Twenty Five Things

Following in the footsteps of my friend Erica, Danny Evans of Dad Gone Mad, and probably a ton of other people who were in on this long before I clued in, here are 25 random things about me.



1. I have a deep and abiding love for good stand-up comedy and good comic writing. I love when smart and funny come together. My faves? Dave Barry, the late George Carlin, Jon Stewart, Steve Martin, Maria Bamford, Lewis Black

2. Even better is when comedy and music are combined. If you can be funny and set it to music, I'm in love. Steve Martin, Monty Python, Tom Lehrer, the Smothers Brothers, any musical Simpsons episode, a Mighty Wind, Little Shop of Horrors... you get the picture.

3. My brother and I are both left-handed. I get very excited when I see other people, especially famous people, who are left-handed. Check out Jon Stewart, Tom Cruise, Martin Sheen. I'm pretty sure it's a sign of creative genius.

4. I really, honestly, sincerely like my in-laws and enjoy spending time with them. My MIL rocks.

5. There are some things that are wildly popular, even addictive for others that I just can't get into. Among them... any form of Coke, Pepsi or Mountain Dew, and any reality TV show, especially those based on talent contests, feats of strength and crazy stunts, strangers living together and weeding each other out.

6. I am in the process of converting to Judaism. It has been a long journey, but joining the Tribe feels like home, and I do love my matza and kugel.

7. I wear a Chai around my neck, the Hebrew word for Life. The necklace was a childhood gift from my Bubbi (grandmother). I put it on, before even considering converting, when I first learned my brother would be deployed to Iraq, about 2 1/2 years ago. I'll consider taking it off when I know he's home safe, and for good.

8. Although my house is kind of a mess right now, and is always a work in progress, I find messy, cluttered surroundings very stressful. As a kid, before I knew how to alphabetize, I used to pull the books off my shelf and arrange them in order of size. This seemed to relax me.

9. I have spent time in the following of our Great States: Montana, California, Texas, North Dakota, but only becasue my car broke down, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Wisconsin. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

10. I dated the MOMD for 6 weeks before he proposed and I accepted. In September 2009, we'll celebrate 10 years of marriage, 10 years plus 10 months of knowing each other. Sometimes when you know, you know.

11. I hated being single. For someone who had always prided myself on being really independent and capable, I had a really hard time being alone in my 20's.

12. Being a mom to my two daughters is amazing, and holding them and kissing their little heads makes me want to melt. And yet right now, I am in my room hiding from them because I can't think straight with them hanging all over wanting to be around me all the time.

13. I have been writing, in one form or another, since I was six years old. I was well into my 20's before I grasped that I was good at it.

14. I have written a book called You Are Ethiopian Now, a memoir of my experiences with infertility and adopting two little girls from Ethiopia. I'm working on getting it published.

15. A friend pointed out to me recently that I seem like I should have been an English major in college. I didn't major in English or anything else that I did especially well because in my warped little mind, that was like cheating. If it's not hard for you, then your succes doesn't count.

16. I have been in these fine countries on our little planet: Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Austria, Ireland, India, Malaysia, and Ethiopia. I'm sure I'm not forgetting any. How could you forget an entire country?

17. I'm a bit of a grammar and punctuation snob.

18. I don't think I could limit myself to one favorite food. I love all baked goods- cookies, cakes, muffins, good bread, but also strong flavored and spicy foods like Indian, Ethiopian, Thai, anything with peanuts or pineapple, cilantro, or lime in it. I love salmon, high quality chocolate, pasta, bread pudding, and most desserts.

19. I am not a fan of fat-free, sugar-free anything (unless, like an orange, it's supposed to be like that), never got on the low carb bandwagon, and I prefer butter over margarine.

20. Due to the above, as well as family history, despite my pretty normal height and weight, I am likely a heart attack waiting to happen.

21. I used to be a runner, but I can't call myself one anymore.

22. I love naps.

23. About the biology thing... My dad was sick when I was growing up, and I had a lot of questions about that. He always explained why he had to take this med or that med, and why he couldn't eat certain foods, and how your kidneys are supposed to work. I think that was the birth of my fascination with the human body and its workings, and I did love studying all about cells, the chemistry of how food is broken down, how our muscles are attached and how chemicals fire around in our brains. I can be a bit of a science and nutrition geek. I try to keep this to myself, you know, so people will still want to be my friend.

24. I used to be a bit of a granola-head tree-hugger, complete with long hair and plaid shirts from Eddie Bauer, but I have sort of given that up for a cushy life in the suburbs.

25. Although I grew up in Duluth, MN, one of the most hideously cold and always-uphill locations on the planet, and chose to stay in MN for college and well, the rest of my life, I hate winter and hate being cold. But I also hate moving. Does that count as #26?



Now it's your turn. Do it in your own blog, your Facebook page, comments below or an email to me, but write your 25 things!

Meet My Family

I have become a big fan of a guy named Danny Evans, who writes Dad Gone Mad, a really funny blog (warning to friends who prefer their blogs squeaky clean- this one isn't). He is incredibly honest in his writing, and I believe, to protect the innocent, has given nicknames to his immediate family members. Danny, I hope you'll forgive me for blatantly stealing this technique, as I will, from here on out, refer to my husband as The Man of My Dreams, or MOMD. I have two daughters with distinct, energetic personalities, and to protect them as well, they will be assigned nicknames. I just haven't thought of the perfect names yet. How to capture beautiful, exhausting, engaging, energetic, expasperating, smart, dictatorial, irrational, into a quick little name? Not sure, and still working on it.

I also have a brother, 18 months younger than me, a Sergeant in the Army, who left for a year in Iraq just last week. He will be referred to as Sergeant Baby Brother. I have a mother, and well, let's just call her Mom, shall we? Mom lives in New Hampshire and is married to my step-dad. I can never keep track of what continent they're currently visiting, or which step-sibling is visiting them. They are quite a jet-setting pair of 60-somethings.

Right now the daughter I'm considering calling The Tiniest Dictator is sitting next to me, ready for a little heart to heart conversation. "Mommy why do you put your makeup in here? Mommy what's in here? (opening wallet). Why are your coins in here? Mommy, I have an owie on my foot (pointing to invisible tiny spot on tiniest toe...)
The other one, age 5, likes to compose songs and sing out loud. I leave you with today's lyrics:

I love her so much
She's bigger than a squirrel
Don't be a rattlesnake!
Don't be a rattlesnake!

Stay tuned.