10 things . . .

November 4, 2010

you may or may not known about me.
i am ambivalent about writing autobiographical lists like this. on the one hand, it feels rather self-indulgent and assuming – as in, “i am assuming that you care about the minutia and little quirks that make me me.”

however, i absolutely LOVE it when others write posts like this (recent examples: gracie and amanda), because i get to learn a little bit more about what makes these lovely ladies tick. i mean, if you really find me alllll that boring, you probably wouldn’t be reading this right now (unless you are “hate following” . . . which i sincerely hope you are not!).

so. enjoy! and feel free to write your 10 things and let me know about it, or leave just a taste in the comments!

past
i have ridiculously bad eyesight (before you protest that you do, too, my contact lens prescription is -11.5 and -12.0, which is about as high as my acuvues come in). i wore coke bottle glasses until age 12, when i was liberated from the torture of a) looking like an owl and b) having something breakable on my face at all times (not good when your favorite sport is gymnastics). i like to blame my poor sense of direction on bad vision during my earliest years, though i have no idea if there is actually any correlation.

these are the thinnest, least offensive glasses i have ever owned. i heart them!
i didn’t used to be this organized. in fact, i was pretty much a disaster in elementary school (born 20 years later, i think ADHD medications may have been considered . . .). i still vividly remember the horrifying experience of having my extremely messy desk dumped out into the hallway in second grade for all to see as i sifted through its voluminous contents. (so MEAN! but maybe it worked.)

i wonder what mrs. stein would think of my desk NOW.
prior to this blog, i was an avid diarist. i filled volumes up with carefully written entries, including lists, which have always been a favorite (in fourth grade, the standard list was “my top 5 friends”, an assortment that shuffled at an alarming rate). i also had a an old electric typewriter in my room on which i would pound out “fiction” — usually very long and wordy pieces about a girl that was pretty much me, only in an exotic place (england or australia), and with lots of money and better hair.

present
i am left-handed! so are both of my parents (well, my mom is sort of half-lefty, writing with her left but eating with her right) and my sister.

i am SUCH a morning person. well, you’ve probably figured that out based on the timing of my posts. this morning i actually did an hour of work on my grant starting at 4:30AM — for me, this was preferable to 9PM last night! my brain just works better at the beginning of the day. maybe it’s the coffee.

my top 5 foods/beverages in order are: peanut butter, coffee, pizza, frozen yogurt, and champagne. since they did not make top 5 (sorry, healthy livers!), my favorite fruit is the strawberry and top vegetable is probably bell pepper or broccoli.

it’s no wonder i have trouble deviating from my standard breakfast

it’s 6:24 AM and i’m already running late for the gym! how’s that for in the moment?

future
i have already named 2/3 of our kids. furthermore, i have decided the order in which i will bear them (because i SO have control over this, right?). first will be cara, then will be lily, and then will be a boy (name TBD, but i guess i’ll let josh lead the reins on this one). (depending on how long it takes to get this whole reproduction thing underway, i may dial this number down to 2. but that is my minimum!)

top 5 places i would like to travel include: scandinavia (sweden, iceland, and denmark), new zealand, japan, the greek islands, and back to hawaii (we were there for our honeymoon — i’d like to go to back to maui + see kauai!). i also have this fantasy of having our kids pick out U.S. destinations to visit together. i have historical sites and the grand canyon in mind, but somehow i get the feeling that orlando would be a popular choice.

josh and i plan on moving to miami in ~2.5 years so that he can join practice with his father, also a vascular (and general) surgeon. this has been in the plans since josh and i started dating in 2002, and i can’t believe it’s finally getting to seem real!

yeah, my name’s on there. that’s cool; if anyone really wanted to figure this out, it wouldn’t be hard!
happiness help
thank you for all of your comments yesterday — and not one of you said what i probably deserved, which is: “dude, he’s going to be gone for A WEEK. that is nothing; suck it up and be a big girl!”. you all very gently helped me find perspective; sorry for what i now realize was a ridiculously whiny post!

i liked yesterday’s happiness project post, 13 tips for dealing with a really lousy day. my favorites:

resist the urge to ‘treat’ yourself. because the quick high (“all RIIIIGHT, ice cream!”) will likely be followed by an even lower low as guilt gets added to the negative feelings that were already there.

