100 Notes About Me

1. I was born in May of 1966 in Sonora, California
2. My mother named me after a book of the Bible – it’s not Esther
3. I left Sonora at 5 -- I returned at 31
4. As a child, I owned every plastic horse model on the market and read every Marguerite Henry and Walter Farley book
5. I also read a complete Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery every weekend
6. In grade school, I wanted to be a nurse – I read every Florence Nightingale book, every Clara Barton book and every Nurse Cheri Ames book Helen Wells ever wrote
7. As you can already see, I am just a tinsey bit obsessive
8. My sister Jules is 2 years, 11 months and 3 weeks younger
9. My (½) sister Little G is 8 years, 1 month and 9 days younger – I only mention the ½ part to account for the delay in her arrival
10. While in high school, I read all 1800 + pages of Gone With The Wind in less than two weeks
11. As a teenager, I was often called “the short Brook Shields” or Melissa Gilbert (Laura from Little House on the Prairie)
12. My son, Vincent aka the Mancub, was born in November 1988
13. My twin daughters, Sonora and Sabrina, were born in September 1994 – they died the day they were born
14. I have been happily married since December 2001
15. I was unhappily married on two prior occasions (I refer to them as H1 and H2)
16. I have a voracious capacity and appetite for learning – unfortunately, I did not find myself in like company at college – I quit before the end of first semester
17. My Dream Job: Librarian (DUH - haven't you been paying attention?!)
18. I have worked as a daycare attendant, shopping mall CSR (customer service representative), tomato company CSR, answering service operator, and now as a mortuary secretary
19. I have more hobbies than I have time (quilting, gardening, reading, decorating, writing, scrap-booking, crochet, beading, music, etc)
20. My husband would put it this way - I have more hobby supplies than I have space
21. I played the violin in jr high and high school
22. I prefer the piano to the violin
23. I hang my clothes according to color – blue with blue, green with green, etc. -- then according to size – blouses, then skirts and dresses last
24. My husband would tell you that I am never boring
25. My Dream Man is Bruce Willis - he is without equal (I was hooked from the first episode of the tv series Moonlighting in 1985)
26. I never discuss politics or religion
27. I believe in God – not as remote divine being but as my comforter, confidante, fan, friend, guardian, etc
28. I cut my reader’s teeth on mysteries and rarely stray from the genre
29. As a young mother, twice I was so broke that I had to apply for free groceries at the food pantry
30. I became a cat owner and lover at the age of 5 when I brought home a tiny black kitten who I named Midnight -- I continue to be a cat lover to this day
31. My Dueling Nemeses: procrastination and over-commitment
32. My quilting mentor lives in the apartment over my office at the mortuary
33. I volunteer at an inter-denominational healing and prayer room run by my employer’s wife (who is one of my closest friends)
34. Two years ago, I created 10 x 12 garden with just purple flowers – 10 different purple roses, lilac, lavender, bougainvillea, trumpet vine, verbena, lantana, pin cushion, clematis, etc. – I lovingly dubbed it ‘The Secret Garden’
35. I am fascinated by hummingbirds
36. I am a long standing Sting fan
37. My father has never quite been able to characterize me but I’m okay with that
38. My favorite car is the Shelby cobra, silver with black rally stripes or blue with white rallies - the full list of cars I appreciate for aesthetic and or mechanical perfection is too long to post here but a short list would include Studebaker Grand Hawk and Avanti; Plymouth Barracuda Convertible; Dodge Charger; Ford Vickie; Chevy Nomad; MG-B; Austin Healey Bug-eyed Sprite; Datsun 1600 and 2000; Sunbeam Tiger; Mini Cooper (old and new) – as I am writing this, I am battling the impulse to further define these choices with a color scheme, because each of them has a perfect paint scheme that seals their place on this list (ie. Chevy Nomad in two tone salmon and charcoal with chrome trim pieces)
39. I am obsessive about full justify – anything else is intolerable
40. My sister Jules says I should have been a comedienne - my sister Little G says I am a discouraged perfectionist, which is a clinical term for constant battle between being Neat Nick or Messy Marvin
41. I am a survivor of domestic abuse
42. I love nature – trees, flowers, animals, creeks, rocks, ladybugs, rainstorms, etc. etc. etc.
43. I am as comfortable and entertained at a monster truck show as I am at an opera or a ministry seminar
44. Every Thursday night, at 8:00 PM, I watch CSI – the original
45. I tend to collect things: jewelry, evening gloves, kitty figurines, etc.
46. I sang alto in a church choir for 7 years and in a sextet for 1 year - I performed speaking and singing parts in several high school group productions
47. My papa (step-father) would tell you I am a princess
48. I love animals – excluding reptiles and insects
49. Hardest Decision: Letting my 15 year old son move in with his dad
50. I would have liked to be a ballerina – okay, I really just wanted to wear the glorious costumes
51. My favorite actress is Gwenyth Paltrow – because she has the elegance and style of my favorite movie legends Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Katherine Kepburn, etc.
