I'm a 35 36 37 38 year old mother of 3 who needs a break - physical, mental, spiritual or financial - I'll take what I can get. My husband says I work too much and I should chill more. Whether he's right or wrong, my life is what it is. I'd love some more "me time" to read, write and shop, but I never have the time to take it. So this blog is my "me time" and it's ALL ABOUT ME.

100 things about me



Janine Dunlop's Facebook profile



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In a previous life, I freelanced for Pregnancy and Parenting magazines.

I'd love to do more of this. If/when someone offers me a regular gig (hint!), I'll start up again.

Here's a list of my published work.

Dunlop, J. 2004, "Got time on your side?", Living and Loving, vol. September, pp. 146.

Dunlop, J. 2004, "Happy endings", Your Pregnancy, vol. April/May, no. 32, pp. 60-62.

Dunlop, J. 2003, "Coping with depression", Your Pregnancy, vol. October/November, no. 29, pp. 54-56.

Dunlop, J. 2003, "Working moms: guilt or grace?", Today, vol. October, no. 126, pp. 22-23.

Dunlop, J. 2002, "AIDS in the classroom", Your Family, vol. January, pp. 88-89.

Dunlop, J. 2001, "The baby gap", Your Family, vol. April, pp. 14-16.

Dunlop, J. 2000, "Hope is born", Today, vol. May, no. 99, pp. 26-27.

Dunlop, J. 2000, "The nappy debate", Your Baby, vol. August, no. 53, pp. 95-96.

Dunlop, J. 1999, "Waiting for a heartbeat", Today, vol. May, no. 91, pp. 24-27.

Dunlop, J. "'Just relax' and other infertility myths", TLC: Tender Loving Care for Life, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 95-96.



My Type-A Mom articles:


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Sunday, October 24, 2004
100 things about me

