There are only like…20 questions.

So, it’s not THAT. BAD.

And if you don’t want to read my Q&A, then read this.  It’s about a goose named Renee and a dumbass ex boyfriend.  True story.

But if you DO want to learn about THE REAL ME…then keep reading:

How do you avoid falling when you run outside in the winter?

Truly? Dumbass luck.  I’ve heard YakTraxs are supposed to help with running in the ice and snow…but I don’t have any of those…so right now it’s more like a wing and a prayer.

What do you hate the most about running?

Running.

What do you love the most about running?

Running.

Running is a love-to-hate kind of activity.  I love the way running makes me feel and the way it makes my body feel.  I LOVE races.  I mean, I don’t run to win but I love the t-shirts and medals and time chips and race expos and race bibs…I love the feeling of accomplishment after a race – especially when we’ve done really, really well. 

But making my way out of the door to actually DO IT?  That’s the hard part.  If I can make it out the door, then I can go running.  It’s just…getting out the door…this is the true challenge.  For me, anyway.

What is your favorite outfit?

Honestly?  Give me a pair of swishy pants, comfy shorts, a t-shirt and my n.a.p. socks and ahhhhhhh. Happy Girl.  However.  I also love getting all dressed up and decked out.  And if I had to pick a favorite outfit, it would be this one. LOVE THIS DRESS.

What trend do you think is the stupidest thing ever?

Scrunchies.  I mean, really.  They didn’t even HOLD YOUR HAIR. 

Also, I am having a really hard time with a trend I’ve noticed with women bloggers – not all of them, but a lot of them.  It’s the “I’m an asstard” kind of mentality.  AKA: I suck at everything.  Life, breathing, taking a pee, etc.  It is like a constant contest to see who can say they are THE WORST and try to be funny about it…when really, it isn’t funny.  I was on that band wagon for awhile…and I’m trying to get off.  I mean, there are some things I really DO suck at.  Like bowling.  And golf.  I am terrible at those things…but terrible in a funny, non-self-esteem damaging kind of way.  I’m done degrading ME.  It isn’t healthy and it isn’t funny and we ALL should stop doing it so much.  This is a hard thing for me to do, especially in real life, but I am trying to be better about it.

I pondered this question for a while now but I would like to know what is a life skill you wish you parents had taught you (and that either you still don’t posses or that you had to acquire on you own after you moved out)?

I had to think about this one for a bit.  And I don’t think this qualifies as a “life skill” but maybe it does.  I wish I had a better idea of what a good marriage is supposed to look like.  And I wish I had a clue as to what a great father does…what a great husband does.  Granted – I know Tim is a great husband and I’m pretty confident he will be a wonderful father – but I have no baseline other than what I went through growing up, which was not a good example of either.  I can’t look at something Tim does and be like, “Wow.  Just…wow.  That is JUST LIKE what my dad used to do.”  Because Tim is nothing like my dad.  And if that statement ever came out of my mouth, I’d be in a bad, bad situation.  So, I don’t know if having an example…a frame of reference…for how I am supposed to be in a good marriage is a life skill…but it is one I feel like I am lacking.  I only know how to push people away.  I’ve had to figure out, through lots of trial and error, how to work through our issues so Tim and I become closer as a result, instead of farther away.

When people come to visit Colorado, what’s the first 3 things they should do that scream “COLORADO…I AM IN YOU!!”?

(I have no idea why the font is all big and purple…and I can’t seem to fix it….but it feels appropriate, so just roll with it)

For the sea-level state people:

1. Find the biggest hill or highest flight of stairs possible.
2. Go to the bottom of said hill or stairway
3. Run up to the top as fast as possible.

The only words coming out of your mouth after that exercise will undoubtedly be “Colorado, you sonofabitch.”  This is basically COLORADO…I AM IN YOU!

