Things I Don't Do

It's Friday, and I haven't posted much this week. So how about a light post... about things I don't do... that I feel like everyone else in the world DOES do? I posted some of these a few years back on my other blog, so I apologize if you've read these before. It's just for fun, though. Enjoy!

1. I don’t decorate my house for every season/holiday/major event in our lives. I actually would love to do this, because I think it’s super cool when other people do it. I try to go all-out for Christmas - but my "all out" pales in comparison to quite a few of my friends' "half-in"! But seriously, we're lucky if I change out the fake flowers on mantle in the fall to a more fall-esque arrangement. I do love to blow up balloons/hang streamers/and a “happy birthday” sign for birthdays. Other than that, the interior decor of my home doesn’t change much. I’m not super crafty, and I have a hard time shopping during sales for “next year,” thinking that far ahead is just beyond me.

2. Speaking of decorating, I'm just not good at it. I think it's my inability to work inside a "theme." I see so many random things that I really love, but I know they wouldn't go with anything we own, so I don't buy them, and thus there is actually quite a dearth of decoration in my home to begin with. I'm also rather rubbish when it comes to organization. (I need a housekeeper).

3. I don’t eat meatballs. This may seem extremely random, but I discovered when we moved to NC that meatballs are an integral part of any gathering of people in the South. Balls of meat make me feel queasy. This is also why I don’t eat sausage... it’s the link-shaped version of a meatball. It is also why I only like hamburgers when they’re fairly thin. I don’t know, something about wads of ground beef all clumped together truly grosses me out.

4. I don’t get ridiculously excited about summer like the rest of the population of the world seems to. And I don't get excited about the idea of going to the beach (well, not the ocean beach... I like lakes). I love swimming and being in a boat, and that is, in my opinion, the only up-side to it ever being warmer than 75 degrees. I don't enjoy lying around in the sun for the express purpose of getting a tan... and I don't really enjoy the sensation of my skin turning into aged leather.

5. I don’t scrapbook. This is actually something else I’d love to do, but I never have the time or the money to really do it well, and I just can’t do anything half-heartedly - because I know that it would turn out looking as though I had done it half-heartedly, and my parents drilled into me the importance of never settling for mediocrity in anything I did.

6. I don’t drink sweet tea... or any tea... unless it’s Brisk and it’s raspberry flavored. Tea, in my opinion, is just water that has enough lack of flavor to make it taste like something more than water but less than anything else you might actually want to drink. Why bother? Really.

7. I don’t turn the heat on until after my birthday (Nov. 17). There is nothing wrong with waking up in a house that’s 57 degrees. (Okay, I actually don't do that anymore, but that's because there are now tiny people living in my house and I care about whether or not they are comfortable).

8. I don’t give blood. I know, I'm a horrible person. I think it’s noble and all... but considering that needles make me pass out on a regular basis... it’s not something I would ever choose to do. (Examples include: passing out over a TB test when I was 9, passing out when I had an ear infection and the doctor told my mom that my eardrum might rupture, passing out in high school health class when my health teacher drew a blood vessel on the chalk board, nearly passing out every time I have to get my finger pricked at my OB, passing out in chapel when a guest speaker described his 3-year old daughter's eye surgery in far more graphic detail than was necessary, etc. etc. I have more, but I’ll leave that for another post). P.S. there is nothing glamorous or fun about passing out.

9. I don’t watch “reality” TV. The reason for the quotes is also the reason for why I don’t watch it... it’s NOT real (if you’d like to debate this, feel free, but you’re not going to convince me). If I’m going to watch something that isn’t real, I’d rather watch something that doesn’t claim to be real, and actually puts some thought and effort into a script and a plot and a story.

10. I don't care that I'm a complete and total nerd. Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

11. I don't even like the smell of coffee, and can't handle its flavor in anything. Keep it out of my ice cream, my cake, my chocolate... just. No.

12. I don't have pierced ears. (See #8 for explanation)

13. I've never even had a sip of alcohol and I have no desire to ever try it. I'm convinced it tastes like Nyquil and that's all I need to know.

14. I don't get thrilled about "girly" movies. I can't stand Steel Magnolias or BridesMaids or most movies like them. I don't mind a really good, witty, clean Rom-Com every now and then (think Leap Year or... um... While You Were Sleeping), but I'd much rather watch something action-y or sci-fi or crime-drama-ish.

15. I am really, really awful at small-talk. I have the worst time coming up with things to say or topics of conversation with people I don't know well. When I meet someone for the first time and they don't seem to know what to say either, the silence can get pretty long and awkward. Inside my head I'm shouting, "SAY SOMETHING! ASK THEM A QUESTION!!!" and the other half of my brain is running around in circular terror, screaming things like, "Aaaaahhhhhhh! I have no idea what to say! YOU ask a question!" And then I cross my arms and shift around and open my mouth, and nothing comes out. Or I say something inane like, "I'm kind of worried that this is how I would react if we got attacked by zombies right now." On the up-side, if the person doesn't run away screaming because I mentioned zombies, that is a good indication that we're going to get along just fine.

So, dear reader, what are some things that YOU don't do? I'd love to hear about the things you don't do that it seems everyone else does!