Encyclopedia of Me - R (Stacy)

Reading - I love to read. I don't get to do it that often, time being the biggest issue. But another reason is that I get spoiled by great books. What I mean is that reading great books makes me want to be into a REALLY good book, so when I start a book that's just "eh," I can get easily discouraged and not pick anything up for a while. I love when I am reading something that keeps me engrossed when I'm reading it and keeps me thinking about it when I'm not. I am not one to reread books (except for a select few . . . *cough*Harry Potter*cough*), because there are so many books out there to read that I feel funny about rereading something when there's more to discover. My top 5 favorite books are Harry Potter (so, "Rowling" could be on this list, too, I suppose), Rebecca (Oh! Another R-word! - my all-time favorite novel!), Jane Eyre, To Kill A Mockingbird, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.


Radio - I love listening to the radio. I admit it - I love (and always have loved) pop music. I love to hear what's current. I love to watch American Idol. I get excited when a song I like comes on the radio - whether it's current or older. I get giddy when I hear a great 80's song that I haven't heard in a while or when I hear something that takes me back to my adolescence or early college years. Radio, we've learned, is a good way to advertise our business. Our kids enjoy old radio shows. We're big fans of the movie "A Christmas Story," where Ralphie listens to "Little Orphan Annie." Radio is great! I remember many nights alone in my room growing up, listening to the radio until I fell asleep. I love to sing along to the radio. So much so, that I even find it kind of annoying when someone talks to me when I'm singing along. A sunny day, beautiful weather, and great songs on the radio? Happiness!


Rain - I couldn't live in Seattle or anywhere too dreary or dreadfully gray, but I do very much enjoy the occasional rain storm. Most of the time, I prefer blue skies and sunny days, but when a rainy day breaks up a string of sunny ones, there's something balancing about that. I like how it sounds, looks, and smells. It makes me want to hole up at home with my family and read together or snuggle and watch a movie. As part of our homeschooling, we have "Rainy Day Trump Days" - basically, whenever it rains, it trumps whatever we were going to do that day, and instead we simply curl up on the couch with blankets and books and read together. I like rain. I especially enjoy passing summer thunderstorms. Looking up pictures for this post, I realized that the beauty of rain is not an easy thing to capture on film.


Relationships - I like relationships. I like putting time and effort into them. I like being in them. I appreciate them. I value my marriage relationship and my relationship with my kids. I love being with them, doing things together, talking together, walking together, eating together, laughing together. I look at my wedding and engagement rings and smile. I look at pictures or our family and smile. I look at my family and smile. I don't ever, EVER feel like I'm "wasting" time when my time and effort is involved in meaningful relationships. In general, I try to stay away from negative, cranky, irritable people. Not to say that we all can't have an off day now and then, but people who are perpetually toxic raise red flags for me and I keep my distance. It's just not healthy. I notice how I feel around people and I appreciate being around people who make me laugh, feel free, encouraged, and whose very presence makes me want to be the best that I can be. I am grateful for my friendships, both new and old. Over the past several years especially, we, together with our old and new friends, have really made a serious commitment and concerted effort to prioritizing getting together and keeping in touch (hence a very busy "Hotel Foley"). I love the rich, full, meaningful life feeling that comes from beautiful relationships.


Restaurants - What a wonderful invention! A place where you can go with family and friends, sit down, be waited on, order whatever you'd like to eat, be served, enjoy good food and good company, and then not have to clean up? GENIUS. I love to eat out. I love good food. For me, it's an experience. I love the European manner of taking several hours to eat and visit. I was just talking about this topic with good friends this past weekend. If you're going to go out to eat, it's got to be, in my opinion, something REALLY good, ethnic, fancy . . . something I can't easily make at home. Why go out for pork chops or meatloaf or spaghetti, you know? I just don't get that. Get something GOOD. I love Mexican food, Japenese food, Thai food, Indian food, Greek food . . . oh man, I love food. It doesn't take much to make me crave anything either. Seeing food or hearing about food is all it takes. Yesterday, a friend of mine was mentioning that she has to move out of her home soon and she said, "Good thing I didn't get more fish" (meaning for the aquarium, because it would be a pain to move), and I immediately said, "Ooooh, fish. I could go for fish!" And now I'm craving trout . . .


Rhode Island - "It's the Biggest Little State in the Union! Rhode Island! Rhode Island!" And now that song is in my head (start at 1:39 on the video). I'm from MA, but my hometown in MA borders a town in RI, so I grew up RIGHT outside of Rhode Island. When you live in Southeastern MA, you are constantly weaving in and out of MA and RI to shop, eat, visit, see things, get around. I spent MUCH of my adolescence in RI. Many of my closest friends are from there. I love to visit there. Newport, RI is one of my very favorite places to be. We try to get there anytime we're up in New England. We often take the kids to Ocean Drive (or 12-Mile Drive, as some call it) to walk on the ocean rocks, look at the majesty of the Atlantic Ocean, fly kites, smell the sea air, eat Del's Frozen Lemonade, enjoy some good New England Lobster Rolls, and generally relax. I consider myself as being from both MA and RI. It's a great little state, especially the eastern side (Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport).

P.S. I should mention that my maiden name is Resendes, so that's another pretty important R-word for me. :)