Day 20

Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

1.  I remember my mom painting the house once.  I wanted to be out there and help her.  Jeff and Sue must have been in school already.  So she gave me a bucket of water and let me "paint" the bricks on the bottom of the house  ;)

2.  Visiting my Great Grandma Fairchild in the nursing home.  She was in a room by herself and from what I remember it only had a twin bed (the one Rose uses now), a desk (which is in our kitchen), an overstuffed chair, a small TV on a stand, and a bookshelf.  In the bottom drawer of the desk she kept a small red rubber ball that she would let us sit on the floor and bounce against the door and play catch with ourselves.  On her bookshelf she had an oval shaped thing with blue and white sand in it, and when you flipped it around and around it looked like the ocean waves.  I have never seen another like it since.  We must have visited her a lot because I am pretty sure I was only about 7 or 8 when she died.

3.  When I was in Kindergarten some other kids on the school bus dared me to kiss a boy and I did.  I think only on the cheek  ;)

Day 19

If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

I really like water....so anywhere that is near water.  Duluth/Two Harbors, MN really is a favorite place.  Or Pensacola, FL.  Or I know of this really great cabin in Birchwood, WI.....

Day 18

What has been the most difficult thing you have had to forgive?

To forgive my older siblings for cutting me out of their lives completely.  I still have to remember to forgive them on a regular basis because it still hurts a lot.

Day 17

What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

Singing.  I know I am ok.  I wish I was great though.

Day 16

I just realized I never did 5 strengths!  Oops.  Here goes:

1.  Empathy.  I always want to believe the best in people, and I hurt when they hurt. 
2.  Organization.  I can tell you where to find almost anything in my house.  Except, oddly enough, my cell and my keys.  A good trait to have when your kids want you to constantly find everything for them.
3.  Forgiveness.  Even when people have wronged me I always want to give them another chance (to a fault sometimes).
4.  Learning languages.  I have always had a really strong understanding for languages, and strong retention as well.  I wish I had more chances to practice.
5.  Grammar.  Kind of annoying for others when I correct them (which hopefully I don't do much, as it is so rude).  Annoying for me when I read things like Facebook updates and people either haven't learned grammar, or don't care.

Day 15

What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?

1.  Being able to run non-stop for 30 mins, and  finishing a 5K while running the entire way.
2.  Graduating college.  I wish I would have taken it more seriously, but I did it!
3.  Starting my own business from scratch.  It's pretty cool that people want to buy what I make!
4.  Getting my CDL.  Without really studying, or ever driving the bus before the driving test.
5.  Buying my own house at age 23.  Sure it was a cheap house, but pretty cool that I was able to do it!

Day 14

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

This is a weird question.  I would not want to be an animal.  There is no animal I think is cool enough to want to live like one.

Day 13

Describe 5 weaknesses you have.

1.  Food.  I hate the hold it has over me.  I am working on it.

2.  Coke.  I know it's bad for me, I know I shouldn't drink it, but I LOVE IT.

3.  Being afraid of what people think of me.  I know it should only matter what God thinks but my human side sneaks in.

4.  My kids.  I try to come off as the heavy but usually end up letting them have their way.

5.  Gossip.  Hate that I do it.  But know that I do.  Yuk.

Day 12

Describe a typical day in your current life.

Wake up between 6:00-6:30.  Check email and Facebook.  Get breakfast for myself and my girls.  Shower/dress/etc.  Since it is summer and I don't have to take the girls to school, I usually start sewing, doing laundry, doing dishes, straightening up the house, etc.  We will sometimes go to the free kids movie or the library.  Lunch is noonish and then back to sewing or housework, or if the girls get their way, the swimming pool.  Start making dinner around 4:30 or 5, Mark gets home at 5:15, and we eat supper.  Then we sometimes watch a family movie or just hang out with the girls, and put them to bed at 8.  Then Mark and I watch a movie or play XBox.  Bedtime at 11ish and then start the whole thing over again!

Day 11

Describe 10 pet peeves you have.

