Tag! You're It!!

Alrighty folks, I've been again tagged, this time courtesy of the one and only Annie of Cassarole. So its time for another 6 wonderfully strange and random facts about yours truely :-)

1. I'm a speed reader. I dont know where or how I picked up this trait but I can read an entire book in just about 3 or 4 hours - and yes I'm absorbing every word and bit of information and all of that jazz - aka I don't skim. I attribute it to my constant and never failing love for books. I learned to read when I was 4 and since then I've always prefered reading to television. We have an awesome old bookstore here where you can trade in the books that you are done reading and get credit towards other new and used books - its one of my favorite places, the words, the books, the worn covers and bindings, and particularly the smells.

2. I'm 50% Italian. But my skin tone is pasty white. My mother is full blooded Italian where as my dad is German, Greek, and Irish - I have very dark features naturally but that little bit of German in me makes my skin creamy white. My 3 little brothers however have a darker complexion, so I'm the oddball of the family.

3. I dont like Chocolate - yuck, eww, gross. Its NOT good! The only exceptions to my no chocolate rule are Reese Cups and Tagalongs (Girl Scout Cookies) Outside of that, chocolate is gross! (and I'm often called insane because I dont like it)

4. I'm a college dropout. Yup, tis true. I went to the Johnstown branch campus of PITT for creative writing. I was married, had a kiddo in tow, and was working full time and carrying a full course load of 15 credits at college on top of it all. My advisor was a joke and never really did any sort of "advising" and by the time I figured out that if I really ever wanted to do something with a creative writing degree I would have had to double major in something and was didnt take the right classes and would of had to go to school for almost an extra year and a half. It was like I had an epihiony, hey Amanda, you dont need a creative writing degree to write! (Dont worry folks, I write/type how I talk on my blog, I specialize in, and have had ooodles of personalized essays and poetry published in various magazines, books, and collections.)

5. I have really bad anxiety and terriable migraines as a result of it. I don't like overly crowded public places at all. I live in a small town and all we really have here is a Wal-Mart, which I avoid like the plague. I HATE that place! But unfortunatly even still on occasion we need something and have to go there due to the lack of any other shopping nearby - and, but of course, everyone else in town goes there too. I can't set foot into that store alone, Mike has to come with me, if not I get panic attacks. Yup, Wal-Mart gives me panic attacks.

6. I'm a scrapbook embellishment horder. I love little paper odds and ends and bits and pieces and usually buy them in bundles. I even have embellishments for China, Australia, and Mexico - and I'm pertfiried of flying, so its pretty doubtful that I'll ever visit China, Australia, or Mexico.

And as always, I'm going to cheat and not tag anyone. Why? Because I'm a stinker! But I do think that you all should do this because its fun! So if you want to play along, consider yourself tagged from me :-)