100th Post

This is my 100th post. I want to thank those of you who do read and comment... it keeps me going with this project. And thanks to all those other bloggers out there, who entertain me immensely, give me kitchen inspiration and tons of great recipes, awesome financial advice, poignant life reminders and a tangible connection to people all around the globe.

Keeping with tradition, here are 100 Random Things About Me: Everything You Wanted to Know about Mrs.W but Were Afraid to Ask.

1. I am 5 feet 4-1/2 inches tall. I need that half-inch.
   
2. I was born in 1971 in the same town where I currently live, however I've traveled and lived elsewhere over the course of my adult years.
   
3. All of my grandparents are still alive.
   
4. I used to be a military wife.
   
5. I played the violin in school, and was concert master my senior year of high school. Haven't played since.
   
6. I was the tallest girl in my kindergarten class.
   
7. I find the bible fascinating and a blueprint for life.
   
8. Not only am I a Christian, but an evangelical one.
   
9. I have been to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing North and South Korea.
   
10. My last job was in the area of international public health—specifically the global polio eradication effort. It was THE BEST job I have ever had.
    
11. I have been to Cape Point at the Cape of Good Hope. It was breathtaking... too beautiful to describe. The baboons were scary, though. (And one of my favorite blog readers was there with me.)
    
12. I love to travel but dislike flying. I much prefer the train.
    
13. My favorite color is green. Any green. Or a combination of greens. But I hate the color of my house, which is mint green. My furniture is not green, and the paint inside my house is not green.
    
14. I have no piercings on my body whatsoever.
    
15. Or tattos. Nope.
    
16. I have broken both pinky toes several times each.
    
17. I have never done any illegal drugs... or even seen them. Really! The first time I was offered a joint was when I was 27 years old--and even then I didn't actually see the thing.
    
18. My biggest fear is that I will never have any children.
    
19. I once missed a flight because I was so engrossed in the book I was reading I missed the boarding announcements. I was sitting right at the gate.
    
20. I can recite So I Married An Axe Murderer from memory because I've seen it so many times.
    
21. I have been saved by a lifeguard before.
    
22. My husband is my best friend.
    
23. I still know and regularly spend time with my childhood best friend.
    
24. I had an unfortunate failed first marriage when I was very young.
    
25. I get motion-sick in a car, train, plane or on a boat. But not in the tub, or if I'm driving. I have to be very careful while traveling to avoid actually getting sick--my method is to (a) drink lots of fluids, (b) don't read, (c) nibble on snacks, especially ginger, and (d) face forward at all times, or as much as possible.
    
26. I never finished college. I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up.
    
27. I love getting pedicures. I would get one every week if I could afford the $25 bucks a pop.
    
28. However I bite my nails, so I never bother with a manicure. I would just chew it off anyway.
    
29. Housework is my least favorite thing to do. I will do just about anything to avoid doing housework. I actually host a weekly gathering in my house so that I'm forced to clean.
    
30. I love to sing but only in private, where no one else can hear me.
    
31. My first cookbook was Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Cookbook, circa 1975. I learned how to cook from that book, starting with pancakes.
    
32. I like smoking cigars on occasion. Especially those sweet little cigarillos.
    
33. My husband and I were married for 3 years before he ever heard me whistle.
    
34. I met my husband in his own living room while dating his roommate. Note: I am NOT “that” girl. The roomie and I were only starting to see each other... barely out of the friends stage, really.
    
35. I have more clothes than I know what to do with.
    
36. I collect handbags.
    
37. And pretty aprons. Well, sorta. It's a new collection, currently totalling two aprons.
    
38. I have over 30 pairs of shoes and covet many more. Just call me Imelda.
    
39. I lose sunglasses and umbrellas and, because of this, I refuse to buy expensive ones, because I will just lose them.
    
40. I used to love to drive until I became an Atlanta-area commuter. If you have not heard about it, Atlanta is one of the busiest commuting cities in the United States. It took me 60 minutes to drive 35 miles each way to work, and that was on a good day when traffic was moving. On a bad day it might take 2 hours or longer.
    
41. I am named after my maternal great-grandmother, who was originally from Nancy, France. Her father was the mayor of that same city.
    
