Because 200 Isn't Enough, Here's 7 More

Those of us living the expatriate life have to stick together. We all make an effort to integrate in our adopted countries but when things get frustrating, connecting with those who have and still do stand in your shoes can be an enormous help. One of the best benefits of this blog is that it's connected me to some really great people living as expatriates all over the world and I appreciate the friendship and support they've given me over the years. There's a group of expats living in Germany who are getting together this weekend in Dresden and I know right at this moment they're having a fabulous time together. I wish I could have been there as well but I just got back from leaving B at home for 2 1/2 weeks, plus Gerd is sick and that means my MIL is occupied taking care of him. And I didn't have the guts to take a train during a rail strike, even if they aren't striking today.

Another expat, Ann ona Moose, has tagged me for a meme and of course I am delighted to comply because us expats stick together. It's the seven random things meme and here are the rules. I'd normally say they're "guidelines" but this is Germany and that means they're rules. Nothing like a little stereotype on a Saturday evening, is there?

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 3 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Okay....let's hit it!

1. I love to knit socks but I hate wearing them. I hate wearing all socks. Just putting them on annoys me. I wear them when I absolutely must but if I can get away with skipping sock wearing, I do. And when I do wear socks they need to be as thin as possible and preferably all cotton.

2. The entire time I was married to my first husband, I never called my then MIL anything. She lived in Texas and I seldom ever saw her or had much contact with her and I never asked her what she wanted me to call her and she never told me. I couldn't figure out whether to call her "Mom" or "Anita" or "Mrs. [fill in my former married last name here]" so I called her nothing. I would go to great lengths to avoid having to call her by name.

3. And strangely enough I've never asked my current (and final) MIL what to call her. I think. Actually I can't remember - maybe I did and I forgot. Anyway, I call her either Mutti (mom) or by her first name - I flip back and forth. Generally by her first name if we're in public and I'm trying to get her attention, and Mutti if we're at home. And it works in reverse about the same - she calls me Kimberley if she's trying to get my attention in public and Mein Kind (my child) if we're at home.

4. I would rather have a foot and hand massage than a regular body massage. I'm a little hyper-sensitive about anyone touching my back - if the doctor tries to put her stethoscope on my back I have to actually force myself not to pull away - but if you massage my hands and feet, I'll be yours for life.

5. I hate to clean house when it's very overcast, rainy or snowy outside and I also can't do any housework once the sun has gone down with the exception of cleaning the kitchen after dinner. I really need to have at least partial sunlight to do any housework more complex than picking things up and putting them away or doing laundry. Needless to say, in the winter when Germany can have weeks and weeks of dreary weather I have to force myself to do housework.

6. I have two book related Christmas traditions. The first (and one that Hilda mentally shakes her head at...heh!) is that I have to read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger sometime between Thanksgiving and the end of the first week in December. I've been doing it
since 1978. The second, and one that I sometimes have to rely on a re-read to accomplish, is that I find within a book series, preferably a mystery series, a Christmas themed book and read it. This year's Christmas themed book will be Wreck the Halls by Sarah Graves.

7. I love cupcakes. I hope Heaven is filled with dark chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

I'm going to break bad by disregarding the rules and not tagging anyone since I can't keep track of who's done this meme and who hasn't. Feel free to swipe it if you wish - give me some linky love back here if you do.