Interview me!

Some of my favorite bloggers have recently been interviewed by other bloggers. Dlyn gave an interesting interview a couple of days ago and asked us if any of us wanted to be interviewed as well. I said...yes. I like Dyln's sense of humor and figured she'd be fun. So here's her questions for me and my answers. (If you would like to be interviewed, tell me in the comments section)
So here's the interview:

1. I love looking at your knitting projects. What or who got you started with knitting?

Thanks, Dlyn! I do love to knit. It was my good friend Tammy who taught me, a mere few days after she learned. She has definitely been the leader and the expert, and I have followed her as well as I could, considering my continuing passion for reading and my family. I find that I only want to make things that serve two purposes: one is it HAS to be practical...someone must want it to really use it, and the other is that it has to be fun to knit. I totally enjoy looking at the cool things other people have made. Living where it is cold ( 1 degree F outside today people!) makes it much more fun for me. I can enthusiastically use wool instead of cotton, which is much nicer to work with. Not that scratchy wool, just nice wool.

2. What values do you most hope you pass along to your kids?

This one is so important to me. I want them to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. I want them to see me rely on Him and even to fall back on him when I have blown it, confessing and receiving His righteousness. I want them to want to know Him more and more. The rest is just icing on the cake. That's the most critical thing I want to pass on to them.

3. What do you do when you totally want to pamper yourself and relax?

OK, this question could have me talking for ages! I love to sit down with a great book (or a quick fun read) and while away the hours in front of a roaring fire. I also love to have my feet rubbed with lotion (thanks kids). What a pleasure. I like to sit in front of a good show and knit and knit. I also love to play games with my kids - Bang! is a favorite. When things get chaotic, I like to sit down at the piano and try to learn a new piece. Somehow, chaos seems less chaotic when the piano gets in the mix. A dirty little secret is that (many years ago) I used to sneak outside and smoke. I liked being alone and felt like I had to be doing something, so I'd find a beautiful spot in the backyard and be alone out there looking at the sky and the birds and the flowers (and that disgusting smoke - yeah, I know).

I have to say that I find far too much time in my days for such things. I am not sure how, but housework and little things I am supposed to do just seem to get forgotten when it comes to my days. After kids, my brain has been unable to hold the things I want it to, and the housework and chores seem to be the first things I forget! :-)

4. You have a very impressive reading list - are there books that you read over and over or do just read each one once?

I have a bunch of books that I have been waiting to read over again, 'cause I know them so well. I have to wait until they are more fresh. Lately (the last 5 years or so), it has all been new books. Most of the books I read fall into three groups: books I read out loud to the kids, easy books I read like candy, and books for my own education (like the classics). My favorites tend to be spread across all three types, no snobbery here!

5. What is your favorite family activity?

My most recent favorite is to go on long bike rides together. It is too cold now, but in the Fall we loved the bike trails here. Even the youngest kid was fine with a 12-14 mile ride. The wind rushing by, the smiles and the sense of accomplishment, all made for a happy group. We also like to play cards together. Most times we have some small squabbles when playing cards, but it is still really fun! We used to like beach camping, but haven't done that in while, with moving preparation and all that.

OK, that's it! Thanks Dlyn for such great questions.

For those of you who might want to be interviewed, here are the directions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

I've been Tagged!

I had to look up the meaning of "meme" today after Tammy tagged me with the "8 Random Things Meme". I always enjoy reading other people's memes, finding it a quick peek into things not normally blogged about. So here goes with 8 random things about me:

1) I am pretty random...not very consistent and liking variety in most things.

2) I cannot stand to read directions for appliances, new toys or anything else! (Knitting is the only exception!) I am much to impatient to take the time to read them.

3) I went to UCLA and majored in Psychology. It took me 5 whole years and had a very inconsistent record. No surprise huh!

4) As a young thing, I always dreamed about living in exotic places like Nepal.

5) My favorite way to give birth was with NO DRUGS, although I HATE PAIN. Go figure!

6) Because my father loved the outdoors, I learned to backpack and snow ski by the time I was 4 yrs old.

7) My dream, still held dearly, ever since early childhood was to be a singer. Not necessarily famous or rich, just doing it in front of everybody and having people love it as much as I did. Instead, I was just a loud, off-key, tuneless kid. Again, Go figure!

8) I love to cook. Even though I eat food prepared by Nutrisystem, I still love to cook for my family. Maybe that's why I am needing Nutrisystem....

Great news for me came in the email box. I got an invite to Ravelry. Thank you Tammy for sharing with me! Now, I need to use self-control here. I must not waste time on this wonderful organizing tool. I must not....I must...