Received the Naval Achievement Medal as a corporal in the US Marine Corps, a medal rarely awarded below the rank of staff sergeant nor during a first enlistment.

Graduated summa cum laude with an associate's degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology from a community college.

Graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech.

Secondarily, I can claim to be both a scholar and a decorated jarhead.

Maintained my son's sanity while his schizophrenic mother raised him. (Not hyperbole, she finally saw a shrink a couple years ago and he made the diagnosis -- and confirmed my suspicions.)

Played and recorded a 9 1/2 minute synthesizer solo without overdubs or editting that I believe is equal to anything professionally released. (I have to get that uploaded one of these days.)

Editing the first draft of my first short story that I believe is publishable after many years of writing crap.

Ardiril - send me ALL of that. I will use your synth solo on the air next week. Rock on!

I'm proud of my family and I'm proud of my friends.

Hugh - have you ever made an omelette?

Yeah, you bet. French of Spanish?

≡ Click to see image ≡

oops I meant French or Spanish.

I qualified and went to the Worlds in equestrian competition as a young adult.

I rode my bike to work (and everywhere else for that matter) every single day for the last four years, and despite that I have a car again I plan to keep it that way, honestly.

I sucessfully navigated being cast adrift in my mid thirties and did some self maintenance and a lot of soul searching. Finally learned how to actually relate to a partner fairly, and have now come out the other end far more happy and fulfilled than I could have ever imagined.

At the ripe age of forty it appears that my slack ass may have coasted into a successful career after all.

Lonefrontloader - here's to 40! I'm 40-plus-one in April, cuz.

And Hugh? Either/or is fine. (p.s. what is a French omelette?)

Thing I'm most proud of right now: My therapy clients are getting better. And they're getting better in ways that I thought they would get better, due, I believe, to things that I did.

That's pretty awesome. I'm, like, actively helping people. And I may even have an accurate sense of what helps people get better. Yay!

French is the way most omelettes are made, you fill the pan with egg, push the cooking egg to the outside, rotating the pan so the raw egg slides back into the middle, creating a thicker border of cooked egg around the edge and leaving the middle relatively thin; then you put your filling in the middle area until it cooks and finally you slide it out of the pan, folding it over on itself as it plates.

A Spanish omelette is made with the eggs and onions and potatoes all mixed up together; it's really more of an egg pancake than an omelette.

Push the cooking egg/
to the outside!
to the outside!
push the cook-ing e-gg!
to the outside!

(check for tour dates)

I raised two kids that I could respect as people, not just love as my offspring.

Ditto, so far, with what arse_hat says. My kids aren't yet teenagers, though, so that may change. I sure hope not.

I'm not doing the job I expected to have at age 40 (*high fives LFR and LT*), but I'm satisfied at the end of the day that I helped at least a few people accomplish their long term goals or, at least, kept something from being a drama or crisis when it didn't need to be. Some days, I'm mostly a computer waitress. Other days, I'm more of a big sister or stern auntie. Either way, I earn my paycheck and I'm generally happy to be there.

I'm told I'm going to very likely be getting a solo art show in a small, but very nice, venue this year. I got to participate in a group show in December, and my art got featured in two local newspapers, even though we sent a decent selection from most of the group. I also got lots of compliments, but no sales.

Finally, I make a good omelette of either variety HJ lists and a darn good fritatta, too. I'm planning to learn to make pad woon sen, maybe even as soon as tomorrow night.

Hey, thanks for reminding me--I just turned 200 today--not as big a deal as your 500 I know (wouldn't want to take away your glory) but I'm proud too, today, now that you think about it. Surrounded by good friends, family and well wishers--I've just come from looking death in the eye--and you don't get too many chances to do that. So thank you Lipstick Thespian--thank you for the post--and thank you for encouraging me today.

I won my Cub Scout pack's Pinewood Derby 3 years in a row. It's all about aerodynamics. And graphite powder.

And I am an Eagle Scout.

Yeah!

I've been immersed in the unconditional love of an unconditionally wonderful person. It made the hard stuff easy.

I am proud of how good I am at my job. I never intended on becoming a translator, and I have been 'in training' for ten years now. I am damn good at it. The internet helps. My google-foo is stupendous. My humility, not so much.

I am proud of the relationship that I have with my wonderful husband. It's so damn healthy, we get nearly all of our daily recommended allowance of vitamins right out of it. Our relationship fights cavities.

I am proud that I have made my home one where people can feel safe and stable.

I am also proud of the fact that when I wash my (rather) long hair, I don't need to comb through it, it just naturally detangles. I shouldn't really be proud of that though, that came with the package, it's nothing I've created, but I think it is pretty cool.

I have a job that I absolutely adore (even if I hate the fact that I have to roll out of bed at 730 in the morning and sometimes the day to day crap grates on my nerves) in a field that I really feel at home in.

I am proud of the fact that I've learned when to recognize downward trends in my moods and therefore know when to retreat for nesting.

I'm proud that I keep going, no matter what. Many a foe has broken on my steely determination.

Played and recorded a 9 1/2 minute synthesizer solo without overdubs or editting that I believe is equal to anything professionally released.

But is it as good as THIS???!!!

- I am proud of learning (mostly on my own, after a handful of lessons to get started) to play drums starting at age 32, and having the determination to continue. I have quit a lot of things in my life but I really enjoy playing and have been faithful about practicing, which is a big source of pride for me.

- I am proud of having finally gotten into using my mother's old sewing machine, which she gave me a few years ago. I have really enjoyed the things I've made, and I'm going to start making clothes with patterns. (I've realised thrift stores are a goldmine of awesome, cheap patterns!)

- I'm proud of beginning to make zines, after thinking and procrastinating a long time. This, and the sewing thing, has made me believe after a life of believing I was dull and stupid, I actually have ideas. I am creative! I'm not really that much of a poser!

- I am proud of having been so independent most of my adult life. Being perpetually single means I've handled my own shit. I've taken care of myself when I'm sick, I've unclogged my own drains, I've put together my own bed and moved my own furniture and driven my own moving truck and fixed my own computer and painted my own walls.

I'm proud that I gathered my courage to leave a dead-end job and life in Texas and moved to Washington.

I'm proud that an awesome person loves me and wants to spend his life with me.

I'm proud that no matter how anyone else sees me (or how I see myself) animals and babies still love me.