100 Things About...Kristen!

We decided to start off our blog by listing 100 things about ourselves - no small feat, as we found out! So here's Kristen's list...please enjoy getting to know me!

1. I hate when waiters box up my leftovers for me. It seriously pains me not to have control of loading my own container.
2. I’ve worn glasses since the first grade. My eyesight was so bad it was considered legally blind; then, I got LASIK and now I see 20/25!
3. I love, love, love the library.
4. I’ve been in the audience of “Love Connection.”
5. I love to play tennis.
6. I heart Tivo. I watch more TV with it, but it feels like I’m watching less because I’m so efficient!
7. My three favorite places in downtown Salt Lake City are Temple Square , the Library on 4th South, and Ben’s Cookies at the Gateway
8. I was a volunteer for the 2002 Paralympics; my name is on a wall at the Gateway.

10 incredible things I’ve seen for myself:
9. The sunrise over the Tower Bridge in London
10. The Eiffel Tower sparkling at night
11. A streaker at a rugby game in England
12. David Copperfield disappearing before my eyes (how does he DO that??)
13. 21,000 people in the Conference Center standing up as the prophet walks in the door
14. The view from the top of a volcano in Maui
15. A birds-eye-view from an airplane of fireworks all across the country on the Fourth of July
16. The President of the United States stepping out of Air Force One (it was George W. Bush, but still impressive)
17. The one-armed drummer from Def Leppard playing their greatest hits…that guy’s amazing!
18. The Queen of England driving by me in her gold-crusted carriage. I swear, she looked right at me!

Five Things I Hate to Do:
19. Wake up
20. Do laundry - perhaps the worst of all chores!
21. Go on drives for no other purpose than to go on a drive
22. Get stuck behind a slow walker. Worse yet - a pack of two or three slow walkers. Walking side by side.
23. Return merchandise. Especially clothes, when they ask you why it didn’t work out. It just didn’t, ok??

Five Things I Never Thought I’d Do (but I have):
24. Go skydiving
25. Attend BYU
26. Drive a speedboat in Mexico
27. Run a 10K (I always thought I hated to run; imagine my surprise when it turned out I liked it)
28. Read War & Peace (and enjoy it!)

29. I get tired of clapping.
30. Three favorite books (besides the BOM): To Kill a Mockingbird, The Age of Innocence, The Grapes of Wrath
31. Books that I appreciated/affected me but I didn’t necessarily enjoy: Lord of the Flies, The Stranger, Crime & Punishment
32. Three least favorite books: Heart of Darkness (“the horror!” indeed), Brothers Karamazov (could not finish), Middlemarch (again, could not finish)

Five experiences I would never trade:
33. Talking with my mom late at night, about anything.
34. Studying abroad in London
35. Climbing to the top of a Mayan Pyramid
36. Going to BYU

37. I’m passionate about cereal. I latch on and don’t let go. I had Cheerios every day from youth to college. Now I’ve moved on to Special K with strawberries. I have 2.5 bowls every day.
38. My most valued possessions are my family and my membership in the church.
39. I’m in love with Target.
40. My Achilles Heels when it comes to food are: the aforementioned cold cereal, chocolate chip cookies (especially from Ben’s Cookies), chips & salsa (I can’t get enough!)
41. I’m a night person. I can think of a million things to do late at night instead of going to bed
42. I am a champion boot-thrower. I won first place in the renowned female 13-17 age bracket in X-96’s “Boot-a-Thon” for throwing a hiking boot the furthest.

Five things I’d like to learn:
43. Knitting
44. Swimming
45. How to dance
46. How to play the piano
47. How to sing properly
48. The best concert I’ve been to was…Ricky Martin. I’m not ashamed!
49. I like old movies.

Three Guilty Pleasures:
50. Song: Candy by Mandy Moore (say what you will, but that’s a great song!)
51. TV show: American Gladiators
52. Movie: Stayin’ Alive (the lesser-known sequel to Saturday Night Fever directed by Sylvester Stallone!)
53. Best “beauty” discoveries: the Boots brand tinted moisturizer at Target, and the Conair ceramic blowdryer at Costco (that baby is powerful!)
54. Whenever I walk past a parked golf cart, I have to suppress the urge to steal it and go for a joyride.

