108 Things About Me

I can't sleep. So what's a girl to do? Blog! And here is a complete nonsense blog. I read another blog that had posted 100 Things About Me. I had to go further with the nonsense and write 108 things. When I got to 100 I found I wasn't done talking. Typical.

108 Things About Me

1. I was born in Managua, Nicaragua

2. I don’t remember it. I was just a baby when we left.

3. It was the coolest thing about me when I was little.

4. It was hard getting much of any kind of driver’s license/permit. The only documentation I had that I was even born was in Spanish.

5. I don’t know how to speak Spanish.

6. I took two years of Spanish in High School.

7. I know how to ask for the bathroom and ask you “what’s happening.” In Spanish. That’s about it. Oh. And I can count to 10. But that might be because of Sesame Street.

8. I am the oldest of 3.

9. I am not quite the bossiest of my 3 siblings.

10. When I was younger we lived way out in the woods.

11. Almost like Laura Ingalls Wilder.

12. Except we had TV.

13. Barely. We got PBS and NBC, exclusively.

14. I knew more about the mating habits of certain water mammals than most girls my age.

15. That is what comes from watching PBS.

16. I know how to gut a chicken.

17. And can my own vegetables and preservatives.

18. I also know how to sew.

19. See. Laura Ingalls Wilder.

20. My Dad is a pastor.

21. He is also a genius.

22. I didn’t inherit those genes.

23. My mom is an artist.

24. I didn’t inherit those genes, either.

25. When I was little I won several writing contests.

26. I didn’t want to be a writer when I grew up.

27. I wanted to be an archaeologist. Like Indiana Jones.

28. I was practically have a minor in history. I suppose that doesn’t count.

29. I got married when I was 19.

30. This year, my Studly Muffin and I, will have be been married 20 years.

31. That’s a long time.

32. I only knew The Studly Muffin a few months before I married him.

33. I like buttermilk.

34. The Studly Muffin loves buttermilk.

35. Which is why he thought I was trying to get his attention before we started dating.

36. No other girl he knew liked buttermilk.

37. Laura Ingalls Wilder. That’s all I’m saying.

38. I went to beauty school after I graduated from High School.

39. No. I am not a beauty school drop out.

40. You can say I am a beauty salon drop out.

41. I went to two different High Schools.

42. I went to 3 years at one High School and then graduated from a different High School.

43. I was a theatre and choir geek.

44. I never had a leading role in the theatre.

45. But, I absolutely loved it.

46. I did do really well in choir.

47. I love to sing.

48. I’m an Alto.

49. I come from a long line of musical people on both sides of my family.

50. Most play a few instruments.

51. My parents play at least 3 apiece.

52. I barely play the piano.

53. My major when I started college was Music Education.

54. I was teaching Music at an elementary school when I first went to college.

55. Then I had a massive car wreck.

56. I almost died.

57. I had to learn to walk again.

58. A few years later I went into Congestive Heart Failure.

59. I was 27.

60. I almost died.

61. My ovaries don’t work very well.

62. I have one baby in heaven.

63. We bought our little boy.

64. He was almost $10,000.

65. You can say that he was our ‘major splurge.’

66. Adopting him was the best thing we ever did.

67. If I could I would buy another one this minute.

68. My husband is a pastor.

69. We’ve had a rough couple of years.

70. I had a second episode of heart failure a couple of years ago.

71. We had to take a break.

72. Break is about over.

73. We homeschool.

74. Yep. We’re those kind of people.

75. My little boy needed some constancy. Not everybody’s mommy is so sick so often.

76. He would have been in 4 school districts already.

77. I love to read. It used to get me in trouble when I was younger. I did things like reading instead of homework, chores and eating. I don’t have a trouble with much of that anymore. At least the eating part :<)

