Seven Random Things

Yay! My first meme! The beautiful and very much NOT neurotic ;) Melissa of Bountiful Blessings tagged me.

1. When tagged, place the name and URL on your blog.
2. Post rules on your blog.
3. Write 7 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Name 7 of your favorite blogs.
5. Send an email/comment on their blog letting them know they have been tagged.

Here goes:

1. I always let the tap water run into the sink for a second before I fill my glass or water bottle. I don't like the idea that that first bit of water was just "sitting" in the pipe. If I really stop to think about it, though, all the water comes through a huge network of pipes. What does it matter? Either way, I do drink lots of tap water.

2. At a meal I cut up everything on my plate before I begin eating. All the meat into bite-sized pieces, all the pancakes into squares. This usually puts me several minutes behind my husband in "eating start time," and I'm a very slow eater, so he spends a lot of time waiting for me to finish.

3. Which brings me to my next preference: talking throughout a meal. While David prefers to eat and THEN talk, I like to eat AND talk. At the same time. (Please excuse me if I've spoken to you with food in my mouth - it just doesn't feel rude to me when a good conversation is flowing.)

4. I LOVE recycling. Whenever I move to a new place I review all their rules for what can and cannot be recycled. I'm always on the lookout for recyclables. I even flatten and recycle toilet paper rolls. And, yes, I have been known to pull paper products and empty water bottles out of coworkers' trash cans to put them in a recycling bin.

5. I like most rodents. Rats push the envelope with their scaly tails (my sister Beth had two as pets, Captain and Princess), but I am all about gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, and, yes, even mice. My brother had two pairs of mice when we were kids, and he let me name the first pair. I chose Je Suis and Souris. Translation from French: "I am" and "mouse." He didn't let me name the second pair. (For the record, he chose the much cooler names Aztec and Inca.)

6. On that note, I really enjoy thinking about names and naming things. As a little girl I would line up my stuffed animals on my bed and write down names for all of them. A few months later I would give them all new names. A treasured stuffed bunny rabbit (with a whole wardrobe of dresses and matching bloomers) I dubbed Cabrina Mary Lou Anne Marie Davenport Stone and affectionately called Mary Lou. Every few years I write out my top five or so favorite names for future sons and daughters. Reading my old lists makes me laugh (I won't list the names I no longer like for fear of offending people with those names).

7. I employ a closet organizing system that uses twist ties and bread bag tags of various colors to let me know how long I've worn my clothing items. Out of a desire to conserve energy and water and to prolong the life of my clothes, I only wash them when they are visibly soiled or have been worn for three full days. That's probably more than you ever wanted to know, but it works for me.

I would love to read responses from Devin and Katie, Bill, Adam, Sarah, and Carrie. I know that's not seven but ours is still a relatively new blog. If you are a reader I don't know about, you have a blog, and you are interested in writing your own responses to this meme, please do! Then let us know in a comment here - thanks!