What is your favorite store?

Anyone who knows me at all knows the answer to this one. I love Target!! Mostly their clearance. I have found so many awesome deals there. And everyone knows I am a Bargain Diva at heart. I hate paying full price for anything! So when I'm able to get Birthday presents and gifts for 75% off and next year's Holiday decorations for 75% to 90% off I am thrilled!

They also have some good prices on kids clothes and other stuff. But clearance is really what makes my heart pitter patter.

Do you have a favorite author? Who? Why? Tell about favorite books as a child...youth...adult.

My all time favorite author is Orson Scott Card. I own most of his books and love reading them. He is a fantastic writer. His imagination is amazing. My favorite book by him is Enchantment. It's a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. So good! I've read it lots of times and I'm sure I will read it many more.

While Orson Scott Card is my favorite author my favorite book of all time is The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. I already posted about that HERE.

I remember that my very favorite book as a child was Harry and the Terrible Whatsit. I had to buy a copy when I had kids because no one could find my old one. That's the only specific book I can remember from being young, but I'm sure there were lots. I've always loved reading.

As a youth I loved mystery novels. I read a lot of R.L. Stine books.

Now I love everything. My favorite type of books are Science Fiction and Fantasy. But I love most everything! I also have a bit of an obsession with Vampire books. I've read a lot of them! Some of them are good some are not. I'm open to reading pretty much anything other than horror. I find that the older I get the more of a wuss I am.

I'd love to hear your favorite book so I can add it to my list of things to read!

Were you ever in drama, speech, or any other club?

In junior high I was editor of our school newspaper. I loved doing it!! I had so much fun that year. I still have all of the school papers and every once in a while I will pull them out to read the articles I wrote. I was also in drama club and a peer coach. I was busy a lot and was also able to get out of class a lot! My friend, Michelle and I always told our teachers we had to go do an interview or something so we could get out of a boring class.

In high school I was in concert choir. Basically, I stood next to people who could really sing and pretended to do the same. My voice isn't horrible, but it certainly isn't good. It was a wonderful experience, though. I will definitely encourage my kids to join clubs when they get into school.

Do you wish you had more sisters or brothers and why?

No! I love both of my sisters and brother. I honestly couldn't ask for a better family. My sister Becky is my best friend in the entire world. Some days I think she knows me better than I know myself. Kristen is my go to girl for baking. She is fantastic! And no matter what has happened in my life she has always been there for me. Aaron is wonderful also. I idolized him growing up. In my eyes he could do no wrong. That has changed as I've gotten older, but he is still a great example to me.

Every hard time I've had in my life my siblings were there for me. The vast majority of my wonderful memories include one or all of them. I think we have the perfect number of siblings.

What lessons did you take as a child? Did any carry over into adulthood?

I vaguely remember taking dance lessons when I was in kindergarten. They didn't stick. I HATED them! Needless to say my mom decided it wasn't worth the money to fight me to go.
I also took viola lessons in 3rd or 4th grade. I remember that we rented my viola and it didn't make any noise at first. I'm sure it was because it was new. But I was so shy that I didn't say anything. I just pretended to play for a while. LOL. I ended up not really liking that either. Apparently I am a quitter! :)

What is the most wonderful thing that ever happend to you? The worst?

This is an easy question!! The most wonderful thing to happen to me is my kids. What could be better than that? They fill my days with consternation and joy. And I wouldn't have it any other way. They are always amazing me. I can be a horrible mom one minute and be yelling about something and two seconds later I get an "I love you" from Holden. The unconditional love from and for my boys has changed me forever.

The worst thing is also an easy answer. I've posted about it before. Losing my son, Quentin was harder than anything I have ever gone through. It has also changed me forever. And although it took a while, I know it has changed me for the better.

Where did you live as a child? Describe it.

I grew up in good old Magna, Utah. I lived in the same house from 5 or 6 until I was 22 and married. We had the best neighborhood ever! There were a decent amount of kids my age that lived right by us so I always had someone to hang out with.
I remember the whole neighborhood getting together for the 4th of July and doing fireworks together. I couldn't have asked for a better place to grow up. I still talk to a few of the guys my brother was friends with. They ended up becoming brothers to me also. And every once in a while we all get together for a barbecue or something. Washington Road gang forever!! (Yes, I know I'm a dork)

Did you have a close relationship with any of your grandparents?

I loved my Grandma Archibald! She was such a good Grandma and exactly how I picture all grandma's to be. She was always cooking for us and I remember getting a lot of hugs. I don't have lots of memories of her since I was fairly young when she lost her battle with cancer, but I still get a good feeling just thinking about her. I have no doubt she is in Heaven taking care of my little Quentin and any other future children I will have.
I never got to meet my Grandma and Grandpa Terry. They both died before I was born. I wish I would have had the chance to get to know them.
So overall, a very lame post since I don't have many memories. But a post nonetheless. I will try to post again soon.

