if I must, 25 things

per those multiple facebook requests: 25 random things

1 for the first three months after I met Dean, I thought his name was Nate, despite the fact that I read his blog frequently (I didn't know Dean and Nate were the same person)

2 I am totally allergic to my house. North Lodge looks pretty cute, but it's a killer for the sinuses

3 An overwhelming urge to be domestic emerged in me earlier this year. Lately I want to garden, cook, sew, knit and decorate like there's no tomorrow.

4 I'm not terribly athletic, but I'm a pretty darn good wakeboarder

5 I eat constantly, but am not so interested in full balanced meals. I think it's a facet of a short attention span.

6 actually brunch is the only meal I love. I go through obsessive periods of about 6 months which have honed in on the following: eggs benedict, White Spot's Original Sunny Start, toasted PB&J, over-easy eggs on toast, my homemade banana pancakes

7 I know I should have outgrown this by now, but I'm still mildly obsessed with the idea of living in New York, and Brooklyn in particular. But I would take Maui as a backup.

8 I had my lebret pierced in Brazil. i couldn't understand any of the care instructions from the piercer. I also passed out after.

9 before we moved to the UK, I sold my car and spent more than half the proceeds on a single pair of boots - they were worth it.

10 my twin sister and I played with our Cabbage Patch kids and 'My Child' dolls until we were around 12. Everyone had a name and a role in the family. They also performed self-composed songs in front of our grade five class.

11 when I was little I was torn between growing up to be an architect or a truck driver, because everyone told me it was too tough to make it as a writer.

12 I wrote and illustrated my first 'novel' when I was seven: Nut Head's Life (featuring the adventures of a Planters-esque peanut, his wife and kids - Pistachio, Walnut, and Cashew). In the following year I wrote two sequels.

13 I really never gave a thought to pop music until some friends an I did an 11th grade lip sync to Spice up Your Life... now I harbour a secret passion for it just beyond my indie/punk rock roots

14 I am unequivocally disgusted by rubber bands (and most things rubber). I prefer not to look at or touch them. Worst when they are those big fat blue/red mail-bounding rubber bands OR the non-coloured kind smudged with news print. touching them triggers my gag reflex.

15 another one from Brazil: I was nearly knifed in brought daylight by a self-proclaimed 'skinhead' who was 'racist' against Americans. Once he was convinced I was not American, he put the knife away

16 half way through grade one, my parents saw that I was bored and plucked me out of my class to join my sister in French immersion. We did our first 6 years of school entirely in French.

17 for six months in university I had a job where I was paid to sleep, drink snapple and occasionally answer phones between 3am and 10am. The next summer I got a job for a company that does funeral sales. I worked for them on and off the next 4 years funding my education and travels.

18 In middle school my favourite afterschool snack was cheddar cheese, melted in the microwave

19 I was once invited to the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy awards by a nominee/presenter. If I'd accepted I'd have sat in the second row, behind Peter Mansbridge. He didn't win, but a couple years later, he did score himself a plumb role in US show, The Unit.

20 my doctor recently prescribed the following diet: 2 -3 litres/day of fresh citrus juice & water, spinach, dried fruit, oranges galore. NO chocolate, NO bananas, NO cheese, NO hard boiled eggs. Bananas and eggs I can do without, but the other two are just unfair.

21 my parents have funny nicnames for eachother like Schnookum, Poopsie and, erm, sugarbum... so is it any surprise I can't fight the urge to call Dean 'Pooper' as a term of endearment?

22 I'm a minor celebrity among Dean's grandparents' friends because I occasionally write for Focus on the Family.

23 actually, when I'm in Dean's hometown, i always feel like a minor celebrity because everyone knows who we are - our last name is emblazoned on one of the largest businesses in town and I think the wider Regier family is responsible for sustaining the Swift Current economy

24 i've developed a whole new appreciation for my family (both immediate and extended) since I've moved away. I've discovered that when I'm in Canada on our too brief visits, I'm as happy sitting around a table with them as I am galavanting around the city with friends.

25 my office is just around the corner from Sherlock Holmes'.

bonus: I went through an entire box of Kleenex in the writing of this.