7 Random things...

I was all prepared to tag myself to play along with this game, but I've since been officially tagged by Briy! Yay!

So here goes nothin':


Rules of the game:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
5. Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged.



1). I have four older brothers and sisters (2 and 2), one of which happens to be my identical twin, Marissa, who's two minutes older than me. We've grown up living the stereotypical twin lives that consisted mainly in doing everything together. We wore the same outfits. We've worked at the same jobs starting at 16 and going all the way through college. We got our driver's licenses on the same day. We've got matching BA and MA degrees from the same universities. We even dated identical twins once! At one point in our lives, our circle of friends consisted of "just the two of us." (we even dedicated that song to ourselves!) There were people who criticized us for being so close because, as they said, the day we had to separate from each other we'd be heartbroken. That day came last year when I moved to Spain, and I'd say it's one of the hardest things I've had to go through. But, in spite of the difficulty, I see how much richer our lives are now that we have embraced our individuality. Riss now lives and works in LA, and will be getting married this year (close enough, right??!). I am SOO excited about all that she's got going on in her life right now!!

2). I like to think that my husband Chechu (his real name is Jesús) and I have a story-book romance. In 2005 Marissa and I chose to study abroad in Spain (Granada) for a semester prior to beginning our graduate studies in California. One of the first things we did to prepare for our trip was finding a church in Granada, which took no time at all. (we both like to say that we knew where we'd be going to church before we knew where we were going to live!) On February 20th we walked into our new church for the first time. I saw Chechu on stage, playing the guitar and singing his heart out to God. That's when it hit me, and I knew that he was the man I'd marry. After a 2-year long-distance relationship and many trips back and forth between the US-Spain on both our parts, we got married last October here in Spain. My immediate family made the trip over, and Marissa was the star interpreter since the ceremony was officiated in Spanish.

3). I've stumbled across several career paths that I've been seriously interested in pursuing: A) Veterinarian B) Concert musician (I play saxophone) and C) Ventriloquist. (My sister and I to this day put on "shows" with our stuffed animals!). Since I love Spanish so much, I decided on Translation and Interpretation, and that's what stuck.

4). My nickname is Nan. Apparently "Marianna" was too much for my sister to pronounce when we were little, and all she got out of that big long name was Nan. And man, did it stick. No one in my family calls me by my full name- in fact, I'm sure that I've got a few relatives who don't even know what my actual first name is.

5). I love naming things: animals, cars, utensils, furniture, etc. According to my husband I'm pretty good at it too. Our car's name is Gustavo. There's a white-haired stray kitty who can constantly be seen roaming around our complex, and I call him Moses.
And then there's Nacho, a Joan Miró painting that resembles a dragon. Check him out!



6). I am a soul food junkie. Even though I was born in PA, my family roots are from the South. Mom's side is from Virginia, Dad hails from New Orleans. That means loads of collard greens, candied sweet potatoes, chicken, ribs, made-from-scratch macaroni and cheese and Dad's all-star gumbo.

7). I'm not a big shopping fan. I get burned out easily going to malls or shopping centers if I A) don't have a clear idea of what I'm looking for or B) if I haven't mentally prepared myself to go in the first place.


I'm almost positive that I'm the last person to do this, but I tag anyone who wants to play along!