100 Things about me

100 things you should know about me… in no kind of order…

1.      I am a thirty-something wife and stay-at-home mommy two times over heading for the forty loop

2.      I work at home, work from home and work on my home all while balancing my mommy status.

3.      I was queen of my senior prom. My then boyfriend, future ex-fiance’ was prom king. I still have the trophy in my parents’ attic as a relic of a past nearly forgotten in the wake of my life current. 

4.      I was a nun (technically a sister) for ten years. Yes, I’ll write more on that chapter of my life at some point in this blog.

5.      I spent 6 ½ years living, breathing, studying and working in Rome Italy while “nunning” so to speak.  It even got so that I was dreaming in Italian. I can’t wait to go back for a visit.

6.      I am Catholic and, impressively, still a Catholic after leaving the convent. So get over it!

7.      I’m mostly of Italian heritage and proud of it.

8.      I have little patience and a typical Italian short temper

9.      Yes, I have connections … if you know what I mean.

10.  I speak and read Italian like nobody’s business and I still find myself thinking in Italian at times.

11.  I love to cook but hate to clean up afterwards.

12.  I can make a mean marinara sauce and a killer lasagna but no, you are not invited to my house for dinner.

13.  Seriously, I like to entertain.

14.  I can’t bake without burning myself on the oven. It’s a prerequisite to cream puffs, you know.

15.  Pasta is my favorite food, but I don’t really get to eat it anymore. The word on that: dieting.

16.  Even though I’ve made it back to pre-baby weight I am still carrying around an extra twenty pounds – how disgusting!  None-the-less, I still feel like the 20 year old hottie I used to be!

17.  I spent way too many years in school – a total of twenty one to be exact -  from kindergarten through a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts to a masters  in religious sciences.

18.  I am a super carb addict and an emotional eater.

19.  I love chocolate (like that’s a surprise). My favorite is Perugina’s Baci.

20.  I’m still holding off on starting to color my hair (way too high maintenance for me) and have resorted to plucking the few grays that make it in (anyone over thirty can hear that).

21.  Motherhood is the best thing that has ever happened to me, but that doesn’t make dealing with the whining any easier.

22.  I don’t believe in the perfect marriage, or that it is always possible to end up with your soul mate.

23.  I am crazily obsessed with clean and have been known to get high on the odor of a freshly scrubbed home.

24.  Yes, when I clean the bathroom floor, I do scrub it on my hands and knees. It’s the only way to go.

25.  I have a part-time nanny/housekeeper. Call me spoiled, but I have needs… like, for a life and some semblance of sanity.

26.  I don’t believe in judging other people’s situations. One never knows what’s going on with someone else and no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.

27.  If I could afford to, I’d hire a personal manicurist and masseuse. Wouldn’t everyone?

28.  I am loud, argumentative and sarcastic. I like to leave people wondering: “what the heck was that all about?”

29.  I am pushy. What? Can’t you deal with that? Too bad.

30.  I have seen and experienced (and continue to experience) more crap in my life than many people I know. I am grateful enough, however, to know that I have been superlatively blessed as well.

31.  I am equally complicated and transparent. Both simplicity and mystery are overrated.

32.  To quote Joan Jett “I don’t give a damn about my bad reputation!!!”

33.  While I have respect for all, I do not condone alternative lifestyles, as I find them unnatural and unacceptable.

34.  I am convinced that most Americans would agree with me on fact #33, if they just stopped being politically correct long enough to admit to it.

35.  I have been gifted with the unique ability to “peg” people within ten minutes of meeting them.  So, if I’ve met you , I’ve probably got your number!

36.  That special ability malfunctions completely if I fall in love with you.  Case in point, my husband.

37.  I don’t use that gift to judge or to hold a grudge against anyone.  Every time I meet up with someone, they get another chance, a blank slate. 

38.  Despite my second chance policy, I’ve found that it just so happens that most people who register “jerk” on the peg-o-meter at our first meeting, prove themselves jerks in subsequent meetings as well.

39.  I’ve found that in general, people don’t change. They can modify their behavior some, but deep down, snobs remain snobs, liars remain liars and drunks remain drunks.

40.  I’m stubborn as heck, yet can be swayed by a convincing, intelligent argument.

41.  When I’m wrong, I’m wrong and I admit it. But when I’m right, you’ll know it.

42.  I am horrible about remembering birthdays, anniversaries and the like, no matter how many stars I give them on my calendar. I just finally got  my best friend’s birthday down pat last year, and I’ve known her for all of thirty years!

43.  I am good with names. Knowing a persons’ name is power.  Oh, and I’m a power freak – just kidding.

44.  When I grow up I’d like to be a portrait photographer.

45.  I treasure my privacy. It’s ironic that I’m blogging, don’t you think? It’s easy to be anonymous.

46.  My favorite color is black (an occupational hazard from the past, I guess) as if one couldn’t tell by perusing my wardrobe.

47.  I suffer from  PMDD.

48.  My MP3 player holds a wide spectrum of music: R&B to Rap (yes, even the explicit versions), Indie to Opera, Pop to Christian and everything in between. I love it all!

49.  Dancing around the house and singing at the top of my lungs as my girls and husband stare in disbelief, is one of my favorite pastimes.

50.  I also like to sleep.

51.  I’m no good at sports, but I love to fast walk and step away on the elliptical, music blasting again, of course.

52.  I used to ski before entering the convent, and I’d love to try it again, only I’m afraid I’ll break something. Somehow, all I can seem to remember is swoosh, snow, cold and bruises.

53.  My first job with computers was back in the old days when everything was in DOS, the screens were black, and the disks were really floppy and 5.5 inches(?). What year was that again????? Ugh!

