I didn't do a 100th post because a couple of them were correction and addendum posts(before I used Live Writer), which I figure really shouldn't count. Because I always like to be on the up and up, I figured the unwritten rule book, which I've gleaned from other peoples blogs, meant 100 real posts. For me, that meant day 100. Which should be April 2, if my math is right. I cannot even believe I've only been doing this since Christmas Day 2007. And I have actual readers. I imagine that there are many people toiling away on their blogs after day 100 with a handful of friends and family reading them. But friends, I got lucky. Lucky in a big way.
I happened to be reading Derfwad Manor virtually as Mrs. G put out the word on the first Slow Cook Thursday. Never one to miss an opportunity, I composed and sent my Slow Cook Thursday post within the hour. I got the call-back before she'd even written the interview questions. I won the blog lotto--I was Mrs. G's first Slow Cook Thursday. The rest as they say, is history.
I also have to thank the lovely and intellectual Mary Alice from From The Frontlines who not only offered me early encouragement, she was my first commenter. Plus, she's a fellow "non-traditional" student with 3 teenagers at home, so she's my soul sister.
Okay, enough about the amazing, wonderful, blogger-to-whom-I-shall-be-eternally-grateful, Mrs. G.; on to me. In the grand tradition of the blogosphere, I give you 100 things about me on day 100 of Juggling Life. As an aside, if I thought I was juggling life before I started this blog, I was seriously deluded.
1. I was a natural blonde as a child; I'm still a blonde, it's just not natural.
2. I am an oldest child. Well, except for my dad's various love children, but I don't really know them so it doesn't count.
3. I was so painfully shy as a child that today I would probably be diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder today.
4. I had an epiphany at 14 that everyone else was just as terrified as me and that if I could be the one to make the first move they would be so happy they'd be my friend. I was right.
5. I got married at 23.
6. My husband and I started saving for retirement the day we got married.
7. I believe in having the best and most insurance you can afford.
8. I am a very strict parent.
9. But not as strict as I used to be.
10. I don't think I've ever been bored with my life.
11. I've never traveled out of North America, but I will someday.
12. The 80's were the party decade. I was in my late teens and 20's in the 80's. You do the math.
13. I was the biggest procrastinator in the world as a child.
14. I never procrastinate as an adult.
15. I never did my homework as a child.
16. I always do my homework now.
17. I'm terrified that my son will repeat my 18 year old mistake of thinking I was too smart to need to study in college just because I never had to do it in high school.
18. I have food issues.
19. I am a very good cook.
20. I am 44 and have lost half my birth family to cancer. That scares me.
21. I exercise 5 days a week. It hasn't made me thinner, but it does make me feel better.
22. The only time I've ever been depressed was when I had an adverse reaction to a common antibiotic. The depression lasted 5 days before the doctor figured out what the problem was. For the first time in my life I could relate to people who had thoughts of suicide. This incident left me with great empathy and respect for people who have to fight that fight.
23. My husband thinks I'm funny.
24. My kids are not convinced.
25. I am a loyal and true friend.
26. I am a problem-solver extraordinaire.
27. I am a good speller. I have a chalkboard in my brain on which I can write words. I didn't realize not everyone did not have that until Big Red (not a good speller) was in 3rd grade, and the teacher informed me he did not possess the brain chalkboard.
28. My favorite artist is Gustav Klimt.
29. I love quilts and quilting shows. Someday I will learn to quilt.
30. I like music but I'm not one of those people who cannot live without music.
31. I'm a huge fan of National Public Radio.
32. A.M. talk radio makes we want to drive my car into a brick wall.
33. I am fastidious about my oral health and have my teeth cleaned every 3 months.
34. I'm a neat freak, but not a germophobe. I totally think a little of the right kind of bacteria boosts your immune system.
35. I like to camp. Backpacking, not so much.
36. I count my blessings every night before I go to sleep.
37. When I was a little girl in Santa Monica, I was constantly mistaken for Tatum O'Neal. I ended up just giving autographs.
38. I love my blog--and probably your blog too!
39. I didn't used to be a big animal person, but Danger Boy changed me. Now I will always have a beagle.
40. I'm not much of an artist myself, but I am a good art teacher for children.
41. I can be crafty.
42. I'm pretty vain.
43. I would rather my hair be stylish than pretty.
44. If I wasn't going to be a teacher, I think I'd be a pretty good lawyer.
45. I'm personally conservative and socially liberal.
46. When my kids were younger, I took them swimming every single day from April through October.
47. I've never been able to be part of any organization and not end up with a leadership position of some sort.
48. I will never be the treasurer of any organization.
49. I have number dyslexia. Don't laugh, it's real. I once owed the IRS a whopping fine because I wrote them a check for $18.00 instead of $81.00.
