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Jun
30
June 30, 2006
Well, it’s official. Everything is on Wikipedia now.
Elkton is the area we’re traveling to on Saturday. I say “area” because we won’t even be in Elkton, with its population of 147 and disturbingly homogenized racial makeup, we’ll be several miles down the road at a curve in the Umpqua River where JB’s family cabin is.
So for all of next week, here’s where I’ll be:
JB loves that summer cabin, and I imagine Riley will grow to enjoy it just as much. Me…I wish it weren’t quite so far away, because after Hour Six crawls by on that slog down I-5 the whole ‘get away from it all’ aspect starts losing its appeal.
I always have a good time once I’m there, though. And lord knows I need a suntan. I look like something raised in a mushroom farm.
In my absence, I have posts scheduled to go up each weekday at Purple Is a Fruit. My bright idea was to write somewhat new-somewhat recycled entries about pregnancy, so if by chance you want to read about my constipation and water retention AGAIN…uh, awesome. You’re very kind. They’ll be over here.
Also, I wanted to steal an idea from my friend Kristin. I have four questions for you:
1. Who do you live with?
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
3. What are you proud of?
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
If you are up for it, I’d love to read your answers in the comments section. I had so much fun spying on Kristin’s readers; hearing from you guys would just tickle me Elmo. Er, pink.
In the spirit of quid-pro-quoism, here are my answers:
1. I live with my husband JB, my 10-month old son Riley, a perpetually pissed off Cat and a water-loving, fur-shedding Dog.
2. At my office job I write blog entries (for Workplace’s blog), press releases, advertising copy, website content, and lots of cranky emails about the development process of our software. At home I play peekaboo, retrieve dropped toys, say “that’s the doggie!” a lot, and attempt to meet Riley’s various nutritional, sleep, and grooming needs.
3. I’m proud of the mother I am becoming. I’m proud of having found ways to spend as much time writing as I do. I’m proud of my ability to find things on Google.
4. I love my family (pets included), taking photos and tinkering with them digitally, trashy celebrity magazines, the smell of autumn, and most things that contain sugar. I hate spiders, having contractors in my house, the bumpy skin on my upper arms, people who refuse to let me merge from the Montlake eastbound onramp onto 520, and tentatively waving back to someone who is actually waving at someone behind me.
No pressure or anything, it’s just that I’ll look forward to reading your answers all week long. It’s just that I’ll be completely crushed and disappointed if I don’t hear from you. But, you know, NO BIG.
Okay! Off to Oregon, then. You people have a wonderful week, a fantastic holiday – if you’re celebrating – and I’ll talk to you when I get back.
:::
(P.S. I just left this in the comments, but I am AMAZED and totally enjoying reading about you guys. Seriously, this is awesome and I will read every single thing you post. This is now what I’m doing instead of PACKING, so if I forget the sunscreen it’s alllllll your fault.)
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173 Responses to “Heading to a van down by the river”
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1. I live with my boyfriend of 5 years, our 5 ferrets, a lovebird, and a tank full o’ saltwater fish.
2. At work I make webpages and HTML emails, I write stuff (like promotional copy), I plan stuff (like photo shoots), I coordinate stuff (like printing collateral materials). Oh, and I talk to guys in white coats covered in blood.
3. I’m proud of the achievements I’ve made in my academic life (you know, placing in my class, scholarships, getting into grad school, winning awards, that kind of thing). I’m also proud of the fact that I’ve actually managed to learn things from mistakes I’ve made.
4. LOVE: (1) My family — I include the boyfriend in that group (2) My friends — they rock my world
3) Travelling to new places (4) Cheesecake. HATE: (1) Bad drivers, even marginally bad or neglectful drivers (2) The fact that I NEED to have towels and sheets hang straight. I JUST NEED THEM TO! (3) When you say “excuse me” to people or do something else polite and they don’t say anything back or say “thank you” or do anything else to return (or even recognize) the polite gesture (4) Movies, TV shows, or books where animals are hurt for no good reason. Even though I know it’s fiction, it haunts me–every time.
1. ) I live with my husband Bob and our four (yes you heard me) cats.
2.) At my office job I proof annuity paperwork and key deposit information…and various other tasks as assigned. At home I wash dishes, clean out litter boxes, feed the cats, prepare meals for my husband, clean the house, and other tasks as discovered.
3.) I am proud of my husband and the man he is despite the curve balls life has thrown him.
4.) I love my family (including pets), chai tea lattes, flowers, taking pictures, and going to the lake. I hate people with a false sense of entitlement, red tape, people who drive like idiots, summer TV reruns, and cars with the bass turned up so high our home vibrates when they drive by.
1. My boyfriend Simon and I live between our two apartments (although we plan to live in sin as soon as possible). When we’re at my apartment, there is Eve the Feisty Cat, and when we’re at Simon’s apartment, there is Stan the Fatty, weighing in at 22.4 pounds.
2. At work I edit books of all kinds, and right now that includes a murder mystery. Yesterday I got to put “big red cock” on a style sheet and it made my week. I also check my email a bajillion times a day and avoid answering my phone.
3. I’m proud of my college GPA, the awards my authors have won for books I helped shape, and whenever I do the dishes without whining. I’m also proud of my ability to find things on Google.
4. I love my boyfriend, my camera, the Internet, the Internets, and McDonald’s french fries. I hate coffee, fundamentalism of all kinds, Radiohead, roadkill, and the word “blouse.”
Have a lovely trip!
1. I live with my boyfriend Trevor, my 4-year old son Reece, fat cat Lloyd and a tank of fish.
2. At work I wait on customers,log in vehicles,bill invoices,enter account payables, and spend way too much time reading blogs. At home I constantly pick up after slobby boys.
3. I’m proud of myself. For having the strength to leave my son’s father.
4. I love my family, friends, taking bubble baths, fall, and chocolate. I hate my frizzy hair, rude people, Paris Hilton, crappy drivers(yah know the ones who don’t know how to merge ;P) and people who complain about cigarette smoke in bars.
1) I live with a great flatmate that always remembers to put the seat down, and never borrows my clothes.
2) I’m recently unemployed, so lately my “work” tasks include cleaning, job hunting, cleaning, writing in my online journal, oh, and cleaning my flat.
3) I’m proud of the fact that I moved from Seattle to Scotland all by myself. And that I have managed to FINALLY read both Moby Dick and Don Quixote (both this month).
4) I love my sisters, my dog, my cat, cookies and photography. I hate my former boss, beans of any kind, snakes, spiders, and stepping in wet stuff when I’m wearing socks.
1. I live with my boyfriend of 2 and a half years, David along with our 3 dogs, 1 cat and 5 new kittens.
2. At work I edit workman’s compensation insurance claims, deal with the most insanely stupid nurses on the planet and make fun of people inappropriately. At home I pick up after animals constantly (including my boyfriend)
3. I am proud of myself for being able to quote every word ever writen for a “FRIENDS” episode and using them at every social occasion. Test me, I know them ALL.
4. I love God, my family, working hard, educating others, my birthday. I hate, stupid people (see educating others), people who hurt others (especially animals and/or children) CNN (Go Bill O’Riley!), dishes, and liars.
I LOVE YOUR BLOG… I promise I am not a stalker.
1. I live with my husband Rich and our three babies (cats), Tory, Zoe and Smudge.
2. At work I answer the phones and route calls to different departments, send out pathology slides for patients to get second opinions, type medical reports. At home I cook, clean, laundry the usual stuff all with the help of my husband.
3. I am proud of my almost 30-year marriage, I am proud of our two wonderful children who are both smart, successful, and contributing members of society. I am proud of my 4.0 GPA I got in college 20 years after I graduated from high school, I am proud to have been my mothers daughter.
3. I love ice cream, playing video poker, long walks with my husband, to laugh and seeing my kids.
I hate any kind of abuse of women, children or animals, opinionated people who know everything, liver (with a passion!), my hair when its frizzy in the humidity and war.
1. I live with one New Jersey native (male). He’s a Phillies fan. He owns comic books. He can only eat one meatball per Italian dinner — but he ALWAYS orders two.
2. I drink a whole lot of Diet Coke. I dodge my coworkers in the hallway from time to time. Scads of reading, scads of cutting and pasting. But mostly, I just answer questions.
3. I am proud to know how to use a semi colon.
4. I LOVE: (a) the aforementioned NJ native; (b) Everything that has anything to do with Summer; (c) NY; and (d) the Internet. I HATE: (a) taxes; (b) when you signal to change lanes and the driver in said lane speeds up; (c) bulk mailings (whether paper, spam, or FWD); and (d) injustice.
1. I live with my husband Mike and our baby Anthony. Mike is almost 38 and Anthony is one.
2. I feed and clothe my baby and put him down for his naps. I kiss him a lot. I clean the house. I look at stuff on the internet. I write and read emails. I take pictures of my baby and put them up on his blog. I do laundry. I go to playgroups and encourage socialization. One or two nights a week, I waitress in an incredibly busy restaurant.
3. I’m proud that I have gotten through year one of my babe’s life. I’m proud that I breastfed him and I’m proud that I stay home with him even though it is by far the most boring and hardest job I have ever had.
4. I love my sweet sweet husband. I love my baby. I love New York City and really miss being there all the time. I love to read a good book, I love to polish silverware. I love to go for long walks by myself. I love to work out even though I don’t do it so much anymore. I love ice cream, martinis, cold beer, and going out to dinner.
1) I live with my fiance, our two dogs, and a cat. All four of them shed.
2) I work primarily from home as a project manager for a company that installs solar panels as an alternate form of energy. I live in New Jersey, the most populated state in the country. We definately need alternate forms of energy.
3) I am proud of the fact that two and a half years ago, my fiance (boyfriend at the time) owned exactly one old couch and 40 cents, and today, we are on our second home and I have a SpotBot. Like the people on TV, who set that thing on their carpet and let it do the carpet spot removal while they are busy gardening or yachting . I don’t know if the SpotBot works, as I haven’t removed it from the box yet. But, soon. I don’t have a yacht.
4) I love my fiance, my pets, me, movies, tv, handbags, and decorating things. But, most of all, I love a clean house. I hate melon of all kinds (”Cantalope?” “YES.” “But, how about honeydew?” “Yes, that too.” “But, no one hates watermel–” “YES, I DO.”), cucumbers, beans, hypocrites, and bad manners. But, most of all, I hate a dirty house.
1. I live with my two cats – Eli and Peanut, and my yellow lab/newfie mix, Joey Dog.
2. I was a Research Analyst for over 5 years, but switched careers 3 years ago – now I write proposals. Funny since my major was Art History.
3. My work, my writing skills, my boyfriend, my friends, my family, my ability to love.
4. I love: My family, my boyfriend, movies, music, friends. I hate: Liars, raw tomatoes, being jealous, moths, being chilly.
1. Who do you live with?–My husband of nine years and our Golden Retriever, Casey.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?–Uh, I’m answering these questions at work! What should I be doing? I plan events and meetings for a committee of 12 great people. I travel to event sites, supervise employees and spend too much time on the internet.
3. What are you proud of?–Being organized, being a good listener, my good health after much adversity. I’m also proud that I’ve maintained a friendship with a girl I met 31 years ago in preschool.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
Love–husband, dog, Diet Coke, book stores and my cousin Mikki who donated a kidney to me five years ago!
Hate–people who don’t acknowledge you when you’ve let them out into traffic, snakes, car problems, Midwest humidity and mayo.
Sundry rocks!!!!!
1. Who do you live with? i live with my boyfriend scott and my 3 blue eyed kitties Atlantis, Ali, and Cooter.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)? i work at a help desk for the employees of Raleigh’s county hospital. i attempt to fix computer problems and usually fail miserably.
3. What are you proud of? i’m proud to be able to say that scott and i have made it through the many issues that we’ve faced. we’re a strong couple, and that makes me proud. i cant wait to be proud of my children which will make me even more proud of scott and i and what our love has produced.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
i love scott. i love my cats (sometimes). i cherish my family. i love my friends and how devoted they are to our friendship. and i love to read.
i hate when people leave their blinkers on after they’ve switched lanes or made the turn. i hate when people dont turn their lights on even after it’s very obvious it’s dark. i hate how i thought i would do well in this job and i’m failing miserably. i hate fighting with my mother and even worse with my father. and i hate the way i push those oh so devoted friends away for fear of being hurt.
1. Who do you live with? I live with Hubby, my two boys (Jr and Captain Destructo), one cat and one dog.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)? I attempt (and fail miserably) to keep house; I do various yard work-like things and keep other people’s kids. Once the school year starts I plan on adding my name to the substitute teacher list at my local school and see how I like that for a year or so.
3. What are you proud of? I’m proud at how far Jr has come, social and academically. I’m proud that of my ability to learn just about anything you can teach me with the exception of anything that involves higher math.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate? I love my family, cashews, Saturday mornings, the Weasley Twins and the beach. I hate spiders, green peas, telemarketers, shopping for swimsuits and when Taco Bell puts white onions on my burrito after I asked for NO ONIONS.
1. I live with my husband and two cats.
2. I’m currently unemployed. When school was in session I was a substitute teacher in an inner city for grades 1-12. I’m planning a midlife change of careers which will include going back to school to get my Masters in Education. I’m quite certain I want to be a middle school English teacher.
3. I’m proud of my niece who is pop star/movie actress JoJo. I’m proud of my husband who can tackle just about any home project with aplomb. I’m proud of the positive changes I’ve made in my life over the past few years. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been to the gym almost every day this week!
4. Five things I love: the ocean, travel, reading, singing, my family and friends. Five things I hate: ignorance, apathy, fundamentalism, people who hurt children or animals, people who think the world is their ashtray.
Although I am now totally and completely in love with Oil of Olay’s Body Wash with Body Butter Ribbons with Jojoba Oil (longest product name ever!) because it makes my skin so soft that I don’t need any lotion at all, I did find that using the combo of Jergen’s Skin Firming (soap) and Nivea Skin Firming lotion, while not firming anything, did manage to eradicate my upper arm bumps.
Keratosis Pilaris – I always wondered what those bumps on my upper arms were! And thanks for posting a possible remedy Libby!
1. I live with The Boyfriend, who happens to be the awesomest boyfriend evAH, The Cat a.k.a. YOUR Cat, and two very sweet, always very hungry rats. The pet kind.
2. I have a vast and sometimes scary knowledge about documentation and the things that you can do with it. And many, many things you should never do with it.
3. I’m proud of the fact that all those years of listening to my “inner voice” (or what have you) have paid off and that I didn’t give in to being or acting like everyone else.
4. Love: The inhabitants of the apartment, my mom, chocolate in its many forms, good hugs, and warm beverages. Hate: Clowns, watching the people I love deteriorate mentally and or physically, feeling depressed for no reason, potato bugs.
1. I live with my fiance (hate that word), who will be my husband in 4 months, and our two cats.
2. I write grants and do other fundraising and “strategic planning” type things at a children’s advocacy nonprofit. Lots of writing and lots of meetings.
3. I am proud that I have not turned into Bridezilla. I am proud of myself for making it to my morning workouts 4 times this week.
4. Love: Colorado, Thin Mints, chips and salsa, earrings, hydrangeas. Hate: rude drivers, when the alarm goes off at 5:24am, allergies, dieting, people who care more about getting rich than anything else.
1. Who do you live with?
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
3. What are you proud of?
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
1. I live with my husband and my insanely co-dependent cat.
2. I work as an editorial assistant for an association, so I get to do a lot with editing (duh), but also with photo assignments and updating our website. The best part of my job is interacting with our members.
3. I’m proud of my garden. I’m proud that I’ve become a really good cook in the last two years. I’m proud that that when my sight-singing teacher got the opportunity to offer a partial scholarship, she offered it to me before anyone else. I’m proud that my mother-in-law told my husband that she wished everyone had a marriage as great as ours.
4. I love singing, growing (some of) my own food, my family, Jon Stewart, and the idea that I’ll be a mom within two years (arrgh, I hope). I hate feeling useless, how badly out-of-shape I’ve let myself get, the Bush administration, bronchitis, and Ann Coulter. Jesus Christ on a goddamn cocksucking motherfucking pogostick, do I hate Ann Coulter.
1. I live with my soon-to-be husband and all of his ridiculous, not-so-cute-anymore idiosyncrasies….
2. At work I’m a science geek that does all sorts of taxpayer money-wasting activities that we like to call “research” for an entity that rhymes with Flepartment of Flefense..really not so exciting. It’s kind of like when you love going to a certain restaurant in all your ignorant bliss and then you work there and suddenly see all the roaches in the kitchen…*ahem* you know or something like that…
3. I am proud to call my parents, “My Parents,” I am proud of everything my fiance has accompished in the 5 years we’ve been together, and I am slowly but surely becoming proud of the person that I turned out to be…
4. I love my fiance, Cinnabons, my family’s lake house in New Hampshire, when a song that you love comes on the radio at the most perfect time and you just sing so loud with the windows down and the sun shining, seeing a movie – good or bad – in the theatre…I hate people who think their opinion is the ONLY opinion, when animals are treated badly, having to repeat myself, when I’m upset and totally have a right to be and someone tells me to “calm down,” the thought of ever having to live without the people I love the most…
1. I live with my husband Shawn and our crazy cat Sadie.
2. At work I do a myriad of accounting/human resources/computer related activities, read blogs, write e-mails and basically try to make my way through the work week. At home I clean, do dishes, cook, etc.
3. What am I proud of? I’m proud of my father who quit drinking almost two months ago and has gone through extensive detox/rehab so that he’ll succeed. I’m proud of my mother who quit smoking at the beginning of the week. I’m proud of myself for quitting smoking a year ago. I’m also quite proud of the person I’ve become and the life I have.
4. I love my husband, coffee (or really anything that has caffeine in it including chocolate), music, animals and peanut butter. I hate oblivious people, high pitched screamy girl singers, cleaning the bathroom, people who try to push their views on everyone else and hypocrites.
1. I live with my 24 year-old boyfriend of several years and our cat, Clementine, a scrappy orange kitty who was rescued from a boarded up housing project after Katrina (we spoil her rotten. Rotten!)
2. At my “real” job, I manage a small quarterly journal on community and labor organizing–a mix of editorial, administration, and half-hearted marketing. I also get roped into doing various administrative/communications related tasks for the publisher of said journal, a national community organization. Outside of that, I do theatre workshops and create performances with my collaborative company (www.roilnow.com); occasionally write for the local weekly and some small national mags; I do the laundry here and there, and when pressed, the dishes.
3. I am proud that I publish my writing, I’m proud to be a founding member of a theater company for social change, I’m proud that I moved to New Orleans even though the city I fell in love with last year is now completely changed, I’m proud of my evolving relationships–with my boyfriend, my parents, my friends, my sister, and this is silly, but I’m so proud I survived a summer detasseling corn!!! (http://www.corn-jobs.com/)
4. I LOVE: my broad “family” of relatives, friends, the boy, the cat; reading great writing; relishing good food and drink; being in a wild throng of sweaty people dancing to really good music; and getting out to wild, natural places with lots of green and quiet. I HATE: doing bitch work at my job; needing money to survive in the world; feeling awkward/false in some social situations; judgemental people who pretend to be otherwise; the horrible rising panic I feel when I sit down to write and simply cannot.
1. I live with my husband in a big ol’ house built in 1906. We would like to say that we have a baby…but we don’t, yet…
2. I work in alumni relations and development for a mid-size university, business school. I spend a lot of time writing proposals (asking alumni for money), correspondence from the dean, and organizing special events. In my spare time, my husband and I enjoy writing plays, taking in other theatrical activities, and travelling.
3. What am I proud of? I am proud of my marriage. My husband and I met later in life and I’m glad that held to my dreams of who I wanted in a partner, I didn’t settle – and I know that I married the perfect man for me – that’s a good feeling.
4. Five things I love: The series Six Feet Under, weekend morning Starbuck Coffee dates with my husband, entertaining in our home, my O Sisters, and just hanging out with my family. Five things I hate: short-sighted people (republicans), cell-phones, mediocrity, shoveling snow, and sex-offenders.
1. I live with my husband of not-quite-a-year, our two dogs, a cat and a geriatric cockatiel.
2. I analyze boring stuff, write about it, test it, and help deliver it to our clients. I also do freelance graphic design, which keeps me sane at times.
