the thousand things

from chris guillebeau's website, i discovered a delightful young woman who has a website all about creativity. she listed 100 things about herself. i thought it would be a fun exercise for me to put together my own list.
stream of consciousness....consciousness streaming. who knows, i might even surprise myself.

100 X 10= 1,000
here's the first one hundred.

1. I was born and raised outside of chicago, il,
2. I am one of 7 children {yes, I was raised Catholic}.
3. I currently live in atlanta, georgia
4. i love farmers markets around the world and sometimes miss the amazing agriculture, food and restaurants/cafes of northern california
5. i lived in spain for a year, which was the catalyst for opening a cafe
6. i have a terrible long-term memory, and yet i remember some pretty detailed stuff
7. i am intuitive and often know the answer unexplicably about things that I have never been told, especially about people.
8. i live with my two favorite boys- one is a furry bunny rabbit - like dog named jack. the other one is a handsome sweetheart named smith.
9. I live in a 1908 sears kit home.
10. my {not yet legally official} husband designed a kitchen for me with subway tile we found at a salvage yard in berkeley
11. i love to write and would if I could most all day long. the rest of the time i would like to cook and draw japanese ink ensos.
12. i love to cook when i don't have to.
13. i am an introvert.
14. i love yoga. it makes me feel really good, but i wish i had more discipline to do it more regularly.
15. i devour food magazines, but have rarely, if ever, cooked a recipe from them.
16. i am intrigued by languages and often imitate accents and intonations.
17 . i dream in other languages, mostly italian and french. can't speak much in my waking life, but it must be buried back there somewhere.
18. i am in love with europe and hope to live there someday, again.
19. i want to rent an apartment in paris and write for 3 months, drink cafe au lait and shop the markets and cheese shops daily.
20. people think i am a freak because i really could care less about chocolate.
21. i do love mashed potatoes. and chop suey. and applesauce.
22. rice is my favorite comfort food.
23. people call my house "white world" because the floors, walls, and most of the furniture is white.
24. i used to be really, really book smart, but then I traded it in unknowingly for intuition.
25. i don't always trust my intuition, but i know the power of its gift.
26. one of my vices is drinking coca-cola.
27. I sometimes have to go on a 30 day hiatus because I become addicted to the sugar, or caffeine, maybe or both.
28. going to the movies is my secret afternoon indulgence.
29. i love warm weather.
30. i could pack a bag {or not} and be on a plane to wherever with little to no notice.
31. i hated pasta and spaghetti sauce when i was growing up.
32. i was a tomboy as kid.
33. dancing has always been a secret passion. oh, and I wish i could sing. i mean REALLY sing. next life.
34. the other night i dreamt i was dancing with gabrielle roth. it felt like poetry in motion.
35. someday, i hope to study more about carl jung and philosophy.
36. i am intrigued by theology and mysticism.
37. i like things ordered, but not necessarily neat and i am a bit of a slob sometimes.
38. julia cameron's "the artist's way" class was an amazing creative experience.
39. in 2004, my life and business were falling apart and i took a month off to do an artist's retreat. it changed my life.
40.. i consider myself to be spiritual, and yet, sometimes, I find i am just learning what it means to be kind.
41. i love to pick vegetables and flowers from the garden.
42. surrounding myself with beauty is like oxygen for me.
43. i love to study and learn.
44. listening to little children speak in foreign languages is pure delight.
45. even though i went to culinary school, i am not a chef. i do have a love for balancing flavors and developing new recipes.
46. music is like a lifeline to living.
47. i should have been a groupie.
48. there is a bohemian artist in me waiting to be born.
49. i can live on little money, but i would much rather have at least enough to do all the things i love without worry or stress.
50. i love to laugh and be around others who make me laugh.
51. my family will tell you i am goofy.
52. my family wonders how i could possibly run a business.
53. i have been known to lose my wallet--often.
54. i like to keep my car clean.
55. i never learned how to use excel. and, i am sure i never will.
56. i love to be surrounded by people who are simply themselves.
57. i dislike stuffy, overpriced restaurants.
58. i love hot dogs with ketchup and relish. and marshmallows. and tofu.
59. being by the water on a beach is cleansing, soothing and relaxing.
60. i wonder what it would be like to birth a child.
61. i sometimes think of adopting a child.
62. laughing children fill me with spontaneous joy.
63. i am a hard worker and inherently lazy.
64. i used to have a photographic memory
65. i love to swim in warm water , especially if it is adjacent to a sandy white beach
66. warm baths with absolute rose essential oils are my salve
67. i love lingering in bed on sundays
68. my family called me chicken legs when I was growing up {how I would die to be called that now!}
69. I have an LA face {ok, maybe more like SF} and an Oakland booty, {saw that posted by a friend on facebook and thought I would steal it}
70. i love tamales.
71. some day, I will make a good living as an artist .
72. i have scribbled art installations in my head and on paper
73. I create beautiful books and inspire others with my words {declaration for what is- what is to come}
74. i sometimes feel like everyone is ahead of me, even though i am running at a ridiculous pace.
75. i love the polar opposites of the quiet of the country and the urban excitement of a european city.
76. a million times a day, i love my dog, jack.
77. being in love is delicious. and, its not always easy.
78. i do my best work in cafes.
79. i think of myself as an optimistic person.
80. i like when my husband goes out of town. I get stuff done. i eat when i want. I do nothing. i miss him.
81. i can glide through a book in one sitting if i love what I am reading.
82. i am really inherently lazy. {did I say that already?}
83. i wish i had more color in my wardrobe, but alas, it is mostly black.
84. one day, I will hire a bohemian stylist to take me shopping and find all the clothes i have been dreaming about
85. i would love to create a line of vintage-inspired clothes and jewelry.
86. i love new york. and rome. and barcelona. and nicasio.
87. i fell in love at 22. that is if you don't count the fourth grade.
88. chilled prosecco is always in the refrigerator
89. writing is what i love most.
90. i always surround myself with fresh flowers, green branches and found objects
91. when i first heard joseph campbell's The Power of Myth, I knew that i could finally understand everything
92. i often think of my aunt elaine
93. i believe in angels on earth
94. i can't believe i am old enough to have a mid-life crisis
95. when my mom was my age, she had already raised seven children.
96. the older i am, the more i appreciate my parents, even if I don't agree with them, mostly.
97. i love when its dark and cloudy and pouring down rain.
98. strange how much i love music , but i am not musical at all.
99. slowing down is good
100. fresh squeezed orange juice makes my day.















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry