100 Things

I got tagged for a facebook quiz and felt like posting it for anyone who has that kind of time to spend on randomness :)

1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT?
my lip...I jumped on the bed and fell onto a huge 70's stereo speaker, bounced off of that and then got the record needle through my lip. It was a demonstration of my physical talent at an early age. I blame no one but myself on this one.

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?
Sconces, antique mirror frame, canvas pictures

3. DO YOU SNORE, GRIND YOUR TEETH, OR TALK IN YOUR SLEEP?
I do all of those while awake, none of them while asleep

4. WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?
Music that makes me feel.

5. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?
in the wee hours of the morn.

6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?
enough money

7. WHAT DO YOU MISS?
The desert
.
8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION(S)?
My wedding rings and my cats

9. HOW TALL ARE YOU?
5'4"

10. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC?
Sometimes. I don't like people squeezing my arms down. I start kicking and freaking out.

11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?
Sometimes

12. THE LAST THING TO MAKE YOU CRY?
The thought of someone dying

13. WHAT'S YOUR WORST FEAR?
Riding in the car with my husband in Chicago traffic while he is in the driver's seat

14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?

John's colors.

15. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF BEING PROPOSED TO AT?
On John's parent's couch in the basement. :)

16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK?
Coffee.

17. FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING?
Cheese

18. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Watermelon

19. FAVORITE COLOR OF ALL TIME?
Blue.

20. HAVE YOU EVER EATEN A GOLDFISH?
The Pepperidge Farm kind

21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST MEANINGFUL GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED?
Life, I suppose

22. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH?
John is pretty hot.

23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED?
I don't even know if that exists. I am quite flexible and bendy though

24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND?
Whatever fits my body and mood that particular season

25.DO YOU PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?
I do play two. I tinkle the ivories and toot my flute.

26. DO YOU HAVE A PET RIGHT NOW?
I have furry children that some may refer to as the common 'pet'. Dante' and Lola Jean

27. WHAT KIND IS IT?
THEY are felines.

28. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?
That is a dumb survey question. And yes I would and I did. I met John in March fell in love with him by June and he left in September and was gone until our wedding day in 2004 only to leave again in 2006.

30. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED
57. Did you hear me?

31. BLONDES OR BRUNETTES?
What about them?

32. FAVORITE QUOTE?
I love quotes! other people say things so much better than I do! I can't narrow it down to one.

"Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it"

"Whatever you are, be a good one"

“There are people who go after your humanity .. They tell you that the light in your heart is a weakness. Don’t believe it. It’s an old tactic of cruel people to kill kindness in the name of virtue.”

"Beauty is a matter of the soul. A woman of true beauty is one who's at rest with who she is and is not striving to become someone else."

"What I dream about is an art of balance"

"Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning."

33. FAVORITE PLACE?
The beach.

34. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE USA?

Yes, to Europe and to the Bahamas
35. YOUR WEAKNESSES?
Cuteness.

36. MET ANYONE FAMOUS?
Yes.

37. FIRST JOB?
I worked in a library

38. EVER DONE A PRANK CALL?
Yes but then I always felt bad afterward and revealed myself or made the other girls at the sleepover do it instead while I looked on with angst.

39. DO YOU THINK EVERYONE OUT THERE HAS A SOUL MATE?
NO

40. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED THIS OUT?
Watching a movie and folding laundry

41. HAVE YOU EVER HAD SURGERY?
Yes. Two tonsillectomies and other various operations

42. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST?
physically, my eyes. non physically, my compassion

43. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES?
Yes the porcelain kind

44. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY?
a baby maybe or some Fiestware. (Sidenote: I do not see these two as comparable or interchangeable)

45. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT AND THEIR NAMES?
more than 1 and their names are not decided on.

46. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Melissa was the only name that was agreed upon . Anne is my great grandma Martin's name. She was the bomb.

47. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST TURN OFF OF THE OPPOSITE SEX?
BO , self-centeredness, and being inconsiderate. Also these are very same sex turn off's too! Who wants a stinky, selfish, rude friend. NOT ME!(although I do have a few..)

48. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU LIKED ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL?
The gaggle of silly friends I had!
49. WHAT KIND OF SHAMPOO DO YOU USE?
Vegan shampoo. It makes my hair color last longer and doesn't dry it out!

50. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Sometimes.

51. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Roast beef

52. ANY BAD HABITS?
A few.

53. ARE YOU A JEALOUS PERSON?
It depends. I am a female. Its a tendency I try to avert!

54. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I would be my best friend because I think I am a pretty rad friend.

55. DO YOU AGREE WITH FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS?
If the benefits include them giving me money to shop or buying me things then yes:) But no, I don't believe in the typical friends with beni's : that's bad news.
56. DO LOOKS MATTER?
My looks matter to me.

57. HOW DO YOU RELEASE ANGER?
Crying, cleaning or creating.

59. WHAT'S YOUR MAIN GOAL IN LIFE?
To accomplish God's purposes over my own

60. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?
My babies

61. HOW MANY NUMBERS ARE IN YOUR CELL PHONE?
Not important.

62.WERE YOU A FAN OF BARNEY AS A LITTLE KID?
ew. I was too old for him.

63. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Is the Pope Catholic?

64. MASHED POTATOES OR MACARONI AND CHEESE?
HOMEMADE mac and cheese not the Aldi brand.

65. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
Jesus

66. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES?
Marcipan, Mis, ,Sivvy Precious Angel and Missy Moo(thanks to the grandparents), Misky Jones and Sissy.

67. IF YOU HAD A SUPER POWER WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Shoot tropical laser beams of love from my heart.

68. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW?
Today it is 90210 and I'm not even ashamed.

69.WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH YOUR ENEMIES?
Pray for them

70. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
My lactose intolerant stomach says all ice cream is good ice cream. I prefer cake batter flavor.

71. DO YOU HAVE ALL YOUR FINGERS AND TOES?
Yes.

72. DO YOU HAVE A COMPUTER IN YOUR ROOM?
No.

73. PLANS FOR TONIGHT?
Finish this survey and wait for my studly husband to return from his scholastic adventures

74. WHERE DO YOU WANT TO LIVE WHEN YOU ARE OLDER?
By the beach

75. EVER BEEN IN A CAR ACCIDENT?
Yes, a few.

76. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
Nothing.

77. THE LAST THING YOU DRANK?
Tea.

78. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
One of John's students

79. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE IN THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Jesus

80. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?
Enjoy my spare time.

81. FAVORITE THING TO EAT?

Food.

82. FAVORITE SEASON?
Spring

83. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TYPE OF DESSERT?
Cheesecake or tiramisu

84. HAVE YOU EVER REALLY AND TRULY HAD A BEST FRIEND?
Yes.

85. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR?
Brown.

86. EYE COLOR?
Green

87. HEIGHT?
Short.

88. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
I sure do love In and Out Burger

89. FAVORITE RESTAURANT?
It depends on my mood

90. DO YOU LIKE SUSHI?
YES! So delicious!

91. WATCH TV TODAY?
Yes.

92. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
My birthday or Christmas

93. BREAK ANY BONES?
Toes- all but 1!

94. REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT?
I vote my values.

95. KISSES OR HUGS?
I like both from my husband and sometimes hugs from others. Physical affection isn't my top language of love. Although I find myself wanting hugs more than usual lately.

96. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS?

I have one night stand in my room.
97. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT?
Rootbeer from Huck's

98. WOULD YOU EVER BE A HOUSEWIFE?
Heck yes.

99. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
The Love Dare and Water for Elephants

100. DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE?
Unconditional and exciting.

I love him, I love him, I love him!

Something kind of strange (yet appreciated) is happening at our house.

All of the sudden it feels like we are newlyweds again. SCORE!

I don't know what this is all about or what happened to make things so fun and new again but this is where we find ourselves. Maybe we are at last a bit more peaceful here in this odd but somewhat familiar town..maybe we are more peaceful in our marriage..maybe we are finally learning to live to love. Whatever this is... I like it.

4 1/2 years of marriage..

Whether this is a passing phase or not..I will indeed live to love this man until the day I die.

Something Bigger Than Ignorance

I have never been a politically apt person. In fact, quite the opposite. I suppose this is because ever since I have been able to vote I've thought that my rights were never under attack and that as long as someone who opposed abortion and claimed to be a Christian was in the white house I was good to go.

