NaBloPoMo: Tell us five interesting things about yourself.

Me in December of 2013

I'm incredibly transparent, so there's not really anything about me that somebody doesn't already know. I think I've told all of my stories. Somehow, though, I feel very uninteresting and don't know why I blather.

1. I have a large birthmark on my back between my should blades. It is very faint, though, and I didn't discover it until I was in college and had been tanning. I also have a small one on my right bicep. When I ever get the courage and money to get a tattoo, I want it to be slightly darker than my skin tone so it looks like a birthmark.
2. I've had unexplained joint pain since I was a toddler. Episodes involve every joint in the affected limb. The joints do not swell, and cold exacerbates it. I never know which limb will be affected in an episode until it hits, and it sometimes travels from one limb to another during an episode. I've been tested for all the arthritic and rheumatic illnesses and have come up negative for all of them.
3. I was in a pageant in high school. It was for Miss Mineola. I placed third out of seven girls. My favorite memory is singing "Pharaoh, Pharaoh" backstage to get us to smile big just before we walked out on stage. I hate looking at pictures of me from it because my blush was a disastrous racing-stripe effect on my cheeks. I loved my dress, though, and still have it.
4. I've been referred to as a walking encyclopedia, dictionary, and reference. My brain is full of useless historical and linguistic trivia. I've been known to read the dictionary for fun, and I like to study etymology. I've read the majority of Shakespeare's plays - although I refuse to read Titus Andronicus - and the majority (if not all - I can't remember at the moment) of his sonnets. I was an avid reader in my youth, and actually enjoyed most of the required reading in school. I loathed The Old Man and the Sea; The Grapes of Wrath is an exercise in verbosity. I recommend reading A Separate Peace every ten years, beginning in high school and commencing ten-year intervals at 30.
5. I've breastfed children for 5 years and 5 months of my life. Brandon was four months exclusively and supplemented for an additional five. Sarah and Bethany were 13 and 15 months, respectively, and Sam was 28 months. My goal with Brandon was 12 months. I was devastated when he weaned himself at 9 months. My goal was 18 months with the last three. Breastfeeding my children is one of the things that make me the most proud.