find inner peace through outer order. just a simple clean-up or organization of a drawer can lead to a feeling of accomplishment that can be much-needed sometimes. moping around by myself, i did this one last night and it definitely helped.

write it down oh YEAH. as you may have gathered, writing about something negative (and strategizing about how to fix it!) is so incredibly therapeutic to me.

be grateful. gretchen rubin can be grateful that she is gretchen rubin, a famous writer worth about a jillion dollars. but really, i have just as much to be grateful about: health, family, my loved ones, and the beauty of orla kiely‘s fall line are all things to be appreciated. if you are reading this, you at least have internet access and time to read blogs — both worth celebrating! i would like to remember to be thankful more often . . . it certainly can’t hurt.

8 Comments

  • Reply lee March 10, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    I&#39m left-handed too. That&#39s my sneak tidbit about myself. I think I should do a post like this too. I am also late for work!

    Will your kids have a hypenated last name or just take Josh&#39s? How does that work?

  • Reply Amanda K March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    Sarah, thank you so much for the love 🙂 I really enjoyed reading this post, thanks for sharing with us. I thinking blogging is very natural for those of us who used to, and sometimes still do, write in diaries. I love looking back at what I had written and remembering what was important to me at the time.
    BTW I&#39m sure you&#39re doing great with the grant writing, but if you need any help I&#39m here. I don&#39t do medical related grants but I have done a million others and there is a lot of carryover:)

  • Reply Amy March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    Sarah–

    I had to comment on the eyesight thing… My contact prescription is very similar to yours (L: -12 and R: -11) and I often get the "oh, my vision is terrible too" comment, only to find out that their script is something like -4.5 🙂

    I am indeed very thankful for technology that allows for contacts (and somewhat thinner glasses than we both had growing up) that let me function normally w/o headaches, etc.!

  • Reply Susannah March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    Ok, having read your blog for a year (or is it 2 now???), I am SHOCKED by the horrible desk story!! You are living proof that people can change:) Also, WOW about your eventual Miami plans….how are you ever going to wear Anthro sweaters???
    A few fun facts about me: I am 4&#399.5" but no one has ever guessed under 5 ft…after many years I&#39ve come to the conclusion that people don&#39t realize that adults can be that short:). I have a 14 month old son who looks like a total and complete combination of my husband and my SISTER. I swear he&#39s mine. I love, love love to cook and will let the bathroom get unlivable before I&#39ll take time away from the kitchen to clean it.

  • Reply da March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    Don&#39t forget, I&#39m only half left-handed, too. I do fine-motor activities like writing and eating with my left hand, and heavier activities like hammering a nail and throwing a ball with my right hand. I guess, in your case (and Rebecca&#39s), two left-handed halves added up to a left-handed whole!
    L, da

  • Reply Samantha March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    I have to take Organic and Biological Chemistry. It&#39s all one class so I&#39m not sure if it&#39s any different than just the Organic Chemistry. I hope it is and I hope it&#39s easier because I&#39m just in regular chemistry now and boy is it a struggle!! My favorite class so far has been sports nutrition. That class made me change my major to dietetics so I can be a sports dietitian!

    Love your list and I want to say that one of my future kids is also going to be lily, but actually named lilian rose. I liked lily and the boyfriend loved lilian rose together. hah, guess we like flowers? Even though I&#39m not a fan of roses, the name just flows so nicely! 😀

  • Reply Susan March 10, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    Ah, someone with eyes worse than mine! My contacts are -7&#39s…I know what my glasses look like, so I can only imagine what yours would be like!

    For some reason, I really can&#39t picture you living in Miami, but that might be because I&#39ve always known you as a NC girl.

  • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    katie: omg, we are TWINS! i guess the good ol&#39 desk trick works 🙂

    fellow lefties + blindies: yay! i feel less alone in the world. melissa, they still make my eyes look like little beads (and i only wear them @ home!). but they are LESS offensive than any others i have had, in that the lens does not stick out like an inch from the frame! they are a very small design (because the smaller, the less a strong lens has to flare out) and i got the thinnest possible — and they cost upwards of $700. but i got them 3 years ago and they are still fine, so i definitely think it was worth it!!

  • Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.