8 Things You May Or May Not Want to Know About Me :)

I have no intentions of this ever becoming a personal blog, but I still think it's fun to stop and share an occasional peek into my life so that you feel like you know the "woman behind the blog" a little better.  Here are some fun and perhaps insightful things that make up me:

1.  I have the palate of a 4 year old.  True story.  Getting invited over to other people's houses can make me break out into a cold sweat.  I'm terrified of textures in food and new tastes and I'm better off not knowing what's in something if I'm going to successfully try something new.  I've passed this loveliness on to my oldest and I struggle, struggle, struggle to try to help this not be as big of an issue for him as it is for me.  I'm thankful that McDonald's makes their adult menu using numbers so that I don't have to order an adult chicken McNugget Happy Meal and can just call it a number 10... makes me feel much more sophisticated.


2.  In a former life I was a cake decorator.  It started out as a high school job at the Great American Cookie Co. at the mall where I decorated those giant chocolate chip cookies for people's birthdays and such.  I was decent at it and when Matt was finishing up college I needed a place to work that I didn't feel obligated to have a long term commitment to (like I would feel if I took a ministry job at a church).  I found out that the local Sam's Club was opening up a bakery and needed a cake decorator.  I was the first to apply for the job and since I had a little experience, I got the position of "head cake decorator."  I got to go to a week long training in Kansas City and learned a lot of tricks.  The Sam's Club cakes were by no means fancy, but I was able to teach myself a few more tricks via the internet post decorating job days.  I've done quite a few cakes for family and friends, though I keep it to a minimum these days because they are time consuming to prepare!

Here's the most recent one I did for my sister's wedding this summer.

3.  I have two younger sisters, and of the 13 grandkids in my family, only 3 were boys!  Boys are a pretty new phenomenon in our family; however, my sisters and I were never super girly, girls growing up.  Much to my mother's dismay and my father's joy we burped a lot, and held almost daily belching contests.  We liked to play outside in the mud and nail contraptions together with scraps of my dad's wood (though we did like to "decorate" it with paint... that's kind of girly, right?)  Anyway,  oddly enough, I think my GORGEOUS sisters prepared me for boys.  Haha!

Baby sister, Leah (top right), Me, the oldest (middle) and Middle sister, Bekah (the one smashed at the bottom of the pile :)

4.  After nearly 7 years of marriage, I'm still really attached to my husband.  Not in a super mushy, gushy kind of way, but definitely in an I'd-rather-spend-time-with-him-than-anyone-else kind of way.  I'm not trying to say we have a perfect marriage or anything and we fight because we're both stubborn as mules, but I don't know... at the end of the day, the end of every argument, I just really like him and I don't have much negative to say about him.  I know that I am blessed and do not take him for granted.

5.  I've mentioned this in a post before, but I'm not sentimental.  I LOVE living life to the fullest.  I love going to the park and playing board games and going swimming and having birthday parties and dates with my husband, but I am HORRIBLE at documenting it.  There are seriously probably only 15 photos of my husband and I in existence since we got married (see above... taken this summer... latest photo available...).  I don't keep track of my kid's milestones or get attached to certain outfits that they wear or get teary-eyed about many special things in our lives.  I feel guilty about this.  And I promise it's not because I don't care... and I will say that this pregnancy has made me more sentimental than I've ever been before... but it's just not a characteristic that really defines me.  It makes me feel very non-maternal.

Oh, oh!  I found one!  Sometimes I do take pics with my phone and text them to Matt during the day...

6.  I've mentioned this before too, but I was a very strong-willed, very difficult child growing up.  Most people find that encouraging since I grew up to love Jesus instead of behind bars like my poor mother feared.  Anyone who got up close and personal looks at my fits of rage can attest to the mighty power of the cross.

I might look kinda sweet, but I assure you, I was not.  Haha!

7.  Sometimes I feel like a weirdo masquerading as a normal person.  I feel like I look fairly normal to most passers-by, but when you talk to me, that can be a different story.  I often talk too much and sometimes miss social cues.  I'm not shy, yet can find myself being that awkward person who can't think of anything to say in a group.  I try to be normal and fun to be around, but I find that my success rate is hit and miss.  :)  I suppose everyone's "weird" on some level, right?


8.  I don't watch tv other than preschool cartoons and the occasional sports game with my hubby.  We don't have cable, Netflix or movies, which means I can't discuss the latest sitcoms, dramas, movies, or reality tv shows with you.  This probably contributes to my socially-awkward, weirdo feelings... I'm slightly out of touch with the world around me.  ;)  I have nothing against tv and pre-children Matt and I had several shows we were really into, but nowadays, after the kiddos go to bed, both of us would rather read than watch tv.  They say it helps you sleep better.  I don't know... but I AM excellent at sleeping...

and so is this kid... seriously... he can fall asleep anywhere...

Like Mother, like Son

And just for good measure and because I've never posted a pic of our whole family on here and because our AWESOME photographer just posted this on facebook last night, here's a recent family shot.  :)

Do you share any of my crazy quirks with me?