Blog Challenge - Day 1

Introduce, recent picture of myself and 15 interesting facts about myself.

I'm Marie, and I'm a Mormon. I'm a wife (married for almost 17 years to My Favorite Gentleman). I'm the mom of 3 awesome kids (BigGirl,LargeBoy and SmallDaughter). I am the caretaker of: 1 WonderDog (SmallDaughter's Service Dog, through 4 Paws for Ability) miscellaneous cats (currently 1 gray shorthair female "Cat-cat", 1 gray longhair female "Thor", 1 orange shorthair male "Hobbes", 1 currently pregnant mostly-black tortoiseshell female "Phantom"--which means more babies soon!)
and about 40 chickens (which I like more than I ever thought I would). I homeschool the two big kids, and am very grateful for SmallDaughter's good teachers.



Recent Picture of myself: It was taken in November 2011.


15 interesting facts about me! [You probably already know most of these]

1. I love to bake, but I don't have a cake gene (it will either look good OR taste good--take your pick!) Any other pastry, I am great at.
2. I am an advocate for breastfeeding, attachment mothering, and families.
3. I had my babies at home.
4. I read compulsively. Truly--I can't help myself (and I read extraordinarily fast-not bragging, just the fact that I can read 3 paperbacks in 1 day). This is not always a good thing.
5. I served a Spanish Speaking Mission in California. I surprise people when they hear this extra white girl speak Spanish.
6. I wish I had a great contralto singing voice. I don't.
7. I was an art major in college.
8. I do not particularly like to clean, although I do enjoy having a tidy house.
9. I LOVE FlyLady.net
10. I don't tan. At all. And, I have given up letting the sun touch my bare skin, because of some severely unattractive freckling issues.
11. When I was a small child, I was blond. Then my hair turned brown. Now it is red, but mostly just to cover up how @#$%^&*! grey I have gone. My hair looks 20 years older than my face.
12. I love to sew, especially costumes--the more flamboyant, the better! I always heard how hard it was to sew formals and wedding dresses, but I love it. But I don't like to sew ordinary clothes.
13. I am the oldest of 11 children.
14. I am exceptionally bossy (sometimes). I do mean well--but, you know...
15. I have very little personal dignity--which means I am game for anything! You need somebody to dress up as the Statue of Liberty? Check. The Cat in the Hat? Check. Peter Rabbit's mommy? Check. It makes life a lot more fun (for me at least!) Any occasion or opportunity where dressing up is possible, I believe in making the most of! (did you ever wonder what kind of person gets dressed up in costume for the latest Harry Potter release or Twilight movie--yeah, that's me.