100 things about me (1-39 are somewhat, but not completely, chronological; 40-100 are hopelessly random)

1. My name, Adena, is Hebrew, and it means "delicate." When I was a kid, in the 1960's, having an "ethnic" or unusual name wasn't "in," and I hated it. I wanted a normal name, like Debbie or Susan.
2. I grew up on a street with lots of Catholic families. We were Jewish. There were only 2 Jewish families in my elementary school. This made me feel weird and left-out.
3. My dad was a Hebrew school principal, so my second home was our synagogue. We spent a LOT of time at the synagogue helping my dad, or attending services or programs there. There, I felt less left-out.
4. My son started at a Jewish daycare center when he was 2, and is now at a Jewish day school, and he thinks the whole world is Jewish. I figure, eventually he'll figure out the truth - why burst his bubble now?
5. We have next door neighbors with kids who are Catholic and sometimes he has theological discussions with them about G-d and Jesus. And Santa Claus.
6. I have always liked to write, for as long as I can remember.
7. When I was 5 or 6, I wrote a song about the guinea pigs in our classroom, called "Little Snoopy." I still remember the words and tune to this song. I can sing it for you, if you'd like
8. I remember really being into David Cassidy around the 4th grade (The Partridge Family, remember?). I actually have a CD of Partridge Family music in my car even now.
9. That was also the time of The Brady Bunch.
10. I remember reading "Are You There G-d? It's Me Margaret" in the 5th grade, and that everyone - both girls and boys - took it out of the library, one after the other, to read it. Remember? "We must, we must, we must increase our bust!" We were hungry to learn about periods, and breasts, and sex.
11. In 6th grade, I was Liesl in The Sound of Music. I really loved being in that play.
12. I also got braces that year. I was Liesl with braces.
13. We moved the summer after 6th grade to a different part of town, so I went to a different jr. high school than everyone else in my school.
14. Jr. High wasn't a lot of fun. Do you remember Farrah Fawcett and her feathered hair? This is NOT what I looked like, and I suffered mightily because of it.
15. High School wasn't a lot of fun either.
16. A few things that were fun during my high school years included: writing for the school newspaper, singing in the school chorus, Israeli dancing (outside of school) and taking part in the school's production of Brigadoon. And learning to drive.
17. Other than those things, it pretty much sucked.
18. I had a high school friend, Nina, who died of breast cancer a few years ago at the age of 42. I still can't really believe that she died.
19. I went on a summer trip to Israel when I was 16. It was the first time I had lived away from my family. It was quite a shock.
20. I was "16 and never been kissed." When I came back from Israel, I had been kissed.
21. After my junior year of high school, my family moved from Massachusetts to Florida.
22. However, in spite of everything, I managed to find a place for myself in Florida and made some good friends. I became very involved in BBYO there.
23. I hated school in Florida, however, and was able to graduate at the half year, in January. Then I found a terrible job working at an insurance agency as a secretarial-type person.
24. My grades in high school weren't so great, and I wasn't able to get into many of the colleges I applied to. I got into Boston University, so that's where I went.
25. My first roommate in college, or possibly our suitemate, stole money from me. This didn't make for a very collegial relationship.
26. I realized after a year at B.U. that it wasn't the place for me, but it took a whole other year to get out.
27. I transferred to Oberlin College, which was a much better fit for me. I got involved there with an organization called SIC.
28. The first few months at Oberlin I had an intense relationship with a boy there, and then after Christmas break he came back to school with his girlfriend. This was not fun.
29. My senior year at Oberlin was better. I had a steady boyfriend and I really thought that he might be the person I would eventually marry.
30. He wasn't.
31. I lived at home for a year after college. I worked at Planned Parenthood as a family planning counselor.
32. Then I went to grad school for a year at Penn State to study Counselor Education.
33. Then I moved back to Boston. For good.
34. My 20s pretty much sucked.
35. I got back into Israeli Dancing in my late 20s, met a boyfriend there, and became involved in an informal Jewish religious group called a Chavurah. This really helped to shape my life. Things were looking up.
36. My next boyfriend turned out to be my husband.
37. We have been together for 17 years, married for 12.
38. We have a 9 year old son, who is wonderful, full of energy, and completely exhausting.
39. My 30s were much better than my 20s, and my 40s seem pretty good so far.
40. I just bought an iPod! (well, 2 years ago) It's really amazing!
41. I think it's hysterical that the 3 of us each have a toy computer: my son has his Game Boy, my husband has his Garmin (it's a tiny GPS), and I have my iPod.
