Nancy over at Nancy’s Point issued out a very fun challenge to her friends and readers.  I decided to play along, too!

1.) According to my father, my mother wanted to name me after a river in Alabama, the Cahaba River.  I’m very grateful that my father always waned to name a daughter Lara.  I was named after Superman’s mother on Krypton.

2.) I’m 35 years old, and I have never been pulled over by a cop for anything, though not that I’m complaining.

3.) Both of my dogs are named after sci-fi characters in my favorite shows – Firefly (Mal) and Battlestar Galactica (Boomer).

4.) I attempted a stand up career in my mid-20s, but it didn’t work out due to a paralyzing fear of public speaking.

5.) I’ve had a personal mantra for years now, and it’s just me yelling “rules” after my last name.  It started out as a joke between my friend and I because we had been watching “Billy Madison.”  O’DOYLE RULES.

6.)  I love watching romantic comedies, even the bad ones.  Boy, do I love bad ones.

7.)  I went skydiving two days before my double mastectomy.  It was the most bad ass thing I have ever done in my life.

8.)  For my 16th birthday, my dad took me and two friends to a comedy club in Kansas City.  When they asked for volunteers, I raised my hand and they picked me.  I got on stage, and it was amazing.  It was the best birthday.

9.) I have a running bucket list.  I hope to run my first full marathon next spring.

10.) I have the movie “Heathers” memorized because I have watched it dozens of times.

11.) I’m afraid of zombie shows or movies.  They give me nightmares, so I don’t know why I started watching the Walking Dead.

12.) During my first chemotherapy, I went into anaphylaxis.  The nurse said that I only had 10 ccs when I started choking to death.  It started out as a horrible dizzy spell and then it felt like God himself sat upon my chest.  Still, to this day, I feel panicky and adrenaline whenever I feel slightly dizzy. I don’t know if it’s PTSD, but it’s something.

13.) I have never wanted to have a wedding, though I’m not anti-marriage.  Since my mother died when I was so young, I have never daydreamed about my perfect wedding because she’s not here.

14.) I took dance lessons for 8 years when I was a child.  As an adult, I have proclaimed that I can’t dance, but it’s a lie.  I can, but see number 4.

15.) I finished writing my memoir, but I keep rewriting it.  I’d like to be done with it soon, perhaps after I finish my first marathon – Get Up Swinging: cancer to marathon.  What do you think?