I've been thinking. I should probably start to tell you folks a little about myself. Let's just call this the "Getting to Know Me" post. Probably one of my more interesting facets is the fact that I speak Spanish at a native level. What's particularly interesting about this is that I do not come from a Hispanic background, did not grow up in a Spanish Speaking country or neighborhood, and I was born in the good ole' US of A. Let me tell you my language ability is a gift on SO MANY LEVELS! I also have a profound interest in Language Study. I'd like to take on at least two additional languages by the time I hit 40. I have this gift for picking up on new languages very quickly and I'm very talented at tongue wrangling (it's not nearly as sexy as it sounds -though it certainly could be, depending on the conversation ;). By tongue wrangling (my own Special terminology) I just mean that I very easily master the native accent, inflection, and emphasis in pronunciation.

Another talent of mine is cooking. I absolutely LOVE to cook. I find it incredibly relaxing -it is my solace. NOT SO MUCH the clean up part though. I can actually taste something at a restaurant, church supper, friend's house, whatever and then later duplicate it at home -often with improvements. I rarely measure anything out; just toss a little of this and a little of that into the post. I've some terrific cookbooks, but I just look at them for ideas and inspiration -they're rarely perfectly suited to my tastes. And I'm not a cooking snob -I love Baked Macaroni and Cheese equally as well as a good Penne patience or Flounder Franchaise.

I'm also pretty artistic. My artistic interests run from ordinary arts and crafts to interior decorating -special wall treatments, painting, etc. Trading Spaces was once my favorite show -especially since they'll pay off your mortgage (I don't know who's butt I wouldn't kiss for that, though there are limits), but now I have so many more of my own ideas and creative touches that I've been tempted to go to school for interior design (like I have time -I'm a slave to my blog folks). I love photography too, though there was time when I really didn't consider that art.

I read voraciously. And I seem to delve into every genre there is -from Wacky Douglas Adams (God Rest His Soul) to James Patterson to the Classics to the Sunday Comics and Charlie's Blog over at http://wherethehellwasi.com (see my Jolly Cholly link below).

I have newly immersed myself in an absolute love of being a Domestic Goddess. I've taken up sewing with plans to recover furniture, create a window seat for our bay window, make all of our pajamas and some of our street clothes. I plan to get back to crocheting and learn quilting.

I'm in love with the Americana from 1920s to 1950s and have begun collecting a number of things.

I used to work in Human Resources, so if you ever want a little interview or resume advice let me know in my comments links. I'm glad I left it, but only because of the unbelievable hours I was putting in every day.

I have a short temper and no patience whatsoever. I'm often heard chanting, "Come on already, comeonalready, c'monalready, c'mon", whether it be to the computer, the moron in front of me who needs 10 minutes to make a right turn, or my husband who is never ready to go when I am. I probably should have a cable modem, but I'm just too cheap to pay double -so I'll still be chanting 'til the prices come down.

I live in Florida -in the middle of nowhere. My entire county is almost all farms and ranches, we have more feed stores and tractor supply centers than we do grocery stores and retail centers. THERE IS NO MALL, NO MOVIE THEATER, NO DUNKIN' DONUTS, NO STARBUCKS, NO life -woops, did I say that? Actually I do love it here, but it's extremely hard to adjust to driving 45 minutes or more to everything worthwhile. I grew up in New Jersey, where you walk out the door and you're already where you were going. Oh, and there's the added advantage of driving behind all of the retirees who come down here and insist upon driving ten to fifteen mph BELOW the speed limit -I AM NOT KIDDING. I just know one day I'm going to completely lose it and write them my own version of a ticket. I'm inevitably stuck behind them in a no passing zone, or in the far left lan of the Interstate with no opportunity to go around them on the right. It's like they look at those speed limit signs and say, "Oh no (George/Martha/Methuseleh/Whatever), can you believe they want us to go 70 mph on the Interstate? That's much too fast! Let's teach these kids that the only safe speed is 30 mph." I guess you can tell from my verbosity on this subject, that I'm ready for the snowbirds to go home.

Ah, I guess you've learned enough (or quite possibly too much -wouldn't want to drive away the readers I don't even have yet) about me already today. Time permitting I may drop in for a second post later; otherwise see ya tomorrow. Same bat blog. Same bat URL.