happy birthday to me

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thirty three years old.

1. i was born on Thanksgiving day, 1980, at 5:31 in Chicago, Illinois

2. i have fifteen tattoos (including one cover up)

3. i love murder mysteries

4. one of the reasons i stay in California, not just for my children, is for the beaches

5. i’m addicted to “Big Bang Theory”

6. i currently owe the library $88 in fines

7. i was born club foot, pigeon toe. i was two days old when i had my first corrective surgery

8. i only became a coffee addict about three years ago

9. i was a Girl Scout, from Brownie to Junior

10. my first job was working on a farm, giving pony rides, taking care of animals, and getting free horseback riding lessons in return

11. my favorite book of all time is “To Kill a Mockingbird”

12. i always wanted to learn to speak German

13. i’m enamored by English history (especially the War of the Roses and Tudor periods)

14. i prefer wet, cold, rainy weather

15. i’ve seen “Clue” at least two hundred times (seriously, used to play it over and over and i know the script word for word)

16. sometimes when i miss my daughter i sleep with her Pooh bear blanket and green and blue musical dinosaur

17. my best friends have always been animals (Buster, my green eyed gray tabby; River, my first flame point Siamese; Dalton, a Siamese i rescued from work; Scarlett and Rogue, my pit bulls; and now, Shelby who is currently giving me lots of birthday hugs and kisses as i type)

18. i used to draw, pretty well too

19. i was a softball player for six years, tried soccer and hated all the running

20. i learned how to knit when my son was two because i wanted to learn how to make him a baby blanket that i saw from a book at Michael’s

21. i’m very much into photography though i haven’t been taking too many photos lately, i miss my old wind up, film, and being in the darkroom

22. i hate having a cell phone

23. Marilyn Monroe is my idol

24. i don’t have a racist bone in my body

25. my first car was a white 1986 firebird (oh how i loved that car)

26. i’ve only been in love two times in my life (not including my children, that’s a different type of love)

27. i’m an insomniac

28. Alfred Hitchcock is my favorite director

29. i love everything “Alice in Wonderland”

30. i’m not as much of a picky eater as i was when i was a child (i couldn’t even touch a tomato)

31. next year i hope to lose up to 57 pounds

32. i’m learning to change and how to grow as a person

33. i like creamy peanut butter

sticks and strings and little play things

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

november is the month. the final countdown to winter solstice, Chanukah, and Christmas. the time to embroider blanket stitches on the edges of felt ornaments, to bake gingerbread, apple hand pies, and molasses bread, to steadily knit and purl back and forth until shaping the neckline of a newly knit sweater. yes, that time has come. the official countdown is thirty days. 30 days. one more time, thirty days. thirty days to string popcorn with maybe a few cranberries to add color, light scented candles, bake six types of cookies (two dozen each at least), decorate the Christmas tree, wrap presents in glittery papers and bright bows, sing carols around the house while drinking hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. let the craziness commence. the hours of toiling in the kitchen for the perfect meals and snacks, preparing the peanut brittle at the right degrees, cleaning pine needles off the floor because of a curious cat, trying to make sure i get the perfect gifts. this year a few will made with yarn, wood, paint, and jingle bells. let the crazy crafting commence…