Secret Hidden Talent

Do you ever wonder if you have an innate talent? Something you are just a natural master of and perhaps you will never know because it is something outside of your typical repertoire of activity? We could be depriving the world of the next best  {insert your secret hidden talent}   just because we are too scared to get out there! No more I say!
In an effort to discover my secret hidden talent I have begun an inventory of activities that I have tried (and it will be no secret that they are NOT my hidden talent) and a list of things to add to my secret hidden talent queue. Please join me in my quest and feel free to make suggestions.

Not My Secret Hidden Talents:

Singing (unless I'm in the audience or in my car)
Dancing
Musical instruments
Theater
Public speaking 
Basically any kind of performance
Skiing (water and snow)
Softball, volleyball
Karate
Running
Ok, pretty much sports in general
Bowling
Curling (no surprise, as this is basically bowling on ice)
Astronomy or anything that involves math.
Math - its worth repeating so you understand just how much this is not a natural talent.
Baking
Cake decorating
Interior decorating
Drawing, painting, sculpture.....art in general
Sky diving (I haven't actually tried this, but I don't care if I am the world's best. Not an option)
Fishing
Playing cards - from Old Maid to Poker. Not my thing.

You get the idea. Now, I understand that I do possess some talents and several of them I would even consider to be slightly above average. But that is the thing with most of my talents - they are pretty much average. That is fine, and perhaps even preferred for a normal day. However, for the purposes of this quest I am  looking for something really interesting. Something that would make someone pause and say, "Huh, can you believe Kim can  {something amazing}? She might be the worlds best {something amazing}  ,that is just SO interesting."

So, let's move on to new things to try.

Potential Secret Hidden Talents:

Bocce ball
Target shooting
Cross country skiing
Archery
Blogging
Forensics (think CSI)
Competitive Trail Riding - I don't actually have a horse, or really know how to ride one so this poses some special challenges.
International Travel - I probably can't become the world's best traveler, but this is something I want/need to do.

This list will be revisited. Need help creating your list? Try stumbleupon.com

Being Authentic

Thanks, Kim, for starting this blog. We are all creative, interesting, enchanting people when we allow ourselves to be authentic (to be honest, to be real, to be humble). It's much easier to be authentic when we're surrounded and supported by like-minded friends and loving people.

So, in my best effort to be authentic and as a baseline for my future blogs: This has been the worst and best year of my life. Three weeks ago, I asked Eric for a divorce. Two weeks ago Wednesday, I was suicidal due to the backlash of anger and manipulation that came pouring down on me from Eric and his family. This week, Eric has admitted that I am fully justified in asking him for a divorce. Today, I feel vulnerable but healthy (except that I had a Wendy's burger, fries and frosty for lunch and I'm a little bloated). It has been the best year of my life in that I have been reborn. Life has exploded- the good and the bad. And there is so much beauty, so much good, so much life to live (there is--right?).

More to come about living as a single mom, the divorce process and life in general. Love and peace to all of you beautiful ladies!

Ask For Help

Hello fellow Mamas!  I don't quite know what to write about, but the first thing that popped into my head when thinking about "being more interesting" is getting help with the kids so I can do more things for myself!!  They are the priority right now, so getting out and about without them can be very difficult.  When Evelyn was a about 6 months old, I had a pretty major break down -- still trying to get used to being home with two small kids.  I was going crazy and didn't feel like I had any time to pee, let alone do something for myself!  Tim's parents are both recently retired and only 50 miles from us.  I put myself out there and asked Gloria and Ed if they would help me out just a couple times a month, come watch the kids so I could run errands, clean, go to the gym without dragging the kids with me to the germ infested nursery (middle of winter and we were sick left and right, aahhhhh!!) :)  They happily obliged and everyone wins - kids and grandparents get to have QT and I get some time to myself.  It truely has saved my life and we're so fortunate to be close to them.  Grandparents are worth their weight in gold -- all I had to do was ASK for help, which I don't do very well at all.  We, as moms, CAN'T and SHOULDN'T do it all!!  As they say, it takes a village.

Now, how to be more interesting....that's the hard part.  Recently, I've been trying to have more hobbies in attempt to set aside "me" time.  With help from my dad, I have another raised garden bed in the backyard, so I'm growing all sorts of veggies and having fun pulling weeds and staring off in space while watering. :)  I'm training for a couple "mud run" or obstacles runs -- one next month near DSM, called the Warrior Dash, 3 miles with obstacles.  Another one I signed up for is the Tough Mudder in Phoenix next February with my friends, Mike and Mara Syring.  10-12 miles with 20 some obstacles. (Yah, I'm insane...)  I've been wanting to set a goal like this for a few years now.  Not sure why....I think it was after Cameron was born, I thought to myself, "I just gave birth, naturally no doubt....I can do ANYTHING!  What's next??"  Training/exercising is so cathartic for me -- go to a class and do what the trainer tells you to do, shut your brain off, totally exhaust yourself and surprise yourself that you got through that insane workout!  Last week, Tim and I got to go on vacation to Portland, OR with another couple (Mike and Mara) sans kids.  It was amazing.  We hiked, explored downtown, sat and had coffee and scones, visited a few breweries and tasted some amazing beers and wines, people watched, went to the ocean, and just did whatever we wanted to.  I came back so refreshed and full of life.  It was great just to be a couple, not only "Mom" and "Dad".

My kids are amazing and I would die a million deaths for them. They humble me every day. However, they drain and stress me out to unfathomable lengths.  I love the idea of this blog for support and strength while our kids are little and high maintenance.  Thanks, Kim!!

Be Interesting

So, this week I attended the Big 10 Development Conference for work. It was a fabulous conference and I learned a lot about fundraising. One of the speakers was particularly engaging. She conducts studies on donor behavior and publishes reports of these statistics (doesn't sound like a dream job right?) but she is really very fascinating and passionate about her work. She is a true student of human behavior. I'll spare you the details, but one of the things she shared with us was that donors are more likely to make gifts (large gifts) to any fundraiser as long as they (the fundraiser) "was interesting." Seriously, this came out of a research study involving thousands of donors. So her charge to us was to "be interesting." Leave the office at 5 and get out and live life. Explore. Develop unique hobbies. Take risks.
So, since it is my best professional interest, I am going to try to live more interesting. You help make me interesting, so please comment, share resources and ideas you find interesting, or make suggestions. Please join me in my journey.