Monday, January 29, 2007

100 Things

It was one year ago today that I warned everyone to "clear the shallow end of the blog pool" - because I was plunging in...

It has been a great year - and not a day goes by that I don't feel that my life has become a better and richer place for the people that I've "met"; the things that I've learned; and the inspiration that I've been given.

A "100 Things" list seems a paltry way to begin to pay back all the generosity that has been showered upon me. However, it does seem that the list is overdue, and so may I present you with:


100 Things (Give or Take) About Me
  1. My first name is Laura Lancaster.

  2. And with a crazy double name like that, it's probably obvious that I am from the South.

  3. I'll answer to almost anything... People do actually call me "LLA" or "LL" or "Lala" - I answer to all of them. Usually though, I'm either "Laura Lancaster" or just plain "Laura".

  4. If I had been a boy, my name would have been "James Carrigan" (and called "Cary")

  5. I'm glad I am a girl.

  6. I'm 38 39 40 years old.
    Not getting any younger - Yipes!

  7. I still take Flintstones vitamins.
    The gummy kind are the best.

  8. I have one husband, Bubba, and one son, Schecky.
    These are not their real names...

  9. Bubba and I have been married for 16 17 18 years.

  10. I was on bed rest while pregnant with Schecky.

  11. For 5 months.

  12. Not to sound all dramatic about it, but it was a life changing experience. I was one person when I went on bed rest (hard charging professional, determined to climb that corporate ladder) and a completely different one when it was done (I was a mommy!).

  13. The post-bed rest LLA is much happier, more content.

  14. And I suspect that I'm easier to be around.

  15. I can be satanically lazy.

  16. I hate to change light bulbs.

  17. I often forget to close cabinet doors - if I open a cabinet to get something/put something away, it may be days before it gets closed again.

  18. I cannot snap my fingers.

  19. I grew up in Tennessee, in a town called Kingsport.
    I still think it's fabulous, and I go back several times a year.

  20. My childhood home abutted a cemetery.
    Although, we always called it a "graveyard."

  21. The graveyard was quite literally my backyard, and I thought it was the most excellent place to play.
    Right, GeekyMom???


  22. It wasn't until I got to college that I realized that most people find that really, really weird.

  23. It also wasn't until I got to college that I realized that professional wrestling is fake.
    In my defense, it wasn't something I had given a lot of thought to...

  24. I still have a chunk of my wedding cake in the freezer.
    Which is kind of gross, because as you read above, I've been married for 18 years... But I mean, what am I supposed to do, throw it out now????

  25. I rarely wear makeup - this is not because of some misguided sense of how hot I am, it's sheer laziness. (See #15 above).
    I know I'm too old to go to bed without taking my makeup off, yet I know I'm going to be too tired to take it off at bedtime, so it's just easier to forgo it altogether.

  26. I am a moisturizer and lip balm junkie, however.

  27. I love to swim.

  28. I "came out" when I was 17.
    Out to society, not of the closet. Yes, I am a small town debutante.

  29. I also went to charm school as a child.

  30. It was held at Montgomery Ward's.
    And if that doesn't sound like the set up to a "You might be a redneck if..." joke, then I don't know what does...

  31. I love to read. I’ll read almost anything - fiction, non-fiction, you name it.

  32. If I don't get to read frequently, I get antsy and down-right cranky. So I carve out weird times to read - like while brushing my teeth, drying my hair, waiting at traffic lights...
    And I absolutely cannot go to sleep without a book.


  33. I keep Excel spreadsheets to keep track of my reading; I average about 200 books a year.

  34. It's worth noting that I'm also addicted to Excel...
    Even though it's a Microsoft (boo!) product. I've decided it's OK because it was released for the Macintosh first.

  35. Oh, did I forget to mention that I'm a totally Macintosh girl?
    Since 1986, baby!

  36. I love to go to the dentist

  37. I was on Jeopardy! a few years back.
    It was Valentine's Day of 2001.

  38. I came in second place.
    The man who beat me was a phenomenal player, and as much as I wanted to win, I don't feel too bad about losing to him.

