Inspired by Alana's 100, I decided to do 100 facts about me that aren't very well known, so here goes:
1. I prefer being called Nikki over Nicole so much that I will correct anyone who calls me Nicole except for my family I grew up with and when I’m receiving a priesthood blessing.
2. Even though my birth certificate says I was born in Nova Scotia and I lived there for the first year and a half of my life, I happily call myself an Albertan.
3. The thought of raising my children in Edmonton scares me a lot.
4. I had such an influence over my brother growing up that at my wedding he thanked me for all of the years of parenting.
5. If I don’t talk to my mum on the phone at least once a day I feel very disoriented.
6. I hate Mother’s Day and have ever since I was pregnant my firstborn. I dread that day each year.
7. I love Christmas and Christmas season starts for me on November 12th.
8. I start shopping for Christmas presents in late spring or early summer and am always done before anyone else in my family.
9. I knew John and I were supposed to get married before we even became a couple. We had a lengthy courtship of 2 days before he asked me to marry him.
10. I honestly don’t remember being married. I remember being in the sealing room, I remember kneeling at the alter and the next thing I remember after that is everyone congratulating us. I guess that’s what happens when you have a nasty head cold on the day of your wedding.
11. I want a college degree once my kids are all in school, but have no clue what I want to take.
12. I have only spent 1 night of my life outside of Canada. It was in Montana when I was about 7.
13. I have lived in 17 different homes in my life.
14. I have crowd claustrophobia that goes haywire in Walmart, Superstore and West Ed.
15. I have phone anxiety so bad that I will do almost anything to get out of phoning just about anyone.
16. My favourite chocolate bar is a British import, Galaxy Ripple.
17. I wish that I could get out and socialize more.
18. I’m a planner and need to plan things as soon as I first think of them, even if they are years off.
19. I haven’t had bangs since junior high and don’t plan to ever have them again.
20. When Caleb was about a month old we went out to someone’s house for dinner and we forgot his diaper bag, which included his bottle.
21. Our sons’ middle names are the first names of the witnesses from our wedding (Rodney Bly and Jason Orr).
22. I like making cards, but can’t think of original ideas, so I just copy other people’s work.
23. I have no problem with getting blood taken or getting needles but absolutely dread having IVs put in.
24. I’m not only scared of mice, but of birds and bats as well.
25. I have a hard time being around my family now that I have different standards than they do.
26. I used to hate pork chops because that’s all my dad would ever make when we visited him, but now I really enjoy them.
27. I don’t eat any form of seafood and even the smell of it makes me feel sick.
28. My brother and I both get sick from the smell of pineapple and tuna and it has been this way as long as we can remember.
29. I moved out of my mum and step-dad’s house at the age of 17 for a month over an argument with my step-dad about putting my hand into a chip bag.
30. I have had 2 nervous breakdowns that resulting in me being in the hospital for at least one night.
31. I was overjoyed when I found syrups to make a pop taste like an alcoholic beverage that I used to drink. All the great taste without the poison, HORRAY!
32. I broke off the first date I had set up with John.
33. I set up our next date and found myself keeping the date going on for longer since I was enjoying myself so much.
34. I plan my meals out several months in advance and almost always stick to these plans.
35. I buy the majority of my groceries at the beginning of the month and only purchase perishables on a weekly basis.
36. I used to be a cat person until I started having cats invade my yard and keep me up while they were in heat.
37. I used to organize Caleb’s clothes in his dresser by outfits so that I wouldn’t be bothered by outfits that John picked out for him.
38. My family grew up with a tradition that we would get a new ornament for the Christmas tree every year and I have continued that tradition with the family I have now.
39. I believed in Santa until I was almost 12.
40. Finding out the truth of Santa didn’t cause me any harm even though I believed in him for so long.
41. I am jealous that John gets to eat the things that get left out for Santa.
42. I failed my red badge in swimming the first time because I couldn’t tread water.
43. I have read the entire quad from cover to cover, well, all of the actual scriptures anyways.
44. It throws me off when we can’t sit in our usual bench in Church, even though it’s nice to sometimes have a break from my noisy nieces and nephews.
45. I really want a calling in Young Women’s, but would be happy with pretty much any calling outside of primary and nursery.
46. I wish there was a support group in Edmonton for spouses of people who suffer from OCD.
47. I used to get really mad when people would comment about that fact that I wasn’t able to nurse Caleb.
48. I had a hard time bonding with Caleb once he was born and didn’t do so until his first night out of the hospital when he wouldn’t stop crying for anyone but me.