78. I love libraries.

79. I would love to be a librarian.

80. I’m a nerd. Not a smart nerd. Just a nerd.

81. I daydream.

82. I love classic poetry. It makes me feel happy.

83. I love classical music.

84. It makes me feel smarter. And much more adjusted than I really am.

85. One of my favorites is Léo Delibes'. Flower Duet.

86. My other favorite is Bach. Specifically the Cello Suites.

87. Speaking of adjusted. I have 23 pins and screws in my hip and legs.

88. I seldom take narcotics. I would be a good druggie.

89. I can predict an approaching storm system or cold front.

90. I don’t make metal detectors go off.

91. At least, none I’ve never encountered.

92. But you can see all of my pins in any kind of scan or x-ray.

93. I love Sushi.

94. In fact, I love most Asian inspired food.

95. But, my heritage is French, English & Irish.

96. I do like a good cup of tea. With cream.

97. I like my jewelry to dangle. Dangly earrings, dangly bracelets. I feel more alive if it all moves.

98. I also enjoy a good pair of flip flops.

99. They are my choice of footwear in the summer.

100. When I was little I also wanted to be a ballerina. Like a lot of little girls. I still love to watch people dance.

101. I never had a dance class.

102. Closest thing I came to a dance class was square dancing in High school P.E.

103. And learning choreography for the school musicals.

104. My favorite forms of pampering include pedicures, dangly jewelry, a new book, an afternoon at the movies & sushi.

105. My favorite color is red. It makes me feel sassy.

106. My favorite chapter in the Bible is Psalm 91. Look it up.

107. I sometimes suffer from insomnia (if you had 23 pins and screws you might,too).

108. When I have trouble sleeping, I do silly things like post 108 things about myself.

Random Thought X's 10.

I will be honest. I have not been very motivated to blog as of late. I have half a dozen unfinished posts just sitting in my blog dashboard. I have a theory that my creativity comes upon me like the flu or PMS (sorry guys). It's not an every day occurance, but when it happens it is intense and all incompasing. I have long held to the idea that I better get all my planning done whenever I am in one of the "creative hurricanes"...'cause when it is not there...it's just not there. Which can be a big problem for someone who calls herself a Freelance Writer. And has relied on more than one check from a writing job.  Though they might be few and far between right now.

Can I be any more pitiful? Probably. But I'm doing a pretty good job of it right now. I feel like everytime I talk to somebody I have some sort of sad story to tell. I have never had much patience with whiners.

Anyhoo, I do have a few random thoughts today.

1. I went the Y today. Yeah. They know me there. We do have a family membership, though The Studly Muffin has been a handful of times. He used to keep his weights on our porch. He would come home from work (at around 2:30am) and do his workout with only the stars as his audience. I didn't let him bring it to the apartment when we moved. Along with the stars most of downtown Springfield (including our Apartment neighbors) would be slightly disturbed by a grown man lifting weights on an Apartment balacony at all hours of the night. But this is not about The Studly Muffin. It's about the crowd at the Y. What are you all doing there! I know this is still January and all. It is still a little early to neglect that New Year's resolution, but phleease. You're totally cramping my style..and taking my parking spot.

2. Josiah and I also made a trip to the library today. This week our library is having a Food for Fines drive. Meaning you take in your canned goods and they remove any fines from your account. Okay. We go to the library every week. When a family goes as often as we do there is bound to be an occasional over due book.  Or three. So I went through my canned goods and bagged up a few (or 10). I won't give you a run down of strange and unusual things I found in my "pantry." I will admit to the package of mini-marshmallows I found under my bed...which I  know were left over from my 2009 Holiday baking. Not to worry. Ozarks Food Harvest did not receive my moldy marshmallow. I fully intend on using them in some jello this week.

3. The Tax Man is almost here. Which means because we are poor, not employed in a church and still can claim a child we will be getting a refund. Minister's taxes can be a nightmare. We always had to hire an accountant who knew about those dreaded Minister's Taxes. Now we can use one of those free online services. You just point and click. That alone almost makes up for not being in fulltime ministry. Almost...but not quite. Anyhoo...I have plans. I first plan on taking a trip to see my favorite hair dresser and going for Sushi. A girl has to have her priorities in order. Troy has some other priorities...like paying of bills and buying groceries. I don't get it. The man knows how to suck the joy right out of everything.

4. I am so over Winter. My flip flops are calling me. beke. Beke. BE-ke. BEKE! (my flip flops are kind of crazy and all).

5. I've already been hit up to order  Girl Scout cookies. At the Y. Just a glance at that multi-stripped order form sent me back in time. Of course, I was the worst Girl Scout cookie seller of all time. I still really stink at selling things. Here is my Avon spiel (circa 2005). "I am putting in an Avon order this week. Here is a book you can look at. If you want. Don't feel like you have to buy anything. Oh. You need shampoo? And conditioner? The shampoo starts on page 22. They might be kind of high. I don't want you to feel like you have to buy anything. If you want I can give you 40% off. And I'll throw in the conditioner for free."

