Getting to Know You

I'm officially stealing a post idea from Annie. Maybe we can count it as a quasi-guest post? Anyway, she blogged about the age old tradition of sharing one interesting thing about yourself on the first day of school. I have always hated such getting-to-know-you questions...I never know what to say. I always wondered if people just kept an answer to this question on standby; I certainly tried to do just that but was never successful. My life always seemed unbearably boring and chronically uninteresting. That's not really true, but when I was put on the spot like that I could only think of the most mundane details of my life. Not like Annie. Annie has a plethora of "one interesting thing"s to share about herself. Things like almost meeting Tom Cruise and references to a decade of orthodontia.

In an effort to provide you Lovely Readers with a truly interesting fact about myself, I sat and thought for far too long about this question. My one interesting thing is that I won second place in a diorama contest in elementary school by creating scenes from The Lorax in a shoebox. The lid was the grimy "after" scene and when you slid the lid up, it revealed the "before" scene with the Swammy Swans and Truffula Trees and brown Barbaloots in their Barbaloot suits. It was quite involved.

And now I am very curious how you might answer this question.

So. Tell me. What is one interesting thing about you?

What Is Your Favorite Flaw and/or Trait?

This topic has been brought up once or twice so I thought I would try an experiment. I put the question out there (via Facebook) to be answered. It is a difficult question to answer and, truthfully, not something everyone really wants to think about, but we did get a few answers. I'm a little surprised at the similarities. Some things that were mentioned are things I deal with myself (blotchy cheeks) and some things are things I have noticed about my friends and things that I think are charming.

Here are a few answers:

Megan said, "I definitely have a freckle in my eye (just like the Postal Service song!) and I really like it. I especially love it when my nephews notice it and want to know why it's there and then think it's cool."

Two people mentioned naturally rosy cheeks because it saves time and money on make up (no blush).

Two people mentioned moles (beauty marks if they are on your face, tres chic), one under the eye and one on the corner of the mouth "...like it's almost being eaten. So whenever I'm eating chocolate or something brown, people tell me I have a little bit on my mouth. For some reason, I think this is hilarious instead of embarrassing."

One person mentioned her "half grin" and how happy she is her daughter inherited it. Also, her under eye circles (with the help of concealer), which we all know are almost impossible to appreciate so she deserves a pat on the back.

And Hayley mentioned in her guest post how she likes her vampire teeth.

Miri learned to love her curly hair, even though in Texas humidity it's more often frizzy than not, and her giant smile, which shows her top gums but has kind of become her trademark.

I have already mentioned that I like my crooked smile...I'll add my blotchy cheeks to the list and my easy to take care of, but sometimes unruly eyebrows. I guess I like my face! That's good, right?

That's me with my brother. Crooked smile (notice how my bottom lip goes down on the left? it gets much worse), no blush (and yet the cheeks are rosy), and happily untamed eyebrows.

I guess my point is that even if you didn't answer the question, it's an important one to think about. Embrace your quirks and take pride in the things about you that make you different...the things that make you beautiful.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Vqr3LLT40

Driving Along in my Automobile

I have a confession. I sing in my car. I'm not talking about bobbing my head to the music or quietly singing along, I'm talking about turning my radio up as loud as it will go and rocking out. I sing quite loudly and I drum on the wheel and I tap my feet...or foot. Even when there are people in the car, I have a really hard time turning the music down and not singing. My strategy there is to just turn on whatever music I know they love so they will want to turn the music up and sing along with me.

My reason for confessing is this: I realized that I am probably my truest self when I'm in my car singing badly and dancing like a loon.


I think some of it has to do with the amount of freedom I feel in just owning a car. If I don't have my own mode of transportation, one that has the potential to whisk me away at any moment, I go a little stir crazy. I need to know that I can escape and be alone any time I want. Other than that, though, there is just something about being in that little space that makes me feel comfortable. It's like my windows are shaded and no one can see in (although I know they can) and no one can hear the music or my horrible singing (which they most certainly can, especially now that I own a Prius ie., the quietest car on earth). In my car, I am awesome. I am completely and totally happy with myself. Even when people catch me singing and/or dancing and we make eye contact, I generally just keep right on rocking out and sometimes I even wave. Outside of my car, I would stop and hesitate and my face would turn bright red and I would probably say something awkward about how awkward I was being because, you know, that makes the entire situation less awkward.

When/where do you feel the most like yourself, the most content with who you are? Is it in the car like me? Maybe it's when you read books with your children or when you garden or even when you sit around in your sweats blogging and watching TV. Inquiring minds want to know! Share with us!

P.S. Just in case you are wondering, here is a recent car playlist (it is totally random and changes from day to day): Don't Stop Believin' by Journey Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore by Glee Cast (anything really from the show Glee) Here We Go Again by Demi Lavato Pop! Goes my Heart by Hugh Grant (from Music & Lyrics) Snails by The Format Change is Hard by She and Him Vampire by Antsy Pants (from Juno) Hey Ya by Obadiah Parker Here Comes Your Man by Meaghan Smith I'm on Fire by Kate Tucker This is Halloween by Danny Elfman (from Nightmare Before Christmas) Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple Cherish by Madonna A-Punk by Vampire Weekend