Another List!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm running out of "interesting" things to post on my blog. So, whoever's idea it was to ask a question and then answer if yourself, prepare to be flattered! I'm copying you!

What is your full name? Hannah Brienne Peterman.  Sidenote: "Brienne" (which spell-check says is not a word... rude!)  means "strong," and I was born a prematurely at 3 lbs, 15 ounces, so my parents figured I'd need some strength. :)

What did you eat for breakfast today? Oatmeal and almonds. (I'm addicted to nuts in general.)

What did you eat for snack this morning?  Ummm, almonds. Oh dear.

What are you going to eat for lunch today? Let's just not go there.

What was the last movie you saw in theaters? Frozen. Olaf, are you single?

What is your favorite book of the Bible? Books, actually. Probably the Psalms and Philippians. They are encouraging and challenging.

If I could live anywhere, where would you live? Manhattan, KS. Although I would move our house (and 20 acre) property to the middle of town so it would be flatter. Hills are tough sometimes, you guys,  Either that or I would just smoosh our hills into flat spaces and keep our location. Because that would be kind of fun.

What is your favorite piano song that you're playing? Prelude I by George Gershwin. Here's a video of someone playing it better than I ever will. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_pfI1k_DjQ (Notice I picked a full grown man to make me look better as opposed to a 8 year old girl who can play my piece well. Some people! )

Favorite Foods? I have to pick?! Pretzels, grilled chicken, and, well, almonds. Oh, and ice cream. Annnd cereal.

Are there any foods that you don't like? I know, the idea is a bit shocking, but there are few. I don't like potatoes (unless they're sweet potatoes), salami, or American cheese.

What do you do in your spare time? I talk to people, attempt (usually unsuccessfully) to stay in shape, bake, and occasionally, read.

Facts that might surprise other people? I'm not a huge movie person, though I'll watch them with friends in a heartbeat. My greatest pet-peeve is probably when people act superior to other people. I love a good debate, and I love miniature versions of just about anything.

Favorite Qualities in  Person? Joy regardless of  circumstances, truth spoken in love, and a desire to serve rather than benefit.

The thing(s)  you would most like to change about yourself? My quick tongue, (Yes, Bethany Marteney, I can be really unkind!) my tendency towards comparison, and parts of my appearance.

Favorite Quotes? Choosing is hard, but here are a few:

And lastly: 

Family Phases

Many years ago, my brother, Blaize, was obsessed, and I mean obsessed, with plastic dinosaurs. All his money, time, and energy was poured into acquiring and playing with his dinosaurs.  He send the other dinosaurs into a tailspin with a flick of his Stegosaurus's tail. He made his Pachycephalosarus bonk heads with the other dinosaurs. His T-Rex (thank goodness for abbreviated dinosaur names) was on constant patrol scouring the surface of Blaize's bedroom floor for lunch. Endless entertainment could be found spending time with his plastic "friends." 

And then, suddenly, Blaize was interested in plastic building supplies called Playmobile. Again,a few years later, it was the dreaded Lego. (More on that later.) Needless to say, Blaize's interests have changed multiple times throughout the years. 

I laugh at his sudden changes in interests. I mean, the only common thread that I can see with them is that they are all made out of plastic. But truth be told, I think we all go through "phases" of some sort--times when we're super passionate about a subject, only to drop it when something better comes along.

So, here is a list of interests for each one of my family members (for as long as I have known them.) 

My Mom: She's been pretty steady-eddy. She loves decorating our home, counseling other people, and reading a good book. ( I think the reason she has fewer hobbies is because she is so busy helping us kids pursue ours!)

My Dad: Playing Airsoft with my brother, cooking lunch on Sundays for Mom (always eggs, along with random leftovers from our fridge-- he scares me SO badly) and playing a board game called Qwirkle. EVERY night. Unfortunately, the game is a series of decisions. Which is great for the the first two turns, and not so great when my brain is after nine grueling decisions, at which point my family sets the timer and groans as I try to make up my mind. Decisions in competition are SO hard, because if you make the decision you might lose! 

Me: You'd think I'd know by now... I'm working on developing hobbies, but so far I enjoy being outside, shoveling snow,  and looking forward to volleyball season. 

Natalie: She reads a lot! That girl is well-read! Oh, and she studies a lot, too! Also, she has been working on decorating her room, which is looking great! She is always doing something creative... from watercoloring to snow cream-making to room-decorating. 

Blaize: Right now, it's Airsoft, calling Noah Salts on the phone (I've always thought girls were the talkers, but no! Blaize can talk for over an hour several times a week on the phone. If it weren't for my mom and Mrs. Salts setting limits, who knows how long the phone calls would last or how frequently they would occur). And lastly, the dreaded Lego. The often litter his floor, making it a health hazard at night time. I believe if I were ever to create my own torture chamber, I would tile the floors with Legos. Just saying.

Copy-Cat Post: Things that Make Me Smile

Before I start, let me say that this type of post was not my idea. Lots of other bloggers have been doing "Things I'm Loving," or "Curious Ramblings," etc. But I've loved this idea since Mary Frances' first post, and nothing too post-worthy has happened of late, so please forgive my lack of originality as I "flatter" these creative bloggers by "copying" them. (Mom always says, "Copying is the best form of flattery." So bloggers, please be flattered, not mad!)

