25 Things About Me

Taking advantage of economies of scale, I'm double posting this from Facebook:

1. I LOVE shoes. When I was a little girl I was very serious about becoming a shoe salesman. I don't even know how many pairs I have, but don't worry, I only buy them when they are on sale.

2. I pop my knuckles still. I really thought it was something I'd grow out of once I was an "adult," but I haven't. I've been doing it for so long that I don't even realize it anymore.

3. I think my parents are amazing people. Granted, they each have more than their fair share of quirks and can be overwhelming to some, but they are my parents and I love them dearly. As I get older, it becomes clearer that even though my parents aren't perfect, they were perfect in their unconditional love for my brother and I and that's the most important thing of all.

4. My little brother lives in our basement. He works out of town Monday through Friday and is barely even here on the weekends, which makes it a convenient arrangement. If anything, I wish Sean would be around more often. I am very close to Brett's brothers and feel a pang of guilt that I'm not as close to my own brother.

5. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Brett. We went to homecomings and proms together. In 2005 we got married at the same place where we met and he proposed.

6. I never cease to be amazed at how happy and fulfilled my life is with Brett in it. I'm very easily distracted and tend to be a bad listener. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve to be with someone as thoughtful as him.

7. Our dog Champ is a huge source of joy in our lives. He is very well-trained and has a whole bag of tricks. Every Sunday we take him to the off-leash dog park and watch him run around.

8. I have a very bad left knee. I tore my ACL skiing in high school. A few years ago I slipped in some mud on campus and tore it again. A year after that I had to have my meniscus removed on the same knee. Needless to say, it's difficult for me to run for long distances or wear high heels two days in a row.

9. I love politics and public policy. In graduate school, I focused on domestic policy, particular health policy. If you ever want to chat about universal health coverage or health quality improvement initiatives, I'm your gal.

10. After graduate school, Brett and I knew that we wanted to end up back in the Midwest, but the career services office didn't have any leads for us. I was so desperate that I was considering positions far outside my area of interest/expertise. Thankfully, I found a job using my skills and in an area that interests me.

11. I love what I do and, perhaps more importantly, the people I do it with. I work with a small group of passionate, thoughtful, and kind people who make showing up at work each day a pleasure.

12. I enjoy taking care of my home. We spent many years in tiny, crappy apartments and now that we own our own home, I spend lots of time and energy taking care of it. From cleaning to decorating to tending the yard, I like having my own little piece of the world.

13. I like my in-laws. I know there are about 5 million bad in-law jokes out there, but I actually like mine! Over the years, I've started to feel very comfortable around them. I feel like a full-fledged member of the family.

14. I adore Woody Allen. I've got a running list of all his movies and have seen the vast majority of them at least once.

15. I cook a great batch of chocolate chip cookies and can make almost any soup you've ever heard of.

16. My sister-in-law Mandy got me into her book club when we first moved to town. We meet once a month and I look forward to it every time. We talk about the book for maybe 15 minutes, then dive right in with the girl talk and lots of red wine.

17. I'm proud that I went to Princeton for graduate school. I'm no Ivy League snob by any means, but I am very proud that I worked hard enough to be accepted to Princeton.

18. I hate sports. I hated playing them as a kid and I hate watching them as an adult. This tends to be inconvenient because Brett watches KSU sports all the time.

19. As happy as I am to be back in the Midwest, I sometimes miss the great friends we made while on the East coast. It was such a great chance to be surrounded by people with very diverse backgrounds and interests.

20. One of my best friends lives in D.C. and I miss her dearly, especially this time of the year. Our birthdays are exactly one month apart. In the past, we've met up and spent a day celebrating both birthdays by shopping.

21. I love children and hope to have a couple of my own someday.

22. I am a very good proofreader. My dad was an editor when I was growing up, so I learned to be a stickler for grammar, punctuation, and wordsmithing. The only strange thing is that I can't do it to electronic documents, only paper printouts.

23. I was born and raised Catholic, but am no longer. I firmly believe that women are equal to men both within and outside of religion. Until women are treated equally in the Catholic church, I will not consider rejoining.

24. I am lucky to have a small group of friends from high school who I still see. We only see each other a few times each year, but every time we pick up right where we left off.

25. Today is my 27th birthday. I will follow my tradition and have ice cream for breakfast.