My Next Thirty Years

In honor of my recent birthday, I am going to gift all of you one of my favorite things: A LIST.

Thirty things you might not know about me...Enjoy!

1. I love making lists.  I make packing lists before we go on vacation, I make grocery lists before I go to the store. I make lists of my favorite bands, the best concerts I've ever seen, my favorite movies. I make lists of hypothetical children's names even though I'm sure we are one and done. Making a good list makes me happy, happy, happy.

2. I despise putting away the laundry, especially hanging clothes. I will wear clothes out of the laundry basket for a month before I put them away.

3. For a while when I was a kid, I wanted to go by my middle name...yep I wanted to be called Elizabeth. As an adult I really like my first name, though. It's a little bit different, but not too different.

4. Mr B and I have regular Scrabble wars.  We love playing board games of any kind, but Scrabble is by far our favorite.  We are nerds.

5. It's no secret that I love to cook. But I bet you didn't know that while I cook I often pretend that I'm on a cooking show. I make goofy jokes and narrate the whole thing...can you say Next Food Network star? : )

6.  I have this goofy fear of sticking my hand in something I can't see, like the bottom of my purse, down in a chip bag, or under the couch.  Just.Can't.Do.It.

7. I love going to the grocery store.  I know this is a task that most people hate, but I look forward to it.

8. I buy a 12pack of diet Coke and hide it in my car so that my dear hubby won't drink it all. Every time I drink one I tell him I got it out of the vending machine at work.

9. When I'm sick or scared or anxiety ridden, I wish my Daddy could give me a big strong hug cause that always makes it better.

10. I don't hate all of LJB' s symptoms. For instance, I think it's adorable how he says "ready, steady, go" in a little British accent just like Kipper. Or when he gets really excited and flaps until I think he just might fly away.

11. I love the smell of bleach.  There is nothing better than warm bleached towels from the dryer.

12. I love it when I see someone else's kid misbehaving in public.  I feel a sense of camaraderie with that parent. I give them the secret handshake that all us parents who were taking home the naughty kids from the hospital learned and thank them for taking one for the team today. It's cool to be part of the club.

13. I am homesick. To be entirely honest, I have been homesick since the day my folks dropped me off at Blanding Tower 11 years ago.

14. I don't have a ton of girlfriends. I have a few close friends and I cherish them and I am content with that, but too many of them are too far away...

15. My best friend knew I was pregnant before my husband did.

16. I hate milk and most dairy products. I can choke down yogurt if I have to, but ice cream and cheese are the only dairy products I enjoy.

17. I have a serious crush on Jack White.  I love everything he has ever done, but the White Stripes are my favorite band of all time.  My favorite song is "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself."  If you haven't seen the documentary, "It Might Get Loud," you should check it out.  I bet you'll love him like I do : )

18. I have a fascination with the lives of the incarcerated.  I could watch hours and hours of "Locked Up" or any of the 1,000 other jail reality TV shows.

19. I don't wake up to an alarm clock.  Mr B and I have this crazy internal clock that wakes us up without fail by 7:00am: A blessing during the week and a curse on the weekend.

20. I don't care for spaghetti.  This is a big problem. Mr B loves spaghetti and would eat it at least once a week. I mean, I can eat it, but I would never choose to when there are other options.  I love other Italian foods....just not spag.

21. Every night Mr B and I play the same game with LJB.  One of us holds him trying to run away from the other who is trying to unleash a tickle attack.  We run back and forth from one end of the house to the other all the while LJB is squealing with delight, "Run away! Run away!"

22. My favorite movies are usually documentaries.  I love getting an idea of how other people live their lives.  Seeing how others navigate through this world fascinates me.

23. In addition to jail shows, I love watching smut TV.  In particular, I love Teen Mom.  When I spent 10 weeks on bedrest, I started watching it and I was hooked.  Some of those girls have overcome such tremendous odds and others are quite the train wreck.

24. My favorite cereal is Lucky Charms.  I love those little marshmallows.  : )

25. I secretly love when my kiddo wakes up on the middle of the night and I get to crawl into bed with him. Once he falls back to sleep, I just lie there and stare at him in awe of the perfect little creature that shares half my DNA.

26. I wanna be a hippie.

27. I can't wear heels.  I love them...I have many pair, but ever since LJB was born, my poor mom feet can't handle it.  This makes me sad.

28. I am a homebody.  Mr B and I would most often rather spend an evening playing Scrabble in our PJs than getting dressed up and going out on the town.

29. We love live music.  If we do go out on the town, Mr B and I will either go see a movie (our second favorite date) or we will go find some live music.  I never realized how much I loved it, until I started dating Mr B.

30. I don't hate autism.  Sometimes it sucks and sometimes I am entirely overwhelmed, but more often, I am in awe of LJB's brain.  His brain works so much more efficiently than yours or mine.  Instead of wasting thoughts worrying about social norms, he is raw and honest and pure.  It's amazing.  He's amazing. Autism has given me the opportunity to step back and evaluate our lives based on what really matters.