Dumbest Injuries:
55. I had a numb knee for six months from a freak disco roller skating incident
56. I once fell off my bed trying to roll away from a large spider on the wall
57. I sprained my ankle (bad!) when I was running to catch a bus and fell off a curb
58. I actually knocked the wind out of myself by hitting myself in the chest with a racquetball racquet

Prominent scars:
59. Two chicken pox scars on my face
60. Two kundi (plural for kundis, meaning an unidentified “development” on the skin). The one on my shoulder changes from flesh-colored to red once every couple of months.
61. One scar on my knee from getting too close to some coral while snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas

62. I worked at Rainbo Sno for one day. Just helping out a friend, but it scarred me from a career in food service for life
63. As a child, one of my favorite sandwiches was peanut butter and Miracle Whip (for that tangy zing!) on white bread. My dad ate them, and my grandpa did, too. I’m not the only crazy one.
64. I will often give fake names at restaurants (because Rhonda, oddly, is easier for people to spell than Kristen)
65. I'm a champion hiking-boot-thrower. I won the illustrious 12-17 Female category in X-96’s Boot-a-Thon. I won a free pair of hiking boots for my trouble.
66. I'm really good at tuning things/people out when I'm reading 67. I have a fondness for Ron Popeil informercials. He had me convinced I needed a food dehydrator. I was 12.
68. Try and best my knowledge of popular music. Go on, try.
69. I’ve hit a duck in the head with a golf ball. Luckily I’m not very strong, so I don’t think it died from the impact.
70. Five favorite websites: ew.com (love their TV Watch and PopWatch), amazon.com, nytimes.com (I‘m not all pop culture), msn.com, and the county library website
71. I don’t like to miss out on stuff - I always like to know what’s going on
72. Yet, I never know the price of stamps. They keep raising it!
73. Biggest pet peeve: when people can’t get to the point. Mostly, I just hate feeling like my time’s being wasted and that I‘m at the mercy of someone else for it. If I’m going to waste my time, it will be on my own terms!
74. Favorite playground games: dodge ball and lightning
75. My worst grade ever was in Descriptive Astronomy. I thought it would be fun - looking at stars, learning the constellations. I was so, so wrong.

3 Things That Scare Me:
76. Confrontation
77. Bugs
78. Being burned alive

79. My favorite shoes as a kid were my blue and black leopard print high-top sneakers. Even at a young age I was demonstrating my eye for high fashion.
80. I cheated death when I jumped from a 30-foot high tree on a ropes course. When I got to the bottom they discovered my caribiners hadn’t been screwed in. File that under “things that should’ve been done before I jumped off the tree.”
81. In check-out lines, I like to get my money out as soon as possible. I am bugged when people get to the checkout and then they fish through their purse for their wallet. I’ve been ready for five minutes!
82. My favorite milk is the Viva Skim Delight or Smith’s Skim Royale. They are a creamy treat!!
83. Speaking of creamy treats, my favorite yogurt: Yoplait Light Thick and Creamies! They are a delight.
84. Favorite snack: Jiffy Pop 94% Fat-Free Kettle Corn. It’s loaded with fiber, if you like that sort of thing.
85. The best brownie I have ever (repeat: ever) had was at Borough Market in London . If you ever go there, look for the Flour Power booth. It’s only a pound fifty per indulgence! (that’s how they label it!)
86. I look forward to receiving my Entertainment Weekly in the mail on Saturdays. It is a highlight!
87. Favorite cookbook: The Ivory family cookbook. Not a bad recipe in the bunch!
88. Random classes taken in college: Folklore, tap dancing, skiing, social dance (it didn’t help), and marriage prep (again, didn’t help).
89. I don’t like cinnamon.
90. I hated to wear socks when I was little. One time we were camping, and I came back with bloody feet from going sock-less. I think after that I started wearing socks, but I am still stubborn.
91. I like to wear beads with most outfits. It makes me feel fancy, much like my Grandma Ruth, who would pair beads with her coordinated sweatsuits
92. Worst movies ever: Solaris and Wild Hogs (if you liked it we need to have a talk)
93. “Classic” movies I have never seen: Goonies, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park , Pretty in Pink
94. I’m the only one in my family privileged enough to have braces. And I still have a wire on the back of my teeth. But I have a lovely smile
95. I used to hate wearing the sweaters Mom would put me in during grade school. I would wear a t-shirt underneath and take off the sweater as soon as I got to school. Only, one time, my mom came in the middle of the school day for a special event, and she caught me. I thought I was so sneaky…
96. My first pair of glasses in the first grade had some sweet pictures of Smurfs on the sides. I covered them up with stickers (I was high-class).
97. My next pair of glasses was electric blue, and made of some experimental material that kept shattering. So my glasses were super-glued together for years. I loved those glasses, though.
98. I was a member of the smallest stake in the world ( Deseret Towers at BYU, may it rest in peace)
99. I am a certified Professional in Human Resources. Not really sure what that means…
100. I have never broken a bone in my body (so far)