About Mom 101

Okay so I’ve read about this challenge to write 101 things about yourself, and it sounded more interesting than just a few paragraphs so here’s my 101 things about me:

1. I am a Christian and God and my faith is very important to me…
2. but from time to time I get caught up in the daily tasks of life and lose track of priorities…
3. still, I enjoy finding time to read the Bible and other devotional books, and yes, I have read the entire Bible.
4. I teach 4-5 year old Sunday School at my church.
5. I went to a “religious” university.
6. I graduated just .02 short of cum laude (a fact which burns me to this day!).
7. I graduated with a degree in Creative Writing, which apparently is less than marketable!
8. I don’t care. I wouldn’t change a thing.
9. I love to write and if I am not employed in a way that uses my writing skills, I find other ways to make myself write meaningfully…like this blog…
10. and the 2 other blogs I write…
11. and the various journals I keep when I feel like it, remember, and/or have time.
12. I have worked as a marketing writer…
13. a freelance writer (news and magazines and online content)…
14. and I am a big fan of the ellipsis… get used to it.
15. I worked for 3 years at ESPN in their International Soccer Department.
16. Yes, I love soccer.
17. No, I do not know PersonXYZ who work/worked at ESPN (Inet Soccer is/was a very small department, worked opposite hours from most other production depts, and it was over 6 years ago!)
18. I wrote several TV Commercial scripts while I was there and they were aired.
19. I even produced some of my scripts.
20. They were terrible. I still have the tapes.
21. I secretly always wanted to act in TV commercials…
22. because I think I’d look good as the mom who has too many stains on her laundry…
23. I went back to school to get my Master’s in Education…
24. and was forced to completely redo my Bachelor’s degree in order to teach in CT…
25. but I did it and became an English teacher in a middle school in the 8th/7th grade…
26. and I’m still alive…barely…
27. eventually I became Teacher of the Year 2010…
28. still not sure why…
29. but I got a nice parking spot up front while I was pregnant with Asher, which was very helpful!
30. I like teaching the Writer’s Workshop method…
31. and I teach with a clipboard constantly in my hands…
32. I miss my teacher friends from school…
33. but I like staying home with my baby and husband more than teaching though!
34. I plan to home school my children because I believe I know best how to educate them well.
35. I used to mountain bike in high school.
36. I played tennis and soccer in college … poorly.
37. I started coaching cross country at my middle school and got really into running…
38. …even won a trophy in a cross country series…
39. but that’s b/c were only 2 other women in my age group! ha ha!
40. I even ran a 1/2 marathon in Hartford, CT before I got prego.
41. I would like to run another 1/2 marathon someday.
42. I like hiking with my husband.
43. We recently started camping so we share the outdoors with Asher and future children.
44. I secretly wish I could climb Mount Everest.
45. But that’s no way to die.
46. So I read every book I can about mountain climbing and Mount Everest.
47. I share this passion with my father-in-law. Which is pretty cool if you ask me.
48. My favorite novel EVER is Wuthering Heights.
49. My favorite author is Shakespeare, followed by Jane Austen, followed by L.M. Montgomery.
50. What can I say, I guess I’m not a fan of American Literature?
51. I enjoy watching plays, orchestra concerts, opera.
52. My favorite type of writing is poetry writing…
53. …although ironically I resist reading poetry…
54. …but when I do I totally love it and can’t get enough until I get distracted from reading poetry and then later resist it again…it’s a vicious cycle.
55. I hate my clothes.
56. Unfortunately, I do like to dress nicely and look good.
57. If I had a million dollars I would pay someone to choose outfits for me that actually matched and were accessorized because that is my LEAST favorite thing to do.
58. I can’t believe I’m only 1/2 way done… I don’t think I’m going to make 101. That rhymed.
59. I am a compulsive “straightener” – if I see things misaligned I have to straighten them.
60. This compulsion carries over into other areas as well – like layouts of documents – if a form is given to me and it isn’t well organized or laid out neatly, I have to retype the whole thing so it looks good.
61. Sometimes people like this about me and ask me to do all their re-typing.
62. Other times, I think people are annoyed at me for this. Oh well.
63. I touch type.
64. I have tested at 101 wpm with 3 mistakes.
65. I also self-correct using the backspace key a lot so I don’t know if that counts.
66. I have been to Italy, Uruguay and Canada.
67. I have visited over 1/2 the states in America.
68. I love coffee and chocolate.
69. I worked at a chocolate store for 5+ years in high school/college.
70. I never got tired of eating chocolate.
71. My manager said I ate more chocolate than anyone she’d ever had work for her.
72. I can sew…
73. But not clothing so much.
74. I have made 4 quilts…
75. but my husband still is wondering when I will sew missing buttons onto his shirts!
76. I love love love being a mom…
77. I always wanted to have twins…
78. but now I think I was crazy! One at a time is enough!
79. My favorite flowers are irises…
80. we have more than 6 different colors/varieties in our gardens…
81. we grow a lot of perennials…
82. most of them are “heirloom-ed” from my mother’s, grandmother’s, and friends’ gardens…
83. my husband is a wonderful gardener and loves to pick me flower arrangements from our gardens.
84. I am a compulsive list maker…
85. sometime I’ll rewrite lists I make just because they aren’t neat enough (see #57)
86. I designed my own grocery shopping list in Word that raises eyebrows when I take it to the store…
87. on a clipboard…some habits die-hard.
88. I enjoy making apple pies…with lots of cinnamon!
89. I like cats and dogs…
90. we were going to be foster parents to raise puppies to become guide dogs for Fidelco…
91. unfortunately my husband is allergic.
92. I can’t do accents to save my life – they always turn into southern drawls!
93. I laugh at my own jokes (someone has to!)
94. I am very self-conscious…
95. but people always tell me I am so outgoing…
96. I enjoy public speaking…
97. until right before I have to get up in front and actually publicly speak… but I’m fine once I get into it!
98. I want to publish a novel someday…
99. or maybe a children’s picture book…
100. After writing all this, I realize that I’ve had a pretty good, interesting, and full life already…
101. And I thank God for it!

…Hey, that was kind of fun… the editor in me wants to go through this list and polish and re-arrange…but I think I’ll just let this rough-cut version do it’s work.