Rules
1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them.
6. Tag up to 11 people.
My 11 Random Things:
1. I love France and I love French things. I love the look of French country homes and decor. I always love the look of linen and old woods.
2. The beach is my favorite place on earth. The waves crashing on the shore, the smell of the salt air, and the warmth of the sun are the most amazing things on the planet.
3. Our dogs are driving me insane. They've been a little jealous of Daxton's arrival. We're having lots of accidents in the house and lots of fighting between the two of them. Iliana is sick with a brain tumor and is being treated for this and some personality issues, so the sisters (dogs) are pretty much separated at all times. Having to keep them apart, work, take care of the house, and help Daxton grow can sometimes be a lot in a day.
4. I'm 2012 Yelp Elite. If you don't know what Yelp is, you probably don't care about this. However, since you see my love for food (below) you'll know how big of a deal this is to me. I grew up with my father having a food inspection job for a fast food chain (which shall remain nameless), so I was used to ordering food, photographing food, and writing reviews. It was just natural that I would end up loving to do the same.
5. I always wished I could play the violin. One year Will rented me a violin for a present. I (surprise) did not want to learn to read the music, so I never learned to play more than a few notes. I love the way they sound, the lines of the wood, and the thought of it, but I guess I am too lazy.
6. I hate bugs. I cannot stand to see them in or around our house. I hate spraying chemicals (and have not done it since Dax was here), but I am certainly researching chemical free warfare against bugs. NC is not very good at getting cold enough to kill bugs in the winter, so they just want to come inside our house. How rude!
7. I love antiques. I love old things and things with a history. Going to antique stores, auctions, and yard sales is fun. Just thinking about where these things have been and repurposing things is something I've always loved.
8. I hope to one day have a home filled with all original artwork. My aunt is an artist who has done just this. Just this past December she told me that she has over 1000 pieces of original artwork. I would rather have nothing on my walls than something that I don't love, treasure, or get some emotion from. I wanted to start Dax off right by painting a large painting for his room, and I am so glad that he'll have that to wake up to every day.
9. I love projects. I love to redecorate, paint, and do little make overs. It's fun for me to paint a wall and totally transform a space. Will used to come home from working late and I would have painted the dining room another color. He got used to the ever changing palate.
10. Some of my favorite childhood memories were building things with my dad in the garage. We'd spend hours upon hours and weeks upon weeks working on school projects like a Native American Indian Village, a 3 foot tall active volcano, or a shoe box of planets. I loved that he got so into it and how people would react to my life sized projects.
11. Third Day is my current favorite band. I LOVE them and was so excited for our December 2nd concert tickets this past winter. However, as the concert dates got closer we were contacted and told that the show was cancelled and postponed until May of 2012. Now I have to wait until May to rock out!
Kelly's 11 Random Questions For Me:
1. Favorite thing to do in your "spare" time?
Photography. I love cameras of all types and I love taking and looking at pictures. I took photography in college, but my camera was not digital and I feel like I need to take some classes to fully learn how to use my latest Canon.
2. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Palazzo Terranova - Perugia, Italy. I loved the show Debbie Travis' Painted House. One one episode Debbie painted the rooms in a bed and breakfast in Italy. Ever since I saw the episode husband and I have dreamed of taking a trip and staying at this b&b. Of course I also want to ride bikes through a cobble stone street. I am sure we could do that there too.
3. If you could choose any dream job what would it be?
I would love to own a gift store. My mom owns a gift store and I always admired her for it. I would have white walls, white wood floors, white flowing linen curtains, and lots of colorful artisan designed home decor and gift items. Not that I have thought about that a lot or anything.
4. If you have a guilty pleasure, what is it?
Eating. I eat a lot. I eat too much. I love food. I love all kinds of food. I love to cook. I love to go out to eat. I love how food looks and taking pictures of it. Anything about food, centered around food, or focused on food is fun and pleasurable for me!
