Monday, February 9, 2009

25 Random Things

This application has been floating around Facebook lately and I've been tagged enough to feel that it is my turn to try and complete a list. It's a daunting task, really... Can I think of 25 things about myself? We'll find out.


25. I am an only child. Kinda. We had a foster child in our house for ten years, so I feel like I know what it is to have a younger sister - the bad parts at least.... the fighting over toys, the stealing, the vying for daddy's attention, the looking out my window... Its now that I am an adult that I wish so much for siblings. I've promised Katie she will have a brother or a sister someday (maybe both?!)

24. The experience with our foster child was terrible for me. I think it's the most traumatic thing in my life. She didn't leave our house under good circumstances and since then has had a nightmare existence. Nearly 15 years later there is still so much pain, guilt and sadness that I usually try not to think of her at all.

23. Moving to Ireland has been the biggest adventure of my life. Prior to this, I'd never lived outside of the state of Florida, let alone outside the country. When I first met my husband I couldn't point to Ireland on a map. He'll never let me live that one down. The best thing about living here is seeing America from the outside and getting a much clearer picture of who and what we "Americans" really are.

22. I am missing two of my top front teeth. Just wasn't born with them. I wear a retainer with fake teeth on it. I always forget that they aren't real and shock myself when I look in the mirror while brushing my teeth.

21. I've got procrastination down to a fine science. I've got 365 reasons why 'tomorrow' will be a better day to do something.

20. I'm a slob. But according to a 1912 Guide for Husbands, it is probably a "constitutional defect" and "if so, no amount of grumbling [by my husband] will cure it."

19. As if to illustrate the above two facts, I am attempting to do this when I am supposed to be cleaning the house. If all things go to plan, this blog entry will be posted by noon and little fairies will come into the house tonight while I sleep and scrub my toilets for me. (its only been two weeks since they were last done - how dirty do those things get, anyway?)

18. My all-time favorite activity is playing games. Any kind; card, board, get-together, emotional. I have spent an entire day sitting at my grandmother's eating crap, downing shots of tequila and dealing out hands of canasta, pinochle and spades. I suffer from shuffler's thumb as a result; occupational hazard, I suppose.

17. My husband HATES all games. If we were ever to get divorced, it will be this fact that leads to our "irreconcilable differences". Seriously if I could change one thing about him... well, two...

16. The reasons I became a nurse were (in this order); 1)My aunt was a nurse and always seemed to have the day off, 2) I loved watching ER and 3) scrubs instead of suits. I found only after working for a year or two that I really love offering someone who is in the worst of situations and conditions compassion and humor and trying to return to them a shred of their former dignity when illness has stripped them of it.

15. Motherhood does not come naturally to me. I've never been a big fan of children. Hated to baby-sit. While I adore my own child and have turned into one of those mothers that thinks everyone else wants to hear about the cute thing she did today, naptime and bedtime are my favorite times of the day.

14. My grass is never as green as that which is growing over the fence. I always thought I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and now that I am- I'm going crazy but I know that once I start to work again, I will bitch and moan about it and long for the days when the biggest decision was whether to go to the park then the pool or to the pool then the park?

13. After my first semester in college, I withdrew and returned home. Started to see a therapist and was diagnosed with depression and an anxiety disorder. Social Phobia. Its like that dream where you go to school and realize everyone is staring at you because you are naked... only its having that kind of panic while you are awake. P.S. I did return to school the next semester and got a degree in Psychology of all things!

12. Most people who meet me don't like me at first (and I've been told this over and over by my now-friends...thanks a lot guys..) I come across as a bitch and a snob but its really because I am so damn nervous I don't know what to say or how to act like a normal human being.

11. My dad and I have the same sense of humor. We think that we are the funniest things since Abbott and Costello. For the most part, we are the only ones that think this.. My hysterical sarcasm is another reason people think that I am a royal shithead when I open my mouth for the first time.

10. I hate to shave my legs. When I lived in Miami, I would wax. Now that I am in Ireland I use the hair as insulation to keep my legs warm. I admit it's pretty gross, but... whatever.

9. Sushi is my all-time favorite food. This is true even after the first time I ate it (with Tiffany and her dad back when I was in high school) I felt so sick afterward and convinced myself the raw fish gave me food poisoning so I drank a bottle of Ipecac syrup to make myself throw up.

8. I am a complete hypochondriac. This is a bad thing to be when you are a nurse because you just learn about more diseases that you are then sure that you have. I found that most of the nurses I worked with on the oncology unit were pretty sure they and/or their husbands had some sort of cancer, just like me.

7. I don't believe there is such thing as "the one" out there. It's not fate - it's choice. That is what makes me even more amazed sometimes that Manus actually chose me. Does he regret it? Yeah, sure, probably sometimes but I know that each day we will just make the choice to make this crazy little thing called love work. And when I say "work"... boy oh boy... (just kidding...wink)

6. I curse like a sailor. We started a 'swear jar' to keep us from using profanity around Katie. One euro per infraction. She can already buy herself a Maserati. And we only started it last week.

5. I hate vegetables. They seriously make me gag sometimes when I try to eat them. Unless they are deep-fried and dipped in cheese. I try to eat at least one serving per day. And I take a vitamin. Though I admire the dedication it takes, I could NEVER be vegan.

4. Naps are my biggest guilty pleasure. There is nothing more luxurious than slipping between the sheets in the middle of the day. It's the getting up again that I find hard...

3. I love craft projects but I NEVER finish them. I have half completed paintings, cross-stitch and a great (if I do say so myself) scrapbook from our honeymoon that will forever remain two-thirds of the way done. I hope I keep up with this blogging as I hope one day it will serve as a virtual scrapbook of our lives and our family.

2. I am not religious in any way but pray every night that god will help me to be a good mother and a better wife. Its a time where I can give thanks for my family, great friends and good fortunes. I am trying so hard to appreciate all the great things I have in my life. I want to be a better person. Wouldn't it be such a great gift if you could live your life truly knowing how lucky you are?

1. I am pregnant again. And this is my official announcement.

10 comments:

Niki said...

Congratulations! :-)

Leslie said...

you rock sister!

Kristy said...

Boy do I love and adore you!

Debbie said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I'm SO, SO happy for you guys! Can I join your party?...



This is my unofficial announcement for you :-O



When are you due?

Kristy said...

P.S. Re #25 - please don't try and fill an only child void by having 14 kids like that wacko in California! OK, hugs to you and pat the belly for me!

Anonymous said...

Woo-hoo! So will it be a brother or sister for Katie? Or both at one time? Congratulations!

Love you.
Jess

Gammy said...

I think I knew almost all those 24 things about you but not the 25th!!Congratulations! You ARE a wonderful Mom and I know Katie will be thrilled with a new brother or sister!! Love to all!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I'm really surprised by some of these! And I can relate to most of them a lot!

Anonymous said...

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!! Honestly, I'm tearing up a bit!!! So incredibly happy for you guys!!!! YAH!!!!

And we are so ridiculously alike, it's scary!!! I love naps, but hate the trying to get up part, I'm so lazy, hence me trolling everyones blogs at 1:45 pm while Max is napping, I love naps and bedtime for the kids even though I love them more than life, I know for sure that we all have cancer and point out weird things on me and the kids to DJ all the time....I should stop now and go clean something.
If you have morning sickness, I have some good natural tips for ya! Love ya! Anne :)

erica said...

I loved reading #'s 25-2, but #1 was my favorite! I'm so happy for you, Manus, and Katie! Hope you're feeling well...