I have a backlog of memes I’ve been tagged for in the last couple of weeks.  My blogging friend Melissa tagged me for this one.  It’s sort of a photo-centric one about your favorite things.  This blog needs a pick-me-up post, so be forewarned…    I am stressed, and my comic timing is rusty:

1. Your favorite beverage:
No surpises here… a venti please.

2. Your hometown:

I am a Jersey girl, but my heart belongs to Philadelphia. As a kid we shopped there (at Gimbels and Lits).  I lived there when I went to college. I had friends that lived there in my twenties. I worked there for MANY years.  S. and I’s favorite hangout bar (was) there for many years. And, when I used to travel a lot for work, I lived at PHL (the airport). My EAGLES are there (although they disappointed me tremendously last weekend..argh)! …and, there’s nothing more comforting than a Geno’s cheesesteak.

3. Your favorite television show:
Well, duh…!

4. Your occupation:
Chief cook and bottle washer for an IT company. No, you don’t wanna know….  and no, that’s not me in the photo, but WTF??  Is this like computer geek por.n from the 70’s?

5. Your first car:
My 1986 Ford Escort!  It was new, blue, and definitely NOT a guy magnet.  I was, however very safe and the car was small enough to parallel park in the city.  AND since I was one of the few in my circle of friends with a reliable car, I was always the driver.  Always.  My parents would have been proud of my responsible role in college.

6. Your favorite dish:
mmmmm…. crab cakes.

7. Celebrity you’ve been told you resemble:
No one.  Does that make me unique, or just forgettable?

8. Celebrity on your “to do” list:
I like the versatility of a guy that can bust out a show tune AND rip out someone’s neck with claws and still appear totally likeable.  And he’s hot.

9. Your favorite childhood toy:
I had one of those Barbie heads..  you know the ones in which you style the hair.    I couldn’t find a picture of the 70’s version, but you get the idea.  To be truthful, I had everything Barbie- even down to the Barbie Corvette (it was an automatic car I sat in and drove).  I had a Barbie Doll cake for my 5th birthday for crying out loud.  I was a girly girl for sure.

10. Any random picture:
Since we are approaching Halloween, I wanted to take you back to Halloween 2005.  David was 2, and this was a picture of him from a party at his then daycare.  Hard to believe how quickly the years have ticked by.

I’m not going to tag anyone, but if you do this on your blog, link back so I can see some of your favorite things and memories!

I’ve been tagged with the Honest Scrap award by numerous blogging friends (most recently by my new buddy from onwardandsideways).

So, I feel like I finally have to fess up and tell you Ten Honest Things About Myself:

1. I have always wanted to be a professional ice skater. This is a problem, in that, my previous skating experience is about a total of 5 hours lifetime on a frozen patch of ice behind my childhood home. Being clumsy as a kid, I just never acquired the coordination to achieve the dream. I secretly admire Scott Hamilton.

2. I was a bit awestruck at my friend being an official DAR (Daughter of the American Revolution)! I have a similar, yet decidedly less exciting membership in a secret society. I am a member of The Order of the Ea.stern Star, which is a group of immediate (female) descendants of the Freemasons (my Dad is a Mason). I can’t tell you what I do there because I’d break the sisterhood covenant and be burned at the stake (just kidding)! Well, about the burning at the stake part… the OES and it’s business is secret to non-members.

3. I’ve had a lot of run-in’s with celebrities over the years while traveling around the country with my job. I hit the jackpot one night in New York City as I was attending a seminar at the Marriott (used to be The Vista Hotel in the World Trade Center before 9/11 sadly). There happened to be a red carpet event the night I checked in. So, my co-workers and I just kinda crashed it. Really, we did!! I met Susan Lucci and discussed her haircare product line, peed next to Joan Collins in the bathroom and had a very nice conversation (at the sinks, not while in the stall, lol)… AND the highlight of my evening… meeting and shaking hands with Lenny Kravitz! Weeeeeeee!

4. I have a new obsession with turkey sausage. It started with my new, healthy eating habits in January when I went back to WW, but now I just can’t get enough of it. Sad, I know.