Things that make me smile:

1.) Our 4-H skit! I just went to my first practice yesterday, and the character I get to play is a hoot! The setting is a blind date, which just happens to be during an important football game. Melanie, (that's me) is devoted Bears fan... probably a bit too devoted. She almost has a split personality of sorts. At first meeting, she is very sweet and enjoyable, but very distracted by the Bears game. (She wants to check the score after she and Jake have barely met, puts on an ear-piece thingie to listen to the game, etc.) Then, as the Bears start losing, she stands up in restaurant and screams plays they should be doing. Realizing she is being a distraction, she sits back down apologetically, only to tear the menu and burst into tears when her team loses.  It is rather amusing... I just hope I can do her justice!

2.) Meat and Eggs! For years I have tried to choke down a few bites at a time at most. Mom always would lecture me about how I needed protein to grow, and I'd sit there chowing away at my fourth piece of toast. And now that I'm done growing and have stopped at 5'2, guess what? I like chicken. And eggs. And turkey. And... protein! Of course, it's a little bit late, but, hey, these foods stick with me a lot longer than bread and fruit, which I pretty much lived off of. And you never know, may be I'll have a giant growth spurt during college... hey, stop laughing! It could happen!

3.) Shoveling Snow! It's my new hobby! There is something so satisfying about seeing immediate, visible progress from doing a task! I like it when everyone can SEE I've accomplished something. Yes, I still have a lot to work on in the people pleasing arena, I know.
The only annoyance is when the wind undoes all my work. That took me a while to get over.

4.) New Stories to Tell! Natalie was playing airsoft for the first time ever with my dad and brother. I'm surprised they convinced her to, but they did! We only have three guns, so it was Blaize and Natalie against my dad. My dad was hiding behind our deck, and he heard the crunch of snow behind him. Immediately, my dad whirled and shot in the direction of the footsteps. Unfortunately, Natalie was pretty close to him, and though she was wearing eye and ear protection, she didn't have anything covering her mouth. He nailed her front teeth, which immediately chipped. Family reactions differed: Papa felt horrible. Mom immediately asked if she needed ibuprofen. Blaize seemed a bit worried but excited,  and I... I have a confession to make. I was immediately jealous that she had such a great war wound AND story to tell. I mean, I do way more reckless things than she does, and she always gets the war-wounds. The thing that gets me most is... they want to FIX her teeth?!?! In essence, they want to remove the evidence of that fabulous story, and erase that beautiful war wound. I will never understand this course of action.

5.) A Volleyball Practice Today! Will I be out of practice? Yes! Will I be sore tomorrow? Probably! Will I enjoy every minute of it? Is that a question?? It's volleyball!

Family Post #2-Natalie!!!

I realized I have both posted and written an essay about my Dad, but the rest of my family has been neglected! Speaking of neglected, my subject of my post, the photographer of the family, seems to have avoided nearly every picture taken. So, we're taking a brief (and slightly embarrassing) flashback to the early 2000's so that I can have some pictures of Natalie on this blog. Don't worry, Nat. We're both in this humiliation together. (You just don't know about it yet.)

I have creatively titled this one "Mystified Looks and Reading Books"

And this one is dubbed, "Looking Extremely Attractive While Standing By A Tree."

 Don't you think the Pooh tie-dye is attractive? It's coming back any day now, I'm sure.

Back to Natalie and her awesomeness. I said earlier that we're "both in this Humiliation together," and, truth be told, we have been "in it together" for most of our lives.
Here are just a few of our early memories:

• Tying Blaize up to a tree... and then realizing we were better at making knots than we'd previously thought. 
• Playing "Animals" together with our stuffed animals, and naming any new dogs as "Doggy" despite the fact that we had three "Doggys" already.
• Hanging upside down from my top bunk bed to her lower bed to talk as long as we could until the blood rushed to my head.
• Freaking out about the  non-existent monster under the bed
• Day-dreaming about American Girl Dolls

And more recently...

Baking Green Velvet Cake that looked more like Vomit Velvet Cake than green.

Staying up 'till three watching Jane Austin movies

Laughing as we try to complete a karate workout in a small space

Stressing about our Science grades

Talking late into the night

Some things I admire about Natalie are:

• Her willingness to laugh at my less-than-funny jokes
• Her diligence in school and her relationship with God
• Her sweetness to forgive me over and over again
• Her generosity with her money, time, and energy
• Her kindness in making me look really sweet when she talks about me on her blog
• Her ability to make people feel comfortable and special
• Her musical skills... she can harmonize singing way better than I can, and can sound out most tunes on the piano naturally.

A few of Natalie's talents include:

• Photography... hence the reason I have no pictures of her!
• Art... you should see it! I am so amazed at her creativity and eye for detail
• Telling stories... read her blog! It's full of them, and they always make me laugh.
• Cleaning... I'm telling you, her room is immaculate.
•  Remembering details... while I forget things everywhere I go, Natalie is organized and on top of it.
• Decorating... she is re-doing her room, and it looks beautiful! How can you go wrong with aqua and grey chevron?
• Resourcefulness... she can take something totally ordinary and make it useful and pretty!

Things Natalie needs to know about herself:

• She is loved! By friends, family, me, and God!
• She is smart! She gets good grades, is fun conversationalist, and an intelligent friend. She is a critical thinker and she is very detailed.
• She is talented: Natalie, you are so good at so many things! (See above list.) God has given you so many gifts that everyone but you can see!
• She is a BLESSING. My life wouldn't be complete without you, Natalie! You are a loyal friend, a godly example, and the BEST sister. I admire and love you so much!

You are valuable, loved, and talented Natalie. I thank God for YOU!