100 Things About KVB (revised 1/2007)

1. I was named after Keely Smith who sang with Louie Prima (That Old Black Magic). 2. Keely is Gaelic for most beautiful. 3. I used to hate it when my mom would tell people that. 4. I used to want boys to know that because I thought it would convince them that I really was and that they should ask me to the dance or the movies. 5. At a parent/teachers conference in middle school, one of my counselors told my parents I was a good kid, just boy crazy. 6. My parents did not give me a middle name because my mom thought my name was long enough. 7. After Daniel proposed, I decided I wanted to take my entire last name as my middle name. 8. Originally, we had thought about using all the letters in both of our last names and making a new one. The one we made up was funny, it had monkey in it. We decided that was a bad idea. 9. My family’s last name is Dutch. 10. Growing up, I looked like a little Dutch girl with blue eyes, rosy cheeks, round face and blonde hair. 11. I dyed my hair dark brown (almost black) a little over 4 years ago. 12. I like it so much that I doubt I will ever go back to being a blonde. 13. People who know me well call me KVB, KVan, Kee, or Kilo. 14. You may call me Kiwi only if you have known me since high school and (I liked you) or are my Aunt Susan, otherwise I will think you are making fun of my name and that pisses me off. 15. If you think you are being original by calling me Kiwi, you are not. I have been taunted with that since I was 4 years old and still refuse to eat the fruit. 16. You may call me Princess only if you are my mom. I am only a princess in my mother’s eyes. 17. If someone else calls me a princess, I will just ignore him or her because I KNOW they are not talking to me. 18. The only one who calls me babe or baby is Daniel and I like it that way. I am very likely to get some attitude if someone else tries to use those or anything else like them on me. 19. When we actually have a baby in our house, I have a feeling no one will call me baby anymore. 20. Daniel also likes to call me Keel. 21. I met my husband in January of 2003 and we hit it off straight away even though I thought there was a possibility that he might not be 18 yet because he looked so young. 22. I was born August 31, 1976. Daniel was born December 31, 1978. I am the older woman. 23. I have never been the older woman before. 24. We met while we were acting together in a community theatre play in Bakersfield, CA (where we still live). 25. I got involved with theatre again when I moved to Bakersfield in 2002. It was one of the best decisions I made that year. 26. Since then I have performed in ten plays around town (getting ready to start rehearsal on my 11th – the Vagina Monologues) and served as President on one of the theatre boards. 27. I knew the first time Daniel and I sat and talked that we were going to be good friends, but neither of us was looking for a relationship at the time. 28. I was just finalizing a nasty divorce (that took 18 months) after six years of a horrible marriage. 29. I never thought I’d get married again and I was OK with that. 30. Daniel and I have a lot in common and enjoy learning about each other’s differences. 31. I moved into his apartment five months after we met. We were in love and I knew then we had something that was lasting and different than anything I had ever had. 32. We got married on June 4, 2005. 33. We have a three-year-old (1-3-2004) Boston Terrier girl named Bailey. 34. Bailey is named for our love of Baileys Irish Cream. I also just like the name. 35. Her nicknames include: Terror, B-ster, BayBay, IronButt, and StinkButt. 36. We also have a 1 and a half year old (6-18-2005) Pug named Max. 37. We call Max: Porkie, Porkus Maximus, Maxie, Bubba, Monkey-face and Monkey-boy. 38. I love all animals, but I am especially obsessed with dogs/puppies. 39. I can spend long amounts of time looking at pictures of dogs on the Internet while Bailey & Max sit next to me. 40. I do not think there is anything wrong with that. 41. I never dreamt I would be the type of person who would dress their dog up and take tons of pictures of them or call themselves mama to their animals (children!). I am. 42. I did dream of being an actress or singer. 43. When I was in middle school I auditioned with a local opera company for the Sound of Music and got in. 44. In six years I performed in 4 musicals and 4 operas with that company. 45. That gave me the opportunity to train for two years with an Opera Diva. 46. I also performed in 4 high school productions; assistant directed 2 plays and was an extra in 2 movies. 47. I am able to do a pretty darn good impression of that ogre like character in the Dark Crystal who says Gelfling! 48. I hunch over and do the eye thing even. It freaks some of my friends out, but it makes them laugh. 49. I only do it if I know you really well because I get embarrassed. 50. I only feel comfortable being the center of attention when I am on stage. 51. I have always liked acting because you can step into a new perspective for a while. 52. This is the same reason I like reading, movies, music and traveling. 53. I buy books that I do not read, but plan to someday. Books about theatre, Shakespeare, crafts and design are my favorite right now for that. 54. I have eclectic music taste: Blues, Jazz, Rock, AltCountry, etc. I am up for just about anything. Your suggestions are welcome! 