Woot! An Award!!!

My friend Kristine nominated me for a Beautiful Blogger award. She wrote: "Michelle at Cheap and Picky because we really are friends that chat on a weekly basis. I love her sense of humor and her attention to detail makes my head spin. I know you're busy with your classes, but I really am looking forward to your 10 things..."

How awesome is that?? Although if she saw me at work, she might change her mind about that "attention to detail!!"

So the rules are that I have to tell you 10 things about me that you would never guess, and then nominate 5 friends. And thank gawd that Kristine nominated me because otherwise I wouldn't have ANYTHING to blog about because that darn trench coat has been taking me FOREVER to finish! (Actually I am hoping to get it done this weekend, since we have Monday off).

1. I was raised by my grandparents. All my friends in school used to think that some horrible fate befell my parents, but it didn't. I just liked it at my grandparent's house better, and they didn't mind having me there. I lived there until I was 23 and left for graduate school (although my grandmother claimed that you haven't REALLY moved out until you get all your crap out of my basement). After she passed away, she left the house to me and my Mom, so all my crap is STILL in that basement.
2. I have been to more foreign countries than I have states in the US. Yes, it's true. I have never even been to the Grand Canyon. Although I did tell someone the other day that I had never been to Virginia, and then immediately realized that since I lived in DC that yes...I had in fact been in Virginia. Dulles Airport is technically in Virginia. My friend Mindy's house was in Virginia, even though I drove all the way there on Mass. Ave. But then I didn't correct myself because I didn't want to look like an idiot. On the other hand, I have been to Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, China, Korea, Taiwan, England, Ireland, Austria, Poland, France, the Netherlands, Turkey, Germany, Macedonia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden....it's kind of crazy thinking about it!
3. I am child-free. A lot of my friends assume that I hate children...because I don't have any. But I adore children! I am with my niece and nephews constantly. I even go on the puke-inducing rides at the amusement park for them. Now THAT is dedication! My husband and I have just decided that children are not for us (plus, the cynic in me thinks that its just a matter of time before my niece and at least one nephew are living with us anyway....my brother is kind of a flaming disaster). Sometimes I get touchy when people confuse "child-free" with "childless." Childless implies that we wanted children and were unsuccessful at reproducing, but that is not the case. Plus my mom is convinced that because we have decided not to have children, that means we'll take care of her and Pop when they get all decrepit and want to wander around the yard in their underwear. I am under strict orders to chain her to a radiator the first time she puts her underwear on over her clothes, or tries to write a check to an exiled prince that she got an email from.
4. I'm a little OCD. Actually, let's just tell the truth...I'm a LOT OCD. When my grandfather was moving to a retirement community, he was giving away a lot of things that had belonged to my grandmother. One of the things that my Mom knew that I liked were a set of tiny, stemless wine glasses. There were 12 of them. The problem was, my Aunt Terry liked them to. Here is the conversation that my mother and I had...."Sweetie, your aunt really likes those glasses, too, so I'm going to split them and you can have six and she can have six." "That's OK, Mom. Just give them all to Aunt Terry." "Why? You love them. Just share them." "No, Mom, if we have to split them just give them to Aunt Terry." "Seriously? Seriously? Are you having a passive aggressive temper tantrum because you have to share?" "No, Mom. Just give them to Aunt Terry." "Why? You have been wanting those glasses since you were a kid. Why would you not just take half of them?" "Mom, if I tell you, it won't make any sense to you, and you will probably be mad." "Just tell me." "Mom, I don't think that is a good idea." "TELL ME." "I don't want six glasses. I want 4, 8, or 12. But not 6. So just give them to Aunt Terry." (silence on the other end of the phone line) "I swear to god you need medication." (I got the glasses though, all 12 of them)
5. My family doesn't call me Michelle. They call me Missy. Which came in handy in school when there were always 3 or 4 other Michelles in class (given that it was one of the most common names for girls in the 1970s. My little brother Ricky couldn't say "Missy" when he was small, so he called me Mimi. Because of him, my niece and nephews all call me "Aunt Mimi" instead of Michelle or even Missy.
6. I didn't take my husband's name when we got married. I tell everyone that it is because I didn't want to be called "Dr. Pfeffer." Because his last name is Pfeffer, all my husband's friends call him "Doc." That's not really the reason that I kept my name, but it's easier than trying to explain "I have a record of publication, and professional and academic reputation that is all attached to one name, if I changed that name I would have to rebuild that from scratch." The Dr. Pfeffer line generally gets a laugh, and then I don't have to explain that asking about things like not changing my name is a little intrusive anyway. Easier to just toss the joke out there.
7. I play the oboe. Yep, the geekiest instrument in the entire world. Except maybe the french horn. Which...I also play. Yep, band geek. That's me.
8. I don't have any gray hair. Everyone else in my family has salt and pepper hair. My mother started going gray in her teens, even! Every year they tell me...this is the year, and it never is. There is only one other person in my family with hair like mine...my grandfather. My grandfather had dark hair, not a single gray, until he turned 40. And then...bam....silver hair, every last strand. So I figure I have 3 good years left!
9. I live in a neighborhood where the streets are all named after presidents....Except....my street is the last "president" street if you leave the neighborhood driving north. Because I always came in and left from the north....it wasn't until probably 3 months after I moved in that I finally realized...Garfield, Washington, Jefferson....Hey! All these streets are named after presidents!! Yeah, not my proudest moment.
10. I love, love, love reality tv. I can't even tell you anything about regular network tv. Because I spend all my time watching Project Runway, Real Housewives, and Top Chef. I can't imagine what would entice someone to be on a reality show!! But I can't stop watching the train wreck....

Well, there it is...10 things you probably didn't know about me already. So now I need to nominate 5 people....I always have so much trouble with this part because I want to nominate everyone....or because the sewing community is relatively small, everyone is nominated already...and I love all the blogs that I follow, and adore all the followers of this blog, and I don't want anyone to be left out....this is so hard!!

1. Knit Machine Queen. I love 'Chelle's blog. We have both struggled through a lot of the same fit issues and....we have the same birthday!
2. Mary Nanna at Make it Smirk. I love the things that she sews, and she sets such interesting challenges for herself...like a full wardrobe from all op-shop fabrics.
   
3. Becki-C...She makes the most wonderful clothes using a lot of Marfy patterns. I have not taken the Marfy plunge yet, but that white shirt she made recently might entice me!
4. Kid, MD(Katie) at Kaddidlehopper...For someone who has two little ones and another on the way, I am always astounded at how prolific she is! Seriously, does she have a machine that extracts extra hours from the day??
5. Amy at I Might Sew...If I Had More Time. I totally adore her tag line..."I'm short. I'm fat. I love to sew and knit." I get a chuckle every time I read it!
   

I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday weekend, and hopefully I'll have something sewn to show you on Monday!!