Day 26

What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?

People think that if their video goes viral on YouTube then that automatically makes them talented.  No.  Just, no.

Day 25

If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?

This is a difficult question because there are a lot of people from history that I would like to have dinner with--most of them being authors that I like.  I would choose to have dinner with J.R.R Tolkien because he's is one of the most genius writers ever.  Another person I would want to eat with would be Lucille Ball.  She is hilarious!  Even when I was little I loved her.  I think we would have a lot of fun together.  Either way, we would have a BBQ, and I would pull out all the stops.  I'd smoke brisket and pulled pork and brats.  I'd also make our delicious baked beans and potato salad.  We'd eat corn-on-the-cob, buttery rolls, and chips.  I think Lucille Ball would appreciate a good BBQ, and I would want to introduce Mr. Tolkien to some really good, flavorful food (I love everything about England except their bland food).

Day 24

Describe your family dynamic of your childhood vs. your family dynamic now.

Other than the fact that our family has more than doubled in size, our family dynamic is pretty much the same that it always has been.  The girls still out-number the guys in our family (we used to have five girls to one guy, and now we have nine girls to five guys).  The sisters still talk to mom every day (almost every hour, in fact).  Dad is still the big scary dad that he always was (at least to the boys--although not many of those come sniffing around anymore).  Mom is still the most incredibly busy, yet incredibly compassionate, person she always was.  The sisters are still so completely different, and yet we are so close.  My brothers-in-law are both amazing, and they fit in so well with our family that it feels like they were always meant to be there.  My nieces and nephews have blessed our lives in so many ways.  They are seriously the most beautiful/handsome, smartest, kindest, most lovable kids on the planet, and I just love them to pieces.

I don't know what I would do without my family.  They are my support system in every way.  I'm going to miss them terribly when I eventually leave the nest, but it'll be ok because I know that I'll still call each one of them practically every day, and I know that they'll still pick up the phone.

They better pick up the phone.

Day 23

List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them.

I have to preface this by saying that I am extremely boring.  Most of the time I'm really quite content to just sit around, chatting with my family or people-observing (which is far less creepy than people-watching).  So, I'll try to come up with 5 hobbies, but I just warn you that it may not happen.

1. Reading: I LOVE reading.  Reading is the best way to escape from the day-to-day humdrum. If you're ever alone, or waiting on someone, or whatever, just pick a book.  It's like talking to someone awesome, but you can tell them to shut up whenever you need a break from the conversation.  And they'll still be willing to talk to you again when you want to pick that conversation back up!  I mean, really, when do you ever get that kind of control with real people.  Plus, you always sound way cooler when you can say "Oh yeah, I've totally read that completely obscure book by that one Russian writer."
2.  Writing: Writing is another escape for me.  Not only do I get to escape to another reality, but I get to create that reality.  How cool is that?!  I feel like every author should have just a little bit of a god complex.  But just a little one.  It makes for great writing.
3. Arithmetic.  HA HA!  Just kidding.  I hate arithmetic.  Cooking: I've said this about a bajillion times already, but cooking is AWESOME!  It's another way for me to express my creativity.  Speaking of cooking, I will be attempting a Harry Potter cake for Kiera's birthday in the next week or so.  Maybe I'll post pictures?
4. Horse-back riding: Like I said, I don't get to ride very often anymore, so I don't know if this really counts as a hobby.  But I do it whenever I can...so maybe it does?  Anyway, I love the feeling of freedom you get when you go horse-back riding.  Plus, horses are just overall amazing.  So you're always in good company, even if you go riding alone.
5. CrossFit: I have recently started doing CrossFit, and I am slowly becoming addicted. (To learn more about what CrossFit is, check this out.  It's a really brief rundown of what the program is all about.  Also, type it into Google, and you'll find out everything you wished to know)  I go to a CrossFit gym in Draper, and I really love it there.  Everyone is so friendly, and they try to make it feel like a family atmosphere.  The trainers are great, and even though it can get competitive, your group is always so supportive.  Everyone cheers each other on, which is what I really need when I'm working out.  Some days it's so hard to go, and I'll admit I haven't had perfect attendance.  But every time I do make it and do the WOD (workout of the day), I feel SO good about myself.  More so than I have when I just go for a run.

Day 22

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  10 years?  15 years?

This is a really hard set of questions to answer because I'm not the kind of person to make a huge long life plan.  I like to have goals and stuff, but I also like to see immediate results.  I have a few ideas of where I want to be, though, so I'll give it a go.

