Consider Lily

“There are no stupid questions.” For our Consider Lily writers there are also no questions that can be answered in 100 words or less. Read along to find out everything you ever wanted to know about their likes, dislikes, and their mutual addictions to caffeine (which, honestly, could explain all the rambling…)

Regular Contributors

Allie

Full Name: Allison Lapointe
Title: Wife/Mom/Singer/Songwriter
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Things I Like: Gingerbread Lattes at Christmas time, dark chocolate, Bethany Dillon CDs, playing Scrabble, baby giggles, original dance moves, cooking with EVOO, American Idol top ten through winner, redecorating, online shopping, and baking something that actually turns out.
Things I Hate: (hate is a strong word) cell-phone-addicts, mustard, olives, and the media’s brainwashing of females to think that starved and airbrushed equals beautiful.
Favorite Drink: Green Tea, Mocha Frappes, or a fru-fru beer with a hearty meal (I’m legal)
What Kind Of Shampoo Do You Use: Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap
Last CD/iTunes Song I Bought: Enter the Worship Circle: Chair and Microphone Vol. 2
Hollywood Celebrity I’d Most Like To Be For A Day: Bono — he has a lot of influence and opportunities to really change the world
Other Random Things That Affect My Bias: I am a closet hippie. I make my own concoctions for cleaning supplies and hygeine, and do various other anti-mainstream practices. I am a denominational mutt — I grew up going to a Lutheran Church, attended a Vineyard church while attending a Lutheran college, attended some Baptist and Pentecostal Churches, and finally landed at an Acts29 church plant where we are active now.

Jenn

Full Name: Jennifer Bacak
Title/Job: Domestic Engineer. Just Kidding, that means Stay-at-home Mom of four
Location: College Station, Texas
Things I Like: coffee with really good creamer, Gilmore Girls, my DVR, seasons (although we don’t have them), really good lip balm, “Little House on the Prairie” (for several reasons, but one of them being that Michael Landon was hot), date nights, blogging, desserts, and being a wife and Mom
Things I Hate: Texas heat and humidity, forwards, chain e-mails and pyramid panty schemes, old-school knee slappin’ Gospel music, store-bought desserts, horror movies, and the way I look when I work-out (really red and sweaty).
Favorite Drink: Large Cherry Limeade from Sonic
What Kind Of Shampoo Do You Use: Dumb Blonde
Last CD/iTunes Song I Bought: My husband bought it for me — Rascal Flatts
Hollywood Celebrity I’d Most Like To Be For A Day: Gwynneth Paltrow
Other Random Things That Affect My Bias: We have two biological children, one adopted child, and one foster-to-adopt baby. My beautiful brown babies are multi-racial, both being 1/2 African-American. Being a mixed-race family makes us more attune to racial issues. We live in the South. We live in a University town with the George Bush Sr. library. Super conservative. I homeschool my children, although I’m not a hard-core homeschool-only kind of gal. (We don’t wear prairie dresses, grow our own vegetables, or make our own soap.) I have a brother who is a Christian artist, of whom I am a big fan. I come from a family packed full of pastors, and grew up very aware of church issues as most family dinners were a forum of debate for them. Now I’m married to a doctor, who makes his work his ministry, and I’m very biased about my husband; I am 100% sure he’s the best husband ever.

Kelly/KJ

Full Name: Kelly Louise Johnston
Title/Job: Physical Therapist/Associate Clinical Director
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Things I Like: Cardinals baseball, 24, girls night, running (but only if it’s 75 with a breeze and I’m actually in shape), slightly undercooked brownies, being the boss, peanut butter, TiVo (totally revolutionalizes how you watch TV), Lucky Charms, white sand and beach sunsets, manicures/pedicures, Nordstrom … and just so you don’t think I’m entirely shallow, I love singing worship in church, giving gifts, and helping people heal from injuries (which is what I do for a living).
Things I Hate: when people refer to themselves in the third person, watching people at the gym lift weights with terrible form, laziness, slow drivers (especially in the left lane), the feeling of pruned skin after being in water too long, and loud breathers.
Favorite Drink: used to be Diet Coke … now in my caffeine free pregnant state it’s Strawberry Lemonade
What Kind Of Shampoo Do You Use: Biolage Normalizing Shampoo
Last CD/iTunes Song I Bought: “Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me” … ok, that’s a lie, but it sounds much cooler than the truth, which is that I bought the Rascal Flatts song “It’s not just me”.
Hollywood Celebrity I’d Most Like To Be For A Day: Faith Hill … because she’s beautiful and the girl can sing!
Other Random Things That Affect My Bias: You can always earn more money but you can never make more memories (which is not to say you should spend frivolously, but that you should enjoy life because it’s short) … turns out not where, but who you’re with that matters (stole that from a DMB song) … a picture’s worth a thousand words.