3. I am proud of the fact that I started college in Ashland, Oregon and finished up at the University of Oregon in Eugene, lived in the Fremont neighborhood in Seattle (all super-hippie/organic areas, but I’m not a hippie) and I have Never. Ever. tried any type of drug. I am also proud of my husband who, at the age of 37, is back in school to get a degree to help secure our future.
4. Love: My husband, my family, animals, and the smell of sagebrush after a rain. Hate: Cruelty to animals and children as they are so vulnerable, slow people in the fast lane, brussel sprouts, and feeling the changes in my body as I get older.
1. I live with The RagHag Clan – Mr. Diva (who loves rock tumbling, pointless gadgets and bitching about O’Reiley), Baby Diva (18 month old son who loves Korean dramas, water, and Elmo) and Boo Boo the Pug (who loves Greenies, ear-scratching and farting)
2. I edit newspages for financial services companies from the comfort of my couch, while watching Dr. Phil and Play with Me, Sesame, for which I get paid. I also update RagHag Diva, my celebrity trash blog, several times a day, for which I do not get paid except in satisfaction, laughter and positive comments. I also raise Baby Diva with the support of Mr. Diva, who also edits newspages for financial services companies from the comfort of his love seat. Yes, I get the couch. And occasionally, I clean the earwax out of Boo Boo’s ears, for which I am paid with lots of licks on the face.
3. I am proud of the fact that Baby Diva has not been dropped, fallen from his highchair, fastened incorrectly in his carseat or driven around in the front seat of a car (except that once, but he was in the passenger seat and it was only for a quarter of a mile to get that couch to our house, I swear). I am proud that I am best friends with Mr. Diva and we have an equal relationship in every way. I am proud that I can call my bosses my friends and mean it. I am proud that I am close to my mother, sister and brother and speak to them or instant message with them several times every day. And I am proud that I can call myself a writer and not feel like a phony.
4. I love my family – Mr. Diva, Baby Diva, Boo Boo the Pug, Mama Diva, Sister Diva and Mot. I love celebrity nicknames – Brangelina, K-Fed and Stupid Spoiled Whore. I love my Seattle Sisters (Peachy, Chiara and of course Sundry!). I love that I haven’t lost myself in the role of mother, yet I am changed completely. And I love when Baby Diva waves goodnight to me.
I hate Star Jones. I hate not living in Seattle right now. I hate when AZN shows repeats of my favorite K-Dramas right in the middle of a crucial plot point. I hate Star Jones. And I hate that I started typing this and pressed return before I was ready, causing me to post twice.
1.) I live with my husband, my two siamese cats, occasionally with my 3 stepkids, and am making room for my first child, expected in December.
2.) I am a career placement person for a small art college in Poulsbo, WA. I look for jobs for the graduates in graphic design, fine art, and multimedia. Sometimes they even let me on the ferry to Seattle, to visit the graphic design firms that I should be working for instead.
3.) I’m proud of being able to at least see both sides of almost every issue, even if I disagree with others. I’m proud of my husband, who is career Navy. I’m proud of my driving record, and being valedictorian of my college, and because I remembered to brush my teeth this morning, even though “pregnancy brain” is erasing my mind bit by bit.
4.) 5 things I love: My family, all of ‘em, even the step’s and in-laws, Campbell’s tomato soup (made with water), my marriage, living in Seabeck, WA, and my first child-my siamese cat Noah.
5 things I hate: Closed mindedness in others, mushrooms, talking on the phone (especially if it involves money), my husband’s ex-wife’s mind-games, and any movie with David Spade or Rob Schneider in it.
1. My husband, my 11-year-old son, my 8-month-old daughter, 3 dogs, and 2 cats.
(Yes, we know the animals outnumber the humans. We’re working on that. And not by “losing” animals like my husband wishes)
2. I make maps and do general manipulation of geographic data. Sometimes I get to play with Aerial photos or satellite imagery. It’s all pretty fun if you’re a geography geek like me.
3. I’m a really good mom and there is nothing else in my life I honestly feel I’m good at. I have my bad moments, but I know, deep down, that I’m a good mom and I’m proud of that. I’m also proud of teaching myself CSS and how to design for blogs, being able to pick things up with my toes, and that I don’t ever wash my hair. I dont know why I’m so proud of that last one, most think it’s gross. Maybe that’s WHY I’m proud of it?
4. I love square bagels, new calendars, brightly-colored pottery, obnoxious jewelery and blue cars. I hate left turns, panty-hose, mosquitos (they LOVE me), things that squeak, and the fancy words for sizes at Starbucks.
I live with the best roommate to ever walk the planet (she voluntarily does the dishes, occasionally I’ll come home to find all my laundry done and put away, and she’ll always back me up when I’m bitching about someone who irritated me. Even if I’m wrong.), and two VERY neurotic but loveable cats.
At work I am in control of 4 million a year (I manage my company’s employee credit card program). Thinking about what I do in simple terms kind of makes me wish that I was more irresponsible. I’m leaving my job at the end of the month to move 1,000 miles away for grad school, at which point I’ll be able to say that I read and write for a living. How awesome is that?
I am proud of my wonderful family and friends, my GRE scores, my organizational skillZ, and the fact that I’m only a LITTLE bit scared to pack up my life and start doing what I really want to do. Oh, and my CD collection.
I love cooking, hanging out with people I love, good music, my DVR, and that great feeling you get when you first go on vacation. I hate traffic, bigots, bugs, hot days with no fans, and people who tell the same stories over and over again.
1. I live with my husband (I would call him my other half if I wasn’t so repulsed by the idea that I -or anyone – am not “whole” alone because we are so much alike it sometimes even scares me) Charlie, my beautiful, strong-willed and genius (all b/c of my perfect parenting, nach) 19 month old daughter Ciara (pronounced like Kyra NOT Sierra) and a crazy-as-shit Lab/Shepherd mix.
2. I work for a major telecommunications company (think “pin drop”) in a fairly well paying position that only requires about 3-4 hours of actual work each day so I spend a LOT of time reading blogs and other things online. It’s pretty dull so I wont bore you with the details but basically, I manage a database that represents all our field equipment. See? I told you it was dull. Thankfully, I have Sundry to keep me entertained and engaged!
3. I’m proud of my family – especially my daughter’s amazing verbal ability (she speaks in phrases and occasionally sentences but I think this is b/c she spends her time with my mother, mother-in-law, husband and myself and none of us ever shuts up!) and my husband and my parenting. Not to say we’ve done everthing right -we certainly have made plenty of mistakes- but I’m proud that we’ve made it through some tough times by supporting each other. I’m proud I picked the right man to be my husband and the father of my child.
4. I love my family – immediate and extended (even the crazy-as-shit dog), reading, watching Food TV and cooking and solving the world’s problems over drinks way too late at night.
I hate people who think its ok to drive the speed limit in the left lane (It’s so NOT! Get the hell over! Yes, I have agressive driving “issues”), the so-called “Mommy Wars”, hypocrites, stupidity, and Conservatives/Fundamentalists who feel they have the right/duty to dictate how the rest of the world thinks/feels/behaves.
Whoa – sorry that was so long. Love your site, Sundry!
1. Who do you live with? During the summer, I live with my mom and dad. I also live with Dakota, a huge shedding mutt who adores me; Oliver, a cranky old cat; Synders, a cranky fat black cat; and Samantha, a cute, long haired calico kitten who loves attention but hates if you get within a foot of her. During the School year.. I live with whoever my roommate is and my friends. We’re all in the same dorm.
2. What are some of the things you do at work? Well, I work at a Subway.. and a Steak N’ Shake. At Subway.. I clean, prepare the prepackaged food and make subs. At Steak N’ Shake, I make milkshakes and the desserts. I also clean and haul things to and fro from the freezer and cooler.
3. What are you proud of? My artwork which you can see at my website. That’s my digital portfolio.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
Love: My family and friends, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sailing, the internet, hiking with my best friend Alicia at the lake.
Hate: Crowds, an unorganized, flithy and unstocked Fountian station at work, dust and hair in the bathroom, driving in unfamiliar places by myself, rap music
1. Live with husband, 12 yr old daughter, 2 dogs, 2 cats
2. Work at keeping pet hair under control, trying to keep our lives organized
3. Proud of moving to Alaska by myself, without having a job or knowing anyone here
4. 5 things I hate-other people’s loud music, intolerance, cilantro, smokers who flick their cigarette butts out the car window, people who try to push their religious views on me. 5 things I love-my family, books, animals, British television, travel
1.) I live with my husband, my almost-eight-month-old son, a fourteen-year old Appalacian Opossum Tosser, a two-year-old Lab, one Cat-who-knows-NOT-that-he-is-cat, and one Cat…and enough fur to possibly count as a fifth pet.
2.) At work I’m a veterinarian and do various veterinary-y type things. At home I play with the baby and the pets and think really. really hard about how I really should clean the house some. And then I watch TV or play on the internet.
3.) I am proud of my ability to procrastinate. Just kidding. But seriously, if that were something to be admired, I would be adored worldwide. I am proud of my kid and my job. And also maybe my husband. Um, and my dogs.
4.)I love:
-my family.
-healthy, happy animals.
-beautiful weather.
-anything written by Sundry.
I hate:
-Melon, of any kind! People! Do not tell me I just haven’t had a good canteloupe because EW!
-perpetually cranky people.
-to disappoint people.
-dog farts.
1. Who do you live with?
I live with my husband, my 21 month old daughter, a rabid dog/puppy/monster, and an annoying SIL who needs to move out ASAP.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
Ferry the daughter to multiple therapy appointments (she has CP), manage the household, finances, etc. etc. I’m also building a house and running a rental business from home.
3. What are you proud of?
My luscious hair. The fact that my daughter is finally crawling and cruising.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
I love to cook
I love the smell of my daughter’s neck
I love to doodle
I love to read
I love it when I snuggle with my husband
I hate it when the dog ruins something
I hate construction people who don’t return calls
I hate socks
I hate raisins
I hate sweat
1. I live with my husband, Cat and my 22-month-old son, Dax. We also share our home with one fat, sweet, sleepy tabby and one neurotic, sweet, loudmouth black cat.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)? I manage projects for an IT department at work at at home I am first go-to parent to the boy and my some of my duties include cooking, loading and unloading the dishwasher, cooking, doing laundry and keeping the bathrooms clean. Ick!
3. What are you proud of? I recently forced myself to get over my long-term and intense fear of appearing in public in a bathing suit and started working out at the aquatic center. I absolutely love it! It is also the first thing I’ve done just for me in a long time.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate? Leaving out the obvious loves (hubby and son): I love Jasmine Green tea, the smell of playdough, books, my iPod, my Nikon D70. I hate vitamin burps, Henry the Octopus, the word “smear”, people who lecture you about how you HAVE to LOVE yourself just as you are in this very moment as if you are seriously flawed for wanting to decrease the size of your ass, and the size of my ass. (Don’t lecture me.)
1. I live with my boyfriend Kew and our son Angelo. Soon I will also live with a kitten from next door who we named Jeter… but Gigi for short.
2. At work I take check and supply orders for financial insitutions. I also answer our sometimes infuriating but always entertaining feedback emails for my company’s website. Unofficially, I do lots of gossiping and Internet surfing. At home, I try to pick up after my two tornados, and keep us from falling into financial ruin. I also spend a lot of time practicing the art of laziness, in an attempt to take full advantage of every fleeting moment I have to myself.
3. I am proud of myself for how far I have come in the last 3 years… and believe me it’s been a LONG way.
4. I love: my family, my job, the fact that I can finally afford to buy whatever I want at the grocery store, smelling my son while he’s sleeping, and books. I hate: bigotry, people who try to push their religious beliefs on others, ‘food noises’ such as chewing and slurping, asshole drivers, and my ridiculously bad temper.
This is such a fun activity, Sundry! It is so great to learn about the Sundry community. :)
1. I live with my husband in our first house that we love so much. We are considering adding a dog or a baby to the mix. Not sure which.
2. At work I build power point decks and project manage and try to keep up the illusion that I know what I am doing. I have just moved into IT from slaving away in the non-profit sector and I am only here because I knew someone.
3. I am proud to finally have a house and a grown up job after spending my 20’s feeling like loser because I had so many lame jobs. I am proud that I am a very good friend and have managed to maintain many long term friendships. I am proud that my friends call me ‘The Glue’ for keeping us all all together and in touch.
4. I love summer, traveling, walking, coffee, and the connections I have made with internet people through blogging. I hate people who think they know better for everyone else and try to legislate their opinions, loud ass motorcycles that pass my house all day and night due to the biker frat down the block, poeple who are rude to customer service professionals, chain stores and restaurants, and people who judge other’s parenting.
1. I live with my husband, our 18 month old opinionated child who is into hitting, biting, pinching and giggling, our 7 year old German Shepherd (who we just found out has severe arthritis along her spine – sniff!), our now shorn and so cute Golden Retriever who no longer smells like the devil’s septic tank, and our 2 indifferent cats.
2. At work I kick the asses of the slacker salespeople, take orders from a very kind but highly unorganized editor, and make a schedule work for the magazine even though I’ve been robbed of all time. At home I do everything. Well, almost everything. I won’t mow the lawn unless it’s about to drive me crazy. I clean, I cook, I brush dogs, I feed the child, I wash the child, I change the child, I pay bills, I read blogs, I read books, I knit. My husband helps me with a lot of these things, in all fairness. I just feel like I never sit down.
3. I am proud of my family, my accomplishments both as an individual and as a part of a married couple, and of my life. I have been very fortunate.
4. LOVE:
- my family – immediate and extended, including pets
- my books
- sweet treats
- to sleep in, especially on rainy days
- that I live in a free country, even though I HATE!!!!! our boneheaded president who gets away with EVERYTHING like a spoiled child
HATE:
- people, especially kids, who have a sense of entitlement, like the world owes them everything
- the weeds in my driveway
- feeling obligated
- when people make me feel insecure
- my weight issue.
1. I live with my fiance and two cats, one of whom has recently figured out that she might be able to pull the back screen door open if she pulls sideways. Indoor cats = always lock the screen door.
2. Um. What do I do at work. I’m an executive assistant, so I run payroll, write letters, file a lot, pay bills, keep track of meetings, write responses to RFPs, and whatever else comes up. Oh, and I’m the computer geek for the company. At home we’re still trying to make a for-sale-by-owner house into something we like all of instead of just pieces of it.
3. I’m proud of the fact that I finally like how I look. I am working on being healthier, but I finally don’t care if I lose weight. I’m also proud of being halfway through my MBA, that I’ve managed this far without financial help, and that I will finish it in the same way.
4. I love my fiance for his ability to make me laugh anytime (among other wonderful traits, of course), cooking and playing with food, reading, a cat that purrs as soon as she is touched, and the pearlescent light in the morning before the sun is actually over the horizon but the light is already in the sky.
I hate people who don’t let in other cars while merging, people who say they are one thing and act like they are something else entirely, bad and boring food, people getting my name wrong despite resonding to an e-mail that I signed with the correct spelling, and slimy okra.
1. I live with my husband of 4 months, a big, fat cranky cat named Max, a little, wacky Siamese cat named Quincy (who, it seems, has just discovered how to REALLLY meow), 3 ferrets, a buncha saltwater fish, and a few freshwater fish.
2. At work, I cook for many people, mostly fussy professors, but sometimes appreciative students (college). I also seem to babysit the people I work with.
3. I’m very proud that I’ve quit smoking (6 days, baby!), after 20 years. I’m proud that I am re-learning the piano in hopes of a new career (teaching) in a few years.I’m proud of my insane work ethic and how my crazy organization somehow always works.
4.I love: my husband and my mom, sleep, playing the piano, creating things. I hate: I-81 traffic between 8:30-9:00 AM (grrr!), close-minded jerks, people who know what my buttons are and push them CONSTANTLY, the fact that I’m still jonseing for a smoke and probably will for a loooong time.
Hey! That was fun! Have a fun trip Sundry!
1. I live with the Main Squeeze of 6 years, our cat who answers to the name Charlie, and the wild toad in the back yard who does not answer to anyone.
2. I work for a clothing company as an admin, trainer, technical writer, and Activity Committee Chairwoman. My life is simple, a touch on the introverted side and steering toward bland with an alarming swiftness.
3. I’m proud of who I’ve become in spite of my childhood laced with self-loathing and unfounded insecurities. I’m proud of my quiet and safe home. I’m proud of my body. I’m proud of my mind. I’m proud of the relationship I have with the Main Squeeze, and how I’ve allowed myself to accept that I deserve him as much as he deserves me.
4. Five things I love:
-the smell of my hair when I’ve been in the sun -the smell on the M.S.’s skin when he’s fresh outta the shower (love isn’t big enough a word to fit how I feel about the M.S… so that’s why he’s not listed here independently as a whole) -the swirly cream-colored fur on the cat’s belly -the memory of the sound of my Grandmother humming to herself absently as she straightened up her kitchen
-a really REALLY masterful stained glass window in full sunlight. (also ran: chocolate, fresh cherries, ice water, fart jokes, snowy mornings and the word “applesauce”)
4.2 Five things I hate:
-that little piece of grit that sometimes appears on my mousepad -oil paintings sold en-masse in hotel lobbies -the words: undefrost, irregardless, noo-kyoo-luhr -the phrase: smile honey, it could be worse -the times when I need to find something and can’t, can’t, CAAAAN’T find where I put it even though I know I just saw it like, ten seconds ago over there (or was it under here? or inside that? or…..) (also ran: drivers who HAVE TO BE FIRST!!!, forwarded emails, misogynists, bruxism, and the use of the word “your” instead of “you’re”…)
1. I live in an apartment north of the U with my Morman roommate who I met in the dorms three years ago who can channel Monica from Friends on a moment’s notice, likes to drive really fast in her hot car, and always vacumns. We have no pets because our apartment is hella expensive to have pets in, but a variety of houseplants that have various male names reside around our living room. If you count annoying neighbors as people we “live with,” then I live with some boys across the way who have horrible potty mouths and the people downstairs who play drums at all hours of any given day but complain that our music is too loud.
2. At work I do the job of a classified employee who doesn’t do her job anymore for a whole lot less money than she makes. This includes reconciling a whole long list of budgets, overseeing the other students to make sure they’re filing things into budget files correctly, billing for a scanner used by some of our labs, and apparently, within the last month, some sort of technical writing to teach people how to purchase random scientific products. I also assist a medical program by doing random things from coordinating crap to shredding (such diversity), as well as sometimes purchasing, sometimes running errands, and always cracking up because my boss is awesome.
3. I am proud of my sister, because she’s come so far. I’m proud that I’m ALMOST done with college. And I’m proud that I can be pretty kick ass and still think so the next morning.
4. LOVE:
- traveling
- speaking Spanish
- reading random blogs, most of which are mommy blogs even though I don’t have kids
- Seattle in the summer (or just Seattle, in general)
- reading
HATE:
- the Bush Administration
- bus drivers who block intersections
- your mom
- feeling ripped off at work when I know my work is worth more than it’s currently valued at
- the Nokia ring tone
Been reading for awhile, Sundry! I love (both) your blog!
1. I live in a huge house with two dogs and five cats. Oh yes, it’s a zoo.
2. At work I do the marketing for all of the divisions of the company I work for, including boring stuff like placing ads in newspapers and fun stuff like creating flyers and lots of things that the people in those divisions need on a day to day basis.
3. I am proud of adopting my two dogs from the SPCA, of just existing on a daily basis and somehow managing to get my bills paid every month, I am proud of my family and of my friends.
4. I love my critters, every single one of them, including the ones who came before these. I love my sister and my brothers (most of the time), I love my nieces and nephews, and I especially love my good friends, who keep me happy and sane most of the time. I hate that something always pops up to take my money whenever I think I have some extra to give to house repairs, I hate that I am still single at almost 37 years old, and I absolutely with every fiber of my being hate spiders. Yuck. Especially the huge one living outside of my bathroom window.
1. I live with my girlfriend/partner of 5+ years, our 2 dogs, and hordes of dust bunnies.
2. At work I process requisitions, order supplies, and surf the internet. I also go to school full-time.
3. I am proud of the fact that I will be graduating in December. I am proud of my gf and I for buying a house when we were just 21, and that we are now 25 and still own it. I am proud of my gf for not being afraid to be honest about who she is, which I cannot always say for myself.
4. I love my girl, my family, reading, ice cream, and learning new things.
I hate wet feet, squeaky windshield wipers, too-loud music, the mispronunciation of my name,
and that my gf and I can’t get married in our state.
