25 Random Things

I was tagged to do this survey type thing on facebook and since I spent so much time on it I thought I should include it here. :)

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.


1. I love that this note is 25 things. I love the number 25. It's our "family number". My birthday, my sister's birthday, and my parents' anniversary all land on the 25th.

2. I have had all of my wisdom teeth taken out. 2 at a time. I was conscious during both procedures and it did NOT hurt. People have such a fear about getting their teeth pulled. Just relax!

3. I am always thirsty and on average drink a little under a gallon of water a day. (I know this because I really don't like city water and buy -and refill- gallon water jugs.)

4. I seem to be allergic to everything. The list includes: dust, mold, wheat, cats, dogs, hairspray, corn, ragweed, cigarette smoke, and grass. (I didn't just think this list up. I was tested and diagnosed. Milk and eggs were on list when I was younger.)

5. I have a BA Degree in Studio Art with emphasis in photography and digital imaging. If I had taken Psych Research Methods I would have a minor in Psychology.

6. I have laughed so hard that I threw up more times than I wish to count. (It's really embarrassing, and it totally freaks out everyone unfortunate enough to witness it.)

7. I have been a vegetarian for 9 years. It all started with a project that Adam Grise and I did in health class in high school. I remember drawing the slip of paper from Ms. Myers' (was that her name?) hands. "Vegetarian Diet vs. Regular Diet" I wish I had the oomph to be vegan. I just don't think I can take another thing out of my diet.

8. My sister, Becky, lives in Portland, Oregon and I miss her SO MUCH.

9. I LOVE my job. I work at weddings! What could be better?! I loved planning my own wedding and after witnessing so many big days I would love to become a wedding planner in like 15-20 years. Celebrity weddings? I think so! :) Maybe for me and Ryan's 25th wedding anniversary we can renew our vows, and threw a super monster "wedding" party! (You know, cuz I'll be rich from planning all the celebrity weddings!) ;)

10. I LOVE my job. I work at home! What could be better?! :) Being a mom is way more involved than I ever would have imagined, but I love it. I want more babies. :) I'm so glad that I am fortunate enough to get to stay home with Sullivan.

11. I'm thinking about homeschooling Sullivan. Something I never dreamed I would ever do. This definitely would not be for more than just his first few years of schooling. Maybe up to like 2nd or 3rd grade. It could be really exciting. I would love to see where his interests are and what he excels at and delve deep.

12. Apparently I'm a rule breaker. (Norm breaker maybe?) Sully co-sleeps with us, he is not vaccinated, he is fully intact, he is still breastfeeding (with no end in sight), and he'll be fed a vegetarian diet. Prior to his birth I had no intention of doing any of these things (besides toying with the vegetarian idea) but I've done a lot of researching, praying, listening to my own instincts, and refusing to blindly follow without asking questions. And there is a lot to learn.

13. I love the show wheel of fortune and really want to someday be a contestant! I watched it a lot with my grandpa when I was young. Sadly, we do not have a tv and every weekday at 6:30 I really wish we did. :(

14. I like entering contests. You can't win if you don't enter! I once won a $5000 diamond ring. (I do not gamble -I don't enter lotteries or do pull-tabs. Only free contests for me.) My goal is to win a car. I've been close. (Thanks Mo!)

15. In High School Stacy (Anderson) McDowell, Jill Larson, and I dressed in red saran wrap one day during spirit weak of my junior year. I can't believe we did that. Who's idea was that anyway!? And when your friend suggests something so insane, WHY would you say yes???

16. I love swimming. I was on the swim team in 8th grade but was told that to be on the team in High School, you had to be asked back. Never got asked so I assumed I wasn't good enough. Joined my senior year in college (very small -I joined during it's first year). I wasn't awesome but I really just wanted to swim. I'm not that competitive I just love to swim. (I had to quite 1/2 way through the season. I was getting migraines from the strain on my neck from turning my head to breathe -stupid. I had been in a car accident that hurt my neck earlier that year. Yada yada.)

17. In middle school I took Cassie Soukup and my 4-ish year old cousin, Allyssa for a 4 wheeler ride. We went up a hill that the little 4 wheeler was apparently not strong enough to climb with all 3 of us on it. It reared back (I may have braked a little bit), Cassie fell off, and we rolled right over her on our backward way down! Poor poor Cassie!

18. I have art displayed in the science department at the U of M in Morris. Irony. Two photographs titled Swish that I had shown in the senior art show.

19. I would love to have a darkroom someday. Possible retirement art hobby? This better happen someday or I'm saving my film camera for nothing.

20. When I was 12/13 -ish I was at a Hallmark shop checking out the Winnie the Pooh photo albums along the back wall when an old man came up behind me and grabbed a huge chunk of my bottom and then left. I was frozen, scared, and weak. What a horrible feeling. Later, I was mad that I hadn't reacted more strongly and actually wished it would happen again so I could go ape on whoever did that to me.

