A Hopefully Brief Interlude to Oklahoma

Well, I guess it's time I face the music, I've been tagged by just about everyone on my list now, in one form or another, so here goes. For those of you unfamiliar with "tagging" I'm now supposed to share 7 (I think, maybe it's only 6, we'll just see how many I come up with) interesting facts about me (Annie...I'll have Morgan do one later).

1-I play the piano. I used to play really well and took about 10 years (off and on since kindergarten) worth of lessons and then like the timid person I am (I'll get to that in my next fact) I hated recitals and playing in front of people and therefore lost a lot of the skill that I once had. I am happy to report though that I have been practicing a lot more lately and I've almost learned every Hymn and Primary Song in the books. I can pretty much read any music by sight, I'm terrible at memorizing music, and can only pick out a few things by ear. I really enjoy the piano and music and it hasn't been until recently that I've really recognized it as a talent. It seemed like "everyone" played the piano, so it wasn't that special, but now it seems to be a rare commodity and I'm enjoying the fact that this talent is truly needed and I'm determined to get better and not make all those years a waste. (Thanks mom for keeping me going with piano!)

2-I am a very shy person...at least at first. It takes me a long time to really come out of my shell. I like to observe people and figure out the dynamics and how I fit into the picture before acting. Sometimes my shyness can be read the wrong way and taken as possible "stuck-up," but in all reality I'm completely intimidated by people and I hate large crowds. I have met a few people in my life that have gotten me to break out of my shell sooner (my husband for example had me doing the Macarana on a table in the bowing alley on our first date, of course he was up there with me. :) I'm trying to be more social, but it's still a weakness of mine, if only they had a book called "Making small talk for dummies, and other ways to engage in conversation with others."

3-I have the biggest sweet-tooth in the world, in fact I'm pretty sure that I have 28 of them. I love candy and junk food. I'll eat anything sugary and I haven't come across a candy that I haven't liked...not that I can remember anyway, and give me enough time and I'll learn to like it. My favorite candy though is Bit-O-Honey. It's good that I married someone not so addicted to sweets and he keeps me in check. Although, it all fairness, I would take a piece of fruit over candy any day, but it just takes so much longer to cut the apple, or peel the mango than it does to unwrap a starburst. I'm sorry mom for all those cavities I made you pay for. :)

4-I love cold weather. I love snow, rain, hail, anything frozen. This might not seem weird or unique, but I grew up in St. George where I can count the snowfalls without using my toes. One snow storm in particular was when I was in 6th grade and school got canceled, well they don't really plan for snow days and so we ended up having to go an extra day in June..yuck! And then after seeing snow in Salt Lake, I realized that what we had in St. George was no snow storm. I guess I'd much rather be cold than hot because if you're cold, you can always put on more layers and snuggle to get warm, but when it's hot, you can only take off so many layers and you're still drenched in sweat. That being said I still love "visiting" St. George even in 100 degree weather, it just helps me appreciate the rain and snow that much more, and appreciate the variety of weather that God has created for us!

5-I am an uber-organizer! I love to have things sorted categorized, clean, and things put in their place. So, I guess it's good that I married a very tidy person - I'll let him tell you more about his OCD tidiness in his tag though. I love spreadsheets, I love calendars, I love planning and when things don't go according to plan, I feel like the planet has stopped spinning and we're all going to be sucked into a black hole...okay okay, it's gotten much better since I've had a baby, I've really had to learn when to go with the flow and when to keep a good schedule.

6-I love sports and would like to think of myself and a natural athlete, maybe that was due to the fact that I had four older brothers who I always tried to impress and didn't want them thinking I was a wussy girl. I did do ballet for a stint though, I took a few tap dancing lessons out of a neighbors garage (don't remember any of it now), I did gymnastics for a couple years and loved it, only quit because of a shoulder injury. I was pretty good at shooting the basketball, not so much the game, but you can ask the guys in my ward growing up, I usually won "Speed" when we played after the activities. I was always playing football with the boys in elementary, and I played soccer in high school. I love rock climbing and hiking and anything outdoors. I will say that becoming a wife and mother has made me a scaredy cat and I'm trying to overcome that. At least I got to go skydiving once before I had a baby. :) It's sure a lot harder to get back into shape after a baby though and some days I can't find the energy to exercise, but I'm sure once Logan is toddling around he'll be keeping me on my toes. ( I can't wait...no really, I can't, I'm so excited to chase him around the house while he squeals with laughter.)

7-Wow, I really made it to seven...hmm I'll try and think of something good for this last one that not too many people will know about me...thinking....thinking...ahh yes. Something my husband has learned to love and hate at the same time. I really hate listening to people complain and so I have a tendency to try and bring up the bright side of things (sometimes I'm not very good at doing it with myself though). I don't do this to argue, because I really hate contention, but sometimes it can be read that way. You can give me any situation and I guarantee there is something to be grateful for in that circumstance, and I'll be happy to prove it to you. Sometimes it's not good timing and I'm sure I've upset people by this and it's come across as arguing, but really I think I do a lot of it for myself to try and see the good in all things and all people, I just need to learn how to always make it be a positive experience. And sometimes I need a good dose of my own medicine when I get down.

So there you have some things you may have known, some you might not agree with, but in my little world of Annie this is how I would classify myself...which brings up one more thing and then I promise I'm done making you read all about me...I hate being classified into a personality type. I'd like to think that I'm am just me...not a "white" or a "blue" "red" "yellow" "D" "I" "S" "C" or any other personality classification, just simply me. I'd rather adjust to my surroundings and adapt than immediately be expected to respond in a certain way. (and I'm sure this feeling fits into one of the personality traits hahaha) Wow! It's kind of a relief to spill your guts - I guess that's what journals are for, right?