31 Day Blog Post: Ten Favorite Foods

I actually think that today's topic is kind of lame, but in the true spirit of sticking to the schedule, I am going to go for it and post my ten favorite foods. I suppose the real challenge comes with coming up with ten. Let's see: in no particular order...

1. Spaghetti made with Italian sausage.
2. Grilled BBQ Chicken
3. Bunny Tracks Ice Cream
4. Chocolate Chip Cookies
5. Oreos
6. Salad with ham and hard boiled egg
7. Pulled pork sandwich with just a little coleslaw on top
8. BBQ Pork Potato!
9. Bagel breakfast sandwich
10. Strawberries

Keep in mind, this list may just be a "what I am craving as the giant pregnant lady that I am right now" list. And, quite honestly, it could change tomorrow. Food is my downfall. I love it.

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31 Day Blog Challenge: 3 Personality Traits I Am Proud Of

Really? I have to come with three? Right now I can think of one, so let's hope that as I write about this first one, two others will pop into my brain. Otherwise, this post is going to take forever to write!

STUBBORN: Okay, this is not generally a positive personality trait. However, it is the personality trait that drives my need to succeed, my will to survive, and my determination to make it through even the toughest of situations. For example, after my emergency c-section with Q, I was on so many drugs, and my arm was cut and sore from having my blood pressure taken every 15 minutes, and my arms and hands were bruised and swollen from having to have blood drawn and tested so often, and I was only partially conscience of the things going on around me and the people coming in and out of my room--I actually got to the point where I was so miserable and uncomfortable and lost that I just wanted to close my eyes and not open them again. I never want to feel this way again, but as I was trying desperately to connect to something in the room, it dawned on me that I had a daughter who needed a mother, and I was suddenly determined to get out of the bed and go see her. Let me point out, that while this is the worst I have ever felt in my life, I really don't think I was close to death--the magnesium I was on made me feel like death warmed over for a few days. Anyway, my stubborn determination to come out of the cloud (and a very desperate prayer) allowed me to rest and wake up feeling suddenly more like myself again. So, stubbornness can be a good thing!

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LOYAL: This one did pop into my head about half way through the rambling above. I am a loyal person. I remember telling someone who hurt me once that what hurt the most was the fact that I NEVER would have done what they did to me to them. I guess I do run into problems when I want to feel like I am being loyal and a good friend to people who maybe don't deserve it. I am really bad (well, I was really bad) at trying to be a loyal friend to two people after they have broken up. That's a hard one. However, I am grateful for this one. It helps hold my family together.

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SMART (BUT NOT TOO SMART): Working around kids again, I am reminded daily of how hard it is to be the SUPER GENIUS. Not that I have ever been one! I am not a genius. There are just those kids who are crazy, crazy smart, and incredibly socially awkward. Bless those children, and thank goodness I was not one of them--at least not too often. I had to work pretty hard to become smart. I read a lot, and I wasn't all that good at that when I started out. I was in the lowest reading group in my first grade class. One day I just caught on to reading, and I have loved it ever since! My grades didn't always reflect my brain power. There were lots of things to distract me from schoolwork in high school, and I spent my first two years of college utterly miserable. No, I would say that I am smart, but part of that comes from my desire to know things and the fact that I have at least a little common sense.   

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31 Day Blog Challenge: Guilty Pleasure

Well, like Lisa, I had to think about what a possible guilty pleasure of mine would be. Mom, Stef, and I had a little discussion about it this morning, and while I think Mom's guilty pleasure (Brittney Spears' "Toxic") and Lisa's (Justin Bieber) are hilarious, mine is really not that amusing. So, I thought some more about what my guilty pleasures are, and since this is really the biggest one: here we go.

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Yep! Pedicures are my guilty pleasure...now read on while I justify getting the occasional one to myself. I used to get pedicures on a regular basis. I love it when people massage, tickle, draw on, or just plain touch my feet. I don't necessarily like touching other's feet, but if it will get me a massage, I certainly will! Nick has always been awesome about rubbing my feet. Especially when I was pregnant with Quincy. He would massage my feet almost nightly, and I loved him all the more for it.
Since I have no Nick to massage my feet right now--and Kelli won't even tickle them--the only way I get to enjoy that simple pleasure is the occasional pedi. The water, the lotion, the massage, take me to a happy place. It doesn't help that I can't bend over and touch my toes very well right now either. So, how else am I supposed to cut my toe nails? That's what I thought! Can we afford it? No. And that, right there is why this little thing is a guilty pleasure. There is real and actual guilt involved. Sigh!

