11 Questions

This poor blog has been on the back burner the past couple of months.  I was tagged by Lindsey, so I'll use this "tag" as an opportunity to get back into my blog!  I want it to be more than once a month updates... I'd love it to be more personal and much more of a journal than it has been lately.

These days: I will find a whole day gone by without getting near my computer (totally rarity).  This is contributed to the fact that life is just more busy with two kids and that Alex is a complete momma's boy and needs me by him at all times or he'll fuss (making getting anything done while he's awake near impossible).  Our days have been filled with Wreck It Ralph, Diego, playing make-believe and "chase" with Claire, feeding Alex, packing a few boxes / organizing things to stay and go, trying to catch up on the endless pile of projects I want to finish, and if I'm lucky, getting a run in for training for the half.

The half: I am so excited about it! I have loved running lately.  It really took getting over the hump of 3 miles.  That's all I'd ever done and never thought it was possible to go more.  I ran 9.5 miles a couple weeks ago and am still in awe that it happened. My knee still hurts a bit from it, telling me I will not be becoming a half-marathon enthusiast, just want to cross it off my goal list and get back in shape.  This weekend we run 10 miles... wish me luck.

Our new house: We closed back in Feb and the family we bought it from has been leasing from us until the end of April, which was perfect because we weren't in a big hurry to move and wanted a bit more time here in Ogden.  We will paint and re-carpet and move in probably the second week of May.  We could not be more excited and ready to have our own place. It is in an incredible location, right across the street from a park, beautiful area, wonderful ward, perfect home... we could be there for a while.

Ben's work: has been going so well and it is the perfect fit for him.  He has been working for iLead, an internet marketing company, with his friend and has been able to work from home until they merged with another company in January and are now called SkyRocket.  He is excited to be back in an office environment, but we will sure miss him!  He loves it and is dying to be down in Utah County where so much business is booming.

So on to the 11 questions... 

1. Who/what inspires you?  This might seem weird (and cliche), but my husband inspires me.  He's the first one that comes to mind when asked this.  In all seriousness though, and even pretending I'm not his wife, he's as close as perfect as they come and is one of my greatest examples.

2. What is something you can't live without?  French fries (with fry sauce) and Little Caesar's Pizza.

3. What is something you have to do everyday but wish you didn't?  I wish I didn't have to clean as much. I spend a lot of time and energy trying to keep the house in order.

4. Best piece of advice you ever received?  My mom's famous advice: "It's okay to let your baby cry." She's helped me have a laid back attitude about most everything in life and it helps with everything you go through. Chill. Relax. Don't worry too much.  It'll all be okay.

5. Best piece of advice you've ever given? I pass on the advice from my mother.  But I also add: "It is a phase!" I love a schedule, I love things organized.  Our family is happy and everything flows smoothly and easily when things go pretty close to the schedule.  I've learned with kids though that sometimes things change, they will suddenly start doing something that throws off the schedule... it is a phase. It will last a few days or a couple weeks, but then everything will be fine and back to normal.  So before I run to Facebook, my mom, or the doctor about it, I chill and be patient.  "This too shall pass!"

6. What is your most prized possession?  This is a toss up between my phone, my camera, and my computer.  All of them have one thing in common though ... PHOTOS.

7. What are you most pleased about in your life right now?  My family. Putting all self-critisism aside, I think I'm a pretty good mom and Ben is certainly an amazing dad.  We have two healthy, happy, and beautiful children.  We just bought our first house, work is going well, we're healthy and active and loving life. These are the very best days!

8. Best book you've ever read? The Hiding Place.

9. What color is your personality based on this free test?  Whenever I take it, it's always a tie between Red and Blue.  But Red does win.  Red is about power: responsible, decisive, proactive and assertive. Blue is generally loyal, sincere, and thoughtful.  Downsides to being red: I can be impatient, insensitive, and frustrated when things don't go my way. Yep:)

10. What is one thing you love about yourself? I am an observant person.  This can mean a lot of things, but I feel like I can read people, see things that others might miss, and it helps me try to make the best decisions I can.  Because I'm observant, I can make people feel good by remembering things, dates, changes, etc and I'm a pretty awesome gift-giver. I think the whole year about gifts for people and keep ideas based on things they may say in my notes on my phone.  I also am a logical, realistic person. I have average expectations and am able to be realistic about solutions and reasons behind things. That's two things... oops.

11. What age/year would you love to relive?  2009 = AFRICA. Oh man, we lay in bed so many nights and just reminisce about that year and all our amazing memories.  Our amazing safaris, being charged by elephants and a family of Rhinos, working with baby lion cubs, our all-black ward and awesome friends, the Splice, Killarney Mall, Woolworths, McDonalds, Melorose Arch, walking every day with Ipsa, Nalini, and Pumla, seeing movies by myself for $2 at the Sandton Mall, Pilanesburg, traveling to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Cape Town, Durban, and Mozambique, training every morning and completing two triathlons, visitors, our latin dance class, yummy South African braais, sitting out on the deck playing cards eating Chutney Fritos (bring them to the USA!!!), the most amazing meat I've ever had (Kudo) in Madikwe, volunteering at the orphanage, walking with Ben to work, driving stick with our left hands, the Johannesburg temple, Ben's soccer games, and on and on.

Anyway.. there you go. A little more about me and what's up with us!