100 Posts, 100 Things About Me

Wow, here I am at my 100th published post! (I have a couple more in my drafts folder, but this is #100 posted!) 100 posts in 7 months (since late October); let's see, that's about 14 posts per month on average, or about one every other day. Not bad!

I've seen several bloggers post a list of 100 things about themselves for their 100th post. I did a similar list a couple of years back... and so I've cheated a little by using it as a starting point, although I've done some editing to bring it more up to date & suitable for a blogging audience. ; )


1. I think this is a great idea, & have loved reading the lists I've seen other people post on their own blogs.

2. My dad worked for two different Canadian banks over nearly 30 years (I now work for one of them!).

3. Because of that, we moved around a lot. Our family lived in 11 different houses in six different towns in two Canadian provinces (Saskatchewan & Manitoba) by the time my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. (This doesn't count my own student dorm rooms & apartments.)

4. Dad eventually quit banking altogether & went into real estate. He sold his company last year, but still works for the new owner part-time.

5. My mom is only 20 years and 6 days older than me.

6. I always think of her as being a stay-at-home-mom, but in reality, she worked (mostly part-time, but sometimes full time) from the time I was about 7. She spent the last 25 years or so working as an educational assistant in elementary schools.

7. I have one younger sister who lives about an hour away from my parents.

8. She has been with her boyfriend (a guy I introduced her to!) longer than I have known dh.

9. We get along better when our parents aren't around (even as adults!).

10. I love my life with dh, & I love his family, but sometimes I wish I lived closer to mine.

11. I still had one complete set of grandparents until I was 37. My grandfather died three months after Katie, & my grandmother died oneyear after that.

12. I was very close to them, & I miss them so much.

13. My mother is American, from a little town in Minnesota.

14. I spent nearly every summer there with my grandparents while I was growing up.

15. My dh was born & raised here in the Toronto area.

16. We met at university in the fall of 1981. We lived in adjacent residences.

17. I lived in residence all four years of undergrad.

18. That was the most fun time of my life.

19. I have a double honours BA in English & Political Science, and an MA in Journalism.

20. From the time I was very little, I loved books & wanted to be a writer.

21. Once I realized most people don't make a living writing books, I decided to go into journalism.

22. Somehow, instead of becoming the next Woodward or Bernstein, I wound up working in corporate communications!

23. When I was in junior high, I wrote a letter to the editor of the Winnipeg Tribune (now defunct), a woman (pretty unique for the time, I think!) named Dona Harvey, asking for advice on becoming a journalist. She was kind enough to reply, & I know the letter is still somewhere in a drawer at my parents' house.

24. When I was in university, I belonged to the Progressive Conservative party campus club and, for a while, I thought I'd like to work behind the scenes in politics.

25. I changed my mind after I went to a political convention -- very disillusioning.

26. Dh & I were married in the chapel of the university where we met, & had our reception in the student union building.

27. That was almost 23 years ago, on July 6, 1985.

28. We went to Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise & Jasper for our honeymoon.

29. Our first official date was January 22, 1982. He took me to see "Altered States" with William Hurt at the student union centre. Despite the weird movie, I knew right away he was "the one."

30. I always knew I wanted children -- just not right away.

31. We were married 10 years before we started ttc.

32. We've lived in the same house for 18 years.

33. Dh's family is Italian (both sides). His mom, dad, & almost all of his aunts & uncles emigrated from Italy in the late 1950s. (Dh was born in Toronto.)

34. I'm still the only non-Italian to marry into dh's mom's side of the family.

35. When we were first married, they all called me a "mangiacake" (which means "cake eater" -- it's sort of slang for "English" Canadians).

36. I love doing research on my family tree (though I haven't had a lot of time for it in recent years).

37. The earliest ancestor I've found so far is my great-great-great-great grandfather, who served as a sergeant in British army during the War of 1812. His son, my great-great-great grandfather, was one of the original lockmasters on the Rideau Canal.

38. I sometimes wonder who I will pass along all this stuff to, with no children of my own.

39. My sister isn't interested in having children.

40. I feel incredibly guilty that I haven't been able to give myparents a living grandchild to spoil.

41. I have taken more photos over the years of our two nephews (dh's brother's boys) than their own parents have.

42. I didn't take a camera to the hospital when I delivered Katie (one of my biggest regrets in retrospect). I do have six lousy Polaroids taken by one of the nurses.

43. I've worn glasses since I was seven years old.

44. I got contact lenses when I was 17 (after many years of begging my optometrist).

45. A couple of years ago, I got an eye infection & had to stop wearing my lenses for several months until it cleared up. Around the same time, they stopped making the specific type of lens I had been wearing, & since then, I haven't been able to find another pair that suits me.

