I've been tagged--Random Stuff About Me

I’ve been tagged by two fellow bloggers, Lisa and Crystal, so I figured I should give this a try. Lisa and I share the bond of infertility, IVF and miscarriage. Lisa is a strong, caring woman who’s been one of my biggest supporters through all of my struggles and for that I’m so appreciative! Crys and I both know the devastation that is left in the wake of preeclampsia. We both delivered our little ones several weeks early and both lost them way too soon! Crys was one of my saviors in the early weeks and months following Myles’s death. I don’t think I would be here where I am today without the support she gave me! Thanks to both of you for being such amazing, inspirational women!

Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about you.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end, and include links to their blogs.

Random Things About Me:

1. I have a Master’s degree in wildlife biology. In the past I’ve worked as a wildlife biologist studying West Nile virus in corvids (blackbirds, crows), I’ve also trapped mice/rats and bats, I’ve collected animal scat (poo) to identify animals, and I’ve necropsied (similar to an autopsy) various wild animals.

2. I’m a very girly girl who loves pink, which you wouldn’t guess if you read #1, but I can definitely get my hands dirty (see #1). I love to get dressed up! I wear makeup including lipstick (okay some days colored lip gloss) and style my hair every day. I love to accessorize and wear heals. I do love skirts and dresses, but not in the frigid WI winter weather!

3. I’m obsessive about plucking my eyebrows—I will pluck almost every day! I can’t stand to look in the mirror and see a tiny brown hair poking through my skin under my perfectly manicured brows. This is the reason that I can’t wax my brows—I can’t stand to go that long with the little hairs showing!

4. My secret guilty pleasure is reading Hollywood gossip magazines! I love them and can’t help myself when I’m in a grocery store checkout. If J is with I won’t buy them, but if I’m by myself the temptation is often too much!

5. I have struggled with body image issues my whole life. Even when I was a size 1/2 (before my infertility struggles) I could not completely love my body. It’s a huge issue that drives my hubby crazy. I blame my mom for my issues as she struggled with eating disorders when I was a kid and always made rude comments about people being “fat”. My mom’s mom did the same thing. I spend hours of therapy working on this issue and am hoping to break the cycle, so I don’t pass this on to my future children.

6. I LOVE dark chocolate! Nothing (well okay almost nothing) is better than a rich, warm, gooey dark chocolate lava cake! YUM!!

7. Despite not really liking football (well sports in general) I have a fantasy football team. My team is so good that they've made the playoffs. I tell J I'm not competitive and that I don't care about my team, yet every week I spend a little bit of time researching my players and asking my students/colleagues who I should play. I quietly cheer when I kick the boy's butts! :)

Surprisingly that was fun! I didn’t think I could think of 7 random things about me, but near the end I couldn’t figure out which one to pick from the list forming in my head! I am tagging a few of my “old” and new blogger friends: Becca, Donna, Nicole, Dora, B, N, and Duck.