  39. Second place was a week in Barcelona. It was a wonderful trip, and in some ways, another life-changing event. It made me realize just how important traveling is to me, and that I need to make it a priority in my life.

  40. I once rode in an elevator with David Coverdale, of Whitesnake.
    I had no idea who he was...

  41. I prefer email to the telephone.

  42. I am very gullible, and I suspect that I'm still pretty naive.

  43. I love a good margarita.

  44. Hell, I even love bad margaritas.

  45. I can curse like a sailor.

  46. I occasionally do.

  47. Which is kind of funny, since the rest of the time I use made-up epithets, like "Great Googly Moogly" or "Sweet Cracker Sandwich"!
    I frequently sounds like a character out of Napoleon Dynamite.


  48. I think I turned to creative cursing because my mother taught me that using profanity shows a decided lack of imagination.

  49. Ironically, who do you think I learned all the good curse words from?
    Thanks, Mom!

  50. I sing in the car when I'm alone.
    Frequently. And loudly.

  51. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, but I love my car.

  52. I'm embarrassed about that, because I've never much cared about the cars that I drive. I've never wanted to place too much value on cars. But I love my car.

  53. It's a station wagon.
    I'm such a station wagon kind of girl...

  54. Ironically (since I love my car and all), I don't drive a lot.
    I only put about 50 miles on my car in a week.

  55. The older I get, the smaller my world gets.

  56. I believe in the power of a liberal arts education.

  57. Which are pretty big words from a girl with 3 undergraduate degrees, and yet no "real" job.

  58. Yes, I still refer to myself as a girl.

  59. I still call my Daddy, "Daddy", too.

  60. The longer I live in the "big city", the more the "small town hillbilly girl" comes out.

  61. I will choose a beer over wine every time.

  62. And it's a hefweissen - so much the better!
    Could I get a slice of orange with that?

  63. I love the comic strip page in the daily newspaper.
    I suspect that I take the comics far more seriously than the average bear.

  64. My current favorite is a little known strip called Pooch Cafe.
    Go check it out online, it's HI-larious!

  65. Of course, I must also confess that I have become wholly addicted to Mary Worth.
    How sad is that???

  66. I work the crossword puzzle everyday.
    Two on Sundays.

  67. I heart the 80's. I loved 'em then; I still love 'em now.

  68. Thanks to "rat lab" in college - one of the aforementioned undergrad degrees - I can say that I am, indeed, a brain surgeon.

  69. I will always stop to pick a penny up from the sidewalk.

  70. I clip coupons.

  71. And actually redeem them.

  72. I frequently refer to myself as "the cheapest woman on the planet."

  73. There is a kernel of truth in this.

  74. I want to be "The Millionaire Next Door" - I'd love to have the security that comes with savings in the bank, but you'd never suspect from my manner, dress, or possessions that I had any money at all.

  75. I drink Diet Coke first thing in the morning.

  76. I am never sure when to use a colon vs. a semicolon.

  77. I am also the Queen of "Can't Spell."

  78. I have what is perhaps the worst taste in television of anyone on the planet.

  79. My wallet is made of plastic. And prominently features "Hello Kitty".

  80. I still haven't had it explained to my satisfaction exactly how gay marriage threatens my own.

  81. I am far more threatened by extreme conservative Christians who seem determined to judge other people for whatever reason.
    Whatever happened to "Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged?"


  82. It is my deeply held belief that I cannot possibly understand what I would do in your situation, unless I am, indeed, in your situation. None of us can know exactly how we would react in any given situation until we are there ourselves. Therefore, I try really, really hard not to judge people. I might not agree with your choices, but since I can never truly know what drove you to make those choices, it's not my place to be judgmental.
    It's taken me 38 years to get to this point - I used to be the queen of snap judgments...

  83. As long as I'm sharing things in which I believe: It is a choice. It's my choice to make, so keep your laws off my body, thankyouvery much.

  84. I like the idea of there being a "higher power", but if I am being brutally honest, I don't really believe there is.

  85. I do, however, believe in the "Golden Rule".
    It's interesting, pretty much every organized religion out there has a variation on this theme. That's a good thing.

