30 Truths

I know. Another tag. I am in school now so my life has become a bit boring. My apologies. I'll do something cool and noteworthy eventually but for now, a tag.

30 Truths About Me:

1. Something you hate about yourself.
I am not a huge fan of my current state of chubby. I'm working on it. But it's sure taking a while.
2. Something you love about yourself.
I like my personality and my talents.
3. Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Letting myself get so chubby?
4. Something you have to forgive someone for.
I don't really know if I have one of these. My high school swim coach was a bit of a suck and I sometimes get bugged that I wasted my time swimming for such a creep.
5. Something you hope to do in your life.
I have so many of these! I hope to be a PA. I hope to be a mom. I hope to go to Greece/Ireland/New Zealand (they're expensive so I'll settle for one). I hope to be really really happy.
6. Something you hope you never have to do.
I agree with Aliese. I hope I never have to bury a child. In my family, with our genes, this is a real fear. I really hope my kids are healthy and happy and live long and amazing lives.
7. Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Adam. I know it's obvious but it's so true. He is so spectacular. He takes really good care of me and I'm really happy he's in my life.
8. Someone who made your life hell.
The afore mentioned swim coach isn't a bad option for this one. I also remember really disliking a certain girl because she was such a creep to me and to many others but I won't name names. Mostly because I'm pretty sure I was that girl to someone else. I've matured/grown/improved so much since then and I hope the girl who treated me like dirt has too.
9. Someone you didn't want to let go but just drifted.
I was very close to the family who babysat Aliese and I growing up. We were quite close for most of my life and their son was one of my best friends. I haven't really seen or talked to them in almost 2 years.
10. Someone you need to let go or wish you didn't know.
Um...I don't really have one.
11. Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Various little talents. Playing the piano or sewing are the most common probably. Thanks mom.
12. Something you never get compliments on.
I haven't noticed anything really. I think if I'm not complimented on something it probably doesn't deserve a compliment.
13. A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough days.
Mozart and Beethoven. Lame. I know. But playing the piano is really cathartic for me. Especially classical music. And more specifically music I know well so it just flows.
14. A hero that has let you down.
I have never really seen people I didn't know and admire as heros. So those I do consider heros would never let me down.
15. Something or someone you couldn't live without, because you've tried living without it.
I'm going to go with Adam on this one too. I can't help it. He's a good guy. I haven't exactly had to live without him. But I have been sick when he's out of town and it's sure sucky.
16. Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Rodents. They're no good. Thankfully I've lived without them ever since I moved out of the crack house in Logan. I hope to never share a home with a mouse ever ever again. So gross.
17. A book you've read that changed your views on something.
There have been a lot. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great example though. It, like most books that have had a big impact on me, shows the importance of being open minded and non judgmental.
18. Your Views on Gay Marriage.
This is a tough one. I used to be strongly opposed because the church I fully support is strongly opposed. Then I grew up, went to college, made a lot of friends, and learned a lot about life. I still fully support the same religion but I think I have opened my mind a lot more. I know a lot of people who are homosexual. And I know that I am so happy in my marriage. It is definitely the most important thing to me. I think everybody, gay or not, deserves to be blissfully in love and completely happy. I don't really know if I'd be very happy if I weren't allowed to marry Adam. Hate is never acceptable. I don't understand the homosexual lifestyle but I know it isn't my place to judge anybody. And I think, no matter what, everybody deserves to be happy.
19. What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
I think that they are both important and that they've both cause a lot of people a lot of problems. I love my religion. It's really important to me. It's important for me to have something to believe in and something that gives me hope. But I don't dislike anybody who doesn't love my religion.
I vote. I sometimes vote democrat and sometimes republican. Depends on the situation and what I can most closely identify with in that particular situation. I don't think anybody is right all the time. I almost always hate (strongly strongly hate) discussing politcs with others because it seems a lot of people are narrow-minded and don't realize there can be several opinions. I respect the opinions of others. I expect them to respect my opinions.
I think, regardless of your stand on relgion or politics, it is really important to be accepting of everybody. Let's all just get along, shall we?
20. Your views on drugs and alcohol.
They aren't for me. They are proven to be harmful to peoples' lives, health, and families. So I'll stay always stay away.
21. (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you too got into a fight an hour before. What do you do? Anything I can to help. I try not to get in fights with my friends though.
22. Something you wish you hadn't done in your life.
I was a bit of a bully in my youth. I don't regret, at all, being harsh or blunt. But I do wish I would have been a little nicer to people who really could have used it.
23. Something you wish you had done in your life.
I wish I would have tried out for Into the Woods. I chose swimming over singing and that was a dumb decision since swimming isn't fun and I'm not good at it.
24. Make a playlist to someone and explain why you chose all the songs.
Um...no. But I once burnt a CD for Adam with a bunch of songs that remind me of him and all the cool stuff we've done together.
25. The reason you believe you're still alive today.
I'm supposed to be a mom. And I'm supposed to help sick kids. And I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to go on a really long, really amazing trip with my wonderful husband. I haven't done these things yet so I'm still around.
26. Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
4 or 5 years ago I went through a "rough patch" so to speak. I had a hard time with a lot of things and put the people I love most through hell, I'm sure. After a couple years, some medication, and some unconditional love, I shook my issues and am a much better person for it. I wish I could answer no to the above question. But I'm glad I struggled the way I did because I am a much stronger, happier person because of all of that.
27. What's the best thing going for you right now?
My awesome husband and our lovely home. And we have the beginning and end of grad schools, careers, and kids to look forward to in the near future. I'm in my prime right now and it's a pretty great place to be.
28. What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
I'd probably go to the doctor and buy a crib. I'm married. I'm 24. I'm smart and capable. I think I could do the mom thing pretty well.
29. Something you hope to change about yourself and why?
The chub. And the change is already in the works!
30. Favorite holiday and why? Christmas. Christmas is magical. People are nicer and more giving. We see our loved ones way more. We get to sing and hear a lot of Christmas music. And we get to celebrate the birth of our savior. It's glorious and I just love it. I'm a little kid about Christmas and I hope I always will be.

