I am SO excited that in a couple short weeks, I will be winging (driving) my way to Pennsylvania to attend the second Relevant Conference, a conference for Christian women bloggers. I went last year, and it was such an amazing experience that am thrilled and grateful to be able to attend once again.

Last year, I went with my family in tow, but this year, I’m only bringing Baby Boy along. I will be rooming with a blogger from the same general area that I actually met at last year’s conference and have kept in touch with since then. You can see us below (with another fellow Relevant attendee) in the picture. Laura, also known as the Beltway Bargain Mom, brings metro-DC-area frugalistas all the greatest deals in food and family fun. She’s the one with the little cutie pie, who is, incidentally, almost the same age as Baby Boy.

I’m joining in the fun over at Brooke McGlothlin’s Life In Need of Change, where fellow Relevant attendees are posting about 10 things their Relevant Roomie should know.

1. Since she is also going to be riding up with me, she may want to be aware that I consider myself a cautious and careful driver. Others call me slow.
2. Along the same lines, I have a terrible sense of direction. Don’t worry, though; I’ve got a GPS!
3. Generally speaking, I’m a pretty quiet person. But (and she may have already caught wind of this), put me in the right place at the right time in the right mood, and you can’t shut me up.
4. I’m probably going to spend a fair amount of down time missing my DH and my Certain Little Someone. *sniff* I miss them already, actually.
5. If I’m in the hotel room at 10pm on Thursday (and not socializing with the other late-night Relevant ladies), I might want to watch the Mentalist. Bones doesn’t start until the following week, so I’m good at 9pm.
6. I’m a little nervous about how Baby Boy is going to handle the whole experience. Yikes. I’ve kind of got knots in my stomach already just thinking about it.
7. I’m dairy and egg free right now, so I’ll probably be dragging around some of my own food. I know, that’s weird, but I can’t help it.
8. I have a tendency to stress out about little things, especially when my DH isn’t there to balance me out and calm me down when I’m freaking out about nothing. (This tendency is, oddly enough, worse when I’m on an altered diet.)
9. I find it very difficult to wake up in the morning. Very. Especially when a little 3-year-old is not there to insist that the sun is up and God turned the sky blue so it’s time to wake up. (True story; that’s how he woke me up this morning.)
10. Last year, I was blessed to room with my DH and my Certain Little Someone (and technically, Baby Boy, who, at the time, was rooming inside of me), but I have to admit that there were times I felt like I missed out on the whole roommate experience that might have helped me to feel more a part of the whole Relevant event. So although I’m definitely going to miss my family very very much, I’m excited to be rooming with another like-minded conference attendee, so we can compare notes on the sessions we attend together, and have tons of fun together!

 

Since it’s my birthday and my party, it’s all about me, right?

Ok, maybe not. That is just totally not true. The reality is that this blog is all about you, my readers. However, I am going to spend a little time, and tell you, just in case you were wondering, ten random facts about me that you probably don’t know. (Feel free to reciprocate by leaving random facts about yourself in the comments. Seriously. I’d love to read them all!)

1. I play the piano. I’m not a professional by any means, definitely just an amateur. I’ve been playing - or learning to play - since I was 5 or 6, nobody in my family seems to know exactly which it is. I particularly love to play in church, accompanying the choir, ensembles, soloists and congregational singing, as well as playing offertories like this.

2. I am the middle child. The middle child of 11, which means I’m #6 (I’ll spare you the math). And by middle child, I mean the middle child. You know, the classic middle child: ignored and insecure and the whole nine yards. Yup, that’s me, although I’ve gotten over most of that in my adult life.

3. I met my husband on a blind date. Well, that’s not exactly true. His cousin, my friend, arranged for us both to be present at a group outing. The outing failed miserably (Who knew that you would actually need to buy tickets in advance to an Orioles game? And since when?) but thankfully, our relationship fared much better. Still in love (cue the strings)….

4. I have 3 favorite TV shows: NCIS, Bones and Psych. Which is funny because I used to never watch TV, at least not network TV. But now that I have small children, at the end of the day I don’t want to do anything but veg on the couch and watch mindless TV (oh, and blog a little).

5. I lived in Russia for 5 years. My dad was a missionary there when I was a teenager. And yes, I speak Russian. Not all that well anymore, but I can carry on a decent conversation. And I taught my DH to say “Ya tebya lyublyu” which means, of course, “I love you”.

6. I like a wide variety of music, but my favorite genre is crossover. People have a hard time defining it with a term: pop opera, vocalists, easy listening, classical pop are some of the terms I’ve heard. It includes such notable artists as Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Il Divo, Hayley Westenra and the like. My other favorite is contemporary Christian, especially Steven Curtis Chapman, MercyMe and Casting Crowns.

7. I miss teaching. I’ve alluded to my former job as K5 teacher, an experience I enjoyed tremendously and would love to have again. What I loved most about teaching? Two things, actually, planning being the first. Yes, I loved, totally loved, planning the lessons, especially phonics. (I really do love phonics.) The other thing I loved about teaching was that moment when my students realized they could read anything using the skills they had learned. That was the point when they would start picking up the children’s books I kept available for them, and instead of flipping through and looking at the pictures, they would actually start reading the stories. It made everything else about teaching totally worth it.

8. I have very little patience. Remembering my experiences as a teacher reminded me of this one. Yes, patience is a virtue I sorely lack, but one I’m trying to learn. Let’s face it: mommies of two-year-old boys need a lot of patience.

9. I really hate people reading over my shoulder. I was reminded of this because my DH just said, “You do too have patience!” Which was sweet of him, so in this instance I’ll forgive him for reading over my shoulder.

10. I do not like to exercise. Which is kind of funny because tomorrow, thanks to the generous folks at Wellsphere, who, among other things, organize a network of health bloggers, I am going to be attending the FitBloggin’ 11 Conference in Baltimore. Thank goodness they cover a lot more than exercise, although I admit to being afraid that I will be out of place with all of those bloggers who do love to exercise. Pilates is about the most I can handle (and I actually do like Pilates).

So there you have it, folks. Ten things you never knew about me, and now you know them. Your turn! Tell me some random miscellaneous facts about yourself!