50 Things You Never Knew About Me (and may not give a damn about!)

I like this photo of me at one of our holiday soirees with my PR team, Sarah and Kristin with Pom PR

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

Yes and no.  I think my first name Deborah was picked by my parents because they liked it…but frankly, I forgot to ask them about that. I do however have a meaningful story about my middle name “Main”.  It’s a long story so I’ll give you the condensed version.  My Grandmother, Fannie Main (Yes, those were their real names back in the early 1900′s), sadly was dying of a brain tumor.  She died 4 months before I was born, and to this day, has been immortalized as the kindest and most generous person. And thus, my parents gave me her family name as my middle name and I’ve been Deborah Main ever since.  (Of course they didn’t know what kind of rascal I’d turn into..ha!  More on the Main family heritage in another post.)

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

I used to cry at the drop of a hat!!  Literally, someone could just say my name in a stern way and I’d cry.  Over sensitive I guess you call it.  But now, in the prime of my years, the best years ever, I hardly cry at all. Although a good tear-jerker movie can make the tears flow. I think I cried seeing Les Miserables.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?

Sometimes.  I do like my signature alot. But I do notice I change up my handwriting from time to time and sometimes it looks like my Mother’s and sometimes my Dad’s.  My teenage daughter just recently told me my cursive handwriting was “real loopy”. (To her, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing??). I wish my printing handwriting was neater, like they train you in architectural and design school.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?

I’m kind of down on lunch meat these days, because over the holidays and in the summer’s that’s about ALL we seem to eat for lunch.  But I do like a good Boars head ham, peppered turkey, and medium rare roast beef.  Now my favorite cheese on a sandwich is Havarti. And if you add avocado, sweet peppers and grill it….its divine!

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

Yes, I used to have 2…but now seem to have 3. Let me explain. My son, Cason, is 24 and lives in Brooklyn, my daughter, Qin, is 17. And I have another teen (a foreign exchange student from Chengdu China)  Xin, age 15. So, now you see how I have 3!! I’m fortunate to be the proud mother of the most AMAZING and talented children…almost adults!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?

Hell yes!!  But she’d definitely drive me absolutely crazy.  I’d have blast with her, but she talks waaaay too much!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?

Being born and bred on the East coast, mostly upstate New York, how can I not?? My mother was as sarcastic as they come. But she had amazing wit (which unfortunately I did NOT inherit) and could whip back the best one-liners.  With kids I’ve tried to limit my sarcasm cause its not the best thing to teach them….so my husband has now picked up the mantle on that one.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?

No, and boy is THAT ever a great story!!!  That’s how I got to know my husband David. But it would take way too long to tell you all about it.  Let’s just say that in the summer of 1981, when I met my future husband at a Hole-in-the-Wall softball game, I soon became sick with tonsilitis.  All my college friends were gone for the summer, I didn’t have a car, I had a 105 fever, and I only had been on one date w/the poor fellow.  So who do I call for help?  The “poor fellow”, my future husband, David.  Story goes, he took me to doctor, then to hospital and had to fork up $800 before they let me in the hospital and he didn’t even know me. I said deliriously (remember 105 fever!) “My Dad’s good for the money!” and then passed out.  And the story goes on with a tonsilectomy and more…..

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?

NOPE!! NEVER!! Although I have a photo of my Dad bungee jumping when he turned 50…crazy guy!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?

No favorite cereal, but favorite every day breakfast ritual.  I take a deep bowl and put a layer of whole almonds, then dried cranberries, then White Mountain plain, non-fat, Bulgarian yogurt (almost to the end here!), then a layer of Quaker Oats granola (I like crunch!), then I top it off with fresh blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, or peaches (when they’re in season).  I LOVE my breakfast!!!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?

Yes, I have to or I can’t get them off!

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?

Yes, I am a very strong, powerful (sometimes too intense) woman.  Someone once called me a “small bulldozer” (I don’t think they meant it as a compliment but I took it as one).  I do have days when I don’t always feel strong.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

In Texas, Amy’s Dark Chocolate and Blue Bell Vanilla. But on the East Coast its hands down Chocolate chip and Black Raspberry. And YES, it DOES taste different on the East coast!!!

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

Good question. I’ll have to think about this one.  But I think its their smile, or lack there of….but probably more accurately I see their whole face first and their presence, how they present themselves.

15. RED OR PINK?

RED all the way baby!!

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?

My neurotic tendencies! (What neurotic tendencies….who said I ever had any!?!) I also, on occasion, will open mouth and insert foot…and am a little OCD about how I look. I’m long winded, will talk too much or when I fill out a questionnaire mines the one w/all the writing on the back too.  Oh, I also have a very bad memory and I’m embarrassed about that (and yes, it is worse then normal).

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?

