Ah, "Randomness" is going around...and I think I've caught it...

I feel SO honored and annoyed that I, a "gently aging fifty-something" has been tagged to do the "Six Random Things About Myself" by Emily...Emily, daughter of Beth, granddaughter of Pat, one of the heirs to the Autrey Dynasty...THAT Emily. :)

Hey, it's great to know celebrities, even if they ARE, say, 24 years younger than you.

1. I did not let my children, as teenagers buy (or listen to if I was in the near vicinity) ANY "music" by Madonna. But I was (and still am) an Elton John fan. Granted, when I first became a chaste groupie, it was because MIKE liked his music so much and he hadn't come out of the closet yet (Elton, NOT Mike...don't even GO there...) But we DATED to Elton John so it's stuck in the psyche of our "early days" and hearing one of his songs brings back so many wonderful memories...of new love, of getting married, of being below 125 lbs...

However, Mom was NOT amused when "The Bitch is Back" just happened to "randomly" come on just as someone from church came calling...I am SO bad...

2. I have size 11 feet. No joke. My lovely husband claims they HAVE to be that big to be able to fit in my mouth, where they truthfully are much of the time. Do you know how un-FEMININE it feels to have feet bigger than your husbands? By two sizes?? On the flip side, having a more difficult size to find, I don't feel guilty spending sizable (ha!ha! I made a pun!) amounts of money on shoes when I do find them (thinking Brighton shoes here...not cheap folks, not cheap...but neither am I!)

3. I'm a techno-junkie. I have Mac desktops. I have a Mac laptop. I have iPods, iPhones, a new Nano. I shop online. I'm one of those annoying people who read their emails while waiting for food to arrive in a restaurant (but only with Mike - because he's reading his as well - we understand each other so well!) I started my aggressive quest to learn about computers and how they operate when the boys were teenagers because, frankly, the thought of them knowing more about those machines scared me silly. I mean, think about what teenage boys might get into! I monitored their viewing online for a LONG time before they even knew what a "temporary cache" was. It was my secret parenting weapon. Big Brother had NOTHING on Big Mother!!

4. I love looking at houses. I love SHOPPING for houses. I love DECORATING houses. And I love looking at blueprints of houses. And yes, I love BUILDING houses - the layout, the colors, the tiles, flooring, carpets, the fixtures - oh, bliss - FIXTURES! Sinks, toilets, hardware...sigh....Yes, HGTV interests me greatly - who KNEW they had a channel dedicated to all things home, heart and the pursuit of tasteful and balanced interiors?? (Remember, I lived overseas until December 2005...)

5. I love Indian food and can't find good Indian in the US. In England, there was an Indian food restaurant in every village if not on every corner - almost as prevalent as nail salons in the US (still quite odoriferous but much tastier I might add...) Our favorite, what we ordered every single time, was Chicken Tikka, buttered Nan bread, Aloo Gobee (curried cauliflower and potatoes with tomato and mushrooms) followed by an After Eight dinner mint to put out any spice flames still smouldering on our taste buds.

6. I didn't like Mexican food until I was in my teens. Growing up in Texas, this is like going to AA and admitting being an alcoholic. "Hello, my name is Cheri and I hate Mexican food." I still don't like beans much but unfortunately have completely gotten over any aversion to lard fried corn products with copious amounts of melted cheese on them or large quantities of avocados mushed with garlic, cilantro, lime juice and minced tomatoes.

So there you have it. People magazine will headline me next week - I just KNOW it! The paparazzi will have a FIELD day and it will all be YOUR fault, Emily.

I hope you're happy.