5 Non-Running Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me

I’ve been writing this blog (starting as Live from La Quinta) for more than eight years! During that time I’ve shared a lot about my life, my family, my dogs, and my vegan lifestyle. Plus, of course, I write about running and fitness, and even about blogging itself from time to time.

I got to thinking though, that there must be something that I haven’t talked about. Or that I’ve mentioned so briefly or long ago that most readers don’t know. So I racked my brain and came up with these 5 non-running things you probably don’t know about me.

5 Non-Running Things (you probably don’t know about me)

I’m really very shy.

My mom used to tell the story of my first day of school. Somehow knowing that I would have to stand up and say my name in front of the class, I spent the whole previous night throwing up. I was that shy and scared about doing something so simple.

Unfortunately, being shy restrained me from doing a lot of things when I was young. I had a hard time talking to people or looking them in the eye. As many shy people are, I was tagged as stuck-up or snotty. While I had a few close friends, I was definitely not a social person. I preferred to stay at home and read.

Somewhere in my teenage years, I started doing things that were completely outside my box. I took drama and speech classes. I even tried out for cheerleader. I didn’t do these things on purpose, but I feel now that there was something inside me that knew that it was important to learn to cope with the real world.

These days when I tell people that I’m shy, they don’t even believe me. I communicate with people one-on-one every day; I can get up in front of a group and speak; I can basically behave like an outgoing, social being!

Deep inside though, that shy little girl must still push herself through everything. I’m still happiest reading my books, writing this blog, or running alone. I’m okay with that. Just so you know that I’m not stuck up!

I was not always a personal trainer.

Actually, I started my second career when I was about 40. Before that, I worked in recreation! First as a recreation director at a membership campground (where I taught my first exercise classes, even though I had no idea what I was doing!). Then as the activities director at a senior center. I taught exercise there too, which made me realize that fitness was what I wanted to be doing.

Other (definitely non-shy girl) jobs I had included food server, then manager, and, wait for it…vacuum cleaner salesman! Yep, the door-to-door type. No, I wasn’t very good at it, but it definitely challenged me to step out of my shell!

I’m adopted

Actually, if you’ve read my blog for a while you may already know this. I was born in Florida and was actually placed in the Florida Children’s Home Society, where my parents adopted me from when I was six months old. I don’t know much about my birth parents. I have one sheet of paper that has some basic health facts and that’s it.

I never looked for my biological parents, aside from registering years ago on an adoption website. It just wasn’t that important to me. I am a little curious about my background now though, so I may do one of those DNA tests to learn a little more about myself. Both my sisters were adopted as well, and actually, my husband was too! We obviously believe in adoption in our family!

And you may or may not know that my husband has a son that he didn’t know existed until about seven years ago. He had been given up for adoption as an infant!

I basically grew up at Disneyland

When I was a kid, we lived in Los Alamitos, in Southern California, which is about 15 miles from Disneyland. Back then (okay it was a long time ago), you could get in the gate for about $3, plus the cost of a book of tickets, which was around $5. We went, either as a family, or with friends, about once a month!

Have you heard the term “E-Ticket ride?”  It means something that is exceptionally exciting. It comes from Disneyland tickets way back then, which were sold in books of 7, from A to E. A-tickets were for the little dinky rides, whileE-tickets were for the best rides, like the Matterhorn Bobsleds.

My dad somehow had super Disney privileges and was a member of the Magic Kingdom Club, which meant that our tickets were basically all E-tickets. Life was good!

And that is why, as much as I love Disney, I have a problem with the prices today. I mean, I understand inflation, but it used to be $8 for an entire day at the Happiest Place on Earth!

You know that Facebook concert meme?

How could you not? It’s been floating around the last few days, where a person lists nine concerts that they’ve been to and one that they haven’t. I really didn’t find it all that interesting or fun, but it did get me thinking about the concerts that I’ve been to over the year. Yes, you can pretty much tell how old I am by reading this list! The first three are in order, then just random after that.

1. Bobby Sherman – I was very, very young.
2. Neil Diamond
3. Johnny Winter (obviously sometime after Neil I discovered rock and roll!)
4. The Who
5. Jeff Beck – I think it says something that I advanced from Bobby Sherman to Jeff Beck!
6. Kid Rock – That was a story!
7. Pat Benatar – She was amazing…love to go again.
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Bob Segar – I’m the Bob Segar superfan, but I’ve only seen him twice in concert.
10. The Moody Blues
11. Hall and Oates
12. The Doobie Brothers
13. The Eagles – Twice!
14. John Fogerty
15. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
16. Stevie Nicks
17. Bonnie Raitt
18. Jackson Browne
19. Dave Matthews – We were stuck in an offramp traffic jam and missed the entire opening act.
20. Los Lobos – They were the group we missed sitting on the freeway, but they also opened for Santana!
21. Santana
22. Kenny Loggins
23. Van Halen – In the second row! Probably the best seats I’ve had!
24. Wayne Newton – No, this isn’t the fake one I threw in. I really saw him in Reno a long time ago.
25. Mark Knopfler – He sang the song Alan and I played at our wedding.

That was a fun stroll down memory lane. I probably missed one or two, but I was surprised that I’d seen so many. And so many venues! From outdoors at Dodger stadium, nosebleed at the Forum in LA, to the amazing acoustics of the music hall at 4th & B (in San Diego) and the McCallum in Palm Desert.

So tell me, what is a non-running, or non-fitness related fact that we don’t know about you?

 

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Weekly Linkups

My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!

Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie  and Dixya
Tuesdays on the Run with Marcia, Erika, and Patty
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Michelle, Jen, and Nicole
The Plant-Based Potluck Party with Deborah
The Running Coaches’ Corner with Rachel, Suz, Lora Marie, and Me!
Giveaway Roundup and Try Out Thursdays with Smitha
The Blogger’s Pit Stop with Kathleen, Janice, Julie, and Menaka
Friday 5 2.0 with Rachel and Lacey and Meranda