This time, it's all about me

I've been tagged by Beverly of Motherhood and Other Ramblings to reveal seven weird things about myself and then tag 7 more bloggers to play, too.

Well, since she asked . . .

1. I was born on my grandmother's birthday. She still refers to me as her best birthday gift because I was her first grandchild. A couple of years ago, I discovered it's my boss' birthday, too.

2. I'm a journalist who is good at math, which anyone in the business will tell you is weird enough, but I take it a step further -- I enjoy doing algebra. Last weekend Lauren needed help with her homework, and I had so much fun working through the problems with her that I insisted we do a few extra. I told her it was so I could be sure she understood the concepts, but, truthfully, I was having fun. I'd still be doing them if she hadn't taken the book home with her.

3. I enjoy working puzzles of all kinds, from jigsaws to acrostics to Sudoku (I consider algebra a type of puzzle, too). A couple of years ago, I entered a Sudoku contest at work and won the $50 top prize. (My version of trash talk was telling the guy running the contest -- in front of the other contestants -- that I didn't need a pencil because I usually worked them in pen).

4. All through college and throughout my 20s and 30s, I had a crush on Billy Joel. It finally ebbed in my 40s, but now I'm finding myself developing an even bigger crush on this guy:

That's Moose A. Moose to you.

If you had a 2-year-old at home, you'd love him, too. What a voice!

5. I met my husband online.

6. I have lived in eight states, six of them as an adult. Only one of those six was a repeat of a state that I lived in as a child. Since leaving home for college, I have never lived in the same state as my parents. (I said that's a weird thing, not a good thing).

7. A week and a half ago, I taught myself to draw a monkey. I did it so I didn't have to keep drawing the cat over and over. Now I hear, "Mama, color monkey" almost as often as I used to hear "Color Sigh-zhah (Cyrus)."

The hardest part of this exercise was figuring out who to tag . . . I read a lot of blogs, but I'm mostly a "lurker" -- someone who reads but doesn't comment. Tagging the bloggers means revealing myself! I guess it's time to come out of the closet, though, so I tag:

Dawn
Dusty
Kids Special Needs
Laura
Lauri
Michelle (even if you don't have time to check out her blog, you should look at this special slideshow)
and my friend Adrienne, who'll have to participate even though I'm not publishing a link because her blog is private. It's one of my favorites, though!