Responses

The smart and beautiful Kirsten tagged me, so here are my interesting and witty responses.

8 things I'm passionate about

1. My amazing family. All of them. Richard and Nora. The Gimbels. The Hawkinses. I don't know how I got to be blessed with such an incredible group of people to be related to. I love them, admire them, and can't get enough of 'em.
2. National Public Radio. I love all the interesting stories I hear. I start many, many conversations with the phrase "On NPR today, I heard..."
3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
4. Voting. My friends in high school used to tease me by saying they wouldn't vote when they turned 18. It used to make me so mad! I think it is an essential and simple way to demonstrate your engagement in public policy.
5. Tweezing my eyebrows (and also Richard's eyebrows). I can remember that during a particularly busy part of grad school, I looked in the mirror one day and realized that I hadn't tweezed in over a week! It was at that point that I knew I was too busy!
6. Costco. I love everything about Costco.
7. Recycling. I'm learning a lot about how to reduce my waste, and it makes me really happy! Richard and I enjoy seeing how little we can throw away each week.
8. Mothering. I feel passionately about being a mother. (This includes breastfeeding, Pamy.)

8 words or phrases I say too often

1. "The bottom line is..." (I picked this little gem up from my dad. It is a great little phrase.)
2. "Cuckoo La-Roo..."(As in, why is that driver swerving like that, he is Cuckoo La-Roo. Richard and I spent a healthy amount of time figuring out how to spell that.)
3. "Let's change your pants." (I don't ever say this to Richard).
4. "I was just going to say." (I use this instead of "I agree with you." Rarely was I ever "just going to say" what you just said. I hate that I say this, but I can't seem to stop!)
5. "I love you."
6. "The thing is..." (A variation on #1)
7. "Nora, Nora, Nora..." (It is a little song that my mom made up...I sing it to Nora all the time.)
8. "Richard, are you listening to me?" (I talk a lot when Richard gets home. It gets kind of long and monotonous. I would stop listening, too.)

8 things I want to do before I die

1. See Nora and her siblings get married in the temple.
2. Serve a mission with Richard.
3. Hug and kiss my grandkids.
4. Learn more. About pretty much everything.
5. Own a house (I just kept this one from Kirsten's...I think this is a dream of most apartment dwellers.)
6. Have a fulfilling and enjoyable career where I make a difference in people's lives (can you be a little more vague here, Betsey!) :)
7. Travel the world with my family.
8. Stop biting my nails.

8 things I have learned from my past

1. If your baby is used to drinking the water in Ohio, don't let her drink the water from a hotel room in West Virginia.
2. Throw up is hard to clean up out of car seats. (This is a recent lesson I learned in West Virginia. See #1.)
3. It is REALLY hard to make Richard mad.
4. Apologizing is always a good idea.

5. Don't bleach your hair blond or get a perm. It just isn't a good idea.
6. Other than Richard, my sister is my best friend (this took many teen years to realize).
7. Listening is always a good idea.
8. Giving gifts is more fun than getting them.

8 places I would love to see (I stole a lot of these from Kirsten...she had good places!)

1. Israel
2. Thailand, Burma and Cambodia
3. Africa (all of it!)
4. Ireland again (preferably not tracting)
5. Peru
6. Germany--where Richard lived when he was little
7. New Zeland
8. China

8 things I currently need or want

1. Something to wear for our family photos. (We are having them taken on December 13th.)
2. To clean out my fridge. (There is some funky polenta in there!)
3. To develop the will to go the post office again. (I spent a hour there yesterday...why can't I consolidate my trips?!?! What is wrong with me?!)
4. A Vita-Mix (hint, hint, Richard!)
5. New glasses. The baby has scratched my lenses with her teeth. (I went cheap and didn't get the scratch-guard. Not a good idea.)
6. Permanently clean kitchen floors.
7. Tickets to the Presidential Inauguration.
8. For Richard to decide what he wants for Christmas. He is impossible to buy for!

8 People I tag to do this...

No one! Because 8 is a big number! You can do this tag, but only offer five responses. Eight got to be too much!