Describe 10 pet peeves you have. (I’m proud to say that the reason I’m so far behind on my 30 Things list is that it’s been really difficult to come up with TEN pet peeves. I got stuck at five for a long time and couldn’t come up with any more.)

1. Lights being left on. There probably isn’t anything that will trigger my OCD personality more than a light being left on in a room that isn’t being used.

2. Clutter. We all have it in our houses because we actually live there. But I need to be better at hiding and organizing my “to-do” piles so they at least become pretty and functional. I pretty much wish I could live inside the IKEA magazine.

3. Kids, your dad likes to fall asleep on the couch around 9pm, but refuses to go to bed (or even move to the bedroom) until after 10pm. I think he thinks it’s funny to fall asleep while we’re watching something together that HE picked out! He’ll even battle me if I try to turn off the TV. ;)

4. I hate bad typography and design. I understand everyone isn’t a professional (including me), but they at least should know that fonts like Comic Sans and Curlz MT shouldn’t be used for your business logo, #amIright?!

5. I hate driving anywhere “far”. I don’t mind at all being the passenger when we drive 40 minutes to Santa Cruz, but I would rarely drive there myself. Not worth it – too far.

6. Our office isn’t organized. I hate that I have to keep the door closed ALL THE TIME because it’s such a disaster. We organized the closet (finally!) and it’s beautiful, but the guest bed seems to be a dumping spot that can’t be tamed…

7. It’s a pet peeve of mine that I live in California and can’t keep the windows open all day long, all year round. I quite possibly got spoiled with the near-perfect weather in Oceanside growing up, and now nothing will ever be good enough. (So basically, I’m ticked that we pay such high rent to live in what I like to think is basically the desert.)

8. It’s a pet peeve of mine how undisciplined I am. When my life isn’t filled with activities, nothing ever gets done. Why not do the laundry tomorrow? I’ve got all the time in the world!

I really can’t come up with any more pet peeves. I mean, I guess it bothers me when people wear running shoes with jeans, and socks with their Jesus sandals. But now I’m just being nit-picky.

This is part of an on-going series I’ll be writing to my children. See all of them here.

Describe your most embarrassing moment.

I’ve done a lot of embarrassing things, and it’s really difficult to narrow it down to just one, but they seem to center around nervousness and anxiety. And barfing.

I could talk about the time I left a puddle of pee all over the floor at my first grade ballet recital (I’m sure the parents with video cameras still get a kick out of watching that one), or the time in college that I broke part of a really expensive art exhibit at BYU.

But those aren’t the best stories. I don’t want to talk about barf, but I’m going to anyway. Your Grammy Tammy is a saint; I was nervous a lot as a child and she always had to clean it up over and over again. Once I threw up in a peanut dish at the Disneyland Hotel lobby in a fancy dress. My mom barely had time to dump the peanuts everywhere to catch my puke. And once I threw up overnight in a tent full of sisters and cousins and lied that a “strange man” came in the middle of the night and did it. I once barfed into the sweatshirt on my lap in the back seat of a van on a girl scout trip and tried to hide it from everyone. I have thrown up twice more at Disneyland – once while waiting in line at the Indiana Jones ride, and once while on Pirates of the Caribbean. There are dozens more I can think of but I’ll spare you the details. Just know I can’t be trusted with high-anxiety situations. ;)

Long story short, usually my most embarrassing moments happened when I was nervous. And it would seem that my bodily fluids didn’t quite cooperate. The problem was that I was too shy to tell anyone about it before it was too late! (Lesson learned, my darling children? Give me adequate notice before you barf, okay?)

This is part of an on-going series I’ll be writing to my children. See all of them here.

List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how. (This list is nowhere near complete so I tried to choose some less obvious ones.)

1. Your dad, Tyler Jones. He is dedicated and works harder than anyone I know, and has such a passion for learning. He teaches me every day that great things can be accomplished if I get off my butt and work hard. :) He is really good at building me up and pushing me to (find and) chase my dreams.

2. Your aunt Courtney. She also has a passion for education and learning that becomes contagious. Every time I talk to her she is in a new way striving to become a better individual. She reads and prays and has such a strong relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and seems to be naturally more spiritually in-tune than the rest of us siblings.

3. My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Evans. Hidden deep down inside of me, she unearthed a little girl that loved to read but didn’t know it yet. Now as I’m all grown up, reading is one of my favorite hobbies and I owe it all to her.

4. My high school best friend, Jocelyn. She and I were inseparable. We laughed, we fought, we had one of the best friendships I’ve ever had. For four long years I always ditched her for boys, and yet she still loved me like a sister. That right there is true love and friendship.

5. Your sister, Amelia. Because she only lived two days after birth, we really got to know one another spirit-to-spirit instead of face-to-face. It was a life-changing experience. She’s a strong one, and has made me a better me.

6. I don’t know his name, but there was a young, pony-tailed surgeon (?) (from CTDN?) at the hospital when Amelia was born. The tears in his eyes and the way his face softened when he gazed upon my daughter as she lay in the warming panda machine will be a moment I never, ever forget. His smile as he stood over her with his arms gently folded is engraved in my mind. I often wonder what he was thinking about at that moment. That was the first time that I realized the greater magnitude of things, that one little baby’s life didn’t have to go to waste; that an imperfect, helpless baby could influence and change lives if you only gave them the chance.

7. Your uncle Kendall. He is so much fun to be around. He seems to have the best of both worlds, knowing how to be the life of the party AND be serious and dedicated when he needs to be. I’m in constant awe of how he does this because it seems to me the guy is flawless. One day he’ll teach me how to be as cool as he is. :)

8. For better or for worse, my old college roommate. We fought – a lot. We didn’t see eye-to-eye on anything and the entire year we lived together was a total bust. But it taught me patience, perseverance, and self-confidence. We all matured and moved on.

9. My college best friend Alicia. This girl is fiercely loyal and I love her for it.

10. My friend Janet. She is perhaps the most thoughtful, sincere person I have ever met. She seems to remember Amelia milestones and is aware of the 27th of every month, even though it’s not her date to remember. She seems to always be listening to the quiet voice of the spirit and knows exactly what I need to hear. She, too, is fiercely loyal.

This is part of an on-going series I’ll be writing to my children. See all of them here.

What are 5 passions you have?

1. Writing. I love to write. I’d pretend I was Harriet the Spy when I was little. In high school, I carried a journal around with me wherever I went, and wrote in it constantly. I have a much easier time expressing myself in the written word than I do speaking.

2. I don’t know if I’d call it a passion (yet), but I really enjoy HIIT cardio. It’s the one and only form of exercise that actually gets me pumped up and excited to work out. I’ve been doing the turbofire dvds and while I’m not skinny yet (haha), they’re amazing. (My hip joints and muscles won’t let me run anymore, but I’d argue that turbofire is a WAY better workout than running ever was for me.)

3. I love being a wife and mother. It’s hard, hard work and really emotionally taxing on me. But I love being at home with my husband and my children, and feel so blessed to cook them a healthy dinner every night. Being a homemaker can be really lonely, but at other times it can be really rewarding. I love the delighted feeling I get when, if even for a day or two, I’ve found that balance.

4. Cooking. I love to cook and bake from scratch. I don’t create recipes very often, but I do love to try new recipes. Now I just need a family big enough to EAT all the food I make.

5. I love to be creative. It takes different forms – I love to illustrate with a pen in my hand (preferably the pilot g-2 07 if we’re getting specific), and I love to decorate my house. I love to do my hair, and I love to dress Jack. I love to tackle a painting project and a good DIY project from pinterest. Getting my creative juices flowing is a sure way to put a smile on my face.