42 Things About Me

After a fabulous early birthday massage last Saturday that included the liberal application of scalding hot stones across my entire back, I’m “back” to normal. Thanks for the prayers!

Tomorrow is my 42nd birthday! We’re going to celebrate with my parents, and Tony and I will get to attend an outdoor concert as well. On Sunday Addie turns 18 and the rest of my grey hair comes in.

In honor of my birthday here’s 42 things about me you may not know.

1. I have one younger sister. (I know you’re reading this. Thank you again for the shirt. I will eventually share a picture.)
2. I grew up next door to my grandparents.
3. I can play the saxophone.
4. I can tap dance.
5. I grew up at a Methodist church that the entire maternal side of my family attended, and where my almost 90 year old grandmother has been the organist since before I was born.
6. Tony was the first Catholic I was friends with.
7. The first time I went into his house and saw all the religous stuff I was totally weirded out.
8. For many years I wanted to be a Radio City Music Hall Rockette, until I realized I didn’t love dancing enough to do it 8 hours a day.
9. I studied journalism in college because I wanted to write for Rolling Stone Magazine.
10. My husband and I met in high school through a mutual friend.
11. We attended different colleges for our freshman years and then both transferred (during different semesters) to the same college and graduated in 2000.
12. We’ll have been married for 19 years this October 13th.
13. I drove a 1986 Plymouth Horizon in high school and through college. It was often held together with duct tape, and I carried various fluids in my trunk because it was always leaking stuff and would occasionally not start.
14. I was our high school mascot, Comet Man.
15. My first job after college was as a newspaper reporter in Auburn, NY (about 40 min outside Syracuse).
16. I HATE cold weather and only moved to the snowiest place on the East Coast because I wanted to be near Tony.
17. I converted to Catholicism the Easter before we were married, not because I was “forced”, but because I believed in what the Church taught.
18. The month after Byron was born, Tony and I moved back to Lancaster, PA from NY to operate a Victorian bed and breakfast we’d purchased. We were both 25.
19. We sold the business after two years and moved to NJ to be closer to Tony’s job.
20. We moved to NJ when I was 30 weeks pregnant with Edie. (Would not recommend.)
21. I hate birth stories and when I get with a bunch of moms and they launch into birth stories (like moms ALWAYS DO), I want to stab my eyeballs with red hot pokers.
22. My favorite book is Anna Karenina.
23. My weakness is gummi candy; bears, peach rings, Swedish fish, sour patch kids, etc. The kids CANNOT leave it in the house.
24. I got a tattoo when I was 19. It’s a Celtic cross with the inscription “In this sign, you will conquer.” My only regret is I didn’t think to have it written in Latin.
25. I did a European tour my senior year of college. I drank way too much (thanks to all the gregarious Australians in my tour group) and subsequently lost my passport in Paris.
26. My favorite stops in Europe were Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam, St. Peter’s in Rome, and everywhere in Venice (where I also really hurt my ankle and wound up in an Italian ER).
27. I have dark brown hair and brown eyes. Tony has blue eyes and light brown hair. Only one of our kids has dark brown hair and brown eyes.
28. I am 1/16th Russian Jew on my father’s side.
29. My great-great grandfather was a Mennonite bishop (on my mother’s side).
30. I interviewed Cardinal Avery Dulles twice.
31. I attended the 2000 NY State Fair the day the governor attended. Striking workers were outside the gates of the fair protesting and my job was to get a comment from the governor on the protest. I couldn’t get near him so I waited until after he gave a short speech, and stood with the fair attendees who wanted to shake his hand. Once I had his hand in mine, I held it tight, identified myself as a reporter, and asked for his comment. He was flustered, but managed to get out an answer, and I let him go to take my notes.
32. Chore I mind the least: laundry.
33. Chore I hate the most: dishes.
34. I have a book that’s going to be published by Our Sunday Visitor.
35. I dressed up like our school’s principal for Halloween my senior year of high school.
36. The furthest west I’ve ever been is Kansas City.
37. I spent a summer working at the Red Caboose Motel in Lancaster, PA where you can sleep in an actual caboose.
38. When I was 11, I got a gun for Christmas.
39. I’ve never had a cavity.
40. My middle name is Diana.
41. I never read a book cover to cover more than once.
42. Except for the occasional slice of pineapple with ham, or slice of apple pie, I HATE fruit.

Share an interesting fact or two in the comments below, or write a whole post dedicated to seven (or more?!) facts about you. Be sure to include a link back to this post so your readers can find the rest of the Quick Takes. I look forward to reading your posts!