Crafty mama who knits, cooks and works!
111 things about me:
1. I was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, the “Far Northeast.”
2. I still worked in NE Philly up until I had my son in September of 2007.
3. All my life I wished I wasn’t from Philadelphia, as I didn’t feel like I met the stereotype of the typical Philly girl.
4. I live in the suburbs now, three minutes from the Willow Grove Mall.
5. The Mall opened when I was in eighth grade—I was 13.
6. Many of my high school and college days were spent at the Mall, shopping with my friend Rachel, mostly.
7. I worked in a card and gift shop at the Mall called Scribbles and Giggles during the summer of 1989.
8. I was a tour guide at my college, giving both academic tours and historical tours of the campus castle.
9. I lived in the castle (the Grey Towers Castle) my senior year of college. It was haunted.
10. I have a picture of one of the ghosts that resided there. It is pretty cool!
11. While in Graduate school I was a nanny for two kids.
12. I am still in touch with them and their lives, although now I am their friend.
13. I am very proud of their achievements---they are amazing kids! (ok, now they are young adults--which makes me feel really old!!)
14. I have always been artistic and “crafty.”
15. When I was a little kid I wanted to be a nurse or an art teacher.
16. I didn’t go into either career because I hate the sight of blood and my mom told me that it is hard to get a job as an art teacher. (She was right!)
17. Instead I studied psychology and counseling because the way people think fascinates me.
18. I was always a “good listener” and was the one my friends came to for advice.
19. I was a substance abuse counselor for almost ten years.
20. Now I am a clinical supervisor of a delinquency prevention program for teens (was until September 27, 2007.)
21. I was burned out from the drug/alcohol counseling and now am very happy with my current position.
22. I learned to knit at work. A co-worker taught me during a particularly slow summer. It was one of the best skills I ever learned at work!
23. I have been knitting for almost ten years, way before it was considered hip.
24. I like to do quick and simple projects because they give me a sense of accomplishment faster.
25. I tend to have at least four active projects going on at once. (with at least five more that I want to do.)
26. I tend to buy too much yarn and have a large stash.
27. I wish I could knit faster!
28. I also consider myself a calligrapher, but I haven’t done any work for that in a long time.
29. I taught myself Italic style calligraphy when I was 13. When I was in my early twenties I took a formal calligraphy class.
30. I used to do calligraphy for wedding invitations and party place cards before so many people turned to using computers and laser printers. I still prefer hand written invitations to laser printed ones. It is sort of like hand knitting vs. machine knitting. The flaws and imperfections are what make it a piece of art.
31. I entered a calligraphers contest a few years ago, but I didn’t win. C’est la vie!
32. I love going to the Philadelphia Flower Show every spring, but I hate the crowds.
33. I love colorful flowers, especially gerbera daisies and roses.
34. I have an herb garden in my yard. My favorite herbs to grow are basil, lavender, and rosemary.
35. I make my own pesto from the basil I grow in the garden and freeze it in batches for winter use. (Email me and I’ll send you the recipe.)
36. I went to France in March of 2004 and fell in love with the country.
37. If I could live anywhere else in the world, I would want to live in Paris in an apartment with a little balcony that opened up to a view of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower.
38. I speak very little French, but can read it a bit better. I took French language classes in school from seventh grade through twelfth grade. Unfortunately it didn’t stick in my head!
39. The farthest I have ever been from home (Pennsylvania) was Hawaii, where I spent nine days of my honeymoon.
40. Maui is beautiful. The second place I would live, after Paris, would be somewhere on Maui, maybe in Lahaina.
41. My husband and I have been married since 1998. We met in 1995.
42. Chris has a very warped sense of humor and is brilliant. Sometimes he is just a smartass!
43. He puts up with my need to hoard things, like toilet paper, yarn, and handbags.
44. I have a tendency to buy purses in my quest for the perfect purse. I haven’t found it yet, but will know it when I do.
45. My latest fetish involves Vera Bradley bags--they are collectible and come in so many pretty colors!
46. I think it is funny that women pay ridiculous sums of money for designer purses made out of plastic/vinyl.
47. I also collect cookbooks. I have a small bookcase in my kitchen full of them. I tend to buy them when I am on vacation to have a memento of the local cuisine.
