This week I’ve been combing through my drafts folder and finding a lot of posts I started and never finished. Always good to do some housekeeping (blog keeping?) Anyway, here’s a writing prompt I started working on a couple of months ago in the wee hours of the night.
1. What’s an unpopular opinion you have?
Having a kid in diapers is a lot easier than having a potty trained toddler. Why? Because a kid in a diaper can be taken care of on my time. If I’m in the grocery store, and my kid pees in a diaper, I can take care of it as soon as it’s convenient. But if I’m in the grocery store, and my potty trained kid needs to pee, I have to drop everything and book it to the bathroom before the kid has an accident. I once had a kid tell me she needed to pee while I was in line for self checkout. By the time I checked out, she’d peed on the floor. It pooled around the shopping cart wheels, and I had to push the cart and drag pee across the floor to get it out of the way so an employee could clean it up. Then the poor employee had to wipe up the wheel streaks and clean off the wheels of the shopping cart. And let’s not forget all of the other customers that saw it happen, and the fact that I had to go tell an employee to begin with.
2. What’s a habit you’re currently trying to change or develop?
I’ve been eating breakfast later in the morning. I’ve always eaten really early - by 6:00-7:00 - but I’ve been trying to hold off until 9:00-ish lately. Helps me not get super hungry at work.
3. How do you find peace or calm in your life?
Lexapro and making Scotty take the kids somewhere so I can be home alone.
4. What’s something that people often misunderstand about you?
I’m often told that I’m quiet, and a lot of people have told me that they thought I was “stuck up” until they got to know me. I am quiet a lot of the time, but it’s usually because I’m just observing what’s going on around me. It’s just what I do. Also, I have delayed processing, so if I’m in a busy place or a group, I often can’t understand what anyone is saying, so sometimes I’m quiet because I don’t know what anyone is saying.
5. What’s a moment in your life that made you feel incredibly proud?
When I graduated with my degree. I didn’t think I’d ever do it.
6. How do you deal with loneliness or isolation?
Eating. Duh.
7. What’s a life lesson that you wish you would have learned earlier?
Loneliness doesn’t always look like loneliness. Just because a person seems like they are surrounded by friends and community doesn’t mean they aren’t lonely or struggling.
8. What’s an experience that has made you stronger?
I don’t know. I’m supposed to get stronger from life experiences, but I think I’m actually getting weaker. I feel less and less capable of handling things as time goes on.
9. How do you handle situations that are out of your control?
I wish someone who knows me really well could answer this about me because I honestly don’t know. I feel like I don’t handle these situations very well because I’m a control freak. But sometimes I’m totally chill and recognize that there’s nothing I can do. I don’t know which is my truest self.
10. What’s a passion or a hobby that you spend a lot of time on?
Gardening, TV shows, decorating my house, cooking, and blogging.
11. What’s a fear you’ve conquered, and how did you do it?
When I was a kid I was terrified of being shot. I used to live on a busy street, and I thought our house was a perfect target for a drive by shooting. I was scared to be in my front yard out even in the rooms at the front of the house (due to the windows). I have no idea how I got over this fear.
12. How do you express love or affection?
Feeding people and giving gifts.
13. What’s a significant risk you’ve taken in your life?
Getting married at 19 and having kids.
14. How do you stay motivated or inspired?
By making Ta Da lists instead of To Do lists.
15. What’s a goal you’re working toward now?
Getting our house paid off. Unfortunately this year has been really expensive in the areas, donuts not happening as soon as we planned (by Nicky’s graduation).
16. What’s a piece of wisdom you try to live by?
Create horseshoes instead of circles.
17. How do you deal with failure or setbacks?
I don’t. I’ve never learned how to fail beautifully. I beat myself up. I feel embarrassed. I’ve never learned to cope.
18. What’s something you believe strongly in and why?
Everyone needs to know what to do if you accidentally chop off a finger. Do some research and make a plan. Why? Because our friend Kevin put his nubs on ice, and they weren’t able to save them.
19. What’s a cultural tradition you love and why?
Potlucks and BBQ’s. Because I love food!
20. How do you think others perceive you?
I really don’t know. I always worry that people don’t like me or that they think I’m annoying, but I’ve somehow managed to keep a lot of long-term friends, so maybe I’m okay.
21. What’s a memory that brings you joy?
Moments on family vacations where everyone is getting along, and we soak in the magic of where we are. This happens sometimes when we are in a place like Downtown Disney, and we hang out and listen to a live band after dark, or when we share “two goods and a bad” with everyone at the end of each day.
22. What’s a challenge you’re currently facing?
Letting go of my son. I have to let him grow up, and it’s hard having him choose other people and other priorities over our home and our family.
23. What’s something about the world that fascinates you?
Cults.
24. What’s something you’ve changed your mind about?
When I was a young adult, I wanted to live in a big, fancy house in a more affluent area. I thought my current house was our "five-year" house. Instead, it's our "twenty-one-year" house, and having a big, fancy house isn't important or impressive to me at all. Sure, I'd like a little more wiggle room in our home (a bigger kitchen and gathering space would be lovely), but I'm pretty happy with what we have whereas 20 years ago, this wasn't good enough for me.
25. What’s something you’ve always wanted to learn to do?
Sight read music and play the piano. I would also like to be really good at making bread items. I am mediocre (as in, my breads are edible), but I want to be fabulous! I want yeast to speak to me like snakes speak to Harry Potter.
26. How do you handle criticism?
By remembering every critique I've been given throughout my entire life and beating myself up over it all. In other words - most unhealthily.
27. What’s a topic you’re really interested in?
Just one? How about forty!
28. How do you like to celebrate your achievements?
Food.
I will now celebrate the baking of 250 cookies by treating myself to a baker’s dozen from Einstein Bagels
29. What’s something you’re really good at, and how did you become good at it?
Budgeting, price comparison, meal planning, and mass food production. I learned a lot of these skills in school. I was required to take financial skills courses at both colleges I attended. I’ve also done Dave Ramsay’s financial university course and the Church’s self-reliance course for personal finance. I’ve always had the goal to live within our means, so I’ve always been careful with money, and that extends to food because it’s one of the biggest expenses.
30. What’s a personal rule you never break?
I never wear shirts on vacation that indicate where I'm from (i.e. no U of U or Utah Jazz or the like - not that I even own any). I also never wear Disney garb to Universal or vice versa.