  86. And I most certainly believe in living my life in an ethical manner.

  87. One final belief I'll share: Van Halen, yes. Van Hagar, no.

  88. I can parallel park like nobody's business.

  89. I adore breakfast foods.

  90. Sometimes I think I would have made an excellent Hobbit - I can totally get into the concept of "Second Breakfast".

  91. I also would make a great Hobbit because I have incredibly ugly feet.

  92. I have broken the four small toes on my left foot so many times that they now will break if I so much as look at them wrong.

  93. I learned to knit when I was 7 or 8 - but have gone for years and years at a time without knitting anything at all.

  94. I have been a victim of the "Boyfriend Curse."
    -thanks, Bain! :)

  95. I love office supplies.

  96. I have a deep and intense respect for Dolly Parton. She may be the living American I admire most. She's phenomenal.

  97. Mountains or beach? Mountains, every time.
    Although, it's even better when you can have both - like in Seattle or Barcelona!

  98. I have this deep and inexplicable desire to be an expatriate - to live somewhere else (anywhere else) outside of North America.

  99. Of course, I only want to do this for 6 - 12 months, and then get to come "home" again.

  100. I pick up accents very easily, and very unintentionally.
    When I'm in Atlanta, I don't really think I have one. But once I spend more than 12 hours in Tennessee, Bubba says I sound like Suzanne Sugarbaker.

    Oh - and as an added, extra bonus?

  101. I like to rhyme.

  102. I like my beats funky.

  103. I'm spunky.

  104. I like my oatmeal lumpy.



Thank you all for a wonderful year!*



*And many thanks to the Caretaker, 3 to get Ready, and She Knits Shizknits for all the words of wisdom about how to change the header banner in Blogger! I was tired of fighting with it!

28 comments:

rohanknitter said...

We may have some cool things around here (giant snowblowers and all) but I've never been to Barcelona! Wow! And I don't have a tiara, either! ; )

Fill said...

Look at you, with your fancy transparent banner graphic up there. Nice!!
And happy blog birthday too.

Mama Said Sew said...

Yeah for number 75!! I love, love, love Diet Coke. Especially with/for breakfast.

You have a great sense of humor and I needed a little chuckle tonight. Thanks for sharing your list LLA.

Unknown said...

Happy blogiversary! Has it been a year already? What a year!

3 to get ready said...

How cool is that that you were on Jeopardy! I had no idea I was in the presence of such brainy celebrity!

And happy, happy bloggy birthday! It's amazing what a difference a year makes. (Your banner looks fantastic, btw...)

Sarah and Jack said...

So many interesting things there! I also love Dolly Parton. Why? I have no clue, too much Steel Magnolias I suspect. I also did a way, way too long stint with bedrest with my kiddo, however, unlike you, I feel changed for the worse by it. (Mostly because I feel like the whole thing made me very scared of a few things.) Your perspective on it is interesting, and one I am going to "chew on" for a bit. :-)

Anonymous said...

Oh, I like you more and more. Awesome list! 38 cracked me up. I'm with you on picking up pennies, office supplies, expatriating (sp?), and a few others.
I can't believe you were on Jeopardy. I'm so impressed. I used to love that show. I bet I saw you. Was Alex a jerk? Just wondering. :)
Happy one year love!

Anonymous said...

It's great to get to know Miss Laura Lancaster, the tiara wearing debutante a little better.
I found some "yea, me too-s" and a few "really??s"
Love the dentist? That's crazy talk.

Oil Cloth Junkie said...

What an awesome list! I was either nodding in agreement or laughing the whole time. Congratulations on your one year anniversary!

Anonymous said...

What, Bubba & Schecky are NOT their real names? Gasp! (Giggle)

You claim to love the 80's and you didn't know David Coverdale? Great, now I've got "Here I Go Again" stuck in my head!

Jeopardy! - your 3 degree brainiac!

80-87: A resounding YES!

