100 Things About Me...#26-50
26. I have a dog named Berkeley and a cat named Dingo. We have several assorted fish without names.
27. I love to buy craft supplies and books but have poor follow-through in actually using them. I have a box full of sewing patterns which have never been used, and truthfully, I don't sew well enough to make anything I'd actually wear, anyway.
28. I have sewed multiple Halloween costumes, though, including a dinosaur (Daniel), a hippie (Nathan), Cleopatra (me), a pirate (Jeff), and the Cat in the Hat (me 9 months pregnant). Oh, my...add a knight (Nathan), a flying monkey (Jacob...Wizard of Oz), a scarecrow (Daniel), a jester (Daniel), and an Indian (me). Probably more that I'm forgetting.
29. When I was pregnant with Jacob, I walked the entire course of the town Halloween parade on Oct. 31, praying the whole time I'd go into labor. He was born Nov. 4.
30. I played flute in our grade school band from 3rd through 8th grade but haven't touched it since then.
31. I also took piano lessons. The teacher called me "Kathy" for an entire year, and I was too shy to correct her. My mom, however, did correct her at my first recital a year later.
32. 90% of people mispronounce my last name. Jacob, in fact, mispronounced our last name for probably 6 months because the people at his daycare mispronounced it (long e sound instead of long i sound), and he could not be convinced by us that the long i sound was, in fact, correct.
33. I hate conflict and get really uncomfortable in any situation where conflict might arise, even if I'm not part of it. Still uncomfortable in conflict situations, but as a necessity am getting better at dealing with it at work. Have even had moments of confrontation brilliance... and once managed to get rid of a terrible aide in such a way that she thought it was her idea. :D
34. My ex-husband was a total conflict avoider. I could try to bring up an issue and talk about things that I was upset about, and he would completely not respond. If he did respond, it was usually with a lie so as not to "upset" me. It made me crazy.
35. My current husband is very good about addressing problems with honesty. I, on the other hand, have to work really hard to reciprocate. I had 6 years of training in "talking doesn't help". Worse and worse at this.
36. I am a yeller, and I like to throw things when I'm mad. I don't throw things anymore, and I have come a long way in managing my temper...at least its outward manifestations.
37. My husband is such a good man that I try really hard to always talk to him in a respectful tone, even when I'm mad. Still true, but I've developed an unfortunate habit of just not talking when I'm mad.
38. I am a moody, moody person and tend to get really annoyed with Jeff for stupid things. Then, I'm crabby with him because I'm so annoyed but don't feel like I can talk to him about it because the problem isn't him, it's me. I think I must be a very difficult person to live with. Oh, gosh...times 1000!
39. I have been Catholic since birth. I can't imagine ever changing churches, but I don't feel the deep connection that I think many people must. I keep going to church and following the laws and paying attention during the readings, etc, hoping that at some point the feeling part will kick in. Hmmm...this has changed some. I've been going to a non-denominational Christian church. I get a lot more out of it. I'm still very conflicted at the idea of not being a Catholic.
40. I am very disorganized.
41. I like to watch TV, but if I had my choice I'd rarely have the TV on because I'd rather read.
42. I'm a procrastinator. I'll think about something that I should do, but never seem to get around to it. I'm much better at emailing people than writing letters. That is, I write the letters but never get around to mailing them. Currently, I have a thank you gift for my aunt and uncle in Atlanta (with whom we stayed in JUNE) and a baby outfit for my friend Sarah (who had her baby in June) waiting to be mailed. Luckily, the outfit is a 3-6 month size!
43. I am the oldest of 4 children and the only girl. While a lot of the birth order stuff is crap, I think there is also some truth in it.
44. My husband's sister was my best friend in high school. He lived at home then and was very quiet. I thought he was a little weird.
45. I lived with my mom for 2 years after my divorce. I had tried living on my own, but I was making very little (though working full time) and receiving partial, intermittent child support and just could not handle it financially. During my time living with my mom, I paid off all of my old bills, paid her back all the considerable money I owed her, and paid her house payment. I also did nearly all of the cooking. She did most of the cleaning and the laundry. It wasn't perfect, but it worked out OK. It was kind of like having a wife (in the old sense of a wife being the housekeeper, caretaker person).
46. I could use a wife!! I have to admit, though, that Jeff does much more around the house than I do. I think maybe it has to do with him being raised in a house full of women (his parents were divorced when he was 12, and he has 3 sisters). He has much more respect and consideration than many men I've been around.
47. My kids had a medical card (from Public Aid), and Public Aid paid for most of my daycare costs while I was working and then while I was going to school. I can't imagine how I'd have been able to pay my bills if I'd had to pay the $140/week for daycare for them that I pay for Jacob now. I don't enjoy paying taxes now, but I certainly enjoy the fact that I am helping support a system that made it possible for me to get my degree and be self-sufficient.
48. I believe that we as a country have a responsibilty to help take care of people who aren't able to take care of themselves until they're able to take care of themselves. I hope that our legislators, as they are working to reform/eliminate welfare programs, try to put themselves in the shoes of the people who need those programs. If it weren't for those programs, I could still be living with my mom, or paying rent on an apartment I couldn't afford while I struggled to buy food and pay my bills. Instead, I own my own home, have a good job, can pay my bills, and even have a little left over! Now that I have two teenagers...VERY little left over!! Haha
49. I once lived on about $7,000 a year plus student loan money.
50. I graduated from college magna cum laude while working part time and raising two kids. My sister-in-law, though, graduated summa. :( But she didn't have any kids! :)
27. I love to buy craft supplies and books but have poor follow-through in actually using them. I have a box full of sewing patterns which have never been used, and truthfully, I don't sew well enough to make anything I'd actually wear, anyway.
