Jun
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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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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.
1. i live by myself, in a smallish one-bedroom apartment in an old, 8-unit apartment complex. i have gorgeous vaulted ceilings with dark exposed beams. the outside of my apartment is non-descript, and bordering run-down, but the inside is slowly but surely morphing into something you may see on SSBS. i would like to reiterate that it is SLOWLY morphing.
2. work: officially, i am a document control and quality assurance specialist for a medical device manufacturer. i make sure that there is product and paper-trail traceability for all product manufactured, and that the methods of traceability conform with FDA and ISO regulations. also, i fuck around a lot and read trashy celebrity blogs, chat with my friends and spend way too much time on myspace. home: i obsessively clean my carpets with my B&D scumbuster and watch too much E!.
3. i am proud of the fact that my job has turned into a career and that i make enough to support myself comfortably as well as help my parents financially.
4. i love cheese, bunnies, my friends & BF, red wine, and flyfishing. i hate bugs, when my phone rings, the “stop and chat“, taking a WHOLE FIVE MINUTES to refuel my car, and hypocrisy.
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.