I am super-blessed to be a brand-new stay at home mom! I am soaking up every minute of my time with my little Jeannsies. I am passionate about nature, wildlife, and getting kids outdoors. I love to craft and have to make something almost every day. I am married to my high school sweetheart, and we have one little girl born in September of 2007.
Have a burning desire to know more?
I wrote 20 random things about me on my Facebook page a while back, and I still like them. So, here they are (Written February 21, 2009):
1) I had to ask my friend Sara today to explain to me in painstaking detail how to post a note on facebook and what they are for. (Did you know that the Facebook spell checker doesn't recognize Facebook as a legitimate word?)
2) My favorite group of animals are the cephalopods, followed closely by cnidarians and echinoderms. Ok, all marine invertebrates are freakin' awesome!
3) I am in love with all things handmade. I love to craft and totally appreciate the work other people put into handmade things. If anyone ever makes me anything, I totally cherish it.
4) I met my husband in 8th grade leadership class. I told my friend that she should date him because they were a similar height. Hey, you gotta base a relationship on something. They actually did end up dating 2 years later, but, unfortunately, it didn't work out.
5) I once locked my boss's keys in her truck in the middle of the night in a campground in the mountains far from cell phone reception. My other boss and friend had to MacGyver a slim jim out of flag stakes we were using to mark our small mammal traps (wow, that reference is even older than me). The reason I was in the truck in the middle of the night was because I had pitched my tent in a ditch the day before and woke up in 6 inches of water when it rained overnight. I actually had to ring out my pillow. Yes, this was a work trip in the field, and yes, I am a professional.
6) For about a year, I thought I would be a midwife. If I had a second life, I would still do that. I took a doula certification class and have attended 5 births, including both of my nieces.
7) I am a devoted cloth diaperer. My daughter has worn less than 1 full pack of disposables in her life. They totally gross me out! If you've never looked into the crazy online world of cloth diapering mamas (see www.diaperswappers.com if you dare), you have no idea what you're missing. I swear, I am not one of those crazy women though. Did you know you can spend $35 on a diaper that isn't even waterproof?
8) My daughter has totally changed my life. I love her more than I ever thought humanly possible. I definitely want to have at least 1 more child, they are heaven. I have loved every stage, even newborn. I guess that should have been closer to the top than number 8, but hey, this is free form brainstorming - don't judge me!
9) I am a Christian. Again, probably should have been closer to the top, but who wants to re-number now? I believe in the bible, pray regularly, and attend church regularly. My faith and relationship with God have seen me through many a tough time and given me many a blessing.
10) I am totally inspired by the No Child Left Inside movement. I loved the book Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv and I believe it should be mandatory reading for all legislators.
11) If I could, I would just sit and knit all day everyday. Of course, I would have to be knitting on the beach somewhere between Big Sur, Ca and Newport, Or, otherwise I would get bored. I tried to sell my baby fingerless gloves on etsy, but I can't figure out how to make them fast enough for it to be a viable side business.
12) I love fingerless gloves! You can type, write, hold binoculars, and all sorts of other nifty things while your hands stay warm and toasty. Actually, I prefer gauntlets where it's just a thumb and a sheath for your fingers. I have knit a lot of these things in my life.
13) I read to my daughter as she is falling asleep. I have been doing this since she was born, and, since she didn't really care what I was reading for most of that time, I read her things like: 100 years of solitude, Jane Goodall's autobiography, House of the Spirits, Environmental Interpretation: a practical guide, and the Peter Pan series by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry. Edit - Unfortunately, she's old enough now to have opinions on her reading material.
14) I am a co-author on a paper on barnacle phylogenetics published in the British Journal of Marine Biology. That's my one little published work, so I like to tell people about it.
15) I am working on a grad school application for Oregon State in Science Education: Free Choice learning. Since I wrote it down here, I'm hoping it will force me to actually finish it and turn it in. Edit - Not happening any time soon. I'm too busy with my new job as a mama!
16) I was born and raised in Modesto, Ca. Proud home of George Lucas, Carol Channing, Mark Spitz, and Earnest & Julio Gallo. Just to name a few. According to Wikipedia, it's was recently ranked worst city to live in and most dangerous city, but to me it's just home. Edit - and now I'm living back at home. Like seriously at home. In my husbands old bedroom.
17) When I was 11, I was bitten in the face by a large lab/pitbull mix. Luckily my parents got a wonderful Alaskan Malamute named Rocky 1 month after I was bitten, so I don't have a fear of dogs. I don't like them near my face though!
18) I love to bake, especially cupcakes. I especially like to bake vegan recipes. I don't know why, but I really like not using eggs to bake with. My mom instilled a healthy fear of salmonella in me, so I'm really happy not to have those little disease grenades out in my kitchen! Ok, some might consider it an unreasonable paranoia.
19) Speaking of unreasonable phobias, I am scared of erosion. I saw a video in elementary school of whole river beds shearing off and floating away on a rapidly rising river, and I was scared!
20) My first career goal was to be a ballerina. It was rough to finally give that one up. I can't go to the ballet anymore, which is kind of sad. Lately I have been watching some on TV, so maybe I'll work up to going in person someday soon.
21) My husband and I cannot help but laugh all the time. The worst is when we are fighting. We can't go more than a few minutes before one of us makes a joke. I say really dumb things when I'm upset, so the joke is usually on me.
22) I
23) I think that it should be mandatory for every American to visit Washington D.C. The history, monuments, and museums there really make you think about what this country means.
24) I used to think mandatory had something to do with me (Amandatory). My dad used to say we had mandatory trips to San Francisco, and I never quite knew what that meant.
25) Robert is going to be so mad if he finds out I was up this late! It's 12:48 am. This is the one night I was supposed to get sleep because Maya is at her grandma's house, and I stayed up all night writing on Facebook! For some reason he gets really upset when he thinks I'm not getting enough sleep. Luckily, he's not on Facebook, so he'll never know. Edit - he is on Facebook now, and I'm still up late.
