100 things about me

I did this about 2 years ago when I first started blogging (on another blog), and I've thought many times about updating it, especially since Marja has given up on asking me to post more about myself. So today when I realized how much I enjoyed reading a list like this one at WillThink4Wine, I decided to go for it:

1. I was born in 1959 and grew up in Washington, DC.
2. I'm now an only child. My brother died in 1989 when he was 22 years old.


3. I adopted my daughter when she was 8 months old. She's now 19 and proudly serving in the US Armed Forces. I'm so proud of her.


4. I took classical piano lessons for 12 years, but stopped playing when I left for college.


5. I bought a piano a few years ago, but haven't started playing again yet.


6. I love to write and will be publishing my first book very soon.


7. I love to knit.


8. I graduated from high school a year early in 1976.


9. I went to Ga Tech for grad school and got a Masters degree in 1982.


10. I've owned my own business since 2001. I have a great boss.


11. I love to be near the water, particularly if the weather is warm.


12. I love to vacation in the Caribbean.


13. My most fun vacation (so far) was 10 days in Jamaica in 1995. I hope to break that record this year.


14. I wish I could sing, but I can't.


15. I learned to dance salsa in 2007. I'm not great at it, but I LOVE it!


16. I voted for Clinton twice and Bush twice. Thank Heaven for term limits.


17. I love country music, partly because I can understand the words, but also because they actually tell a story.


18. Beautiful music often makes me cry.


19. My favorite TV shows of all time are: 24, The Carol Burnett Show, and La Femme Nikita. My favorite new shows are Grey's Anatomy and Cane.


20. I used to be a die-hard Redskin fan, but football doesn't excite me any more the way it used to.


21. Not including college, I've lived in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ontario Canada. St. Petersburg, FL was my absolute favorite.


22. I've been married and divorced more than once and recently realized that I'd never truly been *in love*, but I haven't given up home that it'll happen.


23. I'm an eternal optimist and a hopeless romantic. (see #23) :)


24. I'm still in contact with my best friend from middle school, after more than 30 years.


25. I hate watching local news but am addicted to cable news - particularly political news... go figure!


26. I love fresh cut flowers. I want my home to be full of them.


27. I have dozens of books that I've been "dying to read" for years, but I keep buying more before I can get to them.


28. I never really believed in "soul mates", but if they exist, I think I may have found mine. I hope so!


29. My first car was a yellow and white '75 Chevy Monza.


30. My current car, a '96 Nissan Maxima has been paid for since 2003. It has 173,000 miles and I hope to get to at least 250,000.


31. Sometimes TV commercials make me cry.


32. I used to suffer from a severe case of CHAOS (Can't Have Anybody Over Syndrome), but now I only need 15 minutes advance notice and I'm ready to throw a party!


33. One of my best investments was paying to have personal organizers re-do my home office. I was so inspired that I did the rest of my home!


34. I've had chronic insomnia since 1994. It sucks, except when I'm hypomanic!


35. I had a boyfriend break up with me because I'd been diagnosed with lupus and he thought I was going to die soon. That was almost 15 years ago - I was misdiagnosed.


36. I'm terribly afraid of heights. Driving through the mountains causes me to have panic attacks.


37. I once was hospitalized for IV sedation because my insomnia was so bad. I spent the first night pacing the halls pushing my IV pole.


38. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2006. I hate sleeping with my mask, but it sure beats dying in my sleep.


39. I agree completely with WillThink4Wine, who said "I have a love/hate relationship with flying; I hate it, but I love that it can transport me so quickly to someone that I wish to spend time with."


40. I believe that everything happens for a reason, even the bad stuff, and that it's up to us to learn the lesson and move forward.


41. I believe in the Law of Attraction. and have experienced it in my own life.


42. I don't like large crowds, they make me nervous.


43. I hate rude drivers, especially ones that don't wave "thank you" when I let them into traffic.


44. I love Twizzlers.


45. I'm mesmerized by fireworks, especially over the water.


46. My dream is to retire to an island in the Caribbean and spend the rest of my days enjoying the scenery and the rest of my nights dancing under the stars with the man I love.


47. With the exception of my daughter, my mother and my aunt, I'm not close to my family, although they live in denial about why that is.