In an effort not to CRUSH:
1. The Husband (a 37-year-old with the ailments of an 80-year-old), the Doodle (wise, all-knowing 3-year-old with a passion for clothes, shoes and books), Psycho Kitty (calming down for the first time in six years), and the silverfish that will not leave my house, no matter how often I promise them I’ll end the killing of their brethren if they just LEAVE.
2. At the job that pays money, I do various tasks associated with putting out a weekly newspaper. I copy edit, lay out stories and art, process ads, check over final pages, read copious amounts of email, scowl at people who try to make me work too hard, update the website, keep the spirit of the production manager from turning to dust, etc. All without telling them I’ll be going on another “long vacation” (a.k.a. maternity leave) at the end of this year because I’m scared how many shades of purple the boss will turn this time. Change induces radical behavior in that man.
3. I’m proud of my family, all of them, from immediate on out to the people I’m not really related to, but they’re like family. And I’m proud to say I’ve been working for the same company for almost 11 years, and I have yet to go postal on them. I’m also proud of my shopping abilities. Really.
4. I love the smell of rain, the feeling I get when the Doodle snuggles against me as we read, the fact that the Husband will try so very hard to make me happy when I’m not, the trust and love my friends give me, and the smell and taste of peaches. I hate people who drive way too slow in front of me, the unfortunate fact that the Doodle just will not listen to me, the silverfish who will not leave my house already, hypochondriacs who make me crazy, and discussing politics with anyone related to my husband or somehow connected to his side of the family.
I better answer these questions while I still actually have an address, right?
I live (for ten more days!) in a big house in Ballard with two married couples and a tortoise named Joachin.
At work (for another week!) I provide a motivational interviewing phone intervention to encourage exercise as treatment depression secondary to multiple sclerosis. (This means I am a shrink who talks on the phone about working out.)
I’m proud of the fact that I am just about to quit the aforementioned job (next Friday!) to live abroad for a year, which is something I’ve wanted to do for ten years now, and that I had my first tribal bellydance performance a couple of weeks ago and didn’t trip over my fringe belt or pantaloons.
I love:
-reading and writing
-FAGE 0% honey with yogurt
-The Ballard Sunday market
-cephalopods of all persuasions
-all my friends and family
I hate:
-arithmatic
-being sticky
-my goddamn hair
-the fact that I never stop talking ever for one second
-the Bush Administration and all it has wrought
1.
I live with my husband Nick, 11-month-old son Lochlan, a howling husky named Mylo, a clingy terrier mix named Tilly, and millions of ladybugs and insect thingies.
2.
My main job is taking care of my son, entertaining him, making sure he gets his two naps a day, nurse him and feed him tidbits from my plate. For income, I work at a university as the ASL (American Sign Language) program coordinator, most of which is done at home. I also teach a couple of ASL classes in the fall and spring, in the evenings so my hubby can take care of our son.
3.
I’m most proud of being a mom, which was a life-long dream for me come true. I’m also proud of being able to overcome barriers and doubt from family members in order to succeed, despite my deafness. We live a simple but good life. I couldn’t ask for more.
4.
I love my family/friends, nursing my son, traveling to other countries (including Canada), reading (especially blogs!), and my life, being a Deaf person.
I dislike (hate is too strong of a word for me) ignorant people, people who judge my parenting choices, people who treat me differently because I’m Deaf (family included), wondering if my son is still breathing when he takes longer naps than usual, and cliques within the Deaf Community.
1. I live with my husband James, my 12 month old daughter Elizabeth, and two crabby old lady cats who do not approve of last year’s new addition to the family.
2. At work, I take customer specs and use our company’s software to modify data to fit them. Or something like that, anyway.
3. I’m proud of the patience I’ve found within myself as a mother, my competence at my job, my writing abilities, and my crafting skills.
4. I love my family, all cats everywhere, chick peas, getting fun email, and the smell of lilacs. I hate green beans, corporate management-speak, my post c-section belly flab, traffic jams, and the schlick-schlick sound of scuffling flip flops.
1. I live with my Mum and 3 cats. My boyfriend stays over about half the time because I can’t afford to move out as I’m a student, but he doesn’t really “live” here. Unless you’re from the airline where I gave him (as a member of my household) my frequent flier miles which were about to run out, in which case he definately lives here.
2. I’m a student, I just finished a Bachelor of Music (violin) and now I’m studying contemporary music (singing), like rock, pop, jazz etc at a music school. I have part time jobs where I teach violin/theory, and I have a covers band which we’ll be making money out of soon. Hopefully.
3. I’m proud of the effort I spend on my hair, my violin degree, having 3 cats with such different personalities (hopefully when I have kids they’ll be just as unique), being a genuine person, singing in a covers band, and my sense of style (even if I can’t afford the clothes I want, or would even be able to fit them if I could afford them).
4. I love
- Motley Crue
- Chanel perfume
- Swimming in the ocean when there’s huge surf
- Those crane machines where you pick up toys (4/5 the other day!)
- Los Angeles
I hate
- Allergies
- OCD/depression
- Being insanely shy
- Stuttering when I’m nervous because I’m just trying to get the words out of my mouth before I lose the nerve
- Working the late shift at work at my minimum wage job on the weekends because it is the only job that fits in with class, and I will NEVER do this again, except with my band
Live: With my husband of 13 years, our son and daughter (10 & 6), 1 cat, 1 dog, 1 parrot, various pond fish and assorted tadpoles.
Work: (Outside the home)Budget and cost manager for an electronics manufacturer. I spend countless hours querying Oracle databases for cost information and countless more hours manipulating that data in Excel. (At home) Keep the family schedules, pay the bills, rudimentary cleaning, f*ing laundry, feed the family, feed the pets…the list goes on…
Pride in: Our beautiful, intelligent, exasperating children, My technical skills, my degree in finance, my daily accomplishments at workplace.
Love: My family, reading, tattoos, singing with the radio loud enough to embarrass my children, riding my motorcycle.
Hate: Beets, intolerance, deliberate cruelty, f*ing laundry, not knowing the answer.
1. Husband of 11 years and 2 cats.
2. For work I volunteer, tend to my household and will soon be a student again.
3. I am proud that I am going back to school. I am excited and nervous, but very glad to be going back at this point in my life. I am 30 years-old and, for many reasons, this is a big step for me. I will be studying nursing, which is something I always wanted to do. Years ago I put my self on hold thinking I would be raising a family. Life didn’t turn out that way.
4. I love my relationship with my husband. I love monsoon season (I live in Arizona). I love going for evening walks, even when it’s 108* out at 8:00 pm! I love passing time and reading a few favorite blogs. I love getting surprises in the mail, because I get so tired of junk and bills all the time.
I hate seeing people in pain, emotionally or physically. I can’t stand hearing about cruelty towards people and animals. I despise infertility. I hate humid weather. I simply can’t stand the smell or taste of coffee, though my husband is an avid coffee drinker. (I prefer my caffeine with the controversial aspartame in the form of Diet Coke!).
1. With my parents (god, I know), my brother, and three cats, one of which is mine.
2. Tell people they aren’t stupid, be condescended to, straighten lightbulbs, be bitched at about thing that aren’t my fault, VERY occasionally clean a public restroom, and joke with my fellow drones. Oh, but mostly I take people’s money in exchange for items that they wish to own. I work retail, can you tell?
3. Hmm… this is a tough one. My ability to burp really loud (at least sometimes). Being able to raise one eyebrow. Having a pet that feels safe around me, even when it’s thundering.
4. Love:
My family (yes, including pets)
Sleeping until I’m not tired any more, than waking up and stretching slowly in the sunlight.
The internet, especially blogs
My dorky friends
Fall Out Boy and the Killers (or, at least their music. And I refuse to be shamed about it!)
Hate:
I too hate all types of melons. I’m so happy to see someone else in the comments who feels the same way! God, melons are gross.
Being tired (though that doesn’t seem to stop me).
Humiliating myself in public because I’m trying to be cool. Oh, I too hate that whole ’seeing someone waving at you (or so you think!) and then it turns out it’s someone behind you’ thing. AND I DO IT ALL THE TIME! God, that is SOOO embarassing.
Assholes. Especially those who are assholes to someone working a shitty retail job– there’s no reason good enough to behave like that.
Animal abusers. Rot in hell, says the agnostic.
1. I live with my fiance, our needy lab/Irish setter mix Monk, a fat mean cat named Coltrane, a fatter-but-nice cat named Jelly Roll, and a betta named Ol’ Drippy. He recently replaced Meatwad the Betta. Suicide. Tragic.
2. At work I cut mats and glass, drymount things (that’s not as dirty as it sounds), assemble frames, and do all other things art framing related. I also hang the art on the walls, help customers design custom framing for their art, feed the gallery’s fish, clean, order things. I measure a lot, do a lot of math, try to sell expensive pieces. At home I clean, take care of the pets, and work on my own art. Painting mostly. I also enter shows, etc.
3. I’m proud of my man. He’s rad. I’m also proud of my art (when I’m not loathing it), my work ethic, and my strength.
4. I love my family (also includes the pets), trying to keep my plants alive, listening to windchimes, writing, and watching Aqua Teen Hunger Force. And pestering my sister. That was six, sorry. I hate CENTIPEDES, the noise the dog makes when he’s licking his junk AGAIN, any food that’s anywhere close to being burnt, bad driving, and the sound of forks scraping on plates/teeth.
1. I live with my husband, 9 year old son, 2 year old daughter (god help me), dumbass dog, one skinny elderly and one young fatass cat, and 2 hermit crabs.
2. At the office, I handle manuscripts submitted to jounrals, managing the process from keeping folks on deadlines, creating tables & figures and proofreading, I do general computer and server maintenance, and do lots and lots of research. And I bitch a lot. At home I do pretty much everything that doesn’t involve mowers. And for the few chores I don’t do, I go behind everyone and do them either RIGHT or COMPLETELY, as needed. I’m the only one who can find anything. And I bitch a lot.
3. I’m proud of the kind of mother I am – pretty laid back and not uptight (especially given the mother I have). My kids think I’m fun and they are always telling me “I love you” spontaneuosly. That makes me proud. I’m proud of how kind and gentle and caring my kids are to others. I’m proud of my success at work.
4. Love: family, reading, alone time, swearing, TV. Hate: spitting, clueless/asshole/drunk drivers, cigarette smoke, spiders, bad customer service.
1. I live with my friend anne (in the attic of her recently purchased house) and her friend scott, and his dog huckleberry, and partly anne’s boyfriend john.
2. I have two part time jobs. In one I order books that have gone lost (stolen) or gotten damaged from the 3 libraries that are on the university campus. in the second I study and get paid for it, and hand deliver interdepartmental mail to make it seem as though I’m doing something.
3. I am proud that I developed a sense of responsibility and cleanliness, and that I know how to do things like cook and knit and do research and sustain wonderful friendships & relationships, and that I seem to be learning how to do these things better as the days go by, if I pay attention.
4. I love my boyfriend, my future cat, libraries, taking showers, and organizing things. I hate the act of putting food in the fridge in a pot that takes up all the room instead of transferring the food to a plastic container, when someone eats the last of my food, when I can’t find the end of the whisper thin toilet paper in a public bathroom, the fact that people are happy to stay where they are without trying to know themselves, and eggplants.
I have been enjoying your journal for some time now, so thanks for writing, and keeping it public.
Oh…this sounds like fun. I’ll fill my answers in and then…when I have time…go and read everyone else’s. :)
1. Who do you live with?
My husband, affectionately known as Mushroom, and my two sons — A1 is four and A2 is fourteen months.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
According to my husband, I sit around all day, eating candy and playing on the computer. But strangely enough, that isn’t how I see my day. Candy? Stolen by A1 if I had any in the first place. Computer? Deeply resented by A2 whenever he sees me sit down, so not much of that, either. What are some of the things I do? Umm…change diapers, kiss boo-boos, keep a tight grip on what little remaining bit I have left of my sanity.
3. What are you proud of?
That despite my mistakes and slip-ups, my children are still growing into lovely young men (obviously can see more of this in A1 than A2), which gives me hope that children are rather more resilient than I give them credit for being. In my life, I’ve done things I thought I’d never do — fly overseas alone, live in a Middle Eastern village, give birth (A2) with (very little) medication…I feel so white-bread but my life has been extraordinary. I did these things, survived these things, and came through a stronger, better person with a clearer sense of who I really am.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
Love:
1. my faith, which is what it is, is very important to me.
2. children
3. husband
4. family (beyond the nuclear unit :))
5. chocolate (just ’cause)
Hate:
1. I hate hate: that sort of hate that poisons, that allows people to self-style as superior to others
2. white chocolate (it doesn’t even deserve to be called “chocolate” because, seriously, where’s the chocolate???)
3. being rushed
4. being told not to wear my feelings on my sleeve
5. my allergies (cats, dogs, hamsters, flowers…you name it, and I sneeze)
1. I live with my parents and their three godawful dogs.
2. These days, the only “work” i really get up to is finishing my thesis, but some of what I actually DO is: try not to sleep so late that I piss off my dad, avoid being seen in embarrassing situations by any of the webcams my parents have stationed around the house, go to the gym and try not to fall off the equipment while i’m admiring the hotties, pick food off my shirt, and feed the dogs directly from my dinner plate.
3. I’m proud of my encyclopedic knowledge of any and all things related to hollywood, movie, tv, and celebrity gossip. I’m proud of my ability to remember every humiliating fact and admission of my friend and former roommate Connie, and my skill at reminding her of them at JUST the right moment in a conversation. And I’m proud that my dad’s favorite dog likes me better.
4. LOVE: really really old threadbare sheets, when someone says they miss me, the addams family, to oh so delicately remove the bottom layer of chocolate from each cell of a raspberry lindt bar and scoop out the liqueur with my tongue, steak. HATE: when some one says “hi, how are you” and you say, “i’m good, thanks, how’re you,” and they go, “I’m WELL. thank you.” greasy hair, being dressed wrong at a party, sports.
1. Who do you live with?
I live with my husband Jay and our two cats. I’ve had the two cats longer than I’ve had the husband. (13 and 6 years vs. only 2)
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
I’m a library assistant in the circulation department of a large university library. I do the basics (check books in/out, harass people about fines, help little lost freshmen do research), as well as some more complicated behind the scenes stuff. I help run the interconnected libraries program for our school. I take care of and keep track of any outside users of our library, a task involving a lot of paper and several fat notebooks and a big bottle of aspirin. I look forward to Fridays because that’s the day I get to send threatening letters to slackers who don’t return their books. I spend a lot of time on the internet, and a lot of time chatting with students. I work approximately 10 feet from my husband, who also works in the library. He has an office. I have a cubicle. :P
3. What are you proud of?
Oh, I don’t know. My life is certainly not the glamorous life of research & lab work I envisioned when I was in middle and high school, and I didn’t become an astronaut or a scientist, but I’m still perfectly happy where I am and with who I am… so that counts for more, in my opinion. I’m proud that I can accept myself. I’m proud that I’m going to be a mom someday and I’m even more proud that I’m making plans to go back to school, to learn to become a pastry chef.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
I love cooking, long car rides (sorry, haha), rainy days, my family, and most importantly, chocolate. I hate bugs, thunder & lightning storms, driving in traffic, students who want to argue about their fines or overdue books, and packing for vacations.
1. I live with my very particular, demanding, and yet so-sweet husband and our equally demanding and particular and sweet 5 month old daughter.
2. I’m a mom. I change a lot of diapers, give a lot of baths, spend a lot of time with a hungry babe attached to me. I also do a lot of dishes, clean a lot of floors, drive lots of places…blah blah blah.
3. Hmm. It’s occurred to me that I’m not proud of much about myself at the moment. Gotta work on that. But I am proud of my daughter for being the smart little cookie she is, and of my husband for building his business to a point where he’s ready to hire someone else to do some of the grunt work for him. I guess I’m also proud of the fact that I’m a darn good mom and wife.
4. I love mint chocolate chip ice cream, iced cappucinos, books books books, people people people, and traveling, even if it’s just down the street. I do not like it when my husband doesn’t do what I want him to do (can we say spoiled rotten?), doing housework, running, people who make mountains out of molehills, or making decisions.
1. Who do you live with?
-My lovely husband and soon to be newborn (3 more weeks!)
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
-I am a freelance journalist, currently taking time off to deal with things like bedrest and baby incubating. I’m excited to get back to writing, though, someday.
3. What are you proud of?
-Mostly? That I made the incredibly difficult decision to have a baby. That I have somehow found that elusive balance of contentment, partnership and independence in my marriage. That I am happy and able to love.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
-I love Neil Finn. Traveling. Curling up on the couch with the hubby on the couch watching The Office. Reading for pleasure. Summer evenings with nothing particular to do.
-I dislike stupidity. Fear. Paranoia. Worry & resentment. And letting any of them having control in my life.
1. I live with my husband and my dog.
2. For work, I travel to the homes of kids with developmental disabilities, train their parents, and help troubleshoot any problems that they’re having.
3. I’m proud that I finally took on a job with more responsibility, after being a teacher assistant for 12 years. I’m proud that I have made a life for myself that I mostly really like.
4. I love dogs, the internet, books, Tivo, and the TV show House. I hate change, driving somewhere new, unloading the dishwasher, making decisons, and fish.
I like your questions better than mine.
1. I live with my (large and in charge) fiance Robby, my (Gigantor) baby Nolan, 10 months, and our mildly beligerent husky-shepherd cross, Jordi, who may or may not love me solely because I provide him with savoury bacon sauce each day.
2. I wipe a lot of bum, swirl dirt on the floor, obsessively read blogs, set mouse traps, and freelance in a haphazard and completely disorganized fashion.
3. I am proud of my son. That makes me want to sob. I am proud that the relationship I thought was doomed keeps hanging by a bloody thread, and I am helping to sew it up. I am proud of the fact that I am doing something about my writing. I am shocked that I’m a good Mom.
4. Love: Lush bath bombs, Augusten Burroughs, the crunch of dirt under my running shoes, Nolan’s giggle, the ring on Rob’s finger. Hate: Pettiness, country music, mommy feuds, angry drivers and asparagus.
1. I live with my husband (a knight in shining armor, really….no, really), my almost-eight-year-old daughter, and my seven month old daughter. Also, two cats, two dogs, assorted fish, several dust bunnies, a library full of books and a house full of textile craft and sewing supplies.
2. At work, I teach the elderly how to swallow and speak again after disease and illness takes those skills away. I attend many many meetings, break bad news to people, explain the inner workings of the brain, process the payroll, manage productivity and keep an eye on the bottom line. I also herd cats.
3. I’m most proud of my beautiful daughters, my wonderful husband (who is going back to college to get a degree), the fact that I am the only one in my family to have gotten a Master’s degree, and that I have many interests and talents and far too many hobbies!
4. LOVE: my family, books, glassworking, sewing, rainy fall days, fresh bedsheets, whipped cream, Celtic music, glossy magazines, Woodchuck hard cider.
HATE: self-important, holier-than-thou individuals, hypocrisy, abuse of women, children and animals, poison ivy/oak/sumac rashes, politics, and non-turn-signal-using jerks.
1. I live with my husband of *exactly* 9 months as of today. We share a house that is much too small with one large German Shepherd, 2 large cats, and one small-ish cat.
2. At work, I do physical therapy on babies and children. I work with babies as young as negative 5 days adjusted age, all the way up through high school. I tend to prefer the babies. I also spend a fair amount of my time writing up paperwork on said children and then complaining about it. Oh- and wiping spit-up off my clothes. I devote some serious time each day to that as well.
3. I’m proud of what I do at work, and I’m proud of the fact that I’m pretty good at what I do. I have been able to help children and their families in some really difficult situations, and I know it makes a difference to people when they need it most. I’m proud of my flexibility in difficult situations, and my ability to make people feel more at ease when they are uncomfortable. I’m really good at speaking in public, and that makes me happy.
4. I love-
everybody that shares my house. reading. a nice glass of Shiraz while reading. kittens and puppies. macaroni and cheese.
I hate-
being jealous. seeing roadkill. spelling mistakes on things like signs and reports- things that should be proofread by SOMEBODY, for god’s sake. most movies out there. people who abuse animals and children.
1. I live with my fiance Barrett and our two cats, Trixie and Colin.
2. I am currently unemployed after many years of managing work comp claims. So currently, I keep the house clean, blog, read other blogs, play with the cats, make wedding plans, cook, go see bands play, go to the gym, volunteer at the National Archives branch here in Seattle, and take temp work whenever I can with the U. W.
