About Me

Since it is ICLW I figured I would do some “about me” posts. I haven’t done a post like this yet so I have a few in mind. I was going to kick it off with “100 things about me” but damn… 100?? I’m not sure I could make it to 100 without it inducing sleep or involuntary mouse clicks from unsuspecting victims. Or, maybe I’ll still do it just to say I did :)

On a lighter note, for today, I’ll do an alphabet list. I’ve seen other people post them before and I think they are interesting.

A – Apple picking. I want to go! I had never been before last fall – my sister (C) and I picked Macintosh apples. I didn’t like Macintosh from the supermarket but OMG the fresh picked one was The Best apple I had ever eaten! We made lots of great things with our apples, one of which was applesauce. I want to make it again this year with a little less sugar and maybe throw in some cinnamon.

B – Baby. I want to have one. My first husband and I decided that we were ready to start trying when I was 20. That was 13 years ago. Being a mother has always been my one and only goal. I am interested in all things pregnancy/baby/child-raising related. It has always been what I thought I would be doing. I have never been pregnant.

C – Career. I am a client manager for a litigation support company. Basically, we work for lawyers and help them with certain aspects of their jobs. No one really understands what I do unless they are a lawyer and even then sometimes they don’t. I won’t bore you by trying to explain. I am lucky to have this job, for many reasons. My husband works for the same company, in the same building, but in a different department.

D – Death. My dad died when I was 25 and my grandfather died this past Nov. Up until my dad died I had never personally experienced death. I always said that, since I was so lucky up until that point, when it finally happened it would probably be someone very close to me. I was right. I have been contemplating death a lot this year and it really freaks me out. I try not to think about it too much.

E – Exercise. I needs it! This past spring I started the couch to 5k plan in the hopes of becoming a runner. I’m not sure about running in a 5k but I really need to be more active. I quit about half way through, at the end of May, and have recently started back up again. I am on week 3. My goal is to be able to run 3 miles (or ~30 mins) 3 to 4 times a week and also to run regularly, without quitting, for a year. I’m also doing crunches, push ups, regular stretching, and hoping to add in a little yoga.

F – Family. It is very important to me. I love my family and enjoy spending time with them. I have two younger sisters. One is working on getting her PHD and doesn’t live in the same state as me. She is flying in tonight and is going to stay with me for the weekend! Yay! My youngest sister (C) lives about a 10 minute walk from me and I’m so happy she is so close. We hang out together all the time. I also have a brother but I didn’t grow up with him. He’s a sweet, loving guy and I really wish I got to see him more often.

G – Gymnastics. When I was 16 I was in gymnastics classes. I loved them. I ended up tearing my ACL (ligament in the knee) when I did a front hand spring and landed on the inner side of my right foot. Oh the pain. I had several surgeries but they were never able to fix it very well. It’s still screwed up and I have arthritis in that knee and ankle because of the injury. So far running hasn’t caused any additional pain and I’m so glad!

H – House. (Love that show!) My husband and I bought our first house a little more than three years ago. We still love it. It is a great house for us. We recently finished (ok, almost finished… I still have more painting to do and we need to carpet the stairs) a basement renovation after it flooded this past winter. I haven’t ever posted pics of it but I keep meaning to.

I – Infertility (obviously!). I have been trying to have a baby for the better part of the last 13 years. ART is not an option for us so I can only hope that my body will suddenly work some day and I will finally end up pregnant. It’s a waiting game that I can sometimes ignore and that sometimes hits me so hard that I don’t even want to get out of bed.

J – Jill. That’s me. Sometimes I wonder if I should have used an alias for this blog. And then I wonder why people are so concerned with anonymity that they’d not want to use their real first names. I’m sure there are some horror stories out there. No one in “real life” knows about this blog (except my husband – no secrets from him – and two old friends) but that is only so I can talk about what I want/need to without worrying about hurt feelings. I’m not too worried about personal details except for my last name and my actual address.

K – Knitting. Ok, I cheated, I don’t knit. But! a couple months ago my sister (C) and I taught our selves how to crochet. I made a little practice dishcloth and am now making a blanket for our basement room. It’s going to take me forever but it’s coming out pretty well. I have pics to post of it at some point. C made a scarf and is now doing a blanket as well.

L – Laundry. It’s the one chore I really don’t mind doing. Sure, I slack with the putting away part but I actually enjoy using my washing machine and dryer. Weird, I know. I’ve had my current machines for 6 years now and I get more than a little excited at the prospect of getting upgrades!