52. I am addicted to John Grisham novels
53. My favorite Sherlock Holmes on film was Jeremy Brett
54. I would jump at the chance to pilfer through Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry
55. If I miss the first minute or two of a mystery series or movie, I will not watch it at all because I feel I may have missed some essential clue that will prevent me from accurately solving the case
56. I could happily spend an entire day sorting garage sale clothing buttons into colors and sizes and then stringing matching buttons on safety pins and safely storing them away in zip lock snack baggies
57. My favorite monster truck is Grave Digger when driven by Dennis Anderson
58. I have read every Jane Austen book – even the unfinished one
59. Perfect Moment: chasing fireflies in the woods during a lightning storm with my then seven year old son
60. I love old black and white movies like Sabrina, To Catch A Thief and The Philadelphia Story
61. I don’t trust anyone else to respect my files and programs as much as I do, so I refuse to share a computer with anyone – not my co-workers, not even my own husband
62. I have been writing since childhood – poetry, music, fiction, essays, etc.
63. I can never organize and print a body of my written work without calling my sister Jules first and subjecting her to the same old relentlessly recurring question – whether to sort alphabetically or chronologically – it is a dilemma that continually haunts me
64. My marriage can best be described as a never-ending episode of I Love Lucy
65. Most of my friends are 5 to 15 years older than me
66. My favorite flower is the rose – lilacs, lilies and other highly fragrant flowers are also high on my list
67. I never met a potato I didn’t like – baked, mashed, scalloped – it’s all good
68. I met my husband in a tow-truck shop – he was the lone hairy dwarf in a sea of tall cool drinks
69. I became a dog owner and lover at the age of 25 when I fell in love with a little black and white spaniel mix who I named Sadie -- before then my history with dogs was sketchy at best
70. I own a gun and I know how to use it – these facts terrify my husband
71. I have an intense and finely-tuned aesthetic perception that often overwhelms me – I deeply appreciate a particular line in a car, the layout of a garden or the beadwork on a vintage dress-bodice
72. I am always 10 minutes late – even if I leave early
73. My teenage son would say that I giggle too much and obsess about my aquarium and send him too many letters even though I know he doesn’t like to read – but he also hugs me in public, allows me to fuss over his injuries and loves to watch Nero Wolfe mysteries with me
74. If you want to know anything about God, ask me and I will answer
75. I am a vintage fashion enthusiast – I often purchase clothing in second hand stores just for the sheer quality of workmanship or the styling – I secretly dream of having a clothing museum
76. I am completely obsessive about chapstick -- my life would come to a screeching halt without Bonnie Bell LipSmackers
77. I love to laugh – this is a gigantic understatement
78. I am compulsive about having one word titles for my poems
79. The song DELA by Johnny Clegg and Savuka embodies how I feel about my husband
80. I love paper – the smell of it, the texture, the endless variety, the endless possibilities
81. I participated in and contributed material to my sister’s masters thesis - my poem Finale is on the title page of her finished project
82. My in-laws would tell you that I am blonde – but I am not
83. I love music – it is as essential to me as air
84. My favorite colors are blue, green and purple – I used to ignore or downright despise every other color – however, due to my recent foray into quilting, I now appreciate and enjoy every color in the color wheel – this is a much bigger breakthrough than you can comprehend
85. My mother says I was a breeze of a child and a storm of a teenager
86. If I won the Lotto, I would spend it all at Hallmark – down to the last dime
87. I keep dozens of his and her mail order catalogs neatly categorized in a large basket beside the toilet
88. My Claim To Fame: during the year H2 and I bred and raised Siberian Huskies, ice skater Debbie Thomas purchased one of our puppies and we later puppy-sat for her when she took a Hawaiian vacation
89. I have an amazingly strong mental constitution but absolutely no tolerance for physical pain
90. In my late 20’s, I had a goose named Gracie as a pet – I used to go into her pen and sit on the cold damp dirt to hold and pet her – she was the softest thing I have ever touched
91. My Favorite Bible Verse: 1 Peter 4:8 - Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins
92. I don’t care who you are or what you have done – if you want to be my friend, then you are
93. I habitually make little mental notes of details like license plates, time, color of clothing, etc. so I can provide helpful information in the event of a crime
94. I am fanatical about keeping track of my Subway and Round Table punch-cards
95. I don’t loan books – to soften the blow, I will buy friends copies of the books they want to borrow – that way I can keep my books and my friends (!)
96. I am probably one of the few people who love the movie Yentel (and Barbra for that matter) – I also love What’s Up Doc and have seen it so many times that I know every line
97. I love taking photos and I am terrifically thankful for the invention of the digital camera
98. I eat popcorn in a specific way one piece at a time – this irritates the snot out of my husband – he once asked why I do it but the fact that I actually had a well formed and ready answer scarred him for life – I could eat it the normal way, but I choose not to - Okay, I’ll tell you my system – first I eat the ½ popped kernels, then the smooth, rounded symmetrical popcorn and finally, the random shapes that are left
99. I longed with all my heart to walk down the aisle on my (3rd) wedding day to the song Beloved Monster from the Shrek soundtrack – I caved to tradition
100. I have done things I shouldn’t have, not done things I wished I had and lately, learned to forgive, forget and carry on – I am continually evolving