51. States I have traveled to: Washington (Spokane, Seattle); Oregon (Portland); California (San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Napa & Sonoma — this was all in one trip); Nevada (Las Vegas); (also in one trip, a month-long drive across the country): Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North & South Dakota, Nebraska (just drove through), Iowa, Wisconsin, and so on — there were other states on this trip, obviously, but this is the only time I visited those listed here; Florida; Ohio, several times — Cleveland doesn’t totally suck to visit; Illinois (Chicago); Indiana (Noblesville, Indianapolis); Maryland, several times — I really like Baltimore’s Inner Harbor; New York (NYC); New Jersey (kind of adjacent to our NYC trip); Massachusetts (Boston, Cape Cod); Rhode Island (Providence); Washington, D.C.; West Virginia (just little pop-ins); Kentucky (Louisville — Hi, Laura, remember me??).
52. My favorite book of all time (non-fiction) is The Chicago Manual of Style. DearDR bought the 15th edition for me for Mother’s Day in 2006. No, I did not kick his ass.
53. My favorite movie is Blade Runner (I am partial to the original cut); my second favorite is The Princess Bride. If I had to pick a third, I would be hard-pressed to choose between O Brother Where Art Thou? and the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
54. My favorite author is Stephen King. For Mother’s Day this year I went and picked up his new book Duma Key, and read the first three chapters at the bookstore.
55. My favorite Stephen King book is The Stand — either version, abridged or unabridged.
56. Other top authors on my shelves: J. K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood, Susan Cooper, Madeline L’Engle, Guy Gavriel Kay, Neil Gaiman, C. S. Lewis, and Michael Chabon.
57. I am planning to re-read the entire Harry Potter series this summer (2008).
58. I am hoping DearDR will read it, too, and we can discuss it.
59. After all, I have read all of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books, including The Hobbit.
60. And I have seen all the movies with him, in the theaters, too. DearDR… to say that DearDR is a fan of the Tolkien books is the understatements of all understatements. DearDR, if I would let him get away with it, would become a Tolkien scholar — just like the ones on the Lord of the Rings DVDs extras. DearDR, while watching the movies, can tell you if a character said the lines of dialogue in the books; if not, who did say them; and if not at the moment portrayed in the movie, when in the book.
61. Yes, I married a geek.
62. While we’re on the subject, DearDR better be planning to see all the Narnia movies with me, in the theater. So far, we have seen all the Harry Potters together. Maybe we missed Goblet of Fire in the theaters. I know we missed one.
63. The Narnia books and movies are my Lord of the Rings.
64. And it drives me nuts when we see the Harry Potter movies, and DearDR wants to know if such-and-such is in the book, and when/if such-and-such dies. My invariable response is, “Read the book.”
65. I seem to have gotten off-topic here, which is unusual. Sorry about that. More about me:
66. I used to be much more organized than I am now. It was easier for me to be organized before I got married and had children. Compared to my husband, however, I am the paragon of organization.
67. I am an avid list maker. I make lists daily. Who to call about what, errands to run, bills to pay, what to buy at the store. I can fly without a list, but it’s not pretty.
68. My Pandora stations (and the bands who are on them): Death Cab for Cutie; X; Bob Mould (Husker Du, Sugar); No Doubt; Gnarls Barkley (Red Hot Chili Peppers); Hem (Feist, Lucinda Williams, Madeline Peyroux, Sheryl Crow, Sun Kil Moon, The Innocence Mission); Joseph Arthur (Tori Amos, The Decemberists, John Mayer), Wilco (Fountains of Wayne, Radiohead), and The White Stripes (Green Day, Pixies, The Clash, The Kinks).
69. Bands I have heard on my stations whose albums I would now like to buy (those already listed, of course): The Killers, Black Keys, Sun Kil Moon, Interpol’s most recent, The Breeders most recent.
70. Other tops bands in my collection: Pearl Jam, U2, Beck, Coldplay, Modest Mouse, and The Shins.
71. When I get tired of listening to everything else, I turn to hip-hop, rap, and R&B. My CD collection includes Eminem, Missy Elliot, Outkast, and the Black-Eyed Peas. I don’t have enough!
