Poco-Cocoa

Can you believe it? Today marks 5 years of this little blog. It seems like just yesterday, Justin and I set it all up, using some obscure open-source blogging platform, to share our lives with far-away friends and family. It’s morphed continuously, from our daily doings to cooking at home to restaurant snapshots to photography. It’s changed as I’ve changed, and somehow, I’m still loving it.

Thank you so much to those of you who have been reading forever, and thank you to those who have just joined me. Thank you for commenting, for reading, for linking, for introducing yourselves when we somehow meet in public. Thank you so much for being here.

I think I’ll celebrate today with more me, because really, it’s all about me. 🙂

I posted 100 things about myself as I was 4 and 5 years ago here and here… here’s an update on who I am today (updates in italics).

50 Things About Me, from June 2005

1. I’ve been married 5 years and 10 months to a tall, dark, and handsome man whom I’ve loved since he first held my hand. Make that 10 1/2 years, and I love him more now then ever.
2. My favorite food is chocolate. Yep.
3. My favorite color is chocolate. Make that pink.
4. I was a vegetarian for 2 years, and am now eating some meat at restaurants, but I’m not sure how long that will last. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I love meat.
5. I walk to Whole Foods for dessert at least once a week. We haven’t done this in forever.
6. I’m a registered, licensed dietitian. Still registered, not licensed.
7. I cook decadent foods at two local bed and breakfasts. Nope… I work at a university, and I love it.
8. I don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. Sadly, this is still true.
9. I have a spoiled cat named Roux who sleeps on the bed with us. Still true, and we also have another spoiled cat named Little who also sleeps on the bed with us.
10. I don’t want children. Ever. Still true.
11. Some of my favorite movies are Amelie, You’ve Got Mail, French Kiss, and Notting Hill. Yep.
12. I like happy endings. Definitely.
13. I don’t like confrontations. Yep.
14. I live in a tiny (maybe 400 square foot?) garage apartment with my husband and my cat, and I love it. We still live here (after a short stint in Boston, and a year in a loft on Austin’s east side)! Still love it, too.
15. My favorite drink is iced water. Hmm. Make that frozen margaritas.
16. I grew up in New Mexico, and I miss the food. Yep… I seriously need to make some red chile soon.
17. I didn’t vote for Bush. Or any other Republican.
18. I have four bookshelves filled with cookbooks, two accordion folders filled with clipped recipes, a box of recipes yet to be clipped, a huge three-ring binder with tried and true recipes, tons of recipe files on the computer, and stacks of old cooking magazines. I’ve pared down my cookbooks, printed recipes, and magazines. However, my Evernote is FULL of untried recipes. 🙂
19. I love to get mail. I do!
20. I love rain. Yep.
21. My favorite season is autumn. I love the pumpkins, the cinnamon, the leaves turning, and the cool air. Yep. Can’t wait.
22. I like to embroider. I haven’t done this in forever… might be time to pick up a little embroidery project soon.
23. I love to read. Yep.
24. I like books and movies that take me to a different place, a place I’d like to visit: New York, Paris, Napa Valley, Hawaii. Yep. And, we finally did visit Hawaii!
25. I started and did not finish training to become a yoga instructor and a personal chef. Still didn’t finish those things, but not too sad about it.
26. I start and do not finish lots of things. I’m interested in something new every day. Still true.
27. I collect notebooks and journals, and I’m very picky about them. Yep. Keep me out of the journal aisle at all costs.
28. I speak Spanish. I suppose I still do, though I haven’t had much practice in a while.
29. I am anxiously awaiting the next Harry Potter book, the next Jean Auel book, and the next Harry Potter movie. Still waiting for that Jean Auel book.
30. I don’t usually like sequel movies, but I loved the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter (only the third movie, the first two were yuck), Spiderman, Star Wars, and the Matrix. Might be time to watch some Lord of the Rings.
31. I like to watch Giada DiLaurentiis and Dave Lieberman on the Food Network. Um, we don’t have a TV. I haven’t watched the Food Network in years.
32. I communicate better through writing than through speaking. True dat.
33. We buy most of our music from itunes. Yep.
34. My favorite song is “Paper Boats” by Nada Surf. I still love that song, though my current favorite is Horchata by Vampire Weekend.
35. I don’t keep in touch with anyone from my childhood or even from high school. Hey! Facebook has changed this a bit.
36. I love daisies. Yep.
37. One of my grandmothers had 17 children, and the other had 7. I have a large extended family. Yep, though I have not stayed close to them.
38. I have one brother and one sister, and I am the youngest. Well, yes. I’m still the youngest (ha ha).
39. I’m fairly lazy. Unfortunately, still true.
40. I went to Space Camp when I was much younger. Oh yeah! That was cool.
41. I’ve been to Disneyworld 5 times since my honeymoon, haven’t gone in the past two years, and wish with all my heart that I could go again tomorrow. We still haven’t been back. Someday…
42. I would like to learn to speak French. Why have I still not done this? This year, peeps. I will do it this year.
43. The foods I like least are olives, goat cheese, bleu cheese, wasabi, and horseradish. They seem overpowering. Still fairly true. I will eat them, but I wouldn’t choose them.
44. I like to eat tomato sauce out of the can with crackers. Hey! I forgot about this! Yum…
45. My favorite part of my job is baking cookies and putting them out on the mantle for the guests to snack on. Hm… my favorite part of my job is planning travel and processing reimbursements. That kinda makes me sound like a nerd.
46. I love to take naps. I do! I excel at napping.
47. My husband and I speak movie to each other. We talk in movie quotes. Usually other people around us have to ask us what we’re talking about. We still do!
48. I don’t take enough risks. Nope. I’m a safety girl. (Movie quote, come on, you know it…)
49. I like to write poetry. Hm, I haven’t done this in a while. I wonder why.
50. I’m still searching for my one true talent. I think my one true talent is love.

