10 Random Things ...

Okay, I've ignored tags and postings of this one, but now, Imperfect Genius's post on "10 Random Things About Me" has me in navel-gazing mode ...

1. I met The Husband on the fencing team. He was a foil fencer, I was an epée fencer, back when few females were. I wasn't great, but I was okay. I qualified for nationals, but didn't have the money to go. Which is fine. I would have been slaughtered. I think I was never great because I didn't have a killer instinct. Now that I have kids, I think I could summon it up.

2. Starting at age 13, I spent about 4 Christmases in the Bahamas. It wasn't until the last time, when my newlywed husband came with us, that I actually liked it. All the other times, I would have preferred to stay home and have a traditional Christmas.

3. ... Which we never really had, anyway. I was a "surprise" baby (Mom thought she was going through early menopause) and my siblings were pretty much grown. So, Christmases were usually just the three of us, and Mom had "been there, done that" on big Christmases with her first litter. And Dad hates Christmas. Yes, I know. Hard to figure out why I have four kids and do the big-hoopla Christmas now that I'm an adult.

4. I think artichokes are the most wonderful food in the world. Where I live, it's hard to get a big, round, delicious one, but when I do, I'm in heaven. I make all kind of sauces for them, including hollandaise, but my favorite is plain ole Wish-Bone Italian dressing.

5. I have really long hair and spend too much money on "hair toys." But have learned that the best shampoos/conditioners are usually the cheapest -- like Suave naturals -- because they don' t have "cones" (silicones and whatnot) in them, which dry out your hair.

6. When my kids and I leave each other, one says, "May the spirit of love go with you," and the other responds, "And with you."

7. I'm about 30 lbs overweight but because I was skinny til I started having kids, I don't really see myself the way I am. Kind of like the fat kid who always sees himself as fat, no matter how much weight he loses. I probably think I look skinnier than I do.

8. I was a Resident Assistant in college. I wasn't a very good one, because my attitude was, "if you're going to have boys over or drink, do it in your room where I can't see you."

9. I began college on a drama scholarship. Towards the end of my freshman year, I looked around at all the kids in my class, posturing grandly about "motivation," and decided in one swift moment that I didn't want to spend my life around people like that. The only time I look back is when I'm watching the Tony awards. Wouldn't trade the life I have for it, though.

10. I play guitar and write music. In great irony, last Christmas I wrote a song for my husband, where the chorus was, "I already got everything on my Christmas list." Less than a month later, we got the diagnosis. I told him I wasn't ever going to write him another song. I didn't mean it.