100 Things About Me
Revised and updated July 6, 2006.

1. I was born in Chicago but moved to Michigan in the second grade and have lived in Michigan ever since.
   
2. Bob and I married in 1975 in a magistrate's office wearing matching flannel shirts that I made for the occasion.
   
3. We live on five acres in the country in SW Michigan in a small brick house on a dirt road in a wooded swamp.
   
4. My favorite flowers are the violets. There's a big violet patch in the West wooded yard.
   
5. We have hundreds of Hostas. Lily of the Valley grows like a weed here.
   
6. I am a terrible housekeeper, but I entertain dreams of getting better some day.
   
7. The queen of the house is Glory, an ten year old lab mix.
   
8. The princess of the house is Sunny, a five year old Papillon mix.
   
9. The prince of the house is Pappy, an eight year old Papillon rescue dog.
   
10. I spend two nights a week at doggy school doing agility, tricks, and some obedience with the little dogs. They both love it and so do I.
    
11. In 2003 I lost forty pounds in Weight Watchers. So far I have managed to keep it off.
    
12. I worked as an Information Technology analyst for twenty-four years. In April 2003 Pharmacia, my former employer, was acquired by Pfizer. In January, 2004 I was severed along with hundreds of other ex-Pharmacia employees in SW Michigan.
    
13. I am now retired and hoping I can afford to stay that way.
    
14. People who knew me well told me I'd be bored without a job. I haven't been bored yet and don't think it's going to happen.
    
15. In the 1980s, I was a COBOL programmer. Cobol will always be my favorite programming language, although I know better than to use it now.
    
16. In the 1970s, I went to college part time while my children were growing up.
    
17. I have a BS in Biomedical Science with a minor in Chemistry from Western Michigan University.
    
18. I never had a job using my major or minor.
    
19. My first job out of college was as a computer programmer. I wasn't sure what a computer was. They hired me because I tested super high on a programming aptitude test.
    
20. I've always been good at taking tests.
    
21. I was always a nerd, but in high school and most of my twentys I tried to not to show it.
    
22. I was able to play stupid in high school chemistry because the teacher was boring, but I was never able to resist excelling in math.
    
23. My high school math teacher was excellent. She taught me how to think through problems.
    
24. I played bass clarinet in the high school band. I was very good technically but not musically talented.
    
25. After high school I attended Wright Beauty Academy in Battle Creek and earned a cosmetology license.
    
26. While I was in beauty school I smoked a little rinestone studded pipe. I still love the smell of most pipe tobaccos.
    
27. In the 1960s, I worked as a hairdresser, doing beehives and other very solid hair structures.
    
28. My fame as a hairdresser came from my ability to create backcombed and hairsprayed dos that would not move for a whole week.
    
29. When I was ten, I had a pet painted turtle named Prince Albert Red Rattler. He lived in a large washbin and ate worms. Slurped them up like spagetti. His record was 100 worms in one day.
    
30. When it was time to let Prince Albert go hibernate, he was so fat he couldn't close his shell.
    
31. My maternal grandparents came to this country from Switzerland when my mother was a baby.
    
32. my paternal grandfather was a French Canadian named Gilbert LaFayette Monette. My paternal grandmother was Daughters of the American Revolution material.
    
33. My father had a heart attack and died when he was forty-five years old.
    
34. My mother is still living - and I mean living! You would never guess how old she is and I'm not telling.
    
35. I was present when my first granddaughter was born in 1995. When she was ten minutes old, she grabbed my finger and we've been loving each other ever since.
    
36. My daughter is smart, beautiful, and has a sparkling personality. She works as a property manager. I'm so thankful that she lives in the area so we can see each other often.
    
37. My son is a genius. He used to do calculus homework during the rests in orchestra practice. He ended up in a hotel/resort industry career because he's also a great people person.
    
38. My second granddaughter was born in 2005. She lives 2000 miles away, so I signed up for the frequent flyer program.
    
39. Starting when I was in my late teens, I dyed my brown hair red. When I was fifty-five I let it grow out natural. It's about seventy percent gray now.
    
40. I'm very nearsighted. I've been wearing glasses since I was ten.
    
41. I resent spending time on the daily routine things: taking a shower, brushing my teeth, blow drying my hair, doing the dishes.
    
42. I don't wear makeup anymore.
    
43. I've always purchased practical cars. Right now I drive a tan 2000 Camry. The tan matches the dust and mud from our dirt road.
    
44. I love knitting socks.
    
45. For me, the fun thing about knitting is to try different stitch patterns.
    
46. I very seldom follow a knitting pattern without at least one change. Often I just wing it.
    
47. One of my favorite things to do is knit while listening to recorded books.
    
48. I used to be an excellent seamstress but I haven't had a sewing machine in the last twenty years. Occasionally I get the urge to sew but it passes quickly.
    