48. I love to cook and bake, but don’t have enough time to do so during the week because of work. On the weekends I like to go out to eat. So, my cookbooks tend to collect dust at times.
49. I have periods in my life when I go on a creative streak and make lots of things from crafts to cooking. If only I could control those streaks on demand!
50. I tend to be bored easily and move from one thing to the next without finishing. My husband thinks I have adult ADHD. I disagree.
51. My distraction may contribute to the number of knitting projects I have going on at once!
52. I am quite liberal in my thinking, but I hate politics.
53. I am pro choice and pro child. Every child should be a wanted child.
54. I think war is pointless and a man-thing. If women ruled the world’s governments, I don’t think there would be any violent wars. (only an occasional cat fight.)
55. I grew up reading Ms. Magazine and reading biographies of famous women.
56. When I got married I didn’t change my name because of my feminist beliefs. I may have to live in a patriarchal society, but I don’t have to abide by all the rules!
57. My mother, who supplied the feminist reading materials to me as a child, could not understand why I didn’t change my name when I got married. She just addresses letters and cards to us using our first names. It makes me laugh.
58. I really like being married. We have fun despite the stress that goes along with life. I am so thankful that I don’t have to be on the “dating scene” anymore.
59. I don’t have any children, but would really like to be a mom someday. I think I would be a good mother. (ok, this has changed!! My son was born on September 28, 2007. I am a good mom!)
60. My husband is reluctant to have children. He doesn’t know where we would put one in our home. I think he would be a good dad. (He is!!)
61. We have a room in our house called “the Simpson’s room.” I named it that because it is where my husband houses his collection of the four fingered yellow people. He has everything from a Bart doll to a Homer cereal box. The weirdest thing I ever found that was a Simpson’s theme was a set of Russian nesting dolls that are hand painted with each Simpson character.
62. I used to collect Mary Engelbreit items. I still read her magazine, but I stopped buying “stuff” in my attempt to simplify and de-clutter my life.
63. I have a very hard time de-cluttering. I tend to collect stuff and then don’t know what to do with it. I am working on getting rid of unnecessary things. I need to learn how to sell on Ebay!!
64. I love to take pictures and wish I was a better photographer. I use a Canon PowerShot S80 digital camera that my husband gave me for Christmas.
65. I love playing around with my camera and need to learn how to use it better.
66. I like using the digital camera because I can save the pictures easier than having photo albums everywhere. Also, snapfish is a great service for sharing photos and ordering prints.
67. I don’t have any pets because my husband is allergic to animals. Growing up I always had cats. I miss them.
68. I hate it when my well meaning friends give me “cat things” because they think it will make up for the fact that I can’t have one now. It really makes it worse. (like salt in a wound)
69. I’d rather have my husband than a cat, at least most of the time!!
70. Someday I want to learn how to quilt. I really admire quilters and the beautiful works of art they create with fabric.
71. I have a sewing machine and have made small things (pillows, bags). I am not that great at it though.
72. I really like to travel and see new places, but I don’t like to be away from home that long.
73. My 88 year old grandmother lives in Sarasota, Florida. I try to visit her every year. I love Lido Beach and St. Armand’s Circle.
74. I love to watch really long movies in the theater.
75. I prefer comedies, mysteries and historical dramas in movies.
76. I like the same genres in books too. I tend to switch between “fluffy” stories and more intense and serious books.
77. I tend to keep the TV on when I am home alone for the noise. I hate hearing “house noises.”
78. I startle very easily and can be overly anxious. It is stupid, but I can’t help it.
79. I don’t have any TV shows that I “have to watch” weekly. I do like Desperate Housewives, Gray's Anatomy, Lost, Sex in the City, and the Sopranos. Sometimes I watch the Real World on MTV, but as I get older, it is becoming annoying.
80. My husband currently works for the cable company, so we get free cable, including the “premium” channels. I don’t think I would pay for all of it if it wasn’t free. Some people really hate the Cable Company!
81. I officially feel old now. I saw the “top ten” music list recently and did not recognize most of the artist names. I do not understand the popularity of most rap music.
