Thursday Thirteen #1 (the virgin edition)

Thirteen Things about getting to know Me. 1. I work as an engineer (click on word for full definition) but I have no degree in engineering (its in psychology) and I don't drive a train nor am in charge of anything with an engine. 2. I am currently in the middle of working on my MBA degree, but taking a break since baby #3 was born. I plan to start up again in January. 3. I have two dogs that were supposed to be small and calm. They are neither small nor calm and are free to a good home...(kidding - they will get old someday). 4. I have had lots of other pets through the years (I love animals) which include cats (and many kittens - need to spay and neuter folks!), fish (which I cannot keep alive), parrakeets and ferrets (which are tons of fun but smell, are hard to clean up after and bite...hmm...doesn't sound all that fun, what was I thinking). 5. My latest hobby (besides working on this blog) is photography. I love my new camera and I use it all the time but I am a terrible photographer and don't know how to use Photoshop. I need classes for both (which will fit into my schedule in between not driving a train and my non-existant MBA program and taking care of three kids). 5. I have an odd obsession with pens. I love them, all shapes, sizes and colors. I have to keep myself away from the supply closet at work cause I would take a new pen every day. 6. We have a love affair with our electronics. We have a TV in the family room, the kitchen (which while in the kitchen you can see the TV in the family room), our bedroom, the kids playroom, in our camper and an HD widescreen 55" in the basement. We have a Tivo and a DVR which is the best invention next to electricity and running water. We have a desktop, two laptops and a desktop for the kids. We own three cell phones between the two of us (OK, one is a work phone). And each of our cars has a DVD entertainment system so that the kids stop annoying us on long drives about how green the trees are. 7. My favorite holiday is Halloween. I love the colors, the spookiness, the costumes and the smells of fall. Mostly I love fall and Halloween is in the middle of that great season. 8. We are Jewish and celebrate Hanukkah but we don't keep Kosher, have Shabbat dinners or go to Temple. We are sending Z to Hebrew school this fall so he can learn all about the wonderful customs of being Jewish and then re-teach us since we have forgotten. 9. My husband does 90% of the cooking in the house which is great for me cause I barely know how to boil water. Well, ok, that's a stretch but I can make two things - soup (limited to Matzoh Ball and split pea) and microwavable..well..anything microwavable. We don't cook at home much mostly cause we are terrible planners and don't want to think ahead about thawing something out of the freezer so we tend to bring in take out often (hehe bring in take out..). 10. The things that I love: my family, where I live (although I could stand to have a larger bathroom for the kids and a sunroom and maybe a little less land so that my hubby isn't mowing as much...the grass is always greener, eh?), my new camera (did I mention that one already?), XM radio so I don't have to listen to commericals, shopping for baby/kids stuff cause there are so many neat new gadets out that there I love to look at and my electric doors on my minivan (we had to break down and get one since we didn't know another better vehicle to fit three car seats. Once the kids grow out of them the minivan is a gonner!) 11. Things that annoy me: people who don't know how to merge onto the highway and will ride out in the merge lane until they practically fall off the road before moving over, cashiers who give your change back to you bills first and then coins so that the coins can fall all over the ground at the drive through - you should always put the coins in my hand first, people who look at me like I have 6 heads when I tell them I have 3 kids, when my son doesn't listen to me when I am talking to him - he is like a brick wall and people who give you advise on how to be a parent (especially those who haven't had little kids in forever). 12. I clean up my house the night before the cleaning people come (every other Wednesday night). I go through a cleaning frenzy to put everything in its place so that the cleaning people can find the floors to vacuum and the counters to wipe cause if there is just a little bit of something laying out they will clean around said object. Its a total PITA and I stress about it so much every other week that I am considering cancelling the service and cleaning the toilets myself, but then the house would never get cleaned so I suck it up deal. 13. I am actually quite shy. One of the other greatest inventions of all time is email and IM. Its a way for those of us who hate talking on the phone to communicate with people we feel uncomfortable talking to. That said, I never answer my phone at home unless its my husband.