Day Numero 14

14. Describe 5 of your strengths.

1. Compassion: I'm compassionate, I think. Sometimes to a fault. I have what my mom used to call "a soft heart." 
2. Writing: this is something that, while I have had to work on, has always come pretty easy to me. 
3. Imagination: You can be a good writer, but if you don't have a good imagination, you can't be a good story-teller. Lucky me, I got both! :) 
4. Knitting: My mom calls me a spider.

Feel free to add. I can't think of anything else.

Day 13

13. Describe 5 weaknesses you have.

1. Books: I have an impossibly hard time walking into a bookstore without walking out with a new book. Or an old book. Ah, old books. Mmmm. 
2. The inability to sit up straight. I have to consciously think about it. 
3. Kittens: Really, though? Who doesn't have this weakness.
4. Judgmental: I'm super judgmental of myself (as a whole) and others (particularly, grammar). I'm trying to be more understanding and forgiving, but it takes time. 
5. My attention span is just not what 

Day 12

12. Describe a typical day in your current life.

On a typical Monday, I'll wake up somewhere between 6:45 and 7:30 (depending on where and if Jake has a subbing job that day). I feed Gwen, then shower, change and eat a bowl of cornflakes with chocolate milk. :) I love chocolate milk. I pack a lunch that I may or may not eat.  I work at the ISU writing center from 9-12 and then I meet with another tutee from 12:30 to 1:30. If Jake has a job, I hang out at the library until he's done and can come pick me up (we only have one car). If Jake doesn't have a job, he comes and picks me up. 

I get home and feed Gwen again. I spend some time with Jake talking about whatever or reading him the latest thing I've written while he plays minecraft, and then, he goes off to work. While he's at work, I write or watch Murder, She Wrote and paint. Jake gets home; we eat dinner, and then we go over to our friends' house to watch the Olympics. We watch a bunch of athletes win medals while others fall down, and then, we go home and go to bed.

That's basically it.

p.s. I totally go to the bathroom and stuff...I just figured you wouldn't want to read about my sudoku sessions.

Days 10 AND 11!!

10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.

The problem with the post is that I’m really good at being embarrassed, but I’m even better at not remembering embarrassing moments. Seriously, I know I probably did one thing or another that I was probably super embarrassed about at the time, but I can’t remember anything off the top of my head….or even after sitting here thinking about it for a moment.

So because of that, I’m also doing 11.

11. List 10 pet peeves you have.

1. “I seen.” Ugh. Seriously? It’s either “I saw” or it’s “I have seen.” I live in the part of the world that seemed to have invented “I seen.”

2. When people are listening to music in a quiet environment but have the music on so loud that the whole room can hear it. What is the point of headphones if you’re going to play your music blaringly loud anyway?

3. Poorly used adverbs (I know I used one in #2). Most of the time I’m actually pretty forgiving about this one, but every now and then, I’ll hear one that sets my teeth on edge. The worst is when I use one but honestly can’t think of a better way to describe my scene. I always highlight the word so I can come back and change it later.

4. Commercials on Pandora.

5. My constant lack of money. It makes me sad, but it also bugs me.

6. When I want to read a book and suddenly realize that I don’t own it. I’ve wanted to read Libba Bray’s The Diviners for two months, but I don’t own that book (and I have no money to buy it).

7. When my phone decides it’s just going to randomly turn off.

8. That I’m only given an hour on the “visitor station”s at the library. Seriously people? I don’t have work for an hour and a half; only giving me an hour is cruel. ;)

9. Chewing loudly. It’s just gross.

10.  People that cross the street 5 feet away from a cross-walk. Sorry, I totally would have stopped, but you’re jaywalking. If you get hit by a car while jaywalking in the middle of the night while you are wearing all black, that is not my fault.

Day 9

9. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.

