My first Meme

The rules:

"For this meme, each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog."

1. I have to have my checkbook balanced to the penny. So, for almost eleven years now, I have been the CFO of my household. I like knowing exactly how much money we have (or don't have) at all times. My husband is the kind who needs a general ballpark figure of what's in our checking account and that makes me crazy. My husband has probably written less than 5 checks in our whole marriage. i actually enjoy rolling coin. Okay, now I sound like Scrooge, but it isn't true. I'm just really organized when it comes to our accounts.

2. I usually read 3 or 4 books at the same time. I don't recommend this at all and in fact, I've tried to stop this extremely bad habit, but I'm always picking up a new book. I admit, I have no discipline in this area. There are stacks of books beside my bed and it does make me crazy (see #5), but I can't seem to get this under control. So many books...so little time!

3. Until I was about thirty, I hated cheese. I could barely stand cheese on my pizza. As long as the cheese was hidden by pizza toppings it was tolerable, but any excess melted cheese had to be stripped away. Then, something weird happened. One day, at some social function (I can't exactly recall the details) I felt compelled to taste the cheese and crackers and I've been hooked ever since. I'll try just about any cheese now. This was a huge shift for me because it opened up a whole new world of foods that I had previously shunned like a simple old grilled cheese sandwich.

4. I don't like TV. Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching some shows, but for the most part, I always have this nagging feeling that I'm wasting my life. So, about two months ago, a Spring snowstorm knocked out our antenna and we haven't had TV since. Ahh bliss...I haven't missed it at all. We still watch movies that we check out from the library, but that is something within our control. When we moved at the end of 2005, our new home did not come equipped with a built-in entertainment unit. This made me extremely happy because I could now hunt for and entertainment center that had doors for the sole purpose of hiding the TV set!

5. I am a minimalist. (Now, I'm doing this meme because Kristen of Small Treasures tagged anyone who read her blog.) She wrote that she was a minimalist. So, I'm borrowing one of her things about her because it also applies to me. I hate stuff. Sometimes, I just feel overwhelmed by stuff and I have to get rid of things. I like the minimalist look in decorating, but it's a fine line between bare and minimalist.
My one exception is books. I have way too many books. Now, I've always said that one can never have too many books. I was wrong. When we moved, it was a huge complaint among those who helped us move that what took so long was the vast number of book boxes. So, I am way more choosy about books that I buy and I check out the rest from the library. When I'm done reading a library book, I don't have to think about squeezing it onto one of my shelves. It just goes back to the library. It's two things I enjoy: reading and reducing the amount of "stuff" I have. I also like not feeling attached to things. I've learned that things can really way a person down and that's a feeling I can live without.

6. I hate the smell of mint. I know this is a weird one. I especially hate the smell of mint gums and toothpastes. I have had to search for a toothpaste that doesn't include wintergreen, spearmint, or mint in its ingredients. I enjoy Tom's of Maine Apricot toothpaste and I know that most of you will find that gross! My dentist thinks it is weird that I always request any flavor but mint when it comes to the tooth-polishing portion of the dental exam.

7. I love tea and scones. I love baking scones, making cucumber sandwiches and having a tea party.

8. I want to write a book. I've wanted to write a book since I was eight years old.
I don't know whether it will be fiction or not, but I do have this deep desire to write a book. I don't care if it ever gets published and I don't care if I'm the only who ever reads it, I just hope I write it someday.

So, there you go folks, eight random things about me.