And Dolly always gets two thumbs up from me. As does your new banner. Happy Blogversary, dear!

laura capello said...

I'm sick wit dis, straight gangsta mack; but sometimes I get ridiculous, I'll eat up all your crackers and your licorice

okay, actually not. both have gluten.

oh, and i can totally teach you colon/semi-colon/dash stuff. but i think you have a pretty good concept as is.

oh, and you should hear me in tennessee after 12 hours. total hick accent.

Renee said...

I'm way impressed that you were on Jeopardy! I kept reading it over and over again. I figure you have to be really smart to make it on that show.
I'd have a total score of $0 because I'd be too afraid to buzz in.
Great list.

beki said...

I *love* your list!! So many things brought a big smile to my face.

shizzknits said...

Happy Blogiversary! And I'm glad you finally got your banner up in the header- looks cute!

MéLisa said...

Happy Blogversary, Crazy Girl!

I loved your list & now I feel like I know you even more! Scary huh?

We love Jeopardy! We flip over to it after the first edition of smut news has dumbed up down a few notches. That way we can feel somewhat smart again. I especially like it when they have the 6th graders on there, ‘cause then I can really kick some ass! I can’t believe you were on there, that is so cool!

Also I love love love me some Dolly! She is just so great! I feel like if you went to her house you would totally feel like you could kick off you shoes & sit on the floor. Do you think she would let me in her wig room? Now that would be cool……

African Kelli said...

NO SHIT!! (how's that for one who obviously didn't go to charm school!) My god you were on jeopardy? You are officially my hero. I've always wanted to go on Jeopardy. one day. So, so cool.

Kat said...

THat was a wonderful list I learned so much, I too went on bed rest at 4 months however I only made it to 7 mths, I was bored and so was baby.lol
I love your name!!
Happy Blogiversary!!!!!

Chara Michele said...

Happy blogiversary! I loved your list:)

Maize Hutton said...

105. You're hysterical!

Anonymous said...

106. Bubba and Schecky love you lots.

Happy Blogiversary, kiddo! I'll keep the Internet tuned here...

Anonymous said...

wow. i love hoe you describe your predilection for rest as satanically lazy. and you were on jeopardy? OMG! that's super cool. you're the first person i've ever known in "real life," okay, in realy bloggy life, that's been on a game show. and jeopardy is my favorite. do you still play along? and all the other fantastic stuff? wow. having hobbit feet and a sugahbakuh accent, what a unique individual you are!

Seren said...

You're awesome, LLA. It's so much fun to get to know you, thanks the randomness of the Internets. And if you have the worst taste in television and we seem to watch a lot of the same shows ... does this mean you watched that Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders show, too? I was pretty sure it was just me.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I'm a little late, but Happy Bloggiversary!

What an incredible list! And you were on Jeopardy?!!!! Woooow! You are my idol!

Anonymous said...

I thoroughly enjoyed this list! I imagine you're a very cool person to hang out with and to be friends with. And how awesome that you were on Jeopardy!! I kick a$$ when I watch it at home (no pressure), but I don't work well under pressure, therefore I'd never make it on there. I'd owe THEM money.

Thimbleanna said...

Well, I'm really slow in finding this, but you're SO my kinda girl! If I made a list of numbers from your list that I agree with/relate to, it would be too long! Except for Diet Coke -- it's Diet Pepsi first thing in the morning for me. But then you're in Atlanta, so it's excused! And Sewanee? It's SO beautiful! My mother is a James Agee fan -- I've tried for so many years to get my book group to read Let Us Now Praise Famous Men but they're not buying it.... Love your blog!

celeste said...

one of my favorite 100 things lists (and I'm a fan from way back of 100 things lists - someday i'll even figure out how to put one on my blogger blog).
and thanks for the comment about my granny square pendant. :)

Anonymous said...

Just because I love #101-104, I will point you at looptid.com, where sometimes it gets ridiculous. Come here girl, are you ticklish?

Wendy said...

Oh, I just found you and am so glad! I love your list (may have to try doing one myself one of these days).

We've got a lot in common (except the Cokes for breakfast).