A little bit about me

This entry is only because I finally wrote something in the About Me section of this blog but, I didn't have enough space to tell you as much as I wanted so, here is the extended version in no pre-meditated order.

This is what I watch:
I'm a two reality TV show junkie. The Bachelor (this last bachelor really is the best one so far) and The Amazing Race. They are my Sunday and Monday night fix. I am also a one cooking and travel show addict - Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. His show is hilarious and irreverent and you learn so much in an off-hand way.
This is what I buy:
I adore and I do mean ADORE shoes. I suscribe to the belief that a well-made pair of shoes can make any outfit seem stylish and that good shoes are an essential part of a polished ensemble. I used to be a purse addict also but that was before the child. Ditto for clothes but, I draw the line on giving up the shoes. Nope. No way.
This is what I do when I am by myself or with just my son:
Sing. Though I don't sing as much as I used to anymore unfortunately. A long time ago I sang and traveled with a professional chorale group. It was quite an experience. Some of my best memories and learning occasions are tied to my singing. You know, if I could choose any singing voice in the world, I'd have a hard time choosing between having Federica Von Stade's and Cecilia Bartoli's voice. They are both glorious for different reasons.
This is what I like to play:
Rummykub, it is simply addictive. Haven't played in a while because my husband is a backgammon guy and I just don't get that game but, with Rummykub, I'm virtually unbeatable on a good day. Also, Tickle-wrestling and Hide and Seek with my son.
This is something I have a masters degree in and yet do not consider myself to be:
Photography. I am unfortunately not a good photographer in spite of the nice diploma.
In this, I am so much like my mother:
I love cooking and cookbooks. Lord, don't get me started on cookbooks- I'm a cookbook lady of the night.
What I love looking at:
Besides my son asleep, awake or in any other state, I like looking at art and graphics and design magazines and fashion. I love looking at flowers, colors, a well-appointed room, my husband's eyes crinkling in laughter, a happy face, a happy child, my mother lovingly looking upon my son, a beautifully served meal, an empty plate (especially if it was previously filled with something I cooked).
What I listen to:
Music of almost any kind except rap. I'm always playing something but, if I had only one thing to listen to, I would chose the Bach Cello Suites (the Pablo Casals recordings which my sister introduced me to so long ago). It gives me everything I need no matter what the mood.
Here are the people I love above all else:
My child, my husband, my parents, my sister, the rest of my family (blood related and not). I am who I am because of them.
What I strive for always:
A fair and open mind, a quiet spirit, to find the laughter and being kind.
Things I love to do:
1. Watch movies in the movie theater. DVDs are a poor substitute.
2. Inhale books. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to read. I cannot envision life without books. My idea of the best gift ever is money to buy books. I still have somewhere in an old journal a cutout from a 1980's magazine that shows the library I've always wanted. I could live within just two rooms, a library and a kitchen. Cook and read. Heaven.
What I can't stand seeing or reading about whether in real life or movies:
Children getting hurt.
Here's what I like to read:
I have a true bias for biographies, histories and cookbooks (we've talked about this), romances (don't sneer, romances are... necessary). Get your hands on a book by Georgette Heyer or Mary Balogh and then tell me you don't agree. I love novels set in Britain during the Georgian or Regency period, I gobble up children's books (there is great art there) and anything in the fantasy and fairy tale genre. Oh! I was forgetting short stories. Big Maupassant and Balzac fan. Have I told you about the poetry? Can't write it but love to read it.
Who I would like to be a little bit more like:
1. Martha Stewart. I want her craft room and I want to be as organized as her.
2. Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes. So much wisdom, such childhood zeal.
What I'd give so much to understand:
What my son is thinking sometimes when he looks out at the world through those eyes of his. All my pennies for his thoughts.
What I cannot understand:
Someone hurting a child. Bigotry, racism. All fighting born of religious differences.
Things I believe in:
1. Six degrees of separation.
2. Destiny.
3. Being grateful for everything I have.
4. My son was meant to be born to my husband and I and not, to anyone else.
What I hope to see 20 years from now:
1. My marriage still going strong.
2. My parents still healthy and alive.
3. My son, a well adjusted individual.
4. A healthy planet.
5. A Breguet watch on my husband's wrist. Shallow and materialistic I know, but I have my reasons.
6. Myself, a famous cook and romance novelist.
7. To have known the last 20 years of my life to be quietly happy and singularly peaceful.