100

I thought we'd start with a sweet photo... I had to call a health insurance company today to bitch inquire about a bill I'd received that I hadn't expected for a lab test that I'd have thought would be covered... and when I walked back into the room, this is what I saw:

This is my 100th blog post! I can't believe I had enough things to say about my not~so~interesting (at least not to an outsider, I'd think) life... but apparently I found a few things. I love having a blog... it's a great creative outlet for me, as well as a way to document our lives. I have a horrible memory and I'd like to think one day I'll be able to come back to this space, long after my visitors have stopped frequenting it, and remember what this time was like for us. I always kept a journal as a young adult... and even now I love to re~read the things I wrote about my relatively mundane life.

So a few weeks ago, the author of one of the blogs I frequent, offered to interview her readers. (as an aside ~ she has a great blog... you should check it out!) I thought it would be fun and took her up on it and thought today would be a good day to be interviewed. So here goes!


1) If you had to write a mission statement for your family, what would it be?

In my family, we strive really hard to be good... We try to be good to the Earth so that it will be around for a really long time and we can keep enjoying living in this beautiful place. We try to be good to our bodies by putting healthy things in them so they will keep working hard for us for a really long time. We try to be good to others ~ to treat people with respect and kindness just like we like to be treated. I think that's too long for a mission statement, though. :) But that sums up our main goals as parents for our family pretty well I think.

2) You've written beautifully and so openly about the struggles in your marriage, which occurred during your last surrogacy. Now that you're planning to be a surrogate again, how do you and Shawn plan to protect your relationship and keep it strong?

We have to make sure that we stay on the same page. We will make sure that our marriage continues to come first as far as our priorities go. If our marriage is strong, everything else in our life seems to fall right into place somehow. We will make sure we keep talking... about what's going on with us, what we're feeling and how this is hard. We'll find solutions to our problems together, rather than trying to matters into our own individual hands. I feel like our marriage is on a whole different plane than it was when I first was a surrogate mother. Our whole lives are different now and I think the issues that we struggled with before were separate from the surrogacy... I don't expect them to come up again during this time, but if they do I feel like we now have the tools and know how to weather the storms.

3) You're a thrift store shopper. Tell us about 3 of your favorite thrift store finds.

One of the best things we ever found was, hands down, Gavin's cowboy boots. I have never gotten so much use out something that cost me less than $5 ever in my life! I was also very excited about the computer (also in that last link), even though it didn't work and we had to turn around and sell it at our yard sale. But I always did think those iMacs were so cute and it was fun finding it... and getting to look at it for just a minute. The best thing I found for myself was a super cute pair of glass earrings. They looked hand made and possibly decently expensive (I've seen earrings like that at art festivals before).... and the $1.25 price tag made them even sweeter!

4) Why do you think Barack Obama is our best candidate for the next president of the United States?

As simply as I can... He fills me with hope. Every time I've seen him speak or read anything about the things he stands for, I just want to cry or hug him. He'd probably prefer I just cry. ;) I think his intelligence is refreshing and his goals for our country mirror my own in many ways. I think he sees a future that is not as bleak as our recent past and knows how to help us get ourselves there.

5) If you hosted a party for your fellow bloggers, what would the theme be?

Oh wow... I'm not such a great party planner, so I might have to hire Ria to plan it. But I'd love to put faces to names and personally tell each of the ladies that I love to visit with on my lunch hour, through their blogs, how awesome I think they are. I love knowing that I am not alone in the struggles I read about and sometimes (or might one day) face myself. I love hearing ideas about ways to make this world better... sometimes in areas I wouldn't have otherwise explored! I have found inspiration in places I would not have thought possible and I'd love to celebrate the women that inspired me! Maybe when I win the lottery...

So that's it. If you would like me to interview you, feel free to send me a comment with your email address and I'd be happy to send you some questions in return. I love reading these that other people have posted... so if you haven't done one already, now's your chance! :)