For everyone else (aka those living at elevation or if you’ve already done the steps above):

1. Go skiing or snowboarding or hiking or snowshoeing or SOMETHING outdoors in the Rocky Mountains.  Go to Breckinridge or Vail or Snowmass or Steamboat or Winter Park.  Just GO SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE within the Rockies.
2. Drive or hike or take the train to the top of Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs.
3. Go to a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre (we’re going in the spring…apparently the natural acoustics are unbeatable and people have told us that concerts there are better than anywhere else in the entire universe)
4. OR walk around 16^th Street Mall in Denver
5. OR Pearl Street in Boulder on a nice, sunny day

(I’m having a hard time limiting myself to three…)

When you wrote an entire book in a month for that national novel writing month thing, what was it about?

You know what is funny about this question?  I haven’t touched that since last November.  And I was just telling Tim that I was going to drag it out so he could read it (he reads my blog…he reads everything I write…but I wouldn’t let him read that…at all) and see what he thought.  I think I’m ready to pick it back up again.  I’m actually excited to finish it and work on it and see what happens.  Anyway, I’ve distracted myself.  The (unfinished) book is fiction and follows a group of friends as they battle growing up in a changing world where the scales for the balance of power has tipped to the opposing side.  Things like made up creatures and magic and a different type of “normal” exist.

It is so weird for me to talk about it, since it really is just a mess of words right now…plus I guess it is odd for me to talk about because it’s still kind of *new* to me to be doing this.  Like, REALLY TRYING to do this whole writing thing.

I would also like to know more about Colorado. How long does it take you to get from your house to the mountains? What is the traffic like? These are important questions that I now consider when imagining places where I want to live in the future.

Well, you know how you can see Russia from your backyard in Alaska?  Well, I can see the mountains from mine. 

The foothills, really.  I just learned that we live “in the foothills” (I have a hard time figuring out all of that mountain jargon).  But, to really get IN the mountains from our house, it is probably about an hour at the most – without any kind of snow/road closure issues, since the roads into the mountains have lots of unpredictable weather that may cause a road to close because you can’t see anything due to blowing snow or whatever.  In general, most of Denver is about an hour from “the mountains” and during ski season, most everyone goes up during the weekends to ski and whatnot. 

As for traffic, getting into Denver from where we live during rush hour sucks (per Tim) and certain areas are more prone to traffic issues that others…like Highlands Ranch area.  That place is CROWDED.  And traffic…ouch.  So, we decided not to live there.  The traffic, though, isn’t AS BAD at Atlanta, but that is due to the sheer volume of people on the roads in “The ATL” at all hours of the day and night.

We love Colorado, though.  LOVE. IT.  The people are nicer.  It is less crowded. The entire city is very “outdoor activity” and dog friendly.  And we have mountains!

What do you think would be the most and least acceptable way for you to die?

The most acceptable?  In my sleep.  The least?  Anything long, drawn out and traumatic.

Also- have you ever pondered that question prior to this post?

Yes.  More than I wish I did, truthfully.  My fear of death all started when I was eight…after my brother drowned (if you missed that information…I think I mentioned it awhile ago…so, quick background: my brother, Travis, drowned in my grandparent’s backyard – they lived off a canal that fed into the Atlantic Ocean in Florida.  He was three.)  I used to hold my hand to my heart all of the time to make sure it was still beating…because I was terrified it would stop.  If I couldn’t feel it, I’d almost have a mini-panic attack.  Now, I hear how people die and it scares me.  I have dreams…super realistic dreams…where Tim and I drive off a cliff or get hit by a train or…anyway.  Obviously, I have issues with death.  And yes, I ponder it.  Too much.

Now that you guys have made the big move, what will be your next big goal as a couple? / How do you feel being away from your family?

The next obvious step is having The Children. The human kind.  And I have been trying to get myself ready for that step as much as I can.  I know…everyone always says you’re not ready until it happens.  But I’m still trying to come to grips with actually being pregnant and not having my body get all stretched out of commission and…I’m also terrified of the actual birthing process.  I can’t even watch “A Baby Story” or anything else where someone has a child.  For me, witnessing that act alone is the best form of birth control possible.

