100+ Things About Me

1. I’m a Christian. I belong to a Lutheran church and I teach Sunday school. But, most of all, I am a Christian. Plain and simple.
2. I’m a liberal. I am a member of the Democratic party but I think I identify myself as a liberal. And even more than that, as an American.
3. I never thought I’d get married. But I actually found Prince Charming and got married at the ripe old age of 31.
4. I’m a joiner. I’ve always loved joining clubs and groups. I’m always looking for an opportunity to get involved and meet people.
5. I love volunteering and doing community service but it seems like I never have enough time to do everything that I’d like to do.
6. I am owned by one black and white cat named Toulouse.
7. I’m a Texan (fourth generation…not a fake Texan like the former President) living in California.
8. I have taken up knitting and sewing and I love it. It’s a meditation and it makes me happy to make things for people.
9. I love giving gifts and shopping for people. It is one of my great joys.
10. I am a big reader. I love surrounding myself with books. I collect signed first editions and my books are always one of the first things I unpack when I move. Getting them in order gives me a sense of comfort.
11. I’m a movie buff. I will see just about anything. Within reason.
12. I’m a cookie monster. I can’t control myself around chocolate chip cookies.
13. I adore Baskin Robbins peanut butter and chocolate ice cream.
14. My comfort food is macaroni and cheese.
15. I’m a highly sensitive person. Some might call me “high-strung.”   And they have.
16. I read the definition of “Success” commonly attributed to Emerson almost every day and I feel frustrated that I’m not achieving it.
17. I don’t suffer fools gladly.
18. I am impatient and I have a temper although I'm getting better at controlling it.
19. I like freebies and goodie bags.
20. I enjoy reading parenting magazines and celebrity entertainment mags.
21. I love cookbooks although I don’t do much cooking.
22. I'm a wee bit claustrophobic.
23. I would have liked to go into musical theater but I lacked talent.
24. I like traditional church services. Give me the standard litany and old-fashioned hymns. Electric guitars and Starbucks coffee cups don’t belong in my idea of church.
25. I have a weird sense of humor and love to laugh.
26. I like shows that have conspiracy angles like “X-Files” and “Lost” and "Fringe."
27. I love the shows on pay channels like HBO although I feel guilty subscribing to them.
28. I have been known to get involved in reality shows much to my embarrassment.
29. I became a mom on May 18, 2008.  I never thought it would happen. It's my greatest blessing.
30. I work in a library although I’m not a librarian.
31. I actually have a Master’s degree in anthropology and museum studies.
32. I love to travel. I wish I could do it more often. On my wish list: Spain, Ireland, Thailand, Kenya, China, India, anything in South America.  And I have to get back to Italy.
33. I can’t stand to be hot at night. I have to have the room freezing cold to be able to sleep.
34. When I sleep, I have to have the covers pulled up under my nose.
35. I’m an only child and I am adopted.
36. My father died when I was 23. He was hit by a car while walking across the street. I miss him every day.
37. My maternal grandfather was in the Texas House of Representatives. He survived being picked up in his car by a tornado.
38. Although people will tell you differently, I am very shy person. I never know what to say and I am awkward in social situations. I find it difficult to make friends.
39. I never feel like I do enough for or give enough to other people.
40. I peaked in high school. My grades were good, I got in lots of honor societies and won awards and my potential was high. I burned out in college. Grad school was pathetic. But I finished.
41. I would love to own a bookstore. I pass an empty storefront where I live almost every day and imagine what it would be like to turn it into a children’s bookstore or a rare books bookstore.
42. I have a weird body thing where I think I am actually thinner than I am. I’m always amazed to see how big I am in photographs.
43. My husband embodies the top five on my list of characteristics in a man that I vowed I would never consider. Guess having all five together cancelled out my vow. Never say never.
44. I used to have a pretty bad shopping problem. I was trying to reinvent myself and ended up overdoing it. That and the fact that I love buying things for other people.
45. I love it when I get handmade things from my creative friends. Handmade gifts are the best. Second would be gift cards that allow me to have special outings with my loved one. (ie. movie gift cards or gift memberships to museums)
46. I love getting things in the mail. Especially random cards from friends. Nothing makes my day like getting a surprise card or package in the mail.  Real mail....not e-mail.
47. I am addicted to tall, non-fat, no whipped peppermint Starbucks mochas.
48. I can’t live without sparkling water.
49. I can’t leave a bookstore without buying a book.
50. I want to be runner. I really do. If I can just figure out how to get started and stay motivated.
51. I love shoes. No matter how much weight I seem to gain, my shoe size stays the same.
52. I’m like a child. I get really cranky if I have low blood sugar, if I’m hot or if I’m tired.
53. I hate my teeth. I’ve had braces three times and they still aren't the way I want them.
54. I have to sleep with two pillows….one for my head and one for between my knees.
55. Keb’ Mo’s music inspires me and makes me happy. So does Lyle Lovett's.
56. I have lots of favorite books but some of the best are POSSESSION by A.S. Byatt and a ROOM WITH A VIEW by E.M Forster.
