the other 50

After eating a bowl of porridge (Manny's usual pre-hockey meal, and I was too lazy to cook for just myself), I am back.


51. I love going camping and sleeping in a tent.
52. Growing up, my parents cooked everything from scratch, so I know how to cook lots of things without a recipe and I don’t consider canned mushroom soup an ingredient.
53. I can make really excellent gravy. Comes in regular and gluten free!
54. I have a huge stash of fabric, yarn, and craft supplies.
55. I can pretty reliably tell what a fabric is made of just by touching it. Although some of the new polyesters are getting tricky.
56. I believe in having fewer belongings of higher quality. Although you wouldn’t know it by looking at my closet.
57. As I get older, I’m more attracted to men who are actually masculine. As opposed to my 11 year old self, who loved Nick Rhodes.
58. I’m trying to be more compassionate.
59. I’m trying to remember that compassion can include me, too.
60. I got married wearing a sweater my mother knit for me.
61. I have the thick ankles that run in my family.
62. I love my husband, but I wouldn’t say I’m married to my best friend. My best friend is code-named Moonbeam, and she is freakin’ amazing.
63. I hold my breath when I walk past the laundry soap/cleaning products aisle in the grocery store, because that stuff is toxic!
64. My goal for this summer is to grow a lot of our own food and to store it for next winter.
65. I used to play the violin when I was a kid.
66. I am easily frustrated by stupid drivers, and am always talking to them from inside my car.
67. I’ve always wanted to take singing lessons.
68. My hair is the kind of straight people pay money for. Predictably, I kind of swoon over naturally curly hair.
69. I loathe Tom Cruise and can’t wait for Katie’s escape and subsequent tell-all book.
70. I absolutely love the movie Volver. Love.
71. One of my deepest fears is being misunderstood. Or not-understood.
72. There were three years in my childhood when I got completely, suddenly, and inexplicably ostracized by my friends – grade 5, grade 7, and grade 10. Those years sucked.
73. Longevity runs in my family.
74. I don’t really shave in the winter. Unless there is a very compelling reason to do so. So far this winter, none has presented itself.
75. I can’t wear antiperspirant so I use Lush deodorant instead and it rocks. Antiperspirant gives me horrible cystic zits in my armpits that hurt so much I can’t put my arms down.
76. In my heart, I am very left wing. In reality, I am medium left wing. I’m trying to reconcile these things after working in politics too long and losing my own sense of what I personally believe in.
77. Holy shit, am I boggled and horrified with what Americans have to deal with in terms of health care and workers’ rights. I rarely comment on the blogs when people are having insurance/employment issues cause I’m scared all that’s going to come out of my mouth is “Move to Canada! Save yourself!”
78. I don’t believe in TMI. Bring it on, I say. (See #74 and #75…)
79. I am a feminist.
80. Deep down, I really would like to live off the grid, in a small community of like-minded people who were committed to sustainability and happiness.
81. I’m pretty much helpless before a well-brewed up of tea.
82. If you asked me right at this minute what my favorite band was, I would have to say: The Magnetic Fields.
83. I like government towns.
84. I am getting more carefree and less serious as I grow older. To give you an idea, when I was a kid, I used to sort of feel sorry for other kids who went to Disneyland on vacation. Not because I thought it wasn’t fun, but because I pitied them for thinking it was fun. I guess I was kind of an asshole as a kid.
85. Until I started meditation, I don’t think I had any sense of what emotions were. I just knew I could feel good and I could feel bad – there was pretty much no nuance.
86. I am a 1 on the enneagram.
87. I like old people.
88. Despite #78, I hate abbreviations. (But OMG, I was trying to talk to DH about IF and DI the other day and WTF? IMHO, he needs to GITWHFS*. LOL!) Arrrrgh….
89. Despite the above, I will still like you a lot and read your blog if you use lots of abbreviations. I will just judge you a tiny little bit.
90. If I had to kill and prepare my own meat, I’d probably wind up being vegetarian. I know it’s hypocritical, but that’s the way it is for me right now.
91. I’m sorry, but I find the show "Seinfeld" to be pretty irritating.
92. I got a crush on Obama.
93. The outside of my house is painted dark turquoise, dark orange, and bright green.
94. I have an honours degree in Philosophy.
95. I make most decisions in my marriage. Manny lives on a very even keel and is seemingly unphased by what colour we paint the house, what we’re going to have for supper, or how we’re going to get knocked up. Sometimes this is a blessing, and sometimes it is a huge burden.
96. I believe that everyone is as neurotic as I am and that they just hide it very well.
97. I am proud of my abilities as a writer.
98. I cry pretty much every time I go to church, because there’s always something that really touches my heart. This is probably a sign that I should go to church more often.
99. My initials backwards spell BRA, and when I was in grade 7, I asked my parents, in all seriousness, how they could do that to me. Ahh, I was such a wiener. In all likelihood, I still am.
100. I worry.

*I made this one up. 10 Kate points to whoever can guess what it stands for.