Get to Know Surfie!

I was born in 1977 and am the middle child and only girl. I have one older brother and one younger brother and we are all very close in age. We were certainly never bored growing up! Built-in companions, whether you wanted them or not. :) According to my mom, I was actually supposed to be a twin. The doctors didn't realize Mom was going to be having twins since during the ultrasounds my twin was covering me up and they could only hear one heartbeat. Unfortunately there were complications and my twin was stillborn. Since I was the second twin, I was a surprise. Nothing like making a grand entrance!

I have so many questions about my twin, though I'll never have the answers. It's hard to imagine what life would have been like if there had been another "me" out there. My parents had not planned to tell me about her until Mom realized that unlike many kids, I didn't just have an imaginary friend, I had an imaginary twin! I don't remember ever having any imaginary friends at all, so I have no idea how old I was when this happened. But apparently that twin connection you read about or hear about is true! It makes me sad to think that I've missed out on that. There are so many very basic things that I wonder. What would she have looked like? Were we identical or fraternal? What would her personality have been like? Would we have had a lot in common or been complete opposites? Which of us would have been the "smart" one, the "pretty" one, the "talented" one, etc? Sometimes there are times in your life that you can look back on and think, "If this one moment had been different, my whole life may have been different." This is one of those times! My whole life, start to finish, could have been almost completely different. It's so surreal!

I was lucky to have a really great childhood. I have a lot of fond memories and often wish things could be that simple again! Growing up with two brothers, I was never lonely. We may have fought a lot, but there were plenty of times where we were actually able to get along - and enjoy it! Having siblings really helps a person learn how to interact with others, to share, to compromise, and to think of others and be considerate. We often fought like cats and dogs, but if anyone else ever said anything mean to my brothers or tried to start a fight, you can believe I was on them in a heartbeat. That kind of loyalty only comes from family!

To Be a Kid Again!
Growing up in the 80's was a great time. We played outside and hated to be cooped up. We used our imaginations and had fun with anything that was available. Crayons and coloring books or paper were favorites of mine, as were my roller skates and my bike. Does anyone here on Squidoo remember the PogoBall? I adored that thing. I would love a version for adults. I actually wrote to Hasbro once to ask about that, and they said they did not have any that would hold the weight of a grown adult. Sad, but true. In my neighborhood, everyone knew each other and played together at some point. We used to ride our bikes around the neighborhoods. If you didn't have your own bike, you stood on the pegs that someone else had added to their bike. We even made several trips part-way across town on our bikes to visit the local bowling alley and play the video game machines. (Sorry, Mom!) My friends and I used to love to rollerskate too (you know, the kind with the stopper in the front!). When we decided we wanted to ride bikes for a while, we didn't even bother to remove our skates. There was no need since the bike pedals fit snuggly between the front and rear wheels of our skates. :)

Family Vacations
We had some of the best vacations growing up. Every summer we would go camping for a week in the mountains of North Carolina. It was so beautiful up there! We tent camped in many different campgrounds over the years. My favorite was always Mt. Mitchell campgrounds. Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. The campground had only 9 campsites, so it was very peaceful and quiet. It was always fun to go around to the other campsites and visit the people there, especially if they had kids near our ages. We would go on day hikes around the area and visit some of the local sites. If you ever get the chance, visit Pisgah National Forest and take a trip on Sliding Rock! As my brothers and I got a little older, we started going backpacking instead of camping. At the time, it wasn't always peaches and cream - carrying a heavy pack on your back and trying to climb up a steep trail is not always fun! But once we got to a rest spot or the place where we were going to bed down for the night, all was forgiven. We used thick sheets of plastic to lay our sleeping bags on to keep them from getting wet (no tents!), and if it was raining we'd slide our bags into huge garbage bags to keep them dry. We carried a water filter so we could refill our canteens from the river. We had a lot of good times, and a lot of experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything.

For shorter family trips, we would drive down to Myrtle Beach and spend the day at Myrtle Beach State Park. We would leave home early enough to be at the beach just before sunrise so we could watch the sun come up over the water. We would spend ALL DAY playing in the sand and in the water. I still remember the small white Oscar cooler, with its green lid, that we took to hold our lunches. Ham sandwiches and Pepsi never tasted so good as they did after hours in the sun, surf, and sand. On special trips, we were able to go to the snack bar and get a treat! After spending most of the day at the beach, we would pack up and head for the two hour drive home. We sometimes got to stop at a great ice cream parlor called O'Henry's on our way out of Myrtle Beach. Then my brothers and I (and any friends we might have been able to bring with us) would sleep on the entire trip home! I now live at the beach, but rarely get to enjoy it the way I did as a child. Then again, it's hard to enjoy ANYTHING the same as I did as a child.