As for being away from my family, it is partly a blessing.  I miss my brothers and my mom tons.  My mom was out here in Colorado a few weeks ago and it was wonderful to have her all to myself.  However, being away from my dad has been the best medicine I could have asked for.  The shit storm that is currently going on with him plus my family (because I don’t really count him as family much anymore) has reached epic proportions.  And even though it is so hard to NOT be there for them…NOT being there is helping me heal.  It is helping me come to grips with what is my reality when it comes to having only one parental figure versus two.  It is helping me be me.  It is helping me start a new family with Tim.  It is like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.  And I cannot even explain how wonderful that feels.

What has been the most pivotal moment in your life so far? As in, what event do you think shaped you the most into the person you are today?

This was one of the hardest questions for me to answer.  I’ve had many different “pivotal moments” in my (almost) 28 years.  I am the child of divorced parents.  I’ve tragically lost a brother.  I’ve been to more funerals than weddings.  I’ve had multiple unhealthy relationships with boys that lasted entirely too long.  I have an absent father and a mother who struggles to keep up with caring for my brothers.

All of those things have shaped me…continue to shape me.  On the other hand, I’ve found what real love is.  I’ve had self realization that the life my parents had is not the life that I have to have…that there is so much happiness in a relationship when that relationship is healthy and honest and true.  Life isn’t always drama and stress and tragedy.  Life can be happy and fun and full of experiences that take your breath away.  I think living through opposite ends of that rope have shown me how I want to live my life and when being dramatic is necessary versus inappropriate.

So, without all of that heartache, I would never really understand true happiness…I wouldn’t appreciate the absolute bliss in simply watching an incredible sunset in January, standing on cold concrete with only socks on my feet.

And because I’m a hopeless romantic… When did you know you wanted to spend the rest of your life with Tim? Was it a particular moment? The stereotypical storybook version of a light bulb moment?

I actually talked to Tim about the “light bulb” to see if he had one about me…because to be truthful, for me, there was no “ah-ha” moment that I can remember, clear as day.  It felt more like a natural progression.  Like, this is how it was always supposed to end up.  I mean, I knew I probably shouldn’t “let Tim go” at some point early in our relationship.  Something just told me not to give up, even though things got really hard and really confusing for awhile, since neither of us wanted to let our guard down enough to allow the other person in, so to speak.  Part of me knew that this was for serious after he sent me this email that I thought was going to say something along the lines of, “We’re done.” 

See, I decided to send him an “If you want out, here’s your opportunity” email around the time things started getting super hard.  Then I decided to go to the gym and work out, absolutely convinced that when I got home, if there was an email from him, it would be to say that we were through.  That day was cold and rainy and miserable, just like my mood on the drive back home.

When I checked my email, sure enough.  Tim had responded and I cringed opening it, expecting the worst.

Instead, it said something along the lines of: I really like you.  And I’m not quitting this.

Let me say that I was more than shocked at the response.  At that moment, I did realize that Tim was more than “just a guy” and what we had was more than “just a fling.”  I realized it was real.  I may not have known right then that I was going to marry him, but I knew I was going to ride this thing out and I wasn’t going to give up on us.

Actually, how do you like CO? Really. As in the state in general. Because I feel out of place here in the South. I want to come West again NOW, pretty please? I stick out like a sore thumb with my Western ideas and all. Only another 18 months and counting! / Ooh! Ooh! Better yet! Compare and contrast life in the West to life in the South. I’m curious as to how you see it compared to how I see it.

(I am combining the above two questions.  Just for simplicities sake. And because they’re from the same person ).