My mother. She drove me absolutely crazy but I adored her, I was loved by her probably the most of any person I know.  And no matter what age you are, it’s no fun not having your parents alive.  In the last 6 years of her life she lived right around the corner from me.  Never ever dreaming I’d live anywhere near my mother, her moving here was the best 6 years of my life.  She was a fiesty ‘ole gal and I miss her terribly.  I still wake up every day and can’t believe she’s gone…..:-(

18. WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST?

Patience. I’m not a patient person and I admire those with patience.  Children force you to work on it and I’m trying.  And I interrupt people in conversation (that’s normal on the East coast, but plain rude in Texas)…some habits never die.

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?

I’m in bare feet at the moment. But my fave pair of shoes are these aqua blue suede/faux animal print peep toe heels I bought in Wuhan, China.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?

My breakfast.  I LOVE food, and used to be called “hollow leg” for how much food I could put away!!  (yes, proud of that!)

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

Our foreign exchange student being tutored English…but if I did have something on it would be Adele, Set Fire to the Rain. I also love the aria, Vissi D’arte.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

Midnight Blue.  It’s always been my favorite crayon color.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?

Bacon, because it reminds me of warm memories of wonderful breakfasts at my grandmothers summer home in the Pocono mountains. Anything being baked, because I love the smell of chocolate chip cookies, cakes or pies being baked. Fresh air. The ocean. Lilac bush.

24. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?

Very important, but I don’t wear them publicly in my business.

25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?

A luxurious home, in an old mining town, Ouray Colorado that we’ve house sat for parts of 5 summers.  I love the drive from Austin to Colorado through the barren lands of West Texas and New Mexico.  I like wide open space. My cousins home in Deer Isle Maine where I could idle away an entire summer. I love to hang the laundry out to dry.  I love to watch the clouds. As a child, my grandmother had a summer home in the Pocono mountains and I have very fond memories there.  Peace and quiet and away from daily life is essential to my happiness.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

The Olympics…but don’t really watch sports.

27. HAIR COLOR?

Brunette with a little red highlights in the sun. My father had red hair.

28. EYE COLOR?

Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?

Nope. I have bad allergies and can’t wear them cause I itch my eyes too much.  I wear glasses, red Judith Liebers.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?

In the summer: Lobster, corn-on-the-cob, and icecream in that order.  In the winter, I love a rich beef Bourguignon or hearty veal Osso Buco.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

Can’t stand scary movies…..too scary!!  Don’t have to have a happy ending because I like a lot of foreign films and sometimes there’s ambiguity in life.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?

Get Smart with the family.  Funny and great for teens. But I LOVED Skyfall and all James Bond movies. I also love British series and comedies. And I love classics like Top Hat or Hitchcock movies.  I hate stupid, dumb ass movies or ones where no one can act and its a horrible script!

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?

I’m wearing my red moose pajamas and my husbands oversized green cashmere v-neck sweater.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?

Summer! I live for care-free days of summer and the school year to be over w/no schedule and hanging out at Barton Springs pool.  I hate winter and dark gray days!!

35. FAVORITE DESSERT?

Chocolate cake, chocolate mouse, coconut cream pie, Blueberry crisp, Juniors cheesecake in NYC, too many to name here. I LOVE desserts!!

36. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?

None! But I like to swim laps and walk when I can. I desperately need a better and more consistent work out.

37. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?

I don’t like either of them. I hate staring at a computer screen. I hate junk TV and have no clue as to how people have time to watch it.  Nor do I get any of the shows they enjoy.  But I do like a good late night classic movie on TCM or to go see a great movie at the movie theater.

38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?

Angle of Repose (I love to read it over and over and never want it to stop).  I love good literature. Also reading 3rd of Hunger Games, as I like to keep up with what my teens are reading.

39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?

Nothing. But my Dell computer and mouse are red and black.

40. FAVORITE SOUND?

Silence. The wind blowing in the trees in the mountains away from everything. And the ocean waves.

41. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC?

Rock & Roll and Rhthym and Blues.

42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?

China. I’ve been to Wuhan, Shanghai, Souzhou and Beijing.

43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?

I can make my nostrils move in and out like a bunny rabbit without moving any other part of my face.  Other than that, my talent seems to be in designing one-of-a-kind pillows.  Who would have ever guessed!?!?  I used to be a jazz singer and have a lovely soprano voice….but no longer sing.

44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

Beverly, Massachusetts two blocks from the ocean. Grew up in Kingston, New York, Hudson Valley.

45. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?

Austin, Texas, my home for over 30 years!

46. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?

It’s a 1950′s cottage with the paint peeling off…cream with white trim and blue shutters.

47. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?

Silver Subaru and a gold Ford.

48. WHAT YEAR DID YOU GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL?

A while ago. Maine prep school.

49. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH YOUR SPOUSE/BF?

We’ll be celebrating our 29th anniversary this April…wow!!

50. DO YOU LIKE ANSWERING 50 QUESTIONS?

I’ve always liked to answer questionnaires about myself.  Kind of weird I know…but its probably cause my father used to make me take those silly personality questionnaires! And look how I turned out…..Ha!!

Now – it’s your turn!!!  Have fun! It’s been a great way to idle away a lazy spring break day.  Enjoy!  xoPG