Ask and Ye Shall Receive

I got a whopping 3 anonymous questions today, so since dinner is far off, I’ll take tonight’s post to answer them! Just remember you can ask me anything on my “Ask Me” page… but if you’re going to ask me what it was like to be a fat bride, (yes someone asked) don’t bother. Anonymity brings the worst out in some people, as illustrated by this favorite (albeit a bit vulgar) cartoon of mine:

So true, huh?

On to the questions:

How come you don’t do more giveaways, you could do healthy foods and cooking products.

To be completely honest, the reason I don’t do more healthy food giveaways and cooking products is because companies don’t send me the stuff. While I don’t mind occasionally giving away small things that I’m responsible for shipping, most giveaways I do involve the manufacturer or distributor sending you the prize. I’m merely a middle school Spanish teacher, and my blogging revenue does little more than assist in some of our grocery purchases. I’d love to be able to buy massive amounts of products simply to give away, it’s just not financially feasible right now. Also, I really suck at getting things out in the mail. Luckily Laura (who won my anniversary giveaway in NOVEMBER) is a friend of mine, and very patient.

As a bride, did you feel pressure to look a certain way? Did it affect your cooking/food choices at all?

ABSOLUTELY! I haven’t been what you would call “small” for a long time, but I did have this nagging little voice in the back of my head saying “you should get thin for the wedding, lose weight!” And then I went dress shopping. I found that there were dresses that looked amazing on my body at the size it was, which snapped me back to reality. That nagging feeling definitely stuck around for a while, but Adam and I joke that we were the only people to quit our diets BEFORE the wedding. Financially, as I mentioned yesterday, the $80 a month for the two of us to stay WW members wasn’t realistic anymore. We ate well on our own for a while, and then the stress of the wedding planning kicked in and it went to crap. I had less time and desire to cook, and more desire to eat what was easy, and I gained a little bit of weight. Do I wish I’d been in better shape for our wedding? Sure. But, did my size make the day any less fabulous and perfect? Absolutely not!

You might have hit on this before, but I would love to know why you chose teaching? Was it something you always wanted to do or did you realize the desire to teach as you got older?

I’m one of the few people who have always known what they wanted to do when they “grew up.” I was lucky enough to have wonderful teachers almost every year that I was in school. I remember being asked in first grade what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I said “a teacher.” I went through a brief phase in high school when I wanted to be a high school band director, but that passed quickly. The main reason I teach middle school though, is because of the amazing teachers I had in middle school. See, I wasn’t always as cool with the fact that I’m a geek as I am now. I’ve always been interested in technology, crafting, computers, and other things that weren’t “cool” in 1990-1994. There was a group of girls who decided that I was going to be their target for all things bitchy during that time. (A few of them have actually apologized in recent years, which is wonderful) My teachers saw what was happening, and took me, this skinny, short, geeky girl under their wing, and kept me busy after school so I could walk home after the girls had all left. I’m a Spanish teacher thanks to the love and support of my middle school Spanish teacher, with whom I just got reconnected. SO, in answer to your question, I’ve always known.

And, for part of Flashback Friday, I present you with my lovely 8th grade graduation portrait. Pre-boobs, pre-braces, pre-hair dye, complete with half-assed mall bangs, a floral bodysuit, and velvet choker. I am willing to bet there were zipper bottomed stone washed jeans French rolled with slouchy socks and velvet flats with this outfit too…

Tagged as: ask me, interview