Tagged...and finally responding!

I was tagged by my one of my best buddies from Jr. High, Amy ... I don't know that my facts are very "interesting", but here ya go, none the less!

1) I absolutely adore covered porches. On my coffee table, you will find a book titled "Second Homes" by Better Homes and Gardens. Showcased are the best porches, decks and patios ever...

Our front porch, Oct. 2008

2) I LOVE world history... Several years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Europe three seperate times. I was absolutely fascinated with the history. My oldest brother has lived in England for over 20 years and he was our personal tour guide there and then Ryan served his religious mission in France. I got to see so many castles and old landmarks, I couldn't get enough! One trip, we were in England, then took a ferry across the English Channel to the Beaches of Normandy (in France) and then onto Paris (Ryan had served in both of those areas and we had a blast meeting up with old friends... one friend took us to his mother's home just outside of Caen and when I learned that the structure that she lived in was originally built in the 17th century, I was absolutely amazed! Another trip to France took us to the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps- sooooo beautiful. On our third trip to France, we made our own medieval castles tour through the Loire Valley. (We even stayed in a castle that I swear was haunted!)

3) I have an obsession with eyebrows- weird, I know. Most people will look for certain qualities in a partner like: their eyes, their smile, etc.. nope- not for me, it's all in the brows. When I was in High School, I dated a guy who had half an eyebrow on one side... I know he couldn't help it, but after a short while, I just couldn't even look at him- I guess it's an OCD/ symmetrical thing!

4) I frequently sleep with my right arm resting on my forehead. I Have since I was little. The older I get, and the deeper I sleep, the worse my arm falls asleep and I have to "drag" it behind me when getting out of bed in the morning!

5) The ocean freaks me out. Not so much the ocean, I actually love being out on the water (in a boat or ferry) or at the beach, it's just swimming in it with all of the sea creatures. Snorkeling isn't so bad, except you still only have so far out you can see, but swimming blindly- not knowing what lurks beneath- is a bit freaky to me. Two years ago, in Hawaii, Ryan and I swam with Sea Turtles and various tropical fish- that was cool, but seriously, all of a sudden the sea turtles would just appear... but the most exotic Sea thing that I've done was also on the same Hawaii trip, Ry and I went down in a cage and had sharks circling the cages!! I have a DVD somewhere to prove it, as soon as I find it, I will post it... talk about freaky!

One of the sharks, circling the "cage"

6) I was going to have 3 or 4 children and be done by the time I was 30... so what happened? INSPIRATION! -Just be careful what you pray for ;)

7) I have larger pupils than average. That's right... seven and a half years ago, I was scheduled to have Lasik surgery to correct my nearsightedness, as well as my astigmatism. We had saved up for the occasion and I was soooo excited. After wearing my glasses (as opposed to my contacts) for 2 months, I went in for my pre-opt. appointent and much to my disappointment, learned that my pupils were too large for the laser to correct my "secondary astigmatism". So, I went away very deflated and to wait for technology to improve my chances. Five long years (and lots of annoying contacts/glasses moments) later, I was referred to an Opthomologist who was determined to correct my vision, large pupils and all! So after wearing glasses for 23 years and contact lenses for 18 years, and getting the long awaited surgery 2 1/2 years ago, I am still holding my new vision at: 20/15 in one eye, and 20/20 in the other- what a HUGE blessing! (Every once in a while, if I wake up in the night and I'm super out of it, out of habit I reach for my specs!)

My last night with "four eyes" (March 2006)

I now tag Cassity, Mitchie (Michelle), Tammy, Shay, Chari, Heidi S., and Carri!

CATCHING UP...

I know I am just a bit behind with blogging, but there are 5 (six, with Kelsi) good reasons for that! Anyway, here goes trying to catch up... At the end of September, Ryan and I attended Ashtin's YW in Excellence evening, and it was fantastic. Each of the girls came up with a project to go towards earning their medallions. Ashtin went the extra mile and then some. She had a sister in our ward who was her mentor and taught her all about being a missionary. Ashtin read the "Preach My Gospel" missionary guide from cover to cover and even learned to speak and also memorized her testimony in Portuguese. She also put together a fabulous presentation and slide show. We were so proud, I mean honestly, what 12-year-old would do all of that? (Most of the other girls worked really hard as well, and it was fun to see all the fruits of their labors.)

"Sister Markowski"

"The Craziness Continues"

The "amazing" Kelsi and "average" me...

Ok Cass, this one is dedicated to you! My niece (Cassity) gave me a hard time for slacking on the whole blogging thing- so basically this is a courtesy posting for her... No really, I think that I am going to blink and it's going to be Christmas, THAT is how crazy busy it seems!! So much has happened in the last couple of weeks that I don't know where to start. The most exciting news is that one of my other nieces (it's not ALWAYS about you Cass :) ) came to live with us until next Summer. Her name is Kelsi and she is straight from the Mother Land- England. She is almost 18 and has the "coolest" accent. It's hilarious, because everywhere we go, if people find out she's from the UK, they want her to say something- like she's some fantastic new toy or something. For example, we went to the Fire Station to purchase a bike helmet for her and four Fire Fighters said "Say something", I mean honestly, what is she suppose to say? Also, one girl at Great Harvest Bread told her that she should walk with her head held high, because her "awesome-ness amazes everyone"- soooo funny. Just because they come off as a bit mature over there doesn't mean that we need to fall down and worship them! Anyway, Kelsi is so much fun that I am afraid our kids may "smother" her... oh well, maybe I'll get a break! Ok, so besides the big news just mentioned, we have experienced countless "rough" times of Cortnee trying to "install" her contact lenses, me singing in sacrament meeting- just spoke not that long ago, the ward is probably tired of Sister Markowski..., Ryan and Ashtin attended our wards annual overnight youth hike, we had two curriculum nights (at the schools), School Pictures Day, Cortnee's 6th Grade Outdoor Camp for three days, Ashtin's Young Women in Excellence evening, and me volunteering in the Elementary and Middle School. Pheeeww! We are now trying to get over one of those nasty fall colds that passes around the whole family (no rest for the weary). Amidst all the running around, I also had the pleasure of attending the "General Women's Conference " broadcast for our church (Elder Utchdorf's address was my favorite) Also, as a family this last weekend we got to watch the "Semi-annual General Conference" broadcast on cable- still needing to watch some on DVR due to the chaos that a full house brings, but from what I did hear, my spirit was uplifted and renewed (a welcomed reprieve with all the frightening things going on in the world these days). I am grateful to be part of an organization where I know the teachings of Christ and his infinite love for us is real, and to know that we are all worthy to come unto Him... well, good night all- Kelsi has Seminary at the crack of dawn! (this part is where we miss Utah).