42. Sometimes we are all using computers at the same time and we aren't communicating with each other at all. Sometimes I think it's kind of sad.
43. I listen to music that is pretty old, and pretty folk-y, by today's standards: James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Carole King. You could say I was living in the past. You could say that.
44. My all-time favorite musician is called Noa (or Achinoam Nini). She is Israeli and American. She has the most amazing voice I have ever heard.
45. I also love a folk duo called Neal and Leandra. My husband and I have seen them three times on our anniversary. They share our anniversary by one day, so we feel a kind of connection with them. Leandra has the most amazing voice, different from Noa's, but still amazing.
46. I love to shop online.
47. I love to shop in stores as well. My favorite thing, though, is to look through catalogs and then buy things on the internet.
48. I usually buy things on sale. Although I don't love to comparison shop ad infinitum.
49. I can be quite shy, and I hate to call people I don't know on the phone, and sometimes to even talk to them in person.
50. I love to take baths. Hot bubble baths. And I like to read in the bath. That's what I do when I'm feeling tired or stressed or cold.
51. I like to have a glass of chardonnay in the late afternoon.
52. I don't like talking on the phone, but I do like getting together with friends in person.
53. I like email a lot.
54. Occasionally I will write actual letters, instead of email, which often surprises people.
55. I like to do artistic things like drawing and scrapbooking and quilting and sewing, and I don't really care about how good I am or not.
56. I don't like skiing, in any form, although I have done it in the past. I find it to be terrifying.
57. I like to exercise once I'm doing it. I don't like to think about exercising.
58. I like having massages and facials and pedicures. I do this about once a year.
59. I like the idea of traveling, but traveling with my family is very stressful.
60. I love to cook, and I'm getting pretty good at it.
61. I love chocolate, and also avocados, and things that are salty and spicy.
62. I can eat an entire bag of Doritos in one sitting. I try not to do this often, however.
63. I can eat a bag of potato chips with a bowl of onion dip in one sitting, also something I try not to do very often.
64. I usually crave chocolate once my son has gone to sleep. It's best not to have a lot of chocolate in the house, for this reason.
65. My husband and I have been trying to eat a healthier diet recently. It's kind of working.
66. I drink quite a bit of coffee. Sometimes, I just have to have a Starbucks coffee.
67. I also drink Canada Dry Ginger Ale quite a bit. I think I'm addicted to it.
68. Did I mention Chardonnay?
69. I don't really like drinking plain water, even though I know that it's healthy.
70. And I will not drink a glass of milk. Ever.
71. I like half-and-half or cream in my coffee, not milk.
72. I had terrible morning sickness when I was pregnant with my son, and I couldn't stand the smell of coffee the entire time I was pregnant. The day after he was born, I was back on coffee.
73. I didn't really like being pregnant as much as I thought I would.
74. Giving birth wasn't anything like I thought it would be.
75. Being a mother is also nothing like I thought it would be.
76. This train of thought (pregnancy, motherhood, etc.) will take much more than 100 items to get through, so I'll move on to something else now...
77. When I am working (at a job), I have to get out of my work clothes as soon as I get home. I put on sweats and a fuzzy top. This helps me relax.
78. I am so happy that jeans now sit below the waist. They are much more comfortable that way.
79. I also love the fact that jeans stretch. Again, more comfortable.
80. I have never experimented with drugs. I find this somewhat embarrassing.
81. I'm only at 80? This is harder than I thought.
82. I am a Cancer, and I fit the Cancer profile pretty well: moody, emotional, loves water.
83. I have never been to a fortune teller, but I am curious. Also fearful of what she might say.
84. I have had the same hairdresser for 18 years. He's the only person in the world who understands my hair.
85. I probably should color my hair, but I don't. I have quite a bit of gray in the front.
86. Did I mention that I'm 47? And a half?
87. I don't feel my age. I don't think I look my age. 50 is the new 30, right?
88. I thought "The Time Traveler's Wife" was a fantastic book.
89. I would love to write a novel, but I can hardly finish short stories, so a novel might be pushing it.
90. I usually end up reading a lot of non-fiction, about parenting, Judaism, feminism, and the like.
91. I should read more fiction.
92. I should read more, period. I should spend less time at the computer. Hah!
93. I don't know how to drive a standard.
94. I don't understand football.
95. My 9-year-old understands football much better than I do, and that scares me, somehow.
96. I recently was diagnosed with breast cancer. I am about to start down this new road...
97. I need to work on being more patient with my family.
98. I need to work on being more appreciative of my husband.
99. I need to exercise more.
100. I need to call my friends more often.