3. I am proud of the fact that I decided to leave a bad job that I didn’t like, even though I had no other employment lined up and it was scary. I am proud of being a good friend to my friends, esp. friends in need. I am proud of my burgeoning culinary skills.
4. I love Barrett/family/friends, basil, “Firefly” (a recent discovery), my music collection, and knowing that George W. Bush will no longer be President of my country by early 2009. I hate willfully ignorant people, paying COBRA, women who make me ashamed of my own sex for reasons too numerous to mention, Dennis Miller, and olives.
Heh. Yay. me, Number 66 … as of right now. If you get this far down the list I will be seriously impressed.
1. I live with my husband of almost two years, unless the Army is mandatorily separating us because of the violence or because of some fucking war in some fucking place or other.
2. At work, I write “articles” for a military “newspaper.” In other words, I spread propaganda. That is, when my co-workers and I aren’t mercilessly mocking everyone we know, up to and including each other. I also get to hear little snippets of genius in the form of quotes like, “It’s all fun and games until someone’s a crackhead.” Oh, and sometimes they let me shoot a rifle. Whee!
3. I’m proud of the fact that I have somehow managed to not get kicked out of the Army for four straight years already; I’m proud of getting through a year deployment without going clinically insane; I’m proud of my husband for putting up with my borderline clinical insanity, and I’m proud that I ultimately did NOT end up being the fuck-up in my family.
4. Love – my family, husband and friends, being right, getting laid, eating ravioli, and finishing things that I start. Like this list.
Hate – Other drivers, George W. Bush, Ign’ance, ruck marches, and motherfuckers who are too damn cheerful first thing in the morning on a fucking workday. Oh, and of course, the Army.
I should have posted this then unplugged my computer, because now I am obsessively reading all your comments with great interest and amazement rather than PACKING.
1. I live with my husband, my 14 month old little boy, and a neurotic cat.
2. I create web pages and logos, I try really hard not to leave Sesame Street on all morning to distract The Boy so I can drink coffee and read US magazine, I teach kids martial arts, and I wash dishes. I do not do laundry. I hate doing laundry.
3. I’m proud of the way my baby is turning out, I’m proud of my husband for being so kind and wonderful, and I’m proud of the fact that I can manage a house, raise a baby, work from home, and I’m proud that I have yet to kill the cat when she meows so loud that she wakes up the baby at 3am.
4. I love: ice cream, jamba juice, diet coke, twilight in the summer, and bad television.
I hate: reptiles, wind, when the baby won’t let me pick him up and does that wet-fish squirmy thing, yogurt, and when I find litter in my bed. Only on my side.
1. Who do you live with? My husband, my 14 month old son, and our 6 year old dog.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)? I answer reference questions, help library patrons, create library web pages, write grants, catalog books for library catalogs, etc. At home I keep house, clean up lots of poop (both dog and boy), cook, take my son on outings, do laundry, grocery shop, pay bills, etc.
3. What are you proud of? Of being a librarian, of standing up for the freedom of information against so many obstacles, of taking on a career that is so meaningful to me. Of my family, of my marriage, of my son, all of it everyday.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate? I love my family, my career, my neighborhood in Seattle & my old rickety fixer upper craftsman house, TiVo, and RSS readers. I hate when my husband makes fun of me for reading gossip sites/magazines, folding fitted sheets, body hair, gay bashing and two piece swim suits.
1. Who do you live with?
My husband and my bald son Connor, 14 months. No pets. Thankgod.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
Visit a ridiculous amount of stores around Auckland (New Zealand) trying to convince them to sell Motorola product. (You have one right!?). Yeah so mobile phones are my life unfortunately. At “Home Work” I spend my time trying to clean up the house (kind of gone a bit nutty after becoming a mum) which gets trashed again the exact second I put the vacume away. It’s not a good time.
3. What are you proud of?
Myself for having a 9pound plus baby. Christ. I am proud of me for pulling my head in and doing the best I can possible do for my son – for growing up A HELL OF A LOT the past year and a bit. I am proud of my hubby for continuing to put up with my crazy antics and so so proud of the little monster we like to call our “boy boy”.
I love eating out, summer time, trashy celebrity magazines, the feeling of pure happiness when my ugly roots have been touched up and shopping although this hardly happens these days!
I hate: Traffic, winter time, sick babies, fighting with the hubby and work stress.
1. I live with my husband, two sweet dogs, a yowly cat, numerous plants and a mountain of student loan debt.
2. At work I attend endless meetings, respond to never-ending email communications, drop everything for the latest crisis-du-jour, daydream about what it means to have a work/life balance, feed my fish, win friends and influence people. You know, the usual. At home I cook, vaccuum and generally try to avoid all other housework.
3. Although I have an aversion to the concept of pride, I am proud of the fact that I have been able to hold it together well enough to get to where I am.
4a. Outside of the ususal suspects (family, friends, pets, travel, books, movies, back & foot rubs, etc.), I love the Pacific Northwest and it’s natural, breathtaking beauty, mid-day napping on a sunny afternoon, the sound of an angry ocean crashing against rocky cliffs, thunder & lightning storms, and free days with nothing planned, no expectations and no responsibilities. Oh, and since I have a particular love for bending rules that are not my own, here’s number six: I love shoes.
4b. Aside from hating abusive behavior, egregious violence, decisions made by people who don’t have the practical experience or rational thought to make said decisions, people who drive SUVs but park in compact spaces, chores and redundancy, I hate:
*People who feel it is their duty to ensure others are following the rules such the dickwad in the far left lane who refuses to get over to the right because I shouldn’t be going faster than the speedlimit anyway. *People who don’t understand or care about how the choices they make adversely affect other people
*When one person dominates the conversation
*The entire experience of vomiting
*Being given unsolicited advice
With whom do I live: It’s just me, Napoléon the pug, and Mimine the Fat French Cat. But I’m thinking about making a key for my creepy neighbor who drinks Orangina while staring at me out the window which is just 10 feet away. He’s constantly there. He might as well move in and help me with the housework.
Some things I do at work: Yell at people in French and Italian. Do lots of spreadsheets for accurate fabric consumption calculations. Negotiate prices (in Eng, Fr, Ital). Fight for attention from major fashion magazines with snazzy little gifts, press kits and meticulously photoshopped pix. I constantly mail things. I argue with my bank manager at least twice a week. I’m suing 3 people right now. And once in a while I draw or sew things. I’m a clothing designer.
What am I proud of: Everyone understands my French, even with my Ricky Ricardo-thick accent. I’m proud that this company is actually going according to my evil plan and turning into quite a success. And that I know the alphabet in military speak, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta…
I love: 1. I actually have some people fooled into thinking I’m famous. So occasionally I get expensive things for free or cheap and/or VIP service. 2. When I walk outside depending on which way I turn, I’m either in front of St. Eustache (cathedral) or the Louvre. 3. The French medical system 4. Eating. Everything tastes so good here. 5. my boyfriend Bernard.
I hate: 1. People who are mean to me without provocation. 2. Doing housework 3. Having money problems 4. Pooing in public toilets 5. Business people who lie.
1. It’s just me and the dustmites here. Although I have someone staying with me for the next two weeks, and boy is it cramping my style.
2. Wipe tushies, kiss boo-boos, clean up, read books aloud, push swings, clean up, gently scold, do crafts, clean up, but first and foremost, I try to make sure “my” kids have a place where they’re (almost) as loved as they are at home.
3. My openmindedness and ability to love. My sister for taking on an obscure and difficult education because her gut tells her to.
4. Love: Felicity (the tv show), sleeping with the window open, getting comments on my very new blog (it’s such a thrill – *HINT*cough cough*), my physiotherapist (he’s yummy and rubs my feet!), iTunes.
Hate: house work, being told off, needles, spiders, plants that just won’t stay alive no matter what I do. Oh, and my boss.
1. i live with my cat in a big old stone house that was built in the 20’s & is divided into 4 GIGANTIC apartments. my boyfriend stays over frequently.
2. i process/analyze provider data & network information for a health insurance company. it’s very boring!!!!!!!!!!
3. i’m proud of my amazing yardsaling skillz! i have a cool apartment & almost everything in it came from yardsales. i’m also proud of my ability to make extra cash by consigning clothes & accessories i find for dirt cheap at yardsales.
4. 5 things i love–trying new foods, road trips, the ocean, cats, massages
5 things i hate–cockroaches, liars, stress, disappointing movie rentals, that my porch isn’t sunny so i can’t grow any veggies or herbs.
1. Officially, I live by myself, but really my boyfriend and I go back and forth between each others’ houses every other night. Thankfully we only live six blocks apart.
2. At work, I receive and process check requests for political contributions. I write and assist with the design of the newsletter for our political action committee. I manage the PAC membership campaign. I design and manage the company’s grass roots program. I attend fundraisers for candidates for office. I entertain elected officials at sporting events.
3. I’m proud of my professional accomplishments at the ripe ol’ age of 27 (today! Happy Birthday to Me!), and the fact that I bought my first home – a condo in Midtown Atlanta – last fall.
4. I love: My family (including my boyfriend), my condo, blue hydrangeas, my Kitchenaid mixer, and Georgia Football. I hate: humidity (particularly when I’m running), any book by Nicholas Sparks, bananas, teenagers in inappropriate clothing, and PT Cruisers.
1. I live alone in an ancient apartment where it’s strangely satisfying to watch the cars rush by on I-5 while drinking my morning coffee.
2. At work I spend a great deal of time on my tiptoes. I spin, I jump, I move to music. The best part of the job is the culmination of all my hard work into a live performance.
3. I’m proud of being able to succeed and make a living in the arts. I’m proud of being close to completing a four year degree while dancing full-time. I’m proud of the relationship I have with my family.
4. I love sleeping in a tent, freshly sharpened pencils, the sound of coffee grinding, bbqs, and the Internet. I hate worrying about what I eat, urban sprawl, phoniness, not understanding how the things I use on a regular basis work, and boredom.
I live with my husband of 32 years, my youngest son, who is 19 and one of the greatest people I know, 5 cats, all with neurosis particular to them, and a lab/something mix who is black with a serious skin condition and a food obsession and will, I’m convinced, live forever.
Since I have pretty much mothered myself out of a job, I’m currently trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I manage a wonderful house that was built in 1913, I volunteer with Matthew 25, an organization that feeds the hungry, and I host zillions of events, parties, bible studies, etc for college kids, most of whom I end up adopting.
I am proud to married to a man that fell 5 stories, should have died, didn’t walk for 2 years, and who at 45, decided that living on disability wasn’t for him and went back to college and ended up with a doctorate in clinical pharmacy and now supports me in my desire to find what it is that I want to do with my life. I am proud that I homeschooled both of my boys and my oldest is a Truman Scholar, living in Washington, managing 89 million in grant funds for the Rural Health Initiative, having the time of his life, and my youngest is having a blast in college, works for Chili’s and that both of them still willingly spend time with me and their Dad.
I LOVE: my family, my faith, to read, to talk (pretty much to anyone) to see college kids go from scared little freshman, to mature, functioing adults, to cook.
I HATE: Christians that put dogma above the love of people, my inability to express myself to my satisfaction, Judgment without grace and people who not only practice it, but revel in it, housework, and dirt…which means I spend a lot of time doing one, in order to live without the other.
1. I live with my husband of 11 1/2 years, our three aged cats, and two fish.
2. At my “real” job I write copy for websites, e-mails and online ad campaigns. For my band, I write lyrics and sing. I am also president of a community service organization. I don’t get a lot of housework done…
3. I am proud of my ability to do all of the abovementioned and still have time for my friends.
4. I love: my husband, the rest of my family, my cats, music, and the creative spark. I hate: bad drivers, the inconsiderate (see also, “bad drivers”), liars, the intolerant, and my own laziness.
1. I live alone, determinedly so.
2. I don’t work. I’m ‘under the doctor’ as we say here in the UK. Depression and agoraphobia. My shut-in self reads blogs, marvel at the fact that, with all this time on my hands, i still don’t clean up after myself and design jewellery that may some day get made.
3. I’m most proud of simply being alive, despite the many obstacles. I’m also proud of sticking with the therapy – after a year of sometimes daily appointments i honestly think i’m beginning to see the light. It’s an unflattering light but at least it feels truthful. I am proud of myself. I am.
4. Love: Shopping for groceries online, anything blue, people who share their lives via blogs, tourmalines and finally being able to accept that it’s ok to ask for help.
5. Hate: Being outdoors, Blair Govt/Bush Administration, that i let myself get so bad before i asked for help, people who treat retail-workers like servants and MELON! Oh God, it feels SO good to know i’m not the only nutjob in the world – cannot stand ANY kind of melon. Food shouldn’t taste like that.
Been reading for a long time, Sundry – you’re a terrific writer and photographer – hope you’re all having a great holiday.
1. I live by myself, although I hanker after all the big dogs that get taken for walks around my neighborhood.
2. I teach college-age engineers to be able to communicate with all of us who haven’t had 400 math and science classes. I also design curriculum materials and write articles about science that hopefully helps translate some of the weird thing scientists are up to.
3. I’m proud of my ability to cook for and listen to people who just need someone to understand, just for a minute.
4. Loves: My family, Utah’s Kolob Canyons, feeding people, the occasional moments of silence, Seattle’s Sunset Park.
5. Hates: Spiders, people who won’t try to listen to another person’s point of view, Patronizing people, the smell of coffee as I’m waking up.
1. I live with two roomates, both friends from my college years.
2. Well right now, I look for a real job, while keeping our house clean, editing papers for my Graduate School Portfolio, babysitting dogs, trying to be a good scholar and read something other than the weekly comic strips, and did i mention keeping the house clean. You’d think living with two other girls the house would be clean, but ho ho ho you’d be so wrong.
3. I am proud of myself, and my constant editing and re-editing of papers and *gasp* even writing new papers for graduate school applications.
4. Love: Abilene, Kissing, puppies who sleep under my desk, when my roommates actually do the dishes, and getting my hair done.
5. Hates: Dinner being left out all night, puppies who bark all night, bills, student loans, sleeping too long.
1. I live with my boyfriend, my son (who will be leaving for college in the Fall), two Dachshund pups and four domestic cats with various personality disorders.
2. I work in a small office and spend most of my day reading blogs, swilling diet pepsi and answering the occasional phone call. Sometimes I pay the bills or do the payroll or bill a customer. If I am not too busy on the Internet. I also go to school.
3. I am proud that I am less crazy and neurotic than I have been in the past. This is an ongoing project.
4. Love: my family, dinner on the back patio on a warm Summer evening, weekends with very few plans, the sun on my face and plain iced tea with a squeeze of lemon. Hate: noise, crowds, being late, clothes that need to be ironed, having to wear socks and shoes because it is too cold for flip-flops or sandals.
1. I live with my husband, my 16 year old son and almost-12-year-old daughter (they are my kids but my husband’s stepkids…their dad & I split up in 1996)…and our zoo: a Cockapoo dog named Toby, two guinea pigs named Seymour & Cruiser, a white half-deaf male cat named Sugar, a black longhaired cat named Sabrina, and 3 feral cats that we rescued from underneath our deck last month: the mom, Maxie, and her two kittens (about 2 months old) named Alice & Gracie. We’re socializing the ferals right now and it’s been wild! (No pun intended.)
2. I work from home with my husband, making candles. We have an online business (Contemporary Candles) that keeps us very, very busy! I do all website and graphics stuff, all business paperwork, invoicing, label design, etc. My husband does all the packing and shipping, computer maintenance, any technical stuff. He’s the one who slings the 50 pound boxes of wax, and he’s also the one who comes up with really cool candle ideas (he’s the one who came up with our marble pillars, and he’s the one who makes them because I have NO IDEA how he does it). We LOVE being together all the time, and the business works well for us — I get to feed my creative, crafty side with a little nerdiness thrown in via the website work…Dave gets to feed his technical side coming up with candle formulas, upgrading the computers, etc. We have a great time!
3. I’m proud of our business doing so well; my kids, who are both very creative and unique kids (definitely not ‘follow the crowd’ types); the fact that all of our pets came from rescue situations; and strangely enough, whenever tells me that they can’t tell I have a severe hearing loss. It makes me proud of my lip reading and speaking skills (although my kids can immediately tell when my hearing aids are out — my speech totally changes).
4. I love: my family and pets; music; watching TV with my family; my hair (naturally curly and so easy to style); reading a really well-written book. I hate: spiders; what my body looks like (I will never be happy with how I look, unfortunately); being in debt; parmesan cheese; teaching my son how to drive…omg…it scares me!
1. I live with four boys, all with the most gorgeous blue eyes.
I live with my sweet husband of eight years, my delightfully cute eight month old son, and two fantastic indoor cats (brothers) who we regularly buy wheat grass for. What can I say, I love cleaning up cat puke. Not. It just seems like the right thing to do. I mean, if they were outside they’d be eating the grass, right? It’s our guilt that buys it for them.
2. I quit my job to stay at home with little mister. I can’t say as I miss going to the office everyday. At home I keep the laundry mountain at bay by doing as little as possible at one time, although, once it’s clean I have no where to put it because the closets are all full of clothes that don’t fit. Course “I’ll get back into them one day” rings in my ears everytime I look in there with disgust. I also keep the kitchen somewhat clean, keep the cats fed and potty box changed, check the mail, pay the bills, do the banking, plan our travels, do the shopping (find the best deals I can!), bring my honey coffee and lunch at work, visit with friends/playgroups, keep little mister entertained, fed, lovied, bathed and read to. I’m sure there is more but can’t come up with it right now cause I’ve only had one cup of coffee today.
3. I am proud of the mama, wife and daughter that I am. I am proud that even though I am really, really fat (I grew up the fattest kid in school) I did not let the cruel words of strangers and peers ruin me. I am proud that it did not turn me into a miserable bitch. I am also proud of my savvy shopping ways. You can get some good stuff at garage sales! A good deal is like crack to me.
4. LOVE: I love my family, friends and cats, I love a good deal, I love fresh bread and butter, I love to travel to new places, and I heart burts bees lip balm.
HATE: When people do the neck/back popping or cracking (This is more than just a “hate”. I can’t even watch chiropractic commercials without feeling nauseated-hell, just writing this is making me feel all UGHoqierlkadjroeh!) I hate those commercials for the foot funk infection where the bug thingy digs down into the toenails. GROSSSSSSSSS. I hate cleaning, dishes de-cluttering, I hate having a small house, and I hate mean spirited people.
1. Who do you live with?
I live with my boyfriend of 4 1/2 years (ahem). We call him the Walrus because he walks funny. Also sharing our abode are the Walrus’ psychotic but inherently lovable Australian Shepherd and my cat who constantly looks at me with a mixture of pity and disdain.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)? I’m a television producer. You would think this would be terribly exciting, but my day mostly consists of cutting and pasting numbers and talking to Jerry Falwell. Sigh. I do a lot of reading, research, coordinating reporter liveshots and producing interstitial pieces for the network (read: TIME KILLERS). Currently my number one priority is setting aside time each day to do exhaustive searches for cute animal video. I love what I do but I’m currently in a lull.
3. What are you proud of?
You’ve caught me in a period of self-pity and general depression, so I can’t say that I feel like I’m proud of much lately. I guess I’m proud that I wasn’t Led Astray in my early twenties as I would have probably wound up dead in a ditch somewhere or doing hammer curls with someone’s femur in the rec yard of my local penitentiary.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
Lerve:
1.) My family (Walrus, pets and close friends included in this motley crew)
2.) ‘Vanity Fair’
3.) Diet Coke
4.) Fall & Spring in the city I currently reside in
5.) Good Hummus
Hateration:
1.) Douchebaggery of any sort
2.) Double parkers
3.) Religious zealotry
4.) ‘Entourage’ – yeah I said it!
5.) Eharmony commercials
1. I live with my husband of 5 years, one tank of fish, three fire-bellied toads, a few dozen houseplants, and a 19 (gestational) week-old fetus we call The Dictator. Oh yeah, and spiders. Lots of spiders *shudder*.
2. I’m unemployed for the summer, but assuming I find a job I will spend my day wrangling children and attempting to teach them what the government wants me to teach them, with emphasis on “phonics” and “math facts”. Right now I clean the house, surf the web, redecorate my house, and gestate The Dictator.
