Friday Five Firsts (Friday Five Edition)

I was talking to my friends over the weekend and we started discussing firsts.  Not that kind, get your mind out of the gutter.  It started by seeing what our first purchases were on Amazon and what our first plane ride was.  I found the conversation interesting and thought I'd a Friday Five Firsts.

1. Amazon

I have been a purchasing items on Amazon since 1999.  My first order was on January 14, 1999 and I bought 2 books.  A little bit of background of myself.  I was a huge fan of U2 in high school and college.  And to say I was a huge fan, is an understatement.  More like obsessed.  I've seen them in concert all over the country and in Ireland and England.

The next part of this you can't laugh at.  I was in my early 20's.  I wanted to write a story involving the band, but I wanted to use real quotes that the band had out there to create the conversation part of the story.  And like most of my big ideas, I never followed through on it.

Bono: In His Own Words

U2: The Rolling Stones Files 

What is more embarrassing is my second purchase on December 5, 1999.  I know I enjoy reading astrology, but all for fun.  I don't remember buying this book and I haven't seen it anywhere in my house in the last 20 years so it makes me wonder if it was purchased as a gift.

Astrology for Yourself: How to Understand and Interpret Your Own Birth Chart

2.  Plane Ride

While I know I don't remember it, I know when I was about a year we had a trip to Jamaica.  I know we would have flown there but of course I don't remember it.  There is a picture of me with my parents there and I have been told many times that my brother was conceived there.

The first plane ride I remember was going to Mexico.  I was probably 5 or 6.  I remember that we went to a small airport and not Stapleton International Airport in Denver.  My brother and I got those little pins with wings on them.

These are not the wings we got, just an example

3. Tweet

I joined Twitter in January 2009, but I didn't have my first tweet till February 23, 2009.  I remember being very bored in my job and really not having much to do.  I found twitter and that sucked up some of my boredom.

4.  Music

While I was after the time of 8 Tracks (though I remember we played The Chipmunk's Christmas Don't Be Late every Christmas on 8 Track) I actually do remember my first Tape and CD purchases.  I remember my first Tape purchase was done in a Target.  Don't ask me why I remember that detail.  It was What Up, Dog, because it had the song Walk the Dinosaur on it.

I remember getting my first CD player.  It was portable and one of my prized possessions.  The first CD I bought was "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits.  I'm not sure why that and if I should be embarrassed by it or proud of my weirdness.  But I do still have that CD.
 

5.  Trouble

I'm sure I got in trouble before this, but this is the first time I got in big trouble.  When I was little I went to a Montessori school.  I was about 4 or 5 at the time and we were out for recess and the door to the teacher's lounge had a sign that said "Do Not Disturb".  I, along with two friends, kept cracking the door open and yelling "Disturb!!".  We thought we were so funny.  The teachers never came out to tell us to stop or anything.  I do remember that evening my parents gave me a talking to and how they were very upset by what I did.  At that age, I was very upset that my parents were upset with me.


What was your first Amazon purchase?  Where was your first plane ride to?  What was your first tweet?  What was the first piece of music you bought?  What did you to do get into trouble the first time?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Where's Heather? (Throwback Thursday Edition)

Keeping with the Marine Corps Marathon theme (sort of), I wanted to share a memory from my Grandfather.  He was my dad on my mom's side and he was in the Marines.  Since he died when I was 6 or 7, I only have a couple memories of him (and a few stories from my Mom and Grandma).  With the MCM I have been thinking of him a lot lately. 

When I was 2 my parents bought their first house.  They used a loan through the Marines because it gave them a lower interest rate.  To be able to do that, my Grandparents had to move in for a couple years.  That couple of years turned into the rest of their lives.  I will always cherish having them in the same house while we were growing up.

My parents standing and my Grandma holding me and Grandpa behind her (yes it was the 70's)

Out of the few things I remember, I do remember his tattoo on his arm.  I don't know what it was, but I know it was from his time in the Marines.  And I remember his lay-z-boy chair in the living room.  There were many days when I would bring all my toys out and play behind his chair.  I don't know why, but that was my spot.