Nicole/Queen Jeans

Full Name: Nicole Michelle Panepinto
Title/Job: Co-owner of The Cakery Bakery and The Cupcakery in St. Louis
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Things I Like: meeting friends for coffee … or dessert … or shopping … / ice from Sonic / the first spring day that you can drive with the windows down (even if you do still have to keep the heater on low …) / finding the perfect gift for someone / opening my mailbox and finding something hand addressed
Things I Hate: the words “we’re going to be experiencing some turbulence, folks” / most country music / my alarm clock
Favorite Drink: Diet Coke
What Kind Of Shampoo Do You Use: Whatever promises to tame this unruly mop.
Last CD/iTunes Song I Bought: Damien Rice — 9 … (for when it’s raining and I’m feeling angsty)
Hollywood Celebrity I’d Most Like To Be For A Day: You mean I’m NOT a Hollywood Celebrity??
Other Random Things That Affect My Bias: I am a single girl living in the big city. I don’t have children … or pets … or even plants (but it’s TOTALLY not because I’m afraid of commitment … I’m just really busy)

Nikki/Nik/UFC Lover

Full Name: Nikki Rutz
Title/Job: Lawyer/President of Lily7
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Things I Like: hanging out with my husband, my dog, Mixed Martial Arts Sport, the TV show “Grey’s Anatomy”, chocolate, and laughing so hard I cry
Things I Hate: lukewarm coffee (has to be either hot or cold!), onions, and slow internet service
Favorite Drink: “Highlander Grogg” coffee
What Kind Of Shampoo Do You Use: I’m a little “ADD” when it comes to my hair so I change shampoos often; currently using Bed Head’s Dumb Blonde
Last CD/iTunes Song I Bought: downloaded the song “Wild Boys” by Duran Duran … yeah, don’t ask — long story there …
Hollywood Celebrity I’d Most Like To Be For A Day: …hmmm… probably Nicole (see her response above) as she knows all about finding the “perfect pair of jeans”… (we don’t call her Queen Jeans for nothing!)
Other Random Things That Affect My Bias: I believe the concept of “Biblical womanhood” scares many women because it is often misunderstood; I have yet to read something written by the late C.S. Lewis that I do not agree with; and I believe that the church can be culturally relevant yet theologically conservative. My passion is to see a young generation of women rise up who are intelligent, have character, and are passionate about their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Sally

Full Name: Sarah Jane Conroy. Yeah, so Sally isn’t my real name. There were so many Sarahs in my grade that in ninth grade, I almost got suspended because another Sarah skipped class and the teacher got us confused. A few tears and a cleared-up misunderstanding later, I started making people call me Sally instead.
Title/Job: Law student, therefore professional student loan collector.
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Things I Like: Oatmeal cookie batter ice cream, waverunners, indie music, folk music, my family, teaching cats how to play tag, games that I can win consistently, red dresses, books which make me a little bit dumber for reading them, movies which make me a little bit dumber for watching them, people who make me a little bit smarter for talking to them, pineapple, the book of Hosea, 90’s pop music, the sound a printer makes when I’m done with a paper, coffee, a warm bed in a cool room, talking for hours.
Things I Hate: Decaf coffee, doing laundry, the harsh reality of what happens when I don’t do laundry.
Favorite Drink: I’m a student. So water with lemon is my new (forced) favorite.
What Kind Of Shampoo Do You Use: Sunsilk’s “My Hair is Poofier Than a Bridesmaid’s Dress.”
Last CD/iTunes Song I Bought: Kanye West’s — Stronger
Hollywood Celebrity I’d Most Like To Be For A Day: Natalie Portman. I’ve always wanted brown eyes.
Other Random Things That Affect My Bias: I used to be a Southern legalist. Now I’m a less-Southern Christian. I’m not married. My dad was in the Air Force when I was little, so I moved around a ton. I have three younger siblings, so family, to me, is supposed to be loud and chaotic and diverse. I used to think I was a tomboy, and now I think of myself as more prissy than I really am. I’m in law school. I overanalyze everything. I will probably always be a Cardinals (University of Louisville) fan, and I’m quickly growing loyal to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Guest Contributors

