So...200 Buttons

Get ready.
This is a LONG one.

In celebration of my 200th post, I've been compiling a list of 200 Buttons - things that are one my mind and/or things about me.

You can read, or you can pass.
Either way, take a deep breath.
Here we go...

1. my middle name is Bonita, after my grandmother.
2. the exact meaning of my full maiden name is “Great Mighty One, Pretty, Son of Robert” – I find it very appropriate. (I guess my married name is the same, except now I’m the son of Jen.)
3. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I’m a Mormon.
4. the Book of Mormon has changed my life.
5. I can’t snap.
6. I prefer to brush and rinse with warm water.
7. I love taking really long, really hot showers.
8. I have a really hard time waking up in the morning, regardless of how much sleep I got the night before.
9. On the same note, I can sleep anytime, anywhere – regardless of how much sleep I got the night before.
10. I love Dr. Pepper, from a can, on ice, in a glass.
11. I have always been an extremely picky eater.
12. One of my life goals was to eat salad – and I have done it! In fact, I love it now.
13. Another life goal is to become a morning person. Not quite there yet.
14. I’m extremely left handed.
15. I met Husband in a dance club.
16. He is also left-handed.
17. I have no desire to go sky diving, or bungee jumping.
18. I am terrified even thinking about scuba diving.
19. I have been married for six years.
20. I have three daughters.
21. I was married in the Boston Temple for time and all eternity.
22. I believe that my family can be together forever – through Heavenly Father’s plan.
23. I have lived in three places – Needham, MA; Orem, UT; Provo, UT
24. I love to run. This is a recent development.
25. I love silence. This is also a recent development.
26. I love movies.
27. I hated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Hellboy.
28. my favorite book is Catcher in the Rye.
29. I have extremely vivid dreams.
30. I play the violin and piano.
31. When I was 15 I became the organist in my church and was until I graduated high school. I had never touched an organ before then, and I haven’t touched one since.
32. Very few things about being a mother/homemaker/housewife come naturally to me. It all is hard work to me.
33. I am extremely competitive.
34. My jaw pops. All the time, but especially when I’m eating.
35. My nose runs when I eat.
36. For some reason I don’t close drawers all the way. I try to, but I always seem to leave them slightly open. I didn’t realize this until Husband pointed it out.
37. I enjoy gardening.
38. I will always plant zucchini in my garden because it makes me feel like a successful gardener.
39. I believe in family
40. I laugh at my own jokes.
41. I love rainy days.
42. I love rainy nights even more.
43. I love the smell of Autumn – rain, leaves, cool air, fires
44. I am inspired by and strive for excellence.
45. I love baking bread.
46. I love NyQuil
47. I believe in honesty.
48. Oh, how I love chocolate.
49. If I could have any candy bar of my choice, it would be a strawberry Charleston Chew. Or a Caramello. Or a Milky Way Dark.
50. I wait all year for Thanksgiving Dinner.
51. My top five favorite people in the world are my four siblings and my husband.
52. I really miss my younger brother who’s serving a mission. A lot.
53. I watch way too much TV and spend way too much time analyzing the shows I watch. Especially LOST.
54. I’m practically pro at Guitar Hero and Rockband.
55. I can eat ice cream, any kind, any place, any time.
56. I believe in hard work.
57. I love to cook.
58. I especially love to cook for other people.
59. Girls’ Nights are a necessity.
60. I believe in sweat pants.
61. I thrive when I have a tight schedule and a long to-do list.
62. I love giving the perfect gift.
63. I’m very sentimental.
64. I really enjoy grocery shopping.
65. I like to be organized. The problem is, I keep coming up with new systems and I can never remember what they are.
66. I hate ketchup. Everything about it.
67. I love trees. Everything about them.
68. I love to take naps at the park on a blanket or at the beach on a towel.
69. I love staying in hotels.
70. My biggest fear is having one of children get lost or be taken.
71. I love brand new notebooks, notepads, journals, and post-its.
72. I love being pregnant, even though Husband would claim otherwise.
73. I am learning to be punctual. It's very rewarding.
74. My absolute favorite food is Mongolian Beef from P.F. Chang’s.
75. I find satisfaction in building our food storage. I know, that’s weird.
76. I am not a very good dancer. Husband told me so.
77. I love lacrosse. It is, and always will be, my first love.
78. I can sing almost the entire score of Les Miserables, for memory.
79. I love Russian composers. Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff are my favs.
80. I believe in music and art.
81. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about aliens. They might exist.
82. Thinking about the universe, eternity, and infinity stress me out.
83. I believe in finding and being yourself.
84. I think rivalries are awesome. Wellesley sucks. Yankees suck.
85. I believe in mix tapes. MP3 players are weak.
86. I believe in education.
87. I love Dave Matthews Band. With a passion.
88. There’s nothing better than hearing one of your favorite songs from start to finish on the radio.
89. I think movies are better watched and appreciated on TV. No idea why, I just do.
90. I believe in family dinner.
91. I love trying new recipes and getting it right the first time.
92. I love hot chocolate and toast after playing in the snow.
93. I believe in forgiveness.
94. I believe in acceptance.
95. I believe in understanding.
96. I think life is pretty awesome.
97. I bite my nails and have no problem with that.
98. I have sweaty hands and feet, and Husband loves me anyway.
99. I think Ziploc bags are genius.
100. I think every date should end with ice cream.
101. I love falling asleep to movies.
102. I love warm, after naps, squishy, chubby, baby cheeks. I can’t stop kissing them.