49. I have read Harry Potter so many times that I’ve lost count.
50. I can reread just about anything and still enjoy the book.
51. Even though I only have my learner’s, I love getting the chance to drive when we’re travelling.
52. I still have no intention of getting my driver’s while we live in Edmonton, even though I’ve been pestered about it a lot.
53. I have craved McDonald’s cheeseburgers with each pregnancy.
54. I have a harder time each year with giving people ideas of what to get me for my birthday or Christmas.
55. I have had stitches once, in my finger, a broken bone once, a different finger, and one sprained ankle in my whole life.
56. I think my mum would be an amazing Relief Society president if she were a member of the Church and have told her this a few times.
57. I planned my class’s graduation almost single handedly as one of my Special Projects courses.
58. I was a cheerleader in grade 12 and the assistant volleyball coach as well.
59. I love to watch hockey and soccer and can’t stand to watch baseball or golf.
60. Even though I’m an Oilers fan, I will cheer for any Canadian team going for the Stanley Cup, even the Flames.
61. I have given 2 talks in Church and both times I was the youth speaker.
62. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve played our Nintendo Wii by myself.
63. I have a hard time not laughing when Caleb blows bubbles in his milk and gets excited about the results.
64. I usually order the same thing every time I go to a restaurant.
65. I am often scared that maybe I don’t have any real friends.
66. I love spring and rain.
67. It saddens me that I don’t fit most of the clothes that I want to wear. I miss my punk style.
68. I find skater shoes to be the most comfortable shoes, but don’t wear them often anymore because I can’t afford $80 shoes.
69. I have only been to 2 funerals in my life and had never met either person while they were living.
70. My labour with Caleb was longer than my labour with Lauren by 10 hours, but my hard labour was significantly less time with Caleb.
71. My doctor didn’t deliver either of my children. He was out of town for when Lauren was born and didn’t make it to the hospital in time for Caleb.
72. I think I might cry if he’s not there to deliver Tyrell.
73. The drive from Wainwright to Edmonton seems to get longer for me each time instead of shorter.
74. Caleb has never been allowed to sleep in our bed with us.
75. I can recite almost the entire Cars movie by heart thanks to Caleb.
76. I can hear a song once, not hear it again for a few years and then be able to sing along with it when I hear it the next time.
77. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people sing along with songs and they don’t know the words.
78. I couldn’t get into the first Harry Potter book until I’d seen the movie, even though I did try.
79. I’ve had Caleb’s Halloween costume since July.
80. When I was growing up I hated having milk in my cereal.
81. I still don’t like soggy cereal, but I’m learning to like having milk in there as long as I eat it fast.
82. I really want to learn how to play piano.
83. I did all 13 years of Girl Guides, and earned my Canada Cord and Chief Commissioner’s Gold Award Emblem.
84. I will be done my Christmas shopping by the end of October this year.
85. Even though I probably shouldn’t, I do have a favourite niece and a favourite nephew.
86. I had a hard time buying Christmas presents this year because we had Heather and Mike’s family and so there were 8 people to buy for.
87. I feel bad that our boys got less for Christmas because we had so many people to buy for in the Pohl family.
88. My step-sister and I were friends before our parents started dating and then didn’t like each other until Caleb was born.
89. I would love to become an auntie by blood within the next 5 years and am sad that my brother intends to wait about 10 years before they start having kids.
90. I find humour in the fact that my brother and his girlfriend have been together as long as John and I have but they aren’t even officially engaged and John and I are married and about to have our second kid.
91. My taste in music is so broad that I have everything from Korn to Michael McLean on my iPod.
92. My biggest reason for wanting to own my own home is so that I can actually paint my walls. I actually couldn’t care less about the fact that it’s an investment.
93. I worked at KFC 3 different times and am still able to eat there.
94. I didn’t let Caleb eat peanut butter until he was almost 2 because I was so scared he would have an allergic reaction even though neither of our families have a history of peanut allergies.
95. Even though each of my pregnancies has been worse than the last, I still intend to endure at least one more, probably two more.
96. Watching John go through his bad OCD spell was one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced. I wanted nothing more than to be able to go through it for him.
97. I love holiday dinners but don’t like turkey, what are the odds?
98. My first Christmas away from my family was hard not because I wasn’t with them but because there were no perogies or cabbage rolls with the Christmas dinner.
99. I have a hard time being away from home for more than a night or two.
100. I hate hearing John’s forced air machine when it’s there, but can’t sleep properly without it when it’s not.
