Shared: 30 Cool & Weird Things About Me

Once again, I am happily inspired by Syl at There's Bats In My Coffee and her post "30 Cool Things."  I couldn't think of just cool things about myself because I'm a weird dork so I'm doing a combo post. I'll let you decide which is which. :) And please feel free to tag yourself!  :D

1.  I was born missing a metatarsal in each foot so my 2nd toe branches off the metatarsal of the 3rd toe which makes my feet curve. That's why shoes are so difficult for me to find.

2.  I also have tibial torsion which, fortunately... kinda..., is offset by my feet. I've also trained myself to walk with my feet more straight so it's less obvious.

3.  I was president of our local chapter of the Business Professionals of America my Senior year of high school.

4.  I qualified for nationals in Business and Office Skills during the BFA competition but neither my school nor my parents could afford to send me.

5.  I started college as a Hotel/Restaurant Management major, switched to a Math major/English minor for teaching, but graduated cum laude with a BFA in Studio Sculpture.

6.  I had multiple art shows between ages 21 and 25 and now have pieces owned by people across the world.

7.  I was in the newspaper twice and interviewed on the radio once about my art shows.

8.  I was the Artistic Director for a local arts council in Minnesota when I was also in my early 20's. I was in charge of curating our art shows. It was a volunteer position.

9.  I used to do face painting for kids during various fundraisers.

10. I still make and laugh at poop jokes and innuendos.   Kids love me. :)

11. I won an all-expense paid trip to Savannah to meet Paula Deen. I wrote a 50 word essay on how I deal with my diabetes and was one of 6 winners out of over 10,000 entries.

12. I used to sell note cards, posters, and buttons/pins/badges at art fairs.

13. If I was single, I would probably be a hoarder but Andy keeps my packrat nature at a sane-ish level.

14. I collect cookbooks and recipes.

15. Sometimes cute pictures and videos of cats, puppies, baby elephants, etc. break me and my words come out as gibberish.

16. I anthropomorphize just about everything.  I can't watch hockey because I feel bad for the puck. :P

17. I used to be on the ritual commitee and, for a short while, treasurer of a CUUPs group in Minnesota.

18. The same night I left CUUPs, I was later contacted by someone to see if I was interested in starting a coven with him. When I had to leave MN for GA, we had 5 members and our own traditions. They were truly my family. I miss that sense of belonging here.

19. I identify as Pagan but with Wiccan tendencies. I am currently non-practicing, though.

20. Pizza is my spirit animal.

21. I eat leftovers cold 99% of the time.

22. I don't own a microwave. By choice. The only thing I ever used it for was to boil water or cooking frozen veggies so when I got divorced and moved out, I decided I didn't really need one.

23. When I got divorced, I chose my last name of Settarra (French for "beloved") instead of going back to my maiden name. I decided that I'm going to hyphenate when Andy and I get married (though it will stay Settarra here to protect his privacy).

24. I often get lost in my imagination which was a problem when I was a kid. As an example, when I was 3, I found a Scooby-Doo sandal on my way to day care (I thought I was a big girl walking alone but I found out later that my Mom followed me). I put it on my arm and pretended my arm was broken. When the teacher tried to get me to take it off for a class picture, I screamed because my arm was obviously broken.

25. I learned to read at a very young age. I was reading at a 1st grade level by age 3 and could understand most of the newspaper by age 4. They wanted to put me in 4th grade when I started 1st grade but Mom said no because she was scared I wouldn't fit in. I still didn't but how could she know? :)

26. I am a condiment whore. Our fridge is full of various sauces, dressings, mustards, etc.

27. I have sent grocery gift cards anonymously to friends going through hard times.

28. I am really good at planning parties and events and also enjoy it.

29. I am a list maker which comes in handy for planning parties and events. :)

30. I was in ballet when I was little. The only good things the teacher could say about me is that I was enthusiastic and good at spinning. I'm still good at spinning. :)