Q & A: Part 2

Well, I hunkered down and finished the rest of your questions from My 500th Post last night.

Some of your questions were very similar, so I may have combined a question or two in the spirit of simplicity. Brevity, on the other hand - you will not find that here. I tried. Oh, the good Lord knows I tried. But, be warned. You might wanna grab a cup of coffee.

Or a Red Bull.

You just might need it to get through this beast.

So, we continue on from Part 1...

What were some of your life goals before marriage and kids and have any of them continued to be your goals? Have you fulfilled any of them?

I had to really think on this one. Honestly, I don't think I have ever made any "life goals". Probably because I'm not so good at following through with today's agenda, let alone bigger and more significant goals. Further, I find that as soon as I begin to create a path, usually a very easy one with flowers blooming on all sides and no Wicked Witch from the West turning trees into hateful apple throwers, God's plan often takes me in a completely different direction. I often think my lack of "planning" has served me well in adjusting to unexpected change.

But sometimes, I think I am short-sighted, in that I don't plan out my future with grand strokes and certainly not in detail. Fortunately, my husband thinks we should plan financially for the future, lest my short-sightedness land us in retirement with a great looking wardrobe and no savings.

I'd say that I always wanted to get married and have children - but, there was a brief time in my life before college when I wasn't sure I even wanted children. Praise God He's ultimately planned things out, and isn't swayed by the changing desires of this fickle girl.

Since you are such an amazing cook and baker, how do you and Jason stay so thin? Every time I make one of your recipes, my husband always asks me if Jason is thin and then he is curious as to how that happens. Of course, maybe Jason knows about portion control. I think my husband is so shocked when there is something delicious on the table that he cannot help but overeat!

Jason and I would both argue with the statement that we're thin - we wear a little extra here and there (me more than him, for sure); but, for the most part, we're content with that. Jason has far more discipline than I do - but then again, he's not staring at a kitchen full of baked goods all day. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Anyone who's been reading this blog for any length of time, or just the last week for that matter, knows that I don't cook "lowfat" food. I don't like substitutes for sugar and butter and cream. I like to cook with traditional, real, Southern-style ingredients - they just taste the best.

However, Jason and I do not eat as much of this kind of food as we'd like. I'll make an entire cake, but we'll have friends over to share it with us. I may make a large pan of Macaroni and Cheese, but 3/4 of it gets divided into mini-tupperware containers and Jason takes them to work for lunches.

Both of us would rather eat a little of absolutely delicious, satisfying, good way down deep in your belly food - than eat a full plate of lowfat/diet/calorie-cutting food that doesn't taste good. It is about portion control for us. We eat the good stuff. Just not as much of it as we'd like.

What is your absolute favorite dinner and favorite dessert (that you make)?

My favorite meal is London Broil, Greek Potatoes, Corn Pudding, and Roasted Asparagus. You can find all of those recipes here. This is the meal I serve most frequently to guests. They go batty over it.

Drool...

My favorite dessert is Molten Chocolate Lava Cake. LORD HAVE MERCY, this little dessert is just sinfully good. The recipe is here.

Drool...

What do you like best about being a mom?

I love the laughter, kisses, craziness, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chubby cheeks, baby thighs, toes and ears. I love movie nights, snuggling, singin' kids songs in the car, and bathtime.

Really, I could never choose what I love best. There's just too much goodness wrapped up in the word, "Momma".

What did you do prior to becoming a mom?

Prior to becoming a Mom, I worked for a large insurance/financial services company and did annuity marketing. I loved my job. I wore clothes that got dry cleaned, and bought fancy shoes. I don't miss it now, but I loved it during that season of my life.

Did you always know that "political science" was for you? Cause I think you could have been a writer.

I actually started out as a pre-med major in college. One semester of chemistry and a major butt-kicking by "moles", and I knew it wasn't for me. My sophomore year, I took a Political Science class and loved it. I declared my major and planned to go to law school when I graduated. My Dad was a lawyer, my sister is a lawyer, and I loved writing papers and briefs and I loved learning to argue a point articulately. I scrapped the law school idea when I realized that upon graduation, I could get a real paycheck instead of being broke for the next 3 years. Ahh, the lure of money.

Interestingly, the thing I loved most about political science was the writing. There is very little that is objective about the law; it requires subjective thought, followed by an ability to persuade another of your interpretation. The writer in me loved that part of my major. And, my education trained me to write well.

I also want to know how you think you might feel someday if your children pack up and move far away from you and Jason? (hard question, I know, but wondering if that's ever crossed your mind?)

This question breaks my heart a little. Ok, it downright smashes it to smithereens. I imagine it would be very difficult, as thinking about daily life without them at this point is almost unbearable.

But, my husband and I are raising our boys to leave us and start lives of their own. We are raising them to leave our care and proclaim God's love and grace to a world that desperately needs it. If that journey takes each of them many miles away from us, we pray that our love is engrained on their hearts, and that it brings them home often. Even if they really only come home for the food.

