Redefining my Identity . . .

I have been having a minor identity crisis. Nothing big, but it feels weird that I will no longer be able to label myself with a professional position title when people ask "So what do you do?" From now on, the answer will be "I'm a mom!" I am absolutely proud of this, but like I said, it feels a little weird.

For the last few years I have been a "project manager for DecisionWise, a leadership consulting firm in Provo, UT," which status will be ending as of next Tuesday. I have been working part-time remotely since we moved to Oregon, and it has been nice to hold on to my title for a few more months. And I have to admit, I'm a little sad. As nerdy as it sounds, I have realized that I am fairly attached to my spreadsheets, power point templates, and statistical analyses (not to mention clients and co-workers). What am I going to do without any demographics to code or any data correlations to run? Oh yeah . . . I will be changing diapers and cleaning spit-up off my clothes - haha. But anyway, sad as it might be, I think I will really miss staring at enormous spreadsheets full of survey responses all day. So, in my post-statistics and data-analysis-free life, I will have to find some other ways to define myself. So I have come up with a list that describes who I am, aside from "former project manager". So here goes - I am a:

• Child of God! A Mormon, Christian, follower of Christ. I am grateful for God's love and His amazing plan for all His children!
• Wife of the most amazing husband ever!
• Soon-to-be mommy to a baby girl!
• Friend, daughter, sister, cousin, granddaughter, neighbor
• American citizen
• Opinionated conservative. If you plan to read this blog, you should be prepared for some political rants. :)
• BYU graduate, with a degree in Business and a minor in Spanish
• Excel nerd
• Runner
• Jazz vocalist, although I haven't done much singing since I graduated
• Amateur ballroom dancer - not competitive, but Adam and I love dancing together
• Pianist
• Guitarist
• Sentimental romantic
• Shoe fanatic
• Skier
• Amateur cook: I have become a food enthusiast over the past couple years, and I have become obsessed with trying new recipes. I am happy to say that I am no longer afraid of making dishes that include ingredients like escarole, Brussels sprouts, or cardamom pods. Yes, I will be using this blog to share my recipes with you. :)
• Fan of jazz, country, classic rock, Christian, pop, oldies, classical, reggae, alternative, broadway, hip-hop, and basically all music
• Grammar/spelling nazi
• Perfectionist
• Sucker for old architecture
• Travel enthusiast
• Really, really bad artist. I also stink at biology and softball.
• Ice cream and popcorn addict
• Night person
• Blonde
• Lover of rain
• Devoted Harry Potter fan (the books, not the movies)

Okay I feel better now. I guess there are lots of elements of my life that still define me as well as they did before. With so many recent changes (moving to a new state away from everyone I know, quitting my job, becoming a parent really soon) it has been something of a challenge to remember what hasn't changed. But I guess I am still me and the most important things are still the same!