10 Things you didn't know....

Recently, I was with a group of friends, you know, just chatting about the usual things a group of women talk about when they get together (men, kids, men, shoes, kids, shopping, food, men, kids....) and out of the blue, a mutual acquaintance turns to me and asked me if I liked anything other than coffee, wine and sleep.

Um, what? 

Apparently I come across as something of a shallow individual who is also obsessed with coffee, wine and sleep to those who don't know me personally. Yes, I admit, I do love a good cup of coffee. And I have been known to literally swoon over a glass of wine. As for sleep... well who DOESN'T like sleep?

But it made me wonder, is that how everyone sees me? So to put an end to those nasty rumors, here is a list of ten things that you probably didn't know that I love (outside the obvious ones, like Little P and M, my family and friends, and yes, coffee, wine and sleep).

1. I 'heart' Music - pretty much anything (aside from hard core heavy metal. Just can't do it). If it has a good beat it works.
2. I adore the Ballet (and Broadway Musicals, and one act plays - actually pretty much anything to do with the theater and dancing, I'm pretty much down for).
   
3. I love Art - all kinds of it. One of my favorite things to do when we lived in Manhattan was to browse the little art galleries. 
4. I am totally an apologetically in love with Books. Two of my all-time favorite gifts are reading related - The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll that my Nan gave to me for my 13th birthday and a Kindle that M gave to me the Christmas before Little P was born.
5. I just love listening to M play guitar. Gives me goose bumps every time - he doesn't play as much as he used to, but I make the most of it every time he does.

   

   And soon, I'll get to listen to Little P play

6. I love me a good animated flick. Adore cartoons, and animation in general.
7. I heart Christian Slater - sorry babe, but you know it's true. My one high school celebrity crush has remained solid through all these years.
8. Chocolate (especially Aussie chocolate), how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
9. Shoes. Need I say more?
10. And I love to travel - there is just so much to see in the world, and I haven't seen nearly enough of it. Italy, Greece, Spain.... the list goes on.

See? More to me than just coffee, alcohol and sleep. I swear.

So, there you have it. For some of you, not so surprising. As for the rest of you, see, I'm not such a 'one dimensional' person after all. 

I have depth, dammit.

K

Base Camp - Mt. Impossible

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, I just know that one day, I looked at what I was carrying and realized all I needed was a furry hat and the backdrop of Mt. Everest and I would look exactly like a sherpa.

Yup - just like this
(Credit - Google)

I'm serious. The amount of stuff I was carrying, just to get out the door and get Little P in the car was mounting on the ridiculous. I had one diaper bag, which had the usual suspects in it (diapers, wipes, snacks etc.), a blanket (because apparently Little P had to have that with her), one Snoopy, one Minnie Mouse, one Mickey Mouse, one Violet and her two babies, Lulu and Sally. Not to mention the two jackets (one for me, one for her), my car keys, my wallet, my phone and a bottle of water for me. If I had anything else on me I think I would have fallen over not just from the weight of it all, but also from sheer exhaustion.

It's funny. People tell you that as your little ones get older, it gets easier to get them out and about. Well I call bullsh*t on that one. Big time. When Little P was just a wee baby, all I needed was her in the baby carrier and my diaper bag. That's it. Out the door and away we went. Now, you tell me how it's easier to get a moveable object, that a) insists on not moving, b) when it's ready to move will only do so under the strictest of conditions (that being Mommy has to carry all of the above mentioned items) and c) if these conditions are not met, you may as well give up the idea of going anywhere and go take a nap.

Trust me, I've tried to go out with just a few things in a bag, telling her that her 'friends' all needed to take a nap and that 'big girls don't need to take their blankets with them'. And what inevitably happens is that I get somewhere and realize that I'm either a) out of diapers (thankfully I keep a stash of those and wipes in the car these days - who says an old dog can't learn new tricks?), b) she wants the one snack I didn't bring or c) melt downs occur because the one friend I insisted that we leave at the house was the only thing that would have prevented said melt down.

Some may say I'm a 'push over'. That I 'give in too easily'. And that might be true. But I tell you what, when it comes down to having an enjoyable drive with a happy munchkin singing away to her little friends in the back seat, snacking on Gold Fish or Cheerios (or both) and telling me she's having a 'good day', I'll take being a push over any day over having a screaming child who thinks I'm subjecting her to cruel and unusual punishment.

So, you super Mommies out there that can get away with your tiny little bag when you go out with your little one, hat's off to you....but guess who is the first person you will come looking for when you need wipes, or hand santizer, or maybe a snack or two? That's right, me, Little Miss Push Over.

K