Category: Rants/Rumination

I’ve been blogging in one form or another for years now. My first 2 attempts at blogs no longer exist on the internets or were absorbed into later sites as my writing and interests have changes and evolved. Back in the day you’d see a lot of these “answer the question” type posts floating around— you’d get tagged by another blogger, you’d reveal a little something about you, and you’d pass it on by tagging other folks. I saw this alphabet one on Christine’s blog love life surf recently and was hit by nostalgia and the urge to overshare. She didn’t tag me, but I’m gonna answer the questions anyway because it seemed like fun and because I’m pushy that way 🙂

 Jake photobomb FTW

A. Attached or single? Jeff and I will have been married 14 years on June 26th. And we haven’t killed each other yet.

B. Best friend? I have three. This upsets people who say you can’t have more than one best friend, but as I grow older my circle of friends grows ever smaller and these three have earned special distinction.

1. Danielle— my BFF from freshman year of high school, who I rarely see in real life. Thanks to the internet, we work and play together and I “talk” to her more than anyone else. My biggest cheerleader.
2. Kristin— my forever friend, who has always been there for me and my kids, and has always been the most generous and authentic, charismatic and fun person I know. Kristin was the one who made me break out of my shell of crippling shyness in high school, simply because she does not know how to walk into a room and befriend everyone in it.
3. Cammy— my college roommate and later housemate, who is that friend you can go a year without seeing and then just pick back up with seamlessly, because you carry a piece of them always in your heart.

busting out the really attractive photos of us. JK, they were the most handy to lift off FB

C. Cake or pie? I’m not a real fan of either, I’ve lost my sweet tooth in my old age. I vote cheesecake (though it’s not a real cake) or key lime pie (which is really only technically a pie).

D. Day of choice? I live for Saturday mornings when I can sleep in, Saturday afternoons when I can tinker online and go for a leisurely run, Saturday nights when I can kick back with a Blue Moon and my current TV obsession (Doctor Who and Sherlock being the most recent and intense ones).

E. Essential item? iPhone. Camera, internet, notepad all in one, I don’t know how I lived without it. I hear tell it works as a voice communication device too, but I don’t use it for that.

F. Favorite color? Silver but my wardrobe is almost entirely black and grey.

G. Gummy bears or worms? I don’t do gummy unless it’s Swedish fish or Sour Patch Kids.

H. Home town? Wilmington DE, a place to be somebody. Or as I always called it, “So Close to Where You’d Rather be.”

I. Favorite Indulgence? Statement shoes. I have… many. Some aren’t even realistically wearable, strictly speaking, I just sit them on shelves like art.

J. January or July? July. I spend the whole winter waiting for it to be over.

K. Kids? Maybe this happens to everybody, but kid strangers really like to talk to me. Every time I go to the pool or playground there’s some kid showing me what tricks they can do or telling me about their dog or whatever. I love that and I hope it never stops. My own kids— Jake, 15; Maverick, 12; Cassidy, 8— think that’s weird.

L. Life isn’t complete without? A sense of wonder and everyday laughter.

M. Marriage date? June 26 1999

N. Number of brothers/sisters? 2 half brothers in Vietnam I’ve never met. One half sister who died before my mother met my father. My brother Robbie is 7 years younger than me, which means he turned 30 this year, which means I suddenly feel very old.

O. Oranges or apples? I’m in love with trying different varieties of apples and we tend to pick enough to feed a small army at our local orchard. My favorites right now are Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and Orange Honey.

P. Phobias? I’ve been knocking these down my whole life. Public speaking— love it now. Driving— I had to deal once the kids were in school. Agoraphobia— not only am I comfortable leaving the house, but I’ve now flown to Colorado on my own and driven someone else’s car to Atlanta. Next week I’m taking the train and finding my way to CES in NYC (I still won’t drive in NYC). Water— I can swim now, I can tread in deep water, I’m training toward a sprint tri in 2014 and hoping to dive and see the reefs in Fiji sometime soon thereafter. The best way to combat a phobia is just to face it head-on. That said, I’m still not down with swarms of insects, particularly small ones like fleas, ants or maggots, but I doubt anyone will fault me for that.

Q: Quotes? My addiction. I have dozens of notebooks and thousands of index cards with quotes written on them, from books and movies and late night conversations with friends. My favorites come from Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Rainer Marie Rilke, Coco Chanel and Bob Dylan. My next tattoo will be Thoreau’s “Be and not seem” but I haven’t decided on placement yet.

R: Reasons to smile? Because I’m still here. Because I can. Why not? There’s always a reason to smile, and even if you’re not feeling it, studies show smiling will help you to feel better. But here’s a reason to smile right this second:

S. Season of choice? Late spring/early summer (after the rains, basically). “Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.” -Rilke

T. Tag 5 people. No. But feel free to do this if you’re so inclined. I do like to read them, I just don’t want to make you feel guilty if you don’t want to write it out.

U. Unknown fact about me? I say “dang” a lot on the internet, if you’re friends with me anywhere you already know that. What you don’t know is that I say it in David Spade’s voice from Joe Dirt.

V. Vegetable? I try to eat with the seasons. Right now that means asparagus, early peas and corn, and garlic scapes.

W. Worst habit? Procrastination/perfectionism. They go hand in hand; waiting until I have time to do it all at once or “do it right.” There’s never enough time. I’m trying to adjust to doing what I can now and not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.

X. X-ray or ultrasound? This is a weird question. X-ray. I have tons of animal x-rays that Jeff and I have never figured out how to display, but we’re not willing to part with, and every so often someone comes across them and I have no good answers to their questions.

Y. Your favorite food? Capriotti’s cheesesteak or cheese fondue at The Melting Pot.

Z. Zodiac sign? Libra. The sign of balance and justice. As a 1976 baby, I’m a Fire Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac: a double dragon, twice the passion, twice the influence. Also twice the mistakes…

If you do an Old School A-Z leave me a link in the comments so I can see!