25 Things about ME. (Like if I needed another reason to talk about myself)

So in light of US Weekly's " 25 things about me," (they do them for celebrities and even though I am not a celebrity, (Well, sometimes I am. Like the time I rode on a convertible with my grandparents in the Florida Marlins parade when they won the first World Series in 1997.)

I thought it be fun to do my own list and share it with you! I love reading other people's list as well to see if we have anything in common and I can be like "O.M.G me too!" It's such a cool treat. So if the bug bites, make a list and send my way!

Anyhow, here it is! 25 things about me. Enjoy!

25 Things you might have known, or not known, about Katherine Liz Suarez Buccio.

1. I love vacuuming and I love vacuuming with carpet powder. It makes me feel accomplished, clean, and calm. Even though I don't like carpet, I do have a rug and I love to vacuum it so it looks like new all the time.

2. Wrapping gifts is one of my favorite things about Christmas. I love to sit down with my wrapping paper, tape, scissors and labels and wrap gifts on the floor. I even offer to wrap other people's gifts and don't get how it's not a shared joy. Everything from picking out the big jumbo rolls to picking out the perfect sticker labels is super fun. At least for me.

3. Sometimes I enjoy movie previews more than the actual movies. I do not like getting to the movies late because watching previews is part of my movie experience. I feel like I've been cheated when I don't catch the previews.

4. One childhood tendency I can't shake is watching Disney movies. I own most of the Disney movies and keep track of them when they come out of the vault. Or my BFF Javy lets me know when they are being re-released. I feel like a kid when I watch them. My favorite Disney movie of all time is Peter Pan. When I was a kid and couldn't sleep or I was scared, I would watch Peter Pan and it would comfort me. Sometimes, I still do that as an adult. Coco also knows tons of Disney songs because he grew up with three sisters and I love him more because of it!

5. I hate egg yolk. Mima traumatized me horribly. The only time I will eat yolk, is with eggs Benedict and that's because it's drenched in hollandaise sauce. Other than that, it makes me gag. When we were kids, mima would give my cousin and I raw egg yolk with salt to swallow because it was "good for us." We had no choice but to eat it, and to this day, I will not eat egg yolk.

6. I feel naked without my digital camera. I love taking pictures, being in pictures, and documenting every memory possible! Before digital cameras, I loved dropping off film at Eckerds and anticipating what the pictures were going to look like because at the time, there was no playback screen. It was such a rush! Mental snapshots are not enough for me. I have a digital camera in my purse at all times.

7. I only like the way I make buttermilk eggos. There's a science to my madness. I like them white and mildly crispy (I'm a food racist). And I only like buttermilk style and they cannot be generic. Coco made the mistake once of not only buying home style eggos but generic ones too and you would have thought I was being stabbed. I was crushed. Some things, like eggos and mac n' cheese, cannot be bought in the generic brand. I also don't eat leftovers. I hate leftovers. The only two things I'll have are Chinese fried rice or arroz con picadillo. Refrigerators with too many containers give me anxiety.

8. I loved school. I was the kid that slept in my uniform the day before school started because I couldn't wait for the first day. It was thrilling. (i love school uniforms too!) On top of that, buying school supplies was the highlight of back to school. I love office depot during back to school season. Shiny new notebooks, clear contact paper, sharpened pencils, the smell of plastic pencil cases, and colorful folders was enough to make me drool.

9. I don't wear sneakers. I think they are dikey. Is this a little politically incorrect? Probably but I don't care. Sneakers are for the gym or running. Same goes for sweatpants. Sweatpants are not an acceptable choice of attire. They are not for going out even if you put makeup on. Plus sweatpants and sneakers make you look like tourists. If I wear sneakers, I wear converse or pumas. Sweatpants for inside the house or for walking the dogs in the early am.