55. Artists that get the most playtime on my iPod include David Gray, Leona Naess, Jack Johnson, Gaelic Storm, Keely Smith, Edie Brickell, Dance Hall Crashers, Ryan Adams, Matt the Electrician and Benjamin Wagner. (To name a few). 56. If you really want to see what I listen to, go to my iLike profile. . 57. I would love to be in a blues, jazz or folk rock band; it’s one of my dream jobs. 58. One of my favorite movies is Shakespeare in Love. I cannot pinpoint just one as being my all time favorite because there are far too many movies to choose from. 59. I am one of those people who get VERY involved in a movie or book and will cry until my eyes are dried out of tears. Pearl Harbor, Steel Magnolias, Beaches, and Finding Neverland are examples of very dangerous movies for me to watch alone. 60. Daniel and I share an addiction to buying DVDs. 61. Our movies take up two bookcases and is still growing. 62. We turned off our cable a few years ago because we thought there was nothing good on TV and we had other things we wanted to do with our time. We also thought we might save a little money. Now, ask me how many series we own. 63. Our joint addiction to DVD buying is more expensive than supporting my now defunct nicotine habit, but at least it’s not bad for our health! 64. I quit smoking in July 2004 and don’t really miss it all that much. 65. On really stressful, sad occasions I beg Daniel to go buy me cigarettes or I try to get him all excited about going out to get cigarettes. He never budges, and that makes me happy. 66. A couple years ago I had to have an X-ray of my lungs done because I was having so much trouble breathing. They made me wait for 45 minutes in a cold room by myself waiting for the results in a nasty hospital gown. 67. I had a panic attack & was sure I had lung cancer. I am grateful that I just had bronchitis and despite my teasing, never plan to smoke again. 68. Hospitals and Doctors make me very nervous. 69. Needles have always put me into hysterics and I used to make even the most tenured nurse nervous. 70. At age 28, I still required Daniel to hold my hand when a nurse gave me shots or took blood. 71. The mere thought of getting an IV put in makes me all woozy. 72. I have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. 73. CRPS, otherwise known as CRAP (just because) is a neurological disorder that sends pain messages to my arm for no reason at all. 74. I got it two years ago after a normal work injury. My arm healed, but basically forgot to tell my brain. Doctors cannot explain it, but the first known cases presented themselves during the Civil War. 75. Back then doctor’s thought by cutting off the limb, the pain would go away. What remained was something that became known as Phantom Pain or Phantom Limb. This is because limb is not the problem - it is the nerves and their communication with the brain. There is no cure, but the pain can be managed. 76. I used to take 4 different meds daily after going through dozens to find some that would work for me. 77. They did not take away the pain completely, but they eased it. 78. I stopped taking all of my meds over a year ago when Daniel and I started trying for a baby. 79. I still get frequent pain, but relaxing tends to calm it. 80. If I set my mind to something I want, I refuse to let my fears and pain get in my way. 81. We had trouble getting pregnant because of my insulin resistance, so we went to a specialist for help. 82. They helped me control the insulin resistance and Daniel had to give me shots in my stomach to make me more fertile. 83. The second series of treatments took, and we are now expecting a baby on or near May 25, 2007. 84. I have gestational diabetes, but I’m controlling it completely with diet and exercise. 85. Two out of two ultrasound techs agree we are having a daughter. 86. Her name will be Zoe Angeline. 87. I have a sun tattoo on my lower back. 88. My second tattoo is a star that starts at the top of my back at the spine with eleven smaller stars trailing down my spine in a squiggle. 89. Before getting CRPS, I was a manager at a furniture store. One of the cool ones that is over advertised and everyone loves. I loved it too. I had growth potential there and I liked going to work. 90. Prior to that, I was a Store Manager at the Bombay Co. I managed multiple stores over six years in Chicago, San Diego and Los Angeles areas. I might still be working there if I had not moved to Bakersfield. 91. Losing my job due to my injury and CRPS forced me to reevaluate some things about myself and look at the things I wanted before but had to give up. 92. I’ve gotten to devote more time to theatre. 93. I’ve discovered my love for photography. 94. I get paid to photograph theatre productions, do their advertising photography and their publicity boards. 95. The pay is not phenomenal, but the job is rewarding and challenging. 96. I would like to take some classes to become better at photography. 97. Someday, I want to open my own theatre & music venue and/or a coffee house/bookstore. 98. I enjoy being around creative people. 99. I’m looking forward to being a stay at home mom. 100. I have never been anywhere outside the United States besides TJ (and I would rather forget those trips). I look at pictures of other places and I imagine I am in the picture too. Someday, Daniel and I would like to travel to Europe and I would also really like him to show me some of Japan and China since he got to go there during college and his stories are so interesting.