50 More Things About Me, from March 2006

51. I’ll be 28 this month. I’ll be 32 this month!
52. I’m scared that I’ll have to live in a nursing home someday. Still scared about this.
53. I like to do fill-in puzzles. I’ve moved on to crossword puzzles.
54. I don’t like driving. I really don’t. I’m too impatient for it.
55. I love pink. I do!
56. I love rainy days. Yep.
57. I feel embarrassed to walk around in a swimsuit without a cover-up. I’m getting better at this, thanks to days on the beaches in Hawaii and Jamaica.
58. I forget to connect with people sometimes, and then I feel guilty about it. I still suck at connecting. I’m sorry, friends and family.
59. When I was little, I had a dog named Patches. Awww, Patches! He was so cute.
60. When I was little, we had goats and chickens, and a mean old rooster. That rooster attacked my grandma once, and she came back in the house with little chicken footprints on her back.
61. My nervous habit is twitching my nose, then closing my throat. It’s hard to explain. I still do this when I’m stressed. I’m thinking yoga would help.
62. I love going to the movies, but I don’t go that often. Still true. Though SXSW Film starts next week, and I am READY!
63. Sometimes I spend the majority of my day on the computer, reading your blogs. Well, I have a day job now, so this has changed. Kind of. (Shhh…)
64. When I was in high school, I was salutatorian, homecoming queen, class president, “friendliest”, and “most likely to succeed.” I don’t think I’ve “succeeded” the way they thought I would. I’m definitely no doctor or lawyer, but I am living the life I want to live, and I’m happy. I’m succeeding in my own way. Also, I’m still friendly.
65. I love my jobs, and would hate to go back to an office or a “career”. Oops, I work in an office. Not the most beautiful environment, but I like what I do.
66. I’d like to see the Statue of Liberty, but I’m not interested in going inside it. Still true. We seriously need to get to New York.
67. I don’t understand it when people are mean. I really don’t! What’s the deal with mean?
68. Sometimes I want to buy sparkly bubble gum-flavored toothpaste, but I never do. Ew, that sounds gross.
69. I’m hooked on Ritter Sport dark chocolate. I haven’t had that kind in a while… I think I’ll get some today.
70. I love it when the ground is covered with leaves, and it makes me sad when people rake them away. I do, and it does. And it hurts my heart when people use leaf blowers.
71. I worry that I’m not a good friend, daughter, sister, aunt… Yes, I excel at worrying about pleasing others.
72. I spend more time looking at craft blogs than I do actually crafting. I haven’t been crafty at all in a long time, and my blog reading drifts more toward photography now.
73. I’m a perfectionist. Sigh, yes.
74. I pay off my credit card in full each month. Oops.
75. I hate that we’re still paying for our car. Well, we’re still paying, but it’s a different car.
76. I only got two B’s in college…in English. I wish I had let myself get more B’s, and had more fun. Yep.
77. I’m working on allowing myself to get more B’s and C’s in life. I’m liking it. It’s very hard, but I’m still trying to let go of those insanely high self-expectations.
78. I’m a sucker for scented products…hand soap, lotion, candles, body wash, shampoo… I love it! Bath and Body Works, I love you.
79. I still have lotion in my drawer that I used during my internship…7 years ago. Yuck! I think I do have some 3 or 4-year old lotions in my drawer…
80. I just threw that lotion away. I should really throw those away…
81. I’ll probably go to Bath Junkie today to buy some more, even though I have 3 other half-used bottles. I might stop at Bath and Body Works today…
82. I like bubble baths. Yep.
83. I feel antsy if I don’t have a book or a magazine on the “to read” pile. That’s still true. Thank goodness for Goodreads.
84. I never really had an indoor pet when I was growing up, but I don’t know what I’d do without Roux. Or Little.
85. I could probably eat pizza every day. True, bro.
86. When I was little, my mom MADE me a cabbage-patch doll, with a soft terry cloth face and fuzzy hair. I wish I still had it. Yeah, what did I do with that doll? I’m such a dork for letting it out of my life.
87. My mom made a lot of my clothes when I was growing up. She’s pretty much the bomb.
88. I have a bottle of red dye in my bathroom, for the day when I get the guts to put it on my hair. I finally threw that away. I like my natural hair color.
89. I only have one pair of jeans. I need to remedy this. This is kind of still true, but only because I don’t fit in my other ones. I’m working on that, though.
90. I get overwhelmed when clothes-shopping. I’ve gotten better at this, thanks to my friend Andy.
91. I have lots of skirts that don’t match any shirts, and dresses that I’ve never worn because I don’t have shoes that go with them. How sad, this is still true. Me + skirts = 🙁
92. I’ve been reading and following Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy since January 1st, and it has already changed my life. Hey, I just started re-reading this!
93. I forget to take my multivitamin most days. What multi-vitamin?
94. I never forget to eat a piece of chocolate after dinner. Well, I never forget that I want a piece of chocolate after dinner, anyway.
95. I like tiny Post-It notes. Yep.
96. I love candles, but I never remember to burn them. Yep.
97. I am more in love with my husband now than I’ve ever been. So very true.
98. I am proud of the person I have become. I am, peeps. I truly am.
99. Aside from this blog, I keep a computer journal, a sketchbook, an illustrated inspiration journal, a gratitude journal, a book journal, a daily dialogue journal, and a poetry journal. I think that’s it. And Goodreads and Facebook and Twitter…
100. My nose is pierced. Aw, I had to take it out, and never re-pierced it. Oh, well.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Long live poco-cocoa.