6 Things About Me

So my dear friend Adah requested that I give six bits of information about myself. I've never wanted to answer these requests when I've had them before, because I start to think that I have led a very dull life, but here ya go. You be the judge. Actually, no, please don't judge me. Just love me. 

1. I like to mix my cereal. I will one day devote a post to this, and summon all of your amazing experiences with mixing your breakfast bowl fare. But for now, suffice it to say that I really like mixing different types of cold cereal in the same bowl for my breakfast.

2. My favorite Domestic-Goddess game is to try to make dinner out of whatever scant articles of food we have left in our kitchen, when we're in desperate need of groceries. I take great pride in creating a delicious feast of enchilada casserole, vegetable curry, crackers with toppings, or whatever else I can come up with. And then as we eat, I allow Derek to marvel at my ability to make a meal without recipes; and he gets to listen to me recount my play-by-play of how I determined which ingredients to use in place of everything that we were out of.

3. Never had an interest in being a doctor, lawyer, or the President of the USA, but over the years I have wanted to grow up and become many things, including the following: Archaeologist, Anchorwoman, Trapeze Artist, Midwife, Children's book writer, Psychologist, Rock star, Art therapist, Mom, Photographer for National Geographic, Social Worker, Teacher, Mechanic, Actress (Commercials), Actress (Broadway), Librarian, Potter, Flautist, Belly dancer, Bed-and-Breakfast operator, Pastry chef, and Professional swimmer. And some other things, too.

4. I have lived in every time zone in the US (except Alaska and Hawaii, but who's counting them..). 

Age 0-18: CST

Age 18-20: PST

Age 20-24: MST

Age 24-30: EST

Age 30-present: CST

5. I am (mostly) unashamed to say that I slept with my baby blankie until I was 28 years old. It was given to me by my grandmother and was/is very precious to me. I remember tragic nights as a child when bedtime arrived and the blankie was sopping wet in the washing machine. Or worse, when my brothers had hidden it. When Ava was born, I decided it was time to retire the blanket (If I held it up to light, I could see right through it). Honestly, I just didn't want her to poop on it or anything.

6. One of my favorite places to be in the world is under water. There is nothing that can compare to the sensation of gliding deep under water, where all is quiet and serene. I like to take the biggest breath I can manage before plunging down to a place where I am all alone, and the world is standing still. This is the closest I can get to an out-of-body experience.

5. Labor and delivery of babies fascinates me--even before I experienced it (and even AFTER I experienced it!). In fact, when we were first married, I used to subject poor Derek to videos of women giving birth. I'm not really sure why he agreed to sit through them. I must have been quite insistent, and then, he is a very sweet and supportive husband. It's not that I was dying to experience it myself, it's just that I have always been awed by the way that nature provides a means for most babies to enter the world safely through their mother's vaginas. I mean, how crazy is that!? When my turn to experience labor firsthand was approaching, I was genuinely curious and excited to see what it would be like. And it exceeded all of my most unrealistic expectations of how incredible it was. For months afterwards, I re-lived the whole thing in my mind over and over, because I didn't want to forget it. Penelope's birth was harder, and I didn't particularly want to relive it, but it didn't sour my fascination with the whole thing, either.

6. I can't count to six.