To celebrate my the seventh anniversary of my first public blog post, I am posting some facts here because though I am a chatterbox, I’m very private and don’t share a lot about myself. Sure, you know I own way too much yarn, I cherish my son, and I love Buffalo sauce (so much I sometimes eat it as a dip with pretzels). Hopefully, this list of factoids will make you want to comment with your own random facts.
1. I collected penguins from the day of my 11th birthday until I ran out of space to put them all. I still own almost all of them and keep them at my parents’ house. Among the most unique pieces? A penguin sweater and a 10-inch tall blown glass figurine. And countless of stuffed animals (my favourite is a Steiff
2. My two favourite movie endings are Sixteen Candles and Field of Dreams (click the titles for video clips of the endings).
3. I love, like, and cherish my parents. They’re intelligent, silly, generous, kind, and cool. My parents are so fun, when I got tickets for a nightclub concert in college, I brought them. Don’t underestimate how much easier it is to get a beer when your cane-wielding handicapped mom is charming all the bartenders.
4. I knew I’d marry my husband within a week of meeting him. Luckily, he felt the same.
5. If I don’t create or read/write something every day, I feel unfulfilled. I end up listening to audiobooks regularly and enjoy a few books a month that way.
6. My clothing style can be described as old school prep with a dash of European thrift shop. Of the items pictured below, the first and last photos feature actual thrift shop items (The first: Zara real leather jacket €8.50. The last: Zara men’s tartan shirt €4).
7. My favourite vegetables are Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and asparagus. My favourite pitted fruit is avocado. My favourite beverages are whole milk and southern sweet tea. I love sushi, but never raw fish.
8. Wearing nail polish makes my fingers feeling like they’re suffocating. I love the look, but hate how it feels.
9. I attended mostly all-female Catholic private schools, was taught by nuns, and loved it.
10. I’ve been to France (and Paris) so many times I’ve lost count.
11. If I was given a choice to never again drink alcohol or never again drink milk, I’d give up alcohol without a moment’s hesitation.
12. I dislike the color purple. This developed during my pregnancy and hasn’t gone away. So weird, right? With my green eyes, I look great in purple too which makes it a bit of a shame.
13. The sound of rain is beautiful to me.
14. The most disgusting scents are musty sponges, mildewy florist foam, cheap perfume, unclean underground/metro stations, and wet dog.
15. My favourite flowers are tulips, cherry blossoms, poppies, hydrangeas, azaleas, dogwoods, and geraniums. My least favourite flowers are red roses, carnations, and baby’s breath.
16. As a child, my favourite class was art. I created my first stained-glass window at age eight.
17. It took several months for me to warm up to digital photography. I only made the switch because processing my film cost so much and I was unemployed. Looking back, I think it’s funny I dragged my feet for so long. My first digital camera was a gift from my parents in 2002. I saved up to buy my first “real” camera at age eight.
18. I love picnics.
19. I was editor-in-chief of my college newspaper for three semesters. When I stepped down, the moderator asked me to reconsider. In my final semester as editor, I was also on the college tennis team and carrying a 21-credit load (plus six additional uncredited art studio hours per week) with classes Monday through Saturday and museum visits on Sundays. – and I was beginning work on my senior thesis. Whenever I feel discouraged or exhausted with a project (or motherhood), I remember that if I could do all that, I can do anything.
20. As a child, we had to move to a one-story house because my Mother has Multiple Sclerosis. This made it easier for her to transition into a wheelchair more recently.
21. The most maraschino cherries I’ve eaten at once is 31. I was dared at a bar mitzvah when I was in junior high school. No ill effects, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it. To this day, I still love them but prefer to make my own (recipes here and here).
22. When I was pregnant, my meals mostly consisted of lean chicken breast with Buffalo sauce, dill pickles, cooked beets (and beetroot soup), plain yogurt, Bombay mix, and carrot juice. For three weeks in my first trimester, I ate a pound of watermelon a day. I craved vegetables and fruit, but felt sick when I ate butter, cream sauces, meat, or bread. Some of this may have had to do with the growth in my liver pushing up against things. I gained 17 pounds (5.5 of which were baby).
23. I learned to read timetables so I could tell when Murder She Wrote would be on the TV. I would watch with my Grandma while we drank white grape juice and ate Ritz crackers. Later in life, I would use the monthly cable TV guide as my personal calendar and mark it up with appointments and plans, circling the shows I wanted to watch. My parents were less than thrilled by this.
24. I was blonde as a child without the assistance of a stylist.
25. I’ve always wished to go fly fishing with my Dad, spend an entire summer at a house by the beach with a typewriter, and drive across the U.S.A. visiting all the ballparks and fun little towns along the way.
26. My IQ is 162. But I still make stupid mistakes.
27. One of my hobbies is to send care packages to my nephews, my friends, and my friends’ kids. I once sent knitting needles to a stranger just because I knew she needed some. When I put together a package, I pretend I’m that friend’s fairy Godmother as I do it. Everyone deserves a fairy Godmother sometimes.
28. I love using a ZIP+4 when I mail something (like care packages or Anchor and Bee book orders). Even if it means taking the extra time to look it up. It’s worth it (proof).
29. I like watching TV with Closed Captions.
30. I’m really into my birthday.
There you have it! Now, what is a fact about you?
Happy anniversary!
Thanks, Rachel!!!
Very sympathic 🙂 Penguins are very sweet, you’re right! And woow! Your IQ sounds so high 😀 I think I have to test mine too. Now I’m interested.