72. With the comp time I am getting from all this overtime I am putting in, I am going to see Radiohead in Cleveland. DearDR has already offered to baby sit! (Of course, he was offering to baby sit for my brother-in-law-in-law — this is what I call Earthmom’s husband — I just jumped on the offer.)
73. Every summer my family — my whole extended Dad-side of the family — heads to Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, for a few days (some people come for the weekend; some for the week). This is roughly 150 people once you count spouses and children.
74. On my father’s side, I have 17 first cousins. On my mother’s side, I have 10.
75. I am the oldest child in my family. Being firstborn has its privileges — and its hassles.
76. On my mother’s side, I am the oldest grandchild. I beat my closest cousin by five months.
77. On my father’s side, I am on the younger side — my sister is the youngest grandchild. I’m about… 11th or 12th.
78. I have lived alone, in my own apartment. I think everyone should live alone at some point in her/his life. It teaches you to rely on your own resources.
79. I think you should also live with members of the same sex and members of the opposite sex (as roommates only). (That’s not the Catholic in me speaking — well, not completely — it’s experience.) (And while we’re at it, women should always have women friends. You need girlfriends, girlfriend!)
80. I chose special lullabies for my girls. For Monkey, I used to sing “Edelweiss”. For Bun, I picked “The Rainbow Connection”.
81. Now, I usually sing a silly lullaby or two for Monkey (along the lines of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star-io” or “Rock-a-bye Baby-seeta” — her suggestion) and for Bun I usually sing “You Are My Sunshine”.
82. I don’t know if you’re familiar with “You Are My Sunshine”, the real song. It’s not exactly lullaby material (neither is “Rock-a-bye Baby” come to that). We’ve changed (well, DearDR changed) the lyrics of the second verse: “The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping/ I dreamt I held you in my arms/ When I awoke, dear, you were beside me/ And I closed my eyes and smiled.” (If you don’t know, those last two lines are actually: “When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken/ Please don’t take my sunshine away.” It’s really a heartbreaking song.) There, now you’ve had a little lyrical lesson.
83. I am thoroughly addicted to coffee. I drink about four cups every morning.
84. I have given up coffee — once, completely, for Lent. The headache lasted a week.
85. I cut back on caffeine a lot when I was pregnant with Monkey, and cut back a little when I was pregnant with Bun.
86. And I mean, COFFEE. If my stomach could tolerate it, I would drink it black. Not cappuccino, espresso, frappaccino, whipped caramel lattes with sprinkles.
87. Strong coffee. With lots of cream.
88. I have weight issues. Not the usual “I need to lose 5 pounds” weight issues, just the opposite. If I am not careful about what I eat, I will LOSE weight.
89. I know you hate me now.
90. I am still trying to get back up to my goal weight of 130 pounds.
91. It would help if I could fit some weight training into my schedule. Muscle weighs more.
92. I am skinny, but I am out of shape. Every day I try to figure out how to get an exercise routine into my schedule. I haven’t solved it yet. Getting up at 4 a.m. just isn’t going to happen.
93. I am 5-feet, 10-inches tall in my bare feet.
94. I love to wear heels, but they are hell on my lower back.
95. I have worn glasses since I was in 2nd grade.
96. I have worn gas-permeable, rigid contact lenses since I was in 8th grade. While I would like to switch to soft contact lenses, the thought of LASIK terrifies me.
97. Naveen Andrews is my marriage clause. It used to be Hugh Jackman — and could go back to him when the Wolverine movie hits the theaters. (If you don’t know what a marriage clause is, the idea behind it is: You pick a famous person for whom you lust. If you ever get a crack at said person, go for it; no consequences. DearDR’s is usually Mariska Hargitay.)
98. I chipped my right front tooth in half when I was 9 years old. I have had a root canal, and twice undergone “bonding” to repair it. It looks like shit, and I really need to have it capped.
99. When I smile for pictures, I usually keep my lips closed. My mom says this is too bad, because she thinks my smile is my best feature.
100. I have green eyes. I think they are my best feature.

If you have not done this on your blog (or in your journal), I challenge you to do it. See how long it takes! I formally tag all the Burgh Moms out there to do it. I’ll add the links here as I get ‘em. Have fun! (If you’ve already done it, and want me to link to it, just let me know.)


Posted by in Uncategorized