you're invited to the ultimate blog party!

It's finally here, the beginning of the Ultimate Blog Party, and everyone's invited!

Now get thee to 5 Minutes for Mom to find out how you can show off your moves, mingle with other bloggers, discover new online friends, and even win prizes!

So, part of the deal is that I'm supposed to introduce myself to all the fellow party-cipants (hah!). As you can see over there on my "about me" section, I'm an American expat writer living in southern Italy. Bor-ing, I know. We expat bloggers are a dime a dozzina these days.

But there are also 100 things, another 100 things, and a "me, not me" photo meme to learn more about me too--those could keep you busy for a while.

Nothing interesting there either?

Hmm...well, just the other day, I was tagged by lovely Loulou (my first tag!) to list 5 Things No One Knows About Me. One might think that since I have previously written 200 things, posted a bunch of pictures, *and* done a 6 Weird Things About Me meme, I'd have nothing left to share.

Well, to paraphrase Bugs Bunny, "One don't know me very well, do he?"

1. I love corn on the cob (or as my niece and nephew call it "corn on the dog"), but I didn't eat it for about 15 years from the ages of 10 to 25 or so. Why? Because when I was 10, my mom and I were eating at Long John Silver's. Come on, you know you loved that batter-dipped stuff too. Anyway, I had a loose tooth and wasn't really into eating anything, but particularly those little butter-smothered corn on the cobs. But my mom made me. And my tooth came out right in between two kernels on the cob. *Big* but (I believe) completely understandable aversion to corn on the cob ensued.

2. I have never had anything professionally waxed--eyebrows, bikini line, car. Nothing. Well, paper, but that doesn't count, because it already comes that way. What about candles? Crayons? OK, you get my point.

3. I was placed on a diet by overanxious doctors when I was about 9 months old. I wasn't allowed milk or formula, only juice. I'm convinced this is why I'm short, have weak teeth, and lifelong weight issues. And probably why I never wanted to be a doctor.

4. Speaking of weight issues, I don't own a scale and have no intention of ever owning one. Even though I've recently lost weight, and I'd love to know how much, I'll just wait until I go to the doctor. I can't imagine that it would be a good thing to know my weight down to the kilo every day, which is exactly what I would do if I had a scale. I'm like that, and I know it, so it's best to avoid the whole temptation.

5. Until I was about 16 years old, I was convinced that it was the LAW that one could not drink soda before noon. This was my mom's rule, and the funny thing is that my mom is the polar opposite of a disciplinarian--this may have been her only rule come to think of it. Anyway, I really took it to heart, and to this day obey the LAW OF NO SODA BEFORE NOON.

So, regular and new readers alike, I hope you'll stick around, let me know you've stopped by, and then party on back to The Ultimate Blog Party for some more fun!

Blog party on!