46. Last fall I had to get bifocals.

47. At least my younger sister got them before I did. ; )

48. I love playing around with makeup & skincare products (& I have far more than I'll everwear in a lifetime!). (I'm a sucker for those "gift with purchase" promotions.)

49. My favourite brands are Clinique, Estee Lauder & Prescriptives.

50. As my 40th birthday present to myself, I spent the day at a spa having a massage, facial, manicure & pedicure. I loved it so much, I've done it at least once a year since then.

51. Our biggest lifestyle indulgence is buying books & magazines.

52. We have five IKEA bookshelves in our basement overflowing with books, & more piled up in various corners of the houses.

53. My other big indulgence is scrapbooking, which I started doing about six years ago.

54. I'm a packrat, & find it very hard to throw or give things away. My husband is just the opposite.

55. We get up at 5 a.m. every morning and arrive at work just before 8.

56. We work in the same office tower, 59 stories apart.

57. We ride a commuter train into work.

58. I hate having to listen to people talking too loud on the train, either to each other or on their cellphones. I'm not sure which is worse, at 6:45 a.m., when I'm still half asleep, or at 5 o'clock after a long day at work.

59. I spend WAY too much time on the Internet.

60. I eat lunch at my desk nearly every day, because I find the foodcourts too noisy & crowded.

61. This summer, I'll have been at my job for 22 years.

62. For the most part, I still enjoy it, although all the young interns & new hires are making me feel old lately.

63. I love Starbucks lattes, gingerbread lattes at Christmastime, caramel macchiatos and mocha frappucinos.

64. Overall, though, I prefer tea to coffee.

65. After all these years living with an Italian family, I still can't drink straight espresso.

66. I played alto saxophone in my high school band.

67. I also took piano lessons (I got my Grade 6 Royal Conservatory diploma -- Canadians will probably know what that means).

68. I still have my old stereo with turntable, along with all my LPs.

69. The first album I ever got was the soundtrack from "Mary Poppins"for Christmas. For my sixth birthday shortly afterwards, I got "TheBest of Herman's Hermits, Vol. 2."

70. We didn't own a CD player until about 5 years ago, & only bought a DVD player about three years ago.

71. We still own one of the original Nintendo game systems (it came with the original Super Mario Brothers & Duck Hunt). It's still the only video game equipment we have in the house. (Can you tell we don't have kids??)

72. I was a Bay City Rollers fan when I was a teenager.

73. They were the first band I saw live in concert, in August 1976,when I was 15 years old. The tickets were $5.50, & my mom ordered them over the phone from Eaton's.

74. I still write to two penpals from those days: one from New Zealand, one who now lives in Victoria, B.C.

75. I have kept in touch with more friends from my high school days than university.

76. Dh was & still is a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, and got me listening to his music.

77. My first (and favourite) summer job was working at the concession stand at the drive-in movies on weekends.

78. Dh & I love going to the movies, & probably see at least one movie every month.

79. We like going to the Sunday afternoon matinees. It's cheaper & less crowded than Saturday night.

80. We're usually too tired after work to go out on weeknights.

81. One of the first movies I can ever remember seeing is "Help!" with the Beatles.

82. For years afterward, I had dreams about Ringo's ring being stuck on my finger.

83. I'm a news junkie: I read three or four newspapers a day, & often check out a few more online.

84. I wish dh & I had travelled more than we have to date.

85. I have been to the west coast of Canada, & I've been to Quebec City and Halifax on business (& loved both places), but nowhere in between.

86. One of our favourite vacation spots is Cannon Beach, Oregon. We've been there three times in the last 15 years.

87. Dh & I attended a pregnancy loss support group for a year after we lost Katie.

88. We're now the (volunteer) group facilitators!

89. We visit Katie's niche at the cemetery every weekend.

90. Sometimes we'll take a long walk around the cemetery while we're there.

91. Through our group, we now know the parents of several other babies buried close by her in the same cemetery. We sometimes go to visit them, too.

92. I have spent every Christmas of my life with my family.

93. We open our presents to each other on Christmas Eve, then hang upour stockings for Santa to fill & open those in the morning.

94. I am a control freak & find it hard to delegate.

95. I make lots of to-do lists (which somehow never seem to get things crossed off them).

96. I often fantasize about early (REALLY early!) retirement, & buy lottery tickets every week.

97. I think I could stay home an entire month and still not get the whole house cleaned & reorganized the way I'd like it to be.

98. I am usually in bed by 10 p.m. most weeknights (5 a.m. comes early!).

99. I can't believe I'm finished this list.

100. Now that I've got the hang of it, I think I could probably write another 100 things!