I think I smile the best with kids around. Especially these two.

I'm sure that if you read this blog regularly, you've seen pictures of me, you've read my prayers, you've figured out my writing style, and you've gotten a pretty good idea of who I am. I don't hide my warts, I try to laugh at them, but I wrote a post a while ago about my family and then one one each of my pets and even one about Jer. Up until now I was not really ready to write one about myself. So, while the proverbial "iron" is hot, I will strike. I think we all define ourselves by how we relate to others and the things we like. Seriously what are we if not one giant opinion right? My Twitter description of myself is pretty accurate, "A happy go lucky child turned quirky adult." When limited to 140 characters, self-description becomes both simple and difficult. My mom might not say I was so happy go lucky. I was always emotional, but when it comes down to it, I was secure in the fact that my parents loved me (so I was happy and felt lucky to be me) and everything else was just my response to change. How I've learned to deal with changes in the world around me has made me sort of quirky. I am a little on the "jump to the worst possible conclusion and then talk myself down from the ledge" side. Likes: honesty, integrity and consistency. Coffee, chocolate and pasta(I like versatility in my food). Jeans and funky shirts with comfy shoes. Reading,Cooking writing,gardening, mowing the lawn,sitting outside enjoying the world. But above all of these individual things, I like to be with family and friends, so any and all of the activities is better when there is someone or lots of someones close by. Things I do because I should: Exercise, watching the calories and going to the Dr. I work for a dentist, so dentistry is high on the list of healthy things I do. I am both easy and difficult to please. I want what I want how I want it and when; but at the same time, I love little surprises. For example: a patient brought me some eggs from her hens, and that made my day. I ate them scrambled this morning and they were delicious! And so bright yellow! And that made the visit from the Animal Licensing man from "The County" fade into the background along with the 35 dollars for licensing the dog AND the cat. (Seriously, pet taxes?)

I love beautiful things, flowers, animals, seascapes, landscapes, sunsets, thunderstorms, clouds, etc. I love and appriciate the pretty things in the world.

I care about things that aren't so pretty, like orphaned children, lost animals, Senior citizens keeping thier dignity and people in crisis. I want to help and have found more and more ways to do that.

Most of all, I am grateful for a loving God who sent His Son to save me from myself. For all of the times when I've forgotten about the things I like, the things I should do and the people I should care more about. He's helped me find ways to reach out and think about people other than myself. And that is really who I am. A flawed and stained person rescued from a life of misery by Jesus. And thank God for that!