Thirteen Things about LINDSEY

This week Denise has challenged us:

I would like to challenge all Thirteeners to come up with 13 things they like about themselves.

I feel like we, as women, spend so much time scrutinizing ourselves that we sometimes forget the good stuff.

1. I have a GREAT relationship with my family. My parents and I get along extremely well, and my brother and I almost never fight. And it’s been this way my entire life. I love my family very dearly, and I feel so blessed to have them in my life!

2. I feel as though I have a good perspective for what’s important in life. I don’t get caught up on money or popularity, or any of those things that can consume your life. Having had a mother with breast cancer and a father with prostate cancer and autoimmune hepatitis, I have faced the scary thought that my parents could have died, my mother before my high school graduation, and my father before my college graduation - twice. The important things in life are about being with people you love and respecting them and yourself!

3. I have an intense passion for life. When I find something that I enjoy, I take it and run with it. While sometimes this can make me become a little obsessed with projects, I’d prefer that to being apathetic any day!

4. I have a very loving nature. I love to give and receive hugs, small children delight me, and don’t get me started on pets, LOL! I’m a loving friend, and I’m always there when someone needs to talk.

5. In that same vein, I am a giver. I love to help my friends, I’m always there to cook a meal or run an errand. My friends tell me that my love language is Acts of Service, and they’re probably right.

6. I have an understanding for the importance of art. A lot of people get so bogged down in the day-to-day that they don’t take the time to stop and realize that life is beautiful, and it enhances our lives. Without art (in any form!) we lose perspective, and the monotony would cause us to go crazy!

7. I love theatre. I don’t know why I like this about myself, but I feel like theatre is just such a great way to communicate with people and convey different emotions and perspectives. You can express any idea through theatre, and it’s a great learning tool.

8. I want to be a mom. I feel like children are such a blessing, and my entire life I’ve had the desire to be a mother and wife. I’m glad I have that desire. I’m not so sure I’m cut out for a life without a family, LOL!

9. I love Christmas, and all that goes with it. So many people have become disillusioned with Christmas, both the religious and cultural elements, but it really can be a wonderful and joyful time of the year, a time to remember what came before and what we have now. And I’m glad I can see that!

10. I like my sense of drive. When I get a task or a goal that I am dedicated to, I will see it through to the end. I will commit to it and ensure that all bases are covered.

11. I’m very organized. Close friends who have seen my room will probably disagree, but I am. Everything has an organized system to it, and if you ask me where someone is, I will tell you in a heartbeat! My computer is also super organized, and it makes me way more productive.

12. I love my job. Working for MagicMouth is just so incredibly fulfilling and exciting, and while it’s scary to start something from scratch and be unsure of how you will do financially, I’m happy that I can be forward-thinking enough to be thrilled instead of terrified.

13. I love blogging, and that’s silly to be something that you love about yourself, but its true. I’ve always loved writing, but once I got into high school, I quit writing for pleasure because I had so much writing for school, and I never picked it back up. But now that I’m blogging, I’m slowly regaining my desire to write, and I hope to rewrite my novel sometime in the new future!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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As many of you know, back in March my dad was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis. He’s had to change his diet and exercise in an attempt to keep it from making him really sick, and he’s also been on prednisone for almost 6 months.

Well, today my mom called me. Daddy went in for his checkup, and they said that he’s in remission!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I get to see Daddy tomorrow, so I can give him a hug for being (sorta) all better!

I’m Lindsey, and thanks so much for stopping by Suspension of Disbelief. You might want to know a little bit about who is writing all this babble on this blog, so I thought I’d share a little bit about myself!

I love living in the South. Born and raised in Georgia, live in Florida, school in North Carolina – it just doesn’t get better. I went to undergraduate school in Winston-Salem at Wake Forest University, and graduated with my BA in May 2006. I double majored in theatre and English – too much reading for my own good! After briefly dabbling as a business school graduate student, I took a year off from school and just enjoyed life working as a barista at Starbucks and as the assistant project manager for E. Webscapes (I’m still working at both of these places, though I was promoted to Shift Supervisor at Starbucks in November 2007). Now I am in the MFA in Performing Arts Management program at North Carolina School of the Arts, and will be doing that until 2010 - yay grad school! When I get tired from all the school and work, I just go home and cuddle with my ADORABLE kittens, Oscar (Peterson) and Miles (Davis)!

I’ve been blogging since August 2004, and I’ve been on WordPress since February 2005 . . . I consider my blogiversary to be February 24, 2005. I opened my first website, the now defunct site Doodlebug, in July 2004. It had a paid member’s area (Doodlebug Designs) which offered design services for email stationary on several email platforms. Unfortunately, my interests shifted and I no longer had the time and energy it required to maintain Doodlebug Designs along with my other endeavors, so I closed the doors for good in March 2007. I also switched my hosting over to Blogs-About Hosting in December 2006, and have been very happy with the service I receive there!

