To Lil on her 35th Birthday

Today my sister Lil turns 35. In celebration of this event I have compiled a list of 35 things about Lil you may not know, but I'm sure are champing at the bit to learn:

Lil with her new baby Jacob

1. Her hair is naturally curly, but she perms it anyway (more uniform, more stylish and easier to maintain)
2. Her Masters degree in English is from the University of Delaware
3. When she was younger she ate tomatoes like apples
4. She calls her husband Mitch even though his name is Matt - except on her blog where she refers to him exclusively as "the husband"
5. She was the valedictorian of her graduating class in HS
6. Though not exactly athletic, she is eerily good at Volleyball (also Pool, but that isn't really a sport)
7. Her closet has more white t-shirts than any other closet on the planet
8. If you count New Zealand as part of the Australian continent, she has visited 5 continents
9. She LOVES the beach

That's her on the left with my parents and brother Loren - so cute!

10. She went to a fancy liberal arts college - Pomona College - and was accepted early because her grades and test scores were so impressive - read: she is very bright
11. Pictures of her on ID cards look like glamour shots
12. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of what is currently showing on television and can tell you with amazing accuracy what is good, bad, forgettable and generally lousy saving you all kinds of time
13. As a baby she was put on a diet because she was too fat
14. Some say she dated her husband for less than a week before becoming engaged, she says more like 2 weeks (in fairness, they knew each other a long time before sealing the deal)
15. She makes jewelry
16. She has never owned a new car
17. Her purse/bag collection is something to behold and envy
18. Reading is her favorite pastime and as a result she can talk intelligently about almost any subject

Lil and Matt with Caleb

19. She is a great cook
20. Do not touch her feet or ankles EVER
21. She is the only one of us never to have attended Brigham Young University (Hawaii or Provo)
22. Her favorite color is green
23. She has subscribed to Entertainment Weekly for at least a decade
24. She doesn't play the piano except for one song from John Thompson's level 2 (something about swans) which she memorized 25 years ago
25. While in college she did a semester abroad at Jesus College in the University of Cambridge, England
26. She served a mission for our church in Guatemala
27. One of her big toenails has a crack down the middle
28. She has survived both a stroke and heart surgery
29. Her son, Jacob, was born in January of this year

Lil and I doing the hula in our Mexican finery - so multi-cultural.

30. She used to watch Days of Our Lives religiously even though we were absolutely forbidden to watch soap operas
31. She loves dried cherries and sour candy
32. In addition to being Jacob's mom, she also teaches college English classes
33. Her first job was at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Hawaii
34. Shopping is a favorite hobby - hence the massive amounts of purses and white t-shirts mentioned previously
35. She loves John Cusack and all that he touches

These are just some highlights of the many facets of my sister - you can get to know her better with a visit to her blog.

Happy Birthday Lil!