Silly and uninformed is what that is.

Recently I have been exposed and immersed in the depths of politics. My job as an abstinence educator has always been an politically controversial one. I partner with my local pregnancy care clinic who is pro-life. This is also another huge point of political unrest.

My job. It is something I am passionate about indeed. Spreading the undercover gospel of self worth, self respect, purity, passion and truth in the classroom. Yesterday I got a chance to go to our state's capitol, to Springfield Illinois, to lobby. Holy cow. are you serious! Lobbying. This was intense. I got to go around to most of the state representatives offices, handing out information about our program, ReL8, sat in on a briefing with Representative Reis about our plan of action and got to witness some amazing things. It was just like the movies.

Political science has always been my anti. Honestly, I hear the sound of news channel, I turn it. I see an issue of Newsweek, I ignore it. I hear political conversation and I avoid it. I didn't have a thorough understanding of it, henceforth it was complicated therefore I had no interest. After lobbying yesterday I realized ignorance isn't an excuse anymore. It's not an option.

Sometimes its hard to admit you have been ignorant. Because along with ignorance there comes this feeling of stupidity and immaturity. Well I didn't have time to be ignorant this past week. With the House bill 2354 coming up to vote today I had to learn fast. More on this bill can be found on http://archpundit.com/wp-content/uploads/HB2354.pdf

[key points include: nulification of the state’s parental notice law, requires taxpayers to pay for thousands of abortions,would mandate comprehensive sex-ed for our children starting as low as kindergarten. ]

I just new my job was in danger and that the PCC I partner with would be mandated to inform our pregnant clients where they could get abortions and make a referral and that most docotrs would be required to provide abortion services.

So yesterday I got to lobby.

This is how it works:

The Reps are in session reading through the various bills, etc that are up to be voted on. They read through them an insane amount of time and each bill is a bazillion pages long. IT'S A LONG PROCESS! When you lobby you go and stand outside the Session doors and you give your business card with the name of the Rep you want to talk to on it, it has the bill you want to discuss on it on the back, you hand it to a Page and they deliver it to your Rep. You stand outside with 100 + other people waiting to nab their said Reps and hopefully don't get trampled in the meantime. If you see your Representative come out with your card in hand YOU ATTACK! just kidding..you push others out of the way and rush up to him and hand him your info, plead your case all in a short minute!

So I did this. I was assigned two Representatives out of the 14 we needed to speak with. I got John Cavaletto and Brandon Phelps. So I wait..and I wait...and I wait....all of the sudden precious John Cavaletto comes out Missy Culpepper's card in hand and I rush to him and shake his hand while spewing forth my information etc. He was the best. He of course is a NO vote on this bill (SCORE) and was so accomodating. He remembered that I had contacted his office yesterday and told me he called me back etc..if there was anything he could ever do for us to let him know personally. He gave comendations, applause and thanks. WHOA. I felt so cool. I'm not even going to lie. Maybe I will get asked over for Thanksgiving dinner now and all of the summer cook outs?? We had another Rep who came out ready to debate us because he felt God leading him to do so. He thought we were FOR the bill. When he realized we were there to support him in voting no he was nothing but complimentary and eager to meet each of us that were there. He said it was nice to see a presense of God there. The enemy is always here, he mentioned, its nice to have people who represent the truth around making their presence known.

We got chewed out by one guy because he said Bristol Palin got knocked up and that makes abstinence education dumb. He doesn't care about the bill. It's not worth his time. When he realized that 8 women were NOT there to flatter him, swoon at his pick up lines and support him he didn't take kindly to that. He told us not to agitate him enough to make him go call up the bill right then and there to be voted on. I don't even think he has that power anyway but I wasn't worried. ..Men of depraved minds who are rejected will reject your faith..

Anyway. After miles of walking in high heels and power suits, heavy bags, and endless securty lines all for no pay, I left feeling encouraged, empowered and informed!

God is bigger than my ignorance. God is bigger than depravity. For this I am immensly grateful!

Good news: they say that HB 2354 won't even be called up for a vote because there has been such a public outcry against this bill!

God wins again.