A Few Things About Me

I started this blog as a type of journal. It helps me to get my thoughts in order and on "paper" so to speak. In the past, I have rarely written down anything about me. I'm just not very good at that. But I'm trying to do better. So this post is about me....today. I was going through my e-mails, trying to clean up my inbox, and came across this list that was going around last summer. I had filled it out and sent it on. When I wrote it, I had fun reflecting on things about me, and I also enjoyed reading what my friends and family wrote for their lists. So, today I decided to take the list, tweak a few things based on the present, and post it here. So, if you care, this is a quick snapshot of me...today:

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00 am
2. Diamonds or pearls? DIAMONDS!!
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Star Trek...it was pretty good
4. What is your favorite TV show? I'm a closet American Idol fan. I also love anything on Food Network (I really like the cake decorating competitions)
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Usually Cereal (whatever kind the kids have left for me in the pantry)
6. What is your middle name? Don't have one
7. What food do you dislike? Cooked carrots
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? I love my Ipod's "Radio Mix" playlist right now: Matchbox Twenty, Jason Mraz, Depeche Mode, The Fray, Coldplay, Maroon 5, Daughtry, etc.
9. What kind of car do you drive? a blue Ford Expedition
10. Favorite sandwich? Warm Turkey with Avocado & Swiss or Provolone cheese -- Yum!!
11. What characteristic do you despise? Obnoxiousness (unfortunately, I'm afraid I suffer from this characteristic)
12. Favorite item of clothing? My yoga pants and a t-shirt (at least that's what I wear a lot)
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Europe (mainly Italy)
14. Favorite brand of clothing? I have recently discovered that I like New York and Company stuff, but I LOVE anything Ann Taylor
15. Where would you retire to? Close to my kids
16. Your most recent memorable birthday? They are all memorable since I share them with my twin sister, Denise and my mom! We have a ball!
17. Favorite sport to watch? Jazz basketball
18. Furthest place your friends are? Wisconsin or Ohio (they are both too far away)
19. When is your birthday? May 18
20. Morning or a night person? Night. I really hate mornings
21. What is your shoe size? 71/2 to 8
22. Pets? Never (If we get a pet, Ryan will leave)
23. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I'm going back to school! Probably going into Nursing, but we will see.
24. What did you want to be when you were little? a teacher
25. How do you feel today? Optimistic that my arm will get better, and glad the weather is going to be beautiful!
26. What is your favorite flower? Geraniums or hydrangeas
27. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? August 21st -- I get to spend the weekend with just Ryan for our anniversary
28. What are you listening to right now? Lauren playing the piano...she's getting pretty good.
29. What was the last thing you ate? Breakfast
30. Do you wish on stars? Sometimes
31. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple
32. How is the weather right now? Very nice
33. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My sweetie, Ryan
34. Favorite soft drink? I mix my drinks now....mostly Diet Coke with a little bit of Cherry Coke on the top (needs a little bit of sugar!)
35. Favorite food? Probably crab, but I love anything Italian and Bajio's shrimp tacos!!!
36. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies (though Denise and I would never get to actually play with them. We would spent so much time getting them dressed and setting up the barbie house that it was always time to clean up when we would start playing)
37. Summer or winter? Spring!!
38. Hugs or making out? Both! (Though Ryan would question that answer!)
39. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate, chocolate and chocolate
40. Coffee or tea? Neither, but I am at least a 2 packet girl with my hot chocolate (refer to #39)
41. When was the last time you cried? Sounds corny, but it was last week, while reading the Conference talks
42. What did you do last night? Went to Braiden's T-Ball game and watched the American Idol finale
43. What are you afraid of? Losing someone I love
44. Salty or sweet? Sweet, sweet, and sweet (#34, #40, and again, #39)
45. How many keys on your key ring? 4 keys, 4 tags, and a cute Winnie the Pooh key chain in the shape of a "J"
46. How many years at your current job? 12 years being a mom (WOW!!)
47. Favorite day of the week: Friday night (DATE NIGHT!)
48. How many towns have you lived in? 9
49. Do you make friends easily? I hope so
50. Favorite outdoor activity? Hiking

So! That's me in a nutshell! Feel free to post your own list in the comments section. I would love to get your version of the list!

