Per Archer's request... 1. I once fell out of a plane. No, really. The thing is, the plane was on the ground, and I was trying to extricate myself from the seat belt and get out on my own, without the pilot’s help. I was trying to show him how cool I was, and the momentum I had upon rising was too much for me to catch my balance. I ended up flopping right over the wing onto the asphalt below, which was a pretty good drop. Ripped my slacks, bled all over the place, couldn’t walk without limping. I was pretty cool, all right. 2. I also fell out of a swimming pool. (You might be asking yourself how one falls OUT of a pool: let me clarify.) It was one of those above-ground pools, and the edge was probably about 4’ high. I was playing volleyball in the pool with a group of people I didn’t know too well, and since I was the reason the ball flew out of the pool, I volunteered to get it. I hoisted myself to the top, and once again, the old momentum got me, and I flipped right over onto my back on the rocks below. I did not want to open my eyes. But, when I did, everyone was gathered at the edge, looking down at me, and yelling, “I’ll give her an 8!” “No, it wasn’t that good; I’ll give her a 7!” (I might add at this point, that these two humbling experiences occurred within a month of each other, and I landed on the same spot both times…ouch) 3. I have a hard time being the center of attention. I would rather focus on someone else than on myself. Part of that is insecurity, and part is that I see too many people who relish being the center of attention, and it’s not my bag. 4. My sister broke my nose when I was 10; she was 3. She was sitting on my lap in the car, and she threw her head back and smashed my nose. She thought it was the funniest thing in the world. I didn’t. 5. That same sister and I were shopping at the flea market in Athens, Greece. We were in this small shop that sold women’s clothing. We each found something we wanted to try on and asked the owner if there was a dressing room. She took us to this curtain and pulled it back, displaying the broom closet. She said (in her thick Greek accent), “This is the dressing room; try it on in here.” We sort of looked at each other and shrugged, and went into this tiny space. We were struggling to get our clothes off, and once we were both in our underwear and trying to put the new clothes on, my sister lost her balance, put her foot down into a bucket, grabbed me, as I flew sideways against a door which opened, and we fell together onto the floor, with my head landing against a toilet. Of course, we were screaming the whole time. The owner of the store flung back the curtain, looked at us lying there in disarray, and said, while shaking her head, “Ah yes, this is the second time today this has happened.” And then she closed the curtain. 6. I was usually teacher’s pet in elementary school. It’s not that I was so much a kiss-up as it just never occurred to me to misbehave. I was the same way with my parents. One winter day I was walking home from 3rd grade in Austin, MN, and from behind the bushes came Greg Grosz and Billy Barr. They threw me to the ground, held me down, and rubbed snow into my face, as hard as they could. They yelled “Teacher’s pet!” at me, and waited for me to cry, and then they ran away. I think Greg Grosz is now Chief of Police, or something like that. I don’t know what happened to Billy. 7. I never liked to take the time to go to the bathroom (“pee” in the vernacular) when I was a child. I would go to bed at night without going to the bathroom, leave for school without having gone the next morning, go all day at school, and then come home and FINALLY go. Well, that worked…until…until that fateful day I had a Brownie meeting after school. As soon as I walked out of school, I knew I had to go. Real bad. But I figured I only had to go three more blocks to my Brownie leader’s house. I could make it; I knew I could make it! I ended up running, which is not such a good idea, either, and I banged on the door, jumping up and down, going crazy with the urge. Mrs. Thomas opened the door, let me into the kitchen, and immediately I lost it. I mean, I lost it, Big Time. It just kept coming and coming and coming, until I was standing in a huge pool of urine. I was so humiliated, I couldn’t even look at Mrs. Thomas. She said, “My, my! You must have really had to go!” (That was probably the understatement of the century.) She said, “You go on home and change your clothes, and I’ll clean this up, and it will be our little secret!” I thought she was an angel from heaven. 8. I melt when I see a baby smile. 9. I have an extremely difficult time watching movies about animals, whether they’re pets or wild animals. I’m so fearful that something is going to happen to the animal that I’m a nervous wreck all the way through the movie. (And that “It’s just a movie” thing doesn’t work, either.) 10. I used to prefer lakes over any other body of water, me b

Here's where Andrea fell. It was scary to watch and the whole group gasped where I was sitting. Here's her story in her words: So, this weekend, Brandon and I met up with his family at Moab to do some hiking. On Saturday, we went to Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point. It was rainy, but it made for pretty pictures! Sunday, we decided to go to Arches. It was perfect weather for hiking. Not too hot or cold. We got to Delicate Arch and everything was so beautiful! Okay, so as most of you know, I hate wearing closed toe shoes. I was told that hiking in these parts were okay with flip-flops as long as I was careful. I have flip-flops with really good traction and I thought they'd be good enough. Well, they weren't. A few of us decided to go by the Arch. So we trooped on over. Everything was going great until we decided to go across the front on the Arch to get to some more hiking spots. For those who haven't been to Delicate Arch, there is a bowl right in front of it. It's pretty easy to climb along the wall until one spot. If you don't get the spot right, you could easily fall into the bowl and possibly die. As I found out. I was about to go across and thought I had almost made it. I could tell I was slipping so I was just about to turn around and do the "crab crawl" (scoot on your butt). I lost by balance and went skidding down the wall on my stomach. I knew I had to stop myself or else I would fall into the bottom of the bowl and break several bones or possibly die. I came to a stop. I looked around and everyone was watching me. I heard people shouting, but my head was too busy spinning to comprehend any words. I looked down to what could have very well been my final resting spot. Then I started skidding down again. I had to find something to grab onto, and fast! I searched desperately with my hands. I finally grasped onto a small opening in the wall. I looked around and debated how to get out of this situation. Luckily, I stopped near a small cliff. Brandon was already on his way down and helped me onto the tiny cliff and helped me get back up. We examined my wounds. Both elbows bleeding. My left elbow had a bad burn mark. My stomach was similar unto raw meat. My foot was bleeding. Bruises forming on my knees, stomach, arms. Relatively small injuries as to what could have happened. That was probably one of the worst scenarios in my whole life. I knew that I had to get out of that situation, but I had no idea how. I think my survival instincts kicked in. I made myself stay calm and collected. Everyone kept telling me that I didn't look too scared and they were amazed at how calm I was throughout the whole thing. I have to thank God for not allowing me to get more seriously injured. He was truly watching over me yesterday. I suppose I have more work to do here on earth. I am so thankful He didn't think it was my time to go. I am also thankful for a husband who didn't even hesitate to come save me. Brandon possibly saved my life yesterday without thinking twice. So, moral of the story: Don't wear flip flops, even if you think they have good traction! I know most people will read this and think, "What an idiot! No duh, you don't wear flip flops!" All I can say is that I honestly believed I had good enough traction. I have hiked several times in this pair of flip flops and never had any sort of accident. I'm usually cautious and careful, but I guess that doesn't always make up the difference.