“…just a couple of saltwater drops down the cheek and a lump in my throat which tells me that the acknowledgement of the past being gone is quite a bitter pill to swallow.”

My list has prompted lots of emails and calls, and to my surprise, a little controversy. And now I have friends putting together their own lists. If you make one, you must send it. To me.

The list wasn’t hard, it was tough. But only because along the way, you come to realize who you are, who you’ve been in your life, and how much you’ve changed over the years. Or haven’t changed. I had to think back 31 years, and throughout all 100 items, and a few that I deleted along the way because I didn’t want my list to be a confessional, I was either laughing my ass off or crying. Yes, I cry a lot.

So, here’s a quick follow up to the items that received the most questions. B/c I know you are all dying to know just a little bit more!

15. I don’t tip at Sonic: This prompted a huge discussion last Friday night, and apparently I’m in the wrong. I don’t care. I’ll even admit that I was excited when they put in the credit card machine. An easier way for me NOT TO TIP!

18. I hate to cook: Yes, I despise cooking. I tried for the longest time to enjoy it, but you can’t force it. I can’t remember the last time I made a meal. It was probably over a year ago. It pays to marry the cook.

39. I don’t have my ears pierced: I’ve had my ears pierced 3 times. And every time, they grow back. The last time, my mother FORCED me to get them pierced for my wedding. I wore earrings that day, and haven’t put in a pair since. I know it’s weird and not very girly, but again, don't really care.

42. I got my belly button pierced during my senior trip to Florida: Apparently, my dad didn’t know about this one! Sorry dad! I figured that at some point during the last 13 years, you ran into an old photo album of mine in the house, with me lying in a nasty tattoo parlor in Panama City, Florida, letting a tat-covered freak stick a needle thru my navel. Kim Ashford let me do it. It’s all her fault.

44. I’ve seen Widespread Panic 9 times: WSP is a band. If you don’t know them, then more than likely, you wouldn’t like their “dope-smoking, hippie” music. Good ol’ college days!

49. I don’t wash my towels until they start to smell: Now, c’mon people! You all know that you do this. I guess I’m the only one that will admit it??

And now the sappy part…

65. I get the same feeling in my stomach today that I got 15 years ago when I think of Winterlight at Camp Kanuga in Hendersonville, NC: Throughout highschool and one year in college, I went to NC to an Episcopal youth conference, both in the winter and sometimes in the summer. This is probably the period in my life that I get the most emotional about. A few of the people that I went with, and a few that I met along the way are probably some of the truest friends that I’ve ever had. We did everything together. And for those that lived in other states, we wrote letters and called, and met up once or twice a year. And we always picked up right where we left off. This went on for 4 years and then we all went our separate ways. Now we are in Texas, California, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. A few of us stayed in touch over the years, but now we are all back together because of the wonderful world wide web and this addictive thing called Facebook. We don’t talk all of the time like we used to. But just knowing where they are and how they are doing gives me a level of comfort, a smile on my face, and yes, the occasional lump in my throat.

Oh, and one more thing – yes, I love to drink milk with spaghetti. It’s not gross, it just reminds me of my childhood. We only had 2 choices at dinner - milk or water. A rule that will definitely be carried on at Burleson family dinners.

More than you'll ever need to know...

I’ve heard that it’s hard to list 100 things about yourself. Here’s my list. It wasn’t too bad, just time consuming. And if you can’t list 100 things about yourself, the person you know best, the person you are with 24/7, then you probably need to spice up your life a bit. A few of these are listed in my profile. The other 90 are brand-spanking new….hot off the press. And yes, I’m expecting some questions from the parents when they finish reading.