3. I’m proud of my husband, who is pursuing his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot. Even though it’s going much more slowly than he would like, and he has hit some annoying snags, he is toughing it out through a very rough period. Personally, I’m proud of my science education. Even though I eventually got a B.A., I took enough upper-division biology to understand scientific journals, and I love that.
4. I love: My family and friends. That I’m finally going to be a mom. The Sierra Nevadas (especially the west side, central, aroung 5000′ elevation). Dirt, mud, and bugs. Coffee. Hanging out with my husband, each of us on our own computer. Traveling (especially summertime roadtrips). Seeing the inside of other people’s houses. Having lunch with my parents. Fashion relics of the ’90’s, like tribal arm bands, flannel shirts, and non-pimp earings on guys. Bacon. Sci fi movies and novels, fantasy computer games. Open-mindedness. Ikea.
1) I live with my neurotic cat Sierra. She’s the only being on earth afraid of more things than me.
2) At work I run various support groups including a women’s group, an empowerment group and a wellness and recovery group. I am also on various committees for person centered training and a committee that is trying to improve the media’s image of people with mental illness.
3) I am proud of my artwork and writing skills. I am also proud that I am now back to work part time after being on disability for anxiety issues. Five years ago I could barely leave the house. Yay me!!
4) Loves: Art of all kinds, musical theatre, walking, nature, cats, comedy. Whoops, that’s six, sorry.
5) Hates: People who don’t listen and talk over the top of you, people who hurt children in any way, people who destroy nature in any way, those dopey ear cell phone pod thingies and spiders (!!!!!!!!)
1. I live with my husband, two sons and two dogs. Every other weekend we are joined by my two stepsons and 1 stepdaughter. Also, though we don’t live “together”, my parents live next door to us. Close enough!
2. At work work … file health insurance claims, invoice, post money, verify insurance benefits, run reports. At home work … create spreadsheets, make marketing calls, create marketing correspondence, work on company website. At home home work … cook, clean, laundry, change toddler’s clothes 5 times a day, listen to son’s neverending stories, compliment really cool preschooler artwork, scratch hubby’s back.
3. I am proud of my sons. I am proud of my marriage that everyone was certain would fail within six months. I am proud of my inner strength and courage. I am proud of my ability to be open-minded and spontaneous even though that is not how I was raised.
4. Love: travel, champagne, husband’s kisses, erotic stories, and my children
5. Hate: judgemental people, eggs, being broke, loss of freedom, my children being sick
1. I live with my husband, Kevin, and my ten-month-old son, Ian. We also have a couple of pet rocks.
2. I sell Mary Kay cosmetics when I’m not being a mom.
3. I’m proud of living a fairly interdependent life, proud of my husband and son and of being a mom. I’m also proud of my twin who unknowingly gives my strength and cheers me up when I’m having a bad-mommy day.
4. I love my family, dark chocolate, enjoying nature, riding a tandem bike and cooking. I hate lima beans, lutefisk (I don’t know if I spelled that right), all things Math, the fact that I can’t always comfort my son and getting lost in my own neighborhood (sure, I meet people who are helpful but I feel incompetent, especially when my husband has walked the same route with me numbers of times).
1. I live with my roommate and several other people who just kind of moved into our suite. It’s miserably cold all the fucking time.
2. Well, at my university, my work includes performing with the theatre department and the ballet company. The job that pays is working at another theatre (sometimes onstage, sometimes offstage), which occasionally entails lifting heavy things, and I like to bitch about it and constantly whine that OHMYGOD something might fall on my feet and IT’SALLTHEIRFAULTIFMYDANCECAREERISRUINED.
3. I’m proud of moving over a thousand miles away from home to pursue my dreams in fields that my family considers a waste of time. But I’m proud of where my talent and ambition has gotten me. [It's already paying off, so the fam can just eat their hats. Or better yet, the entire inventory of the Hat Store.]
4. LOVES: Snow, even though it means I have to walk around in freezing crazy sub-zero temperatures. The smell of my dance studio back in the day – kind of like feet, but less gross. People who get really territorial about their school/favorite sports team/music, whatever, it’s endearing. The way my best friend drives – it’s awful, but I laugh everytime he yells “CURB CHECK!”. And, ummm….alcohol. I know how that sounds, don’t hate!
HATES: The fire alarms that randomly go off in the middle of the night in my dorm when there isn’t a fire, so fuckall. The way my feet look after years in pointe shoes. Fuckers in traffic or people standing in line behind you at the bank who honk/tap your shoulder like .3475 seconds after the light turns green or the next teller opens up, I mean, chill out, dude. The fact that I can never get anywhere on time and am perpetually ten minutes late. That little girl on the T-Mobile commercial ["I love chewing guummmm!"]
Well, hope that kept you entertained for a moment….have fun playing in the woods, don’t wipe with any poison ivy!
1. I live with my husband Kelley and our dog Charlie.
2. I am Executive Assistant at a Suicide Hotline. I truly work with the best people on the planet. I do everything from cleaning out the fridge to balancing our million dollar budget. I never have the same day twice and I love it!!
3. I’m proud of my relationships with my family, of my husband (for going back to school at 40), of my brother for quiting his very reliable job to following his dream of becoming a musician and acutally make a living at it and of myself for not settling and have the life I’ve always dreamed about.
4. I love the internet (I generally say this once a day), peanut butter cups, lunching with my girlfriends and lazing at the beach. I hate narrowminded, judgemental and loud people, brussel sprouts and Bill O’Reilly.
I love reading your blog Sundry, safe travels!!
1. I live with my husband Grendel, our four children Beanie, Buster, Bug & Tattoo (fast becoming known as Butter), and our cat, Inigo Montoya, who hates children and therefore lives in our basement.
2. I shuffle children around to various therapies and activities, break up a lot of fights, clean up a lot of thrown food, and wipe up a lot of blood. When is September again?
3. I’m proud of the fact that I nursed the first three kids for at least a year since I was better able to deal with their food allergies that way. I’m proud of how much I’ve learned about the State and Federal guidelines for early intervention therapies. I’m proud of how much improvement I’ve made in being able to advocate for my kids with professionals who are supposed to know more than me but often don’t.
4. I love my kids, chocolate, fat baby legs, sitting outside in a warm summer rain, and taking a nap in the spring when the breeze blows in the windows and the birds chirp. I hate people who wallow in their ignorance, doctors who have no empathy, bad drivers, rich soccer moms, and the thought of anything bad happening to my kids.
1. Who do you live with? My husband, our 23 month old son (almost 2 years old! *sniff*), and our 2 French Bulldogs.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)? At the office I act as a liaison between the state agency I work for and the state legislature: answering questions, analyzing legislation, policy stuff, testifying at legislative hearings, etc. At home I try to keep the household running without taxing myself too much or nagging my husband constantly.
3. What are you proud of? I’m proud of getting myself out of a dead-end, soul-sucking career in social work to where I am today. I’m proud of buying our new car by myself–negotiating with the salesman while my husband wrangled our son in the lobby. I’m proud that I am a kick-ass cook. I’m proud that I can sing Old MacDonald Had a Farm 5000 times in a row at the request of my darling son without totally losing my shit.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate? I love my boy’s curly red hair and his easy smile, hot tea, cherry pie, the sound of cicadas on a hot evening, the quilt my Granny made me. I hate grammatically incorrect signs, people who park their grocery cart in the middle of an aisle while they wander off, seeded rye bread, the Iraq occupation and our current administration.
Thanks for asking. It’s really inspiring reading all the responses.
I live with my truly wonderful fiance and black hearted kitty, Martina.
At “work” I make drawings of semi-abstracted aerial views of cities which my gallery sells for real money that actually spends in stores and stuff!!
I am proud of finally being able to live off my art which has been my dream since I was ten! Also, for my twelve year relationship with my aforementioned wonderful partner, going to graduate school, taking care of my sick mom, and quitting smoking.
I love the fam, travelling, reading short stories, art, and artichokes. I hate not knowing what to say when it really matters, green bell peppers, cigarette smell in my hair, housework and goodbyes.
1. Who do you live with?
I live with three cats a puppy and my fiance (until he becomes my husband next month!)
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
I grade bad student exams, sometimes lead class discussions, and mostly sit in my office talking with my colleagues while waiting for students who rarely come in.
3. What are you proud of?
I am proud of our new house, of my amazing fiance who has been doing a great job at work, and of myself for doing well in school all this time.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
Love: snow in New England, my fiance, BBC versions of Jane Austen movies, matte nail polish, and all of my critters.
Hate: People who use books as “decoration”, driving in traffic (but everyone hates that), the misuse of semi-colons, humidity, and Fox News.
1. I live with a guy who as of 2 weeks ago (after 3.5 years) decided that he’d rather be my ‘flatmate’ than my partner – but I won’t bore you all with that saga! We also share our freezing flat with 2 gorgeous cats and 2 tanks of tropical fish (his not mine).
2. I work for a newspaper in sales and marketing. I’ve recently had a change of role so it’s going to be a lot more marketing, specifically in charge of promotions for subscribers, I’m looking forward to the challenge.
3. I’m proud of my honours degree, my friends and family, the way I’m coping so far with the curveball that said guy (ref question 1) has thrown at me, that I’m saving money to travel and will hopefully be experiencing the joys of Ireland, Italy etc in early 2007.
4. 5 things I love – chocolate, the internet, shopping, travel, family and singing while driving
5 things I hate – bad drivers, abuse of those who can’t defend themselves, spelling mistakes & bad grammar, bugs and most food with seeds (melon and tomatoes in particular)
It’s been neat reading through all the responses and also wanted to let you know how much I love your blog. Hope you have a great holiday and that car trip isn’t too unbearable!
1. I live with my mom and dad and little brother and cat and dog and two guinea pigs and lots of goldfish and also a frog. But I usually sleep at my boyfriend’s house and keep my most important belongings in my car.
2. At work I do boring cashier things and deal with jerks who don’t understand that I have no control over anything that happens at the store in which I work, as I am just a lowly cashier. Please stop yelling at me; I did not set the price of those strawberries. Also I’m a 5th semester economics major at Penn State, so I do boring school type things at school like writing papers and reading and studying and drinking.
3. I’m proud of conquering depression and that horrible self injury habit. Also proud of making it through two years of college and hopefully graduating in 2 more years.
4. I love my boyfriend and my family and my pets, especially the pigs, also froufrou coffee drinks, and people who make me laugh.
I hate when people scream at me at work (it happens everyday!), cellphones, strawberries, scars, and midgets.
1. Although we live in separate houses, they’re connected, so I somewhat live with my mom. I definitely live with two cats, two goldfish, two cockatiels, and whatever is growing in my fridge.
2. I work front desk at a hotel, which involves spending a lot of time playing online and trying to resist the urge to buy a third package of peanut butter cups from the vending machine. My favorite part of the job is when the housekeepers turn in their sheets for the day, and I get to click the little vacuum icons in the computer and turn them into happy flowers.
3. I am proud of the person I am becoming. Not quite there yet, but I’ve come a long way. I am also proud of my cat for having the best cat behavior ever when I take her to the vet. She may be the only animal on earth that actually likes to go to the vet- she purrs the whole time and licks the vet’s hands when he is trying to examine her. I hope my kids turn out half that good!
4. 5 things I love: The internets, books, vanilla frappuccinos, travel, sleeping while it is raining
5 things I hate: driving in storms, seafood, lies, women who play dumb for attention, laws against gay marriage
1. I live with my husband of 9 years (three years married), our two fat lovable houscats (one who is currently trying to help me type this entry!) and one crazy crazy dog. Oh yeah, plus we rent out our basement (helps pay the mtg!) so we have a roommate too (sort of). :)
2. At work I go to the aquarium to see the “optopus’s”, read story books, race to the potty, make tuna fish sandwiches with “mommy pickles”, sing songs, dance, play the flower game, color, drive around precious cargo *a 4 year old*, walk the dog, and drink lots of water! I’m a nanny; so fun, so much work!
3. I’m Proud that we bought a house when we were 24, I’m proud that I’m married to my best friend in the whole world, I’m proud that I’ve been in therapy for 5 + years, I’m proud that I can *almost always* find the silver lining, I’m proud that I can always spot “the bad men”, I’m proud that I can protect myself, I’m proud that I know how to set boundaries, I’m proud that I can say no…
4. I Love it when my husband drives, I love making things with my hands, I love my stomache in a bikini, I love my brothers (does that count as 2?), I love lying down on a comfy bed in a dark room at the end of a long day! — I Hate politics, I hate that negative little voice in my head, I hate it when my mom is drunk all the time, I hate feeling helpless, I hate being sweaty!
I also Love this blog and how much you share with us. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!
I remember when I first started therapy (we were both living on Capitol Hill at the time) and I asked my therapist what we would do if we ever ran into each other in public… She said that she wouldn’t aproach me ever but that if I wanted to say hi to her that would be great and if I didn’t then that’s fine too. I haven’t had that happen ever but I always thought it would be strange… Someone who knows all your secrets and just walking away w/out saying anything. I’d talk to her, but some people wouldn’t I guess…
In that same way I wonder how strange it would be if I ever saw you guys in public. I feel strange like I know you but I know that I don’t. Like poor celebritys who people are always going up to and talking to like they know them… I’d probably be that strange girl in the corner who keeps pointing and whispering to her husband “look honey, it’s Sundry”, maybe. I’m pretty sure I’d never be able to bring myself to say hello though. Strange thought.
Oh yeah and PS. I have that stupid bumpy arm shit too and I was determined not to have that in my wedding pictures w/ my perfect dress! Everyone needs to feel pretty at their own wedding! I exfoliated every few day w/ some home made sugar scrub (Sugar w/ equal parts honey and olive oil) and every day after the shower I used this “Neutrogena Skin Smoothing body lotion” on my arms. It works like a charm as long as you apply the lotion every day, or a few times a day if you want. I’m lazy about it in my real life. It’s all about “the dress” though! :)
Thanks again, Cheers! -h
1. I live with my baby daddy, Sam and 16 month old son, Ryder.
2. At work, I basically babysit adults. I supervise an imaging dept at a insurance claims document center-all that paperwork/photo’s of the bad shit that happens to you and you want to get paid for that you have to send in-I see that it gets into an electronic format. I read many, many blogs (Sundry-you’ve made me laugh out loud many times to which I have to immediately cover up!) and chat with people I shouldn’t be chatting with at work. Oh yeah, and stalk IT guys. heh.
3. I’m proud that my son is growing up happy and well. I’m proud that I’ve made it almost 2 years and everyone in my family is still relatively sane and healthy. I’m proud that the changes I decided to make when I decided to have a child are still in effect. I’m also proud of the person I am becoming. I’m proud that for the first time in my life I am excited about the future and am able to let the past go.
4. I hate driving. I hate the buying a house game. I hate that I make more money than my partner. I hate when my child cries and I don’t know what he needs. I hate whining adults. I also hate that I haven’t been able to really write since this whole pregnancy/having a child thing took over my life. I love getting up at the ass crack of dawn and leaving work earlier than everyone else. I love that sometimes I am the one my son looks to for comfort. I love the feel of the air right before a storm. I love the rain (I lived in Seattle for 4 years and miss it desperatly!) I love the ocean.
1. I live with my husband, our son, 2 cats and a dog and my sister and her daughter are temporarily staying with us – I hope.
2. At the work away from home I write code for websites and web apps, design stuff centered around sites and apps and things of that nature. At home I chase after my soon-to-be 9-month old and I cook stuff like Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern and other non-American foods and feed my boy who seems to love everything thus far.
3. How well my son is doing and how well we as a family are doing, just in general. While my boy is still very young, his little personality is so golden. He’s so happy and that makes me happy.
4. 5 things I love (kid and family goes w/o saying) would be cooking a great meal for the family, curling up in bed during a rainstorm and reading, cold and nasty weather (never happens here in AZ), the relief and satisfaction I feel when I’ve completed a project and watching my husband do normal things after coming so close to death via a car accident. Things I hate would be spiders, this Arizona summer heat, slobs, people who are lazy and stupid drivers.
1) I live with my totally awesome husband of 3 years, fat, piggy cat and darling little pug dog, Sunny.
2) At work, I’m a small-town newspaper editor and columnist. I edit articles, write really exciting copy like the police blotter, business events and photo captions, determine community content and spend time dealing with the elderly as they try to convince me that the photo of their grandson swimming in the Gulf should be on the front page. I also write a regular column on life in my area. In a previous life, I did what you do now for a technology company, plus financial communications.
3) I’m proud of my marriage. I’m proud of the fact that I had the balls to change careers at age 30, and give up working like a dog in exchange for living like a real person. I’m proud of my writing, and of my resolve to do it.
4) I love my family, including the furry ones, anything with heavy cream or butter in it, reading blogs and learning about other people’s lives, reading good books, writing absolutely anything – from blog posts to working on my novel to emails to friends. I also love my friends to bits.
5) I hate celery, mosquito bites, sushi that isn’t fresh and undercooked hamburgers. I also hate moodiness, excessively perky people in the morning, and people who can’t see beyond their own circumstances to understand other people.
1. I live with my boyfriend, Jesse James, and our mess.
2. I now work in a kitchen store and school and, while liking cooking and stuff, don’t much like the job, so, ech. My work is also to find different work.
3. I am proud of getting almost every job I’ve ever applied for and for spending a year teaching high school in Japan and not going crazy. Also for my sweet and endlessly satisfying relationship. Also for traveling to 15 countries.
4. I love Jesse, dogs, cooking, the beach and that end-of-spring-beginning-of-summer feeling of anticipation. And Portland.
5. I dislike all the east coasters moving into downtown Portland and making it stodgy, the callouses on my feet, doing the dishes, being told what to do (with my life) and the word “hate”.
1. I live with my husband of 2.5 years, two 6 year old cats & two Golden Retrievers
2. I have the great fortune to not work outside the home. My work at home includes standard domestic drudgery, trying to deter the cats from ripping up the furniture, wrangling the wild masses of pet hair (mostly dog) so they don’t come alive at night and smother us, and most of all, I am currently making a baby (I’m at 27 weeks).
3. I’m proud of my tiny family and the happy life we’ve created for ourselves.
4. I love: Food (well, that may be the pregnancy talking, I didn’t used to be like this), my family, a great head massage, the smell of fresh sheets on the bed & a lazy rainy day with good snacks, a good book & a nice nap. I hate: stupid drivers, scrubbing floors, feeling unheard, coming down from a vacation high, & ugly toes.
1.
1.
I will get there eventually — grr trying to do 12 things at once….
1. I live with my husband and 2 cats and 1 spoilt dog. In 7 months time I’ll be living with a brand new baby too eeekkkK!!
2. I work for a large govt organsiation as a consultant. I get to do fun things like advise community groups, give training and generally try and make a difference.
3. I am proud of how my marriage has changed over the year or so. 18 months ago it was falling to pieces and now its strong and going to bring a new life into the world.
4. I love food. esp the cooking and the eating . I also love having a shower and washing my hair and shaving my legs and then getting into afreshly made bed.
5. I don’t like people who blame others for their issues. I don’t brussel sprouts as well.
well since you seriously enjoyed this so much…
[1] i live in new york city [woot woot for queens!] in a two-bedroom walk up apartment with a friend from college, nicolette. no pets. unless you count the landlord that lives downstairs. however, i really would love a dog but im just not home enough to care for it the way it would deserve.
[2] i have a variety of jobs. my main job is as a pedatric hematology-oncology-bone marrow transplant nurse at the childrens hospital. i do that from 7pm to 7am for 13 shifts out of every 28 days. then on my days off im a hip hop and spinning instructor at new york sports club [one of the gyms in the city with like 60 different locations] and i also work at my job prior to working at the hospital as a home care nurse in east harlem [aka 'the hood']. there i work mostly with pregnant moms and then the moms and their babies [lots of teaching on child development, breastfeeding, nutrition, etc], kids with asthma and kids and adults with diabetes. and im also applying to columbia for grad school to be a pediatric nurse practicioner.
[3] im proud of graduating from university and doing so with honors and at the top in my nursing class. im VERY proud to sign RN at the end of my name. im proud of the job i do on a general basis. im proud that ive managed to make a life for myself here in nyc on my own, as my family is at the other end of the state.
[4] 5 things i love: grande one-pump-sugar-free-vanilla-non-fat-lattes from starbucks. [i am a coffee snob kinda.] guinness. [yeah and im kinda a beer snob, too.] sitting on the beach in a bikini with a beer in hand. my dvr. [im at work when all the good tv shows are on!] my ipod. [makes commuting on the trains and buses SO much nicer.] 5 things i hate: some days, the mta, when the trains and buses are messed up. crushing medication at work. the fact that new yorkers say “next on line” instead of “next in line” when youre waiting at the checkout somewhere. when people get your and you’re confused. [NOT interchangeable people!] beef.
holy cow! this crowd is a poll-lovin bunch!
1. Who do you live with? husband and 9 month old daughter
2. What are some of the things you do at work? primarily take care of daughter, which includes trying to figure out her optimal schedule, teaching her words, chasing the crawl-monster and picking up cheerios. secondarily, designing web sites and playing phone tag with clients.
3. What are you proud of? I’m currently proud of our newly-cleaned and super-organized condo. It took 3 days, but the place has never looked so good! I’m proud that I’ve been able to sustain working for myself. I’m proud that aforementioned daughter seems to be actually learning stuff, and I love teaching her!
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate? 1. I love being a teacher (see prev.) 2. I love my family. 3. I love watermellon sherbert in a waffle cone. 4. I love working for myself. 5. I love my new facewash and lotion that I just bought. 1. I also hate the bumps on my upper arms (thanks for the link btw). 2. I’m not in love with my car, but live with it. 3. I hate peppers, and any food that is pepper-related. 4. I dislike phony people. 5. I hate that our condo is too small for us to have another kid.
1. I live with my boyfriend Patrick and our beagle Minnie, who thinks she runs the house. (and it just might be possible)
2. Work is kind of a catch all. The main parts – Manage my employees mostly and I also maintain the network and our website. I do all sorts of other small things, things that are too tedious to write about!
3. I am proud of the fact that I am debt free. I am proud that I quit smoking after 10 years, and I did it cold turkey. I am proud of the friends I have made.
4. 5 Things I love – the way seasons smell (when you can smell the snow coming or rain, the crisp smell of fall, etc.); people who make me laugh so hard I can’t breathe; reading a great book; anything pumpkin (flavor or smell); and dr. pepper (diet or regular). 5 Things I hate – People who are cruel; People who think they know everything; my lack of will power when trying to be healthier; Bad drivers; the last day of vacation.
1. I live with my husband, our five children (ages seven, five, four, two, and newborn,) and three big dogs.
2. When I had my “own” career, the one I went to school for, I taught gifted pullout reading and math programs in an elementary school. Now I file paperwork, pay bills, invoice customers, answer phones, etc. for our small business as well as cooking meals, cleaning house, changing diapers, and homeschooling my kids. The business part is about to go as the fifth child was just born (yesterday, seriously) and I have told my husband something has to give.
3. I am proud of us for following our dream in moving to Hawaii even when everyone thought we were crazy and making a great life for ourselves here. I am proud of building up our own business while making time to be good parents. I am proud of the education I am giving my children and the fun we have together.
4. I love my family, great books, the ocean, the palm tree outside my bedroom window, and the strong sense of community where we live.
I hate living so far from my extended family, people who give Christianity a bad name, anyone who hurts children, and the fact that mold and fungus grow so easily on anything I don’t get to cleaning here.
1. Who do you live with? My wonderful human husband, and 3 furry pseudo children. These children are living their current lifetimes in the form of a dog and 2 cats.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)? I am a office mgr. in a wholesale warehouse. I have to beg the customers for payment, pay the employees, pay our vendors, process general ledger paperwork for our accountants, and most importantly kiss my bosses’ ass whenever it is needed.
3. What are you proud of? I am most proud of my 23 yr old son. He has been on his own since 18 yrs old. (even if he didn’t go on to college…)
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
Loves: 1. cuddling w/housemates, 2. reading, 3. making art, 4. eating, 5. time off work
Hates: 1. getting up for work, 2. being overweight (see #4 love), 3. hot weather, 4. worrying about paying bills, 5. getting old (turning 47 this month)
I live with Mr Man (man), Mud Bug (dog), Crackhead (kitty), Is he dead? (’nother cat), 2 horses (if they are standing, they are alive…right?).
At work (depending on the day) I am instructing people how to kayak, dive or taking them on trips in the pacific. I spend alot of time in the water or on the water. And then I come home and clean up after all of the above.
I am proud that I asked Paul to leave. I am proud of the fact that I have moved beyond some really difficult things in my life. I am proud that I made a huge change in my life and it worked!! I am proud of my dog when she listens to me.
Five things I love:
First and foremost My Little Sister (I don’t know what I would do without her)
1. Kayaking.
2. That I have really great friends & family
3. Cheese
4. Diving
5. Mr Man
5b. My dog
Five things I hate:
1. That my mother and older sister are not here anymore
2. That I really can’t stand my step-mother
3. That she has ruined my relationship with my Dad
4. That I have trouble letting some things go
5. That I let things eat me up.
1. Who do you live with? My husband of 10 months and one tabby cat
2. What are some of the things you do at work? provide language therapy to students with autism and Asperger’s, run social skills groups, schedule IEP meetings, train other SLP’s in understanding social-cognitive deficits and how to best work with these students, am the SLP on the new Autism Team.
3. What are you proud of? I’m proud that I paid my way through six years of college, I’m proud that my Dad was proud of me, I’m proud that I had the courage to leave my homestate and move to CA by myself and I’m proud of the work that I do for my students
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate? 1. I love being an SLP 2. I love my husband and Mom. 3. I love the Gap’s Long and Lean jeans (at 5′1″, I’ll take all the long and lean I can get! 4. I love fish tacos and a cold beer. 5. I love the Black Crowes. 1. I hate bugs of all kinds 2. I hate So Cal traffic 3. I hate that even though I earn a good salary, I still can’t buy any kind of home here. 4. I hate unfriendly people. 5. I hate any type of beans.
1. I live with my husband, Crazy Jeephead Man (”I have a jeep on my head! I’m crrraazyy! Now give me some candy!”), his jeep projects, our giant hound and a lot of dust.
2. I read leases, negotiate purchase and sale contracts, draft loan documents, have conference calls, drink gallons of coffee and try to get away with “business casual” as often as possible.
3. I’m proud of Crazy Jeephead Man, getting in better shape and owning my own home. I’m proud of handling a stressful work environment without cracking (most of the time). I’m proud of my sister for growing up into a cool person.
4. I love Crazy Jeephead Man, brownies with cream cheese icing, sexy shoes, weekends and curling up with a good book and a glass of wine. I hate having to go to the office on weekends, lima beans, seeing my grandparents get older, snobs and running late.
Hi! I love your site.
So… I live with my boyfriend of four years, my very nervous cat, and my other very mischevious cat, and my boyfriend’s four (and counting…) bikes. As in, bicycles. Not motorcycles, thank GOD. Because our house is too damn small for that.
At work I am a paper pusher for a Continuing Medical Education office. Sometimes I travel to push papers in other places around the country, sometimes even in Canada. I read about lots of gross medical conditions, and then convince myself that I have them.
I’m proud that my boyfriend and I have managed to stay together through some very rough times in the beginning. I’m proud that we bought a house when we were only 22. I’m proud that I’ll be finishing my Master’s in two weeks.
I love my cats, my boyfriend and all his many bikes, walking out of an over-airconditioned building into the warm blast of summer humidity, drinks with little or no calories (Diet Coke and Crystal Light Lemonade being the top favorites), and how close I’ve gotten with my brothers now that we’re older. I hate irresponsible pet owners, smug marrieds (as defined by Bridget Jones), people who honk the horn late at night instead of getting a cell phone or getting out of the car, plants that start to die if you don’t water them for one day, and cold weather.
Have a great time on vacation, and I hope you don’t hit a bit of holiday traffic.
1. Who do you live with?
My husband, my eight month old son, and our three Papillon dogs. Our horses don’t live with us, but they’re family too!
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
Organize the scholarships for the college, assist our major giving officers.
3. What are you proud of?
My kiddo, of course. But also that I’ve managed to keep a lot of myself even now that we have Grant. I like to think I’m being a good mom too. Plus I ride a horse pretty well!
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
Love: Grant’s soft hair, the feel of a great class showing my horse, my perennial flowers, the garden swing in our back yard, and driving fast with the windows down and the radio up.
Hate: Dirty baby fingers and toes, smokers who throw the butt out their windows while driving, the two bosses who left at work, pushy people, selfish people.
1. I live with my husband Adam, my 23 month old son, Conner, our two weims, Gandee and Gracee, the the baby that is currently enutero, Lillian.
2. I sell advertising for a magazine, which includes a lot of cold-calling (bleah) leaving a lot of voicemails, and hopefully getting people a successful campaign which will help them generate lots of calls. At home I try not to kill the plants, keep Conner from biting the dogs, and remodeling our 130 year old house
3. I am proud of my husband for being in the Army National Guard, I am proud of how well we have done with Conner, I am proud of the work I have done on our home, and in our city and the local politics.
4.
Love-
Conner, Adam, my family, cheese, spending money
Hate-hair in the drain in the shower, cleaning my house, cigarette smoke, bad drivers and working
1. I live with my husband, my 9 and a half month old son.
2. At my office job I am a lawyer that writes, researches, organizes documents and does whatever the partners ask me to do. At home, I chase around my son who crawls and furniture walks lightning fast, read his favorite Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? over and over again, and in charge of all the contract and design details for the new house we are building.
3. I’m proud of being able to juggle work, motherhood, and my own personal needs pretty well. I’m not proud of the 30 pounds I still need to lose.
4. I love shopping at Costco, cooking for pleasure, Grey’s Anatomy, reading, talking to my husband each night and playing with my son. I hate rudeness and incompetence.
1. I live with my husband, our roommate, four cats, a gerbil and a turtle.
2. Email admin, storage admin in UNIX SAN and mainframe environments, mainframe security admin.
3. I am proud of myself for quitting smoking this year. I’ve had a handful now and then, but I’m not smoking a pack a day anymore!
4. I love the rain in summer, I love Stephen King, I love sleeping in air conditioning when I know it 90 degrees and humid outside, I love that my boss doesn’t care what time I come in in the morning, and I love reading blogs!
I hate that I’m so neurotic about making a mess that it takes me 3 hours to make a batch of cookies or a cake, I hate litterbugs, I hate aggressive drivers, I hate being co-dependent, I hate my facial hair.
1. I live with my 7lb Maltese, who is the biggest diva ever in the history of divas. I love her dearly.
2. At work? Hmm, I desperately try to get 14 year olds excited over World Geography. I teach at a high school that promotes athletics about 100 times over academics (I love Texas, really, I do).
3. I’m proud of who I’ve become. I’m a good person, a loyal friend, and I never give up. I’m proud of myself for sticking to my New Years Resolution (and as a result, have lost 40 pounds). I’m proud that I can budget, because that was my huge fear after college and I’m proud that I can actually save up and take good vacations (just got back from a cruise). Wow, I’m one proud biotch, huh?
4. Five things I love: God, my family, my friends, any type of office supply (I was born with a pen in my hand, I swear!), and the rare cold day (below 50) we have in Texas. Five things I hate: my alarm clock, the guy who lives above me with the treadmill, summer days in Texas (you can bake brownies in a car), Tom Cruise (seriously gets on my nerves), and Jessica Simpson (either she’s too dumb to function or it’s an act…either way, I hate her).
I’m sure you don’t care about any of us lowly commenters at the end of the list, but I’m a devoted fan of yours, so I’ll do it anyways.
1. I live with my fucked-up family in a tin can (single-wide trailer) out in the country. “Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?!”
2. At work, depending on what I’m scheduled to do, I make premium salads and parfaits, do dishes, work fries, and take people’s orders on register and make fun of their lack of ability to MAKE an order once they’ve left.
Customer: “I’d like a Whopper…hmmmmm….and a Jamoca Shake.”
Me: “Ma’am, this is McDonald’s. We don’t serve either of those products.”‘
Customer: ” *laughs* Oh, that’s right! Ha, silly me!” *walks away*
3. I’m proud of myself for getting my GED after making the difficult decision of dropping out of high school. I’m proud of my makeup art photography…and on occasion the abominations that I refer to as my web designs. I’m also proud of my undying geekiness and sheer love of gay porn. Yep, I said it.
4. I lurve: Thunderstorms, the sound a cigarette makes as you’re taking a long drag, fantasizing about my EXTREMELY attractive coworker, singing until my throat is sore, and swimming.
I HATE: People who SING AT OTHER PEOPLE, customers who can’t make an order at a fast ood restaurant to save their lives, two-faced “friends”, extremely flamboyant gay men who think they’re the shit (bring it down a notch, boys), and my bumpy arm shit (mine get’s all red and flaky when it flares up :/ I know how you feel).
Hi Linda! long time reader, first time commenter etc.
1. I live in sin with my boyfriend of 5 years (our anniversary is today! woohoo!). We have 2 cats and between them they have 7 legs. There are probably also some spiders in the house, and there are a lot of crackheads in the neighborhood but we’re working on pushing them out so they become someone else’s problem.
2. My job description is to run the statewide school-based Medicaid program. Which I do. Mostly by sitting in the basement dungeon cube and talking on the phone and answering email. In the fall I get to go out and train people about the program, which I love, and sometimes I get to go to school districts and do site visits, but mostly I am chained to a computer in a dungeon.
3. I’m proud of my ability to keep everything together. I’m the breadwinner (BF is in school), I pay the bills, I keep track of what needs doing when, I water the plants and keep track of the yard, and I mostly get birthday presents mailed out on time. I’m proud of my undergraduate experience, since I made of it exactly what I wanted.
4. LOVE: the definition in my arms and shoulders, drinking lemonade in the summer, afternoon thunderstorms with rain, reading a really good book, falling asleep spooning with my boyfriend.
HATE: drivers who don’t pay attention to pedestrians, the crackheads outside my bedroom window last night, brussels sprouts, cleaning the forgotten containers in the fridge that are growing their own ecosystems, this one ingrown hair on my leg that WON’T COME OUT.
1. Since 10 years I live with my darling boyfriend.
2. I talk to a lot of people over the phone, yawn, move some paper from one pile to another, talk to my co-workers and laugh laugh laugh, yawn again, and then I go home and try to have a life.
3. I’m proud of that my friends think that they can always count on me, I’m proud of my sister for having the guts to go to India for three months, I’m proud of that I can make an awesome birthday cake for you no matter what your favourite cake is.
4. I love my boyfriend, my family (relatives and friends, that is), live music, ice-cream on a sunny day and laughing with my sister until my stomach hurts. I hate ignorance, g-strings, people who litter, and food that tastes like coffee (unless it’s a cup of coffee).
1. I live with my husband who loves me dearly even though I am a bitch, my beautiful almost-two-year old daughter Bella who is the love of my life, and my Mother, who acts as rent-paying tenant and built in babysitter. I’m a lucky girl.
2. At work I collect money from people who bought oil but don’t want to pay for it. In Texas. It’s tons of fun. I once had a man tell me that he wouldn’t talk to me about what he owed us because I was a woman. He actually said that he would rather talk to a goat than a woman.
3. I am proud of my smart, funny, loving, beautiful daughter that we adopted from Guatemala. So technically she doesn’t have any of my traits, so I shouldn’t take credit, but I do. I’m also proud of the face that I haven’t done anything to screw her up yet and seem to be learning to be a good mother.
4. I love cosmetics and hair products beyond reason, my daughter’s laugh, fresh, clean sheets on my bed, jalepeno peppers in everything, and writing.
I hate Texas ( I don’t know how I eneded up here.) driving in the rain, (I’m one of those bad drivers that go too slow and piss everyone else off, sorry!) the fact that I can never remember not to touch myself after I chop jalapeno peppers for my salads, those little-bitty ants that show up out of nowhere even when there is no food anywhere around, and most of all, the fact that I am a smart, capable woman, but I can’t manage to lose weight consistently.
1. My sweet, caring, generous, attentive, funny and simply amazing husband, Jeff.
2. I work in academic advising and student services at a university, therefore I: endlessly explain that being on a WAIT list for a class means that yes, indeed, you must WAIT for a f-ing seat before being added; give effective guilt trips to whining students (”you wouldn’t want to be #1 on the waitlist and find out that the 17th person got a seat before you, now would you?”); sign too much paper; help students find classes; assure students that faculty members can assign whatever grade they feel is appropriate and perhaps you should talk directly with prof – only to find out they never go to class; bang head against wall daily; talk with distressed students and try to help them realize that dropping classes b/c their mom is dying of cancer is OK -and that we’ll help them in any way we can; and generally make sure they all get out of here with a degree in 4-5 years – and maybe have a little bit of a good time along the way.
3. I am proud of spending the last year facing a fear I’ve had for 25 years and tackling the related anxiety in one of the best exposure therapy programs in the country. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t cheap, but I finally found the courage to say ‘I’m worth it’ – and I’m proud to have a husband who stood by my side no matter what. I am also proud of my marriage and that neither of us take each other for granted – and that we work together to be stronger each day.
4. I love: air conditioning and cable TV (this comes after a week with neither while on “vacation”), pedicures, girls night out (which are considerably tamer, but must more meaningful as we age), my family and husband (of course); and sleeping in whenever possible (aka “lazy lady mornings”) and reading this blog at the end of each day (yes, that is 6. gotta problem with that?!?)
I hate: traffic, loud neighbors, my mother in law (wha?huh? who said that?), unpacking suitcases, and self-righteous, preachy, religous zealots.
1. I live with my boyfriend Jarrett, and my three crazy bengal cats, Cosmo, Mai-Tai and Nova.
2. At work, I throw monkey biscuits to baboons, give showers to ostriches, and feed Wild dogs, giraffes, elephants, turtles, zebras and otters. Yes, I work in a zoo! Most importantly, I help enhance zoo visitor experiences, by helping to educate them about the natural world in a fun and entertaining way.
3. I am proud of making a whole bunch of changes in my life all at once, because I didn’t like the way things were going… I broke out of a 5 year relationship, sold a house, and quit my old desk job. I am also proud of taking a trip all by myself to Australia, having never left the U.S. or traveled by myself.
4. I love: My family and friends; The color of my eyes; the feeling you get when you just did an hour kickboxing class!; little kids; singing off key in the car.
I hate: paying bills; being too cold; second hand smoke; the people that live above me with the squeaky bed; doing laundry.
1. Who do you live with? I’m trying to finish my degree without digging a deeper whole of tuition debt, so I live with my parents (argh) and my 20-year-old younger brother and his random car parts that litter what was once a family room in our basement, now turned pseudo-garage.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)? Generally I’m a Customer Service Rep at a leisure centre in my city. For summer I took a promotion (similar to my boss’ job) and I staff all the outdoor aquatic facilities in the city. I deal with all the revenue, timecards, complaints, meetings and requests. I also go to university with the desire to finish my BA in English (almost done) and do a MA in Journalism. I’m getting there…slowly.
3. What are you proud of? I’m proud that I havne’t given up on my job. I’m proud that I’m digging myself out of financial debt. I’m proud that I pay my own tuition, bills and expenses. I’m proud that I’ve been able to travel and see things without expecting assistance or help from my parental units. I’m proud that I finally am living a healthy lifestyle and getting my body back to the way it was before I quit playing basketball.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
Love:
- Travel (London and Rome).
- Music and concerts (and really great lyrics).
- My books (reading) and music (concerts too).
- Gigantic summer thunder and lightning storms.
- Photography – taking pictures and fiddling with them – making the real feeling and emotions that go with the memory come through in the photo through the colour and lighting.
Hate:
- Arguements about nothing.
- Constant and relentless rainy days where the weather does nothing outside but drizzle and rain on and off.
- Debt that won’t die.
- My sensitive teeth (owie!).
- Being the driver and the only person awake during a really long, boring drive on a roadtrip.
1. I live with one sweet, fat cat and his 1-year-old-kitten tormentor.
2. At work I edit a magazine, write a lot, do bunches of intranet stuff, answer random questions and find information that people need (yes, I too have fabulous Google-fu).
3. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve built a pretty solid life after starting from scratch. Three times.
4. Love: my family, my friends, music, film, books
Hate: rude people, my credit card debt, the administration, war and artificial sweeteners (not necessarily in that order)
Hate to give you YET ANOTHER to read, but here goes…
1. I live with my fiance, my sweet Starla who is almost 10 months now, and my mother-in-law. And sometimes my brother-in-law too. And we run a cat brothel outside. It’s ridiculous.