M – Marriage. I have been married twice. Admitting that I am divorced is hard. I’m very embarrassed about that fact. I got married to my current husband in May of 2005. We had a small ceremony which took place in a cave. It was a great day.

N – Nanny. The best job I ever had was when I was a nanny to a little boy from when he was 9 weeks to almost 2 yrs old. I had to leave the job when I moved to the Albany, NY area to be with my husband (then boyfriend). It was a hard thing to do. I still miss that job every day. The pay was horrible but it was such an honor to be able to help raise someone else’s child.

O – Ovarian Cyst. When I was 20 I had my first ever gynecological exam. When they did the internal, something wasn’t right. I was rushed off to my very first u/s and an ovarian cyst was found. The doc said it was the size a uterus might be in the 7th month of pregnancy. I had surgery, it was not cancerous, and they were able to save my ovary and fallopian tube, which was wrapped around the cyst. The surgery left me with a huge scar. It is a vertical scar that starts about 2 inches above my belly button and goes ALL the way down past my hair line. I had 27 staples to close it. Subsequent docs have told me that they did a horrible job which explains why the scar is so ugly.

P – Pets. Throughout my childhood we had cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, fish, a guinea pig, turtles, frogs, and a snake. I really admire my parents for giving us that experience and having the courage to raise 3 daughters and a multitude of pets. Currently, I have 3 cats and a dog, I guess my childhood rubbed off on me! Two of my cats are 13 and the other is 7 – I raised them all from kittens. I love them and will always care for them but I will never get another cat. They are so messy and hard to live with – I guess I’m just not a cat person. I love other people’s cats but if I never had to scoop cat litter again it would be too soon! My dog, River, is 4 yrs old. I wasn’t looking for another pet. The opportunity just kind of fell into my lap and I will never regret it. He is a wonderful dog. You can see pics of him in my side bar. He is an Australian Cattle Dog.

Q – Question. This gets stuck in my head every time anyone says “Question.” haha

R – R is my husband. I have written of him very little on this blog. He would like it that way (if he read my blog, which he doesn’t). I love him like crazy and I feel lucky that he chose me to spend the rest of his life with. I do need to write about how we met – it’s an interesting story. Well, to me it is! hehe

S – Sting. I enjoy lots of different kinds of music but Sting will forever be my absolute favorite. I’m not sure where my love for him came from. I’ve told R that if I had the chance, I would totally be with Sting! ;) I have memories of being a teenager, in my room at my parents’ house, singing along with a Sting cassette tape. I know every word to every song and could listen to his songs on constant loop all day, every day.

T – Theatre. I love theatre and acting. In grammar school I was involved in a theatre program which put on musicals every year. In HS I was in several musicals as well and when I was 16 I was chosen to be in a community theatre performance of Brigadoon. That was one of the best experiences of my life. I have sung in a chorus, and solo, I have danced, and acted on stage in front of hundreds of people. I wish I would have kept up with it. I loved doing it so much.

U – Ultrasounds. From my ovarian cyst-capades to my baby-making analysis, I’ve had more than I can count. I long to finally have an ultrasound that actually shows me a baby.

V – Vacation. I need one. Our next week-long vacation is coming up in October and I really want to go somewhere fun. I can’t decide where to go that wouldn’t be too expensive and that R would enjoy. Next May is our 5 year anniversary and I really want to go on an Alaskan cruise.

W – West Coast. I wish I lived there. I spent 3 years living in southern CA and I really love that area. I would love to live somewhere with easy access to the ocean.

X – Sheesh these last letters are difficult. I’ll go with Roman numeral X which is 10. 10 years ago was the start of the worst time of my life. I had just moved back to my home town (MA) from living in CA. I was married to my first husband, and we lived in the upstairs apt of his parents’ house. Things were not going well for us but we were holding it together. I missed my friends from CA so badly. I had an incredibly stressful job as the manager of a one-hour photo lab. It was in a little town with a large university and we were super busy. I would come home after work and cry. Little did I know it would keep getting worse for more than a year and a half.

Y – Can’t think of anything but I’m sure I’ve written enough in the other 25!

Z – Zodiac. I am a Cancer. I don’t know much about that stuff but I have always thought that the personality descriptions I’ve read were spot-on.


Wow! This turned out to be a lot longer than I thought it would be.
Happy ICLW!