Allison/A Rich

Full Name: Allison L. Richmond
Title/Job: Grad student — MA, Marriage and Family Therapy.
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana … but I’m from O’Fallon, IL (aka, I’m from the ‘Lou and I’m proud …)
Things I Like: Laying out on my Queenie raft in the pool! Happy day music with the sunroof open. Quick wit. Candles. Sunglasses. People who think I’m funny.
Things I Hate: Things that smell funky. Wet paper. Burping.
Favorite Drink: Pumpkin Spice Lattes! Caramel Mocha Frappuccino’s with whip and caramel and mocha on top … aka, with as many calories as you can fit in a cup, Mt. Dew, and Vanilla Dr. Pepper from Sonic.
What Kind Of Shampoo Do You Use: Dove in the blue bottle … my hair is really low maintenance.
Last CD/iTunes Song I Bought: Matt Redman’s new album and John Legend’s new album. Both are phenomenal. I highly recommend. And, Let Me Clear My Throat by DJ Kool … for a special project I’m working on. If you don’t know this song, stop what you’re doing and purchase it now.
Hollywood Celebrity I’d Most Like To Be For A Day: I think this question is weird. I’m not answering.
Other Random Things That Affect My Bias: I’m in counseling school. So I would say I’m pretty non-judgmental. Also, I’m a pastor’s kid, so that probably puts a spin on my view. I suppose that something worth mentioning is that I generally think that people don’t pray enough, myself included. So you’ll probably see that in all my posts.
Guilty Pleasures: LOST, Grey’s Anatomy, King Cake ice cream by Blue Bell, Craftsman style bungalow’s, reading the DSM.

Erica

Full Name: Erica K. Rangel
Title/Job: Graduate student (PhD in Bioethics)
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Things I Like: sweaters, the farmers’ market, real (vs. virtual) friendships, headbands/baseball caps, philosophy, 90’s dance moves, the ellipsis …, Target, coloring in coloring books, music (listening, playing, writing), organizing, gesturing wildly, “The Office”, campfires, NPR, pretty handwriting
Things I Hate: those stupid little mailer inserts that fall out of magazines, feeling like I can’t be myself, miscommunication
Favorite Drink: hands down, Diet Dr. Pepper (it’s an addiction … I need an intervention)
What Kind Of Shampoo Do You Use: Pantene Hydrating Curls
Last CD/iTunes Song I Bought: in an effort not to stereotype my musical taste, here are a few: “Can’t Turn Back the Years” by Phil Collins, “Crosses” by Jose Gonzalez, the album “Continuum” by John Mayer
Hollywood Celebrity I’d Most Like To Be For A Day: hmm … I guess I’ll go retro and say Audrey Hepburn
Other Random Things That Affect My Bias: I grew up in a small conservative city in West Texas, but went to a fairly liberal (by Texas standards) university in Houston. I like philosophy and thus, I like things that are rational and reasonable and internally consistent. However, I will always love people more than I love ideas. I am very fixated on the idea that living “missionally” is about listening to, loving and being genuinely interested in peoples’ stories.

Jeremy

Full Name: William Jeremiah Burrows
Title/Job: Executive Assistant to Director of Worship
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Things I Like: my family, my church, my friends, my job, Kansas City Royals baseball, guitar, music, any type of food from Seamus McDaniels in Dogtown, and of course, music.
Things I Hate: NASCAR, Hockey, “modern” country music, and people who can play more than one instrument exceptionally well. That bugs me … but maybe I’m just jealous.
Favorite Drink: water
What Kind Of Shampoo Do You Use: uh, what?
Last CD/iTunes Song I Bought: Miles Davis, “Kind of Blue”
Hollywood Celebrity I’d Most Like To Be For A Day: Dave Matthews
Other Random Things That Affect My Bias: My arms are too long for most long-sleeved shirts … I love to read, but I seldom read. Weird, I know.