Tag!

Ok, so I got blog-tagged the other day. Which means I am to tell you 6 unknown things about me. I have racked my brain thinking of things so here goes:

**My nickname is Rat. I have been called that for as long as I have been alive. I know my family is thinking "that's not unknown!" But, I am not sure if they know why I am called that? How it started, where it came from? And, I can't stand when anyone other than my dad calls me that. I let it slide when my mom says it, but no one else, understood?
**I absolutely love to read! It is hands down my favorite thing to do (except family of course!) I would love to be trapped in a library or bookstore. If I am in the middle of a good book, you can forget about getting me to do anything. I will not eat, drink, shower, or brush my teeth. I will sit or lie in various comfortable places in the house and read, read, read. I will stop and tend to the kids, reluctantly. I have been known to head to Barnes and Noble at 5 til 11 and run in for a book, because like a fellow blogger, I love new books.I literally feel rich because I own a lot of books, and dream of a library or study in my next house.
**In middle and high school I wanted to be a cheerleader, BAD! I totally didn't have the look, shaved hair and piercings do not a cheerleader make. But, I had the skills. I knew however that the cost was way too much for my parent's and I was a big ole chicken. To this day I regret not just doing it. If I ever drop a ton of weight, I am so taking an adult gymnastics class. And I will so cheer. In my bathroom when no one's home!
**I hate to clean but I love to clean. It is therapeutic. And my house looks pretty darn nice when it's clean. But, there are days (reading a good book) when I don't lift a finger. And if my own mom popped in on me I probably wouldn't let her in. I'm talking it gets nasty! So, I keep it that way until 5:30, and then I start working, hard! At that point I have 1 hour to turbo clean and start dinner before Jon walks in the door. The goal is to make it look like I slaved away in the house all day. Soft lamplight and candles work wonders.
**I want to be an interior designer or nurse when I grow up. I still have this goal in the back of my mind. I have wanted to do one or both of those for as long as I can remember. But, I am scared. Don't be surprised if I start school again one day. As I get older and life changes each day on a dime and things don't go as I planned, I daydream about it more and more. I loooove to decorate and I like to pretend I am Florence Nightingale in modern form. So check back often. You may see a first day of school post, all about me. Hmmmm....
**I am probably the nosiest person on earth. I am the one who drives slowly down the street at night when people still have their blinds open. I can scan a room in 15 seconds flat. I ask every kid who steps foot in my car or house: what do your parents do? How old are they? And various other questions. It drives my kids crazy. I have been called weird more than once, by many kids. I like to think I'm informed. You should see me in public. I will talk to anyone. I won't shut up. And by the time I am done I will know everything there is to know about that total stranger next to me and then some.
Ok, so there are my 6 things. I hope you feel so close to me now. Ok not really. But, as I was typing this. I thought of one more: I totally wish I could have lived in the 1800's. Crazy huh? And, I have no one to tag. Unless my sister in law Sarah wants to start her blog?? Or anyone else who reads this and isn't a blogger, please remember your gal Ashley. I think a blog-tag-post would make a lovely start to your very own blog.