Last year about this time, everybody was posting 100 things about themselves. In true Tiffany fashion, I really glommed onto the idea and not only did it, but asked everybody in my life to do the same. I find this exercise absolutely fascinating and an incredible way to get to know people.
I remember thinking at the time that it would be fun to do the practice every year and see what changes and what remains the same. How many of our “things” are transient and how many are ingrained into our very beings? I started to read my old list this morning, but stopped after just a few. I want my list today to be fresh and not influenced by last year.
Here goes. One year older and wiser(?):
1. I am nursing my big toe, trying to avoid an ingrown toenail. (Thanks, Autumn, for your advice!)
2. Despite everything I know about myself, I have a dog.
3. January is my least favorite month.
4. The first thing I do every morning is check my e-mail.
5. The next thing I do is read blogs.
6. I think Sharpie markers are amazing, especially the fine point ones.
7. There is something wrong with my dryer. It makes a knocking sound and the heating element is dying. And the main knob fell off.
8. Ryan is disgusted with how fast I go through dryers.
9. I like being warm.
10. I love to laugh.
11. I love Crock Pot recipes.
12. I feel insecure lately, wishing for external validation. I’m not usually like this and it’s bothering me.
13. I feel strongly about being an informed voter.
14. I love to hear people tell about their lives and experiences.
15. I think Larry King has the most fascinating job in the world.
16. I hate PMS.
17. I yearn for summer.
18. I love eating out.
19. I love sweatshirts with hoods.
20. I love scarfs.
21. I love skirts and cute heels.
22. When I’m with Ryan’s family, I start talking in their unique little drawl. It used to drive me nuts, but it happens without me realizing.
23. I love Ryan’s family and I’m glad I feel part of them.
24. I love my family, too. When I’m with my family, I want to be funny. I love to make them laugh.
25. There is no better breakfast food than a german pancake.
26. One of my goals for my thirties is to travel more—all over. (Especially Utah now!)
27. I love tucking my kids in at night.
28. I feel bad about not having a lot of interest in Christian’s sports obsession.
29. I am determined to snow ski before we move away.
30. One of my favorite TV shows is the CBS Sunday Morning News. They always have such interesting stories about American life.
31. I think there is only one thing holding me back from my full potential and that thing is me.
32. Getting my child to practice the piano is one of my least favorite parts of being an adult.
33. I don’t read as many novels as I want to.
34. I appreciate my parents more than I ever have in my life (and I have always appreciated them).
35. I believe that investing in a good mattress is worth it.
36. I wish I could go back to the day I picked up my toenail fungus and not pick it up.
37. I am so excited for Ryan and his career.
38. Sometimes I think I under-react to Ryan’s accomplishments because I have so much confidence in him; nothing really surprises me.
39. Living in my current neighborhood has been difficult. I have never felt like I belonged here.
40. I really, really love to vacuum.
41. I love smart, well-written movies.
42. I love dumb, tween TV shows.
43. I don’t watch American Idol and never have.
44. I was always afraid of being kidnapped as a child.
45. I was also afraid of being buried alive in earthquake rubble.
46. I worried about a lot of things I couldn’t control.
47. I told my boss today that I’m moving.
48. I hate the smell of stinky breath. (Totally unique, huh?)
49. For some reason, I think of myself as a lazy person, but I’m not.
50. I make really good chicken salad.
51. I love road trips.
52. I love fries.
53. I love Baked Doritos.
54. I am not romantic.
55. If I am the passenger in the car, I pay no attention to where we are going.
56. If I am the driver of the car, I pay close attention.
57. I’m a sucker for polka dots.
58. I love music with thoughtful lyrics that is easy to sing along to. Add an acoustic guitar and I’m sold.
59. I was accidentally left at a gas station in Las Vegas when I was three-years-old.
60. I have no recollection of number 59, but I like to bring it up from time to time to act like I am gritty and tough.
61. I have muscly arms.
62. I’m good at rhyming. (And I have good timing.)
63. I eat too fast.
64. I can be a night owl or a morning person, though the morning stuff I had to work at.
65. I have seven siblings.
66. I would eat fresh, warm bread over freshly baked cookies any day.
67. Sadly, I think I am funnier on paper than in real life.
68. I’m a clotheshorse, but I think I’m getting more distinguished.
69. I am very concerned about what we’re doing to our planet.
70. I could do a lot more to help with number 69.
71. I cannot bake to save my life.
72. I am sincere.
73. I refuse to watch scary movies.
74. I enjoy solitude.
75. I love that my kids are so different from each other.
76. Being a mother is nothing like I thought it would be. It’s better and harder.
77. I am always surprised to hear what people think about me without knowing me. Rarely is it accurate.
78. When I was younger, I wanted to be a Broadway actress.
79. I think New York City is intoxicating.
80. Every night Max and I tell each other stories before bed.
81. Sometimes I think I’d like to get an advance degree and then I think about the last ten years and that thought runs away to hide under a blanket.
82. I have flat feet.
83. I love to sing and wish I were better at it.
84. I love trivia and have a lot of useless information rolling around between my ears.
85. I am not nearly as attached to my current house as I am to my old one.
86. I have a thing for red shoes.
87. In the back of my head, I think I am always trying to impress Ryan.
88. Outlet shopping does not fill me with as much satisfaction as it once did.
89. I love live theatre.
90. I love live music, but in a small setting. I don’t like stadium concerts.
91. I know I could be a better friend.
92. I am a much happier person when I don’t watch the evening news.
93. When I hear of somebody’s troubles, I am always thinking of solutions. This is not always a good thing. Sometimes people just want you to listen.