I remember once (and this probably happened many times) my mom would drop me off after preschool and go somewhere else (work or errands, I really don't recall).  She came back and I hid behind his chair.  My mom would go "Where's Heather?" and my Grandpa would reply that he didn't know.  He would  wonder if I had been picked up at all.  The whole time I was giggling behind his chair. 

I do wish I had more memories of him, cause what I remember he was pretty cool.  I do have tons of my Grandma that I'll be sharing through out the weeks.  She was the most amazing lady.

Do you have a lot of memories of your Grandparents? 

My First Tattoo (Throwback Thursday Edition)

So I decided to do another edition of Thowback Thursday.  I'd like to tell you the story of my first tattoo and how my mom found out about it.

So I have three tattoos and this is the story of my first one.  I was 20 and had been wanting a tattoo for awhile.  This was 20 years ago before tattoos became as popular as they are today.  I knew what I wanted to get, a shamrock on my ankle.  In fact what I wanted was a 3-leaf clover, not a 4-leaf one.  Many people ask me why not a 4-leaf for luck and my answer is always, I don't need the luck.  But truthfully it was something that I drew while listening to lectures in high school and college when I was bored.  So I drew it a lot.

My best friend and I went to a parlor downtown.   I drew what I wanted and in 20 minutes I had my tattoo.

Man my hair is super long there, makes me want to grow it out again.

I didn't get it right on the ankle, but a little behind it.  I don't know why and it's probably a good thing.  Everyone asked it it hurt.  Yes it did.  But not as much as it would have been right on the ankle.  The closer to bone, the more it hurts.

I really didn't tell anyone that I was getting this tattoo, except for my friend that came with me.  That night I showed it to my then boyfriend and he was all upset.  He didn't like tattoos.  I told him that I didn't get it for him.  He eventually came around to not caring.

Now my mom was interesting.  I wasn't hiding it from her, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to show her.  At that time I was living at home while I was in college.  My mom's room was at the end of the hall and when I was going from the shower to my room she noticed it.  She asked "what's that?"  And I was like all "what's what?"  I wasn't being sarcastic, but I had the tattoo for maybe a couple months by then.  She was like, "is that what I think it is?" and pointed to my feet.  I realized that she was talking about my tattoo then.  I said yes, would you like a closer look?  She said no and went on with what she was doing.

My mom had always said that out of all the things my brother and I have done in my life that she wished she could have done, tattoos were not one of them.  I have never regretted any of mine, but sometimes wonder what I was thinking.  They are all in spots easy to cover with clothing and they represent who I was at one point in my life.  Sometimes I think about getting another one, but that "it" feeling has not come back to me.  That feeling of knowing exactly what you want and where you want to get it.  I sort of think I want something of my running accomplishments, but nothing has come to me that I want on my body permanently.

Do you have any tattoos?  Did you have to hide them from anyone?  If you got (or have) a running one, what is it?

Do Not Disturb! (Throwback Thursday Edition)

So I know most of my posts have to do with running, but I wanted to throw in some other stuff and what is the best way to do that then telling a story from years ago.  Some might be from my childhood and others might be from a few years ago.  I hope you all enjoy a trip down my memory lane.

So this one comes from back in the day when I was 5 or 6.  I went to a Montessori School from preschool all the way through second grade.  After that I wanted to go to public school because I wanted to ride the school bus with my friends from the neighborhood.

The school that I went to was an outdoor layout where the hallways were outside.  We were at recess one day and me and a couple friends were playing around the teacher's lounge door.  On the door it says "Do Not Disturb".  So we decided to disturb.

We slightly opened up the door and saw that there was a book shelf so that you couldn't see the teachers in there directly.  We would take turns opening the door slightly and yelling "Disturb!" into the door and running away.  We did this one too many times and were finally caught.

I know that they sent a note home, but I really don't remember being punished at home.  I know it was the first time I got in trouble though.

When was the first time you got in trouble?  Have you ever seen inside a teachers lounge (when you were a student)?