1. My middle name is Lee which is also my mom's middle name and my little brother's first name. Lee and I once had a friend of mine convinced that his middle name was Heather. (You'll be shocked to know that she didn't have a lot of common sense.)
2. Although I grew up in Alabama, I did not live in the country. I actually lived in the 6th largest city in the state and one of the fast-growing cities in the southeast. It kind of sprouted up around us. My mom could probably never afford to move in there now but she happened to catch it at the right time. I graduated in a class of almost 2,000 from this high school. We moved into it when I was a junior and were already outgrowing it. Hoover now has two high schools that size. Mark, who grew up in New York, did grow up in the country. (East Eden, surrounded by corn and cows.)
3. In high school I took AP English and AP Government and Economics. I scored a 5 on the English exam and a 3 on the government exam. I didn't take the economics exam. I hated economics.
4. My major sport was softball but I also played soccer for various rec leagues and basketball in junior high and part of high school.
5. I went to the University of Alabama as a journalism major with the intention of becoming a baseball writer. I hated it. After being a pretty good student all of my life I was suddenly completely disinterested in school and finished the year on academic probation because I quit going to most of my classes halfway through each semester.
6. The classes I continued to attend were my English lit, journalism, and creative writing classes.
7. I wouldn't really say I regret bailing on journalism since I ended up in a field I really love, but I do sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I'd stayed on that path. I can look back now and see that some of the things I didn't like about journalism would've gotten more interesting or gotten easier as I got deeper into the courses and as I got older and more experienced.
8. I did another year at a community college and then stopped because I had no idea what I wanted to do. I never went back and to this day, I have no degree.
9. I could certainly be making more money if I had a degree and I do sometimes think about that, but I'm pretty happy with where I ended up. It was kind of a happy accident. I do think about going back to school occasionally for teaching or social work, but I've never made the time or the money.
10. I worked full-time for two years at Blockbuster. It had its good points (free rentals, tons of movie discussions, fun co-workers) but eventually the bad points (rude/stupid customers, ridiculously dumb company policies, total gutting of the classics section and pretty much everything not made in the last 5 years) won out. I also moved into management which made me miserable. I am not a management person.
11. I met Mark on the Internet. It was the old DC Comics section of AOL on the Nightwing message board. (Nightwing is the grown-up Dick Grayson and my favorite character.) We emailed for a long time, talked on the phone a few times, and then eventually decided to meet.
12. Mark is my one and only real boyfriend. I was 18 when we met online, 19 when we met in real-life and 21, almost 22, when we got married.
13. Because I have that experience, I do really put a lot of value on good online communication. If you're a regular commenter or if we email on some kind of regular basis, I would definitely refer to you as a friend. (If you would prefer that I don't, you know where to email me :P)
14. I have PCOS. It's not life-threatening in any way but it does make it difficult to get pregnant and/or carry a pregnancy full-term.
15. We underwent various forms of fertility treatments for a couple of years before we ran out of money and sanity. Breaking my ankle was no joy ride but at least my body did me the courtesy of going into almost immediate shock. This is pretty much the worst pain I've ever experienced. We're hoping to begin the adoption process in January. (Piece of advice: NEVER tell a woman who's trying desperately to get pregnant that God might just not mean for her to have children, even if you believe it. Trust me.)
16. When I was young, I was going to name my first born Andrew James after Andrew James Van Slyke and call him A.J. At one point we were going to name our first born after Bryce Paup. And then it was after Alexander Mogilny. I'm not sure where we are on that now.
17. Currently playing in iTunes as I type this: Like Red on a Rose by Alan Jackson which is one of my very favorite love songs. Other favorite love songs are The Luckiest by Ben Folds Five, Fly by Sara Groves (not surprised but I can't find a clip of it online anywhere), Wouldn't It Be Nice by the Beach Boys and Papa Gene's Blues by the Monkees. (If you're unfamiliar with any of these songs, I recommend clicking on the link and checking them out. Heck, even if you know them, listen to them again.)
18. My favorite Monkee is Mike, my favorite Beach Boy is Carl, my favorite Beatle is George, and my favorite member of U2 is Larry.
19. My fantasy band would be as follows: The Edge on guitar, Paul McCartney on bass, Keith Moon on drums, and Freddie Mercury on lead vocals. (Bono, Pete Townshend, and Carl Wilson are runners-up in their respective positions.) Oh, look! Won't Get Fooled Again just came up on iTunes. Weird.
