About Connie

I can find the beauty in life every day.  My life is almost exactly what I always dreamed it would be.  The biggest surprise for me is that I am a thirty-five year old college student.  I am happy to have this opportunity, though.

I grew up in Charlotte, close to UNCC.  When I was growing up our neighborhood was out in the country.  The town was called Newell, but as I grew, so did Charlotte.  So, now it is considered Charlotte.  This is a link to an article from The Charlotte Observer about my hometown, Newell http://www.charlotteobserver.com/277/story/1118929.html .  I loved to play outside with all of my neighborhood friends.  The day began and ended outside.  We swam, played hide-and-seek, and rode our bikes miles and miles to wherever we wanted.  We built and rebuilt tree houses and forts in the woods.  We also entered each other’s houses as we pleased.

I still like to play in the woods.  My children and I hike and explore whenever we can.  This is a tree that we discovered and have been playing in lately.  We can spend hours exploring.  We are always excited when we find an old bottle, or chards from old pieces of pottery.  Our dog has made our hikes more fun; she seems to like exploring, too.

I have always enjoyed being outside and doing things.  My grandfather grew a large garden every year and I consider him the original CSA.  He grew corn, tomatoes, okra, squash, cantaloupe, and plenty of other vegetables for all the people of Newell.  I spent my summers “helping” him at his front yard produce stand.  He only sold to strangers, all of his friends and church family got free produce delivered to their back door.  This is why I chose Horticulture when I considered a college degree.  I loved working in the horticulture industry, but decided that I needed a new challenge and decided to return to school.

I love learning new things, so I have enjoyed the challenge of returning to school.  I will be very happy when I am done in December, though.

My family is at the top of the list of things I like.  My husband is a fifth generation farmer.  He is the hardest worker I know.  The older folks in our community, Vale, compare him to his great grandfather, who would set a lantern at the end of the row so that he could plow at night, before technology benefitted farmers.  I think that his passion for farming is one of the things that make him great!  He cannot understand why anyone would sell family land for a new neighborhood, or office complex.  I love, love, love living on a farm and am beyond fortunate to be able to raise children on a farm that has been in their family since the late 1800’s.

Barn built in 1886

Watching my children play sports is a favorite pastime of mine.  Basketball, soccer, tee-ball, and softball are the current sports they participate in.  I am one of the few parents that can cheer for both teams.  I am disheartened every time I see parents promoting poor sportsmanship.  Practicing basketball and soccer are fun to do with them.  I am pretty scared of a softball, so I am not the best practice partner for my daughter when she wants to practice her softball skills. 

Reading is one of my favorite hobbies.  I enjoy books that make me think.  Nicholas Evans is my favorite author.  His books revolve around family dynamics and nature issues.  The Divide is his latest book and deals with a family whose daughter has become involved in an “eco-terrorist” group.  I enjoy Nicholas Sparks books, too.  I am eagerly anticipating the release of his movie “Dear John” at the beginning of February.

My family spends a week each summer at Topsail Island.  I hope to own a home there one day.  Fishing is a hobby that my family enjoys.  We have a great deal of fishing supplies, but we count on a Barbie fishing pole, when the fish aren’t biting.  We have biked miles and miles on the island.  It is the only place that we can ride safely as a family without having to go to a greenway.  We like to bike in the evenings to the sound and watch the sunset.  The south end of the island is desolate and we go there as much as possible when we are on vacation.  We have seen skates, sea urchins, dolphins, sand dollars, conchs, and other things that you won’t find at more populated beaches.   Island Delights is our favorite place to eat on the island.  It is a 1950’s style diner and has the best cream cheese stuffed pretzels on earth!

 

My favorite drink is Diet Dr. Pepper.  I am addicted to it.  I have never been a big soft drink person, but coming back to school has made me reliant upon caffeine.  My favorite food to go out and eat is Mexican.  My daughter and I have our “Girl’s Night” at Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant in Lincolnton.  They know us very well!  At home I love to cook Southern Food.  Cooking and baking is a fun activity to share with children.  This is how I learned to cook, spending time in the kitchen with family.  Some of my specialties include fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, homemade biscuits, macaroni and cheese.  Desserts I like to make are caramel cake, chocolate pie, and all types of cookies.

I really do not like to think of things I dislike…

I do not enjoy cleaning house, I really hate it.  But, I do not want to live in a dirty house, so therefore I must clean.  Dirty dishes are no fun!  I think that cleaning the kitchen is a horrible way to end a wonderful meal!  I wish I had a cleaning fairy; she could scrub the bathrooms and change the sheets while I was out having fun!  I would even hire Amelia Bedelia, she makes great Lemon Meringue Pie on top of “cleaning” the house.   Living in a clean house is difficult with a new puppy.  I find myself vacuuming daily.  She is a shredder!  I also am not too pleased when she has accidents, but she is just a baby and has two wild children distracting her. 

Bullies are a huge dislike of mine.  I hate to see children being picked on or made to feel bad about themselves.  Someone very close to me was bullied as a child.  It was very painful for me to hear about the bullying that they had to sustain during their day, or when I had to see the after affects of it.  The sad thing about bullying is that it is never over.  It is a raw memory that the child has to carry with them for the rest of their life.  I think that character education is a worthwhile topic in the elementary school curriculum.  I think that children need to learn acceptance for others.  I dislike seeing teachers say bad things about their students, as well. 

Seeing children growing up too fast bothers me.  I do not like to see some of the styles that are on display in the mall.  The worst part is that if these clothes weren’t selling the stores would not stock them!  I see no reason for children to have cell phones either.  My daughter begs for a cell phone, but I have told her, “in due time.”  I think that this causes them to think they are adults.  I think that we do not give them enough time to be kids anymore. 

As far as how I look…

I think the first thing people notice is my height.  I am almost 5’9’.  Then they would notice my curly hair.  I also have freckles.  I am as freckled as all of the 101 Dalmatians.  These are things that make me unique.  They are also things about me that I go from loving to hating.  My eyes are blue and I am starting to get crinkles around them when I smile.  It does not bother me to have them.  I think that I have smiled enough in my life that I deserve them. 

These are two poems that I created for my RE3030 class to share a little about myself.

Acrostic Poem

C ompassionate

O pen-minded

N aturalist

N ap-lover

I maginative

E nergetic

W itty

Y outhful

A ffable

N eighborly

T rusting

Portrait Poem

I am a loving mother and a happy wife.
I wonder if some people really believe that they have less time than others.
I hear the ocean waves hitting the sandy shore.
I see a green field meeting a blue sky.
I want my children to have self-confidence.
I am a loving mother and a happy wife.

I pretend that I am eight years old.
I feel like I can fly like a bird.
I touch angel’s wings.
I worry that I will die young.
I cry when I realize how fast my children are growing up.
I am a loving mother and a happy wife.

I understand that you pay your money and take your choice.
I say pray for rain.
I dream of owning a home at the beach.
I try to always consider the feelings of others.
I hope to meet my children’s children and their children, too.
I am a loving mother and a happy wife.

Mattie, Charlie, and Hallie the Dog