10. I love reading. I love the feel of a new book, going to the bookstore and picking up a new read, smelling the pages, and then wearing them out because I am so into my read! It's why I haven't been able to switch over to a Kindle or a NOOK because I love bookcases filled with books. Unfortunately, Coco was getting a bit overwhelmed with my overflowing bookcase so I had to donate quite a few. Reading is one of my favorite past times. I can read a book in a couple of hours. And on vacation, I'll read about 3-4 books. I once read 8 books on a 2 week cruise.

11. I hate liars and it's ugly cousin, the exaggerators. I have a zillion pet peeves but this is my main one. After whistling of course and Tweety Bird.

12. I have a horrible habit of peeling the skin of my lips. Ripping it off to be exact. It makes me look like a meth addict and it's horribly painful yet I can't stop because I get obsessively fixated.

13. ASPCA commercials make me cry. I actually can't watch them. I mute them or leave the room because they really affect me with the sad music or the shaking dog. I'm a sucker for animals.

14. I don't find bathroom humor humorous. I hate the word "dump" almost as much as I hate terrorists. It's so trashy and gross. Not that "caca" is any better but I would prefer that to "dump" any day. Poop is mildly acceptable.

15. I love to sing. I sing tragically but it still puts me in a good mood. Just like dancing does! I once recorded myself singing SWV's "Weak in the Knees" to prove I could sing at my friend Ainette's house. When I played it back, I realized that I sucked.

16. Rollerskating is one of my favorite things of all time. Like of all time. I hate that Manhattan doesn't have an indoor skating rink like Hot Wheels in Miami or Coco's favorite, Laces in Queens. I had about 4 birthday parties at Hot Wheels, went to many birthdays there, Monday night ladies night, and tons of field trips. Roller skating is awesome. So is freestyle music which is what they used to play! And couples dance because it was the only time I was allowed to hold hands with a boy before the age of 16 with my parents' approval. And you also got to make fun of the kids that didn't know how to roller skate and would hold on to the walls.

17. I take a bath every day. I don't shower, unless I am at someones house or a 3 star hotel. I don't trust those tubs. If the hotel is a 5 star hotel and they have an inviting tub, you better believe I'm in there! I've been taking bath since as long as I can remember. I also have to have like a big cup or pail (a palangana) to use for rinsing. I love to read in the bath too. I can take 5 minute baths or one hour baths. I'm multi-faceted that way.

18. I hate the telephone. I think this one is obvious. I don't like small talk or chit chat or pointless conversations and I'm not 16 anymore where I need to be on the phone for two hours talking about pointless things. Unless it is a true emergency (any by emergency i mean death, close to death, you are hurt, you have my kid, you have big news to share like engagement or pregnancy, you are calling to offer me money or a kick ass job, etc), I will not answer the phone. It is something that won't change. Will you think it's stupid? Yes, I'm sure. But I really don't care and I'm not changing it for you because I have my reasons and that's why email and smart phones were invented. If you call me, and I don't answer, chances are you are being ignored. And while I feel bad, I don't feel bad enough to care or answer. There are a only a select few that can get me on the phone- my grandmother because she doesn't text, Coco because he's my husband but sometimes I won't answer his calls or I tell him to text me, and my uncle Tony because he's one of the few relatives I like. There a 1-2 other honorable mentions but for security purposes, I will not reveal those names. Skype is slowly losing steam for me too.

19. I lost my school spelling bee to the word "rotten". I spelled it "rotton". Every time I think about it, I still get mad at myself.

20. I was tied to a chair in kindergarten and didn't tell my parents until I was in second grade and my mom went ape shit at the school. I was also locked in a closet at Jose Marti school with my best friend at the time, Paula. But back to the chair tying incident. The teacher's aide, a fat old lady by the name of Mrs. Abreu, asked me repeatedly to sit down after bathroom break/recess, and I refused telling her that all the other kids were standing up and why should I sit down. She didn't like that so she tied me to a chair. I think she was jealous of my skinny 6 year old body. Sometime later (can't remember exactly when) my mom and I ran into her in the school halls and she told me to say hello and being the obedient child that I was, ran right up to her, slapped her big culo and said "HI GORDA!" (Hi Fatty!). My mother was mortified and I was sinisterly satisfied. I have a lot more horrible stories from my younger years, like the time I accused my mother of poisoning the apple juice in my Care Bears thermos. Good times.

