She was born in the wagon of traveling show..ok, not really

It's my mothers birthday.

 She is 54.

Which is really young considering that all of her children are in their early 30's.

Here are 54 fabulous facts you never realized you NEEDED to know about my mother...

Terry Ann Hinsdale

54. She is the shortest family member at 5'1 and 3/4 inches.

53. She is also the most evil..weird how that seems to go hand in hand

52. She put herself through nursing school at 40 and is an RN

51. She is responsible for spoiling my nephew Jack rotten to the CORE

50. She collects troll dolls

49. She used to hang out her laundry while wearing a fur coat

48. She taught me to love Elvis

47. Whenever I hear "Heartbreak Hotel" I feel like I am about to be awoken to do Saturday morning chores

46. She has impersonated a police officer

45. She lived in Japan

44. She is the oldest of 9 children

43. She looks JUST like her mother. It freaks me out.

44. But then again, she looks like her father too.

42. She has washed off waffles in the sink and then served them to my father for dinner

41. She has served microwave popcorn for dinner

40. Her two least favorite topics are CATS and FOOD

39. She sat in the elderly and handicapped only section at my HS graduation just so she could get a good view

38. When I flew off to college, my plane was delayed by an hour on the runway. She waited and watched the plane the whole time. I could tell because she was wearing a bright pink t-shirt and I could see her standing there

37. She once gave the missionaries homemade hot chocolate mix that the cats had used the bathroom in without her knowing

36. Look for the connection between #37 and # 40

35. She once tried to shoe polish my hair

36. She decided to 'chase' my dad because he was always 'the last one to church and the first one out'..and because of his white leather jumpsuit...hubba, hubba

35. She used to make my brother dress in flannel shirts and then cover him with hugs and kisses, saying "I can't resist a man in flannel"

34. She got us involved in the craziest family money making projects

33. She may be the most conservative person I know

32. She protested by herself, in front of the White House, during the Clinton administration. (in a pink coat..while my dad took pictures)

31. She is in love with a strange fox news commentator named Charles Krauthammer

30. She and the children (her grandkids) do a skit every time they get together. These skits are ....special. Very existential.

29. They also do lemonade stands. (which costs my dad about 10 bucks as my mom makes him keep coming back to be their customer)

28. She had all four of her kids between the age of 20-23.

27. She is addicted to murder mystery TV shows...especially the kind where a wife kills her husband

26. On an unrelated note, she has asked me if I would be willing to give her an alibi if she needed it:)

25. She makes spaghetti the way God intended. Noodles and tomato paste only..tomato paste, straight from the can

24. I owe all my grudge holding skills to her

25. She has been mistaken for our sister on several occasions.

23. She loves to read. Once again, her preferred topic is murder mysteries..

22. She can recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish

21. She made a raggedy Ann doll, but only put hair on half its head. That thing still scares me to this day..and she won't add the rest of the hair

20. She made my brother a 'boy baldie' cabbage patch kid, when all of us girls had our cabbage patch kids. This was great, until its head came off in the wash!

19. She sewed my sisters wedding dress.

18. She doesnt have a birth DAY..its always a birth WEEK and I hear she has been pushing for a birth MONTH

17. She used to deliberately hide to scare us as kids. Not like, "oh, here come the kids, let me hide and scare them", no it was PLANNED out, there were costumes and everything! The last time she did this was like 2 years ago!

16. She made us listen to Cher on the way to seminary

15. She once crashed into a bus of senior citizens on their way to bingo. (no one was hurt, except for the institution of bingo)

14. She has made me just a little bit of a man hater

13. She graduated at the top of her nursing class

12. She keeps trying to convince me to move back home

11. She came to Idaho when I broke my leg, and road the local transport (called "the cart") all around town, picking up supplies and groceries and everything I would need for the rest of the semester

10. She kept calling the hospital while I was in surgery and to get an update on my vitals.

9. She is a diet coke addict

8. She was recently diagnosed with MS and is very STRONG and BRAVE and everything I would like to be.

7. She is the smartest woman I know.

6. She has the charisma of a dictator:)

5. She is working on learning how to do a 'smokey eye' with her eye shadow

4. She makes amazing homemade bread. (Good luck getting any away from my dad)

3. She writes the most bizarre poetry for family members birthdays and such. Very strange

2. Her favorite song is by an artist known as 'Lulu'

1. The #1 thing you need to know is that she is one of the most amazing people I have ever known, she is smart, compassionate, and so crazy.

 If I ever have children, I hope that I am the kind of mom that she has been to me.

Thanks for everything, Mother.

Lori Ann