100 Random Tidbits

1. My nickname growing up was "Ladybug" because I had red hair and freckles. I now live in the Northwest. Thus, "Northwest Ladybug."
2. I'm an empty-nesting mother of four, living near the beautiful emerald city of Seattle.
3. I dreaded empty nest before three kids left within a month of each other in late 2007, but am finding that I actually love it.
4. I especially love revitalizing my relationship with my husband of almost 27 years and companion of over (gulp!) 31 years.
5. At least two of our kids come home from college every weekend. They love spending time with each other... and even with us. Knowing that they chose to come back when they could easily stay away makes me feel great.
6. I am a product manager, producer and educator with a passion for educational media (software, video, print, tabletop, etc.) and for making a positive difference in kids' lives.
7. Here are some of the products I produced:
8. I have worked quite a few stints (v-dash and a-dash) as a Sr. Project Manager for Microsoft projects.
9. I think Microsoft should make a firm commitment to entering the educational media space in a big way.
   
10. I am currently the Director of Training and Professional Development with The Gottman Relationship Institute. It feels great to be doing something that makes a positive difference in adults' lives and relationships!
    
11. I grew up in Berkeley in the 60's, but I'm not a hippie.
12. I rebelled as a teen by becoming a cheerleader. That, to my radical family, was absolute defiance.
13. In the years 1995, 2001, 2006 and 2007 one of us was laid off and remained unemployed longer than comfortable. We can now add 2009 to that list. Fortunately, we have never been unemployed at the same time and both of us are now working.
14. I have three brothers and always wanted a sister. I still do.
15. I'm old enough to remember removing pop-tops and sticking them INTO the drink.
16. According to Myers-Briggs, I'm an ESFJ -- The Provider (Extroverted/Sensing/Feeling/Judging)
17. I forgot how to drive a stick shift.
18. I remember names and dates very easily. I forget where I put things when I clean (drives hubby nuts!).
19. I love almonds and fall leaves.
20. There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- more important to me than my family.
21. I am incredibly proud of each of my kids, who they have become and the paths they have each chosen to follow. My kids ROCK!
22. My twins -- the grandchildren of a German Jew -- were born exactly as the Berlin Wall was coming down. Like on that day and within those hours.
23. I am a first-generation American. My parents immigrated from Germany a few years before I was born.
24. I grew up in a very German household -- traditions, holidays, etc.
25. I kill any plant I own. I simply forget to water it.
26. I was born with two thumbs on one hand. The extra digit was removed when I was a baby, but hands are still ugly, as I bite my nails. Tried to stop a few times; it's torture.
27. I love domestics -- sheets, towels, dishes, etc. Forget the bee-line to clothes when I go shopping -- I head to the pillows and mugs!
28. I can do this bizarre thing with my tongue. I am a tongue contortionist.
29. My nightly bath is mandatory. Not being able to take a bath when I broke my foot was one of the most painful parts of my injury.
30. I am a Certified Childbirth Educator and doula, but I haven't taught a class or attended a birth in years.
31. I'm more comfortable in a group of men than in a group of women. Both my daughters feel the same way. I think it comes from having a couple of brothers.
32. I love going to sleep. I also love waking up.
33. Somewhere deep inside, I'm shy.
34. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" makes me instantly sob, no matter where I am. (Happened in Safeway once...) It reminds me of my mother's death because my brother played a slideshow of his kids to its accompaniment during her few last lucid hours.
35. I would have been a good midwife. I often wonder if I went into the wrong profession.
36. I wonder what it's like to be in my husband's head. Sometimes I totally GET him and other times I can't for the life of me figure out how he thinks.
37. I think that the most exquisite and perfect piece of music ever written is Christoph Gluck's "Dance of the Blessed Spirit."
38. I'm not scared of death. That is a gift from Mom, who had a beautiful, peaceful, almost holy (especially for an atheist!) death.
39. I only like bacon when I'm camping. Any other time, I think it's disgusting.
40. I have lots of patience for other people. I have none for myself.
41. I was one of the first 5 members of what's now Disney Interactive. (It was called "Walt Disney Personal Computer Software" back then, and it was a teeny-tiny division of WDEMCO, which stood for Walt Disney Educational Media Company.)
42. On a related note, I was once pinched on the butt by Donald Duck. Actually, it was the guy who did Donald's voice for like 40 years, known to all as "Ducky Nash." He was a dirty old man!
43. I was a developmental psych major in college. My graduate degree is in education with an emphasis on media.
44. I sleep with a pillow under or between my knees.
45. I had my twins after a full-term pregnancy. In fact, I was induced. They weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce and 7 pounds 6 ounces. When they were little we called them Pebbles and Bam-Bam. They're now 5'1"and 5'10" respectively.
46. My happiest years were the years when I was home with 4 kids under the age of 5.
47. Those were also my busiest years. I don't think I ever had a moment to myself. No job I ever have will ever be as demanding as being a stay-at-home mom. No job will ever be as rewarding, either.
48. I love the smell of plumeria.
49. I hate math. I can't think mathmatically. Math makes NO sense to me.
50. I love reading and writing. I can't NOT write.
51. I am pro-choice.
52. I believe that what people do behind closed doors is no one else's business.
53. I am furious that an entire state like California can decide to discriminate against gay people . I am especially angry with a high school "friend" who produced the "Yes on 8" ads.
54. I am agnostic. Or maybe I'm an atheist. (I'm agnostic about which I am.)
    
