I'm The It Girl

Deanna has tagged me, so apparently I'm it. Does that make me the It Girl? I'll just pretend that I am because I do like the idea. We shall start off with eleven random facts about me. The It Girl.

1. I have the freakiest looking feet! Congenital flat feet with bunions yet highly functional, a difficult fit for shoes. Then I call attention to them by wearing sandals half the year and painting my toenails bright colors and wearing toe rings.

2. I love Barbie dolls. I don't have a huge collection but particularly love the witch Barbies that were available exclusively at Target for a few years. I have three of them.

3. Another thing I love is cobalt glass. I have a collection of over fifty pieces.

4. I am a total science geek! I love physics and astronomy!

5. I have a learning disability that has not been officially diagnosed. As soon as I dig through some journals from the time I'll blog about it. Some of the hallmark symptoms are right/left confusion, difficulty with writing despite very high spoken language ability, and an almost entirely intuitive understanding of language. Meaning that I can't diagram a sentence to save my life!

6. When I moved into the house I currently live in I counted over 30 previous addresses. I was 28 at the time.

7. My very favorite book is A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I reread it on an annual basis.

8. I have a tendency to overaccessorize. I used to have this friend who would ask me for the "count" before we went somewhere together. Recognize that when I take a shower I am wearing more pieces of jewelry (11) than most women normally wear when they are heading out the door.

9. I have three tattoos and six piercings. Five of the piercings are in my ears.

10. Several years ago my younger son and I won a mother and child look-alike contest. I submitted our baby pictures and we look like twins!

11. I completely embrace my current age, which is 56, and work on the whole aging gracefully concept. Even though I'm not sure what that means. I'm a work in progress! I love that I am still hopeful, curious, and optimistic.


Moving on with eleven questions from Deanna to me...

1. What's the story behind your name? My surname, VanBemmel, was acquired when I got married. I chose to not revert to my maiden name, Broome, when we divorced, probably through sheer laziness. Broome is a Scottish name and was pared down from McBroome at least a couple of generations before my father was born. I was named Carla as a sort of compromise between my parents. My dad wanted to name me after his mother, whose middle name was Caroline, but my mother didn't care for it. I have no idea where my middle name, Jean, came from. Probably the standard list of middle names.

2. How did you end up with the job that you have? I have been out of the work force for over three years due to a workplace injury. But I have to say that I would love to be a published writer and to make my living as one.

3. Which song title would sum up 2013 for you? The Long and Winding Road. 

4. What is your favorite app and why? I don't think I use apps. Do I use apps? I am one of the last dozen people who use a dumb phone so probably not.

5. What was your favorite year of school and why? Junior year in high school. We moved from western to eastern North Dakota halfway through my high school experience, so it was a huge adjustment. But it was a smaller high school where I had more opportunities to participate in activities and I had a couple of teachers who inspired me. A big year of self discovery.

6. What is one website/blog you couldn't go a day without reading? I check into Facebook a couple of times a day. About a year ago I took a six week break from it and didn't really miss it after a week's worth of withdrawal. Then I went back with a new set of priorities about who/what I would engage with/in and it's been a happier place for me. There are so many blogs I love but feel the need to stay away from them for fear I will lift ideas or writing style from them!

7. What is your favorite swear word? I am horrified at how often I drop the F-bomb. But it's just so fucking satisfying to say!

8. What are three things that are always in your refrigerator? mayonnaise, sharp cheddar cheese, butter

9. What are you reading for fun right now? The Brontes, Wild Genius on the Moors, The Story of a Literary Family, by Juliet Barker.

10. Who/What inspires you? Anyone in the arts who makes their living doing what they love. Music, writing, painting, sculpture, anything creative that is from the heart that makes the world a more beautiful, tolerable place.

11. What is your favorite movie quote? From Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. When the children are tasting the lickable wallpaper and Violet says whoever heard of a snozzberry...Mr. Wonka responds we are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams. I later learned that these are the opening lines of a wonderful poem by Arthur O'Shaughnessy that has since become one of my favorites.

And I know I'm wimping out at this point but I simply cannot type another sentence so I will not be continuing this meme. My Ballmer Peak has long since faded and my cranky hands can type no more.