The ABC's of Me.

Okay, I first saw this over at Amy's Kitchen Table, who saw it at Artsy-Fartsy Mama, who saw it...well, you get the picture. And thank goodness they did and that I did!!! How would you have ever made it through the week without finding out 26 more things about me! The drought of inconsequential bits of information about all things me since I posted my "100 Facts About Me" Series last year has been as dry as my backyard (thankfully, though, it did get a little reprieve yesterday and today with some much needed rain).

So here goes. Was that a collective sigh I just detected or perhaps the rolling of eyeballs? And yes, I can detect when eyeballs roll - even from miles away. I have a teenage daughter, so I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

A. Age: 41

B. Bed: Queen (with a fairly new, fairly pricey, yet very uncomfortable, mattress). The only stipulation I would have should someone want to break into my house and rob me is that they must take the mattress, too.

C. Chore I Hate: Manually washing dishes (and folding/putting up clothes).

D. Dogs: Nope

E. Essential Start to My Day: If you want to get really technical about it, it’s a trip to the potty, which could come at various times in the A.M. But something that really gets me going is a cup of Joe once I get to work.

F. Favorite Color: It’s always been green.

G. Gold or Silver? Silver.

H. Height: 5 ft. 6ish

I. Instruments I Play: The piano since the 4th grade and various percussion instruments in high school band.

J. Job Title: Librarian, but in today’s fancy schmancy lingo loving world I suppose I would be called a Library Media Specialist.

K. Kids: Two, ten years apart.

L. Live: The Volunteer State

M. Maiden Name: What? Who are you people? The Secret Service? You want my social security number, too?

N. Nickname: Twyla. Thank you, Mr. Brown ;)

O. Overnight Hospital Stays: Three (two c-sections and an adios party for my gallbladder - which happened on Thanksgiving Day a couple months after Ren was born. Pumpkin pie from a hospital bed was just sooo special. You know I'm kidding, right?)

P. Pet Peeve: Oh, my. I’ve become such an A personality there are way too many to mention here. Ummm, here’s one. People who honk their horns at the car in front of them the moment the light changes from red to green. Okay, one more. People who make fun of people for saying "honk" instead of "blow".

Q. Quote: " 'Shine', said the moon. And so I did."

R. Righty or Lefty: Righty! And how my husband, also a righty, and I managed to have two lefties, I’ll never know.

S. Siblings: One, my sister Shelia, whom I have always called Sissy because, I guess, I couldn’t pronounce her name when I was little.

T. Time I Wake: Unfortunately, I have a mortgage which dictates I work, which dictates I rise around 6:00ish, which is when I am still in REM mode.

U. University Attended: A swell little local community college for my A.S., a not-so-hot-to-trot university for my B.S. (if you live in the Nashville area and want advice I can definitely tell you of which one to steer clear), and Western Kentucky University for my M.S.

V. Vegetable I Dislike: I’m not particularly fond of brussel sprouts.

W. What Makes Me Run Late: Genetic engineering.

X. X-rays I’ve Had: Once for a broken arm. I was 5 and in kindergarten. I played a game of “Jump or Get Pushed” with some kids in my neighborhood. I didn’t jump.

Y. Yummy Foods: Just about everything except brussel sprouts. And hominy. I’ve never had it, but yuck!

Z. Zoo Animal Favorites: Stuffed ones in the gift shop. Sorry, but I’m a big chicken around wildlife.


Well, if you're still here, there you have it.

100 Facts About Me - The Final Twenty, Finally!!!

81. I had long hair in the 2nd grade. Many times I wore it clipped back with barrettes. During naptime, when our heads were supposed to be down on our arms, I would eeever so slowly reach into my hair and unattach the barrettes. Then the others at my table and I would use them for a game of "spin the barrette". The rules to this game were simple. 1.) A person would spin the barrette. 2.) Whoever the clapsed end pointed to when it stopped spinning was who the spinner liked. I know what you're thinking...it boggles the mind that Parker Bros. never caught on to what a genius game we had going back then and mass-marketed it.