1. My real name is Elizabeth. I have never been called Elizabeth, except for this one weirdo in college.
2. I am a wife of 6 years and a soon-to-be soccer mom.
3. I live in a cute little house with a white picket fence. Literally.
4. I have 2 dogs that sleep in the bed with us. It’s gross, I know.
5. I am a wanna-be interior decorator. I’m scared to quit my job and go back to school for it.
6. I work at Dell with 75,000 other people. I’m 5 years in and still enjoy going to work, and that is what keeps me there.
7. I’m a product of routine. I do the same thing almost every day. I don’t like it when my routine gets off track.
8. I don’t have a favorite color. Or food. Or movie. Or song. Or book. Or restaurant. Does that say something about me?
9. I’m addicted to chapstick. I can’t get enough. I have never been addicted to anything else.
10. I knew that I wanted to marry my husband 1 month after dating him.
11. 6 months later, I moved in with his parents in Texas.
12. I never liked dogs until I had my own. I’m not a huge fan of other peoples’ dogs. Just mine.
13. I love red wine. Lots of red wine.
14. Sometimes I forget to take my canvas bags to the grocery store and I feel bad.
15. I don’t tip at Sonic.
16. I don’t look anything like my mom.
17. At one point in my life, I had a perm, braces, and glasses. All at the same time. Not cute.
18. I hate to cook. Despise it. But I have a really nice kitchen.
19. I wear a size 9 ½ shoe. I wore the same size in the 8th grade and it was embarrassing.
20. I collect owls. Will thinks it’s very “grandmaw” of me. I have a box of them in the attic that are banned from the house.
21. I have a hard time letting go of the past. I think it’s my age. I get sad when I think that there are some people in my life that I may never see again.
22. I live too far away from my family.
23. I live too close to my in-laws.
24. I don’t like to watch movies twice, or TV shows.
25. I’ve never read a book twice, until now.
26. I’m currently reading The Great Gatsby.
27. I love to entertain.
28. I dream of the day when I’ll enjoy doing yard work. Until then, we just won’t be in the running for Yard of the Month.
29. I use foul language more than I should. The f-bomb is probably my favorite.
30. I love Usher and Ludacris. They are on “the list.” Don’t tell my grandmother that they are black.
31. I have a pure hatred towards Alton Brown. I can’t watch his show “Good Eats.” Will DVRs every episode.
32. I enjoy doing laundry. Except for the putting away part. Sometimes I get dressed in the laundry room because that’s where all of the clean clothes are.
33. My in-laws know that their soon-to-be grandchild was conceived in their house. Is that weird?
34. I like to drink one diet coke a day.
35. I know that I am a good driver.
36. I am deathly afraid of heights. I will never sky-dive or bungee jump. I went to the top of the Stratosphere in Vegas and cried. That was last year. Flying doesn’t bother me.
37. I love the rain. It gives me a free pass to do nothing.
38. I love Taco Bell and happy meals from McDonald’s.
39. I don’t have my ears pierced.
40. I have 67 pairs of shoes in my closet.
41. I don’t read emails that my friends forward.
42. I got my belly button pierced during my senior trip to Florida. My mom didn’t see it until I went to college. Then she tried to cut it off with steel cutters. I don’t know if my dad knows this.
43. I married a man who has never eaten a Big Mac. Ever. This seems un-American.
44. I’ve seen Widespread Panic 9 times, and each time I tell myself that it’s the last. The other people there make me feel old. And I can’t take part in the extra-curricular activities in the parking lot.
45. I have a friend in an unhealthy marriage and it kills me that I can’t do anything to save her.
46. I am always on the computer. Way too much.
47. I love my morning coffee. Sometimes I make a big pot and only have a sip, and it does the trick.
48. I cry a lot.
49. I don’t wash my towels until they start to smell.
50. I threw up from drinking Tequila in high school and haven’t had a shot of it since.
51. I don’t feel sorry for overweight people that I see at fast food restaurants.
52. My little sister used to beat the crap out of me growing up. She always won, and then I would tell on her.
53. I balance my checkbook to the penny. And because I don’t write checks anymore with the register, I have a finance binder. I’ve had it for 7 years and have never gone more than a week without opening it.
54. I spent my 20th birthday in Quebec, my 21st birthday in Paris and my 22nd in Switzerland. I spent my last birthday at Dell. Sometimes being an adult sucks.
55. I am highly sensitive to 28 foods or food groups that I should not put in my mouth, including wheat, beef, and beer.
56. I am mildly sensitive to 29 foods or food groups that I should not put in my mouth. That doesn’t leave me with a lot of things to eat. If I follow the list.
57. I have a lot of confidence. And I’m not sure where it came from. My mom asks me this all of the time.