20. My favorite movie is either The Great Escape or Singin' in the Rain depending on what mood I'm in that day. Mary Poppins, Bringing Up Baby, and The Shawshank Redemption are all in the discussion.
21. If I could watch any athlete in his prime who I missed it would be Roberto Clemente with Bobby Orr a close second.
22. My first celebrity crush was Ricky Nelson. My longest running celebrity crush was Harrison Ford. My current celebrity crush is Dennis Quaid, I guess. No one person really stands out at the moment.
23. My girl crush is Kate Winslet.
24. I love nothing more than curling up on the couch and reading all day.
25. I'm currently watching The Wire on DVD. I'm about halfway through the second season so no spoilers please! If I could make everyone watch a current TV show it would be Friday Night Lights.
21 comments:
Keith Moon is such a great choice for drummer in a fantasy band. I would probably have to go with a two guitar attack, however, consisting of Jimi Hendrix and Jack White, with John Entwistle on bass, Eddie Vedder on vocals, and John Bonham on drums. (This is a question I debate often with myself and the group changes often)
Did you see the VH1 Rock Honors with the Who the other night? They're still fabulous. And Pearl Jam does such a great job on Love Reign O'er Me.
Bah! Degrees are overrated. THe only thing my degree has gotten me is a bill every month for the next 37,000 years.
Mogilny Paup Bermingham would be a great name.
brian, it's definitely a tricky thing. I don't really think Edge is a fabulous technical guitarist, but he does have a pretty identifiable sound and I love U2 so it's only right that one of them get in my band. As much as I enjoy Bono, I cannot in good conscience put him in over Freddie Mercury who is a god among men as a vocalist as far as I'm concerned. So the rest kind of fell in from there. It could definitely be a different arrangement, depending on the day.
Ooh, I forgot about that VH-1 honors although I'm pretty sure I set the DVR to record it. Let's hope so!
Lee, I like the sound of Paup Mogilny better.
Heather - sorry to hear about your difficulties in the pregnancy attempts - I have had a number of friends go down the same route. If you're looking for stories of hope, they had 3 failed IVFs, and a miscarriage at 7 months. After starting their adoption investigation, they simply became pregnant with no aids at all. Their second baby was just borm two weeks ago.
I would never underestimate the maternal desire to give birth. My oldest sister was born 9 months, 6 days after my parents' wedding, but they could never have another child. I was the second child they adopted after that.
Adoption is such an awe-inspiring gift to give & to receive. I was so touched by the actions of my parents (& my birth parents) that I always wanted to Adopt. My son came over from Korea almost three years ago. As I write this, I am being seranaded with "Poppa, I'm up! Come get me, please" - gotta go, but I wish you & Mark the best in your parental pursuis.
My middle name is Rae, as is my mother's, grandmother's and great-grandmother's. When I had my daughter she got the middle name too. I love telling people that there are 5 generations of women with the middle name Rae.
I can't believe that someone would ever say that if you couldn't get pregnant that you weren't meant to have a child! That makes me angry. I have a friend with the same condition and she adopted a little girl from China. I hope to hear your good news sometime in the future.
Freddie Mercury rocks!!!!!
My middle name is Lynn and I used that as my first daughter's middle name. I hope she will carry on the tradition.
I literally grew up in the middle of NOWHERE. Try to find that on a map!
English and Government, no thank you, but I pretty much aced Economics. I like numbers and working out problems. I dislike memorizing things, because that's just the way it is. I have to be able to reason something out.
Softball was pretty much the only sport I played. But what else would you expect growing up in the middle of nowhere.
I went to college and got a degree in computer programming, which was THE thing way back when I was in college. But as I grew up, I learned to appreciate more about the middle of nowhere; however, there aren't a lot of programming jobs around here, so I am a legal secretary and deal with real estate closings all day long. I could be doing what I am doing with a high school diploma, so perhaps Lee is right, my diploma did absolutely nothing for me; however, it is one thing that NO ONE can ever take away from me.
Congrats on meeting Mark on-line. So cool! I have met some very interesting and fun people since I started reading your blog, along with a few others. It's amazing how well you can feel that you know someone that you have never actually met. I would be honored if you considered me your friend.
I am sorry about you and Mark having difficulty getting pregnant. I am very lucky to have my 2 girls, although I developed toximia during my pregnancies, which has left me on 2 high blood pressure meds for the rest of my life. A small price to pay.
