Who, Me?

That Blog Every Day In May Challenge is almost over. Weird. And I’m kind of getting used to writing a blog every day.

Kind of.

Here is the topic for today:

Day 24, Friday: Your top 3 worst traits

And I’m not going to sugar coat a thing. Ready?

I’M MESSY 

This is Greg’s room in Nashville. We did long distance for 2 years and when I’d come to visit, his clean room would soon look like this:

Sorry Greg

In my defense, I’ve always said there is a huge difference between messy and dirty. This is the girl who changes her pillow case at least once a week and is sort of OCD about cups. I am like the little girl in Signs who leaves her trail of partially consumed cups of water all over the house. Clean, but messy. Growing up I always had a heaping pile of clothing on my floor. If there’s a surface to place something, it’ll get filled with random things. Greg and I are figuring out how to tackle this. We are becoming the most severe type of minimalists. Our bedroom now has two things: A bed and a tiny, 1 foot x 1 foot thing with drawers in the corner. Oh, and a tiny stand for the alarm clock. That’s IT. And that is the way it has to be, or the cute dresser/wicker basket/whatever-else-people-fill-their-rooms-with would wind up only has a placeholder for things that should be put away.

And I’m the exact same way with my purse. It’s like Mary Poppins. I can never find anything. Greg hates how I ruffle through it and seem to dig my hand two feet down just to find chapstick. This has been happening for years.

That same trip, 5 (ish) years ago. Greg named this picture: “Typical of how Melinda searches in her purse.”

 

I’M NOT AN “INDOOR ANIMAL” PERSON

Simply because I seem to be in the ultimate minority on this one, I guess it’s a worst trait. I’m sorry, dog lovers, cat lovers, and hamster enthusiasts. I simply do not enjoy being licked, shoved aside, walked on, surrounded by smells, and usually winding up crazy itchy all over my body. I can’t stand it when a wet dog nose touches my skin. I avoid it at all costs. When dogs “play” it scares the you-know-what out of me. I think cats are mean. (I’ve been slapped in the face by a hairless cat, give me some slack!)

This could be because growing up, we didn’t have a single animal inside the house. I never grew up with the dog that cuddled up beside you. I never begged for a pet and I don’t feel like I missed out on anything.

I DO however, LOVE outdoor animals that can be classified as “livestock” rather than pets. I LOVE my chickens. They’re currently inside, but they’ll be living outdoors soon and they don’t lick. YAY!

NOTE: We did have a great dog for a short period of time. His name was Aksel and he was sweet and beautiful. He is now in Minnesota with a cousin of a cousin (confusing?) and he has a lot more space. At the time, Greg and I lived in a tiny apartment and all three of us were driven crazy. Rhodesian Ridgebacks are lion hunters from Africa and should be run one or two times a day … otherwise they get destructive. I was so allergic to Aksel, too. I got hives on my forearms every day.

Don’t let this fool you, I was scared out of my mind when this photo was taken.

a gorgeous hike we took, back in the Aksel days

 

I’M THE BIGGEST WIMP YOU’LL EVER MEET

I’ve said it before and I wasn’t exaggerating. I am so afraid of so many things. My fears don’t keep me from living a normal life, but they do sometimes keep me awake at night or a bit over-the-top when I’m home alone and I hear a noise (like holding a kitchen knife and yelling, “I know you’re here!” And trying to sound brave, should I meet someone around the corner or in the closet.) Call it an over active imagination… call it just plain silly. I can’t help it either way. I’ve had to get a refund for 3 movies in the theater because I started crying in the first five minutes. It was after that, and a few other movies that kept me up for ~ a month, that I wrote off anything scary. For good.

And I hate Halloween. Hate it. I still think of a show (probably on the Disney channel or some other “harmless” kids program) where a scary monster mask got stuck on a kid’s head and he was almost trapped that way for eternity. Plus, I think Halloween gives all the creepers of the world a glorious chance to do what they do best: creep.

In fact, this past Halloween of 2012 was the first time I even dressed up in years. It was kind of fun, but this photo was taken at a party three days before the 31st. Less scary, and do you see any monster masks? (though Meredith’s make up was pushing it)

the nerd, the teacher, the skeleton, the witch

And there you have it!

What are your worst traits? I think if we accept them and laugh at them, things will get better. Don’t you?

Love,

Messy, anti-domestic animal, scardy-cat

LOU