Picasso Award, and Seven Random Things

The lovely Kelly at http://kellyr1187.blogspot.com/ has given me my very first award--the Picasso Award. Now, as I understand it, the recipient of the award must tell seven random things about his or herself and pass the award on to seven deserving bloggers. Why seven, I wonder? But if the rules say seven, then seven is what you'll get.

So, for the Seven random facts:

1) I was born and raised in Swaziland, Africa. I was a bit of a tomboy, and spent a great deal of time climbing trees and exploring the wilds. Not swimming though--see #4.

2) My favorite pet was a vervet monkey named Joanie, who my father bought for me from some guys on the side of the road one afternoon. She was one of many unusual pets--a woodpecker, a legavan (monitor lizard?), horses (okay, not that unusual), a donkey (technically my sister's), multiple cats, dogs and (for a few hours,) a snake I caught. Apparently it was poisonous, and I had to let it go upon threat of death. Sigh.

3) I am the queen of list making. If it isn't written down, I'm not likely to remember it. I don't know why my memory is so full of holes, but it is, and so I work around it with the lists. I have a list for everything. I have a yearly list of things I want to accomplish, a monthly list, a weekly list and a daily list. I have lists for my lists. They keep me organized, they keep me productive, and there's such a sense of satisfaction in marking something off the list.

4) I can't really swim, (does doggy paddle count?) but I want to learn how. There's an explanation--the nearest body of water to swim in was also home to a very large python who used to take ducks from the surface of the water. Now, I am fond of snakes. They're beautiful, and smooth, and lovely to look at and sometimes even to hold. But I'm not ALWAYS stupid. Not enough to share space with the huge python who hunted in out lake. (Yes the one in the pic is the same type, and he's eating a duck. And yes, That is what it really looks like.) Now these suckers don't confine themselves to ducks. They eat bigger things too, like gazelle. There was no way I wanted to take a chance that it ate kid. Especially when there had been stories of pythons eating kids floating around among the Swazis for years. Besides, we had a few crocodiles in the place too. Between the python and the crocodiles, I decided that discretion really was the better part of valor. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I did once have the opportunity to swim in a real pool as a kid. I almost drowned. I mean, I (climbed on top of the person trying to save me and sunk us both) almost drowned. I never did get very far in swimming lessons after that. But this year will be the year. I just know it.

5) I'm the messiest person I know--if I'm not surrounded by stacks of paper at my desk or already worn clothes on my floor I feel like something is wrong. Luckily, my husband is as messy as I am, so it works for us. We skip spending money on cable and going out to eat and instead have someone in once a week to clean up after us. Hey--don't judge me--I know I need help. : ) I've decided to spare you the pics of the mess.

6) I work with my hubby. People always groan or seem sympathetic when I say that, but I actually love it. We have a law practice, and we get to talk about our cases, and cheer each other on, and commiserate when things don't go the way we thought they should. We get to bounce ideas off each other and have lunch together, and (shh--don't tell)sometimes we take a long lunch and go see a movie. Our movie lunch dates are about the only dates we get to have because we have a 4 year old, a 3 year old and a 1 1/2 year old. Let me tell you, no one offers to babysit that lot more than once.

7) I am a voracious reader. I read fiction mostly, and the kind of fiction depends on my mood and how desperate I am. We have four floor to ceiling bookcases in my garage, double-stacked with books I've read since we moved in a year and a half ago and may want to read again when there is nothing new to read. Some of the books are older than I am, some are new releases. If I enjoyed it, I'll stick it in the case to read it again, because I have a terrible memory and won't remember what happened the second time round anyway.

There you go! Seven random things you probably didn't really want to know about me in the first place. You're welcome!