Asked & Answered with Amber Lappin

This month’s subject of Asked & Answered is Amber Lappin. Amber and I met through our personal blogs a long time ago and have had the pleasure to meet in real life a few times, even though we’re on separate sides of the country. Every time I think I like Amber as much as possible, she goes and does something to make me like her even more. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did!

G&S:  What are some of your nicknames? Only the ones you’re comfortable sharing with the world, of course.

AL:     Honestly, I don’t have nicknames. Tried a few things in Jr. high, but nothing really stuck.

G&S    (Note to self. Come up with a nickname for Amber and then use it all the time.) Who are your immediate family members?

AL:     My husband, Jason, my kids Spencer (21), Carter Jane (17) and Kenzie Joy (17).  We also have a weirdo dog, Beesly and two grumpy old lady cats, Sparkle & Princess.

G&S:  Where do you currently call home?

AL:     We hang in Menifee, CA.

G&S:  Where else have you lived?

AL:     I was born in Northern California, spent my childhood in the Los Angeles Area, and moved here in 1987

G&S:  Shout out to the Left Coast! What takes up most of your time?

AL:     I think the bulk of my days are spent preparing.  Because I’m a teacher and a speaker, I spend a lot more time than you’d think writing workshops/lesson plans, thinking of ways to get the point across, and gathering the stuff I need to do it.  My house looks like a teacher’s workroom half the time. Okay, all the time.  Because clearly, cleaning up after myself does not command as much space in my schedule as it should.

G&S:  Cleaning up should never take the place of important things, “important” being a relative term. What are you reading right now?

AL:     I’ve been slowly going through Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist. It’s a wonderful, powerful book, and it’s taking me a while to really digest each page. Seems like it’s a letter to me, personally.  I’m also re-reading Les Miserables.

G&S:  Can you share what some of your all time favorite books are?

AL:     In addition to the Bible,  I’m all about L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. I also really loved Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Visher.  My favorite childhood book was From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Dude. That book was the BEST.

G&S:  I always wanted to live in a museum after the Mixed Up Files! So much fun. How about a few of your favorite TV shows? And Netflix counts.

AL:     Right now, I can’t even with This Is Us– so amazing!  Some of my all time favorites are Downton Abbey, Friends, Alias, The West Wing, Parenthood, Felicity… oh, don’t judge. I am a little TV crazy.

G&S:  No to judging, total yes to This is Us. Which is your TV food of choice? Sweet or salty?

AL:     Sweet WITH salty.

G&S:  What is your favorite holiday?

AL:     Christmas! Everything about Christmas makes me happy- the meaning, the traditions, the music, everything!

G&S:  What is your favorite scripture and why?

AL:     2 Timothy 2:2 – It reminds me about my responsibility to take what I’ve learned and not keep it to myself. I’ve discovered that teaching others is one of the best ways for me to really learn something. I’m grateful that I am able to work in a field where I get to teach all the time!

G&S:  And finally, why do you write for Grace & Such?

AL:     That’s really a continuation from the last question. For me, writing is a great way to sort out what’s going on in my heart. I love that you’ve created such a cool outlet for us to reflect and think about each topic. When I write, I get a chance to break things down much more simply- the idea is that I’m doing that for the reader, but the reality is that I learn so much from the whole process.

G&S:  Thanks so much, Amber! As always, it’s been fun!