Tag- I'm It

When I first started my blog, there were several tags that were going around, and I'm sure most everyone under the sun has been tagged by now. But I thought in an effort to give you some insight into my world (outside of running, eating and traveling), I would tag myself. I figured the easiest place to start would be with 5 Random things about myself (a MeMe).

1. I have a pet tarantula. He is great, because he's totally low-maintenance, cheap and easy. I have him in a 10-gallon aquarium in my living room, and I make sure his dish has water (about once a week I refill), and I drop in 10 large crickets ($1.00) about once a month. I bought him when I was in college, and a little lonely (because I had no roommates, and was in a long-distance relationship), and he has been the perfect pet for me. I used to get him out more often and pet him and let him crawl on my hands, but not as much anymore. Maybe I'll post a picture one of these days. I have had him for 9 1/2 years now- that's one old spider!!
2. I am the oldest of 6 kids. I love being in a big family, and although I didn't really want kids when I was younger, I would like to have at least 3 or 4 (if I had married younger, I would probably try to have 5 or 6). The Hubs is 4th in a family of 8 kids- 2 girls and 6 boys! There are 4 girls and 2 boys in my family- 3 girls, a boy, a girl and a boy. The first 4 of us were close together in age, then there was a 7-year break. Then mom accidentally got pregnant again, and she decided to even things out with the last one (when I was 16 and a junior in high school). It was crazy growing up, and it's no wonder that I moved out of the house when I was 17 (I was young when I graduated from high school and headed off to college). But now that I'm grown up and distanced from the trauma of my youth, I am happy to have so many siblings. We have a ton of fun when we get together (with my fam and the Hubs' fam).
3. Once upon a time, I wanted to be a math teacher. I took AP Calculus my senior year of high school, and actually got paid to tutor people, along with working at the "Homework Hotline". I took Advanced Calculus my freshman year of college, and worked at the student center as a tutor. I transferred schools my sophomore year (to a small liberal arts college in WA state), but I continued the "math path" (Linear Algebra and Differential Equations). I also enjoyed chemistry classes, and eventually I decided to be an engineer instead of a teacher (to make more $$). However, I changed my mind again, because I really liked the art history classes that I took. So, I thought I would major in Art History and continue on to grad school to be an architect. Well, I never made it to grad school, I was 2 classes short of a math minor, I took Organic Chemistry my senior year- just for fun, but I did end up with a B.A. in Art History. Later on I took classes at the local technology college, and earned a Certificate in Web Design and Interactive Media. For a while that helped me in the job I had (at the same company I'm with now), but the politics got to be too much, so I applied for, and got the job I'm doing now. Crazy, huh? But my math skills came in handy for my sister who is in high school, because several times last year I helped her with her Geometry homework (have to keep up that GPA to stay on the drill team).
4. I like to experiment in the kitchen. I wouldn't say that I'm the greatest cook or anything, but I like to try new recipes, and I like to do my own thing sometimes. I have a huge binder full of recipes that I've collected, but most of the time I rotate the usual favorites. I've definitely come a long way from when I was a kid and my mom would let me bake. One time I made brownies and wanted to experiment a little (I was probably 10 or so). I added a bunch of random ingredients from the fridge and cupboard (such as strawberry jam, ranch dressing, and I think even mustard). They were disgusting, and my mom ended up throwing them out, but somehow I couldn't really taste it. I ate about half the pan before she ditched them- and to this day she won't let live it down. Although she definitely appreciates my skills now, especially when I make her favorite macaroon pizza (which incidentally has brownie mix in it). When I cook, I try to make things as healthy as possible, and sometimes the Hubs protests ("light sour cream?ewww!") Then again, half the time he never even notices.
5. And for those who may be curious, and as a reward if you've read this far into this ridiculous post... my first name is Shanna.

So there are "5" things about me that most likely you didn't know, and probably more than you ever wanted to know.

Also, just to update  on the workout front, it's been much too hot lately to run, so I decided to do a nice indoor workout on the elliptical last night. But before I did, I actually did some strength training (seriously- stop the presses!) I only did one set, of 12 reps each, but I worked pretty much every major muscle (triceps, biceps, shoulders, chest, back, quads, hamstrings, and abs- which I did 3 sets of 25 reps). Then I banged out 45 fierce minutes on the E-machine. And it actually felt really good (scary, I know). And now I'm chained to my desk for the day, because it's once again PayDay- yippee! But I'm still trying to work in some NEAT by fidgeting and tapping my heel, LOL.