Meme Time

Vegan_Noodle tagged me to play a meme, how fun! Here are the rules of the game:

#1 Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of your first or middle name.

#2 When you are tagged you need to write your own post containing your first or middle name game facts, word, or tidbit.

#3 At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them, they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

#4 If I’ve tagged YOU (the bloggers that I've tagged are listed at the end), please join in on the fun!

Sooo... here goes -

T is for tenacious. I can be very stubborn, determined, outspoken, and opinionated when it comes to things I feel strongly about, and I don't give up easily. Some people might say that's a good quality; others may disagree. :-)

A is for animals, which play a big role in my life, both my own dogs (Hazel, Otis, and Rowdy), as well as the work I've done in the past with homeless animals and my commitment to veganism, which saves animals from unspeakable suffering and helps keep the environment a nicer place for animals (including humans) to live. Learn more here. (See what I mean about being outspoken about things I care about?)

M is for multitasking. I've always had this tendency, but especially since Carlos came home I find myself trying to do seventeen things at once. I don't know if it ultimately helps my productivity or hurts it, but that's the way I am. I typically have about five internet windows open at a time and am constantly switching between dealing with receiving and filling orders, email, blogging, and surfing, plus playing with Carlos, cleaning up the house, doing laundry, cooking, talking on the phone... you get the idea. I very rarely devote 100% of my attention to one single thing during the day because there is just too much to get done. Sometimes I feel guilty about that but it's the reality of my life right now.

A is for adoption. Matt and I chose to create our family through adoption rather than biology for several reasons. For one, neither of us felt attached to the idea of passing on our own traits to our child; rather, we find it interesting and exciting to see what surprises unfold as Carlos grows up without the weight our preconceived ideas about how he might have my eyes or Matt's laugh. And, since that biological drive was not strong for either of us, we loved the idea of becoming a family with a child who needed one rather than contributing one more person to this already overburdened planet. I don't think there's any way that we could have created a more perfect person than Carlos if we had a biological child, and I'm so happy that this is the path we chose.

R is for responsible. That's probably a boring thing to tell you about myself, but it's oh-so-true. Even as a teenager I was responsible; I never really went through a wild and crazy phase. I married young (20 years old), we bought our first house right away and started paying on a mortgage, worked hard, and well, I guess here we are ten years later, still doing the same things. Different jobs and different mortgages, and another little life to be responsible for, but basically the same thing. I do take risks from time to time, but they are carefully weighed and considered risks. :-)

A is for athletic. Ooh, I surprised you with that one, didn't I? Those who know me in real life probably know that in the past I have been one of the least athletic people around. Organized sports have no appeal to me (either watching or playing), and I have struggled to find a physical activity that I enjoy and excel at. However, about two months ago I started a running program called Couch to 5K which is geared towards getting non-runners (i.e. couch potatoes) up to being able to run a continuous three miles (~5K) over the course of nine weeks. Well, I am just finishing up week seven, and guess what, it works! I am running 2.5 miles at a time now, which is something I never would have thought I could do, and I'm really enjoying it and plan to stick with it.

That's all folks! T-A-M-A-R-A. And here are my tag-ees:

vegan chai
kellybot
Vivacious Vegan
ms veganorama
celine
mamacita