Tagged! 7 Random things about me

I've been tagged by B Bop, over at Lactic Acid from the Left, to put some otherwise LESS known things about me. So...y'all asked for random, so you're going to get some random!

7. Ritual. I have certain rituals that I have to adhere to, otherwise I'm a confused, babbling, wandering mess of a person. They're not truly OCD type of rituals, but they just somehow make me feel grounded, a little more sane. One thing is my Sunday night ritual. First off, no matter how early I get up on Sunday morning, I always have a hard time getting to sleep on Sunday night. Scheduling an AM workout for Monday's is a prescription for failure. I just don't do it anymore. So every Sunday, I have to have crisp clean sheets on the bed, perfectly folded down a la Martha Country Living. I have to have a big glass of ice and a bottle of fizzy water by my side and running/biking/triathlon magazines in my hand. And I have to be listening to Court TV in the background. Any deviation from the ritual can wreak havoc on my night. This, of course, will fly right out the window the moment I have kids, but for now it keeps me somewhat sane. Somewhat.

2. A Place for Everything. I'm the most organized messy person you'll ever meet. I subscribe fully to my grandmother's prescript that "everything has a place, everything in its place." For each discipline in triathlon, I have a drawer specifically designated in my room. (My room is actually different than our room that Mighty M and I share. "My room" is actually the guest bedroom that has shamelessly been taken over by all my hobbies. If we ever, in fact, have guests visit, I may have to rent a short term storage facility to accommodate all the junk. Um, I mean gear.) All of my workout gear is hung in the closet, organized in order of sleeveless to short sleeve to long sleeve to race gear to outerwear. There's a basket specifically for nutrition and a section for "electronics" that overflows with heart rate monitors and spare lap watches. There is a place for everything. But.... (isn't there always a but??) it's a rare and special moment where everything is IN its place! My life is in such constant flux that I forever have bathing suits drying in the bathroom and half packed bags being readied with work attire for the next day's post-gym work day. There's always chest straps and new supplies of bars and gels on the dining room table and somehow my cell phone spends more time in my bike's saddle bag then in my purse. If it weren't for triathlon, I'd be the most organized, least messy person there is. Ah, a gal can dream...

3. Cooking and dishing. Okay, so I simply love to cook. I just find the whole process of creating interesting and tasty food to be so satisfying. Just love it. But, I hate dishes. With a passion. I hate getting my hands wet to clean them. I know, I know...it's terribly, terribly childish of me. But I do. Hate it, that is. The good news is that Mighty M loves to do dishes! I kid you not! Should have been one of those check boxes on Match.com -- enjoy dishes? Check! Sometimes I wonder if his joy of dishes is inappropriately high on my "why I love you" list of qualities. Thankfully he's also kind and generous and funny. Whew.

4. Green Murder. Okay, I have to admit it somewhere, so why not here. I kill plants. I do. There's something that plants just don't like about me. I've only been able to keep two plants alive -- Bob and Sue. I got both on a whim at the grocery store and they've managed to hang on for over 2 years now. I'm convinced it's because I named them. And talk to them. Often. So, here's the scary thing. This past weekend, Mighty M and I spent all of our spare cash, time and energy planting a TON of outside plants. Lots and lots of them. And they look great! Talk about adding some curb appeal. But I worry. Do you think they've heard about my history? Do you think they know that I even killed our money tree for goodness sakes?? Hopefully they're out of the loop. For their own sakes... .

5. Vroom vroom. Years ago, I spent about 7 years as part of a motorcycle drag racing team (pro-modified Kawi with nitrous, for those who dabble in bikes). No, seriously, I did. And, no -- I wasn't the rider! I was more of an unofficial support person for the rider and team of mechanics. We traveled all over the east coast to different races in a RV, spent hours and hours with amazing people and enjoyed every second of it. Professional drag racers are likely the best people you'll ever meet -- kind, open, friendly, and love their hobby as deeply as any triathlete I've ever met. And there's something about the edge you need to go from zero to 200+ mph in less than 3 seconds on two wheels that is intoxicating to be around. For a number of reasons (such as law school), I had to break off from the group and focus on other things, but those years were some of the best times of my young life.

6. Dot Com Romance. Ever watch those match.com commercials and wonder how people could actually meet online? Well, I don't. At least I don't anymore. After decades of dating kind of sub par people (sorry guys!), it wasn't until I clicked a "wink at him" button after reading Mighty M's profile that I finally met the person of my dreams. And, yes, it actually worked. And, yes, we're are totally normal people and have a well adjusted life together. And, yes, we'll be one of those success stories you can tell your colleague at work about when they're wondering whether or not it's "weird" to meet people online. We were just two people who knew what they needed out of a partner, but had yet to find it. And now that we have, we can finally look forward to a bright future together. So long, of course, as he keeps doing the dishes. ; p

7. Beddy By. I'm a tad bit neurotic. And, interestingly, it's a neurosis I learned, rather than was born with. Developed over the years. You see -- I absolutely must have the bed made properly each day. Not just thrown together, with pillows approximately at the top of the bed and the duvet hiding twisted up sheets. Nope. I need smoothed out sheets, equal on both sides and tucked in at the bottom. I need a duvet that is lined up properly and pillows and shams that are stacked properly. There can be complete chaos surrounding the bed, so long as the bed is made right. Interestingly, not the same approach Mighty M takes. Sometimes I cross the "relationship line" and go behind his bed making and remake according to my specs. That doesn't usually go over too well. So, I've grown to be a little more flexible with my every day approach. But, really, there's nothing like a well made bed!

Well, there's my Memorial weekend randomness. I'm going to just tag whomever wants to do a list of random things. I know -- a tad bit lame to not call people out -- but I want to know weird things about all of you!

Now, back to my work week reality.