I have a friend that had epilepsy and the medication that she took kept her from being able to get pregnant. Everytime she would go off the meds to try to get pregnant, she would have seizures. She and her husband tried for 13 years before they finally got pregnant. She carried to full term and they had a healthy baby boy, who is now 10 years old. Don't give up hope. While PCOS makes it difficult to have a baby, it doesn't mean it's impossible.
However, I've always thought that adoption was a wonderful option. There are so many unwanted children out there in the world that just need someone to love them and take care of them. And what better feeling than to know that your parents didn't just "have" you, they "chose" you. That's got to make you feel special.
And I can't believe that you're not considering throwing Hank's name in there somewhere. I'm SHOCKED Heather, really shocked & dissappointed.
Oh, sorry everyone, that turned out to be a little long-winded.
I can't believe your high school graduating class was over 2,000. That's mind-blowing to me, who only had 50 in her class.
And who would tell someone that God thinks that they're not meant to have children? That's all sorts of unnecessarily cruel and judgmental. Good luck to both you and Mark in the adoption process.
Wow, I even learned some things about you I didn't know!
Very nice post.
I loved reading this a lot. Lovely post!
Thanks for all the fertility/adoption stories and well-wishes! I do love hearing other people's experiences, and I was a little worried afterwards that I went a touch too personal on that one so I'm glad no one was offended. Or if you were, I'm glad you're keeping it to yourself :P
Jennifer, I do like the name Henrik quite a bit, but it doesn't quite flow with our last name :-D I have thought about Henry as an Americanized version but I'm scared of the nickname Hank. I love my Hank, of course, but I actually really dislike Hank as a name. Current Sabres don't work well for me for naming purposes since my second favorite is probably Jochen. The only other current Sabre that has the right mix of player I like/name I like is Derek, I think.
I'll probably complete this eventually, but I'm not sure where to come up with 75 more things. I was stretching for the last three or four here.
What's wrong with the name Vanek's Hair?
What's wrong with the name Vanek's Hair?
It's taken. My kid could never compete with the original.
Someone who says God doesn't want you to have babies if you can't get pregnant are morons. I think anybody that has a desire to have kids probably has that desire because of God and they should. If they can't get pregnant it is probably because God WANTS them to adopt because somebody has to take care of all the babies that don't have a home.
Hmmm...other facts you could tell. How about being thrown in Star Lake? Maybe you can tell them about the telescope you wanted for Christmas? Maybe you could tell us about your favorite Jennifer Connelly movie?
Heather,
Thanks for sharing. This is definitely only of my favorite blogs to read. I wish you and Mark the best of luck in adopting. I say anyone who things other wise can just suck it.
=)
Sorry, that should be...
Any one who thinks other wise can suck it.
Also, I think you should name your kid Crunchy McPommerdoodle. CP for short.
It's taken. My kid could never compete with the original.
Heather, please don't encourage him. The world can't handle another Vaneks Hair. I'm not sure it can handle the first one.
I think Henrik Bermingham is quite a distinguished sounding name. Although Crunchy McPommerdoodle Bermingham also has a ring to it.
Anyway, sorry to write a novel earlier, but I really enjoyed this post. And it's your blog, you can get as personal as you want. If someone doesn't like it, you aren't forcing them to read it or comment. Good luck coming up with 75 more things. And the adoption. If its meant to be, it will happen and you will. Sorry, that sounds like an "after school special".
I have always wanted to name my first born Espen, of course after the pheonomial hockey player Espen Knutsen. Since no one else likes the idea, read my girlfriend, I have been relegated to calling my first dog Espen. Such is life.
What a great post, Heather! I hope you and Mark are parents really soon, no matter how. :D
My family has a history of using the mother's maiden name for middle names. My grandpa, my dad, me (first name actually), and my nephew all have their mother's family name for a middle name.
Although I'm partial to Crunchy McPommerdoodle.
I love "Crunchy McPommerdoodle", but what if it's a girl? If your baby is a she, then I think you have to go with Katebits O'Honkenheimer Bermingham. I think it's a lovely name.
My longest running celebrity crush was Harrison Ford.
You and my mother both!
And whoever told you that about God not wanting you to have kids needs to be kicked in the box. Repeatedly.
Count me in as one of those who loved this post, Heather! Always great to learn more about you. In fact, you might have inspired me to do something similar although I'm always sort of unsure of how personal I should get on my blog.
And if I recall correctly, we met on the NHL TWoP boards. Hourray for the Interwebs!
And if I recall correctly, we met on the NHL TWoP boards. Hourray for the Interwebs!
Sherry, I was thinking about that the other day for some reason! You inadvertently got me into blogging so this whole thing is your fault :-D
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