My 25 Randoms -- Birthday Edition

I've had such a nice birthday so far, receiving all kinds of heartfelt sentiments from my friends and family. I've been called a Zombie and a douchebag and I've received e-mails about blowfish testicles and wieners. It that doesn't move you, then you are dead inside.

Anyway, I've been thoroughly enjoying the latest Facebook thing where people write 25 things about themselves, so in the spirit of self-awareness now that I am another year older, I'm joining in. Here goes:

1) I always like song covers better than the original songs.
2) One of the qualities I’m most attracted to in other people is self-deprecating humor.
3) I was a painfully shy kid and now love public speaking.
4) I laugh and cry too easily.
5) I don’t sleep enough.
6) I always tell people I’m 5’8”, but I’m really closer to 5’7”.
7) I grew up in a beach town and still think everything about beach towns is cool.
8) Horses scare the bejesus out of me.
9) When I was a kid, my parents let me decorate my bedroom entirely in black and white. Another time, they let me and my friends draw graffiti all over the walls. I love them for this.
10) I was pretty ambivalent about having kids. Then I had one. It is the single best thing that has ever happened to me.
11) I wish I was more adventurous.
12) I know how to juggle.
13) It is my hope to one day live in a loft in New York City.
14) All of my friends are smarter and funnier than me. I should probably be intimidated by this.
15) I’m ridiculously competitive – often about silly things.
16) I love crossword puzzles and usually time myself while doing them (see #15).
17) I’m not sentimental.
18) I don’t have any tattoos or piercings other than my ears (which are pierced…not tattooed…that would be weird).
19) I love independent films but don’t see them often enough.
20) I am much less impatient and impulsive than I used to be.
21) I am very social, but also require lots of alone time.
22) I am in the Guinness Book of World Records for tap dancing.
23) I saw a live taping of “The Gong Show” when I was a kid. It rocked.
24) When my husband and I got engaged, we took a two-month cross-country trip that gave us the opportunity to hike and camp in the most gorgeous national parks in the U.S. I never camped before that, and have not camped since.
25) I don't display many personal effects or photos in my own home, but absolutely love seeing them on display in other people's homes.