Since we're here, you probably should know...

I've had a lot of experience lately having to endlessly recount who I am to people who may only be in my life a short time. That is a hard question. I prefer to go with Whitman's self analogy "I am large, I contain multitudes." But, most people I meet don't really get that so you have to give them something a bit more tangible. So I started thinking about that a little more and decided that I should create a self-assessing inventory. Here it is. Yes, that's right, in front of you are the nuts and bolts of who I am, the "must read for what you need to know about Natalie" guide for 2006," the good, the bad, the ugly.

• I am a Yankee in a Southern town (born in Nashville, partially rasied in Louisville, grew up in Columbus, migrated to LexVegas in the early 90's) they still don't look to kindly on me in these parts.
• I love my job.
• I am exceptionally clumsy and am prone to bad luck when it comes to love, being arrested or injured.
• No, that is not a zit on my nose. It's a scar. I was a victim of gang warfare and it's gonna be there forever and it drives me insane. See above.
• I love my eyes. I'm content with my eyes. I know how to use them to my advantage.
• I am a girlie girl. I love makeup, hair products, and pretty clothes.
• I love shoes, even when they hurt, I adore them.
• I have spent way too much money on credit cards and am kind of freaking out.
• I love Nordstrom's, the Gap, Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel. Again, see above.
• I would like nothing more than to own a specialty foods store someday where I can also make my favorite things (espeically soup) and serve it to the elite ladys who lunch.
• I wish I hadn't been afraid to move to Washington DC after college.
• I am most content in New England. I always feel as if it is nourishment to my soul.
• If I could do one thing it would be travel around to fabulous places and critique a resort or other fine accomodations in which I was staying. Oh, don't forget I'll be dining in the finest restaurants as well.
• I feel that there are very few people who understand inherently who I am and who get me.
• I have made a lot of mistakes.
• My favorite color is midnight blue.
• I love reading a good book or poetry.
• I listen to words for their meaning instead of accepting them at face value. I listen for words as they relate to my own life in books, poetry, movies, or songs. I listen for what they could mean and fantasize that I am in their favor.
• My favorite movies of all time are: 1) Forrest Gump 2) The Godfather 3) The Breakfast Club 4) Shakespeare in Love
• I have a smart mouth and sometimes a quick temper.
• I still love New Kids on the Block.
• I am a Sagittarius through and through and am oddly drawn to the letal combination of Pisces men. I am always trying to find my Gemini.
• I have to touch and smell everything.
• I don't care, I know it pisses you off and everyone hates it, oh and not to mention bad for me, but I still love a good smoke.
• I adore men. I adore everything about a man. The way they smell (um..Jean-Paul Gautier, yes please!), the way their butt looks in a great pair of jeans, their hands, the way they look at you, the way they touch you, hold you, kiss you. I love men.
• I dwell over the past and am most often paralized by the fear of moving forward.
• I love the way you feel when you have had just enough wine to make you tipsy.
• I hate crowds, crowded places or the feeling of being trapped. Anywhere or by anyone.
• I can walk away from people who have done me wrong or hurt me one too many times and not feel remorse.
• I am in constant struggle with my relationship with God and am keenely aware that there is an evil force ever present in my life.
• I make bad decisions but I am good at accepting the consequences.
• I don't regret being married or getting divorced.
• I am really good at giving advice and horrible at following it.
• I've been all over the United States, and to Paris and London.
• I am scared of ghosts because of growing up in a haunted house.
• I realize that my parents did the best they could raising me and that they loved me and (I think) did a great job.
• I laugh at everything.
• I am thankful for what I have and sometimes what I don't have.
• I am blessed to have a family where I am loved.
• Sometimes I think I have a sixth sense.
• I have amazing friends.
• I am in love with the idea of being in one of those MFEO romances.
• I am still learning and that is ok.
• I cross the line when I shouldn't.
• I am a damn good cook, party giver, and center of attention.
• I love children, dogs and bald men.