42. I have a strange fascination of sharks--if there's a tv show about sharks, I have to watch it.
    
43. Ditto with tornadoes. I was once driving from Atlanta to the Chattanooga area during a tornado watch and constantly watched all around me hoping I would see one, and afraid I would. I didn't.
    
44. I am afraid of the ocean. I mean, I'll swim in the shallows, and I've even been snorkelling a time or three. But the entire time I know I'm acutely aware that as long as I'm in the ocean, I am no longer at the top of the food chain.
    
45. The house I live in was once owned by my paternal grandparents. I didn't know that until after we bought it.
    
46. I love liverwurst. On white bread. With mayo.
    
47. I used to collect elephants--until everyone found out. Then people started giving me elephants. I have a huge number of elephant statues that currently reside in boxes in my basement.
    
48. When I wind up our pendelum clock I only wind the side that allows the clock to function. I don't wind the side that makes the chimes ring. Because that makes me a little crazy.
    
49. I make piles. Magazine piles, clothes piles, newspaper piles, mail piles. Mr.W is also a piler. See #29.
    
50. My hair is naturally curly and more-than-50%-grey, and I color & highlight every 6-8 weeks to hide that fact.
    
51. My husband highlights my hair for me. Every time. He does a wonderful job.
    
52. I can't stand it when paper towels don't tear correctly on the perforations.
    
53. My favorite car was a blue '95 Nissan Altima I bought new in Pennsylvania.
    
54. I speak a smattering of French, and not well. Just enough to blend if needed. I can read French pretty well, though.
    
55. If I won or otherwise received $50 million USD, I would keep $1M and give the rest away.
    
56. I cry when I hear the national anthem.
    
57. I don't wear a wedding band. I just don't like to wear jewelry—I know I'm married, and I'm not going to misbehave.
    
58. In my previous house, I was "that lady" in the neighbordhood. You know the one--who yells at your kids for roller-skating in her driveway. The one you don't really see very much because she's either gone or in the house with the blinds closed.
    
59. I don't like raw onions. Or radishes. Or water chestnuts. Especially water chestnuts. I'll eat raw onion out of politeness if it happens to be in something I'm eating at someone's house, but I'll spit a water chestnut right out in front of God and everyone.
    
60. I could watch the food network all the time... but I police my daytime television-watching quite carefully. Most of the time I keep the television off during the day, but I do indulge in some television in the evenings.
    
61. For me, retail therapy is shoe shopping at DSW with my old boss and friend VS. Or browsing around World Market with VS and EB. Or exploring the Valley Exchange with MW. Or Target, alone, anywhere.
    
62. My proudest professional accomplishment is that I have contributed towards the global eradication of polio. And even if polio is never eradicated, I can know that my work has saved children from a crippling disease.
    
63. The most unusual gift I ever gave to someone is a civil-war era relic confederate infantry smoking pipe that was unearthed from a POW camp in Elmira, New York.
    
64. The most unusual gift I ever received was a wooden-shoe-sailboat given by someone visiting from the Netherlands.
    
65. I have given up bread for a period yet to be determined. I don't eat bread, or cake, or biscuits of any kind. That includes traditionally-made pizza. However I do occasionally induge in my own creations which use such ingredients such as oat or soy flour, flax meal and rice flour.
    
66. I have a... problem... with goats. They hate me. Goats will do to me whatever their wee diabolical minds can dream up. I have been (a) tied up by a goat, (b) butted by a zooful of baby goats, and (c) urinated on by a nasty, hairy billy goat, to name a just few. After all that, the feeling is mutual.
    
67. Researching and testing recipes for people with dietary restrictions is my idea of a fun Saturday.
    
68. I love going to “chick flick” movies—especially weekday matinees when I can sit alone.
    
69. For many years of my life, I drank lots of Coca-Cola. And I mean lots—probably about a 2-liter bottle a day. But in 2004 I decided to give it up, along with all caffeine-laden beverages, which resulted in 6 weeks of constant headache and a whole year of cravings. Now I'm able to have the occasional diet cola or other caffeinated beverage without any ill effects.
    
