paleo | Susanne's World

I’m flashing back today, looking back over some of the old notes I wrote on Facebook before I started blogging. Found this list of 25 things about me and got a kick out of re-reading it and thought I would share with updates where necessary.

1. Like my friend Eve who tagged me in this note, I have a genius IQ, but I knew it when I was a kid and resented the pressure to be an overachiever.
2. I like beans….and I make a yummy bean salad. Whatever I cook if I can throw in some beans I will. (Update-I no longer eat beans! I’ve been following a mostly paleo diet since August (no grains, no dairy, no beans/legumes, no refined salt, sugars, or oils).
3. I like to cook, and I am obsessed with eating healthy food like lean meats, lots of fruits and veggies, and whole grains. (Update-no more whole grains! Was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity (click here to read the entry I wrote about it) in May and have been off most grains (except a little rice since August).
4. I always wanted to be a wife and mother and never really knew what career to pursue when I was growing up. Click here to read why.
5. Because of #4, I went to three colleges, took two years off (one to work for GP and do a NOLS semester (click here to read about it) and the other to work as a cook and live in Telluride, CO), and changed my major twice (#1 French #2 Philosphy/Religion #3 Environmental Studies)….didn’t graduate until I was 25.

Telluride, CO from a gondola. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

6. My first ‘career’ was an environmental activist for Greenpeace in Washington DC.

Washington DC (Photo credit: eGuide Travel)

7. I got my master’s degree in Education and became a teacher after my GP job got moved to Amsterdam; I was a single mom so I didn’t want to go.
8. When I was a teacher, I discovered a passion for math, and now that I am a stay home mom I love tutoring math because I can help students learn to love math. Click here to read about my love affair with math.

Dansk: Dedikeret til matematik (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

9. I love to sleep and will sleep until noon if nobody wakes me up. I also love being pampered like getting massages.
10. I met my husband, Joe, at the gym when he was working there and going to school and I was his 12:30 appointment for personal training. We started running together and the rest is history. Even though he is a lawyer now, we still go to the gym every weekend and love exercising together.

11. I am lactose intolerant (like most Asian Americans).
12. I am an extrovert and love to get together with friends, pot-luck style, with good food, drinks and conversation.
13. When I go out, my drink of choice is gin and tonic (Bombay Sapphire) and my favorite shots are Jaegermeister and Tequila. (Update-no more gin or jaegermeister due to food allergies. The only liquor I drink is Patron silver tequila).
14. I drink wine (chardonnay) when I’m cooking and with dinner.
15. I am kind of a control freak and always am trying to avert danger and/or accidents, especially with my kids. Like we don’t let them play outside in the front yard without an adult and don’t even get me started on how hard it is to have a 15 yr. old who is about to date and drive etc. (Update-since I wrote this post, I wrote nineteen episodes of fiction. I realized this theme came up in my fiction writing. Click here to read my fiction episodes).
16. I like heights and exposure, hence my affinity for climbing trees as a kid, my love for rock climbing and high mountains where the earth meets the sky. When I stand on a cliff or overlook I get the urge to fly like a bird, but of course I don’t have wings so maybe I should take up hang gliding or something?

Split Rock, WY 1989

17. On the flip side, I am claustrophobic and I would really hate to go scuba diving or caving or anything like that.
18. I am a big flirt, always have been, in fact I won ‘biggest flirt’ in 8th grade with Bill Schraa who ironically was also voted ‘best couple’ with his girlfriend.
19. When I go shopping I am all about the sales and hardly ever will pay retail price.
20. I manage all the money in our household and am good about paying our bills on time or early.
21. I correct people when they use bad grammar (I know that is annoying, but I can’t help it).
22. When I am going through a hard time, I make music mixes full of songs that reflect whatever it is that’s going on. Before CD‘s I made mixed tapes.
23. I always try to complement people and tell them what I like about them (something I learned as a teacher when conferencing with parents). There is always something nice you can say, no matter who it is.
24. I spend alot of time on the computer.
25. I give my kids ‘mommy homework’ if they don’t have any from school and make them do reading, writing, and math all summer (for about an hour a day, it’s not so bad) to keep them challenged. Click here to read about summer learning.