21. I have only slept with 2 people (including my husband) my entire life because I was afraid of STDs and getting pregnant. I also thought I had AIDS for a couple of months after watching a sex video in high school and being told that you could get AIDS through kissing. (there's Catholic brainwashing at it's finest!). I've also never done drugs with the exception of pot a total of 4 times to be cool and I never never did that again. I might as well work for D.A.R.E. But I do love me some Intervention on A&E. The harder the drugs the better as long as these people have no relation to me.

22. I love to do lists and scratching tasks off my list! I love organization and controlled chaos. I'm also never without my daily planner. I write everything I have to do or have done accordingly. It's old school, but writing it also helps me remember it. I'm not a procrastinator. I'm a planner (however, I also know that some things cannot be planned and life has a way of changing those plans!) But lists do make me feel productive and accomplished and I love that my husband loves them too! I don't sympathize or understand people who enjoy running around like headless chickens, are disorganized or chaotic by choice. It gives me major anxiety.

23. I love travelling. There is so much world to see and I love learning and experiencing other cultures. Everything from passport stamps, to airport security, makes me happy because it means I'm going on vacation! I always tell Coco that I can't live without travelling at least once a year. I don't get people who don't like travelling or have no desire to. It completely baffles me. And I can't wait to start travelling with Maya and seeing the world through her eyes.

24. I love alone time. That's not to say that I don't love hanging out with Coco (he's my favorite person to hang out with actually, not because he's my husband but because he's good company and fun) or my friends, especially when I go home. But I need and love to detach and spend time with myself because I like to make sure I'm always happy and I spend time with just me. Maybe it's because I was an only child or I'm pretty independent and my parents always encouraged me to "entretenerme". It's not selfish. I'm a firm believer in a happy and more fulfilled "you". I can entertain myself for hours and sometimes a couple of days alone. I like going to the movies alone, eating out by myself, going to a museum, or just quiet time watching movies or reading. When I go shopping, I hate going with other people. I like to shop alone. I also love going to the beach alone, especially when I tan ( Coco is still trying to master the art of laying still for at least three hours to tan. He's learned that he has to be self sufficient on beach vacations because I get into my rhythm and pay little attention to him.)

25. I'm a BIG beach person. I love the beach! The first time I saw NY beaches (Fire Island to be exact in 2001) I cried. I didn't understand how they weren't blue and why the water was so cold. Thank goodness I'm also a BIG city girl and I overlooked the east coast beaches because I would have been gone a long time ago! I actually enjoy them now (not as much as the beaches at home and I still can't go into the water because I'll have frost bite but I still love the scenery and being close to an ocean). I have pre-packed beach bags with lotions and towels, and I love finding the perfect spot ( i preferably like fancy beaches like the Hamptons, Shelter Island, or in front of really nice hotels in Miami because I like to be around pretty, classy people) up close to the water, lathering up, listening to music, and "swimming" in the ocean. Going to the beach was and still is one of my fondest memories of growing up in Miami and sometimes I miss it terribly.

26. (honorable mention). I regret not continuing my piano lessons! I took piano for three years because my mom took classes in Cuba and wanted me to learn as well. Plus she said it would set me apart from everyone else and when I went to parties in my fancy all girl high school, I could sit at the piano and command everyone's attention (yes, while the houses were fancy and big and ridiculously gorgeous, no one was playing Mozart on the Steinbach. Most parties I went to in high school consisted of booty music, red solo cups, and making out).

Well, the assignment was 25 and these were my main ones! I could probably go on until 100. I'm an open book and everyday I learn something new about myself (good and sometimes, not so good), believe it or not! I hope you enjoyed mine and now I want to read yours! So send my way please!

Here's to you. Here's to me.

Kathy.