82. I somehow ended up wearing the same shirt for my fourth grade school picture as I had for my third grade school picture. The only difference? A little maturing had begun to take place and a certain undergarment would have come in handy. Boy! Am I glad our school didn't start publishing yearbooks until my 6th grade year!

83. I am not a morning person, as you may already know. Even so, I was nicknamed Sunshine by a fellow teacher (herself not a morning person either from what I can remember) many years ago while at Guild Elementary.

84. This same person and I actually had a contest once to see just how early we could show up at school (as we were typically always late). I don't remember now who won (so it must have been my friend) but I do remember walking in at about 6 that morning with my hair up in curlers and running in to my assistant principal, Mr. Nolen.

85. I am a GRITS (Girl Raised In The South).

86. I also like to eat grits - naturally, with lots of butter and sugar.

87. One of the first books I bought my husband was the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. I purchased it as a Christmas gift for $49.99 in 1989 or 90. The book still resides in our home.

88. The books currently on my nightstand include The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society, Raising the Spirited Child, The Strong-Willed Child, and 1-2-3 Magic Parenting. Hmmm, I am beginning to see a possible pattern emerge with those last few.

89. My husband is the co-author of the book A Celebration of Houses Built Before 1900 in Sumner County, Tennessee. If you were to visit the Library of Congress you would be able to see a copy of the book. Of course, you could also see it if you were to visit the Sumner County Archives in Gallatin or just come to my house. I know, this one is really not a fact about me, but my name is mentioned on the inside of the book jacket so I'm going to count it. Seriously, it is a lovely book full of beautiful homes and stories.

90. The secret ambition of my heart throughout school was to become a playwright or an actor and live in New York. I guess this little blog and a few church Christmas plays will have to suffice.

91. I have passed out in public, to my knowledge, three times. Once at pre-band-camp the summer before my freshman year (you guessed it...I locked my knees), once while working at Burger King (the summer before my senior year) - I was waiting on a customer and just remember waking up on the floor looking skyward at the menu - and finally, once in my classroom in front of my students (or at least in front of those seated close by my desk). I was not feeling well anyway and, from a seated position, reached over to pick something up off the floor and stood up too fast.

92. In addition to being prone to passing out, I am also a little clumsy. ACtually, I am a LOT clumsy. I remember falling twice while teaching at Guild (yes, aaalll the way to the floor) in front of students. The first was in the classroom after allowing the students to bring their trays back to the room to eat with me. Walking toward my desk I stepped in bean juice that had been spilled on the floor and slid like Ty Cobb or Rickey Henderson stealing home right up under my desk. I think my comment at the moment was "WHO SPILLED THE BEANS?". The second time was also during lunch, this time in the school cafeteria. I had just picked up my tray and glass of tea and was walking toward the door when I stepped on something - not sure what, probably a stupid grape - and landed all sprawled out on the floor in front of about 150 students. I did manage to hang on to my tea though and I am pretty sure I remember praying something like "Please, dear Lord, just let me die".

93. My favorite fruit - watermelon. (Yes, I know. I am really stretching it now, but I am running low on things to tell you) Favorite vegetable - my mom's green beans. Favorite food - too many to name but chicken salad and chicken casserole come to mind. Favorite drink - fruit tea. Favorite sweet - again, from mom, banana pudding.

94. Least liked food as a child that I would give $1,000 right now to taste again - my Pa Frazier's biscuits. He frequently made a big batch and kept them on a plate underneath an old metal cake plate lid. Whenever we visited that was one of the first things to do, look under the cake lid and hope for cake. Usually though we were met with the disappointing sight of a mound of flour, buttermilk, and lard in the form of biscuits. On a good day Cracker Barrel serves up a poor imitation. As a side note, I have often wondered what happened to that cake plate lid. I wish I had thought to ask for that. I hope it landed with someone in the family.

95. I would also love to hear Pa Frazier tell a good ghost story again. I love a good ghost story. I think I would request the one told to all the older grandchildren called "Raw Hide and Bloody Bones". As the youngest of the grandchildren I was not privy to as many of his stories.

