Things you need to know about me*

1. I don’t like unsolicited advice or people telling me what to do.
2. The more you tell me to do something, the less likely I am to do it. Even if it is something that absolutely, positively, must be done I still won’t do it and I will also hate you.
3. I have a degree in Interior Design and I was on an HGTV show. I don’t like how it turned out.
4. I’m 27 years old. Not 142 so you only have to say something one time for me to remember it. Not at every conversation on every day we speak. (No offense to any 142 year olds out there).
5. While I may sometimes appear to be, I am not an idiot.
6. My dad died when I was 13. Sometimes I get jealous when I see girls with their fathers because it's not fair mine isn't here.
7. I'm happy that I went back to school to be a nurse. I love nursing but sometimes I wonder what would have been if we'd made different decisions and moved to LA instead of NY. Would I still be in design, working on movie sets? I don't like to think too hard about that.
8. I believe in the power of prayer even though I am not the most faithful pray-er. I also believe in a God that knows this and is always there waiting, whenever I find myself in need.
9. I love who I am becoming.
10. I am lactose intolerant. This means I don’t drink [real] milk, I HATE cheese**, but I refuse to give up ice cream. Just get out of my way about 15 minutes after I eat some.
11. I love being Avelyn’s mother more than I could have imagined.
12. I secretly wish I could be more like Gregory House. But without the beard and the limp.
13. I unsecretly envy all my friends that stay at home with their kids. I have so much student loan debt it's not even an option. Trust me, it’s more than you have.
14. I played guitar for one semester in 2007. I was pretty good.
15. I played violin for 6 years and I could still play today if I got my violin fixed. In the 5th grade when I decided to play, my dad sent the violin back to Czechoslovakia to the original maker to be fixed up. I just found that out 2 years ago.
16. I love that all my "new friends" are funny, smart, hot, soon-to-be nurses. And girls. Women need women. We're the only ones who understand each other.
17. I didn't get pregnant on purpose but I didn't prevent it either. I don't regret one itty bitty thing about her.
18. Deep down I used to worry I was infertile. Guess that was one worry I can cross off my list.
19. I love hot pretzels with salt. I also love regular not-hot pretzels with salt. If you do too you should try the store brand pretzels from HEB or Target or Kroger. If you eat a handful in one sitting you might have a heart attack from the sheer amount of sodium.
20. I like speaking in nurse lingo. For example, the last sentence could also read: If you ingest an unhealthy quantity of pretzels in one sitting you may experience a myocardial infarction related to the hypernatremic nature of the pretzel.
21. I hate my skin. It’s unbelievably dry and painful and cracks and bleeds all the time. When I was younger kids would tell me I had alligator skin and man hands. I’ve never gotten over that. No amount of lotion works so please, do not suggest one.more.thing.
22. I never wanted to work with women or with babies and now the only thing I want to do is help bring babies into the world.
23. I love Pink Bubblegum ice cream from Baskin Robbins.
24. I had a lot of crap dumped on me growing up but I have a lot of great memories too. Pictures are very, very important to me.
25. I read dirty romance novels as a preteen. That my great-grandma gave me. I couldn't get enough of them.
26. The oldest journal I have in storage somewhere starts something like this, "Dear Diary, I saw the movie 'Speed' today and I have to tell you - I'm in LOVE with Keanu Reeves".
27. I need lots of natural light in my house to be happy.
28. I hate being in houses where the TV is on all damn day.
29. I am struggling with how to become who I am becoming and how to introduce that person to those that used to know me.
30. A friend once wrote, “I am striving to have overflowing faith and a deeper spirituality and envy those who already do. I am also working on being less envious.” Yep.
31. When I was eleven or twelve I wrote a letter to Jonathan Taylor Thomas and told him I was a vegetarian and my favorite food was a Caesar Salad - just like him!! Dillhole never wrote back.
32. Sometimes I see a picture of myself and think I'm not too bad looking. When I look in the mirror I usually hate what I see.
33. I hate shopping for myself but I could shop for Avelyn every day of the week. I'm also really awful at picking out stuff for my home, go figure.
34. I can't wait to get off antidepressants and feel something again.
35. I'm terrified to get off antidepressants and feel something again.
36. I recently got off antidepressants and am feeling again. I mostly feel annoyed.
37. I'm not very good at hiding disdain. Ironically I'm very good at hiding my feelings.
38. I get a little hop in my stomach when someone comments on my blog and I get angry when I know people read day after day and never leave one note. I don't know what that says about me.
39. I struggle with myself everyday and fight my instinct to worry about doing everything right. It’s not gonna happen so enjoy the ride.
40. I realllllllllllllllllllllly don’t like people telling me how to raise my daughter.
41. I believe in vaccinations because they save lives and you cannot disprove that fact. Period.
42. I believe in medical doctors. I believe in well checkups as well as sick visits for my children because they sometimes identify something that otherwise might not have been found. I also believe in tried and true homeopathic/natural remedies but I hardly use them because deep down I am scared of doing something wrong.
43. I think about one day becoming a surrogate for a couple who can’t have their own children.
44. I enjoy a glass of wine, a cold Mexican beer or a sugary sweet mixed drink every now and then. I like that I don’t like to drink much anymore, not that I drank much in the past. I don’t like to be around people when they’re drinking and I’m not. They are unbelievably annoying.
45. I have a dog nose and smell everything. I don’t like most of what I smell.
46. I do not like drinking straight from a glass and must have a straw if one is available.
47. I can’t wait to have another baby.
48. I love devoting all my attention to my first baby.
49. I suffered from post partum depression. As a friend so accurately put it, “I don't really remember the first months of my baby’s life but I'll never forget what it feels like to want to drown myself in the bathtub.” If you’ve been there then you know. If you haven’t then you just don’t.
50. I finally got over the fact I couldn't breastfeed Avelyn.
51. I love to sing but I don’t have a great voice. Even though I know this it really hurt when one of my best friends laughed and told me that maybe I shouldn’t sing out loud anymore.
52. I loathe going to the video store. I don’t like having that many choices.
53. Being a mother is the best job I’ve ever hard. It’s the only job I’ve never felt like quitting and I love waking up to it every day that I can.
54. I don’t care if it’s a little or a lot, I am afraid I will never lose the baby weight.
55. I wear really comfortable, not very sexy, underwear. I don’t understand the other kinds.
56. Don’t tell me how or when to do things I know perfectly well how and when to do (Stolen from Cameron).
57. I always wanted to be 5’7”. I have made peace with 5’4-1/4”.
58. Despite my conservative, religious upbringing, I am becoming a pretty liberal liberal.
59. I like for my left and right sides to feel equal in every way at all times. Yes, it can and does interfere with my life.
60. I really, really, really, really, really love my daughter.
61. My husband's not too bad either.
62. Possibly the most important thing to know about me – I have to sleep on clean, properly draped sheets. That means my sheets have to be tucked in perfectly, with no wrinkles or looseness. I have a tendency to FREAK OUT if my sheets are messed up and I’ve been known to get up at 3 AM and turn on the light to fix them so I can go back to sleep. Thank the Lord I married the only man in the world who can stand this behavior.

*I retain the right and plan to add to, edit or delete items from this list at any time.
**There are exceptions to every rule so keep your mouth closed when I break one of my own. Re-read #1 & 2 for clarification.