5 years: In five years I definitely hope to be working for the U.S. Embassy.  I hope that I'll be on my second post, in some way cool place.  I don't even care where I go, as long as I get into the Embassy and they send me somewhere.  I know that freaks my mom out, but I would go literally anywhere in the world.  Also, I would hope to be married by that time, but if not, I would be ok with just having a steady boyfriend.  If I can't even have a boyfriend in five years, then you can be danged sure I'm going to have at least one dog.  Kiera will be fifteen, almost sixteen by that time (that is so weird to think about!), and I've told Mom and Dad that Kiera should come live with me overseas while she's in high school.  That way she'll have a higher chance of getting into BYU because they love foreign students here at BYU.  I'm pretty sure the only reason I got into the university was because I was graduating from high school in India.
10 years: I definitely see myself married by this time.  Hopefully, I'll have at least one child.  Again, I see myself in a way cool country--by this time it should be my fourth post (fingers crossed).  I'll still have a dog.  Kiera will be in college, and my oldest niece, Katie, will be sixteen (which is an even weirder thought than Kiera being sixteen).  I want to have a least one book written, or one collection of poetry written by this point in my life.  I don't mind if it's not published, I just want to have one written.
15 years: If I'm not married by this point, I think I'll have pretty much given up.  

Day 21

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it first?

Believe it or not, I've had this discussion multiple times with multiple people.  And my answer alternates between two or three different superpowers (cue the nerd applause).  At this moment, however, if I had to choose just one superpower it would be the ability to read other people's minds, and I'll tell you why.  I am really self-conscious, and I really, really care about what other people think about me.  So this seems like a logical superpower for me to have.

I think the first place I would use my superpower would be on a date.  How useful would that power be on a date?!  It would be like my own personal review card.  I would get immediate feedback on what to do again, and what never to do ever again in my life.  My dates would become infinitely more awesome.  And maybe I'd finally get a second date.

I wouldn't be a creeper, though.  I wouldn't listen in on every single thought my date was having.  'Cause that could get real weird real fast.  I think I would just check in every once in a while.  Just to make sure everything was going ok, you know?

Day 20

Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

1. One of my first memories happened when we lived in a tiny little apartment in Oklahoma.  And when I say tiny, I really mean absolutely tiny.  The all-three-of-us-girls-slept-in-one-bed kind of tiny.  I remember the carpet was a bluish color, and we had one couch.  But my strongest memory from that apartment was when we had a surprise birthday for my dad.  Heather and Chelsey hid by the couch, and Mom and I hid behind the tiny wrap-around counter in our tiny kitchen.  I remember Mom was holding the cake, and I remember that it was covered with coconut flakes; now, every time I smell coconut I think of that night.  All the lights were off, and the candles seemed so bright.  Dad came in, and we all jumped out and starting singing "Happy Birthday."  For a long time, no one believed me that this memory actually happened, but it did.  Dad said so.
2. Horseback riding is a huge part of my life.  I don't get to go riding very often any more--partly because of school and partly because I'm poor.  Mom would say that I should probably add that I don't ride because I'm pretty allergic to the horse hair and the hay and stuff in the stables, but that never kept me away from a good ride.  Anyways, the point it that I don't get to ride very often, and I really, really miss it.  A lot.  I feel the most confident, the most happy, the most like me when I'm on a horse.  I started riding when we moved to England, so a lot of my memories of England involve the stables I rode at and the horses that I rode.  Peter was my first pony, and even though the instructors assured me that he would bite and kick at every opportunity, he never did either to me.  He tried it the first day I rode him, but I remember standing by his head, holding his bridle tightly in my hand, stroking his nose, and speaking softly but very firmly to him.  I explained to him that I was going to be riding him for a while, and he was not to kick or bite me.  I told him I would love him and be kind to him, but he must not to try and bite me again.  Every time I rode him after that, I always stroked and petted him, gave him kisses, hugged him, etc.  I know that he didn't understand the words I said to him that first day, but I know that he understood what I meant.  And he knew I loved him, so he never tried to hurt me again.
3. While we lived overseas, we always traveled a lot.  I feel like we traveled more when we were overseas than when we were in Utah.  Anyways, while we were in England, France--and specifically Paris--was a very popular vacation destination because it's just like a four hour train ride between Paris and London.  The first time I ever went to France was a disaster--or at least that's how it felt.  First of all, it rained every day.  And not just little sun-showers that last for 5, 10 minutes.  No, it poured.  The worst day was when we went to Disneyland though.  Don't get me wrong, Disneyland was fun, and I still had a good time, but it rained--yet again--and Mom and I got stuck under Sleeping Beauty's castle for FOREVER.  Then we lost the rest of the family.  And I'm pretty sure it rained again after that.  I think that my eight-year-old brain may have been exaggerating the extremely disappointing nature of that trip, but I'm afraid that I never really liked Paris after that.  I still don't understand all the hype that Paris gets.  Yes, it is a cool city, and there are some awesome things to see (the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre), but I'm not enamored with it; I would much rather go somewhere other than France.  And it's all because we went to France during the rainy season.