1.  Bad spelling and grammar.  It seems like some people don't even try!
2.  People who don't clean up after themselves, and/or litter.
3.  Drivers who don't use turn signals.
4.  People who let their dogs poop wherever.
5.  People that are late.
6.  When someone in the house uses the last of something and doesn't tell me so I don't know to buy it, then when I need more there is none here.
7.  People that exaggerate/lie.
8.  Not doing hospital corners when making a bed.
9.  Someone that flakes out when they say they will do something.
10.  Cat hair.

Day 10

Describe your most embarrassing moment.

Walking down the hall in my dorm--where if you were in your room you would frequently leave your door open so friends could pop in to say hi, etc.  I walked past one girl's room where a lot of girls from my floor, and one of the girls' boyfriends, were hanging out, and as I passed the boyfriend said "Who's the heifer?"  To which all the girls who I thought were my friends, laughed.

Day 9

List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.
It doesn't say for good or for bad so there will be both... in no particular order.
1.   Leslie Morgan.  The professor whose words are etched in my memory forever--"If you promise not to major in music after this semester, I will give you an A."
2.  Mark, my husband.  In many ways!  But mostly because of his tenacity.  When he decides he wants to do something, he works really hard at it until he is good at it.  I wish I was more like that and not such a quitter.
3.  Kurt Hoover.  The friend that led me to accept Jesus as my Savior.
4.  Kelly Montag Schramek.  One of my old college roommates, and the first woman I ever knew that was sold out, radical, on fire for God!
5.  Pastor Roger Poupart.  A pastor I sorely miss, I learned so much Biblical knowledge from him, and always marveled at how he lived above reproach and not by man's rules but by God's guidance.
6.  My parents.  Both are hard workers, and have instilled that in me as well.
7.  Jeff, my brother.  He always encouraged me to be more than I thought I could.
8.  Sheila Stevens.  For believing in me enough to let me go running with her, and for not letting me give up!
9.  Bob Dahlberg.  He was my dentist in Des Moines, and truly loved his job.  He literally whistled while he worked.  And he was very kind to everyone, which I totally appreciated.
10.  M and A--two little girls who were so cruel to me in the fourth grade that I will never knowingly be cruel and make someone feel badly like they did.

Day 8

What are 5 passions you have?

1.  My husband.  He is everything I ever prayed for and more.  God blessed me more than I ever thought possible, and I am not sure why.  I guess cuz He loves me!

2.  Sewing.  I have never understood how people could do something for hours and it seems like hardly any time has passed.  Now I understand.  :)

3.  Cooking/Baking.  I love doing both of these things and having people tell me how yummy what I made tastes.

4.  Friendships.  It has always been important to me to have a lot of friends, and I love them all dearly.  I am sad that I don't have sufficient time to spend time with all of them, as I would like.

5.  Jesus.  Getting closer to Jesus.  Showing my girls how to love Jesus.  Showing all others to love Jesus.  Being the reason people who don't know Jesus feel His love.  Etc.

Day 7

What is your dream job, and why?

While I love sewing, and would really love to have a chain of boutiques that carry clothes I have designed...I think my TRUE dream would be to be a singer, a famous singer, that could make money with my music.  :)

Day 6

What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?
Living with depression.  It is hard to explain to people when you feel sad but don't have a concrete reason why.  It's hard to be on anxiety meds when you are a pre-teen.  It's hard feeling like you would not be missed.  It was hard becoming a Christian, thinking that would make it easier, when in fact Satan hit me harder, and the time period immediately after that was one of the darkest times in my life.  But praise the Lord for bringing me through it and helping me manage it now.  :)

Day 5

What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?

1.  Mark.  Above and beyond anything else.  I love to be around him doing anything--folding clothes, playing video games, going for a walk, anything.  I never thought I would be as close to someone, that someone would complete me so perfectly, that marriage could be so wonderful. Ok I could gush forever but I don't want to make you puke.  ;)

2.  Our church.  Seriously I never knew a church could be so much like a family.  So much love and care for everyone else.  The drama and arguments too, but a love that transcends that.  AKA Jesus.

3.  Sewing.  I have always wished I was really good at something.  Sewing is where I feel like I can at least come kinda close.

4.  The fact that school is starting in less than 3 weeks.  I love my girlies but I like the me time.  I can't seem to get anything done in the summer  :)

5.  Singing.  I love that I get to sing at church on a regular basis.  I have neglected that passion for way too long.