49. I've always loved watching the birds and the wildlife.
    
50. I love embroidery, brocade, and lace - seeing it, not doing it.
    
51. I am the oldest of four children.
    
52. My three siblings are all very unique and gifted. I'm the boring member of the family.
    
53. If you are a brass player, you probably know about my brother, Dave Monette, maker of Monette trumpets.
    
54. My three siblings all think SW Michigan is a good place to be "from".
    
55. I'm the only sibling who has stayed in SW Michigan and I'm not sorry. I like it here.
    
56. We hardly ever watch TV or go to movies.
    
57. The last twelve years I've made a point of studying the Bible. I think it's the key to the meaning of life.
    
58. I don't think any of the churches have the complete picture of what the Bible is saying.
    
59. I believe we are here on earth to learn and grow. The lessons we're here to learn are the ones that are hard for us to grasp - the mistakes we make over and over and over.
    
60. I like to be around friendly, positive people. But sometimes I like to bitch and be critical.
    
61. My favorite kind of humor makes fun of life.
    
62. I'm an introvert.
    
63. I hate speaking in public but I can do it when I need to.
    
64. When I took Dale Carnegie training I won several awards for my short talks.
    Most of the people in my Dale Carnegie class felt the class was life changing. I didn't feel that it changed me at all. I'm still wondering if I missed something important - but I don't think so.
    
65. I hate shopping.
    
66. I buy most of my clothes from Land's End. My favorite shoes are New Balance.
    
67. My sense of direction is very poor.
    
68. I haven't had a dress or a skirt on since son John's wedding in 1999.
    
69. For ten years in the 1990s I made stone jewelry and sold it at craft shows. It started out fun but got to be a chore, so I quit.
    
70. I have promised myself I will never again take something I like to do and try to make it profitable. It takes all the pleasure out of it when you have to do it to deadlines.
    
71. I am less and less of a perfectionist as I get older and learn how little it really matters.
    
72. My favorite color has changed through the years, but I've always had red in my wardrobe.
    
73. My favorite color right now is purple. I don't and won't wear it with red.
    
74. I think Tennessee Ernie Ford sings hymns like God Himself might sound. I got through a stressful project at work once by listening to Tennessee Ernie sing hymns.
    
75. I am always apprehensive about driving through the car wash.
    
76. I could - and sometimes do - waste time playing Spider Solitare.
    
77. I'm the second of four generations with the middle name Louise. We all have different first names.
    
78. Every year around Mother's Day, the four Louises have a Louise Lunch to celebrate our love for each other.
    
79. There's a Tulip Tree in the front yard and one in the back yard. The breeze in the leaves makes them look like they're waving at me, which makes me smile.
    
80. We have a phoebe nest on the back porch and every year the phoebes come to raise a family.
    
81. If I had a second daughter, I was going to name her Phoebe. I love the sound of the name.
    
82. On the back three acres I have a bluebird trail of four nest boxes. They get used by bluebirds and tree swallows.
    
83. Every programmer I know is either a calendar person or a map person. I'm a calendar person.
    
84. I hate to hear people sniffle.
    
85. My favorite thing to do on Saturday mornings is to snuggle back in bed with the two little dogs.
    
86. Before I turned thirty I was very thin. Sometimes I was even way too thin to look good.
    
87. I wanted both my children very much. When I was pregnant, I would laugh with delight when I had morning sickness.
    
88. My favorite deserts are custard, flan, and cheesecake.
    
89. My favorite fast food is Taco Bell and Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich.
    
90. I enjoy quiet.
    
91. I like to enjoy my friends one or two at a time, not in groups.
    
92. I don't enjoy talking on the phone. In our house the answering machine answers all the calls and we pick up if it's someone we want/need to talk with.
    
93. I'm not good at keeping in touch with old friends but I think about them sometimes.
    
94. I'm a chocolate snob. I only like European chocolate without all the extra wax and preservatives.
    
95. I love butterscotch and caramel.
    
96. I get impatient with people who say they want to do something but won't try to do it.
    
97. I've worked as a geriatric nurses aide and as an aide in a home for the profoundly retarded during a time in my life when I was thinking of going into medicine.
    
98. I've never worked retail and I've never been a waitress. Hope I never have to do either of those jobs.
    
99. I have an IBM ThinkPad and I work with it while sitting on the loveseat with a writing board on my lap.
    
100. My little dogs like to snuggle up to me while I'm working on my laptop - but only if I tire them out first.