96. I didn't get to be around my maternal grandfather, Pa Vernon, as much. He died when I was very young. However, I do remember enjoying visits to his house (except for his chicken coop. I was scared of that). Once when my grandfather needed to go to town I asked if I could go and was told no. Not to be left behind, I hauled my little stowaway butt right up on the running board of his truck. Luckily, Pa Vernon did not drive very fast and stopped just a short distance up the little country road to say hello to a neighbor, who happened to see me and rat me out to my grandfather. I don't remember it but I have been told that Pa really burned my backside up good over that little episode.

97. My moral compass is my father, who once made me return a package of crackers to a buffet-style restaurant in Panama City Beach, Florida when I was 12 or 13 because a sign posted inside asked that food not be taken from it. We had already driven a few miles up the road when he noticed that I had them. I have failed miserably in my life to live up to his character but I am so glad to have him as an example by which to aspire.

98. I am the proud mother of a beautiful, tall (5'10), talented, and creative daughter who grows more beautiful each year and never ceases to amaze me with her ability to write some really good stuff - most of which I have found secretly stashed away in her room or in random notebooks. Maybe she will take after her father in that area.

99. I am the proud mother of a handsome, funny, and smart little boy who cracks me up just about every day while he goes through childhood as a policeman, fireman, helicopter gunship pilot, ambulance driver, doctor, teacher, preacher, cowboy, Indiana Jones, Barney Fife, and Ernest T. Bass.

100. I never, ever could have imagined it would be so hard to come up with 100 facts to write about one's self. But, trust me, it is. Try it. You'll see.

I really hope you have enjoyed reading all these fine little morsels about my life. I'm sure you feel much more enriched having done so. And if you are joining our program already in session please feel free to go back through our archives and read the first 80. Oh, and overlook any typos or spelling errors. This one was actually written in the wee small hours over several nights.

100 Facts About Me - Installment 4

61. John viciously lies about me when he says I snore.

62. I have a Simmons Beautyrest mattress that is less than a year old for which I paid nearly $1,200 (for the mattress only - can you say "highway robbery") and I am no more beautiful or rested than I was before. Actually, if the truth be told, I am much more sore, tired, and ugly. I should sue. They could admit my whole body as evidence in such a court case.

63. I love to swim - or just walk around in the water. Doesn't that count as swimming?

64. I miss our old pool. We don't have one at our new house.

65. We do have a pond in our yard though. But I would prefer not to get covered in leeches or eaten by a giant snapping turtle. So swimming at home is out of the question.

66. Once on a Sunday afternoon with some friends from church I swam the width of Bledsoe's Creek at a fairly wide spot because I didn't want to look like a scared little school girl. I was in my early to mid teens at the time. Only made it 3/4 of the way across before a rescue was needed. To get me back across they floated this scared little school girl on a log. Don't think I ever told my parents about that one. I guess they know now.

67. As a general rule I do not allow my daughter to go on picnics with friends near a body of water larger than a bird bath.

68. As a child I had a recurring nightmare of falling through the hay drop in the upper level of my pa's barn and being trampled by the cows. I attribute this to my love of red meat today.

69. I was known to sleepwalk at times growing up. I remember doing this twice. Once waking up at the very back of our yard next to the woods and the other time on the kitchen trash can, undies around my ankles. Take a guess.

70. I am distantly related to Howard Hughes - or at least my mother and about half the residents of Westmoreland were told this in the late 70s. Still waiting on that inheritance.

71. Somehow managed to catch my veil on fire at my wedding while lighting the unity candle. On the wedding video you can see me reach up and put my hand around the veil, followed by a little trail of rising smoke.

72. During the first few nights we were married John and I stayed at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. Yep, Nashville. Yes, the one in Tennessee, all of 50 miles from our hometown. Please - try not to be jealous.

73. The Sunday afternoon following our wedding - less than 24 hours after our wedding - John's family showed up at the hotel to visit us ON OUR HONEYMOON!

74. During some down time on this epic adventure of a honeymoon struck up a conversation with a nice old man who lived in the hotel who went by the name Minnesota Fats.

75. My only other brushes with fame have been when my father worked for a while as one of Conway Twitty's contractors in the early 80s and seeing Reba McEntire at O'Charley's in Gallatin on two occasions.