5. What has been the hardest question you've been confronted with regarding your child's adoption?
So far we have not had too many difficult questions about Daxton being a member of our family. I think the strangest thing that happened was on the second visit to meet with Dax's birth mother. We went to a local mall to meet "L". While we waited we stood by a sign with Dax in his stroller. A very odd lady came up to us and started asking us about buying toys for a two year old for Christmas. We had no suggestions, but chatted with what we could tell her about gifts for 8 and 12 year old boys. She was about to leave and mosey on when she turned back and asked us if "he" was "ours"? My husband and I both looked at each other, then looked at her, and confirmed - Yes. Yes, he is.
6. If you could meet anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
If I could "meet" anyone dead or alive I would chose to have one last meeting with my Grandma Taylor. I wish she could meet Daxton. I wish I could tell her how much I loved her and how much I miss her. She passed away unexpectedly some time ago and I don't think my family ever got over it. She was a dear sweet woman who lived with a lot of emotional pain that I was too young to understand. Now that I know what haunted her so much I just wish I could hug and love on her again.
7. Favorite restaurant?
Where do I begin? I love going out to eat, so I pretty much have a favorite restaurant of every type of food. Name a cuisine and I have a favorite location in mind. If I had to pick just one favorite restaurant it would have to be Nana's in Durham, NC. Will and I went there for our 10 year wedding anniversary and had an amazingly wonderful dinner that we'll never forget.
8. What book are you currently reading or do you want to read?
I am not a reader. I am more of a flip through a magazine and look at the pictures type gal. I will actually not even read recipes if they are too long. I hope that I can teach Daxton to love books a lot more than I do.
9. If you struggled with IF, do you ever feel that people regard your decision to adopt as a "last resort" or "second best"? If so, how do you deal with it?
I have not had anyone confront me about this topic, but I think most of my friends truly understand the journey that we went on to end up where we are now. Dealing with IF (being in the land of IF) was just a stepping stone that helped us get to this moment in time. If we had not had the miscarriages we had, the allergic reactions we had with infertility treatments, and met the people we did along our adoption journey then Daxton would not be our son. I don't think anyone can ever lessen the fact that your child is your child, regardless of how you got pregnant or came to be their parent.
10. What's to your immediate left?
Nightstand. Embarrassingly covered in too many things. Two tervis tumblers half full of water, Daxton's reflux medicine, Daxton's nail clippers, Daxton's socks, my hair brush, Target coupons, lotion, a candle, my fan, and a Putumayo cd.
11. If someone gave you 1 million dollars, how would you use it?
We'd first pay off our debt (including our home loan), purchase a car for me (since I don't have one), put money aside for Daxton's college, and then see how we could assist our families, Daxton's birthfamily, and our church. I know that amount of money seems like a lot, but I am sure it would be gone before you could blink.
11 People Tagged:
1. Cat at Cat's Litterbox
2. The Mommy at Our Red Threads
3. Melodie at Blessed Beyond Measure
4. Amy at Our Journey Together
5. Grace at Chois-R-Us
6. Tracy at Always and Forever Ours
7. Rachel at Johnathan and Rachel
8. Jonelle at Somewhere in the Middle
9. Jeny at Smiling Through the Rain
10. Rebekah at Heart Cries
11. Angel at The Voice of Adventure
11 Questions For the People I've Tagged:
1. What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday?
2. Where is your favorite vacation destination?
3. If you could only eat one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?
4. If you could be the parent of as many children as you wanted, how many would you have?
5. What's your favorite scent, smell, or fragrance?
6. What do you have on your feet right now?
7. What's your favorite childhood memory?
8. Do you like your first name?
9. What did you want to be when you grew up?
10. What's your current favorite song?
11. Are you as close with your friends now as you were when you were younger?
No hard feelings if you've been tagged and you don't have time to participate! I'd just love to get to learn more about you and what makes you tick!
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