As with most people, everything hasn’t been rosy in my life. In May 2000, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has been in remission since August 2000, and she is an incredible woman! In February 2003, my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer (he has been in remission since March 2003), and in March 2006 he was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis. However, throughout all of this, our family has only grown closer to each other, and to God.

I am a strong Christian, and am committed to my faith. I was always raised in a Christian home, but didn’t realize just what it meant to be a Christian until I gave my life to Christ in July 1998, when I was newly 14. In high school I was a co-president of Brothers And Sisters In Christ (BASIC) and for all four years of undergrad I was a devoted member and leader in Living Parables Christian Drama Troupe. I also have a faith blog called Reading Red Letters. My favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11.

My whole life I have loved reading. When I was a little kid, a lot of kids’ parents would punish them by taking away television, not allowing them to go play with friend . . . nope, not mine. My punishment was that they would take away my books. It was the ONLY way they could get me to mind, LOL! Since graduating I have found that I am reading a lot of frivolous books (read: chick lit), which I can only attribute to exclusively reading real literature and theatrical works for the past eight years of my life. Chick lit authors I like include Sophie Kinsella, Sue Margolis, Jennifer O’Connell, and Carole Matthews. I am an active participant on Bookcrossing, and I HIGHLY recommend all readers check it out!

I have loved music since I was a small child – really, as long as I can remember. My dad has loved music his whole life and he just kind of passed it down to me I guess. My favorite music is old rock’n’roll and R&B from the 1960’s and 70’s (thanks Daddy), but I also listen to current popular music, hip-hop and rap particularly. I’m game for pretty much any music, as long as it’s not country. My all time favorite band is The Beatles, but I also love the Temptations, Chicago, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, and Ludacris (yes, random). A more extensive list includes:

Beach Boys, The Beatles, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Black Eyed Peas, Blue Man Group, James Brown, Burlap to Cashmere, Busta Rhymes, Caedmon’s Call, Carole King, Ed Cash, Chicago, Cirque du Soleil, Eric Clapton, Nat King Cole, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dave Brubeck, Dave Matthews Band, Miles Davis, dc Talk, Bob Dylan, The Embers, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Stan Getz, Al Green, Hair, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Jars of Clay, Jay-Z, Jefferson Airplane, Elton John, King Floyd, The Kinks, Gladys Knight and the Pips, John Lennon, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Ludacris, The Mamas and the Papas, Bob Marley, Maroon 5, Medeski Martin and Wood, Missy Elliot, Lee Morgan, Nappy Roots, Nelly, Nickel Creek, Outkast, P.O.D., Paco de Lucia, Paul McCartney, Art Pepper, Oscar Peterson, Pillar, Pink Floyd, Bud Powell, Queen, Rent, Santana, Will Smith, Snoop Dogg, Star Wars, Steppenwolf, Sweetwater, James Taylor, Tchaikovsky, The Temptations, Thelonious Monk, Chris Thile, Third Day, Three Dog Night, Justin Timberlake, TobyMac, War, Wicked, Stevie Wonder, Victor Wooten

I’m also big into movies, though I don’t know as much about movies as I do about music. I guess I’m a music aficionado, but just hold an appreciation for movies. I am a HUGE fan of Netflix ;-)! My all-time favorites are Star Wars (V, VI, IV, II, III, I) and the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty. More recent favorites include Men in Tights and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. I also love television. My favorite show of all time is Sex and the City, and I also really enjoyed OZ and Friends.  I’m a pretty big Law and Order junkie too, including SVU and CI. My TiVo Stevo records a variety of shows for me every week, including Oprah, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, Heroes, Lost, Medium, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, and Private Practice.

Being from the south, cooking has been a big thing for me. My dad was raised on a farm, and when my parents got married, his mom taught my mother everything she knew. Which was a lot, LOL! I still have a ways to go, but I’d like to think that I’m pretty good at what I do for my age. And my friends are always coming over when I say I’m cooking! My favorite meal is fried chicken, rice and gravy, and zipper peas . . . ooo buddy! And, like the good southern girl I am, I am obsessed with grits and sweet tea. I’m a huge coffee drinker, which has only gotten worse since I started working at Starbucks. Used to be that I had my black coffee every morning and went about my day, but now? If I get something right before or after my shift, it’s free, so of course I have to take advantage of that! I’m also interested in learning more about wine (red wine in particular).

And in case that wasn’t enough info about me, I am ALWAYS open to questions. I love responding to questions that people ask me on my blog! So, wanna know something? Ask!

My mom called me 2 minutes ago and said that Daddy has “Autoimmune Hepatitis” . . .

What is that?

I’ve got a couple of links that I’ve listed below, but I’m still not really sure what it is, so if anyone has any more information, I’d appreciate it!

liverfoundation.org
NDDIC
Mayo Clinic