28. I have sewed multiple Halloween costumes, though, including a dinosaur (Daniel), a hippie (Nathan), Cleopatra (me), a pirate (Jeff), and the Cat in the Hat (me 9 months pregnant). Oh, my...add a knight (Nathan), a flying monkey (Jacob...Wizard of Oz), a scarecrow (Daniel), a jester (Daniel), and an Indian (me). Probably more that I'm forgetting.
29. When I was pregnant with Jacob, I walked the entire course of the town Halloween parade on Oct. 31, praying the whole time I'd go into labor. He was born Nov. 4.
30. I played flute in our grade school band from 3rd through 8th grade but haven't touched it since then.
31. I also took piano lessons. The teacher called me "Kathy" for an entire year, and I was too shy to correct her. My mom, however, did correct her at my first recital a year later.
32. 90% of people mispronounce my last name. Jacob, in fact, mispronounced our last name for probably 6 months because the people at his daycare mispronounced it (long e sound instead of long i sound), and he could not be convinced by us that the long i sound was, in fact, correct.
33. I hate conflict and get really uncomfortable in any situation where conflict might arise, even if I'm not part of it. Still uncomfortable in conflict situations, but as a necessity am getting better at dealing with it at work. Have even had moments of confrontation brilliance... and once managed to get rid of a terrible aide in such a way that she thought it was her idea. :D
34. My ex-husband was a total conflict avoider. I could try to bring up an issue and talk about things that I was upset about, and he would completely not respond. If he did respond, it was usually with a lie so as not to "upset" me. It made me crazy.
35. My current husband is very good about addressing problems with honesty. I, on the other hand, have to work really hard to reciprocate. I had 6 years of training in "talking doesn't help". Worse and worse at this.
36. I am a yeller, and I like to throw things when I'm mad. I don't throw things anymore, and I have come a long way in managing my temper...at least its outward manifestations.
37. My husband is such a good man that I try really hard to always talk to him in a respectful tone, even when I'm mad. Still true, but I've developed an unfortunate habit of just not talking when I'm mad.
38. I am a moody, moody person and tend to get really annoyed with Jeff for stupid things. Then, I'm crabby with him because I'm so annoyed but don't feel like I can talk to him about it because the problem isn't him, it's me. I think I must be a very difficult person to live with. Oh, gosh...times 1000!
39. I have been Catholic since birth. I can't imagine ever changing churches, but I don't feel the deep connection that I think many people must. I keep going to church and following the laws and paying attention during the readings, etc, hoping that at some point the feeling part will kick in. Hmmm...this has changed some. I've been going to a non-denominational Christian church. I get a lot more out of it. I'm still very conflicted at the idea of not being a Catholic.
40. I am very disorganized.
41. I like to watch TV, but if I had my choice I'd rarely have the TV on because I'd rather read.
42. I'm a procrastinator. I'll think about something that I should do, but never seem to get around to it. I'm much better at emailing people than writing letters. That is, I write the letters but never get around to mailing them. Currently, I have a thank you gift for my aunt and uncle in Atlanta (with whom we stayed in JUNE) and a baby outfit for my friend Sarah (who had her baby in June) waiting to be mailed. Luckily, the outfit is a 3-6 month size!
43. I am the oldest of 4 children and the only girl. While a lot of the birth order stuff is crap, I think there is also some truth in it.
44. My husband's sister was my best friend in high school. He lived at home then and was very quiet. I thought he was a little weird.
45. I lived with my mom for 2 years after my divorce. I had tried living on my own, but I was making very little (though working full time) and receiving partial, intermittent child support and just could not handle it financially. During my time living with my mom, I paid off all of my old bills, paid her back all the considerable money I owed her, and paid her house payment. I also did nearly all of the cooking. She did most of the cleaning and the laundry. It wasn't perfect, but it worked out OK. It was kind of like having a wife (in the old sense of a wife being the housekeeper, caretaker person).
46. I could use a wife!! I have to admit, though, that Jeff does much more around the house than I do. I think maybe it has to do with him being raised in a house full of women (his parents were divorced when he was 12, and he has 3 sisters). He has much more respect and consideration than many men I've been around.
47. My kids had a medical card (from Public Aid), and Public Aid paid for most of my daycare costs while I was working and then while I was going to school. I can't imagine how I'd have been able to pay my bills if I'd had to pay the $140/week for daycare for them that I pay for Jacob now. I don't enjoy paying taxes now, but I certainly enjoy the fact that I am helping support a system that made it possible for me to get my degree and be self-sufficient.
48. I believe that we as a country have a responsibilty to help take care of people who aren't able to take care of themselves until they're able to take care of themselves. I hope that our legislators, as they are working to reform/eliminate welfare programs, try to put themselves in the shoes of the people who need those programs. If it weren't for those programs, I could still be living with my mom, or paying rent on an apartment I couldn't afford while I struggled to buy food and pay my bills. Instead, I own my own home, have a good job, can pay my bills, and even have a little left over! Now that I have two teenagers...VERY little left over!! Haha
49. I once lived on about $7,000 a year plus student loan money.
50. I graduated from college magna cum laude while working part time and raising two kids. My sister-in-law, though, graduated summa. :( But she didn't have any kids! :)
Hey Kate!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting your thoughts on my blog. It means a lot to me - more than I can put into words at the moment.
I also loved this post by you.. it helped me get to know you a little better. Guess what! I like that we are blog friends!! =) You make me smile!
Have a great day and know that I'm thinking of you and praying for you!
Love,
Bonnelle...