Encyclopedia of Me - I (Stacy)

(Photo credits: internetbillboards.net; thedish.restaurant.com; interaksyon.com; amazon.com; lifeguide-blog.com; kinomanai.lt)

Italy - This is a place I dream of visiting one day (I predict that Mark will choose Ireland). I studied Humanities in college and learned about Rome, Florence, Venice . . . I'd love to see paintings, sculptures, and architecture in person that until now I've only seen in books. I've been in every state that starts with "I" (Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa). It's time to visit countries that start with the same letter. I really wish Mark and I had traveled to Europe when we first got married.

Indian Food - I love Indian food. It's not my top favorite (that would be Japanese). And it's not my second favorite (that would be Mexican). But it's probably next on the list. Mark and I took a cooking class together this past year and we learned about Indian cooking. The lady teaching was so laid back about measuring or following exact recipes that it boosted my confidence in toying with ingredients and spices and making stuff up when it comes to Indian cooking. I've been doing it since with great success! One of our favorites is a spicy chickpea and spinach dish. Yum!

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - After a 5-year hiatus from Facebook, I got back on this past summer. My first post said, "Just finished Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." I hadn't ever read any of her books before, but decided to read it after she passed away and I heard a rebroadcasted interview with her on NPR. Gorgeous book. One to be savored, much like "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." What a gift and treasure she has left us." It's true. The book is absolutely gorgeous. It is now part of my top 5 most beautifully written  books list along with To Kill A Mockingbird, Rebecca, Jane Eyre, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Harry Potter ranks as a top 5 all-time personal favorite, but when we're talking about "beautifully written," well, that's where they switch places.

Internet - This almost didn't make the list! As a family, when we do these Encyclopedia of Me posts, we roll the Scattegories die and write up whatever letter we get. We don't share our choices until we post. Well, Max has been all excited because he thought of a good one that he suspected we hadn't thought of and he told us, so Kate and I groaned and knew we wanted to include it and we said we'd give him credit, so here you go, Max! GOOD ONE! I *love* the Internet. I think it's amazing to have so much knowledge at our fingertips. I could easily spend all day on the Internet, opening tab upon tab, reading article after article, looking up answers to questions . . . oh wait, I guess I kind of already kind of do this! Like just today, the kids and I looked up why Greenland is an island while Australia is a continent. When I was a kid, I would sit with a set of encyclopedias and read about anything and everything. And now, here I sit at a computer, typing so fast, looking stuff up, and posting my very own Encyclopedia of Me post that I can instantly share with people. AMAZING!

Intelligence - I've mentioned this before in our "N" post (N for Nerd). I mentioned that I think being smart is sexy and fun and interesting. Kate and I were reading an article on NPR today and discussing the word sapiosexual. I'd call myself a sapiosexual - one is attracted to intelligence or the human mind. It is one of the many things that attracted me to Mark. Even before we started dating, we hung out as friends and one of our favorite things to do was to play Trivial Pursuit. We kept a tally sheet of our scores and it was always really close. I kept it on my wall in my dorm and I have it in a box full of stuff from college. I love having intelligent friends and, if I can be an intellectual snob for a moment, dull people bore me. I know that sounds terrible. I don't mean it in an elitist way. I like people regardless, but I don't enjoy boring conversation. I like wit and banter and intelligence and humor and information. I don't know everything (who does?), but I like talking to people who are well read and I like learning and being challenged. That kind of thing.

Indie Films - Indie films, indie theaters . . . I love them! I like the whole smart coffeeshop vibe of small, local venues. I love our local theater in town. It's old fashioned in appearance, but state of the art in technology. We know the owner and he knows us. They have one screen and, in general, show the most interesting films! In addition to great current features, they also sometimes show old films, westerns, and silent films (complete with live musical accompaniment). It's awesome. There's nothing like it. Many of my clients tell me that they won't even see a movie unless it's showing there. We feel similarly - when there's a movie we want to see, there's no choosing a chain theater over our local theater if they're showing it. I think I owe a lot of my love of good, quirky, and well done films to my experience in college with the International Cinema. I majored in Humanities, so every class I took gave me a pass to go to the IC, as we called it, for free (even if it hadn't been free, it was only $1). I saw so many great foreign films and learned about how much better quality many non-Hollywood films are! From then on, I was hooked. I like smart movies, make-you-think movies, documentaries, foreign films, quirky films, indie films. Love, love, love. I've even done a post (with running comments) about these kinds of films.

So here are a bunch more "I" things that I thought of. I had a hard time coming up with "I" things at first, but then I thought of a bunch and had to pare it down. So, in typical I-stink-at-cutting-things-out Stacy fashion, here are a few more "I" thoughts . . . . I was going to write about the name Isabel, but I suspect Kate is doing that (it's a great story). I also like the Indigo Girls and we got to see them in concert as a family this past summer. I thought of iPods - I like that we can listen to so much great music so easily on them, but I don't understand how to work them. :P Some songs that are very nostalgic for me all start with "I" (there are way more than this, but here are some): "I Am By Your Side" by Corey Hart is on a mix of love songs I made for Mark our freshman year. Hearing it brings me right back to that feeling of the summer after our freshman year, being on the plane for visits home and listening to the tape on my Walkman and missing him, listening to the tape the summer after freshman year, long talks via long distance phone calls (oh, the phone bills that summer!) to each other . . . aaaahhh. "I Could Write a Book" by Harry Connick, Jr. is one of the songs on our wedding video - pictures of us set to music, so that song always makes me think of that and of us. "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel was my senior prom theme, but I was dating my first boyfriend (pre-Mark) then, so I won't go on too much about that one. ;) "It Had To Be You," also by Harry Connick, Jr., reminds me of our dating years - I got into Harry through Mark and my freshman roommate. The entire soundtrack for "When Harry Met Sally" all reminds me of that beautiful time. "It’s a Beautiful Day" by Michael Bublé is a great song that helps put me in a great mood. Love Michael Bublé! I was going to put "I Love Lucy" on here, but discovered I already put it in my "L" post. I would also add that I'm fond of the "It Gets Better" campaign; I enjoy and miss In-N-Out Burger; and I love the phrase "I love you." I say it often. I mean it when I do. I've got a bunch of notes from the kids from when they were younger - Kate would leave notes lying around with a picture of an eye and "I see you!" on them, and Max would leave me notes that say, "I L Y!" (for "I Love You"). Phew! I'm tricky. :)

It gets better In-n-Out Burger, I love you