55. I type with two fingers -- really, really fast.
56. My mother died on Easter morning. Our Golden Retriever died on Christmas morning the same year ('04).
57. That dog's name was Tahoe. Our current Golden's name is Shasta.
58. I played the flute pretty seriously when I was young. I went to Cazadero Music Camp each summer for a few years.
59. I was the Educational Design Consultant" for the Blue's Clues PC games. I love Blue!
60. I love having my hair brushed.
61. My hubby's cousin's husband's brother is Harrison Ford. I've never met him.
62. My mother's cousin died climbing K2.
63. I was a total flirt in high school.
64. I remember my mom crying while she vacuumed the living room carpet on the day Kennedy was shot.
65. I've fallen in love at first sight.
66. I love marzipan.
67. I used to wish my aunt were my mom. My cousin wished my mom was her mom.
68. I absolutely can't sleep in. I wish I could.
69. I can ride a unicycle. (Or I could... haven't tried in a while!)
70. My parents' four kids were all born between November 29th and January 6th.
71. Our four kids' birthdays are spread throughout the year.
72. Our kids are each spaced exactly 2 years, 9 months apart. We must like second birthdays.
73. My favorite place on earth is Ruhpolding, Bavaria, Germany.
74. We welcomed a German exchange student into our home for a year. We now consider Laura to be like an adopted child and will love her forever.
75. If you don't like cats, you just haven't met a really cool one yet. They are each so different and some are amazing.
76. I'm thorough and always follow through.. It's a good trait for me as a project manager; it can also be a curse because I expect others to do the same.
77. I would have been a great third grade teacher. Sometimes I wish I would have gone that route.
78. My husband and I use German bedding. That is, we each have our own very fluffy, very warm, very heavenly down duvets. We LOVE it and will never sleep with American bedding again.
    
79. I take long baths, but short showers.
80. I believe that people are basically good -- and that mean people suck.
81. My management philosophy is "lead from behind with a flashlight" and say something positive to everyone who works for you every day.
82. I believe that people are either motivated or paralyzed by the way they're managed. I have been both motivated and paralyzed by my managers.
    
83. I think that, while an academic education is important, being well traveled is a huge piece of being well-educated.
84. I wish I could travel more.
85. I have great faith in President Obama.
86. Sometimes I wish I were religious and could have faith that "it's all in God's hands." Seems much easier than my belief that if I want it to happen I have to make it happen.
87. I think Kate is a bitch to Jon and should mellow out.
88. I am a hedonist and love to be physically cozy.
89. I can't wait to be a grandmother and hope to be the best dang "Noni" on earth -- not that I'm hurrying any of my kids to have kids.
90. I miss my mother for many reasons, not the least of which is that she kept our family close and now we all seem to just be living our own lives.
91. I love Vitamin Water and don't understand why it's so addictive.
92. Someday I'd like an Audi TT. Whenever I see them on the road, I picture a huge hand moving them back and forth and some big monster toddler saying "vroom-vroom!"
93. I wish I were a good cook. My mother wasn't, and neither am I. Must be genetic.
94. When I get nervous, I talk. It's a curse.
95. I have thick, healthy hair. If I ever got cancer, saying goodbye to my hair would be excruciating (and very, very shallow).
96. I have a weird obsession with clean floors. According to my kids, I "see dirt that no one else sees."
97. I love a good deal, so much so that I've been known to buy something simply because it's such a great deal.
98. I miss camping.
99. I love swimming in mountain lakes (preferably naked).
100. I'm cautiously optimistic about the future.