I love an inteview

I have a confession. I'm a pro at fantasy interviews. I've been doing them my entire life...at night, in bed... with reporters. They are always interested in some new achievement I've accomplished, or illuminating opinion. It's my own little, nighttime fantasy. Sexy...isn't it? I stopped doing interviews for the last few years...and I remember having one recently... apparently I had directed my first documentary film.

What? You don't have fantasy interviews at night? Well, what neurotic things do you do?

My husband will ask me every now and then, "So, any interviews lately? Why not? You need to get your people on that."

So...because I love interviews...I was a broadcast journalism major, you know... My friend the Greek Goddess sent me some questions. If you want to be interviewed, make a comment and I'll email you five or so questions. Make sure you write "have your people call my people" if you want an interview.

So, here are the questions, and my responses.

What are some things that are important to you that you are trying to instill in your children? (Can be small or big)

Simple things... like not picking things up and sticking them in our mouths. Or, stick with Mommy, I’ll keep you safe. Picking up after themselves, doing the dishes, folding clothes, saying please, thank you, you're welcome, bless you... etc.

Big things ... that we will always love them, no matter what they do, or how tired or grumpy we are. I want them to know that we aren’t perfect. That we make mistakes and we want to do better. I want them to know that they always have God on their side. I want them to have confidence in their youth, I want them to be their own person, not give in to peer pressure..and silly crowd mentality. I want them to know that when they pray - God listens. I want them to be happy.


If you were a fairy godmother and could "bless" a baby with any trait (think Sleeping Beauty) what would you give them?

Wow, I think I’d bless them with enduring hope/faith. I think if we always had a spark of that burning within us, we’d be able to endure our trials better, and enjoy the good times even more.

What 10 books would you read immediately if you had loads of time?

I love books...so to narrow it down to 10... HOW? Do you mean ones I’ve never read... or ones I want to reread?

Gone With the Wind
Little Women
C.S. Lewis writings both fiction/non
The Woman in White
Atlas Shrugged
Bible (haven’t read that all the way through since... college)
Book of Mormon (working on it again)
Freakonomics
Wild Swans
The Last Chinese Chef
Jane Austen writings
Rebecca
Wuthering Heights
Steinbeck

...there’s more... but I better stop now. If any of you have books you love and/or want to read - please SHARE. I’m always adding to my list.

What are some family traditions you have with your husband and children (not just holiday ones) that you really like?

We go on a lot of after dinner family walks around the neighborhood.

I always ask the girls “GUESS WHAT?” and the answer is always “I LOVE YOU”.

Making up verbal stories about the two Princess sisters...and telling them to each other in bed.

We like trying new restaurants and haunting our favorites together.

Picnics.

When Ry gets home from work he goes to the front door and calls out each daughter’s name in turn. They take turns running pell-mell into him. He swoops them up and spins them into a hug.

We dance in the kitchen, family room... we sing... we have family cuddle time.

If you could find the cure to one disease in the world which one would it be? I'm not sure if that is a fair question...

...heart break. But since that’s not possible... cancer, in all it’s forms.

If you could pick one talent for yourself that you don't already have what would it be?

This is hard to pick just one... I am just not as talented (in the traditional sense) as most of the people I know... I’d love to be able to sing... master an instrument, speak more languages, do complicated math in my head...

But to pick just one talent... to be calm/patient.

What is your favorite color and why?

Burgundy... a deep wine red. It makes me feel sassy, sexy, deep. Plus, it’s a great color on me.

What is your dream menu for a day-from breakfast to dinner and snacks in between?

Hot chocolate (like the kind my friend Brooke had) and a croissant from Paris
Fresh fruit... summer fruit
Asian fusion or sushi/terriyaki ...shark fin soup
Afternoon tea with all it’s accouterments
Indian food, perfect sea scallops, crab and a heavenly chocolate souffle
Freshly picked veggies (like the Parcel 104 restaurant in San Jose...)

If I could really have a dream menu...I’d have a gourmet chef create wonderful dreamy tastes all day, from the freshest ingredients available.

What are some things you like about yourself?

I’m friendly... the thing is, I wasn’t always outgoing and friendly. I used to be painfully awkward and shy. I had to choose to be the way I am, and work at it constantly. I do it because I remember, and often still know what it is like to be ignored...disregarded. So I reach out because I don’t want other people to feel that ache. Sure, I still feel that way now and then, and yes, I want to give up being the one to reach out... but if I don’t do it...no one else will. It helps to know I have control over something, and to take responsibility.

I’m curious. I love learning new things, experiencing new things. I’m a planner. I am intensely loyal. I’m passionate and thoughtful. I’m generous. But...with these traits...come weaknesses too. Lots of weaknesses.

Where do you get your inner strength from?

Sometimes I wonder if I have strength... or if it’s all just wishful thinking. I hope it doesn’t sound too cliche... but even when I was a child, feeling utterly alone and unwanted... the hope that God was there for me, even if he didn’t deliver me from my pain... helped me survive. I think the fact that I wasn’t the only one, that I wanted to protect others too... made a big difference. I guess at my core I’m a big huge Momma bear, always ready to pounce for those who are hurting.

Tell me something about your journey as a woman in the church.

I grew up in the Church. Despite that I’ve had the ebb and flow of commitment and rebellion. Most of the times these happen within my heart...and aren’t necessarily exhibited. There were moments where I felt a great sense of purpose and belonging...and moments where I felt left alone, some strange child-experiment, meant to be poked, prodded and hurt to see how much it would take to break her. I’ve also felt doubt. Now I’m mostly confident...and sure. Peaceful. I know I don’t have, or understand all the answers - but I’m okay with that, because I here to learn, and improve, bit-by-bit.

I have always felt that as a woman I have an incredible power for good or ill. I’ve always thought an educated woman was more effective, than an uneducated one. I’m not talking about just a degree...although that is a big deal to me - I’m talking life experience. I think it’s important to have a desire to learn new things, meet new people and listen to different ideas. I think that as women, with the important role of shaping young minds, we have a responsibility, to be interested in the world around us. I think we ought to be curious, yearn to learn more...because when we are like that - then our children will be like that. If we constantly say “I can’t do that, I don’t know how to do that” our children will reflect that back to us. But if we say “I don’t know, but I want to learn” or “I can figure this out”... our children will discover that there are no barriers, except the ones we place in front of us.

I don’t fit into the general mold of mormon woman... and I am okay with that. That just means I find myself trying to help others realize that they don’t have to conform to that mold. That means I teach my girls to be true to themselves.

I believe that if we have questions, we should ask them. We should ask the questions of those we know are “strong” in the Church. And if one or two or more don’t have the answers - keep asking. But ask the right people. You don’t ask someone who’s shaky on foundation building to teach you how to pour one. You ask the expert. Same with faith.

Also... I often have to remind myself that my testimony must be founded on Christ. If I believe Him - then I can stand tall. No matter what other people do... my testimony is not dependent on them...but on Him. People are flawed. From family members to friends and neighbors...ward members... we are all flawed. So if we want a sure testimony we can’t depend on family, friends, etc... we can only depend on Christ. “I can do all this through Christ, which strengthenth me.” Phil 4:13 (One of my lovely roommates Holly Gilliland shared this verse with me when I was a sophomore at BYU - I have repeated it to myself... many times over since then)