25 Things About Me

25 Things About Me

1. After living 29 years in Alachua County, Florida, I moved to Knoxville in 2006 for a Ph.D. program at the University of Tennessee.
2. I love living in Tennessee since we have seasons, and the mountains are gorgeous.
3. I do not miss living in Florida, and I really don't want to move back to Florida at this point in my life.
4. Things I miss about Florida: Publix, family and friends, uncrowded days at Disney, alligators, UF's campus beauty at night (not necessarily in that order :))
5. I'm married to a wonderful man, and I'm the human mother of two cats.
6. We want to have human children, but I want to finish my degree first.
7. I do not like steak, but I love pizza.
8. I do not like beer, but I love wine.
9. I am completely deaf in my left ear and have been since birth.
10. I am left handed, and I've been told I have nice handwriting.
11. I enjoy writing and teaching, which is part of the reason I'm in a Ph.D. program.
12. I enjoy watching college and professional football and college basketball at times, but I don't have much interest in baseball. I also enjoy watching NASCAR races and have been to the Pepsi 400 in Daytona.
13. I grew up on a farm in Alachua, Florida, and our neighbors are Hare Krishnas.
14. My aunt lives in a house across the road, and my father was born in that house in 1939.
15. I learned to drive a stick-shift when I was about 8 years old, but I've since forgotten. I used to drive my dad's truck around the farm when I was young, helping him herd our cows.
16. I have a younger brother who is 8 years younger than me named Jason. My mom thought about spelling it Jayson, but she realized his name would never be spelled correctly. Thanks mom!
17. I have a sister-in-law (my husband's sister) named Allison, but my mom insisted using a "y" instead of an "i" in my name.
18. My parents thought about naming me Jody Beth, so I would have grown up as Jody Beth Beutke. My dad had thought about naming me Albert if I had been a boy. I'm glad neither of those things happened.
19. I grew up watching soap operas and I still watch The Young and the Restless along with other shows including ER, The Office, 24, and reruns of Beverly Hills 90210, the Brady Bunch and more. I can't imagine not having a television. I also watch a variety of news programs.
20. I have always loved school, and I'm a true nerd, but that doesn't bother me. My husband is also a nerd.
21. I have been to Europe and visited Luxembourg, France, Germany and Belgium. My husband's step-father is a Luxembourg native who lives in the U.S. now, but his entire family still lives there.
22. I love many kinds of cheese, but not a kind Luxembourg has called Kach Keis, which is a soft cooked cheese that has the consistency of rubber cement but looks like something that came out of your nose. Sorry, but it's just gross. I love blue cheese though, which my husband detests since it's "rotting cheese."
23. I have been to Hawaii on our honeymoon and loved it. I would rather live there than Florida.
24. I tend to be a neat freak and detest fingerprints that can be seen on mirrors, microwaves, television and computer screens. I hate it when people touch my computer screen and leave a fingerprint.
25. I cut coupons from Sunday's paper and use them, and I comb through ads and try to buy most items on sale.