We LOVELOVELOVE Colorado.  If Tim’s job wasn’t going to require us to move around a bit over the next however many years, I’d stay here forever.  I will cry when we leave.  The South is totally different from the West.  The people and atmosphere and general mindsets are on opposite ends of the spectrum.  I’ve had to force myself to make small talk with people at the grocery checkout or at the post office or wherever because that’s what people DO here.  In Georgia?  They barely look at you.  They never smile and they NEVER MAKE SMALL TALK.  It has been a big adjustment for me.  So, if you happen to see me somewhere in Denver and I am awkward at the small talk, be patient.  I’m learning.

I am not sure if I can even begin to describe the difference here in Colorado versus “The ATL” (stupidest name ever.  Did you know that they made this new offsite rental car facility to streamline that whole process at the Atlanta airport and they named the train thing “The ATL Skytrain.”  Whatever, Atlanta).

Anyway, The South is stuck up and mean.  People are jerk-faces and impatient and rude all of the time.  I’d say “most of the time” but I really think Atlanta is turning into this cesspool of negativity.  I believe that statement more and more the longer we are in Colorado.  Now?  In Colorado? People are nice to me just because and they look me in the eye when they talk to me and they take time to listen and they let me out in a long line of traffic and they smile.  It would take more than an act of Congress to get me to move back to Georgia.  I love my family dearly…but I hate Georgia.  Truly.  It brings out the worst in me.  Colorado has been showing me that I have such a different personality when I’m not getting silently attacked all the time from strangers who are pissed that I’m in front of them or in their way or looking to the left just a little TOO much (that was not a political statement…just FYI).

So, Georgia sucks.  Colorado rocks (haha.  Punny).

If money was no option: 1) what would you want to do with your life? 2) where would you travel to?

I would want to start some kind of non-profit foundation to help kids.  I have no idea what kind of kids or what kind of foundation…more than likely, I would want to start one that gave kids a chance to experience things that, given their economic or family circumstances, they wouldn’t have the opportunity to see or do or participate in.  It pains me that some kids never get to see the circus or go to the beach or a baseball game or ride a pony or whatever.  I’m not talking “Make A Wish” here.  I’m talking “mostly” every day kinds of things that MOST kids get to experience while some just dream about it.

As for travel….wow.  I would travel anywhere and everywhere I could possibly go.  I want to see so many places…the Great Wall of China…Japan, New Zealand and Australia and Alaska and Iceland and all of Europe and Egypt…I love seeing new places.  I love all of the old architecture and history of older countries.

What are you favorite: books, tv shows, movies?  I have a hard time with this…because with movies, I struggle to remember a title – so if I do remember it, I must really love the movie.  And I remember cartoons more than actual movies with real people.

Books: Matilda, Harry Potter (those books… awesome), Born to Run (great even if you aren’t a runner), In the Courts of the Sun, The Sword of Shannara, Are You There God?  It’s Me, Margaret…

TV Shows:  Grey’s Anatomy, Sex and the City, V, The Next Great Baker, College Basketball (we fully support the Duke Blue Devils), The Biggest Loser (sometimes), Survivor (sometimes), Cake Boss…

Movies: Sex and the City (love them!), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ever After, Bridget Jones Diary, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc (I love cartoon movies)…

Your preference: boxers or briefs?

Boxer briefs, actually.  But if I’m the one wearing them…boxers.  For sure.  Not that I wear boxers all the time…

You may have mentioned this already and I missed it, BUT have you been skiing or snowboarding yet since you now live somewhere with snow AND mountains???  NO.  And I am SUPER DISPLEASED about that.  Especially since this year has been AWESOME for aforementioned activities.  But we will.  This I promise you.  We will get there.  Hopefully soon.

When’s your next visit to Rochester? And are you for or against a bloggie meet up?

Um…I really don’t know.  I have a feeling those in Rochester will be visiting us before we get up there to visit them…

And a bloggy meet-up?  Sure! Why not?  Just as long as you understand…I’m totally un-cool.

Annnnnnnnnnd that’s it!  Do you feel like you know me any better, now?