Interview Me!

Obviously, I've been in a blogging slump this week. Do you ever feel like you just don't have anything to contribute? Anyway, my darling friend, Corinne, offered to "interview me" I thought why not? So, here are her questions and my answers:

1. Name five things you can't live without.

Okay, it says,"things" so I'm thinking people are off-limits
1. Water for bathing (the "for drinking" is a given, right?)
2. Telephones
3. Toothpaste
4. Reading
5. Paper and pen for doodling and list-making


2. What are your secret talents?

This question assumes I have secret talents. Hmm... Well, I am able to bend all but one of the toes down on my left foot. It kind of looks like I'm flipping you off. How's that for a secret talent? More seriously, I really don't know. Maybe my talents are so secret I don't even know them! When I was in the MTC I made a list of my talents; the list included the toe thing, having neat hand-writing, making friends easily and being good with children (although since having my own, that last one might be debatable). This one is hard! I am a good baker, but to know me is to know my love of cookie dough, so there's no secret there!

3. Tell me about the person who has most influenced your life.

How could this not be my mother? For good or ill, I think that mothers are our biggest influences. You might say that's why I got into the business. My mom is pretty amazing. She is really dedicated to the gospel. She activated herself and went to church alone. She was determined to get married in the temple and refused my dad's first offer of marriage when he couldn't take her there. (He ended up getting baptized, they waited a year and then were married; the rest is history.) She dreamed of having eight children and when she did she thought she'd like four more! She watched one of her children die. This I cannot imagine. She spent almost four years in and out of the hospital comforting and fighting for her littlest boy. And then he died. I cry when my child gets immunized. She made us each feel special and unique. She was a different mother to each of us, which drove me crazy as a child (It's not fair!) but I totally understand it now. She went to work to help each of us go to college. Another thing I really appreciate is that my mom has lived in Pennsylvania for almost forty years and she really doesn't love it. All winter she says, "I hate winter!" My mom told me once that she agreed to the whole live-in-PA thing because she wanted her children to live near at least one set of their grandparents and have extended family around. I am so grateful for that; I loved my childhood in PA.
More than anything, my mom influenced my life by really teaching me how marvelous it is to be a mother. Because she made it look like she wanted to be nothing else, I didn't want to become anything else. And I love what I do :)

4. Describe a meal you like to prepare

I really love to make a good old-fashion Sunday dinner. I love to put a roast in the crock pot in the morning and smell it cooking all day. I like mix up some crescent roll dough to put in the fridge. My kids love mashed potatoes, so I like to make those. Anything my kids will actually eat is just wonderful for me to make! Some steamed veggies and a salad round out my dinner and make my vegetarian daughter happy. For dessert, I like to make just some yummy brownie sundaes--with fresh strawberries on top! Perfection!

5. What countries have you visited? Which was your favorite?

I have visited Mexico, Great Brittan, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. I think that's it, although I could be missing somewhere. Pathetic, I know. Anyway, of course I am going to say that Romania is my favorite. I mean, I lived there for 16 months, was fluent in the language and the countryside is breathtakingly beautiful. Transylvania takes the cake. However, I recognize that choosing Romania might be considered a cop-out for the very reasons I chose it. Soooo, if I had to choose a country where I was just a tourist, I would choose Italy (although, I feel I must note that it is also the country where I was given the worst treatment because I didn't speak their language). Rome was just an incredible city to visit, as was Venice. But Rome, I don't know, it just spoke to me.

And the directions:
Want some questions of your own? Leave me a comment saying,"interview me!" and I will respond by e-mailing you five questions (if your email is not on your profile, email me your desire to be interviewed so I know your address). I get to pick them, and you have to answer them all. You will update your blog with the answers to the
questions.You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.