54.  My first car was a Chevy Malibu which someone else destroyed while it was parked in front of my workplace. He was arguing with his girlfriend. Schmuck.   My second car was a hand-me-down and my favorite: my mom’s big old 1979 Metallic Blue Cougar with that tacky tan half roof.  Yeah, it was a boat, but it’s V8 was slammin’!

55.  A few years back, I hit a deer in my Hyundai.  I totaled the car and purchased an SUV that same week.  So go ahead, accuse me of fuel hogging, but I won’t be losing another battle to Bambi anytime soon.

56.  I think I’m ready for a minivan. I never thought I’d see the day!

57.  I am a shopaholic. Give me plastic and a mall and I’m set.

58.  I’m generous when it comes to gift-giving and I have a hard time understanding those who are not.  I’m not a material girl, but darn it, material objects can certainly express appreciation for the immaterial that we love and admire in others.

59.  As a mother of two small children, I don’t often get to use the bathroom alone. How embarrassing. My three year old did potty train pretty early on, so I guess that little inconvenience has its benefits.

60.  While planning for the birth of my first child, I was convinced that I’d use cloth diapers! What was I thinking?

61.  No, I didn’t nurse my babies (and my breasts are no better for it either), nor did I agonize over the co-sleeping issue. Bad Mommy!  Well, technically that’s not true, I pumped for three weeks with my first who was a preemie and couldn’t nurse. Yippee.

62.  Call me paranoid, but I have reason to believe that my husband and children are conspiring to push me over the edge.

63.  I am a C-Section Mama who will forever be bearing the dreaded mommy pouch (all you c-section girls out there hear me) unless of course, I can convince the hubby to spring for a tummy tuck. FYI: one of my best friends has had one and it’s less painful than the Cesarean!

64.  I love that my 19 month old can already tell me what to do, clearly. Occasionally, however, I like to engage her in nonsensical jibber- jabber just for kicks.

65.  I still rock my girls to sleep whenever I can.  Someday soon they’ll be tweens and they won’t want to be seen with me, so I’d better enjoy it while I can.

66.  I have not updated my resume in a while, but I probably could add a few qualifications that I’ve gained during these mommy years, especially skills like “proficient in negotiating her way through playgroups and coordinating play date agendas”.

67.  I can type pretty quickly. 60 words per minute the last time I checked.

68.  I have done some public speaking, but hate it with a passion.

69.  For the most part, I’m a kind and loving person.  However, a warning to the wise: you don’t want to find yourself on my bad side. It’s a scary place to be.

70.  I sincerely believe that respect is something one EARNS, not a matter of one’s title, position or rank.

71.  I hold honesty in the highest regard, even when it is costly. 

72.  I’m a firm believer in the idea that “actions speak louder than words”.

73.  I can balance my checkbook. Hey, don’t knock the skill, I know a lot of people who can’t. Then again, maybe I just hang with the wrong crowd.

74.   I spent a small fortune on my washer and dryer.  This splurge stems from my cleanliness issues.

75.  I am bent towards frivolity: I make all my own invitations, announcements and thank you notes just because I like to.

76.  I hate that time passes so quickly and that there is so little of it to actually enjoy with family and friends.

77.  I dislike clutter and favor a minimalistic approach to decorating.

78.  I look forward to completing tasks… only twenty-two things about me to go… hang on.

79.  I love the ocean, the sand, the sun and the beach life. Buy me a ticket to Aruba, call me a bum and get on with it.

80.  Swimming is paramount to my existence. Is it any wonder? You don’t have to listen to anyone while underwater.

81.  My Mediterranean skin tans perfectly. 

82.  I like cozy rooms, but am claustrophobic when I have to share them with others, especially people I don’t like.

83.  Organization is my middle name. If I can box it, label it, and store it out of sight, I’m happy.

84.  I have not been gifted with a natural coping mechanism for dealing with lost items. Misplacing things makes me feel like I’m losing mind. So now you know how to screw with me.

85.  I’m huge on planning ahead.  Things just seem to run more smoothly when you think them through.

86.  I’ve been told that I use the word “huge” way too often.  OOOOkay! Whatever! (other favorites of mine).

87.  I’m truly pleased that this is not one of those “list ten good things about yourself” kind of lists. I have trouble with them.

88.  I don’t like to circulate “nicey” emails, nor do I subscribe to chain emails, so don’t send me any. They’ll end up clogging my deleted box.

89.  I like to narrate…. Here come the final ten….!

90.  I love looking through catalogues, turning down pages and making lists of things I’d like to order but never do.  

91.  I’d rather not talk in the morning, and sometimes not even after my first cup of coffee. Just like my Dad.

92.  My Mama dances and my Daddy rock and rolls – so I guess I have always had the hippest parents on the block. In the seventies, at least. No seriously, they’re cool, but they were strict.

93.  I once sat and laughed my ass off as a kid while my little brother ate an entire can of blue Play Doh. So much for being a responsible big sister! As a responsible mom, I am careful about not repeating that story to my preschooler.

94.  I lost my first tooth opening a can of Play Doh. It wasn’t even loose! The Tooth Fairy left a lump of coal.

95.  At about age seven I attempted a death-defying feat by pushing myself through the glass panel on my aunt’s storm door.  I made it half way through with a few scars and one hysterical mother.  My bad for trying to rush out the door with everyone else. It just happened to lock shut on me.

96.  I used to be a TLC addict. Now, our LCD TV just seems to gather dust.

97.  White gold or yellow?… I prefer Platinum, so get it straight.

98.  I was born in the month of May and don’t yet own an emerald.  If you know my husband personally you’d be doing me (and him) a great service by making mention of this fact.

99.  I always forget to charge my cell phone battery. It always runs out when I need it most. We have a wonderful relationship.

100.   I think that I am a lunatic, seriously. When it’s going on with the moon, it’s going on with me. Look out!