Aliese & Darrin and an adorable little girl

My sister and her husband recently made a contribution to my fundraising page. Aliese knows better than anybody in the world how rough this race will be on my sucky knees. We Chipmans are tough cookies though. She also gave me yet another amazing reason to run this race. (Not that I really need further motivation...but this little girl is so precious). This is Jessica. She is a distant relative of ours and the daughter of one of Aliese's friends. Little Jessica is only 4 years old and is battling cancer. I'm adding her to my list of people I am running in honor or in memory of. I am primarily running for my late uncle, Dennis Freeman. But there are too many people close to me (or as cute as this little girl) affected by cancer to limit myself. Thanks so much for all of your support!

Nichole Luthi

*I stole this picture from Nikki's blog*

Nikki recently made a contribution to my fundraiser page for the American Cancer Society. I grew up with Nichole around a lot. She was really good friends with my older sister, Aliese. She was, quite frankly, the nicest of them all to me and was a really good example to me. She is so funny and outgoing and has two really cute kids. She also knows the joint situation in my family quite well and so I assume she has a pretty good idea how difficult this race is going to be for me. Thanks for your support, Nikki! I really appreciate it.

Christmas and New Years

I need to get pictures of Christmas from my mom, then I'll do another Christmas post. But I don't want to wait to long to mention how great my Christmas and New Years holidays were.

The weekend before Christmas, Adam and I went to the Kay/Taylor/Smith family Christmas party. We wore our ugly Christmas sweaters. At first, nobody got the joke and just thought we were weird. It was pretty funny. We played games and sat on Santa's lap. It was a lot of fun.

Christmas Eve is always spent with the Howard family (Adam's mom and step-dad, Kim). We always eat crab and other amazing food. We also play games and share A LOT of laughs. The Howard family is hilarious!

We went to my parents' house around 11 pm the night of Christmas Eve and chatted and played a little. Darrin and Aliese come up during Christmas break and stay with my parents and Natalie is still at home. We decided to stay there again this year because it seems like more fun to wake up Christmas morning with a bigger group rather than just the two of us. Aliese and I pulled an all nighter while the rest got a bit of sleep.

Christmas morning was spent bouncing back and forth between the Chipman and Howard households. My mom made her tradtional braided cinnamon rolls in the shape of candycanes for breakfast and later made prime rib and yorkshire pudding for Christmas dinner. We had a chance to talk to my little brother on the phone. He is serving an LDS mission and we only get to speak for 40 minutes total (this is for the whole family) twice a year.

Christmas was so fun and Adam and I got some awesome gifts and tons of family time. Adam got me the accuquilt go cutter...which is basically a fabric die cutter. I got Adam remote controlled tron light cycles that drive on the walls and a down vest. There were many more great gifts but those are probably the highlights.

New Years Eve was spent at my Grandma and Granpa Freemans' house again. We go there every year. We basically ate and played games all night. We took a brief time out at midnight to celebrate and watch the ball drop. Then played more games. We didn't get home until 3:30 am. Yikes.

This past year was great. I got my bachelors degree. We celebrated our 1st anniversary. We went on some cool trips including a few rough backpacking excursions. It was an awesome year. Hopefully 2011 is even better!