Four Things

I saw this on Meli's blog, Melificent, and wanted to play along. I tag anyone who want's to play.

Four jobs I've had

1. Sales associate at an outlet shopping center - The nearest shopping outlet was 45 minutes from my house growing up and I'd get jobs there over college breaks. I worked at Jockey, Crate and Barrel, and Esprit. Crate and Barrel was my favorite, and I even helped check out one of the designers from the TLC show Trading Spaces (I totally can't remember his name but he bought a bolt of fabric and pillows).


2. Doggie daycare attendant - I worked at a few doggie daycares in California. The one in LA I got the best tan and natural blond highlights from being outside all day and I got to bring my pug, Cyrus, with me. I worked there for a year before I got a speech pathology assistant job.


3. Speech pathology assistant - I got my B.A. in speech pathology but to be an actual speech path you need an M.A. and I was having a hard time getting into grad schools. So I took this job in the hopes of it helping me gain acceptance. It didn't though. We ended up moving to the bay area for Brian's job.


4. Autism teacher's aide - This was probably the hardest job, mentally, I've ever had. The kids at this school were between ages 5-14 and on the severe end of the autism spectrum. There was one aide for each student in our classroom, and we'd rotate between kids every 20 minutes to keep their attention as best we could and would do activities in math, speech, physical education, music, things like that. I enjoyed a lot of the kids, but some were physically intimidating as they were bigger than me and if they got upset with you they tended to act out as they couldn't vocally express their frustrations. It was a great learning experience.

Four things I don't eat

1. Lobster/shrimp/crab - I won't say no to all seafood, as I do enjoy scallops and tilapia, but lobster, crabs and shrimp just look like giant alien bugs to me. I call them the spiders of the sea. So no, I will never touch these.


2. Sushi - Another fish thing, but with sushi it's the texture I don't like.


3. Spicy foods - If it's mild, it's still too spicy for me. I'm a wimp. Soda even burns my throat.


4. Soda - It burns my throat and makes me burp something awful. The burps sting my nose too.

Four things I'm looking forward to this year

1. Becoming a mom - Obvious.


2. Fall - I just love the feeling of fall, the clothes, the warm drinks, the decorations, the coming of the holidays.


3. Star Wars VII - This will be hard to work around as it's coming out after the baby is born, so we might have to wait to rent this.


4. Cute baby and dog interactions - I know this probably won't happen right away, but I melt anytime I see a cute kid and a puppy together.

Four places I've visited

1. Baja Mexico - Brian and I spent a week in California before we made the move out there and we took a road trip from Santa Barbara to Baja.


2. Rome/Venice/Florence/Capri Italy - our honeymoon was in Italy and we walked around everywhere. Capri was like a paradise and we had the best room. The food was amazing and you could drink in public.


3. Montreal Canada - I was invited to go with a friend and her family on a vacation here.


4. Maui, Hawaii - I kept thinking, if heaven were on Earth, this is what it would look like. Especially on Road to Hana.

Four things I can't live without

1. Love - This sounds so cheesy but it's true. I need the connection.


2. Chocolate - It's like an addiction. I can feel the release of dopamine and oxytocin as I eat it.


3. Craft projects/Creative inspiration - It's what I do to keep myself busy, to show my love/appreciation for others, to be happy.


4. The internet - Yea, another addiction I suppose. For an introvert like me, I like being connected, yet not.

Four things I wish I could do

1. Play an instrument - Specifically the cello or violin.


2. Speak another language fluently - French class in high school was a waste. I should've taken Spanish first of all because it's more useful in the US than French.


3. Be more relaxed - I hate being anxious all the time. I wish I could just not give a fuck like most people.


4. Cook - I don't enjoy cooking, mainly because it takes too long and I get impatient. And with impatience comes under cooked meats, so I tend to make sides that don't require cooking.

Four pet peeves

1. Slow drivers/Tailgaiters - The slow pokes piss me off, especially if they are in the passing lane, but the tailgaters scare the shit out of me. The tailgating in Colorado is unreal.


2. Things in my shoe - I can't stand it if a pebble or anything gets stuck inside my shoe. And especially the seams on socks, if I feel it pressing on my baby toe I have to take my entire shoe off and readjust it. I would drive my mother nuts with this when she'd help me tie my shoes for kindergarten. And now I just drive myself nuts.


3. When my dogs are needy - I love my dogs, but since quitting my job, they drive me nuts with guilt all day. They stare at me unblinking when I'm sitting on the couch waiting for me to entertain them, and when I let them outside and close the screen door behind them to keep flies out, they stare back at me like, whaaaaaaaaa you not coming? Just go do the doggy things in the yard!


4. Conflicting advice - especially when it comes to pregnancy/baby things. Don't take a baby asprin/take a baby asprin, cramps are normal/cramps mean labor, take fish oil/fish oil label says to avoid while pregnant, avoid caffeine/have no more than 200mg of caffeine a day, don't eat deli meat/eat deli meat that's heated, co sleeping is deadly/co sleeping is great, don't sleep on your back/sleeping on your back is ok until X weeks.