PAMPERS AND PEARLS: Five on Friday: Getting to Know You...

For this week's Five on Friday I'm stealing a page from my friend Annie's book. I'm going to give you 5 fun facts about me that you would never know just by reading my blog! And by all means, if there is something else you are dying to know, please ask me in the comments below and I will certainly respond; I wear my heart on my sleeve!!

No, this is not a typo...I wear contact! Just one. Always have. I'm not sure why this is, but my left eye is nearsighted with a little bit of astigmatism. Meanwhile my right eye is perfectly fine. WEIRD right!?!? Story of my life...

I'm sure if I was forced to dig deep inside I would find some crazy subconscious fears, but I am very well aware of the fears I'm about to share with you; clowns & dark water.

This my friends is why I prefer a Whopper over a Big Mac! When I was six years old my parents took my brother and I to Cirque du Soleil. We had front row seats and I remember the show being amazing! Towards the end, all the clowns came running out and invited the children into the ring for a special treat. I was sitting on my father's lap and made it very clear to him that I was content to stay exactly where I was. I mean...I was already in the front row...I had a perfect view from a safe and comfortable distance. Then...out of nowhere... Pennywise the clown grabbed me right out of my father's lap. That's the day the Big Top fell!! My scream was so loud that the music stopped. I freaked! And now looking back on that moment there is a black period in my memory from the time when the clown took me off my dad's lap and the time we were back on the street walking to our car. My dad says the clown damn near dropped me in a panic; serves him right! Since then I've been petrified of clowns and I will donkey kick any one of them that get too close. It's so bad that I can't even let W watch JoJo's Circus on Disney. It's Bad!

On the other hand I have no idea where or how my fear of dark water started. My mother hated dark water, so maybe it's genetic. And when I say dark water, I mean any water where I can't see through it. If I don't know what's lurking beneath then I certainly won't be swimming in it; I'd rather have bamboo shoots jammed up under my fingernails! I get the willies like you wouldn't believe when boating or driving over dark water. Blah! Nope!

I hate bananas! Loathe! Despise! I literally can't even swallow one piece of banana without gagging. There is just something about the texture that immediately triggers vomit. This also means I associate gagging/vomiting with the smell. I actually think it's really unfortunate because if you ate bananas you could never really go hungry. You can find bananas anywhere; hotel lobby's, gas stations, waiting rooms, etc... You don't have to worry about spreading germs because you throw the peel away and they are really healthy for you. That doesn't happen with raspberries, (my favorite fruit) which figures.

Comfy, cozy, snuggly socks...I have to sleep in them! It could be 100 degrees outside in the middle of summer...and I'll still wear socks to bed. Again, there is no rhyme or reason, but I literally can not sleep (or even take a nap) without socks on. Dr. Oz says that "socks help to induce sleep by regulating your body temperature in the same way melatonin does. Wear moisture-wicking socks, as they’ll keep your feet warm without causing you to overheat", so I guess I'm not as crazy as I thought.

Look again. That's not a PB & J...that's a PB & J & P. Yep, I like to eat my peanut butter & jelly sandwiches with pickles. And before you go saying, oh yeah, my uncle eats PB & pickle sandwiches (cuz I've heard that before), please re-read. I include the jelly too. The whole shebang...boom! The first time I was offered this sandwich I almost hurled looking at it, but then I tried it, and there was an instant, undeniable attraction. The rest is history! We never looked back and have been together for 16+ years! My suggestion, to those who are interested in trying it, would be to toast your bread first. Then evenly spread the slices with jelly & peanut butter and use DILL pickles. The dill pickles add the perfect amount of salt to balance out the sweetness. If you like sweet & salty things (trail mix, chocolate covered pretzels, etc...) then you really should try it.