7 Random Things about Me

I've been tagged by KC so I thought I'd complete this because it sounded like fun! This isn't about IF but since most of us are strangers to each other (rather, new friends!) I thought it might be fun if we all did it to get to know each other a little bit.

I'm supposed to post 7 random things about myself, so here goes, in no particular order.

1. I speak 4 languages, including English. At one time I was fluent in French and conversational in Spanish and Sign Language. I can still write business correspondence in French (oddly enough I have a lot of French customers--so neener neener neener to those who said I'd never use it ;) ) but it usually takes several moments and a good dictionary. I love to learn languages. One day when I have more discretionary time and money, I'd like to pick it up again.

2. I'm an olympic bargain hunter. I hate shopping, but I love to hunt for good deals. I coupon, price match, price watch, rebate and sale hunt--it's all in the thrill! Sometimes my pleasure with a purchase is as much with the story behind it as it is the item itself.

3. Jane Eyre is my favorite book and has been for all of my life in which I can remember having a favorite book. I read it in third grade and have loved it since. I try to reread it once a year. As I've gotten older I've come to love Jane as my own dear sister and role model so to speak and the book has changed my life, literally. At times it has encouraged me in my faith and at other times when my heart was broken and cold to the scriptures, God reached through that book to reach my heart again and whisper "I am still here." I also collect it in other languages, but I can't read any of the languages I have, save for the French one. I guess that's what I get with friends whose travel experiences are more exotic than my latin-based-language love. My other literary love is CS Lewis.

4. I am a horrible housekeeper but I love to homemake and entertain. It takes me a week to get my house company-ready, and for that matter, I don't have people other than our best friends over very often, but I have dreams of keeping a perfect, always ready home. Maybe some day. The chore I particularly hate is putting away laundry. I don't mind doing the laundry, but I hate to sort, fold, iron and hang it.

5. I'm the most passionate person I know. It's taken me a while to learn how to navigate this part of me, especially in Christendom where it's sometimes frowned upon. It's my biggest vice and my biggest virtue. I love that part of me and I hate it. God has spent the better part of the last 10 years of my life really teaching me about this gift He's given me and I think this particular journey is one I shall be on til I die.

6. I am fiercely opinionated but I'm hugely anti-confrontational (those of you who knew me in my high school and college years may find this hard to believe ;) ). I can debate til the cows come home on any intellectual subject but the second the conversation enters the realm of interpersonal relationships, I'm a big, fat chicken. I think it stems from being a people-pleaser to a fault.

7. I'm hugely old fashioned. I love old church hymns and contemporary songs modeled after hymns and I like very, very few modern worship and contemporary Christian music songs. The only time I'll be in jeans at church is on work day, and I have lots of notions about social propriety and manners (which I know is a huge contradiction because I do lots of traditionally "improper" things like watch movies, bare my soul to strangers on the internet, and keep a messy house ;). But my constant arguments with myself are a whole 'nother story! ;)

I'd love to read 7 random things about y'all so I'm tagging all my IF ladies on my blogroll --->