Thoughtful Thursday: Turning 38

My birthday is this week. I'm turning 38. So I decided to answer 38 questions about myself (for the record). These questions are all from this blog site. Don't mind the varied fonts and spacing ... I did this in Word and then pasted it ... so yeah. Deal.

1. What was your favorite food when you were a child?

Baked potatoes. 

2. What chore do you absolutely hate doing?

Anything floors-related, especially bathroom floors.

3. What is your favorite form of exercise?

Dancing.

4. What is your favorite time of day/day of the week/month of the year?

Early morning / Friday / late-September to early-October (okay, so that's technically two months, but I'll just count 30 days between them ... fair?).

5. What is your favorite body part?

Eyes, I think ... I feel like they tell a lot about a person.

6. What sound do you love?

I used to answer questions like this one with 'the ocean', but lately, I think the sound I love best is just quiet or kids' sleeping soundly.

7. If you could paint a picture of any scenery you’ve seen before, what would you paint?

Cue me: The ocean.  That is, IF I could paint a picture.  That's really more of the question.

8. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?

I think I might pick 30.  I dreaded turning 30 for so long and then when I got there, things were really at a good point in life.  My marriage was strong.  We just had our first kids placed with us and from where I stood on that birthday, in particular, everything just seemed so hopeful and wide open.  But I think I was still somewhat smarter than I was back when I was in my twenties (or before).

9. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

I think I'd learn to whistle.  It sure seemed to come in handy for my dad when he was calling us home from the neighborhood.  And I had a friend who could whistle like a bird -- so pretty.  She always seemed so happy when she was whistling.  Somehow this answer seems probably lame compared with all the other choices there are in the world ... so I reserve the right to re-answer this question as I grow in wisdom otherwise.

10. If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be?

Homeschooling our kids.  It is my main project for the next several years and I'm glad for that.

11. If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?

The Duggar Family or if I have to narrow it down, I'd say, Michelle Duggar. (Maybe she could get me an introduction with the rest of the family.)

12. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

Thank Jesus and tell my husband!

13. If you could know the answer to any question, besides “What is the meaning of life?”, what would it be?

Lord, what are you thinking?!  (To be applied to many situations throughout my life.)

14. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?

What I want to know about this question is why would I choose one that already exists?  Why limit myself?  Why can't I make one up as I go?  And what's the setting or the story that creates the basis for my character?  I need more information.

15. Which celebrity do you get mistaken for?

Ha!  None.  However, I have frequently been mistaken for someone a person knows from somewhere.  People have actually argued with me that they remember I worked in such-and-such place and I never have, but they insist.  Because they know better than I do about where I've worked apparently.  And when I'm shopping in most any store (especially when I don't have any children with me), I'm often mistaken for an employee no matter how I'm dressed or even if I'm pushing a shopping cart.  Usually, I go ahead and help these lost customers find what they're looking for anyway.  I could just tell them I don't work there, but somehow it seems friendlier to help a fellow shopper out.

16. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Wiser.

17. When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time?

Blogging and emailing.

18. What would you name the autobiography of your life?

Say Yes.

19. What songs are included on the soundtrack to your life?

Ha!  I love this question, but I think it yearns for a separate blog post, or maybe several.  Stay tuned.  We'll get back to this in time.

20. Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad but it turned out to be for the best?

Who hasn't?  I mean, anyone who has ever been a kid at some point with parents not giving them everything they wanted would know that sometimes what seems instantly uncomfortable or unnecessary is actually for the best.  And in my experience, God has done His best work in my life during the hard times.  So I'd say that's true more often than not. 

21. What was one of the best parties you’ve ever been to?

Probably one that I helped plan.  I love planning things.  So it's fun to see them played out.

22. What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up?

I'm embarrassed to say: Ramona and Beezus.  We went to see it as part of the Summer Series ($1 movies played over the summer at local theaters) and I cried through pretty much the whole darn thing.  Maybe I was PMSing, but it just touched me in all the right ways.  A really good family movie.  The parents in that movie are incredibly understanding and appreciative of their kids' uniquenesses. I want to possess more of those qualities myself.

23. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?

Be a mama.  It's the hardest, yet most rewarding thing yet!

24. What was the last experience that made you a stronger person?

The whole situation with our daughter running away a few weeks ago.  That was definitely challenging and while we still have a lot of work to do on our relationship, I feel that individually, I'm stronger for surviving that.

25. What did you do growing up that got you into trouble?

Lying.  I don't feel like I got caught all that much, which is probably why it created so much trouble.  Lies led to more lies, which led to a lot of stories of which to keep track.  I lived very dishonestly as a kid and especially as a teenager.  So I try to make up for it as an adult by using my bad example from childhood to teach our kids to live honestly.

26. When was the last time you had an amazing meal?

I have an amazing meal  pretty much every time my husband cooks. :)  However, the last amazing meal "out" was when my parents were visiting and they treated us to dinner at Corn Maiden, which is part of a Hyatt Resort in our area of the world.  Everything was truly amazing.  The goat cheese risotto was out of this world amazing.

27. What do you miss most about being a kid?

Having way less important stuff to "worry" about.

28. What is your first memory of being really excited?

I'm sure there were many exciting things early in life, but I think I remember standing on Main Street in Disneyland waiting for the voice on the overhead to welcome us into the park quite clearly.  This scene happened again and again over the years when we'd go back for visits, so that memory may be vivid simply because it's been repeated.  There is something so grand about the anticipation of entering the Happiest Place on Earth that ends up being a teensy bit of a letdown once you're inside and the lines are long, the food's expensive and your feet are tired.  But before all that, it's very exciting!  I still love Disneyland.

29. What was the first thing you bought with your own money?

I don't know if it was the first thing, but I remember going to a neighborhood garage sale as a kid and buying a napkin holder and some dishes for our family camper with my own money.  We used that stuff for a long time!  It probably was very unstylish, but it worked well enough for camping.

30. When was the last time you were nervous?

On my birthday.  Days that celebrate me are particularly hard for our kids emotionally, so I find it difficult to feel really celebratory while balancing the needs of our kids.  There is a fine line and I still have yet to get it right.

31. What is something you learned in the last week?

My sister texted me yesterday to say that she heard if we don't use our dominant hand with which to eat, we'll eat slower and consume about 1/3 less food -- a good weight-loss technique.  This doesn't really work for me though, since I'm generally ambidextrous (I think my dad was, too).  I play sports and eat with both hands regularly.  I can even write left-handed fairly well, but do favor my right hand's handwriting.

32. What story does your family always tell about you?

I don't know what they say behind my back, but when I'm around, I think my parents/sisters like to talk about the time I cut my sister's bangs too short or a story I wrote as a teenager about a boy born without arms where I wrote, "he footed her the remote control."  And our kids love to talk about my various vehicle destruction stories like the time I backed into a tree while my husband was in India and the time I backed up alongside a fire hydrant and ripped the front bumper off my truck.

33. At what age did you become an adult?

Some days I think I'm still working on it ... and other days, I feel so old!

34. Is a picture worth a thousand words? Elaborate.

I take pictures in massive quantities (to cover up for my lack of quality), so if a picture is worth a thousand words, then I've written thousands of novels.  I always wanted to be a writer!

35. Where’s Waldo?

We already have five kids of which to keep track.  Can't you ask Waldo's mother?

36. How now brown cow?

I never saw a purple cow; I never hope to see one; But if I saw one anyhow; I'd rather see than be one.  This was one of my grandfather's favorite limericks and though I never fully understood it, it's hard to forget and it's one of my fond memories of spending time with him.

37. The best part of waking up is?

       Finding out what the Lord has in store for me this day.

38. Whasssssuuuupppppp?

O just walked over to me to give me a hug but I turned him away till he washes his face.  I didn't want blueberry cream cheese spread all over my shirt.  Z and H are on a walk.  S is doing schoolwork, I think.  J is still sleeping.  C left for work an hour ago.  Me? I'm just finishing up these questions and getting ready to post ... then time to teach.