5. My other obsession (no surprise to my IRL friends who read this), my Keurig coffeemaker. I have a collection of K-Cups and exotic coffees, and cannot get through the day without my steaming fresh coffee on-demand. How bad is my obsession? I bought ANOTHER Keurig (the mini one) to take with me on vacation to Hilton Head, SC so I don’t have to go without it for 10 days.

6. I used to be fluent in German, but not anymore. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend two student programs in Europe when I was in high school (each 10-14 days when I was a freshman and a junior) which accelerated my “Deutsch”, took advanced classes in college and got REALLY GOOD… then I forgot it all over the years. Although I still remember the swear words (kidding…. no not kidding). Could probably get by to have a small conversation with Heidi Klum. lol.

7. I work for a technology company, and sadly, as I’ve gotten older it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with the ever-changing technology. This is somewhat embarrassing. I fully expect my son to start teaching me soon.

8. I have a serious addiction to balancing my checkbooks.

9. I haven’t bought a designer handbag in 6 months (the longest I’ve ever gone without a new addition)… but seriously, a new one is coming soon since I just cashed in for a gift card with my Amex Reward points!

10. I have at least twenty sharpened #2 Pencils in my pencil cup. I secretly love using pencils. It reminds me of my youth. Oh, and I loooove to break open a new book. The pages smell… heavenly.

Now that was fun, wasn’t it? I could tag a bunch of bloggers, but practically everyone has been called out for this meme, so if you haven’t received this yet… this award is for YOU!

The Rules:
1. Write 10 honest things about yourself.
2. Select 7 other totally fabby bloggers who have great design, great content, or both.
3. List them along with #1 and ping them to let them know that they, too, have joined the hallowed halls of the winners of the Honest Scrap award.

My buddy Melissa tagged me for a meme. I’ve been doing a lot of these lately, but haven’t done this one yet, so here goes…

6 quirky things about me!

1. I don’t carry loose change. I hate random pennies and dimes at the bottom of my purse. Primarily because they are dirty. And dirty money can ruin the inside of a fine wallet or purse! Seriously, when I handle money, I feel an intense need to wash my hands. Germs, GAH! I can’t stand it. So if I am using cash, most times, if there’s coins involved, I say… “keep the change” (and the germs please).

2. I like sunflower seeds. I don’t eat them often, but when I do, my favorite part is the shell. When did it become a crime to chew them up and eat them whole? I used to have a friend in high school that would delicately pick apart the shell and only eat the seed. What a giant waste of time…. lol.

3. I’ve had an obsession my entire life regarding space. As in, The Universe. I can watch shows on cable all day regarding the planets, the stars, black holes, and the space program. In fact, I just watched a TV show a few nights ago regarding the Hubble telescope. I can’t get enough. Not that I ever wanted to be an aerospace engineer or anything, but I find the subject intensely interesting. Don’t get me started on thinking about the universe. And that the Milky Way is merely a blip on the radar. When I think about how space spans into infinity, it makes my head twirl. And, yes, the concept that space is actually imploding in on us in the next 100,000 years makes me sad.

Have I lost you yet?

4. Speaking of Lost, I must also admit I am a fan fanatic of the TV show “Lost”. I’ve seen every episode at least 4 times, and yes, I am the scary geek that listens to fan podcasts, and thinks that JJ Abrams is the master of the universe. Oh, there we go back to the universe again… sorry.

5. I can’t step on elevators anymore. Yes, sadly, our trip in 2007 in which I WAS STUCK in an elevator, and had to be RESCUED by the Hilton Head, SC Fire Department has made me a pansy. I choose to walk stairs.

6. I used to be an avid reader, but not so much nowadays. Why? I have this thing about reading books. If I start reading a book, I can’t put it down. For real. I used to crack open a Stephen King hardcover in my twenties, and read all 400 pages in one day. So I tend to stick to shorter books, unless I am compelled by a really, really good book. In which I just plan on being up for 24 hours, or whenever I finish it.

So yeah, I got some quirkiness… how about you? Please don’t make me feel like a moron.