1. My 7^th grade English teacher: she was the first person I remember telling me that I had a real talent for writing. She was one of the first people that made me think that writing could be something I could do as a career, something that I could always carry with me throughout my life.
2. The Ocean: whoever tells you that the ocean is not a person has never really met her (of course the ocean is a woman). She taught me that life is unpredictable, that you should always be watching for what is coming, but you shouldn’t let it consume you either. She taught me that you can’t worry about the wave you missed or the wave you may or may not catch. The only thing you can control is how you ride the wave you’re on. She taught me that falling down and getting scratched up is part of life and so is getting up. She taught me to relax when I’m scared. Most importantly, she taught me that, even though her moods were fierce, she loves me. This sounds silly, but I know the ocean loves me because I always had fun, and joy is the next most important you can get out of life (love being the first).
3. Stephen King: he taught me that it’s okay to get rejected, and that being rejected isn’t something to be ashamed of. It’s something to be motivated by.
4. My friends: I can’t list you guys all here (I mean I could, but I would go over my 10 people limit). You know who you are. You know how you’ve helped me, how you’ve influenced me, and how you’ve changed me. The friends I have are the friends that have stuck with me despite the moves and changes. I read a quote by Elbert Hubbard that says “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” I think that sums up my friends pretty well. (If you really want to know how you influenced me, just ask and I’ll tell you.)
5. Taylor Swift & the Doctor: I’m going to sound like a 10-year-old, but they taught me not to be ashamed of things I love. I shouldn’t have to apologize for my taste in music or television. I like what I like; I spent a lot of time hiding the music I loved because I thought people would judge me. I was right. People will judge me, but who cares? I love listening to Taylor Swift, and I am a proud Whovian (who has, unfortunately, not seen a single episode since Clara and the Doctor’s last adventure before last summer).
6. My parents: (Also not technically one person, but only 2 people on this list have been physically one person so far, so whatever.) How can the two people who raised you not affect you as a person? They helped mold me for my first 18-19 years of life. I’ve taken what I’ve learned, and I’ve matured (you know, to a degree).
7. J.K. Rowling: she gave me two important things: 1. The backdrop for my childhood, and 2. An escape to a familiar place any time the world becomes too much for me. I am a child with adult responsibilities, and sometimes it’s nice to be a kid again. It’s nice to walk down the halls of Hogwarts and hang out with three of my best friends: Ron, Harry, and Hermione.
8. Guinevere (my cat): she taught me that you can really love someone even though you’re really frustrated with them because they pooped on your rug for the gazillionth time. Real love is washing a poopy bum even though it’s a quarter to midnight, and you’re exhausted.
9. Every single character in every book I’ve ever read: seriously, I become emotionally attached to fictional characters. I cried so hard when (SPOILER ALERT) Sirius died in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I was right there with Harry hoping Sirius had the mirror, praying that Sirius would be a ghost, and being totally devastated when both of these proved false. Sirius showed me how to have fun. Hermione taught me to be a responsible student (and that it’s occasionally okay to be a little rebellious). Princess Addie, from The Two Princesses of Bamarre, taught me to be courageous; and she taught me it was okay to fall for an older guy. I could write you a whole novel on all the fictional characters that have affected my life and how. I’ll leave you with those three though.
10. My hubs: (like you didn’t know this was coming) he showed me that real love is the ability to be yourself around another person. It’s not having to wonder if they’re going to think you’re weird when you meow at them; it’s know they’re going to think you’re weird and love you anyway. Real love is helping you wash your cat’s poopy bum even though he didn’t want the cat in the first place. Jake influences me in so many ways every day, and I love him for it (and for a million other things).

Day 8

8. What are 5 passions you have right now?

1. Writing

2. Getting my cat’s butt shaved (seriously).

3. Music

4. Painting

5. Writing. 

(Yes, writing is on there twice....I'm just SUPER passion about writing...and I honestly couldn't think of a 5th thing.)

Day 7

7. What is your dream job and why?

 

I think my dream job would be a combination of being a mom and being an author. Jake and I always talk about how, when we get our own house, we’ll have our own offices where we can write. I want to write. I want to send the kids to school, spend the 6-8 hours that they’re gone writing, and then I want my work published. Being paid to write would be my dream job because I wouldn’t work a day in my life. It wouldn’t be easy, but it would be fun. Spending all day pretending I live in a world where magic is a reality? And then having the kids home and living in the magic? How could there possibly be something wrong with that?

Day 6

6. What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?

Marriage. It is the hardest, but most rewarding thing I've ever done (and I'm still doing it!). You have to learn to live with another person, and you learn to love that person even though he snores when he's sick. You have to get past the honeymoon stage and learn to talk to each other, to listen to each other, to really communicate and connect with each other. 

It's hard; it's work. The Disney movies never tell you that you have to earn your happily ever after, that you have to work hard to get and keep your happily ever after. They forget to mention that happily ever after is not always happy. 

In spite of and maybe because of all of this, it's the best thing I've ever done, it's the best thing I'm doing, and I wouldn't change a moment. 

   

Day 5

5. What are the five things that make you the happiest right now?

1.      Jake—duh.

2.      The way my story is progressing.

3.      Modern Family

4.      Guinevere

5.      That one of my best friends is 7 months pregnant!!