Would I really do that to you?

Decidedly not.

I like this new blogging custom of listing a number of facts about yourself corresponding to your age. But there's one downside to my age; I would bore us both if I listed 37 facts about myself! So here are 29, which is still an awful lot of information to disclose.

1. My father is a professor of soils. Yes, he studies dirt.
2. I was born is Seattle where my father was doing his graduate work.
3. We also lived in Vancouver, Philadelphia, and then settled in Madison, Wisconsin, when I was five or six years old.
4. Until I was about eleven, we lived mostly in university housing, which is a wonderfully diverse international experience. At a very young age I had friends from all over the world.
5. I developed a fascination with all things Japanese when I was eight or nine due to our Japanese neighbors. I hope to learn Japanese someday; teaching myself is not going well.
6. For several years we had a real milkman. He actually delivered milk to our back door several mornings each week. He was the last of a generation, I think.
7. I have four younger sisters. Christy (the youngest) and I are almost 14 years apart.
8. My mother sewed many clothes for me when I was growing up. She made me two prom dresses, countless day dresses, once sewed a pair of designer jeans, and made many clothes based on sketches or descriptions I gave her. When I was old enough, I selected the patterns and the fabric for my clothes and she made them.
9. I learned to sew by watching my Mom, but I didn't actually make anything until one summer in college when the family was travelling and I had the house to myself.
10. I love to swim, but I'm too lazy to do my own workouts. I swim with a Masters coach who pushes me really hard and corrects my technique.
11. In the nearly 15 years we've lived in NYC, I've worked as an editor for a publishing house, an equity analyst on Wall Street, and a clothing designer. One friend teases me that I've worked in all the primary New York industries. I counter by saying I've never worked in real estate and don't plan to do so.
12. I fought against working in fashion because I was afraid it would be a superficial, back-biting industry full of self-centered people. I'm pleased to say I was only partially correct, and I've met many wonderful people in the industry. I'm especially happy I finally caved and worked in a field that I enjoy so much.
13. I love coffee, but caffeine does funny things to me.
14. My father's mother, before she got married, was a clothing designer for a dressmaker in Chicago.
15. I can read while walking, and often do when the baby is napping. We go for long walks with the Bjorn or the stroller, and I read novels on the way. We often get funny looks from people.
16. My parents own a book entitled The Strong-Willed Child, and from an early age I knew it was about me. It's probably time for me to read it now that the baby is starting her own tantrums (already!).
17. My father has made 14 trips to Antarctica for research. He took the first trip when I was a baby; he just returned from his most recent trip a couple of weeks ago.
18. Apparently there is a mountain in Artarctica named after my father.
19. I once crashed my scooter on Fifth Avenue, right in front of the library on 42nd Street, and I have a big scar on my elbow to prove it. I was wearing a skirt at the time; it must have been quite a sight for all the bystanders!
20. I was an expert babysitter in junior high, high school and college. I had lots of experience, with so many younger sisters.
21. One of my sisters loved animals and named every one of her hamsters Coco. We had successive Cocos at our house for many years.
22. Pre-baby, our favorite vacations were backpacking trips; it's the perfect antidote to living in a big city.
23. If I could live anywhere besides New York, I would choose Tokyo or Paris.
24. My Grandmother was Martha Stewart before Martha was Martha. She had her own craft show on television, hosted her own radio program, travelled world-wide teaching needle arts, was an amazing cook (German food, mainly), made and sold jewelry, organized neighborhood get-togethers, and founded the public library in her town. She still knits, quilts, and does a lot of needlework. I think she's a fascinating person. And yes, she's the same Grandma who worked as a fashion designer. We have a lot of fun together.
25. I love ballet and good drama, but I have no appreciation for opera or musicals.
26. I had to cancel my Netflix membership because it's too difficult to read subtitles while sewing or knitting. But I'm practicing knitting in the dark, so maybe someday I can watch and knit simultaneoulsy.
27. I minored in French at college but still wouldn't call myself fluent. It's something I'm working to improve.
28. I think really visually and can pick things up really easily, but I'm not sure I can always explain things as well. I'd love to be a good teacher. Maybe that's something else I can work on.
29. I love to travel, but I can just as easily spend an entire day without leaving the house, especially if I'm working on a project.