103. When it comes to ice cream, I choose vanilla – preferably with some kind of chocolate in it or on it.
104. I do not enjoy hiking the Y. I would be okay if I never did it again.
105. I love being outside, except when it’s snowing. Then I need to be inside.
106. I love hearing Pink Floyd on the radio.
107. I practiced saying the alphabet backward in case I ever got pulled over and tested for drunk driving. Not because I thought I would ever be driving drunk, but because I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it and the officer would think I was drunk. Now I’m safe. I can even sing it backward.
108. I love Disney movies.
109. I love to go to the symphony.
110. I would love to play in the symphony even more.
111. I am not a huge fan of change.
112. I overanalyze pretty much everything.
113. I loathe telemarketers. And door-to-door salesmen. They always ring the doorbell…
114. I feel incredibly blessed to have three happy, healthy daughters. And I’m really not just saying that. I am so blessed.
115. I have a hard time knowing what to say in difficult circumstances.
116. Most of the time I don’t say anything when I’m worried I might say something wrong. I always regret it.
117. I need my friends more than I ever thought I would.
118. I used to think sarcasm was funny. Now I think it’s rude.
119. I am inspired by Remember the Titans, Rocky, and Cool Runnings.
120. I love Husband more everyday. I really do.
121. I admire Husband for so many things. Mostly because he is so many of the things I want to be. That is why he is perfect for me.
122. I never thought I would live in Utah, yet here I am and here I’ll stay.
123. I really worry about offending people. Probably more than I should.
124. I believe in the good in people.
125. I fell asleep while taking the ACTs. Oops.
126. My favorite class at BYU was Writing About Humanities. Combination of two of my favorite things – writing and art.
127. I believe “Free Falling” can only be listened to in the car, with the windows down, at full blast, while singing as loud as you can. I have yet to resist the opportunity under any circumstances.
128. paper grocery bags remind me of Roche Bro’s and textbook covers.
129. I love spending one-on-one time with my children.
130. I am really good at starting things.
131. I wish I were better at finishing things.
132. I have a dog named Baxter who chews on wood and plastic, but not bones.
133. I have used a single pen all the way until the ink ran out.
134. I have also used a single hair elastic for an entire school year.
135. I have really good veins. Or so I’ve been told.
136. I am not a perfectionist.
137. I believe in finding the beauty in imperfection.
138. I worry about my relationship with my daughters. All the time.
139. Movies about the end of the world stress me out.
140. I will not be seeing “2012”
141. I don’t like scary movies.
142. I don’t like movies about vampires and/or zombies.
143. I do not speak another language.
144. I took synchronized swimming classes at the NPRC.
145. I love being at the beach, but I don’t love swimming in the ocean.
146. I worked at Hogi Yogi and hated it.
147. I really love my maiden name and had a hard time giving it up.
148. I think kickball is one of the greatest games every invented.
149. I am realizing that 200 is a lot of things and probably nobody is even reading this…
150. I don’t really care.
151. Stairway to Heaven is one of the best songs ever written.
152. So is Fool In the Rain.
153. Basically, Led Zeppelin is awesome.
154. I have seen Jimmy Page and Robert Plant in concert. Awesome.
155. I am terrified of drowning.
156. I believe in taking responsibility for your actions.
157. I really think I’m going to be tired for the rest of my life.
158. I am very task oriented.
159. I love setting goals and making plans.
160. I write poems
161. My motto is “If you love the life you live, then you will live a life of love.”
162. I actually love broccoli.
163. I don't believe that anyone is perfect, even if they seem to be.
164. I did dance at my wedding and had a blast.
165. Someday I want to take my family on a road trip across the country.
166. I want to see Mt. Rushmore.
167. I want a wood-burning fireplace and I want to heat my house with it. Seriously.
168. I love pushing my kids on the swing.
169. I live in a cul-de-sac and hope I always do.
170. I miss my Jeep Cherokee.
171. I own a beach cruiser and love it, even though I don't live near a beach.
172. I love going on family bike rides.
173. I have a different bag for almost everywhere I go – purse, church bag, gym bag, shopping bags, diaper bag, etc...
174. I really don’t like transferring purse items from bag to bag. I have separate items in each bag.
175. I love IKEA.
176. I always feel like I need chapstick. Probably because I live in the desert.
177. Writing is how I deal with life.
178. I have suffered from post-partum depression. Writing helped.
179. I spend too much time on the computer.
180. So does Husband.
181. My daughters are very smart and I secretly wish I had something to do with it. But seriously, they were born that way.
182. I am a fan of slideshows put to music.
183. I get five Sunday newspapers for the coupons.
184. I have a hard time forgiving myself.
185. I don’t have a hard time forgiving others.
186. I like playing games. Husband does not.
187. The only thing I’ve ever beat Husband in is HORSE. Booyah.
188. I’ve learned that being happy is more important than being exceptional.
189. My kids’ happiness and confidence is more important to me than anything.
190. I don’t believe in “training” husbands.
191. I’m not Husband’s mom and I refuse to be. He’s a big boy.
192. I’m pretty sure I have the best Husband ever. (No offense)
193. I don't know how I got so lucky.
194. I am incredibly blessed.
195. I love being an American.
196. I love being from Boston.
197. I love being LDS.
198. I love being a mom.
199. I love being a wife.
200. I love being me. (Most days)

Phew!
Well, that was fun.
Happy 200!