21. Growing up, my family went on 3 big vacations. Disney World, Disney World, and Cancun. All three were paid for with saved change.

22. In High School I got in huge trouble for spending the night at someone's graduation party rather than the friend's house where my parent's thought I was. Hugest regret in my life. Betrayed my parents' trust, didn't get to go on the marching band trip, etc, etc... But now I can see where it fell into place with God's plan for my life.

23. I always have to feel "even." When putting my socks on, the second one must be put on very quickly to ensure that the first sock was not on much longer than the first. (Same goes for removal.) My socks must be the same color, have the same amount of wear, and be hole-free. If I step on a crack, rug, shadow, or other off-colored turf with one foot, it feels "heavy" and I have to look ahead to find something to step on with the other foot (and on the same area of my foot) to "even" it out. I don't think about this struggle all the time but I am always unconsciously doing it. I know this because Ryan will try to throw me off just when he knows I'm about to make a crucial "evening-out" step. My body actually jumps to make that step rather than try to catch myself from tripping.

24. When I was around 5 I always complained of an itch between my big two and second toe and between my pointer and middle fingers on both hands and feet. My parents had me checked out at the Dr. -I don't think they came to a conclusion. I remember my dad getting so frustrated with my complaining, he always told me that it was all in my head. It STILL itches all the time and I still have no idea what it is. Also -the same "even" rules that are in #23 apply to the scratching. Has anyone experienced anything like this?

25. My husband, Ryan, and I have been together for eight years (5.5 dating, 2.5 married). We went to H.S. and college together. We've been on 1 cruise with both of our families. 1 cruise, 2 trips to St. Maartin, and 1 trip to Disney World with his family. 1 H.S. choir trip took us to Chicago. We spent a month in England on a college choir tour. In 18 days we will go on our first trip alone! We're going to Puerto Vallarta and I cannot wait!

I've been tagged!

My friend, Barbara, tagged me. Here are the rules: You must go to your documents folder (or wherever you store your photos) and go to your 6th picture folder, then go to the 6th picture in that folder and post it on your blog. Tell us a story about that picture.

Okay, so I have two photo programs I use (depending on what camera/occasion) so I'm doubling up.

The first. This is Brinkley, our 2 year old shih tzu. She likes to feel safe under chairs, beds, and couches. This is the desk chair and since we spend a lot of time there, she spends a lot of time there. Look at those puppy dog eyes!

Second. This is Stacy and Scott (aren't they a beautiful couple?!). Stacy has been my best girlfriend since 1st grade. This is one of their engagement pictures. We were all super busy that summer because our weddings were 3 weeks apart, so engagement pics taken the night before their wedding at the grooms dinner/picnic was the way to go. I chose my favorites, framed them and had them by the card box for them the next day. Cake!  ...Stacy and Scott are expecting blessed baby bliss this June!

Sully's Diet

Food is something I think about a lot.  I've been a vegetarian for almost 9 years and gluten-free for 2.  (Vegetarian by choice, gluten-free by allergy.)  People ask a lot of questions (which I totally don't mind -ask away) but the latest question hasn't been about my diet, it's been about Sullivan's.  "Is Sullivan going to be a vegetarian?" is the big one.  

I have so many thoughts on this I confuse myself.  I want to be open minded about it and say that maybe he'll have some meat every so often...  but I truly cannot picture myself putting a dead animal into my baby boy's mouth.  Ugh. There just seems to be nothing good about it.  

I am someone who doesn't make decisions about things like this until I've done a lot of research and reading.  Of course I know what there is to know about vegetarianism, it's knowing everything about a baby's health that gets me.  So I'll be doing some reading.  But I think that I've already made my decision to feed him a vegetarian diet, what I need to learn, or really just verify, is the healthiest way to go about it.

One thing that I'm concerned about is that Sullivan  feels good about it.  I don't want him to feel different from his peers.  I really don't want him to feel restricted either.  I think this will lye in our attitude toward the situation.  "We skip the meat because we make healthy choices." rather than "You're not allowed to eat meat."  I'm wondering how to handle it when he visits friends at their homes.  Do I call his friend's parents ahead of time?  Do I send veggie dogs with him?  Will their parent's grill him with questions like "Why doesn't your mommy let you eat hamburgers like us?"  These social situations are what worry me.  

I'm not going to give Sully all kinds of gory details about where meat comes from and freak him out.  Also, if he really wants to try some, or ends up eating meat somewhere, I won't go ballistic.  We'll have a conversation about what he thought about it, answer his questions, and move on from there.  

Does anyone have any thoughts on babies on a vegetarian diet? Or any advise?  I don't know anyone personally who has raised their baby(s) vegetarian but would love to hear from someone who has.  

I have a while to really learn about it.  He's 7 months old and I can't even get bananas past his clenched gums.  He's still nursing and that's all he cares to include in his diet right now apparently.