A Beginning

I'm completely new at this. Until a few months ago, I hardly ever even checked my e-mail. But then I joined facebook and now I'm online a lot more. It's been so fun reconnecting with old friends. I also realized that a lot of them were posting blogs. I love reading people's blogs and gaining a better insight into their lives and feelings. I decided to give it a whirl. I have had a very strong desire lately to express my thoughts and emotions. Mainly just to myself, but since I'm horrible at journal writing, I figured I would try blogging. Maybe it's just a passing phase because the whole facebook and messaging thing is still new, but it's worth a try.

So, since this is my first post, I guess it's as good of time as any to give you a brief history. ("Let me explain....no, it will take too long. Let me sum up..." --Princess Bride, one of the greatest movies EVER). Here it goes...I was born to Dennis and Nancy (no last names here--you never know who lurks on people's blogs). I have a twin sister. Her name is Denise and I honestly think that we had to come down here to earth together so I would make it through our first rough years. My parents divorced when we were about 2 and my Dad remarried shortly after that. He was granted primary custody of Denise and I. Janis, my new step-mom, became my mom in every sense of the word. We became a new family and my parents had three more kids: a brother, Jason; and two sisters, Jessica and Kaylee. My mom Nancy, also remarried when I was in Junior High and Denise and I visited them quite often.

Life was pretty good growing up. We moved to Davis County from Salt Lake City when I was in fourth grade. It was the perfect little community to grow up in. I had lots of friends and things were great. When I graduated from high school, I immediately went away to school up in Logan. It was there that I started dating the love of my life, Ryan. We were friends for a while before dating (I was 17 when I first met him), and we dated for almost a year before getting married in 1995. We had our first daughter a year and a half later. Kaitlyn Denise was born on her daddy's birthday. I was so thrilled to be a mom! I had always known that was what I was meant to do and be. She is so beautiful in every sense of the word. We had our second daughter 21 months after that. Lauren Elise looked exactly the same as Katie did when she was born (except for her cone-shaped head) it was like I had had the same baby twice. But I soon found out that she was different from Katie in almost every way. She is just as beautiful as Katie, and also spunky, full of life, emotion, and passion. It is amazing to me how unique all children are. I knew two little girls were going to keep me quite busy, so we slowed down the kid-making department for a while. It was during this time that Ryan was starting and completing 3 long years of law school.

Sometimes I wonder how we survived those days, and yet, I really miss them sometimes. After law school, we moved to Idaho Falls, bought a house, and started "normal" life. But Ryan was frustrated with his job, and we really felt like we belonged in Utah. One day he got a call from the Utah Supreme Court asking him to consider a clerkship position for one of the Justices. He had previously applied for that position, and it had never come through. We were thrilled. After a short 8 months of living in Idaho, we took the job and moved back home. After several mini detours, we built our home in Davis County, Ryan took a new job with a firm in Salt Lake after his clerkship, and we've been here ever since. Braiden Ryan, our first son, was born two weeks before we moved into our house. He was mellow and easy going from the start. He has remained that way for the most part. Two and a half years later, our final (yep, I said final) son was born. Ethan Dallin is full of energy. He definitely keeps me young (or at least tries to).

My life is mostly consumed by my role as a mother. It is who I am and I love that. There hasn't been much time for anything else in my life besides Ryan and the kids. I do a lot of the typical "Mormon Mom" stuff: scrapbooking, carpooling, church callings, housework, trying to make my house a home, cooking, etc. It is exhausting and, most of the time, thankless. There are more times that I want to sob than I care to admit, but when it all comes down to it, I love these five people more than anything. I'm so lucky and blessed to have them in my life. I hope they feel the same way about me.

That is a brief summary of me. There will be more to come that will hopefully fill in the gaps that I left with this post. I'm just excited to get it out of my head and on paper (so to speak). I will figure out how to post pictures and such. Be patient with me---I'm a rookie.