line at IMFL, but I don’t want to actually cry when I do. I want to cross the finish line, raise my hands and smile! I am sure that I will cry when I see my Ironsherpa husband and children though, and that is ok.

54. I eat the same thing for lunch every day. PBJ, string cheese, wheat thins, fruit.

55. My favorite flowers are sunflowers. They used to be tulips.

56. Halloween is one of my absolute favorite “holidays”

57. I was a total tom boy growing up (is this really a surprise?)

58. I like eating Dannon Lite and Fit vanilla yogurt for breakfast because it tastes like dessert!

59. I have never met a carb that I don’t like, so it is good that I am into endurance sports where carbs are your friends! The thought of the Atkins diet makes me dizzy.

60. It makes me smile and blush when I catch my husband bragging about his awesome wife and her athletic pursuits.

61. Monday is my least favorite day of the week. Saturday is my favorite.

62. My order of preference of the 3 sports in triathlon are running, biking and swimming, however on race day, running is always the hardest. Maybe I push harder on the run or simply because it comes last?

63. I have 20 photos on my desk / around my cube (11 are framed). That is 10 times everyone else in my area.

64. I don’t like cyclists (or runners for that matter) that don’t wave or nod to fellow cyclists (runners) on the road

65. If I have to eat fast food (and this is not very often) my first choice is Chik-fil-a, followed by Sonic and then Wendy’s. If we are eating out, it is usually Chipotle (yummy!) or Pei Wei. Texadelphia (scrumptious cheese steaks) is one of my favorite indulgences. Mexican food is another, but considering #15, it is more of a dietary staple.

66. If I could afford a personal chef, trainer, masseuse or housekeeper to be at my house every single day, I would choose the chef. Masseuse second. Housekeeper third. Trainer last.

67. The number one quality I look for in a training partner is someone who is reliable.

68. I am not obsessed with Ironman or triathlon or endurance sports. I think that you are what you do. You make time for what matters most to you. It is a way of life. I started this journey to fulfill a bucket list goal and found a new way of life and I am not looking back. Ironman is just a stop along the way.

69. Please remind me of #68 on November 8.