100 things about me (plus or minus)

I've seen these silly things all over, and figured that I'd go ahead and be a sheep. So here goes.

I am a life-long Hoosier (whatever the heck that is).
I’m 6 feet tall. So is my husband.
My mom still lives in my hometown of Muncie. It looks nothing like what you see in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
My father died when I was 18, two days after I graduated high school.
I get my sense of humor from my dad.
I am a Sagittarius with Libra rising. My son is a Libra.
I was born in the Chinese year of the Dragon. So was my son.
I've been married twice.
I have an older brother named Joe.
I introduced my brother to both of his wives.
I have a niece and two nephews.
Montano is my maiden name.
It’s Italian, not Spanish.
My mom traced the family back almost to God. 442 BC to be precise.
Charlemagne is an umpty-ump great grand father.
I know most of the words to “I’m My Own Grandpa.”
My father told me I was over the hill when I turned 12.
I was born with bi-lateral congenital hip dysplasia (no hip sockets).
I was in a plaster cast for 21 months of my first two years of life.
I was an emergency medical technician before I graduated high school.
I wanted to be a paramedic, but started having panic attacks.
I was a Scout of one kind or another from 2nd grade through high school.
I was in Civil Air Patrol.
I play flute, oboe, baritone saxophone, and various and sundry tin-whistles.
I sing. Used to be soprano, but the voice has aged. On a bad day I can sing baritone.
I graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor's of General Studies.
My 3 minors were Classical Culture, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Home Economics.
I wanted to be a teacher.
I rode on the equestrian team for a season.
I can beat most people at Trivial Pursuit.
I learned how to knit when I was 7.
I didn't really learn how to sew until college when I joined the SCA.
I made about half of the outfits for my second wedding.
We had a Medieval wedding (Henry VI).
We went to Williamsburg on our honeymoon.
I’ve been in the SCA for 20 years.
Besides knitting and sewing, I also do cross stitch, smocking, needlepoint, and a bit of quilting.
I’d like to open a yarn shop.
I don’t like to cook.
I also scrapbook and have started into rubber stamps.
I’ve been to most of the states east of the Mississippi, except the Carolinas, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
I’ve been to California twice. That was enough.
I’ve been to Walt Disney World once. I want to take my son.
My favorite place to sit and veg-out is my cousin’s back porch in Charleston, West Virginia.
I can drive from Indy to Charleston in about 6 hours.
I’ve been to West Germany (prior to the wall coming down), Luxembourg, and Iceland.
I want to live in Ireland for a year (or more)
I’ve never been to the Indy 500.
I love to stay up late.
I hate to get up in the morning, despite how much sleep I’ve gotten.
I suffer from depression.
Post Partum really sucks.
I have a fear of falling.
I hate to clean house.
I love watching Trading Spaces
My favorite flowers are bearded irises and lemon calla lilies.
I like strawberries.
Chocolate Covered Caramels. Yum.
I’m one degree separated from Ray Bradbury.
I had my photo in Rolling Stone magazine.
I went to high school with Cynda Williams (Spike Lee’s “Mo’Better Blues”)
I like sushi.
I don’t like most cooked fish.
I like yogurt.
I cannot stand bell peppers: green, red, yellow, any.
I can eat chilies.
I like bar-b-que almost anything.
I love Pizza King pizza. It’s a local thing.
I delivered pizza in college.
I worked at the campus art museum.
I worked at Conner Prairie Living History Museum.
I worked at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
I worked at and lived in the Morris-Butler House Museum.
I started to get my art history degree, but got divorced instead.
I’ve worked as a bookkeeper for 4 years.
I really hate my job.
I’ve camped in below freezing weather in January.
I’ve camped in blistering heat in August.
I only took my SATs once.
I have lost a loved one to suicide.
I had no grandparents living by the time I was in 6th grade.
My favorite car was my bright yellow Ford Escort.
I learned to drive in a Mercury station wagon.
I’ve driven a Cadillac ambulance.
I’ve been canoeing on the White, Wabash, and Flat Rock Rivers and Fall Creek and Sugar Creek in Indiana.
I’ve entered sewing and knitting entries in the State Fair.
I got a blue ribbon on a pair of Bavarian Socks.
I was a water safety instructor in high school and college.
I cannot dive into a pool, but I can teach you how.
I do not like snakes.
I’ve known my best friend Kim for almost 20 years.
We are god-mothers for each other’s children.
I was her husband’s drinking buddy in college.
My hex-husband took her dancing in college.
I can install a hard drive into a computer.
According to my brother, I can make Excel sit up and beg.
I started working with computers before Windows.
I have used a Commodore SX-64 computer.
I’ve been called a computer geek.
This was harder than I thought it was going to be.


