If You Really Knew Me

I started advertising on Sometimes Sweet this week and I am so happy to announce that my little 125x125 ad has created such amazing traffic to my shop Royal Feather.  Thank you Brenna for steering me in this direction and Jesus for all you continue to bless me with :)  Earlier this week Danielle, writer behind Sometimes Sweet, blogged about a post she'd seen "floating" around the blogosphere.  The post has been about revealing a little more about who you "really are" to your audience.  I instantly loved this idea because just this past weekend Jacob and I were discussing how some people (people we thought were close to us and complete strangers alike) have no idea who we really are.  Said people assume they know us, but they truly don't.  Should you decide to participate as well, post your link in my comments section so I can check it out!
Here it goes...if you really knew me...
you'd know that my husband and I live our lives for ourselves and Nicholas and no one else - period.  The decisions we make are what's best for the three of us.  We don't plot out ways to be better than others or to "keep up with Joneses" or to "one-up" anybody.  The house we live in, how we choose to decorate it, the cars we drive, the things we enroll Nicholas in, and what we buy as gifts for each other are things we simply want for one another and for absolutely no other reason.  Nothing annoys me more than to hear "oh, my child already has had that for so long, it's so old" or "oh, we have something like that but ours is better because x, y, and z" or, "you're son is barely doing that? mine did it at {insert some extremely unreasonable age here}."  Really?!  Seriously people!  Why does everything have to be a competition? Especially between children.  And even between adults too!  That just really irritates me.
you'd know that I was laid off while I was on maternity leave with absolutely no explanation - none, whatsoever.  As a result, I felt pretty depressed and lousy for a long while.  To be told "we're terminating you, but not your position" is pretty rough to hear.  And then when you're begging for an explanation and fighting back tears while holding your newborn and all you get is "I'm sorry you feel that way but the decision has been made", you just feel horrible.  I remember being on an emotional roller coaster - first sad, then angry and upset, then hurt, then worried and scared about our future, then angry again, and then finally acceptance.  Don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't want to spend every possible moment with Nicholas, I was just so angry about how the whole thing happened.  Jacob and I weren't prepared for something like that.  I was ready to return to work on a Monday when I got the "phone call" on the Friday before.  Talk about leaving it to the last minute on their part.
you'd know that I love with my whole heart.  But I do have to be treated fairly and equally to show that kind of affection.  I've learned the hard way that being nice all the time doesn't get you anywhere but stepped on.  Too many times people have confused my kindness for weakness and I simply won't have it anymore.  If you criticize or judge my husband or my son, we're going to have a problem.  
you'd know that I'm kind of a homebody.  Now of course I do love going out on Date Night and trying out new places and restaurants or taking Nicholas to playdates or the library for storytime.  But sometimes there are days when Jacob finally has a day off and I just love to stay home and relax with my family.  We secretly call those days "Gray Shorts Day."  Somehow the 3 of us coincidentally have a pair of super comfy cotton gray shorts and we wear them on those days when all we want to do is nothing.  I know it's cheesy, but it's just one of our things that we enjoy.  Being home means I don't have to do my hair or makeup and I can just be Me without any judgements.
you'd know that my memory is impeccable.  Ever since I was a little girl I had this amazing ability to recall where I had seen or read something in vivid detail.  My sisters and parents would say I had a photographic memory.  And that's all still true today.  I remember the faces of pretty much everyone I've met, things that have been said to me (directly or indirectly), how I felt when things have happened, sometimes even what I was wearing on certain occasions.  So you better think twice next time you want to lie to me, it won't work :)
you'd know that I've always wanted a bulldog and to name her Lola.
you'd know that I'd love to just pack a suitcase for the three of us and live on a beach somewhere.
you'd know I would love nothing more than to be accepted by everyone.  It really bums me out when people have a false understanding of me - when they've been painted an unfair, one-sided picture of me and then just judge me from there on out.  Get to really know me first before you write me (and my family) off.
you'd know that I'm really bad at drinking water - always have been.  I'd rather drink Crystal Light or more recently cups of herbal lemongrass tea.  Even when I eat, I don't really drink much.  When my cousins and I were younger and we'd stay at my grandparents' house during the summertime, it used to really freak out my Grandma that I wouldn't really drink anything all day.  She couldn't understand how I liked to "comer seco" {eat without drinking anything}.  Those summers were such a blessing.    
you'd know that I'm a major night owl.  Right now, it's 1:57AM and I still have to proof this post before I publish it in the morning and possibly add some pictures.
you'd know that I wish I had more time in the day to read books like I used to, I've been watching General Hospital for over 12 years, when purchasing something new, pretty product packaging gets me every time, I can't walk out of Sephora without buying something, I'm afraid of dying, I worry about not being a good enough mother to Nicholas, my guilty-reality-tv-show-pleasures are Teen Mom and RHONJ, and the dentist absolutely terrifies me.
How about you?