82. I do like the Beastie Boys and somewhere (in the attic I think) have their first album on vinyl—Licensed to Ill.
83. My favorite musical group is U2. Someday I want to see them in concert. I also like No Doubt, Love Seed Mama Jump, and ABBA. At work I like to listen to Nora Jones because her music is soothing and calm.
84. My first rock concert was when I was 12. My mom took me and a friend to see Rick Springfield at the Philadelphia Spectrum. That was in 1982.
85. I have not been to that many rock concerts. I have seen Michael Jackson (1984), Genesis (1987), Madonna (1986), Billy Idol (1989), 10,000 Maniacs (1989), Peter Gabriel (1991?), Duran Duran (1992?), Crosby, Stills, and Nash (1990), Gloria Estefan (1996), and Shania Twain (2003). The last two were with my husband, who is a fan of theirs.
86. I gave my husband tickets to Shania Twain’s Up! Concert for our five year anniversary. It had been a sold out concert, but I was able to get tickets a few days before the show when they released some tickets that had been reserved. During the concert, Shania came out into the audience to sing one of the songs. She was sitting about four seats away from us in the row in front of us.
87. I have a secret desire to be famous for something wonderful someday. I’m not sure what, though.
88. I tend to stay up too late at night and am therefore constantly sleep deprived. I can’t help it; I like to watch David Letterman at night!
89. I am not religious anymore. I never felt accepted at church growing up. I do feel that I am a spiritual person and I believe in a higher power. I like to live my life by the golden rule or karma.
90. I believe that everything that happens has a reason or lesson to be learned, no matter how horrible it is.
91. I tend to be an optimist, except when I am anxious! I have a button/pin that says “Optimistic even in the face of reality!”
92. I am an aunt to two (now four, wait make that five!) really cute little kids. I actually see some of myself in them, which amazes me. Gotta love genetics!
93. I love the way I feel after I do yoga. I just wish I was able to do it more often.
94. I used to want to be a famous ice skater. Ice skating is my favorite part of the winter Olympics.
95. I doubt I can ice skate anymore! I used to be ok at it.
96. When I was in elementary school I played the flute and the violin. I quit both because I thought it wasn’t the cool thing to do. I regret it now.
97. I would like to learn to make glass beads and stained glass pieces someday. I love the way glass looks when light shines through it.
98. My favorite colors are periwinkle blue, baby pale pink, hot pink and lime (together), and most shades of purple.
99. I love to eat sliced strawberries on my cereal in the summer. I also like chocolate dipped strawberries.
100. I love Yankee candles. My favorite scents are Vintage (grape), Sweet Strawberry, Jack Frost, and Macintosh. I tend to like fruit smells over florals. I tend to use peppermint scented things when I am stressed or have a headache, as it relaxes me.
101. I like to go out for formal afternoon tea. I tend to keep a variety of teas at home for brewing. I also like to make fresh scones and eat them with lemon curd.
102. I love Starbuck’s caramel macchiato, but I think they are overpriced.
103. I would like to drive a sports car on a closed course at a very high speed someday. Not because I am interested in car racing, but I like to drive fast.
104. I hate stupid drivers. That would have to be my biggest pet peeve.
105. I admire Martha Stewart, despite her legal issues and personality flaws.
106. I am a Gemini and can be quite moody.
107. I really enjoy blogging and meeting people over the internet by reading other blogs. I love the internet and think it is an amazing invention!
108. I spent the year 2007 pregnant after years of trying to conceive.
109. I gave birth to my cutie son, Andrew, on September 28th, 2007, a week earlier than his due date.
110. I thought childbirth was difficult and painful. Being a parent is even more challeging when you are sleep deprived!
111. Andrew is growing up to be very curious and adventurous. He is a delight!
travel, knitting, calligraphy, yoga, gardening, disney world, rubber stamping, helping others, shopping, learning, hawaii, collecting, beaches, dreaming, surfing the web, being a mommy, traditional tea, mary engelbreit paraphanalia, rubber ducks, yankee candles, dq blizzards., cooking, movies, reading, love, psychology, feminism, baking, education, france, crafting, paris, marriage, ocean, buying yarn, aura soma, gourmet shops, being a girly girl, re-decorating, gerbera daisies, colorful flowers