7 Things You've Always Wanted to Know About Jenny

A dear friend, Jen at Finding Heaven Today, recently asked me to join her in sharing 7 Things You've Always Wanted to Know About (insert your name here - feel free to join in!).  I had so much fun reading her list that I'm accepting her invitation.  (Not to mention, I'm also distracting myself from my daunting list of submission projects....)  Enjoy!

1.  I really enjoy reading Hello! magazine (also known as OK! if you're overseas).  It's a guilty pleasure, but, somehow, I find it much more edifying than the trashy Us and People versions here in the States.  I just finished the issue that included scoop on Princess Catherine's potential tiara choices.  What girl doesn't love to dream of wearing a tiara, anyway???  (Don't worry - I only read this when I happen upon it at a newsstand.  I'm not a subscriber or anything.  Geez.)

2.  I'm an AVID young adult, fantasy fiction reader.  Can't get enough of it.  My favorites?  Tiger's Curse, the Harry Potter Series (of course), The Inheritance Cycle, The Lord of the Rings, and Percy Jackson & the Olympians.

3.  My idea of a best day includes:
     a. waking up slowly with a delicious cup of coffee, my journal, and the Bible, with absolutely NO noise
     b. finishing quiet time at my own pace
     c. getting a good swim in
     d. sitting at a coffee shop, perferably in a bookstore, and people-watching while I write
     e. viewing art, preferably good art - paintings, not photography or sculpture, in a museum (versus a     gallery)
     f. eating excellent food that makes my body feel healthy and satisfied
     g. finishing off with a movie, either at home or in the theater
     h. because my life is full of people right now, this day would be spent 100% alone

4.  I lived in Spain for a summer at age sixteen, where I was hospitalized for sun poisoning in La Costa del Sol.  I lived in Mexico City for a year at age twenty to twenty-one, studying abroad.  I lived in Los Angeles, completely solita, for two years at age twenty-five to twenty-seven.  Though I've traveled extensively, I've only visited two continents and thirty states.  As a voracious seeker of knowledge, especially cultural knowledge, I'd like to visit all states and territories and every continent someday.

5.  I used to be a dancer (and still am in my dreams).  I used to be a pianist, so much so that I considered a career as a concert pianist and practiced two hours a day before choosing academia over the arts.  I used to be an actress.  High school plays, of course, but I identified with it so seriously that I actually consider trying out for movies.  Not often, but the thought crosses my mind every now and again.

6.  I had the privilege of serving on summer mission teams to the Sioux Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota for four summers as a young adult.  I met a people that left an imprint on my soul.  I am privileged to have known them.  I am humbled to call some of my Lakota friends khola.

7.  I'm way into politics.  I won't go into that much detail here because your eyes might start to gloss over.  Suffice it to say, I've "tried on" all sorts of political leanings over the years and think I have finally settled somewhere to the right of moderate and left of conservative.  I used to work actively in Republican politics (like, I actually got paid; I didn't just volunteer) on the campaign side.  I used to work on Capitol Hill (I attended Georgetown University in D.C. - the School of Foreign Service, to be precise).  I feel very passionately about this country and the gift it is to all who live here.  Some folks feel a calling to reach the unreached people groups?  I feel a calling to this country, in all its messed-up glory.  I weep for it often.  For me, watching a State of the Union is a spiritual experience.  (I know, call me crazy....)

Hope you've found this little list fun and enlightening.  What seven things should I know about you?