Getting Put on Restriction
One of the worst things that could happen when I was a kid was being put on restriction. (Getting grounded.) But when I was a kid, this punishment was nothing like the restrictions I see and hear about for today's kids. In my family, being put on restriction meant you were not allowed to leave the yard, and your friends could not come over. That's it. We could still watch TV, play games on the computer (Commodore 64, ya'll!), and play with our toys. We weren't so attached to the phone or computer or video games that we cared if we lost that privilege for a week. We wanted to roam free and be with our friends! In PERSON, not virtually. It always baffled me when I heard some kid complaining that they were grounded and couldn't watch TV for a week. I didn't understand why they were so upset and acting as if their lives were over. Or today's kids, who get their cells phones or computers taken away. Really? You can still visit these friends in person! It's not so bad that you can't call them or chat online, is it?

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain

This quote reminds me to follow my heart and stop letting fear of the unknown keep me trapped inside my comfort zone. I need to spend more time making my dreams come true and doing things I actually WANT to do. I often let the practical side of my nature dictate my life decisions and sacrifice my happiness for security. That's not a very good way to live. I need to have faith that I can make a financially secure life with my creative pursuits instead of locking myself into jobs that suck the life out of me.

I have always been a big reader. I just can't get enough of it. Even when I was young, I read all the time. I must have read Black Beauty 20 times. My aunt and uncle bought my brothers and I a set of abridged children's versions of classics such as Black Beauty, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Kidnapped, Robinson Crusoe, Heidi, and Around the World in 80 Days. I adored these books! When I was in elementary school, I checked out the book Where the Red Fern Grows so often that when I graduated from 5th grade, the librarian gave me their old copy since she had ordered a new one. Thanks, Mrs. Blackwell! I also read The Boxcar Children over and over again. And I still have (and re-read) the boxed set of The Chronicles of Narnia that another uncle gave me in elementary school. My mom actually complained that I spent too much time holed up in my room reading and wanted me to come out and watch TV with everyone else. Kind of the opposite of many kids today, who spend more time glued to the TV, computer, and videogames than reading books or playing outside.



I still love to read. A lot. I once attempted to read 100 books in a year. I got pretty far - all the way to 76! - but then too much "life" got in the way and I was unable to reach my goal. That was the year I got married (lots of time spent planning a wedding!), was taking night classes, and still working full time. Oh, and did I mention shopping for a house and planning a move? This was a really fun goal, and I think I may just try to do this again sometime. I love fiction that helps me escape into another world. Some of my favorite authors are Karen Marie Moning, Christine Feehan, Janet Evanovich, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Nora Roberts and JD Robb, and so many others. I'm always on the lookout for a new author to try out, so if you have recommendations, let's hear them!

I love being outdoors and enjoying my environment. I live at the beach, so we have some very nice areas to explore. I enjoy camping and hiking, kayaking, swimming, and bike riding. We have a really nice bike path, much of which winds through a local beach state park. It's great for walking, running, biking, and roller-blading. Despite my user name, which is an internet nickname I use often, I don't actually surf. I WISH I could surf, and tried to learn, but I'm just not aggressive enough for it. I'm too timid. Surfing is scary! My husband surfs and I love to watch him and others surf. I went fishing for the first time in years recently. Normally I go but just hang out in the boat, but this time I decided as long as my husband baited the hook and took the fish off for me, I'd give it a shot. I had a great time, and my husband was so excited that I was actually fishing that he went out and bought me an awesome pink fishing pole. I guess I'll be doing a lot of fishing from now on! We fish in the ocean, in the inlet, and sometimes on the rivers in the Intracoastal Waterway. Good times!

One of my biggest loves - I should probably call it an obsession - is Hawaii. My husband and I would both love to live there someday, but haven't yet decided we can afford it. We've been fortunate to be able to visit twice, and hopefully we'll be back again someday. I took this picture of a waterfall on Maui. What a beautiful island! I love to dream about Hawaii, read about it, watch movies set in Hawaii, listen to Hawaiian music, and of course then there are all the beautiful pictures. I could go on for days... But I'll save that for other lenses!

*I have a B.A. in Art Studio from Coastal Carolina University.
*I often re-read my favorite books multiple times.
*I completed the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach, SC in 2009.
*My favorite charity is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
*My favorite shoes are Chucks. (Converse All-Star Chuck Taylor's) I have 15 pair (all high-tops) and always want more!
*I know I learn a lot from reading because I often can answer Jeopardy! questions because I remember reading about the subject in one of my books! (It makes my husband mad, because I always beat him. He even keeps score!)
*My favorite color is rainbow! I can rarely choose just one color as a favorite.
*My favorite restaurant is a Mexican place called Habaneros.
*I completed the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans, LA in 2001 as a member of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. Including the money I raised after the marathon, I raised $3300!
*My favorite TV show is Bones.
*While on vacation in Hawaii in 2006, I biked down Haleakala, the world's largest dormant volcano (10,023 feet!). We biked from the crater all the way down to the beach, stopping for breakfast halfway down in Makawao. (Last I heard you are no longer able to start the bike trek from inside Haleakala National Park due to the number of deaths and injuries in 2007. I'm not sure if this ruling has been changed or not.)