6. I bought 5 boxes of cookies. I know. I'm supposed to be taking care of myself. My rationale is that I can take them to our Small Group at church to share. Those people love cookies. Right?

7. And I'm contributing to a wonderful organization like the Girl Scouts.

8. And Josiah needs to experience the delictable world of the Thin Mint and the Peanut Butter Patty. Such memories we are cultivating here!

9. Anyhoo.

10. I'll walk an extra lap at the Y. Promise.

My Favorite Christmas Present - EVER!

So have you made your Christmas list yet? I have an unofficial one (new tires, a new printer, a house with a yard, maybe a job, boots, a Circut, to return to my wedding dress size)…but there’s not much on it ;<). Josiah has his list. I will tell you that most of it involves Indiana Jones. There are many families this year that have had to simplify their Christmases. We aren’t alone on that island. We have been blessed to be blessed in this country and there have been many Christmases that my “stocking” was filled to the brim. But I would have to say that my favorite Christmas present ever wasn’t a new purse (though the Studly Muffin has done a good job in that department in years past). It wasn’t a bottle of fancy perfume or a new teapot. 9 years ago on December 10, Troy and I officially received parental custody of one Josiah Bevan. 6 months or so later we become his forever parents. Somewhere in all my boxes I have pictures of a tiny Josiah wearing a little Christmas outfit and a peppermint stripped hat. I think I spent that whole Christmas in some sort of surreal existence. Troy and I had been married 10 years. There had been things that had happened in our 10 years of marriage that no young couple should have to experience. Yet, here we were. Looking at our Christmas miracle. Wrapped up in all the things we thought we might never get to experience. Midnight feedings, dirty diapers, colic. They were glorious!


So here I am 9 years later. I am gazing at a handsome young man. He is wearing a pair of well worn Iron Man jammy pants. Picking his nose. He has dragged out all his action figures to the middle of the living room floor where it appears he attempting to save the world from certain doom. I think his Indiana Jones action figure is hanging from my floor lamp. He didn’t eat a bite of supper tonight (full from the Krispy Kreme we took to our friend Kim’s today) and has discovered that Mom gets really annoyed when he tries to burp “Jingle Bells.” I won’t tell him this, but all of it (even the nose picking part) is glorious! How blessed I am. So even if Santa doesn’t make a stop at my house this year I already feel that my Christmas present has arrived. I am at this moment telling him to keep his hands out of his pants…and probably will send him back to his own bed at least a dozen times tonight. But what a Present!

Josiah - Age 9 - At Ama and Papa's Farm in Stella

My Studly Muffin

On October1,1991(19 years ago) I got married. And I've been married ever since. To the same fella. And what a fella! What I first saw Troy he was trying out as the Children's Pastor at Nixa Assembly of God in Nixa, MO.  He came sauntering down the hall towards me after service.  He had on a cowboy hat, chaps, and a badge that said "Sheriff PT."  He was also 29 years old...I was19. I have now been married to Troy half my life. And I would have to say that he knows me better than about anybody. There have been good times and some bad times. Some really hard bad times. But, God knew what He was doing when He sent Troy into my life. Plus, he still floats my boat.

Troy is a great dad. He is Josiah's guy. They share a love of golf, Polo Blue, Superman and of course,Mom. Troy wanted to take Josiah camping last summer, but they only got as far as the living room because it got too hot. Troy slept in the tent...On the wood floor.

We adopted Josiah when he was just two weeks old. Here he is just 6 months old. When Josiah was teeny tiny, Troy would wake up with him at night to give him his night bottle so I could sleep.

 Troy as Psalty the singing song book. Only a real man would wear blue tights and make-up to match.

Troy on our wedding day. He doesn't look a bit nervous, right?

This is one of my favorite pictures of Troy. I dig the hat...and the rest of him. He kind of floats my boat. I try not to think about that fact that I would have been around 7 when this picture was taken.

Cutie Pah-tootie. Of course, my parents were still in junior high when Troy was this old. But what's a few years among soul mates.

Happy Anniversary...My Studly Muffin. Thank you for loving me "as is."