31 Day Blog Challenge: Earliest Childhood Memory

Hmmmm...I have been thinking about this all day. I have lots of pieces of memories here and there from when I was fairly little, but I can't really place what was earliest. So, I am going to have to go with the most vivid early childhood memory. Many of you know this story, but I will share it again.

When I was about three, we lived in Clifton, CO in a house that was basically a duplex with a home upstairs and one down. We lived in the upstairs unit. There were lots of stairs to get to our front door and a deck--all wood, I believe. We had use of part of the yard below, and we had a swing set! This was a very big deal. The unit below us had a cement patio leading out to the yard. One day, my brother, Adam (who was about 1 and 1/2), and I were headed out and down the stairs to play. As Adam started towards the stairs I heard a voice loud and clear say, "Jen, DO NOT let him go down the stairs." Our mom was inside, there was no one else around, but the voice is one I listened to. I said, "Adam, stop. Don't go down the stairs." He turned and looked at me like I was crazy--a look he still gives me to this day. He started down again, and again I heard, "Jen, DO NOT let him go down the stairs." So, once again, I said, "Adam, stop!" Another look, and another try, and my little brother fell between the rails, down many, many feet and onto the concrete below.
I remember little after this. There are images of my mom on the ground with him crying and holding him. I think he was trying to stand up. Then I remember him coming home from the hospital. He had fractured his skull, but in such a place that the damage was minimal. My brother has always been marked for greatness. He is great. I love him a great deal. I don't know if I could have actually prevented him from falling that day, but I do know that we have a Father in Heaven who loves us and watches over us. I've known that since I was three and heard a voice straight from Heaven telling me to protect my brother.

31 Day Blog Challenge: Name

The actual challenge for today is to write about my business name. Well, I don't have my own business, so I thought I would write about my name instead.

Jennifer: According to babynames.com, my name means Fair Phantom or White Wave. Neither definition actually fits my personality much. Growing up, I always had at least one other Jennifer in my class or classes with me. The year I was born, it was a popular girls name...that is for darn sure. I think I have given my mother enough grief about this over the years. She likes to think that because I was born in January that she was a trend setter. I guess we can let her believe that! I used to try and think of what I would have named myself, but in all honesty, I can't imagine being anyone but Jen. Actually, Jen is the name I prefer and I love. There are few people who actually call me Jennifer, and those people have special permission. ;-) I have never been a Jenny. Ew!

Mahan: Since I was not given a middle name, keeping Mahan as my middle name just seemed natural. Being a Mahan held special significance for me growing up. It is a family name I have always been proud to carry. I often felt that there was a certain expectation and pride that came with carrying that name, and it is with pride that I still carry it.

Sadler: This is still a name to which I am growing accustomed. However, this name represents what we are building. It is my husband and my daughters, my home, my love, and my life.

31 Day Blog Challenge: 20 Facts About Me

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Okay, Holly and Lisa (and my mom via email) have posted some really wonderful and amusing things about themselves. The pressure is on to make this good! So, here I go:

1. My family jokingly call me "The Expert" which I actually love. I like to think it is because I am so wise, but I think the real reason is because I am fairly good at finding and interpreting information. I love being able to help others by finding out things and passing on info, and I do tend to voice my opinion (although it may not always be wanted).

2. I always wanted to get married and have a family, but I honestly never thought it would happen. I was hopelessly in love with at least a dozen wrong-for-me guys over the years, and through that experience, I had come to the conclusion that I was not marriage material.

3. I believe in love at first sight--okay, maybe second sight. The second time I met Nick, I KNEW my life would never be the same. I just didn't know how that would play out! Here we are, five years, many adventures, and almost two kids later. Still love him more than anything!

4. I am a slob. I can clean, I will clean, but oh how I hate it!

5. I play the clarinet (probably not well anymore), the piano (not real well, I am mostly self-taught), and I could be the next American Idol. :-) Not really, but I do love to sing.