94. I want to be a better parent.
95. I want to be a better wife.
96. I want to be a better writer.
97. I use a lot of lotion every day.
98. I have never been to Hawaii.
99. Sometimes I think blogging is silly and wasteful, but mostly I think it’s an incredible medium.
100. In a conversation, I’d rather hear about you than me, but I don’t want you to forget to ask about me.
Have you made your list yet? If not, you gotta! If so, do it again! Pretty please?
I too love NYC and crock pot recipes. Have you visited this blog yet?
I heart you. I also use about a gallon of lotion a day (more or less), am a total sucker for polka dots, and love cute skirts. I seriously think you should come up to Idaho and go snow skiing with me. But then again, Utah does have the greatest snow on earth, so you’d kind of be wasting that. But our ski hill has the yummiest frys I’ve ever had. And my dad gets free rentals (’cause he’s on ski patrol). But whatever, I’ll still love you even if you don’t come up.
3, 4, 5, 33, 35, 51, 69, 74, 79 and 86 – ditto
12 – me too, I blame January
22 – this kind of cracked me up when I saw it happening in December
29 – I learned to snowboard in what I thought was my last year in Utah
43 – AMEN! I thought I was the only one!
67 – not true, you are very funny in person
81- GO FOR IT!
88 – we will have to take a trip to the Woodbury Commons PREMIUM outlets after you relocate and the spark will come back!
98 – me neither
we’re so kindred! and lucky me, i did this recently, so i don’t have to do it again yet. because i’m still recovering from your brilliant Q+A idea.
ditto – 4,5,9,10,16,18,31,33,41,46,46,46,54,58,73,
74,79,83,86,90,94,95,96,99.
12 – consider yourself validated! you rock my world and are one of my favorite bloggin’ discoveries EVER! (thanks, jamianne!)
25 – you & my hubby can eat breakfast together all day long. i’ll have a banana.
27 – ugh! this is my least favorite part of the day. until it’s over. then it’s my favorite.
30 – i will have to check this out!
40 – chicky! this is where we part ways!
60 – at first i thought you meant the #59 itself. like you go straight from 58 to 60. holy crap, i’m slow.
77 – so true. i worry sometimes what people think of me.
88 – you are too right. full price is more and more in my price range, i guess. not that i don’t love a good deal!
93 – me too. i’m always ready to fix the problem. i’m a terrible listener.
28. Christian: “You know that shot, the game winning three pointer from the NBA championship in 1973? What did you think of it?”
Me: “Sorry, I wasn’t around then. I must have accidentally googled the game from ‘74. My bad.”
42. We should have a Hannah Montana Marathon day before you move.
100. Me neither
Ha! This one never gets old. I don’t think you could be a better writer, and I’m guessing you couldn’t be a better wife. I know I had responses to other ones but now I can’t remember.
I’ve always loved reruns.
You’re great! Don’t let January kill your self-esteem
Ditto on the January. I also have a thing for red shoes and want to do more for the environment and have yet to do a thing. I also feelvery kindred with you in that we share similar toe problems.
so fun to read! you should definitely come out here to learn to ski! i hear it is fabulous!
I wish I loved to vacuum, and I think you should go to Hawaii. Just don’t take your kids. My parents lost Annie there when she was about Max’s age. It wasn’t good.
Don’t worry….that really wasn’t my husband commenting. My husband overtook my computer without me knowing. Sorry.
How do you “cut and paste” your list to mine. (I love polka dots too!) Last night I was unable to sleep, and out of any type of sleep aid. Two things kept coming to my mind. The first,my mothers voice telling me, “A handful of almonds, and a glass of milk always do the trick of getting you back to sleep”. (Me, I’ll stick with the Tylenol PM.) The second image I couldn’t relieve my mind of, was Ryan leaning over the sink with the neti pot. So I wrote a little song. It goes to the famous “I’m a Little Teapot” tune.
I’m a little neti pot short and stout.
I’ve been helping Ryan rinse all his goobies out.
Clogging and tight pressure are some major clues,
Use me quick, avoid the sinus blues.
Since I really couldn’t sleep, I wrote a second verse…
I’m the little neti pot on the go.
Dr. Oz debuted me on the OPRAH show.
Cleaning people’s sinuses, that’s my job.
Refreshes! Revives! Lifts you from your nasal fog.
Thanks for sharing. I have gotten to know more about you by reading your blog (as often as I can) these last few months, than I think I did when we lived together. It’s really fun. The only thing harder than January for me is February (at least you have a birthday in there to cheer you up).
Great list. I wish we lived close (and that I actually knew you) so we could be friends.
I know that sounds creepy but it is meant in a very nice, non-creepy sort of way. 
I love your idea of doing this list every year. I did mine about 6 months ago so I will wait for a while before doing another one…
If you’re looking for external validation, please know that your blog is a treat to read, one of my faves, and that I think you are super-talented and awesome!
Although it was almost painful last time, I’ll do another 100j list just to humor you.
you are super interesting!
I don’t think I could make a list of 100 things let alone anyone read it. #93 we def have that in common.
Mmmmmm, chicken salad!