  1. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, 23 September 1969.
  2. I lived in the same house from the age of 3 until age 25, when I got married.
  3. Until I was 21, I’d never traveled further than the Garden Route in the Western Cape – about 500 kilometres away.
  4. I’ve been overseas once – to see Scott’s family in the UK.
  5. I have a fantasy about living there one day, but I don’t think I’d cope with the weather.
  6. I learned to drive when I was 25.
  7. I passed my driver’s license first time.
  8. I can’t ride a bicycle. There, I’ve told the world.
  9. #8 is one of my biggest embarrassments.
  10. You’d never say I was 35. Most people peg me at around 21. Really.
  11. People look at me strangely whenever I go out with my children, probably because they’re trying to figure out how old I was when I had my first child. Scott can verify that – it’s not just my paranoia talking.
  12. I loathe the fact of #10. It truly is a mixed blessing – I have to work extra hard for people to take me seriously.
  13. I’ve weighed the same since my undergraduate days.
  14. If I could, I would live on biscuits and chocolate.
  15. I’m lazy when it comes to exercise.
  16. I’m staggeringly uncoordinated. I couldn’t catch a ball if you paid me.
  17. I was always the last to be picked for the team.
  18. The biggest paradox in my life is that I’m pathologically afraid of death. I spend days at a time thinking about it and feeling trapped by the fact of my mortality.
  19. It’s a paradox, because I’m a born-again Christian. I know: bizarre.
  20. I’m not a bible-puncher, but I love to tell people about my faith.
  21. The Passion of the Christ made me weep uncontrollably.
  22. I have an older sister by three years, Belinda, whom I worship and adore.
  23. We used to fight hard as children and I have a scar on my leg to prove it.
  24. I was a total overachiever at school until Standard 8 (Grade 10) – one year, I got 90% for almost all my subjects.
  25. When I was in primary school, I wanted to be an actress, a vet, and a doctor.
  26. When I was 14, I went through a phase of wanting to be a nun. I still have a soft spot for nuns.
  27. I had an enormous crush on Sting, and throughout my life, I think I’ve owned every one of his albums (including his Police days).
  28. I went to one of his concerts a few years ago and screamed like a teenager. (It’s true – Belinda was there and she spent most of the time laughing at me.)
  29. I taught myself to read music when I was 11.
  30. I’d like to learn to play the violin before I die.
  31. I taught myself to knit when I was on bed rest while pregnant with James. I find it incredibly therapeutic.
  32. In Standard 8, I changed schools and my school results suffered.
  33. My self-esteem went on a downward spiral because of my crummy school results, some bullies who had nothing better to do than pick on me, and some teachers who labelled me as average.
  34. I still resent my father for ignoring my brilliant results because he had better things to do, like shout at Belinda for not getting brilliant results.
  35. During my high school and undergraduate years, I kept a list of all the boys I tongue-kissed. The total, when I met Scott, was 38. (Clearly #26 wasn’t meant to be.)
  36. I went to my first nightclub at age 15. I drank a beer, sat in a corner and wondered what all the fuss was about.
  37. I smoked my first cigarette at age 16, vomited and never touched cigarettes again.
  38. I fancied myself a goth for years. I wasn’t. I just wore black and scowled a lot.
  39. I still wear a lot of black, but I smile more.
  40. My majors in university were English and Law.
  41. And boy-watching.
  42. And avoiding lectures.
  43. Scott was my first and only true love.
  44. I have a horror of small groups and “sharing”.
  45. Which brings me to the next paradox: I’m a small group (cell) leader in our church.
  46. I was an undiagnosed anorexic. At my worst, I used to eat one slice of toast for lunch and allow myself a handful of dry cereal for supper.
  47. I took slimming tablets for the high they gave me and because they suppressed my appetite for days.
  48. Scott cured me of anorexia by loving me unconditionally and allowing me to see my beauty.
  49. I know all about child molestation.
  50. As a result, I’ll never fully trust older Christian men in grey polyester.
  51. I had a near-death experience when someone tried to kidnap me.
  52. As a result, I panic when I smell a certain aftershave.
  53. I believe that #s 49 and 51 are part of who I am, so I don’t try to hide them.
  54. I’m a librarian.
  55. I happened upon librarianship when Scott wrote to me about it from the army – he’d met someone there who was a librarian and thought it sounded like a cool thing to do.
  56. A few weeks later, I found myself signing up for the diploma.
  57. A few weeks after that, I found that I loved the field of librarianship and I’m very good at it.
  58. I don’t stamp books all day.
  59. But I do love books.
  60. I read eclectically – if someone recommends a book, I read it to understand more about that person.
  61. I can’t grasp the fact that I’ll only ever be able to be myself and not other people.
  62. If you didn’t understand #61, don’t worry – sometimes I tend to overthink life.
  63. I get bored very easily and don’t like the idea of only having one career. As a result, I’ve dabbled in research, writing and proofreading.
  64. I have a dream of becoming a nurse one day.
  65. And having a magazine column.
  66. And writing a book about parenting, or birth.
  67. I also have a plan to pitch to my library director about opening a new department in our library – something to do with document delivery and making the most of new technology.
  68. I’m mentioned in the ‘acknowledgements’ section of a number of books – I work in a department where people come to do research and we have loads of sought-after collections.
  69. I worry constantly – about dying (see #18), about loved ones dying, about whether people like me, about whether I’m on the life-path I’m supposed to be, about whether my house is clean enough, about whether I’m doing a good enough mothering job with my children.
  70. I want to be able to do my best at everything. I worry when I can’t excel at something.
  71. I’ve failed one exam in my life: my university Latin exam. It was a huge blow, as I used to get 90s for it in high school.
  72. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t want to be a mother – my ambition when I was 16 was to get married and have children.
  73. It took 4 years from the point of deciding to conceive with Scott to having my first baby.
  74. I did 2 iui’s and 3 cycles with clomid before giving up on treatment.
  75. I got hot flashes while on clomid. I now know what menopause is like.
  76. I conceived naturally 6 months later.
  77. I lost the baby in the 8th week of pregnancy.
  78. I’ve never known such grief and never want to again.
  79. I’ll always see myself as infertile, even though I’ve only ever conceived naturally.
  80. Despite having 2 more miscarriages and 2 high-risk pregnancies with James and Hannah, I love, love, love being pregnant.
  81. I find other women’s birth stories fascinating because every story is unique.
  82. If I could, I would keep having children until I hit menopause.
  83. But I won’t: I plan to have 3 at most.
  84. I don’t think I’m a very conventional mother – moms’ groups make my hair stand on end.
  85. My best trait is that I try very hard not to be judgmental. I’m willing to give anyone, no matter what they look or sound like, a fair hearing…
  86. Which has resulted in a whole bunch of what a friend calls “stalkers”. I tend to pick up strays who have nowhere else to go and then get stuck with them.
  87. I don’t believe there is any right way of parenting…
  88. Which has got me into a lot of trouble when I’ve spoken to what I call ‘breastfeeding nazis’ and mommies who believe their style is the only way.
  89. I work outside the home and I’m a mother. I can multi-task. Hey!
  90. I hate bigotry, which I think is rooted in ignorance.
  91. I can’t decide whether I’m pro-life.
  92. The way to my heart is through my mind, which is why I find Scott incredibly attractive.
  93. I’m a careless self-groomer. I wash my face with soap and water and cleanse and tone maybe once a week.
  94. But I floss every day.
  95. I’m a careless house-keeper. I care about dust and dirt, not untidy piles of toys, or bills.
  96. My most embarrassing moment was when I flashed my naked body to conference delegates in England – I’d just undressed in one of those mobile shower contraptions, when the door blew open.
  97. I’m fairly easily intimidated: by businessmen with loud voices, by people whom I perceive to be cleverer than I am, and by small groups of people who are “sharing”.
  98. I’m an introvert – I love being on my own.
  99. But I’m apparently very good at public speaking. Yet another paradox.
  100.  I found writing this incredibly therapeutic. Thanks for reading.

 

 

 


Posted at 04:22 pm by neenblog

Name
May 4, 2008   07:52 PM PDT
 
#64 Maybe you could be a delivery room nurse or you could just dream about it.
Enjoyed reading this... it was therapeutic for me too.
Name
January 9, 2008   11:32 AM PST
 
I loved this list - so honest! I am also a librarian though not a practising one at the moment. I also didn't stamp books all day, contrary to popular belief! ;-)
galloway
January 31, 2005   01:18 PM PST
 
I've just been reading your list and found it very interesting. A long path, just like a novel. Congratulations! Love from sunny Italy. At the moment we are covered with snow really!
brandy101
October 28, 2004   11:52 PM PDT
 
I liked your list; I am a "fan" of your husband's hee-larious blog.

Hope you are feeling better today (from your blog above - phlegm and all...)
Bee
October 25, 2004   02:38 PM PDT
 
Yay sister - we are SO one in some ways and so NOT in others. Love you lots n lots like jellytots
Dreama
October 25, 2004   11:11 AM PDT
 
*huge hug Neen* I applaud your honesty and bravery. Sounds like you had some very traumatic esperiences. Wishing you all the very best in life. Love & God Bless.
 

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