2. I play mmorpg’s, and listen to my daughter scream at nothing. Then I try to eat, but her screaming interrupts. This time it’s for food. Rinse, and repeat. Oh, and sometimes I clean or cook. But not often. : )
3. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve finally stopped caring what people think of me and my family. For the most part. And that I’ve finally got some self-esteem. Oh so nice.
4. Love: Life, friends, internet activites, Sundry hilariousness, and family.
Hate: Rudeness, snobbiness, insecurity, baby food being spit back in my face, and days when I click on the ali & sundry link and there’s nothing new. : (
1. For 8 months of the year I live with three roommates and one silly cat. For the other 4 months of the year I live with my parents and sometimes my brother’s goofy but adorable dog, Monty.
2. Once again, for 8 months I’m a student, it’s a job, a full-time job! The other 4 months I do reports and banking and talk to clients. I open files and track down documents.
3. I am proud of myself for realizing that growing up doesn’t have to be a bad thing and that sometimes you can’t fix things. I am also proud that I now understand it’s okay to fall in love, it might hurt but it will still be incredible.
4. Five things I love:
i) My Family
ii) My friends
iii) My education
iv) My fearlessness
v) Travel
Five things I hate:
i) People who try to make you feel badly about yourself
ii) Midterm exams
iii) Fighting with friends and family
iv) Having to pretend I’m cooler than I actually am
v) The fact that I cannot help everyone
1- I live in an apartment with a girl who is getting ready to move out. (So if anyone is in the DC area and is looking..) Her boyfriend is living here too, until the furniture arrives for their new place. It’s getting pretty crowded.
2- At work I look for things that other people have lost. I’m a librarian in a radiology library, so it’s mostly looking for mammograms and talking to people who say, “I had a xray of my chest.. 4.. 5 years ago.. I think it was here..it might have been my shoulder..”. My area also has taken to having a daily wordsearch competition, which we maintain is to Boost Employee Morale. So far it’s worked.
3- I’m proud that I made myself start to grow up, after throughly effing everything up. I’m proud of making the decision to move 1100 miles away from home to take a chance on a boy. I’m proud of the person I’m becoming, and I can’t wait to see who I end up as. (I’m also proud that I’ve been reading you since the bright and early d*land days, which is now a barren wasteland.)
4- Love: the Boy, my bed, crafting, kittens, cream cheese and pepperoni pizza from Pizza Shuttle in Lawrence, KS. Hate: bugs in my bedroom, not being able to use my living room because it is already full of people, being cold, breaking down in the everglades, post-vacation blues.
1. I live with my husband, 3 year old daughter, and two bad cats. We had a dog, but she died a couple years ago and we haven’t been ready to recommit.
2. I crunch numbers for a big, soul sucking corporation.
3. I am proud of my daughter, of myself for how much I’ve grown mentally in the the last few years, and of my husband for getting two degrees despite ADD.
4. Five things I love: my family, my friends, my garden, reading, and Sunday morning (bacon & egg breakfast and Coronation Street). Five things I hate: horrible bosses and coworkers, cold winters, sports, insomnia, and public speaking.
1. Husband, call sign “Tater”, kids: Dillon, 17 and Mackenzie, 11, five fish, one lizard named Stanley, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with OCD, Taiko (we got him in Japan, thus the weird name).
2. Wishing I wasn’t there most of the time. Note to self: Don’t take another job in Customer Service, no matter how bored you are and no matter how part-time it is.
3. The young adults my children are becoming. They are truly my Best Thing. And my margarita. I make a kickin’ margarita.
4. Love……. People who dance, liver & onions, my bed, red toenails, tiaras / Hate……. Pantyhose, high heels, whiners, when there’s a hair stuck inside my shirt and it keeps tickling my boobs and I can’t find it, milk.
1. Who do you live with? My stay-at-home-Dad husband, my adorable 5 month old daughter and a very needy, sheddy, white cat.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)? surf the internet too much, defend companies who have been sued by employees and former employees alleging various claims of discrimination/retaliation/failure to be properly paid etc – which means I read and write a lot and try to figure out how to mentally outsmart the other side and figure out who is lying.
3. What are you proud of? that I have become a good lawyer, able to represent my clients well; that I uncondionally love my child, that I am married to a good man with whom I am friends; that I care about children and small animals and try – even if it is in small ways – to help make the world a better place for both; that I try to listen when my husband gets mad at me and see his side; that I try to be introspective – even when I sometimes fail miserably at it; that I have the same friends that I did 10 years ago and some new ones I met 2 years ago.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate? Love: my baby, classic coke, a long bubble bath while eating ice cream and reading People, my husband, travelling (best trip ever – Africa!). Hate: people who hurt children and animals and anyhting else that cant defend itself, people who arent willing to listen at all to something they dont beleive in, rudeness, sushi, and liars.
I live with my husband of 10 years, my 8 year old son and 5 year old daughter, and a gray cat predictably named ‘Smoky’.
I plan and test computer systems for a government agency. Then I go home and play with my kids and ignore housework.
I am proud of finally being a grownup, of being with a man because I want to rather than because I need to.
I love my family, home improvement projects, writing, sunshine and cheesecake.
I hate posers, wiggers, racists, injustices to children and spiders.
I LOVE YOUR JOURNAL!
1. I live with two boys: my husband John and our greyhound Moose.
2. At work I read, edit, “strategize” (heh, that makes me sound smart), and manage publications. Mostly I just read and fix other people’s writing mistakes. And I love it.
3. I’m proud that I just earned my master’s degree in writing. I’m proud that I have a good marriage. I’m proud that I lived alone and supported myself before said marriage. I’m proud that I manage to read almost every issue of the New Yorker that arrives in my mailbox (it comes every WEEK!).
4. Five things I love: tulips, a blank sheet of lined paper, sitting around a campfire with a beer, Cuban food, and exploring cities in Europe. Five things I hate: getting sunburnt, slow walkers on a busy sidewalk, spiders, Anne Coulter, and the bumpy skin on the backs of my thighs (and I NEVER KNEW WHAT IT WAS until I read your entry… so thank you!! That shit was driving me crazy).
Also, I just clicked on the Wikipedia link, and instead of “Bass Capital of Oregon” I read “Badass Capital of Oregon.” I think every state needs a Badass Capital in addition to the regular one.
1. I live with my boyfriend of almost 2 years. We are currently petless, which makes me a tad bit sad.
2. At work, I mostly do things that I don’t really like to do. There was a time when I was designing borchures, product briefs, posters, invites, etc. Now, I mostly read e-mails, and reply to e-mails and call in to meetings. At home, I do a bit of cooking, and a lot of knitting. I also follow the boyfriend around the apartment and close all the cabinets and drawers he’s left open.
3. I’m proud that in the past 2 years, I’ve been more active than ever (hiking, biking, and walking). I’m pround that I’ve managed to keep my silly website going for over 5 years.
4. Five things I love: my camera, my boyfriend, my family, the ocean, my friends (not necessarily in that order). Five things I hate: my upstairs neighbor’s stereo, bananas, rude drivers, when they make a movie based on a book and then have to change the cover of the book to match the movie, and food that is too spicy for me to eat.
Yeah, I’m like, LATE in responding…but here goes…
1. I live with two rescued cats, a mother and daughter; I feel I must clarify why I have TWO cats (rescused, related), for fear of “crazy cat lady” disease
2. I plan promotions and marketing for museum stuff (exhibits, dinosaur stuff, IMAX films), write web site copy, broadcast e-mail copy, brochure copy…it all starts to run together sometimes, but I do get to write about dinosaurs, dolphins, and deer – oh my!
3. I’m proud that I’m finally learing to appreciate life – the good, the bad and the insane of it all.
4. I love my family, my photos, the sound of my mother’s voice, rain and naps.
I’ll play!
1. Who do you live with?
Me, myself, and I. (Though that’s changing — this August, I’ll be moving with three friends into a house. It ain’t cheap living in the Bay Area.)
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
I’m a full-time doctoral student, so “work” for me involves various levels of teaching, studying, writing, administrative junk, and futzing around on the Internet.
3. What are you proud of?
I’m proud of: getting myself into a PhD program; my three-and-a-half year interfaith, inter-cultural relationship; my hair; my knitting and crochet skills.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
I love:
1) My (nuclear) family
2) My boyfriend
3) My (extended) family and friends
4) Sunny California days
5) Snowy New England evenings
I hate:
1) Various haters (no, the cycle doesn’t end with me, unfortunately)
2) The death penalty
3) My procrastinating ways
4) Air conditioning that brings the temp to below 70 degrees
5) Menstrual cramps
Hope you’re having fun on vacation!
1. Who do you live with?
i live with the boyfriend, two cats and a dog. all rescued. well, except for the boy. ;)
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
take care of all four of the above mentioned roomies! clean house, feed everyone and design various things on commission (that’s the money making part).
3. What are you proud of? y’all will think this is corny, but i’m soooo proud to be vegan. and even prouder when the boy said he was proud of me for sticking up for what i believe in. i’m proud of the way i live my life.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
love: my friends, my family, the fuzzes (those would be the dog and cats), earth, being outside hiking, swimming, playing etc., soy delicious peanut butter chocolate ice cream. *drool*
hate: people who don’t give a damn = global warming, war/violence, selfishness, disrespect, negativity
1. I live with my husband and our tamarind tree which we grew from a seed.
2. At my day job, I interview around 25 people/week for positions varying from sales manager to administrative assistant to machine operator. I also call 100’s of people weekly from resumes on find online. At night, after cooking dinner, I’ve started designing and making beach bags, totes, and purses for sale.
3. I’m proud of my marriage. It’s wonderful to have a strong marriage to rely on when things are tough. I’m also proud that I’m finally making headway with my own business. I’m not sure where it will go, but I’m just glad it’s started.
4. I love my husband, traveling to new places, cooking, being an aunt, and lazy weekend mornings.
I hate driving, living in Michigan, spending too much time at work, bad customer service, and my student loans.
1~ I live with my husband, 8 month old daughter and our all-too-rowdy and annoyingly energetic border collie-labrador puppy (okay so she is a year old, I think that if I keep calling her a puppy I can overlook her irritating behavior)
2~ At my day job: I run a business consulting firm, I do marketing and I help a friend at her office because she would drown if someone didn’t. I spend a lot of time on the phone, begging my clients to please excuse the screaming child in the background, whom was asleep 10 minutes ago and I thought that I would have enough time to make a phone call. But it seems that every time I pick up the phone, she wakes up. At my not-just-day job: I have a screaming 8 1/2 month old daughter. She crawls…fast. And climbs…faster. She is already trying to walk and I haven’t gotten used to her crawling…I’M NOT READY!
3~ I am proud of my family. I am only 19, I had my baby girl young, but that was the only way I would get kids. If I got wrapped up in my career we never would have wanted kids, it wouldn’t have been fair. I am proud that at 19 years old, I have found my soulmate and we are happy together despite money issues and moving cross country twice already. I am proud that since having my daughter in October 2005 I have opened and made successful my own merketing business, run from the desk in my bedroom. My husband thought I was crazy until I made double his salary in 2 weeks…that was my 1st month. (Okay bragging a bit, but I haven’t really been working outside the home since the June before she was born and I got fired because while my boss knew I was pregnant, the owner of the company didn’t realize and fired me the day he found out…illegal a little?
4~ I love my family, not just my immediate family…but even my in-laws. I have been stranged from my side of the family since I started dating my husband (they never liked him and made it clear that I had to choose, I chose the one who loves me unconditionally. He drove 628 miles in a VW Bug to come see me the first chance he got because my mother mpoved me 628 miles in an attempt to split us up. FAT CHANCE MOM! I love that mu husband makes me get out and do stuff, like move to a house that I have 103 stairs to get to my front door (way to support weight loss). I love that my best friend has been there with me the whole time (while I was pregnant and even when I was in labor, and every day). She helped deal with the family issues that arrise when naming a new baby (especially when the family has had only boys in the last 3 generations and I was having a girl) she held my hand until my husband got to the hospital (he was at work), she held my hand when I was threatening to kill the anesthesiologist (uh…) and the nurse who was telling me how to labor and never had a kid. She held my hand when my mother unexpectedly showed up. She drags me out to play Volleyball every single thursday with about 12 people…because she loves me and hates that I always bitch about my weight. I love cooking, which is good because my husband works a fireman’s shift at a boy’s home at the other end of town. He leaves on Wed. and doesn’t come home until Saturday. I only get to see him when he brings the boys to play Volleyball or I go over and cook for 6 teenage boys, 2 staff myslf and Mallaika (my daughter). I love that my husband loves his job. Even though it ius a crazy stress sometimes due to the natural involvement that his job has (we talk about teh boys all the time, we take them out to breakfast sometimes when he is off shift)…but how many people, especially our age, can say that they love what they do? We are comfortable and happy and love each other…and we both love what we do!
I HATE: BAD DRIVERS! I live in a tourist town..I hate bad drivers! I hate people who are always telling me how to raise my child…ie: I am spoiling her because we are in public she cried and i picked her up so i could continue a conversation…or that she is too thin (her dr says she is perfect…she couldn’t be much heavier…shes just tall.) or that it is dumb that I am practicing baby signs with an 8 month old…and she responds. She knows dog, cat, grandma, grandpa hungry and how to tell me her diaper needs changed. I hate that my mother in law feels the need to compete with me over my husband’s attention. And I hate that my Grandmother in law decided to take my husband’s inheritance money and spend it rather than put it in a savings account for him…paying for school would be a lot easier if she had.
There’s my take on it…Oh and I used to live in Bandon, OR…find that on a map. I know where elkton is because i used to have to drive thru. Bandon swells to 1000 in the summer because of the golf course. (Sorry this was so long…I started ranting)
Fun survey, Sundry! I’m really enjoying everybody’s comments.
1. I live with my husband and our one-year-old twin boys. (We recently lost our 18-year-old gentleman of a kitty, who is greatly missed.)
2. My day job is lawyerin’. I mostly write briefs in complex civil cases. I will do oral argument and depositions, but prefer not to, because it requires me to leave my office, speak in public, and be confrontational. At home I do a lot of laundry, keep things picked up, feed everybody, and keep the boys clean and dressed. In between work and home I end up doing a lot of grocery shopping, despite my best efforts to get it done online.
3. I am proud of my academic achievements, that I have gotten nearly every job I’ve ever applied for, and my analytic skills, but most of all, my family and the life we’ve made for ourselves.
4. things I love: camp fires, playing with my boys before work, swiming in lakes, the way pilates makes me feel when I’m done (but not actually doing it), and art for art’s sake
5. things I hate: mean people, George Bush being in office (sorry to get political), yard work, the song “Come on Ileen”, and the thought of eating sweetbreads
Is it too late to reply? I need a(nother) break. :)
1. I live with my wonderful Darling Husband, my just-almost-2-year-old, AJ, and our lab-chow mix, Napoleon.
2. At work, I project manage. I call up clients (or, really, email them to try to avoid The Phone), talk to graphic designers and technical people, and spend quite a lot of time surfing the ‘net for relative and irrelevant information.
3. I am proud of my son, who is, I am told, the MODEL of good behavior nad pleasant toddler-hood (they haven’t been here at 6:45 pm on a Friday!). I am proud of being a full-time-working-outside-the-home mom, even though I don’t like it.
4. I love drinking coffee outside in the morning, taking hikes when it’s overcast, reading a a good book with a blanket over my knees, watching my little boy play and discover stuff, and cheese. I hate the anticipation of crowded, overblown social events; mealy apples; long commutes on Friday afternoons; bad music; unloading the dishwasher.
Oooh fun!
I live with my husband, GW, a saint in his own right for merely putting up with me let alone always emptying the dishwasher; a perpetually hungry/whiny cat, and Bella, the cutest little puggle/rose-bush-killer in the world.
I’m a facilities manager so when I’m not moving people all over the place (modular furniture is so… NEAT because it’s so… FUCKING FLEXIBLE), I’m worrying about smelly drains, clogged toilets, and other glamerous building issues. I also deal with security stuff, but that’s kinda all I can say about that other than the fact that it is only slightly more glamerous than the facility stuff.
I’m proud of my husband, my friends, my family. I’m proud to be living in this country. I’m proud that I can bring people out of their shells in almost any situation (read: I am the annoying one you DON’T want sitting next to you on the plane); I’m proud of the fact that I made it 6 months without drinking; I’m not proud I didn’t make it longer, but I know I will next time.
Love:
1. SUNDRY entries! Love love LOVE them.
2. Fall
3. That broccoli/sunflowerseed/mayo “salad” — I mean, it’s good for you, right? Broccoli? Right.
4. Bella when she’s doing that “Oooh, I-want-to-stay-awake-but-I-can’t-head-nod-thing on my lap.”
5. I love my husband, and the thought of not having him in my life is not even something I can fathom, but my girlfriends… My God, my girlfriends (and I include my sister in this group). They truly do complete me.
Strongly Disklike/regret/resent (I’m actually not real fond of the word Hate, mostly because it leaves you no “outs”. Kinda like saying your an atheist… I mean…. a little wiggle room is good):
1. The phrase “You complete me”.
2. People whom you are kind enough to let in front of you in traffic and never acknowledge it — I mean, come ON. A wave? A blown kiss? A hundy?
3. For that matter, rude people period. I hate the fact that so many basic courtesys and manners have disappeared. I hate the fact that it’s okay for 14 year olds to dress like hookers. Ahem. Perhaps it’s time to move on.
4. I resent the fact that I’ve struggled with my weight my ENTIRE LIFE. I’m sure it’s helped to shape my dazzling (cough) personality, but there are times where I’d rather have the brains of and body of Daisy Duke than this vessel. And please, God. STOP with the gravity, okay?
5. I regret that I never got to know my Mom as an adult. She died when I was 13. I always wanted to have a Manhattan and a cigarette with her and gossip. She’d have a FIELD DAY with Britney Spears.
OK, I’ll delurk and play.
1. I live with my fab husband of almost 5 years and three cats, two of whom were my husband’s and one of whom was mine. We’re like the feline Brady Bunch over here.
2. Ugh, work. I do science-y things in an academic setting very near where Sundry lives, I do believe. My research is environmentally-oriented, which is cool, and at times very applied, which is also cool. I do a lot of stuff with computers, mostly, which is not so cool. I also am doing some freelance editing and layout work for my husband’s company, although that is kind of turning into a nightmarish situation that I prefer not to think about too much.
3. I am proud of being able to drive a stick shift well, the fact that I’ve been keeping up something resembling a regular exercise routine lately, and that I finally mastered the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie this weekend.
4. Love: family/friends/pets, fresh cherries, hot showers after jogging, eating stuff grown in our very own garden, and snuggling with the kitties.
Hate: incorrect apostrophe usage, people who micromanage, people who abuse/mistreat animals and children, and that goddamn TV show “Married With Children,” the mere mention of which sends me into a rage even though it’s been off the air for years.
Ok…coming in a little late here but I LOVE your blog and read it everyday. You are absolutely fabulous Sundry.
1. I live with my husband of four years and our almost eight month old son. Also our two needy cats and their endless fur dust-bunnies that hide under the furniture and in the corners (I consider them my pets as well). Housework is also severly neglected in our household since the baby.
2. I am proud that at 24 I moved out of country to marry my hubby and start a new life. I am proud that I have done things the way I want and have started to not care of what other’s think. I am proud that I saved myself by leaving my family drama behind when I moved. I am proud of my hubby and I and all the things we have accomplished together in four years. I am proud of my little boy.
3. I work out of the home part-time in the medical field but consider this mothering job the hardest full-time job I have ever had. Working part-time is like a mini break in which I get paid for (YEAH!). And I am a better mother for it.
3. I love my little family and what we are creating for ourselves. I love chai tea lattes even though I know Starbucks is evil and will take all your money if you let them (still I am weak). I love the beach and would love to live by the ocean again someday. I love the way my son’s entire face lights up when he smiles and the fact that it is infectious to all around him.
4. I hate mean people, people who neglect animals or abuse them, road rage, chai tea lattes with no foam, still having to lose the baby weight 8 months later, and thinking of people who I care about passing away.
1. I live with my gorgeous, hilarious and oh-so-independent 21 month old son and his dad, who shares the same qualities as his son. In the mix as well are our two cats, rescues from Manhattan Animal Care and Control…who, come to think of it, also fit into the above catagorization.
2. Some things I do for work include litigate on behalf on animals, cook meals/snacks for the fam which are generally free of animal products (as one of my cohorts has said, “can’t eat our clients!”), write and do the usual work-out-of-the-home-mom/dad shuffle…I know you know what I mean and I don’t have to write in detail about the hours logged doing housework, sandbox/inflateable pool play, stroller pushing, etc. etc.
