Self-portrait

A few days ago Pamela over at Cookies with Boys tagged me for a meme.  Today I finally have a few minutes to post about it.  That is, assuming Brianna and Gillian decide to play quietly (or at least without needing my intervention) for a few minutes.  =)

So, here are the Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Here goes...

1.  I started going by the nickname Di when I went to college.  My full name is Diana, and I decided that I was sick of people calling me Diane.  It's not a bad name, it's just not my name. Now if I just had a nickel for everyone who says, "Oh, you mean like Princess Di?" =)

2.  I have a BS in Chemistry from Caltech.  Aside from a brief stint of lab temp work right after college, I've never had a job in a science field.  Instead, baking is my way of satisfying my scientific side--"Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I change this..."  The name of my blog comes from the "lab notebook" that I used to keep records of my experiments.

3.  My husband and I first met 20 years ago this summer.  It's still kind of disturbing that I can refer to something "20 years ago" and have it mean when I was in high school...

4.  I've been to 36 states, and lived in 8 of them.  The ones I'm missing are: Alaska, Hawaii, all of New England (6 states; crazy, since I grew up in PA), most of the Southeast (LA, MS, AL), and a few oddball ones--North Dakota, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

5.  If I had to pick a favorite food, it would be pizza.  Plain cheese, thin crust pizza.  Why is it okay to eat plain cheese pizza as a kid but not as an adult?  It seems like anytime I'm with a group of people ordering pizza, they give me a hard time for wanting just cheese.  But you know, it always gets eaten... =)

6.  I read all the time.  Fiction, cookbooks, magazines, now blogs...  I always have to have something to read with me.  I have no idea how many books I own, and I only buy the ones I want to read repeatedly.  Any time I move, one of the first things I do is find the library and get a new library card.

So those are a few random things about me.  I'm not sure who to tag, since I'm not sure who hasn't done this one already.  I'll have to do some checking and add that later.

Who, me?

First off, my apologies to Caitlin over at Engineer Baker.  She tagged me for this well over a week ago, and I'm just now getting around to it.  Life has been busy.  

The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing ten years ago?
I was living in Boulder, CO.  We had just gotten back from a crazy weekend trip to Austin to try to figure out if we wanted to move to Texas.  Obviously we did end up here.  We moved in August, which was insane due to the heat and humidity.  

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:
1. laundry - started
2. clean as much of my house as I can manage before my in-laws get here tonight - pending
3. go to Target for cleaning supplies (see #2) & diapers - ended up being HEB (grocery store) instead
4. try to convince my children to take naps so I can work on #2 - pending
5. grocery shopping at Central Market - scheduled for this evening

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. chocolate
2. salami
3. potato chips (if I'm in the right mood)
4. cheese
5. cheezits (see #3)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. travel to see my family and friends more often--we don't live close to anyone
2. spend money on myself for a change
3. buy whatever books I want whenever I want
4. buy a bigger house to hold all the books (and with a fabulous kitchen, of course)
5. donate money to charity, especially medical research

Places I have lived:

somewhere on Long Island, NY

Westerville, OH

Erie, PA

Lexington, KY

Bradford, PA

Curwensville, PA

Scranton, PA

Pasadena, CA

Seattle, WA

Bellevue, WA

Boulder, CO

Austin, TX

Georgetown, TX

Jobs I have had:

Babysitter

Library page

Office drone (college work-study)

Dorm waiter

Lab temp

Catalog rep (took orders by phone)

Retail salesperson (one holiday season was more than enough)

Bank call center rep, various levels

Bank call center manager

Bank sales & service associate

Asst. branch manager - traditional bank branch

Asst. branch manager - in-store branch

Because of my tardiness in completing this, I'm not going to tag anyone.  It looks like a lot of people have already done this one.  I promise I'll do better next time!