All About Me, Part Two

Before we get started, I wanted to take a minute and let you know about a super fabulous giveaway over at The Design Girl Blog. Do you love my blog layout and design? It’s fabu, right? I think so. Danielle (The Design Girl) did it, and she’s having three (!) giveaways for makeovers right now. Click HERE to enter her 900 followers giveaway, HERE to enter a raffle for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and HERE to enter the chance for a pre-made Christmas template.

Onto to the questions…. if you missed Part One, click HERE!

Momma, Kim, and Kasey asked: Why do you have Chihuahuas as your pets?

Well, ladies, why doesn’t everyone have chihuahuas for pets? Could you resist that face? I can’t really answer this question. I just love them. Yes, they are yappy. Yes, they can have a slight attitude. But they are the most loyal dogs in the world. Chihuahuas love their owners, plain and simple.

I actually got George when Jason was out on his first patrol. I had went home for the weekend and popped into the mall, where I always visit the pet store. I didn’t intend to get a dog that weekend but I saw his little face and shivering body and I couldn’t resist. George actually isn’t 100% chi, though… we think he’s a chi and Jack Russell mix.

We got JC in 2004, again from a pet store in the mall. It was an impulse purchase but we both agree it is the best money we have ever spent. We had popped in just to look, like we always did, and there sat this 1 pound chihuahua, curled into a ball and looking at me with sad eyes. I asked to hold him, and he cuddled right into my chest (chihuahuas, like babies, are drawn to boobies, y’all). Jason held him and he bared his teeth and growled at him. That pretty much sealed the deal.

**By the way, I don’t advocate buying from pet stores. The Humane Society and other dog rescues/pounds are amazing places, and you should absolutely adopt from there if you are searching for a companion. We didn’t set out to “buy” either one of our dogs… it just happened. Don’t flame me for that, please.**

Cole asked: Do George and JC willingly let you dress them up?

Um, no. They hate it. But I’m cruel and I think it’s funny, and I am the boss. I actually took a video of the husband putting costumes on them this weekend, and I’ll be loading that up in the next couple of days.

Brandy asked: Have you ever had any other type of dog? Do you ever longed for a big dog?

I had a shitzu and lhaso apso growing up. Jason and I have always talked of getting a lab one day, but I don’t know that I could handle a large dog. Plus, George and JC are already bed hogs and I have no idea where another dog would sleep. :)

Jill & Azah asked: How did you meet your husband?

Andrea + Jason, 2003 

We met online, actually. We were both in a Yahoo! chat room for Charleston, SC and ended up talking on messenger. I had other things going on and was just chatting because I was bored, but he continued our conversations until he wore me down and got my phone number. The first night he called, we chatted for hours, and we arranged to meet the next day at Barnes and Noble. We hit it off and dated for 3.5 months until he proposed.

Brandy asked: How did your husband propose? How long did you date before he popped the question?

Now that is a great story, and you can read about it here.

Victoria asked: What is the very first song you and your husband danced to?

Oh, Victoria, why did you ask me this question? I am embarrassed to say I have no idea. We didn’t have music at my reception because I had it in my church social hall and secular music wasn’t allowed. I do know the first time we danced was in six months after we got married at a Navy Christmas party, but I can’t remember what the song was.

Shannon asked: Does your husband plan on staying in the Navy, or is he getting out at the end of his enlistment?

Well, he’s been in the Navy now for 8 years. He’s done one reenlistment, and that takes him to November 2011. He does not plan to stay in past that point.

Amy asked: If you have a baby boy or girl in the near future, what names would you go with?

Girl, this was a BATTLE! Jason refused to take it seriously. I think he would have waited until the baby was born to even consider names had I not nagged him to death. I purchased a baby name book and went through and highlighted every single name I liked. I asked him to do the same, and he made it through Z before he quit. I finally got fed up and made a list of all my top names and told him to choose, and we ended up with Cooper. I chose Brayden as a middle name because I wasn’t about to go through 20 more weeks of name insanity.

Jen asked: What do you do for a living?

I have a social work degree, and I currently work as a Service Coordinator for people with disabilities and special needs. I have a caseload of 40+ individuals who have been diagnosed with mental retardation. I am responsible for getting them the services they need, whether that be housing, institutional care, medical supplies, job training, etc.

Jules and Jenn & Eric asked: What made you get into social work? Do you like it? I imagine it would be very rewarding.

Social work was a whim, honestly. I was an education major, and was really not feeling my classes. I had a friend who was a social work major and she loved her classes, so I decided to switch. I hated my social work classes for the first two years but refused to switch because I wouldn’t have graduated on time. I stuck it out and fell in love with the profession my senior year, when I did an internship at a drug and alcohol addictions facility.

I love my profession! It’s so broad, and there’s so much you can do with it. Most people think of social workers as the people who take away your kids, but there’s many fields you can go into. I’ve worked as a drug prevention counselor for a middle school, as a mediator for juvenile offenders, and now I’m working with the mentally retarded. I’m also a trained mediator.

Jenn & Eric asked: If money and education were not an issue, what would you do with your life?

I’d go back to school. I really want to get my Masters of Social Work and work as an addictions counselor. I can also see myself as a school counselor.

Now, if I won the lottery, I’d use some of the money to open and run a non-profit mediation agency. I'd love to train and fund peer mediation programs at local schools.

Katie asked: If you could have any other profession, what would you do?

If I had to go outside of social work, I think I’d like to be a makeup artist or a stylist. A personal shopper sounds like loads of fun, too!