I'm going to bed.

Here you go.

Photos of my shrug. Finally. And my best friend. I've created a knitting monster (insert evil laughter here).

Kim: "Why are you taking my picture?"
Me: "Because."
Kim: "Because why?"
Me: Because I want to immortalize you on my blog. It's about knitting."
Kim: "So."
Me: "And you get to take pictures of me."
Kim: "OK."

Kim was in town for a brief nap before she caught the 6:45 am flight to Philly and then to New Jersey for work. I think we quit talking about 11:30, so a nap was all she got. I was a good friend, and actually set my clock to 3:15 so I could wake her up. I then proceeded to go back to bed. She did get me back, she left the bathroom light on.

Kim hadn't knit since college, when an ex-boyfriend talked her into knitting a scarf. For those Dr. Who fans, it was THAT scarf. This is why he became an ex. She has watched me knit for as long as we've known each other, and finally decided to give it another try when her daughter asked to learn how to knit. She has taken back to it like a fish to water. Luckily her LYS is closer than I am (10 blocks compared to 1 1/2 hours) and it's a really nice one. If you're ever in Terre Haute, look up RiverWools on Wabash Avenue. Martha and her crew are friendly, and she carries lots of nice yarn.

On to the shrug. It's soft and warm, and I have absolutely nothing to wear it with. Though, I wish I'd had it at work today. Spent the morning freezing my a$$ off. I knit it on size 10.5 needles, and added a repeat of the lace pattern to make it wide enough to fit my zaftig form. It's probably too big at the wrists, and you don't see the scallops, but I like it.

You know, being a blogging novice, I haven't figured out how to get all the photos into one post. If you know, please let me know.

My bestest buddy Kim. She spent the night because she had to catch the red-eye to New Jersey. Ick. 

Back vew. I really like how the graft worked out. 

Me and my shrug. 

Front view of the Good Bias shrug. 

"Now is the time to do something new."

This was the fortune I found after munching on a leftover fortune cookie while cooking dinner. How bizzare. I finished the Rogue for my niece today, the shrug is finished, and I have turned the heel on yet another pair of socks today. So, on to a new project? Or do the fates mean a new job.

I took a "mental health" day of sorts. It started with a migraine, and by the time I woke up and felt semi-human (as opposed to the sub-human blob that I started out), it was nearly 1:30pm. OK, I only live 5 minutes from work, and hubby had taken Sean to daycare, but going in and dealing with the workaholics today was not my idea of a good time, or the best way to recover from the migraine hangover that I usually have.

But, I digress. The job situation is boring, and as much as I want to jump ship, I am slogging it out until hubby moves into his new position at work. He started out as a helpdesk lead in March, and hopefully by June he'll be on the network team. This will mean two things: more money, and more work. But he's really happy and that is what matters. Maybe once Sean starts school I can stay home (I know it's backwards, but hey, work is cheaper than therapy).

I really haven't done much in the way of anything (besides work) for the past few days. For some reason the muse is taking a break. The weather around here has been really pretty, but on the chilly side for early May. It rained the majority of last week, and there were frost and freeze warnings all this week.

The living situation is getting a bit strained. DH and DS are fine, but the friend in the basement is driving us crazy. His lack of motivation for doing anything has infected all of us. The house is a pit, we're all tired and cranky, and frankly, all I want to do is sleep.

This weekend is the first in the "stay away from Speedway" series which will last until Memorial Day. For those of you who haven't guessed, it's time for Tom Carnegie to emote, "Annnnd, they're off!" The Indianapolis 500 and all of the out-of-towners that come with it is here again. In my 40 years of being a Hoosier, I have never attended the race, nor have I even entered the track area. I've driven past numerous times, looking at the gray skeletons that support the bleachers, the empty consession stands, and the yards that recover year after year from being parked on by race fans. During the month of May, I can hear the cars at the track from my home, some 5 miles away. Blimps of various and sundry colors are seen floating across the spring sky. Black and white checkered banners reading "Welcome Race Fans" begin popping up around town like so many yard sale signs. I do not see the facination with watching cars go around in a circle. I can remember listening to the race on the radio as a child as we drove to Cincinnati. It took us less time to drive there than it did for them to run the race.

Enough waxing nostalgic. Time to get laundry flipped (as usual) and think about bed. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll be sick tomorrow so I can get some sleep.