76. My mother once took pictures of my teenage bedroom and threatened to submit them to the local paper for publication if I didn't clean it up.

77. I became lost in the bowels of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. the day of Clinton's inauguration when I left a reception for Tennesseans, in search of the office's cafeteria for better food.

78. In my youth and naivety I asked a couple from Spring Hill whom I had just met to watch our camcorder while I went on this journey.

79. The aforementioned recording device belonged to John's school. He, as a history teacher, had borrowed it to record some inaugural events.

80. Almost two hours later when I finally found my way back to the reception area this same couple from Spring Hill was still there - even though the reception was loonngg over. Aren't Tennesseans the nicest people? Though they probably spoke a few choice words about me during the time I was gone and in years since refer back to it as, "You remember the time that stupid girl left us holding her camcorder while she went to stuff her face and we missed seeing the president in the parade?"

100 Things About Me - Acte Trois

41. I have not been formally trained to speak or write in French.

42. I do know how to use an online English-to-French translator, though. Check out the title to this post. Huh? How 'bout that? Acte Trois. That means "act three".

43. I do not particularly enjoy cooking (remember...pancake chicken?).

44. I am a night owl, albeit an older night owl. I tend to stay up late and sleep in late on weekends and during the summer. If we ever have to add time on to the school day my vote will be to add it to the end of the day.

45. My husband is a pretty lousy gift giver (ok, that is a fact about him - but one that greatly impacts me).

46. To take my niece trick-or-treating I once dressed as a bunch of grapes AFTER I had gained bunches of weight. Not a pretty picture. And to answer your question - no. All photographic evidence has been destroyed.

47. I routinely break the tenth commandment. Oh, don't go dragging out your Bibles. I'll tell you. It is the Thou Shalt Not Covet rule. Don't think I'm proud of it, but I do frequently find myself seeing something someone else has and thinking, "Oooh. I want one".

48. There are three things I hate about going to the beach: sand, seaweed, and saltwater. Other than that we're in good shape.

49. I have been known to play pranks, mostly harmless ones but there have been a couple of which I have since repented.

50. My daughter was planned...reeaallly planned. I mean using-a-thermometer-and-a-chart-planned.

51. My son was sooooo an accident.

52. My daughter looked more like John when she was a baby and favors me somewhat now.

53. My son was the spitting image of me as a baby and is beginning to resemble John more now, though he'll always have my eyes.

54. I played on a faculty volleyball team and became accustomed to hearing my coach and co-worker Manny yell, "Move your feet, Tyla". Despite my non-feet-moving we were pretty good and Manny and I remain friends to this day.

55. My daughter plays volleyball now and regularly hears me say, "Move you feet!"

56. I once purposely misbehaved to get myself assigned to detention because I saw a certain cute guy's name on the detention list. Upon arriving in detention that afternoon I found that said cute guy had wiggled his way out of detention.

57. My favorite toys as a child were my Barbies. I had tons and kept them even after getting married.

58. Lost all my Barbies when the storage facility which John and I rented caught fire and burned to the ground in 1995.

59. I have never flown (we are the royal family of road trips though) and now I think I might have a fear of flying.

60. I know I have a fear of washing dishes due to this one terribly traumatic incident from my childhood/mid- teens in which my father stood over me (belt in hand) and made me wash the supper dishes. Swallowing hard and bravely forcing my hand into the water, DIRTY DISH WATER might I remind you, I pulled up what I thought to be the rag and there, draped over my fingers, was a slimy tomato slice. My eyes rolled back in my head and I passed out on the spot!

100 Facts About Me - Volume deuce

21. I am habitually late for everything-have been since high school.

22. My first car, besides the green bomb and it doesn't count because it was my parent's, was a Mercury Topaz.

23. I was in the band - percussion section. Bass drum, bells, and xylophone. Ohhh how I longed to play the snare drum. Darn those double-stroke drum rolls - never could get the hang of them!

24. On one of the first nights after returning from our honeymoon John and I stayed at my sister's house. We slept in my nephew's room on his water bed. During the night I had a snake dream and jumped up yelling, "Snakes!!!Snakes in the bed!!!" - at which point I tried to jump out of the bed, caught my foot in the sheets, and landed face first on the floor in .04 of a second. I was always sooo graceful.