48. I've taught dozens of women how to knit.


49. I love to watch good movies, although my definition of "good" depends on the mood I'm in.


50. I've ridden muleback (not to be confused with horseback) through a foot of snow in the Poconos Mountains


51. I LOVED being pregnant, but my daughter was born prematurely and died. She would have been 26 this year and I still miss her.


52. I believe that love is a choice.


53. I am so thankful to be a Christian.


54. I do my best praying when I'm listening to Christian music.


55. As painful as divorce was for me, it was a wonderful opportunity to reinvent myself.


56. I love to laugh.


57. One of the best things in the world is the laughter of a child.


58. I love to see professional photographs of childrens' feet (I know, that sounds weird).


59. I love a man with a beautiful smile who's not afraid to use it.


60. The older I get, the sexier I feel.


61. Having a hysterectomy was the best medical decision I've ever made. I just wish I'd done it 10 years earlier.


62. I hope I never have to fake another orgasm.


63. I enjoy going on a scavenger hunt in a nearby thrift store looking for designer clothes that still have the original store tags. I've found some incredible deals there.


64. I recently bought the perfect black ball gown. I have no idea where I'm going to where it, but I'm going to wear it.


65. I love to play Scrabble, but only with someone who's at least as good at is as I am.


66. I detest rude drivers.


67. I once played the piano with the D.C. Youth Orchestra at The Kennedy Center.


68. I've never served on jury duty and I don't know why. I think I'd like to.


69. If I could chose my career again knowing what I do now, I'd either be a pediatric nurse or an architect.


70. I bought a new camera in 2007 and I love taking pictures. I hope to become a good photographer.


71. I spent a summer in Spain between 7th and 8th grade.


72. My first boyfriend was a cute as could be, but he was the ganster-child from hell. I wonder what ever happened to him.


73. If I ever get married again, I want to be barefoot on the beach on a tropical island.


74. I've always wanted to be a stepmother.


75. I'm looking forward to being a grandmother, but no time soon.


76. For a while I had a housekeeper come once a month to clean and do laundry. I loved it, except for when I cleaned up the night before I knew she was coming to clean up.


77. I'd love to have a housekeeper again. I love a clean house but I hate cleaning it. I hate doing laundry even more.


78. I once got to meet a real-life bush doctor in Jamaica.


79. I lived in a small town in Ontario Canada for 6 months. I hate cold weather.


80. I'm not at all anxious about turning 50 next year. I believe that 50 is the new 40 and people never guess my age correctly (thanks Mom for great genes).


81. If I could have chosen my mother, I would have picked the same one that God chose for me.


82. I wish all my exes could see me now. Happiness is the best revenge!


83. I wonder if any of my exes ever think about me, and if so, what they think.


84. If I can ask God three questions when I get to Heaven, one of them will be why black girls didn't get wash-and-wear hair like white girls.


85. I'm addicted to romance but I hate reading romance novels.


86. I prefer making gifts for the people I care most about, rather than giving store-bought gifts.


87. I legally changed my name in 2006 when my divorce was final... not just my last name, my ENTIRE name and I'm so glad I did.


88. I reached the District finals of the National Spelling Bee when I was in the 5th grade.


89. I regret that I wasn't wiser with my money when I was earning a lot of it.


90. I wish my father and I had been closer. I always wanted to be "Daddy's Girl".


91. I hate paperwork, especially having to file it.


92. I'm a morning person. When I'm feeling well, I usually get more done by 10 on Saturday mornings that most people do all day. But after mid-day, my energy level drops like a lead balloon.


93. I love hot weather. Give me 90 degrees in the shade and I'd be perfectly happy.


94. I truly appreicate the fine art of kissing.


95. "Pretty Woman" is my favorite fairy tale.


96. My comfort foods are Breyer's ice cream, shrimp fried rice and blackberry cobbler.


97. I have a pretty bad memory. The bad news is that I can't lie even if I want to because I wouldn't remember what I said. The good news is that a secret is safe with me because I'll forget it.


98. When I die, I don't want a funeral. I want my closest friends to eat, drink and be merry and share what I hope will be lots of happy memories of times we shared. Then I want my ashes to be spread at sea.


99. I'm going to make a Bucket List and post it here.


100. This was actually a lot of fun.