The 100th

I am posting my 100th post so I should probably say something profound. Unfortunately, the untimely cold my daughter has caught (resulting in slim to no rest) plus a plethora of Christmas prep underway have ultimately left me with little creative genius. So, since Rayna at Journey - To be Alive and Thirsty has tagged me for a meme I will make my 100th post a possibly more in-depth and probably just plain silly look into me and motherhood. Here's to learning new things and life in the diaper lane!

So the rules are as follows: Link to your tagger, Share 5 facts about yourself, Tag 5 people.
I'm not sure about tagging the five people but I'll tell you what, you want to be tagged? You're it.

1. I fall in love every time it starts to snow. If I wake up in the morning and the world is covered in white I will wear a smile and dance in the snow. I'm not kidding, I actually have what my husband calls my "snow coat" which is a white fur coat that I wear when it first starts to snow and anytime the flakes are especially fluffy. When the flakes start falling I put on my coat and twirl around the yard until I'm tired and happy and ready for hot chocolate. My daughter joined me in this tradition for the first time this year...it was beautiful. My husband said he fell in love with me the first time he saw me spinning in the snow in front of my dorm during my freshman year in college. Not more than a month later we met...and coincidentally...fell in love in the midst of falling snow. A flake doesn't fall without me falling for my husband all over again.

2. I am slightly obsessive compulsive. This has a potential to be a particularly dark revelation...however I usually use the humor approach to my compulsions as I no longer find them full of fear and neither are they debilitating habits anymore. It is simply part of who I am. I count to thirty every time I wash my hands, I sip three sips of water three consecutive times before retiring for the night, and I have to line up my pillows and bedside table in a particular order or I can't fall asleep. Stress makes these symptoms more severe but for the most part is a mild way to feel a sense of control in a sometimes chaotic life.

3. Music is my world. Last year for my birthday my husband bought me a satellite radio, this year an i-pod nanno, besides a stereo I received at 16 these were probably the best presents anyone ever bought me. I play music morning to night. My husband has only recently weaned me from listening while I fall asleep since he can't stand it. I tend to use lyrics to express myself. My journal is full of song lyrics that matched my mood at the moment. I express joy, sorrow, disappointment, and sadness through song. My breakups, my most magical moments, my memories...all have accompanying songs. If my life were a movie...it would be a musical.

4. My great great grandmother was a Spanish gypsy and I feel more a part of her than any other ancestor in my family. My family moved a lot (the gypsy blood in my mother?) when I was little and though I hated it with all my heart...I seem to have caught the condition. I always feel like I need to move, even though I constantly long for stability. I am afraid of loving because I am convinced I will lose as everyone will move on. Sometimes I let go of a friendship simply on the basis of that fear. I also have a suspicion that my love for poetry, pretty things, and maybe even music...may have come from her. I don't think I look particularly Spanish but whenever I go to a Spanish country people always think I'm local so I must look more like my mother than I thought. My mother was once detained in Cuba because they thought she was a local trying to depart from the country.

5. My name is Carissa and I'm a shop-a-holic. I see and I want to spend. I'm working on this particular problem but the addiction is all consuming. Christmas is especially crazy. I can't stick to a budget no matter how strict. I try, I really do...but I always seem to get myself into trouble. I love to shop for others especially so I buy gifts galore. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a spender but I'm not stupid. So far I've stayed away from debt and major damage. It's just that there are so many pretty things to get for people.....I've considering cutting up all my cards and staying away from shops...but that seems so extreme...and besides...I get stressed when I can't escape the house, and stress sends me back to item number 1. And let's face it, isn't it more fun to live with a shopper than an stressed obsessive compulsive? Exactly. Could somebody please explain this to my husband?