70. My favorite male actor is Chow Yun-Fat. He's my kung-fu eye candy.
    
71. I am left-handed.
    
72. I have trouble using scissors. I think it's because of #71.
    
73. I like tape. Especially duct tape. I once had a pair of shoes that were so old and frayed that I taped them together with duct tape (on the insides) so I could wear them a little bit longer.
    
74. I shave my big toes. TMI, I know. Coming up with 100 things is a challenge.
    
75. My favorite ethnic cuisine is Ethiopian national food. Or Thai. Or Lebanese. Or Japanese. Or Italian. Okay, I guess I don't have a favorite. Suffice it to say that I like ethnic foods.
    
76. I thought I decorated my house pretty well—until I looked at photos. Then I decided my house looks like a “before” shot on an HGTV program.
    
77. I secretly like to watch American Chopper. Shh... don't tell Mr.W.
    
78. I don't like sushi. Or sashimi. Or raw fish or their unhatched offspring in any form whatsoever. I never want it in my mouth. Ever.
    
79. One of my major pet peeves is misspellings on billboards or menus.
    
80. I can kill houseplants of all kinds.
    
81. I like kung-fu movies. See #70.
    
82. I can perform very realistic impressions of a purring cat and a grunting pig. It's a great talent to have when babysitting.
    
83. I hate that the mysterious “they” have added the incorrect spelling of canceled to the dictionary as an alternate spelling. “Cancelled” is not correct. It only has one L. Or at least it did—until the dumbing down spread like a cancer through the dictionary of the English language.
    
84. Heroes is one of my favorite television programs.
    
85. I have watched all of the Friends and Seinfeld reruns possible. All of them.
    
86. I detest the feel of polyester blankets. I don't want them touching me. When staying in hotels, I MUST have them safely ensconced between flat sheets, or removed entirely. I refer to these blankets as being “Mrs.W-proof blankets.”
    
87. If I go to sleep with my hair wet, I awake to a frightening version of the super-jeri-curl-white-fro from H-E-double hockey sticks.
    
88. I hate the drop by. Please call before you visit.
    
89. I like that Mr.W has ghetto-booty.
    
90. Much to my shame, I love disco music. Listening. Dancing. Watching the dancing. Especially watching the dancing. When the first dollar store opened up in Key West while we lived there, Mr.W and I were often found bee-bopping up and down the aisles, because they always played disco.
    
91. I kick butt at Pictionary.
    
92. I hate that Mr.W has an ever-growing gigantic “funny t-shirt” collection. Our friends and relatives aren't helping the situation, either, because every birthday and Christmas brings more funny t-shirts into my life. His driver's license photo even shows him in his “I eat glue” shirt. Ugh.
    
93. I am oddly fascinated by Target and Old Navy commercials. They just entertain me so much.
    
94. I need to wear eyeglasses, and I have them, but I don't wear them. When I do wear them, they end up on my head like a headband. I never remember putting them there, they just gravitate to the top of my head. That doesn't really help my eyesight any.
    
95. I'm freaked out by anything relating to eyes. Mr.W and I were once at a party where another guest was explaining the procedure of his recent lasik surgery and I had to leave the room I was so disgusted. Even thinking about it now... oh... I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
    
96. I foolishly tried contact lenses a couple of years ago. I had to have the technician remove them for me. See #95.
    
97. It is my shame to admit that I am not a Proverbs 31 wife. When Mr.W makes me angry I tell him I'm going to put pins in his ears while he's sleeping. He has an ear thing like I have an eye thing.
    
98. My husband and I wear the same size pants.
    
99. I have trouble with the directions "left" and "right." I can be driving along, and my navigator will say, "Turn right at the next light." I'll probably turn left. I don't know why that happens, although I talk to other left-handed people who have the same trouble. It's not that I don't know my left from my right... it just... happens in the moment. Go figure.
    
100. My high school nickname was, unfortunately, “Fluffernutter.” This horrible little boy named me that because my hair was brown like peanut butter and my neck was white like marshmallow fluff. I recently saw that little boy at a restaurant, and was thrilled to see he has not aged well.
     

Well, there you have it. Aren't you glad you just read all that? As a reward, click here for a fun little Christmas ditty.