6. I always knew I would love being a mom, but I didn't realize how much until Q came into my life. This mom stuff is pretty cool, and our worst day here is WAY better than the best day I ever had as a teacher.

7. I believe that education is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves and our children.

8. I absolutely LOVE having five siblings. My best friends were built into my family, and I can hardly believe how BLESSED I am to have the family that I do.

9. I used to think that I was smart. Now, I think I have more to learn than will be possible in this lifetime.

10. While I have not always been the greatest example, I am LDS. These past few years, as I have come back to church and grown in the Gospel, I have come to find a great peace with who I am. This is a blessing beyond compare.

11. I always jump to the worst case scenario when presented with new problems and challenges, and I generally assume that is exactly what is going to happen.

12. I love to try and plan my life, and everything in it, but these past few years especially, have taught me that planning is futile and I should really just work towards being prepared and staying flexible.

13. I experienced one of my worst nightmares when I had Q, and I lived to tell about it.

14. I have been told several times in the past few months how strong I am...I don't know about that, but I do  know that I am determined. Incredibly determined.

15. I am a crier. I try not to be, but I do cry at the drop of a hat. I cry almost daily these days. Let's blame the pregnancy!

16. I am really excited to be having another baby girl join our family. It isn't a secret that I am actually terrified at the thought of having a son. It isn't a rational fear, and I do kind of hope we can have a boy one day, but for whatever reason, I am afraid to be a mother to a son.

17. Speaking of irrational fears: I am absolutely terrified of dinosaurs. Not bones in museums or displays, but scary dinosaurs in movies. Jurassic Park is a movie I have never seen all the way through. My sisters thought it would be funny one time to surprise me at Dave and Buster's with the Jurassic Park video game. This is also how Nick found out about my fear of dinos...they put me in the game with my eyes closed, handed me the gun and started it. Instead of jumping out, I thought I should actually try and kill the dinosaurs running towards me. So, I part screamed, part laughed, part cried through the game while Nick sat next to me with his ears covered and muttered, "Are you kidding me?" over and over again. He stuck around after that, but seriously...dinosaurs are really scary!

18. My favorite movie of all time is Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. It makes me giggle.

19. I love to read. I wish I had more time to read. I love so many books from so many genres that one might think it would be hard to pick a favorite, but I actually never, ever tire of reading The Great Gatsby. I literally have read this book over 30 times, and read it again at least once a year since I have stopped teaching. I would happily teach the book for anyone, anytime!

20. I prefer cold weather to hot, mountains to ocean, dry air to humid, and the smell of rain calms me and makes me happy.

31 Day Blog Challenge: Introduction

So, my sister Lisa challenged those of us sisters who blog to do this challenge together. I am always in for things like this. I think it is fun to reflect on these things sometimes, and I think it is an interesting way to get to know others. There are some of the days that I might change things slightly. Like Day 3: Business Name? I don't think I quite understand that one.
Anyway, there are many ways in which introduction can be interpreted. I have introduced the challenge, so I actually could stop there, but what is the fun in that? So, here is a little intro about Jen.
I am 32 and live in Colorado. I love Colorado. I was born here, raised here, and then I left for a few years to live in Texas with my hubby since his job was located there. We are back in Colorado, and that makes me happy. I feel more like myself here. I never really could in Texas. I have four sisters, one brother, a sister-in-law, and three brothers-in-law...all whom I love dearly! My sisters and I are particularly close, and although we are geographically spread out, we are able to maintain a wonderful relationship. My brother lives close, and I am blessed to have him and his wife just across town! They are so good to us and especially my daughter, Q! I have been married for a little over three years, and we are expecting baby girl #2 in August. I have a BA in English, an MA in Education, and I taught high school for five years. Loved it. Miss it sometimes. Love my job now more! I am a Stay at Home Mom currently, although I am looking for a job. It has become necessary, so if anyone has a lead...
I promise to be brutally honest in these posts as the days go on. Things might get interesting, so hold on to your hats, ladies and gents! Welcome to the ride!

If you are interested, here are the links to read about my sisters too! They are fascinating people. :-)

The Guzman Family Lisa's Blog
The Griffith Family Stef's Blog
The Glem Family Holly's Blog

Kelli, Stef, Holly, Lisa and Me
Taken a few years ago!