Today is all about ME!

It's my birthday today...I'm 49, I think. Here I've been thinking that I'm about to turn 48, then my friend Beth (who just turned 50) sternly reminded me that I'm actually 48 already. Hey, whatEVER.

Anyway! With the back-to-back birthdays in our house, I usually celebrate mine quietly and with a celebration later...after we've finished Caroline's birthday cake!

So today, I'm celebrating with a day of indulgences... Coffee with The Gilmore Girls (I'm in Season 4 and Rory has just arrived at Yale), a morning of sewing on my new piece (soon to be revealed!), sushi for lunch with my good friend Jenny, some leisurely reading in the new novel by Anne River Siddons (one of my favorite authors whose newest book auspiciously arrived at the library in time for me to start it last night), and a poached salmon dinner prepared by Roger.

And now, because it appears to be the Bloggish thing to do, here are 49 things about me that you might not know:

1. I am a third-generation Californian.

2. I don’t like to eat breakfast until I’ve been up for at least an hour.

3. I like daytime tv better than prime-time tv.

4. I get most of my news from National Public Radio. And I like it that way.

5. I read the New Yorker cover to cover, but usually a week or two after it arrives in the mail.

6. I like the IDEA of martinis and I like the LOOK of martinis but I don’t like martinis.

7. I have the straightest hair of anyone I’ve ever met, no matter what I try to do to it.

8. I believe that speaking out and getting involved really can make a difference in the world.

9. I won a creative writing prize in kindergarten, even though I couldn’t write...I dictated.

10. I can only remember one joke at a time.

11. I love to write with fountain pens.

12. The smell of mushrooms sauteeing nauseates me.

13. I used to wake up on Christmas mornings hoping to find a Cocker Spaniel next to my bed.

14. I like ordinary domestic milk chocolate better than fancy gourmet chocolate.

15. I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt.

16. I love novels told in the first person narrative style.

17. I love turtleneck sweaters, but at this age (ahem) and in this climate I don’t wear them nearly as often as I used to.

18. I moved to New Hampshire without knowing anyone there because I wanted to live in a snowy climate.

19. I never got enough snow, no matter how long winter was.

20. I’d love to have a pink bedroom with flowery chinz fabrics. But my husband wouldn’t, so we don’t.

21. I used to be intimidated about traveling in foreign countries, but then we went to China to adopt Caroline...And since traveling with a new baby for two weeks there, I feel like I could go anywhere.

22. I believe that families are made by love and respect.

23. I wouldn’t be who I am without the great friends I have.

24. I love to eat breakfast foods for dinner.

25. I’d love to travel to Cornwall, England.

26. I can waste an embarrassing amount of time playing computer games, but I try not to...too often, anyway.

27. When I was in high school, I wanted to be a veterinarian. And then I read "All Things Great and Small" and learned that vets have to put their arms up the rear ends of horses and cows.

28. I went to law school thinking that I probably wouldn’t like being a lawyer. When I started working, I was pleasantly surprised.

29. I don’t like to argue, which made working as a litigation attorney especially stressful.

30. I have always had a hard time remembering how old I am.

31. When I was in college, Paul Newman spoke to me. Unfortunately, I was too astonished to say anything back.

32. I find the saying "I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous" to be extremely funny.

33. I believe that we draw the things we need to us in life.

34. I want to take piano lessons some day.

35. I believe that I can figure out how to do most things if I can read about it.

36. I really hate going into the reptile house at the zoo and will only do so if I absolutely have to.

37. I like cinnamon in my coffee.

38. I need a bit of alone time every day...without it I get crazed.

39. I have more patience than I think I do.

40. I’m very calm when things go wrong or problems arise.

41. It’s important to me to stay in touch with my friends.

42. I love to watch BBC television shows, especially the dramatic series.

43. If I didn’t live in the U.S., I would want to live in the U.K.

44. I need to have my shoulders covered when I sleep.

45. I believe that people and animals we have known and loved live on somewhere and watch over us.

46. I believe that the creative process feeds me.

47. I think having lots of books around is necessary to a happy and comfortable home.

48. I love looking at other people’s family albums and home movies.

49. I’m very, very happy with the life I have.