Thursday Thirteen

This week's Thursday Thirteen is modeled after my favorite activities, all the things that make me unique, special, querky, vibrant, funny, loveable... all the things that make me ME!

1. I love to clip coupons - it's therapeutic, cutting along those dotted lines and it's FREE money! I get absolutely giddy when I see the "you saved $___" at the bottom of all my receipts.

2. Grocery shopping and then, putting everything away once I get home - yes, I'm one of those "Monica's" that likes all the labels to face outward and I have separate cabinets for boxed/canned goods, baking supplies, snacks/chips, etc.

3. Reading magazines - I currently have 9 subscriptions, either weekly or monthly and Friday nights is when I sit down and catch up on them. My favorites are People, US Weekly, Cookie, Oprah, Kiplinger's, Parents, In Style, American Baby and Women's Fitness.

4. I'm obsessed with organization, The Container Store and Office Max are my two favorite stores. My idea of "spring cleaning" is to go through all my files and shred old stuff I've held on to for God knows why and trek on over to one of my favorite stores and stock up on new folders, labels, files, document boxes, post-its, pens, mailers, ink for my label maker and paper clips! My closet is organized first by tops and bottoms then, by colors. My drawers are also organized: underwear & bras in one, sleepwear in another and workout clothes in another, all neatly folded and separate! My bookshelves are organized by genre then, put in alphabetical order. The files on my computer are all organized and arranged alphabetically, by name. My shoes are in order of most frequent wear (in front) and then, by color. My stemware is organized by height. The wine in our gigantic wine rack is organized by varietal then, alphabetically by vineyard. Like I said, I'm obsessed!

5. I'm camera-happy. Yes, that is me snapping away at every GTG, every family holiday, every one of Emily's tumbling and music classes, every time David and I take Emily to the park, at every party, on every vacation. I have thousands of photos (all organized in folders, of course!!!) and videos that David had to move to an external hard drive they were eating up so much space! I rarely print them out, though... I'm all digital!

6. I love to cook and bake, more than anyone you'll ever meet. I cook every single meal here at home, from scratch, my recipe box is overflowing with my own personal creations (and mistakes!!!), I have my own recipe book I created for myself and I bake when I'm bored and send all the goodies to my mom's group or with David to work. I've often played with the idea of going to Culinary School to become nothing more than a Sous Chef (the one that does all the prep work) because I LOOOOOOVE to chop, dice, mince, peel, shred, slice, julienne, zest, sift, cut food. My Food Processor, Mandolin and KitchenAid Mixer are my favorite appliances in our entire house! I love to experiment with recipes that are tried and true and make them my own and I rarely buy anything pre-cooked!

7. I'd much rather read the book than see the movie and have always been this way, I can conjure up way better mental images than ever Spielberg! I really do love to read, all kinds of genre's but am sort of happy being stuck in the "made into a major motion picture" genre of fiction right now. I'm a member of Goodreads.com (see previous Journals) and check it religiously to see what's new with my friends. I read every night before going to bed, when traveling by car or plane and when I'm bored.

8. I have a "thing" about my feet - they have to be clean, smooth and odor-free! I get pedicures 2-3 times a month to keep my toenails short and painted and I really hate to wear shoes. Yes, I hate to wear shoes, I'd be so happy to only wear flip flops every day for the rest of my life! Wearing socks & shoes makes my feet sweat and then, they stink. Blech! :(

9. I absolutely love the smell of coffee but hate to drink the stuff. It does NOT taste good in my mind and, the stuff that does taste good (Mochas with extra chocolate and extra whip cream) aren't any good for you. So, taking a stroll down Park Street past Starbuck's and Peets give me my "fix".

10. I'm addicted to cheese. My favorite cheese is real, aged, parmagiano-reggiano (the expensive stuff) and I put it on everything pasta-related and on salads. I also really love Fontina to melt over chicken sandwiches or to cube up in our salads and I always have goat cheese on hand to crumble into salads or spread on crackers. Give me warm Brie and a nice, sourdough baguette and I am in heaven! I really like Provolone for meatball subs and on turkey sandwiches and I can never eat a hot ham sandwich without some lacy Swiss. I load up my home-made enchiladas with Monterey Jack and I like Sharp Cheddar on Triscuits. Yumm-o!

11. I hate being a passenger in my own car. I don't mind riding with others and letting them drive but I can't stand it when David wants to drive my SUV and I have to ride as a passenger. It's just weird to me... it's MY car, shouldn't I be driving? ha!

12. I really don't like to wear jewelry but I own so much of it. I wear my Bulova watch given to me three years ago, my engagement and wedding ring and then, sometimes either a necklace or a tiny pair of earrings. I have a jewelry bureau... not a regular jewelry box, full of really nice, expensive jewelry that most I have asked for or bought for myself but I really only wear it on special occasions.

13. I hate being hot! One of the most wonderful things about moving here from Texas because here in Alameda, it's 55-75 degrees year-round and I'm never hot. We don't even have air conditioning here and I'd never move, if it were up to me. :) I hate to sweat and it's inevitably, chasing after a toddler all day long. I'd rather be freezing cold than hot.