50. I hate to sell things.
51. I played Field Hockey in high school.
52. My parents used to take books away from me as punishment.
53. I used to ride my bike by O.J. Simpson's Brentwood house on the way to Baskin-Robbins.
54. I hate string cheese. I love all other cheeses.
55. My favorite flower is Bearded Iris.
56. I clean whenever I talk on the phone.
57. I am not a morning person. I used to be a late-night person, but now I'm really more of a middle-of-the-day person.
58. When I cook I almost always cook extra and freeze the leftovers.
59. I tried to cut my boys' hair once. It was a disaster. Thank goodness they were too young to remember it.
60. If I come from a trip (to the mall or the East Coast) to a dirty house, my head will explode. It has happened.
61. I didn't do laundry for almost 5 years after I got married. I was in a car accident about 3 weeks after our wedding; my husband had to do the laundry and it just became a habit.
62. My husband and I are raising our kids to know the value of a dollar and to have a strong work-ethic.
63. I love to take photographs of children and sports.
64. I've worked outside the home for 5 to 10 hours a week for 17 years. I think it's been great to have that, and not just for the money.
65. I love jewelry. My husband loves to buy jewelry. It works.
66. I lived in Mazatlan for 6 months when I was five.
67. I have my mother's features and my father's coloring.
68. Even though I did not grow up knowing my biological father very much, I am shocked by the ways in which we are similar.
69. In the last year I lost a sister, but regained a relationship with a stepsister. That relationship means the world to me.
70. I am strong.
71. My drink is a Vodka Collins.
72. I read James Michener's Centennial in one weekend when I was sixteen. (The only other thing I did that weekend was go the bathroom a couple of times).
73. I drink a lot of water, I always have. Probably 80 oz. a day.
74. If I get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I brush my teeth.
75. I've never tried to be a perfect parent. I'm content to be a good enough parent--I think it's better for me and for my kids.
76. I told my mom I was going all-night roller skating at Aquarius Rollerena every Saturday night of my senior year in high school. I've never been all night roller skating.
77. I check up on my teenagers. See above.
78. I've never had any surgery; well, except for oral surgery.
79. I love going to the movies. When my husband and I were first married, we sometimes went to 3 movies a week. We'll do it again once the nest is empty.
80. My favorite place to vacation with my family is Mammoth Lakes, in the summer.
81. I ride a mountain bike down from the top of the mountain once every summer. That's enough. The rest of the time I like to go around a lake. Little ups and little downs are more my speed,.
82. I am a laundry savant. I can get the stains out of anything. My family and friends call me the "Queen of Laundry." It's not ideal, but at least I'm the queen of something.
83. The song "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks still makes me cry. Yes, I know it's a pretty lame song.
84. I was the shortest person in my family as a kid and I'm the shortest person in my family today. They frequently mock me.
85. It is not unheard of for me to lose my temper.
86. I still feel badly about a very funny, but very mean, thing I said in the 8th grade. Yes, I've apologized for it.
87. I think life's too short to hold a grudge. That philosophy is why I have a relationship with my biological father.
88. My step dad walked me down the aisle. He and my mother were divorced by then.
89. I am frugal, but not cheap.
90. I've kept the same houseplant alive for over 20 years. My husband and I bought it for our first apartment.
91. My friends think I should give assertiveness-training classes.
92. I don't get sad when my kids are leaving a stage behind; I get excited about what's ahead for them.
93. I have always been happy, but I'm really happy now.
94. I am super competitive, but I can laugh at myself about it.
95. My favorite color is cobalt blue.
96. I love organizing things.
97. Thanksgiving and Fourth of July are my favorite holidays.
98. I am an extrovert.
99. My nose is crooked from where it was broken when a scooter fell on it when I was eight. I had the chance to have it fixed when I was a teenager, but I wouldn't have been able to swim for most of the summer, so I passed. I'm glad I did.
100. I used to be a Diet Coke addict. Now I'm 95% soda and caffeine-free.
Wow, that was harder than I thought it would be. If you made it to the bottom, I appreciate your interest!