57. I am a chronic nail-biter.
58. When I was younger, I didn’t want to grow up. I liked being a kid. I still miss it.
59. I had a whole host of imaginary friends when I was younger. In fact, I had whole fantasy worlds. If only I had had a Wardrobe to go through.
60. I love body products and anti-aging products. I keep thinking I’ll find a miracle cure for wrinkles and perfect skin.  So far, I haven't. 
61. I was in therapy for several years. It didn’t help. But I have seen it help other people.
62. I had really bad depression for a few years. I think it was hormone-related.
63. I would love to drive a minivan someday.
64. I really really really love NPR.
65. I am an INFJ in the Myers-Briggs personality test.
66. I am a 4 (romantic) in the enneagram. (with #9 [peacemaker] coming in second)
67. I love getting dressed up in costumes. My favorite costume is my Lara Croft costume.
68. I really like a good Renaissance festival. And sometimes I even dress up.
69. I wish I could go to the theater more often. I really enjoy the symphony, ballet, opera and plays.
70. I am passionate about Shakespeare.
71. I am half Mexican and half Irish.
72. My mom's hot tea with lemon always makes me feel better.
73. Even though it was tough growing up there, I miss the community I grew up in in Dallas.
74. My favorite clothing stores are Sundance, J.Jill and Anthropologie. (and Neiman Marcus although I rarely buy anything) I almost exclusively shop for clothes through catalogs and I buy more children's clothing than clothes for myself now.
75. I really love driving around looking at Christmas lights. Gary thinks my fascination is crazy.
76. I enjoy a good night of board games and I'm constantly looking for new ones.
77. When I was younger, I really wanted to be a comedic actress.
78. I'm a member of the Junior League. (since 2002!)
79. I'm a member of my local Woman's Club. (it's kind of like the WI in "Calendar Girls" but with more food and alcohol) I'll be President in 2012.
80. Halloween is my favorite holiday but I love Christmas too. In fact, I love the whole holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year's.
81. I enjoy giving parties and having people over to my house.
82. I love taking baths. My bathroom is filled with bath bombs, bubbles and bath oils. It's my private time to relax and read.
83. If Gary would let me, I'd fill our house with delicately scented candles.
84. I have a compulsion to put things into order. Which is probably why I work in a library.
85. I used to have a preschool storytime. I think it is so fun to work with toddlers and preschoolers.
86. I enjoy singing even though I'm not much of a singer. I got a karaoke machine one Christmas and I used to go in the back bedroom and use it all by myself.
87. I can be very misanthropic sometimes. People can really frustrate me.
88. I love museums. I make a special effort to attend traveling exhibitions. Sometimes, I will even travel to a city just to see an exhibition.
89. I used to work in the Latin American Art department of the San Antonio Museum of Art. It was wonderful.
90. I was in a local sorority in college. I never thought I would join a sorority but these women were so cool that I did it. I regret that I wasn't more active in it.
91. I took piano lessons from age 5 through age 15. I didn't like it when I was taking lessons. Now, I find it relaxing.
92. I love to dance. I never took ballet although I wish I had. I did take tap when I was younger. And some jazz dance in high school.
93. I was a cheerleader in middle school. Along with 100 other girls. We were part of a pep squad that took turns cheering. I hated cheering. I loved the dancing.
94. I have a fear of cyborgs.
95. I have regular nightmares about Gary leaving me or something happening to Noodlebug.
96. It comforts me when my cat sleeps next to me.
97. Someone once described me as a combination of Mary Katherine Gallagher (from Saturday Night Live), Daria (from MTV) and Xena/Lara Croft. I see myself as someone more like Amelie (from the French movie of the same title).
98. All of my romantic sensibilities were formed by "A Room with a View." When I went to Italy for the first time, I searched for a handsome Englishman in a wheat field. I didn't find him. I went back years later with a handsome Italian-Irishman on my honeymoon. We stayed in the same hotel where the movie was filmed.
99. I can get very emotional about fictional characters in books and movies. They often become real to me.
100. I love being a mom. I hate being a full-time-work-outside-the-home mom.
101. The first Christmas present I ever specifically asked for as a child was a Nat King Cole record. I still love him today. (I'm a big fan of classic pop/jazz standards)
102. I have developed a new fear of being homeless. 
103. If I could just win $150,000 in the lottery my life would completely change.  I dream of getting out of debt.
104.  I wish I were creative enough to come up with a wonderful handmade product I could sell on Etsy. Instead, I spend way too much money on Etsy buying other people's wonderful handmade products.
105. If you have read this far, I'm impressed. One of my greatest desires is to be understood.