Randomness

Well, I've been away so long I've been wondering how to gracefully start writing again. Then Kelly tagged me with the "8 Random Facts" meme, which is a great place to start, don't you think? So, as I sit here in our beautiful Georgia weather (waving to my mom&dad up in frigid, snowy Minnesota!), my tissues and tea at hand (having a really irritating cold right now), here are 8 Random facts about me:

1) I love hand crafts. Crochet, knitting, cross stitch and embroidery - love them all! I've done crochet and embroidery since I was about 7 years old, but I've only recently taught myself how to knit. Right now I'm obsessed with knitting socks. I've done a tiny little practice sock (to learn the technique, which, while not hard, isn't intuitive), which thrilled me to no end. I got about half-way done with my first "real" sock when I realized that not only was it was way too big for any human being, but I'd also dropped a stitch, tried to correct it and failed, and so I've pretty much given up on that one! I started another one (meant for dh, but so far it's looking like it might fit A2, lol! Gauge isn't my strong suit!), and I've almost got the cuff done. I'm not so good at finishing projects, but I sure do love to start them. I'm fascinated with crocheting lace (think snowflakes and doilies), and once I get more comfortable with knitting, one of my personal goals is to hand-knit myself my own lace veil for church.

2) Unfortunately, I can't sew - that would be such a useful skill! Straight seams and all that ironing really intimidate me, though. My grandmother used to do completely gorgeous quilts - I would love to do that someday. I'm kept a wee bit busy right now with my boys to try something that ambitious - I'll stick to socks for awhile! :-)

3) One week before I met my dh, I told my mom that I was never getting married, and it was just too bad that she hadn't had more kids (I'm an only child), because she wasn't getting any grandkids from me. Famous last words!

4) I don't ever remember the plots to books I read or movies I see. I will hand J1 a book and say, "Oh, I loved that book as a kid!" and he'll ask me what it's about - and I really can't say. I remember liking books, but the details just don't stick with me. Movies, however, tend to leave me completely. Dh laughs, because I often have no memory at all of movies we saw together early in our relationship. He says he likes it, because he can chose a movie for us to watch and he'll know that I will like it, and it will be as if I am seeing it for the first time. We caught half of the movie "Conspiracy Theory" this past weekend, and at the end I said to dh, "wow, that was pretty good, we should see the whole thing!" And dh just gave me this odd look and said that we had watched it together in the theater, I loved it and talked about how we should own it. I don't remember it at *all*. It was good movie, though!

5) I have a guilty pleasure that will probably shock those of you who know me IRL. I like to smoke cigars. Yes, it's true! They're not addictive, have much lower health risks associated with them than any other form of tobacco, and I actually have discovered that it helps my asthma and blood pressure (no kidding!) I find that a good cigar is like coffee - you have no idea why you like the taste, but it is very, very pleasant. Dh and I like to sit together on our front porch swing with a glass of wine and share a cigar - one of the best things ever! I will be very sad if we ever manage to get pregnant again and I have to give that up for a couple years. Well, not *that* sad! :-)

6) I was an undiagnosed anorexic in high school. Now I'm obese - go figure! I won't admit to the difference between what I weighed then and what I weigh now, but it's stunning, even to me. Not sure what that says about me, but there you have it.

7) I have a terribly conflicted personality at times - I'm analytical and organized, with a burning need for routine - and yet I'm also intuitive, artistic, and messy. I love purples and blues, but tend to decorate my environment in reds and yellows. I chose to pursue a scientific major in college, but I had great musical gifts that I have ignored for way too many years. I often tend to get stuck in my life, with these two sides of my personality at war - I analytically plan things, with great organization, but then can't implement said plans when my creative side rebels. Not sure what this says about me, either. But I'm actually a really rather well-adjusted, happy person!

8) I met my dh on a blind date, just before he deployed over to the first Gulf War. I was there on the tarmac, waiting for his plane, when he came home 8 months later - we have a picture of our first kiss!

There you have it - 8 random facts as I randomly start blogging again. Or, maybe start sporadically blogging again? I actually probably won't write regularly till after the holidays. Hope you all are having a lovely Advent and a beautiful Christmas season. If you want to share 8 random facts about you, consider yourself tagged!