About Me
Pull up a chair, grab a hot chai (my favorite), and let's get acquainted! I'm sure that you don't want to know any more about what I do—you can find that kind of stuff all over this web site. 
If you're taking the time out of your busy schedule to learn more about who I am—which likely means you are stuck in an airport somewhere and have eight hours to kill—read on.
If you're still reading, my friends—all two of them—might tell you to reconsider. Actually, I have a lot of casual friends, but I only have enough time to really hang out with a few loyal friends. All my friends (casual or not) know I can't stand “level one” conversations—hi, how are you, the weather's great today, huh?! How's Bob's new truck running? Yes, I'm fine too...we're all fine—you get the idea. So usually in the first couple minutes of conversation, you and I will likely be discussing what we're living for, how we want to impact this world, why God allows suffering, etc...
My friends (and family too) are priceless to me. They are the ones who really challenge my faith, don't just tell me what I want to hear, pray for and with me, risk embarrassment by doing crazy things with me, understand the concept of give and take, and make me laugh. I can be real with these friends when I'm grumpy or sad, and they don't take it personally. I rest confidently in knowing they will accept and love me on good days and bad, and they will forgive me when I am a jerk, because I usually am sooner or later. I often tell people that my two biggest problems in life are what goes into and what comes out of my mouth. The rest is pretty okay.
I am a truth-teller, which is why I wouldn't have many close friends anyhow even if I wanted them. I offend some people by being honest and saying what nobody else wants to say but needs to be said, and I don't play games. I don't have the gift of mercy (characteristic of many truth-tellers) so unless you are bleeding to death in front of me (hopefully not on my carpet), I will likely tell you to suck it up (not in the Fear Factor kind of way) and go get yourself a Band-Aid. I can't stand hypocrisy (which my kids have regularly pointed out that I'm full of), and I don't like to be around people who lie to themselves on purpose. It drives me crazy. I am drawn to people who do have the gift of mercy, and who are creatively fun—that is such a gift. I absolutely love people who can admit when they are wrong, own up to their mistakes, and say they are sorry. I also love teachable younger women who ask me for prayer or spiritual perspectives, although they are becoming more difficult to locate, in my experience.
I have so many passions and interests, that I can't fit them all into my schedule. I think I will need forever to get good at all the things I want to do and learn (I'm sitting well on this one). My most favorite past time is travel, especially to beautiful palm-tree lined beaches somewhere in the tropics. So far, my favorite tropical vacation spot is the Dominican Republic (I've only been once). I have great hopes of visiting many more places in this world, but we'll see what is “in the plan.“
I love snorkeling, laying in the sun, reading, writing late into the night (it's 2:10 a.m. as I write this), naps (they allow me to write late into the night), singing (for some reason the dogs in the neighborhood always start howling when I do??), listening to Christian music, attending Christian music festivals in the summer, sewing, sports (all kinds), camping, un-persnickety cats, dogs that don't bite, collecting interesting rocks and seashells, lifting weights, playing board games and card games, walking around our beautiful country nayyyyborhood (it's full of horses), watching frisky horses show off, eating out, amazing Wyoming sunsets, wildflowers, hot baths on cold winter nights, hiking in the mountains, burning yummy candles, and watching quality movies. When I get to heaven, I intend to take up freestyle snowboarding (doing jumps and flips), surfing the big wave pipes, and skydiving. I'm not a big risk-taker so I'm too afraid to try them now.
I hate cleaning house, grocery shopping, talking on the phone (my family doesn't believe me on this but I swear!), errands, oxidized utensils touching my tongue, zits (I haven't outgrown them yet), being misunderstood, injustice, procrastination, the smell of wet dogs, lima beans, liver, darkness, the thought of living in a big city, and being cold (like anything winter).
For entertainment's sake, I keep a black widow in my cabinet in the kitchen (Seriously!!!). I feed her raw hamburger. Recently she laid an egg sack so I am excited to see her eat her 750 babies when they are hatched. I'm not morbid; I am just fascinated by all living creatures, especially dangerous ones that I can have control over. Black widows are easy to come by at our house. We built our home on “BW Headquarters for the Northwest” and find them all the time. I love watching animal planet and discovery channel when they do nature shows. God's creation is so intriguing to me and I love learning about creatures I never knew existed .
I absolutely love being with family, even though I don't have a very big one anymore (too complicated to explain). You can read more about my beautiful immediate family under my family link. They are a blast and I love them with all my heart!
I come from a long line of micro-managers (see my article “How Did I Ever Survive Without You”), so I love to manage all the little details in people's lives who are closest to me, much to their great frustration. But I'm getting better—really. They are all allowed to tease me whenever they catch me trying to nit-pick stupid details.
We are running out of time, but the most important and most obvious thing about me is my faith. It isn't a part of who I am, it IS who I am. I can't really have a conversation without bringing my first Love into it somehow. Not in an annoying way—unless you are an atheist—but HE IS MY LIFE and He is who I want to talk about and be more like. So now you know just a very little bit more about me...