25. I once received Soft Soap as a Christmas gift from an in-law who shall remain nameless. This was my only gift from this person that year. Yes, soap. For Christmas. And it wasn't even one of those resplendent soap-on-a-ropes. It was SOFT SOAP in a pump bottle!!!

26. Two of my favorite movies are Gone With the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird. Duh, born and bred southerner here.

27. Passed on the chance to stay with a relative in NYC for a week in 1985 because Power Station (and without Robert Palmer) was coming to the Municipal Auditorium. Words like idiot, nimrod, blockhead, ignoramus, dumbbell, nitwit, and nincompoop come to mind now.

28. I was the 2nd Runner-Up Miss Southern Belle in 1986, as part of a celebration in my hometown to honor Tennessee's Bicentennial.

29. My husband was sort of the assistant director for my band when I was in high school. This is where we met. We began dating during my senior year. I guess this kind of thing might be frowned upon now.

30. If you are easily sickened don't read this one....In getting to know John over the years in school I found he detested to be around sick people, a real germaphobe, so as a joke on the band bus during my junior year I chewed up a bunch of french fries from a recent stop at McDonald's, feigned feeling sick, and spit up the entire contents of my mouth in John's direction (into a bunch of paper towels I just happened to have in my hands).

31. He still asked me out.

32. But it took a year.

33. I was a "grave/ghost hopper" in my youth, which is to say I enjoyed going to thought-to-be haunted places.

34. I'm one of the one-in-three Americans who believe in ghosts.

35. Despite that, socially and politically I tend to be more conservative.

36. I have attended one Presidential Inaugural Ball - Clinton's. Okay, so maybe I'm not that conservative.

37. Sadly, I have never been off the continent of North America.

38. I lllove turnip greens. Yummm, Yummm.

39. The first car I ever bought myself was a new, red Mustang - got a great deal on it.

40. Two weeks later found out Ford was changing the body style of the Mustangs. My new car was already a has been.

100 Facts About Me - Volume 1

I guess we can all agree that it must be a pretty slow day in the news department when I resort to listing facts about myself. Well, anyway - enjoy! Then you can go on with your life secure in the knowledge that should some random person approach you on the street with a camera crew and tell you that you've "just won $10,000,000.00 if you can tell us ten facts about Tyla Creasy" you will be able to retire and move to Hawaii.

1. I only have one sibling, a sister, and I am the baby by 16.5 years.

2. The earliest memory I have is of busting my lip when I was two.

3. Dr. Carter had to wrap me, kicking and screaming, in a sheet to be able to stitch up said lip.

4. I broke my left arm when I was 5 in a game of "Jump or Get Pushed."

5. I got pushed.

6. Predicted to a friend that I would someday marry John - within 2 weeks of meeting him during my freshman year of high school.

7. Did not predict I would marry him twice.

8. Both anniversaries are August 6
(we thought this might be fun for our descendants doing family history research one day).
9. The friend in fact # 6 to whom I made the prediction served as my Maid of Honor at wedding #1.

10. Ren served as my Maid of Honor at wedding #2.

11. I have a scar in the shape of an X under my bottom lip from taking a newly sharpened pencil in the 5th grade and saying "Watch what I can do."

12. I have an almost paralyzing fear of bridges - especially high ones over water.

13. I have an even bigger fear of snakes.

14. I lived in only one house from my birth until I married.

15. I am the daughter of a Baptist minister.

16. I am also a banging-Baptist-piano-player. This is not to say that I'm awesome, just loud.

17. When playing at church I prefer to play hymns a little faster than the composer probably had in mind (you should see how quickly we get through Amazing Grace).
18. The first time I went rolling - that I can remember - I was 23 years old and already employed as a teacher.

19. The first yard I rolled was Marie Short's - a co-worker. I was afraid of her dogs so I rolled by throwing the rolls of toilet paper out the car window.

20. I was paddled by a teacher each year I was in grade school - except 6th grade. Thank you, Mr.Cox!!!

Now - don't you feel more enlightened? See the great things you find out about someone by checking out their blog. Nighty-night, friends.