For now, I'd like to keep them here with us - for a few more years.

How do you know how many posts you have? I can't seem to figure that out on my blog.

The number of post is on my sidebar in my archives - otherwise titled, "That's What She Said", my hat tip to The Office. By adding the 2007 posts, the 2008 posts, and the number I've written so far so far in 2009 - you get the total.

What made you decide to start blogging?

I decided to start blogging because I was frequently being asked for my recipes - and I was emailing them to friends and family over and over. I wanted a place to start recording them so that I could refer anyone who wanted one to my blog. I also wanted a place to share our life with our family that lives 700 miles away. I still blog for those reasons, along with many more, but the reasons are always changing and morphing into new ones. I recently wrote more about why I blog here.

What is one talent that you do not have that you wish you did?

Oh, how I wish I could sew. I need someone to give me a challenge, kind of like the pie crust, I guess. I have a sewing machine, and it's in its box in our storage room. I imagine making funky pillows for my living room. And, skirts like Tracy and bags like Leigh Ann and just about everything SouleMama makes. But, I'm scared to even open the box. I'm totally intimidated by all the knobs and the bobbin and all that business. I just don't know where to begin.

What is your secret dream job? This does not have to relate to any particular skill you have. It could just be something that sounds fun to you.

I'd love to be a personal chef - creating delicious meals for a busy family and making their dinner special every night.

You always seem so positive and seem to do everything well when it comes to cooking/baking and parenting. I'd like to know what doesn't come easy to you and/or what you struggle with.

Oh, mercy, I struggle with a lot. But one that affects me and bothers me every single day is that I am the most disorganized person I know. I struggle, struggle, struggle with organization. It doesn't come naturally to me at all. I can buy a bunch of containers - with the hopes that they will solve my disorganizational woes, but they end up filled with the same junk that was on the counter. Only to be rummaged through and the same stuff scattered all over the counter again. Have you ever seen a grown woman pray over plastic bins? Well, I've done it. And, I still struggle.

Will you ever move back home? :-(....missing you all dearly!

This question came from my dear, sweet friend Johanna, and I love her for it. You know, I have days when I'm ready to pack up and move back home. And, I have days when my life here is so fulfilling and wonderful that I can't imagine leaving it. But, our move out here taught me something: "Home" is where my husband and children are.

And, for now, God has led us here to this town in the Midwest - where we are rich in friendship and truly content. But, we miss - oh, how we miss - our friends and family back East.

Do you and Jason have a plan for how many kids you'd like to have?

I know we don't want eighteen, like those dear, sweet Duggars. And, we'd like to keep the three we've got. Frankly, that's about as far as the plan has gotten. We don't really talk about our family long term - meaning, we haven't set up a plan and are trying to fulfill it. We hoped for Jack, our first baby - but other than that, we've just had open conversations about children throughout each changing season and we continue to be open to God's plan for our family.

How many kids were in your family?

Nine. Here are all nine of us - and my Mom and Dad. This picture was taken in 1984. In case you're wondering, I'm the one on the bottom left. Oh, how I loved that dress.

Where are you in the birth order and are you close with your siblings?

I'm number seven. I was always part of "the three little ones", and always wondered why it couldn't be "the two little ones". I really wanted to be one of the big kids, even though my little brother and sister outgrew me by the time I was five.

As for our closeness, my sister, Anna, and I are very close. We are both raising boys; five of them under five years old. This bond has made us closer than ever, and we rely on each other for daily support and encouragement. Lord knows we need it.

But, many years ago, when I was suffering with a terribly bruised and broken heart, my sister, Cara, who is 10 years my senior, was my most trusted confidant. I would drive hours to visit her on the weekends, just to lay in the comfort of her lap.

All that to say, as time goes on, I realize that I experience seasons of closeness with my siblings. I used to think that was very strange - and desperately tried to figure out why that was. But, having talked with other friends in large families, I'm coming to realize that this is true more than not - and welcome the seasons of closeness as they come.

I am thankful for each of my siblings - and so very thankful that God made me part of a big family. Oh, the memories and stories we tell, and retell (as our husbands and wives roll their eyes) at holiday gatherings.

I remember when you moved into your new house you said you had a great long story of how God provided it for you guys and that you would share it later. Did I miss it? If not, can you share? Why did you move to the Midwest?

I hope to post the story of our move and finding our house at some point. But, it is a long story, and one that will take me time and a tremendous amount of thought to put together. I haven't yet taken the time to do that, but maybe you've just inspired me to do it!

And, with that, I've come to the end of your questions. Whew - that was exhausting. I think I relived most of my life in these last two posts. If you are still reading and not snoring on your keyboard, thanks for sticking with this wordy girl. Dang, I can talk.

Thanks for playing along, everyone.