58. I’ve received one speeding ticket in my life, and it was 2 weeks after I turned 16. I was going 34 in a 20.
59. I have diarrhea of the mouth. If I think it, more than likely it comes out. It should get me in trouble a lot, but it doesn’t. My friends say it’s because of my southern accent.
60. In high school, I made one ‘C’ in 4 years, and I was grounded for 6 weeks.
61. I religiously get a pedicure every 2 weeks. But, I can count on one hand the number of manicures I’ve had in my life.
62. I always think I’m right, which makes me smarter than you are….most of the time.
63. My first real kiss was Michael Williams in the 8th grade. It was bad.
64. At 31, I’m still worried about disappointing my parents. I don’t think this will ever go away.
65. I get the same feeling in my stomach today that I got 15 years ago when I think of Winterlight at Camp Kanuga in Hendersonville, NC. I want to go back but I know it won’t be the same.
66. I still get carded for cigarettes. I don’t smoke.
67. Sometimes cigarette smoke smells good to me. The other 99% of the time, it disgusts me.
68. I don’t drink hard liquor because I don’t know how it will make me feel. I don’t like to be out of my comfort zone.
69. I hate big boobs.
70. I got on a plane and took a trip in college that my parents didn’t know about. Betsy was the only person that knew where I was. The trip was miserable because I was a nervous wreck the entire time.
71. I don’t go to church every Sunday. Sometime I feel bad and other times I don’t. I know that one day I will get up and go every week, and just knowing that makes me okay.
72. I took my sister to the Jimmy Buffett concert when she was in the 8th grade and I let her drink wine coolers.
73. If I could change one thing about myself, I’d like to be able to sing. I’d rather sing than have a smaller ass.
74. Most of the men I love on TV are gay.
75. I have never seen any of the Godfather movies.
76. I make fun of people a lot for what they are wearing. I don’t feel bad about myself because of it.
77. The taste of bourbon and coke reminds me of college football games.
78. I had a nose job in 1998. Some people just thought I got a haircut.
79. In college, I asked my sister to read a book and write a paper for me. She was in the 9th grade.
80. My favorite thing to do in the summer is go to New Hampshire. I can’t wait until my kids can experience it.
81. In 1999 I went backpacking in Europe. The day that I got on the plane was probably the scariest day of my life.
82. Sometimes I lie and say I’m 5’7, when really I’m only 5’6 ½.
83. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I love pancakes.
84. I have clothes in my closet that I’ve had for years that still have the tags on them.
85. I have lived in my house for 5 years and I don’t know if we own a mop.
86. Sometimes I ask questions and don’t listen to the answer.
87. I’m highly bothered when people don’t have a coffee table in front of their couch.
88. I am a very symmetrical person. I don’t like things that are off balance, at an angle or don’t line up. It drives me crazy.
89. One of my favorite things to do is go to the movies.
90. I won’t watch any movies that are unrealistic – science-fiction, cartoons, pixar films, etc.
91. I love to drink milk when I eat spaghetti.
92. I say the word “true” too much. When someone says something that I agree with, I follow up with a “true.” Sometimes I ghetto it out and say “true dat.”
93. I was more scared of being pregnant than I am of being a good mom. I know I’ll be a good mom.
94. I am not competitive at all. Sometimes I would rather not even play the game.
95. I cry every time I hear the song Dream Big by Ryan Shupe. I just listened to it and cried.
96. I never drive the speed limit. I am always over by at least 5 mph.
97. I love to sleep. LOVE IT. If I don’t get 8 hours of sleep at night, I am miserable the next day. There’s also nothing better than a good 2 hour nap in the middle of the day.
98. I am very closed minded when it comes to religion. I probably shouldn’t elaborate on that.
99. I am not a picky eater. There are very few things in the world that I won’t eat. Brussel sprouts and white gravy are two of them.
100. I think I’m cute.

Quote of the week

This is the best thing I've heard in awhile. And to get the full effect, you have to say it out loud in the worst hick accent that you can conjure up.

"He was wearing size 8 underpants. That can't be good for his fruity pebbles."

20 weeks

My brother-in-law, Jake, is 9 months pregnant. It’s been really nice to have someone to go through this with. His doctor says that because his pregnancy is so rare, it will last a lot longer than 9 months. I’m just hoping that my belly doesn’t get as big as his. Maybe he should lay off the ice cream.

Mom and Dad will be so proud!

The Pregnancy Glow

Over the weekend, I had 3 people tell me that I'm glowing.

That's called sweat. It's hot as shit in Texas right now and you've decided to invite a pregnant girl to a party in the middle of the afternoon heat. What did you expect?