What are your food preferences and how did they come about?

Let me just start by saying I am a picky eater. I mostly like simple things. I'm getting better as I get older, but I'm still fairly picky. I HATE mayo. It makes me want to barf. (Maybe because my brother and I used to eat bread & mayo like bread & butter?) My favorite food is lasagna, but mostly only my mom's recipe. :) I have no clue why I have the preferences I do. My mom always tells me I'm not her kid when it comes to food. I don't like crunchy things (i.e. green peppers, onions, etc.). Overall, Italian is probably my favorite type of food. And I really don't like to try new things. Tim is always trying to get me to try new places and I never want to.
Sorry. This is a lame post, but I did say I'd try to answer all the questions.

What is the most trying experience that ever happened to you?

Sadly, this was an easy question for me. I've been through a couple of really hard things in my life. The first was giving my son, Timothy up for adoption. VERY hard! But the hardest thing for me was losing my baby boy, Quentin. I'll give a quick recap for those that don't know.

My husband, Tim and I tried to get pregnant for a few years with no luck. We finally did two rounds of IUI and (woo hoo!) it stuck. We were ecstatic to say the least. I was getting a round baby belly and loving hearing our baby's heartbeat at my doctor's appointments. I was 20 weeks along and our ultrasound was here. We had told anyone and everyone to expect a call from us announcing the sex of our baby. We went in to check out the little guy or gal only to be told that the heart was no longer beating. We had to head to the hospital to induce labor so I could deliver my dead child. I was devastated to say the least. I had to be started on pitocin in the labor and delivery area where all the other lucky mom's and dad's were having beautiful live babies. It was a very hard 7 hours. On July 5, 2005 I gave birth to Quentin James Brunson. He was beautiful. He was teeny and not developed, but still perfect. We found out he was a boy when he was delivered. We had a memorial service for him and tried to move on. I couldn't for quite a while. I went through a very dark phase of my life. I hated God for a long time. And there was some serious depression involved. I only made it through because of my wonderful husband, family and friends. I know I am a stronger person and a better mom for having gone through this. But it's still a hard thing for me. Life just isn't fair sometimes.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Why?

For as long as I can remember I've wanted to be a teacher. I'm sure a big part of that was because my mom is a teacher. But I've always loved being around kids and loved playing school when I was young. Although I didn't love going. I started skipping class in 5th grade. he he
I was a substitute teacher for a couple of years and that made me realize how much I really do love teaching. I'm hoping that when my kids are in school full time I can teach part time. Obviously that involves me getting a teaching degree, but it will happen! It's certainly a long term goal, but a goal nonetheless.

Did it snow where you lived as a child? What kinds of things did you do in it?

Boy did it snow! It still does, but it doesn't seem like it snows nearly as much as it used to.
We did all sorts of things in the snow, but the thing I remember most is the year Aaron, Ben, and I made a slide down our deck stairs. It took us a little while to pile up all the snow and bring it to the stairs. We then put water on it so it would freeze overnight and make the slide faster. It was so much fun! You could kind of climb up the outside of the stairs to get to the top, but mostly we had to go through the house so we could slide down again. All the neighborhood kids wanted to come and slide down our awesome slide! I'm sure my mom was sick of all the kids running through the house, but she was a good sport.

What is your favorite book? What do books mean to you?

I LOVE to read!! I read every day. It feels weird to me if I don't. I absolutely adore books. They can take you to a whole new world. They can expand your horizons, raise your hopes, or feed your fears. They can make you laugh or cry or both. Sometimes in the same paragraph. There is nothing better than a "can't put it down" good book.
I would have to say my favorite book is The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. I stole my sister Becky's copy when I was younger and read it so many times I had to throw it away. I bought a new copy and that one is starting to get quite beat up as well.
Although that is my favorite book my favorite author is Orson Scott Card. He has such a vivid imagination! He can make you think about everything in one book. I love it! I own most of his books and won't be happy until I own them all.

Journal Jar

I'm going to type what is printed on the journal jar my mom gave me so you have a better idea of what I'm doing.
Ingredients:
Life was not meant to be bottled up forever. This jar is jampacked with 115 delicious and interesting questions to inspire you to celebrate something very important. YOU!
Recipe:
Combine and generous slice of your life history with a dash of nostalgia and several cups of facts and feelings. If you will follow this simple recipe, you will find that by this time next year, you will have a very delicious, personal history finished. All you need to do is draw out one slip of paper everyday (or at least once a week, but it will take longer to finish). On it you will find a question. Spend a few minutes and just enjoy remembering. Then paste the question at the top of a blank page (I'm doing it on my blog) and begin to tell all about it. Don't worry about spelling, handwriting, etc. Just tell YOUR story! This product was prepared to preserve your life as a message. Enjoy the scrumptious, homemade memories.