3. I am proud of making it through the law school/bar process, having lived in different areas of the country (I hate moving!), maintaining far-flung friendships and solidifying relationships that are important ones, making it through what could be termed a somewhat difficult first year of child-having, trying to live a healthier life than I led growing up (and affording my son and partner the opportunity to do so as well).
4. a- the beloved: my family, the seasons that don’t include snow and early darkness (heres to you, spring and summer, and all of the fun times you afford), watching whose wedding is it anyway, farmer’s markets (though not during nap time, no no no– that would be something I hate), riding my bike on flat surfaces with my babe in the back and my boyfriend by my side (please cue the violins playing dramatic music and bring on the soft focus).
b. – the hated: crippling student loans slash low paid non-profit salaries, animal abuse in all forms, being disorganized and therefore not having enough time, commercials and bananas.
1. I live with my husband Zeus and son Posideon:)
2. I am the Executive Director of a Chamber of Commerce in Oregon. I over see a lot, facilitate a lot, mediate a lot, write press releases, plan events etc. The real work begins when I get home. That includes being a taxi, maid, chief cook and bottle washer, nanny, landscaper, dry cleaner, referee, etc… We have two acres to keep up and attend to, and it’s a never ending job, that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
3. I am proud of the person I have become:) The mother that I am, the partner I am, and the son I am raising.
4. I love my son, my husband, the sun, ice cold water, and music. I hate mean people, coleslaw, liver, day light savings time,and waiting in line.
This was fun:)
1. I live with my husband Joe, with whom I will celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary at the end of this month, my 7 year old daughter Katie, and my 14 year old foster daughter Stephanie as well as two insane dogs and one disdainful cat.
2. I own my own business: a small, independant new-and-used bookstore (www.somanybooks.biz) and I run it pretty much all day every day besides raising my kids and managing the house and all of that other nonsense.
3. I am proud of my mom. In the last year she has lost over 150 pounds and, at the age of 46, with all her children grown, is starting a second life for herself.
4. I Love: 1. My family 2. My church 3. My store 4. Dave Matthews 5. chocolate
I Hate: 1. People who are mean to kids 2. People who are ignorant of the world around them 3. People who throw their cigarette butts out their car windows 4. Romance Novel writers 5. The days when my kids make me want to tear out my hair instead of being the perfect June Cleaver mom
1. Who do you live with?
My fiance, and a very large very mean orange cat named Slick Rick, also, every other weekend, three future stepkids.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
I work at a university, specifically in the gross anatomy medical lab dissecting. People usually start squirming at this part or gearing up to ask me a thousand questions. Also, I work part time at a Drycleaners, and to tell you the truth I don’t know what is more gross. Dissecting cadavers or checking for stuff in strangers pants pockets. (at least I can wear gloves at the university)
3. What are you proud of? I’m proud of working two jobs and going back to school to work on my degree, I’m proud of my fiance for finding ways to make things work with his hateful ex wife in order to spend time with his kids, I’m proud of my home.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
I love (besides family and friends) cool breezes on a summer day, crab cakes, good hair days, planning a kickass wedding and friday afternoons at 4:30.
I hate getting out of bed, commercials that feature sounds of chewing, swallowing or any other sounds of mastication. I WILL NOT BUY YOUR PRODUCT!!!!! (I have my finger pointed at you Kelloggs), birds, and the hot stink of death currently wafting from the garbage shed. YUCK.
I can’t believe I read them all!
I live with: My sweet and wonderful husband, and Lucky Johnson the Dog.
I work: For a neurosurgeon (I’m convinced, the only nice one on the planet), scheduling surgery, organizing all the pictures and pokes that get sent out of our office, and basically, um, everything I’m asked to do. We’ve had a bit of turnover, so we’re working with a staff of three for a office with positions for five, so it has been a bit frantic lately, but someday, hopefully, it won’t be like that.
I am proud of: My husband, who left a cushy job as a hospital administrator to run the Phoenix Film Festival, (even if he did do it for free for ten months…) He’s grown it so much and made it so much more efficient. If anyone wants to come next year (in April) or this year to the International Horror and Sci Fi Film Festival (in October), I can probably get you a good deal on a pass!
I’m also proud of the big life changes I made after I was widowed at age 26. I moved from ND to Phoenix, away from all my family and everyone I’d ever known, got a job in a field totally unrelated to my degree, and met and married my new husband within 6 months. I’ve never been happier.
I’m proud of my brother, for becoming a foster parent at age 23. He’s working on adopting those kids, and it’s so amazing to see what a parent he’s become.
I love: Seeing our patients walk after sometimes years in a wheelchair. My family, including my first husband’s family, who has adopted this husband without batting an eye. My yellow bathroom. Flip flops. Fireworks. Homemade ice cream. Emails from my mama. Nicknames from my husband, even though I pretend to hate them. Suns basketball. Daisies. Hardcover books. Grapefruit bubble bath. Cooking for my friends. Clean sheets. Full tank of gas.
I hate: Marinara sauce. Yes, including pizza. People who don’t listen to me at work, forcing me to do things twice even though they’ll eventually end up doing what I told them to in the first place. My so far inability to have a baby. Every lane of the freeway that is not the carpool lane. Cherry popsicles.
1. I live with my boyfriend and our insane jack russell/husky mix puppy, oh yeah we have a fish too
2. I pick up after messy women all day long (I’m a retail slave)
3. I am proud that I taught myself how to cook and I actually make food people want to eat. I am proud of my my dog when she learns a new trick. I am proud that all my life I wanted to get out of the little town I grew up in, and I finally did it (Even though I only live 40 minutes away)
4. I love: diet cherry pepsi, the smell in the air after it rains on a summer day, surprises (even if they aren’t for me), walking on the beach in the winter, wet puppy kisses, hotdogs at baseball games, red nail polish the brighter the better, bonnebell lipsmaker (even though my 11 year old sister thinks it so last year)
I hate: bad drivers, people who talk on their phone while in the check out line, having to get up at the crack of dawn, not being able to spend any time with the people I love, washing silverware by hand, running in to people I haven’t seen in years when my hair is a mess and I’m not wearing any makeup
1. I live on my own in a delightfully shabby art deco apartment.
2.I’m in IT in voice comms, so I program and manage the company’s voice network. Some insanely boring administration type stuff and torturing the other techs I work with (Especially the Unix guys, nothing but fucking trouble) And I manage my house, which is involves keeping the cleanliness slightly above third world level and killing as many house plants as I possibly can.
3. I’m proud I quit smoking a few months ago, I’m proud at how I’ve turned out (generally), I’m proud at my work ethic, I’m proud of my family, I’m proud that I can easily have chocolate biscuits and wine for dinner every night and no one can stop me. Oh yeah.
4. Love – Spooning, doing what I’m doing right now – spending a winter’s Sunday on my lounge watching a DVD, beers on a Sunday afternoon with my friends and sister, cooking and making out with a delicious boy.
Hate – Right now my job, wet towels and having to use them, arrogant and sexist men (grrr), getting up in the morning when it’s still dark, I also have an irrational annoyance by red haired people – bloody ginge’s.
I read your journal every day (although I don’t comment much), but since you’ve been gone for the past week, I only just remembered to answer this. LOL
1. Who do you live with?
My husband and my black cat, Caspian. Who thinks he is human. And in about 5 months we’ll have a baby. I suspect the cat is already plotting ways to get rid of said baby while my back is turned.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
I’m a lowly Associate at Babies R Us. A very understaffed Babies R Us. So I basically do everything that I am allowed to do while pregnant and a few things that I probably shouldn’t do :P
3. What are you proud of?
My college degree (BRU is a very temporary job…ahem). The fact that I can knit. And the fact that my husband and I are making it – and making it well – when we’re about 8 years younger than your average married couple in the USA. (We’re 22 and 23).
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
5 things I love:
-my family and cat
-any dessert that involves cool whip
-smirnoff ice(this pregnancy needs to be over soon…)
-dvr’ed episodes of Greys Anatomy and Friends
-a good book
5 things I hate:
-people who treat retail and restaurant workers like they’re servants
-running into someone I haven’t seen for years while I’m out wearing not so stylish clothing and no makeup (shamefully, it does happen sometimes)
-people who give me unsolicited parenting advice
-when people don’t use their turn signals
-the fact that I’ll have to go back to work at 6 weeks postpartum
I’m late to the party because my iBook was away on an AppleCare vacation.
1. I live with my fiance (Afsheen), our crazy mutant dog (Paddington), and a mysterious constant influx of dust (seriously, where does it come from? how does it appear mere hours after we clean?).
2. I’m currently a reality TV “assistant story editor”, which means I screen hours of raw footage and take notes on it, do a lot of organizational stuff for my department, write script segments, drink too much iced tea, and put my mad Google skillz to work.
3. I’m proud of my independence, that I moved across the country for college, graduated in four years, and never once moved back. I’m proud that I’m figuring out how to be a responsible adult while still being a goofball. I’m proud of my relationship, especially since we’re both stubborn type-A firstborns who are always right, and that’s not the easiest combination. I’m proud of my dog for never once in his life wanting to eat poop. I’m proud of my mom for starting over at age 40 and making a great life and career for herself.
4. Five things I love:
taking Paddington to the park
fireflies
the teacups at Disneyland
fall on the east coast
taking pictures
And hate:
when people don’t use turn signals
Girls Gone Wild and the predatory industry it’s created
George W. Bush, his stolen presidency, and all the bad things he’s done with it
my father’s influence over my grandmother
red bell peppers in any form
1. I live with my husband and a 3 week old fetus that I hope will make it full term. My last pregnancy was a miscarriage; I am hoping this one is different. I wish I lived with a dog or two, but my husband is allergic. Boo.
2. I work in a homeless shelter where I am a children’s case manager, I am good at working with kids, getting them to talk and open up. At home I am good at doing a ton of laundry in one day, working with my husband to redo our house by ourselves (we’re almost done, we only have the basement left to redo and that is taking the longest), and making sure the grass stays cut.
3. I am proud of my marriage, proud that I got a master’s degree while working full time and redoing a house, proud that I ran a marathon and proud that I may be a mama in 9 months (though I am scared that something will go wrong before then).
4. I love my family, reading, basil, ice cream floats and Napa Valley. I hate bad drivers, not getting enough sleep, my neighborhood, D.C.’s summer mugginess and losing a child.
I hope I’m not too late….was on vacation.
1. I live with my husband aka JB and my 5-month old daughter aka Boo.
2. I work as a professional baby wrangler (thanks for providing me with the official term, by the way) :) and I’m a part-time film student. Lots of playing pee-a-boo, changing diapers and picture taking. I quit my other job when I was pregnant…was in marketing for an NYC real estate firm. I like my new job much better.
3. I am proud of being a good mom and having my own little family that I cherish. I’m proud to be pursuing a BA at a great school even though I’m 31 years old. Yeah, I actually waddled into classes with 19 year olds last fall….nice. Also proud of all of the wrong and right moves I made to get me where I am….without them I wouldn’t be me. Hope I can always say that.
4. I love – My family, dogs, traveling (with a great book), chocolate chip mint ice cream, music and movies – more than 5, oh well.
I hate – Nit-picking in-laws, untrimmed nose hair, forgetting my next word when everyone is looking at me, blushing – I can’t help it!!, and dutch ovens. :)
Damn, I’m late to the party.
1. Live with: Mr. Breedorf, our almost-four-month-old son Theo, and Dixie Dog.
2. Work: taking care of Theo, laundry (Mr. Breedorf does trash, I do laundry), occasional vacuuming but never dusting, and in a few weeks returning part-time as a software designer.
3. Proud of: being first in my class in my Master’s program, picking the perfect rug for the living room (it really ties the room together AND hides dog hair), what a wonderful dad Mr. Breedorf has turned out to be.
4. Love: buying stuff, spring, food, drive-through espresso stands, Theo’s 80-year-old-smoker laugh. Hate: dusting, Dixie’s shedding season, how time is flying by, crumbs in the bed, when Theo is unhappy.
1. I live with my husand, three year old son, two fat tabby cats, and a giant, constantly shedding Bernese Mountain Dog.
2. At work I read and research the law and make recommendations and findings about same. I also spend far too much time surfing the net and am afraid I might reach the end of the internet one of these days.
3. I am proud of the way my son seems to be turning out, of finally getting back into shape after having a baby, of waiting to marry until I found a man who is as geekily in love with british humor, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and other extremely nerdy things as I am and not settling for “close enough”
4. I love: my family and friends, vacations (anywhere/anytime), hearing my son laugh when I tickle him or he thinks something is funny, reading a really good book and being transported, and crying my eyes out at some ridiculous movie. I hate: people with no sense of humor, traffic, animal or child abuse, being cold, and public speaking.
I live in a Co-op with 50 other neurotic/crazy/depressed/manic/etc. college students. Everything is done cooperatively . . . cooking, cleaning, groceries. Many of those I live with are very close friends of mine, while others are just acquaintances.
I do lots of school work, but not too much. I also work variable hours in a couple of labs on campus. In one I count lots of very small insects, and in the other I use a complicated computer program I barely understand to map the flow of water around the chemosensory hairs of crustacean antennules.
P.S. The above counts for the last few years of my life. Right now I am in post college graduation limbo.
I am proud that I am currently backpacking across South America and that I went to my last final wearing nothing but dress shoes, tie, top hat, and an adult diaper.
I love trying new foods, riding a bike down-hill, Dr. Seuss books, cool animals, and those rare times I wake up early with out an alarm. I hate cold showers, bad television shows, impatient people, disappointment, and when you wear a backpack and your back gets all sweaty.
1. Who do you live with?
I live with my fiance, John, who is a computer programmer, a hysterical man, and a kick-ass dancer when no one is watching. He also whistles absent-mindedly at inappropriate times and when he likes a song, must turn it UP no matter how loud it already is.
2. What are some of the things you do at work (”work” includes managing households and raising children, of course)?
I manage a legislative office. I operate a blog, put together a newsletter every other week, deal with/write for the press operation, train new people, spend a lot of time waiting around the State House, and try to figure out the best way to manage each individual person, which is a lot harder than i thought it would be.
3. What are you proud of?
I am proud of myself for sticking it out at this job despite the fact that government is dominated by men. When I say “dominated” I don’t just mean that there are more men than women. I mean that the men are highly competitive and won’t let anyone, man or woman, friend or foe, get in their collective or individual way. I was about to check out because of this problem when I decided to give the situation a big fat FUCK THAT SHIT and try to take it back. Right now I’m hanging in here.
4. What are five things you love, and five things you hate?
Love: John, my cat, my family, reading, good vegetarian food
Hate: competitive mo-fos who have no souls, eggplant, roasted peppers, jackhammers, and garbage cans
I have been without internet for a while but I will post too!
1. I live with my boyfriend Chris (we have the same first and last name… Christen and Christopher “Same Last Name” but are not related) and our two kittens, Charlotte York and Conan O’Brien.
2. I make pretty brochures, take photos, and in general promote health and wellbeing. I work at a university recreation center as their marketing director. One thing I did last year was develop an employee pedometer program for the whole campus that has been amazingly successful. People tell me they have lost up to 35lb just since January, and raised their HDL cholesterol to healthy levels. I am very happy about this.
3. See above statement about job, and also that I have not settled in life. I am very independent and not afraid to move to a new state by myself, and conquer the unknown. I go for what I want and most times, I get it. I am also really good at writing, very smart (yes! I’m smart!) and I’m a pretty nice person. Also, I don’t do things just because people think I should (any more).
4. Love: My cats, my boyfriend, jogging, laying in the sun, and disco music.
Hate: OBGYN appointments, pro-lifers (this does NOT mean that I hate children or women with children as I have been accused before… sheesh), weirdo religious freaks that impose their views on me or tell me I’m going to hell for x or y, heights when not secured in a roller coaster, and the new Rihanna song. Rihanna, shut up already. If you don’t wanna do this anymore, don’t. Just stop singing about it.
I am also late late to the party, but I just discovered your blog and am catching up! It’s only fair you know who the hell I am, no?
1. I live with my husband, our 13 month old son, and two ferrets.
2. At office-type job, I teach classes, write grants, and do research (mostly on scholarship of teaching and learning-type stuff). I also go to way too many meetings. At home, I cook, and am in charge of cleaning floors and dusting when I remember to do so. Also play lots of “Uh-oh!” games, which translates into the boy saying “Uh-Oh!”, and then throwing whatever object he has so I may retrieve it.
3. I am proud of my academic accomplishments and of the way motherhood has made me a better person.
4. I love: my family and friends, my job, crisp summer mornings before it heats up, good coffee, and good conversation. I hate: dealing with insurance/financial stuff, when my child is sick, being lonely in a new city, anti-intellectualism, not having enough time to enjoy family and friends
Yes, yet another one. Why not!
1. I live with my husband (Mr. Volatile, so named long before he became my spouse, and I’ve seen no reason to change the name), 3 poodles, 2 cats, the ghosts of 2 fish (and the supposed ghost of the first owner of our house, who killed himself when his wife left him for the general contractor, although I’ve never seen the ghost, and would prefer not to), and about 10,000 mice (give or take a couple, on any given day).
2. I spend much of my day cleaning up poop (between the dogs, the cats and the mice, it could be a full-time job). My real job supposedly consists of being an egg-head researcher type person at a university. My actual job consists of lots of scut work, lots of avoiding office politics, and trying to evade my boss when I want to leave work early.
3. I’m proud of the fact that I keep persevering at sports, even though I have no innate athletic ability. Oh, and I guess I’m proud of the Ph.D., too. It took me long enough to get it… And I’m proud of the husband for becoming less volatile than he was when I first met him.
4. I love my ‘kids’ (the dogs and cats), the spouse, my Super G skis, the last pair of cycling shorts I got, and my Harley. I hate middle-management, the amount of poop in my house at any given time, the fact that the mice drown themselves in the dogs’ water dishes, being broke, and dusting.
1. I live with my 23-year-old roommate, a crazy black cat, and a cat that I call my British cat because of his very cute name. My British cat was supposed to be temporary but has ended up being permanent.
2. I teach eighth graders literature every day. I love my job, but sometimes I think I was crazy to sign on for it.
3. I am proud of being a teacher. I am proud for breaking up with my high school sweetheart of nine years even though it was one of the most difficult decisions I ever had to make.
4. I love Hello Kitty, summer clothes, those personal size watermelons (seriously, who came up with this genius idea!), watching tv shows like Party of Five and Felicity on DVD, and Marilyn Monroe.
I hate being shy, the disappointing experiences I have had with boys since I broke up with my high school sweetheart, onions, skinny jeans, and the way my roommate leaves her dishes in the sink instead of putting them in the dishwasher right away.
1.) I live with my girlfriend, Tammy, and her 2 daughters (technically she has 3, but Robyn is in – oh, fuck. Where is she? Oh yeah, India. Foreign Exchange Student thing) Jessica, 20, and Alyssa 17, and our cat, Nita.
2.) I currently don’t work, but am still looking for employment. But I do however, work at the house everyday. i.e.: Laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. etc.
3.) I am proud of the relationship I have with Tammy. We are doing very well, which is the reason for my lack of updates. I am also proud of the fact that I don’t hinder of issues like I used to. Moving on sometimes is really for the best, and holding on so much really isn’t healthy. I figure when people want to see the errors they have made, they will do so. And, I also proud of myself. I am learning how to love myself a little more everyday. It really is a learning experience.
4.) I love my family (That includes Tammy and her girls, and her friends, plus my children even though they aren’t with me) I still love the friends I had, even though they claim false accusations against me. I really don’t know how to hate people, I only know how to dislike them. And I love my new life. I’ve never really been so happy before.
I hate how I never write about my sexcapdes with me and my girlfriend. (and so does she) I hate liars, people who take advantage of others, and ignorance. I truly do believe that ignorance can be fixed, (but stupidity is forever) I hate how I can’t fall to sleep right away at night because my mind doesn’t know when to shut down. I hate how I give so much of myself to people who later on don’t tell me the truth as to why they no longer want to be my friends. And I also hate how I have to so damned organized. Everything just has to be in place. no, I don’t think I’m Anal Obsessive, but you never can tell.
And last but not least, I hate how I never stay up-to-date with you and how I am always the last in line to answers your amazing questions. Gah~!
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