Ninth Post - Karen Escanilla Karnes

Getting to know me……



1. DO YOU FLOSS? When I see or feel something stuck.



2. ARE YOU EMOTIONAL? Yes. It's a curse.



3. ARE YOUR PARENTS STRICT? My dad was very strict. But now his grandchildren can say or do anything they want and he’ll think it’s funny or cute. “They’re just being kids,” he’d say.



4. CAN YOU USE CHOPSTICKS? I can. Only use them eating sushi.



5. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO BE WITH TONIGHT? My family, both of my brothers, Mike and Len and their families. We’re on a group vacation in Hilton Head, South Carolina for the week.

6. FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR? Holiday season, and summer.


7. DO LOOKS MATTER? Only if they’re not funny.



8. DO YOU LIKE YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW? yes



9. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? no



10. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 2, one of each



11. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Absolutely



12. DO YOU USE SARCASM? only with my husband



13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Captain Crunch, any variety



14. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Not if I can help it.



15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Mint Chocolate chip



16. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Smile



7. RED OR PINK? Fuschia



18. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Need anger management



19. FAVORITE SMELLS? Hawaiian Tropic at the beach or vanillaroma



20. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? None. I don’t give a hoot about sports. My husband is a sports fanatic and is interested in anything that keeps a score.

21. HAIR COLOR? Black



22. EYE COLOR? dark brown



23. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No. Should wear my glasses but don’t wear those either.



24. FAVORITE FOOD? pasta/seafood



25. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings



26. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer



27. HUGS OR KISSES? both 



28. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? New Moon



29. FAVORITE SOUND(S)? the ocean, kids laughing



30. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Rolling Stones



31. WHAT'S THE FARTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Bali


32. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Finding a bargain



33. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Washington Hospital Center, Washington DC


34. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE STRESSED? Shop for shoes and purses


I was born 41 years ago yesterday. My parents are Fema Florendo and Rom Escanilla. They got married and flew to the U.S. to start their lives together. My mother was a M.D. and my father a CPA. Initially they chose to live in New Jersey where my mother did her residency. My father worked and commuted to New York for grad school at New York University . They stayed there for a year having their first child, Michael, before transferring to the Washington , D.C. area. Here in Washington , my brother Leonard and I were born. When I was three years old, my mother had a stroke due to arterio-venous malformation. My father took good care of her at home but her time had come and her suffering ended. She was ill for seven years before she passed away.

I had gone on to college at the University of Maryland , changing majors several times and graduating in 1991 with a B.S. degree. Still not knowing what I wanted to do for a job, I went back to school for nursing. At the time there was a shortage of nurses. But by the time I graduated, the market was flooded. I found a job at Washington Hospital Center , the same hospital I was born. Still not knowing what I wanted to do for a job, but knowing I didn’t want to work in a hospital, I looked for something else. I found myself working as a dialysis nurse, actually enjoying it for a while. It paid the bills and was still a step up from what I was doing. I was able to take plenty of vacations and I even saved a little too.

My brother Len introduced me to his co worker, Andy. A few months later, I met Andy again at a party. He’s from the same area. His mother used to be the librarian at the high school my brothers and I attended. (Not that I ever stepped foot in the library. ) We dated and became serious fairly quickly and married on our 1 year anniversary. We bought a house in Bowie , Maryland , 30 minutes from my dad’s house.

Two years later we had our daughter, Kaylen. Then 2 years later came our son, Colin. Kaylen is beautiful. Everyone who knows my mom says she looks like her. She’s very busy with school and sports. Andy coaches her lacrosse and softball teams. Colin is very charismatic and loves making people laugh. People comment on how cute he is all the time. I have to find some way to make money off that!

I love being a mom. I never knew what I missed not having one. I was a stay at home mom until Colin was 3 years old. Grudgingly, I returned to work part-time. Andy graduated from Johns Hopkins a few years ago with a masters in Education and Administration. Our kids go to the same school he works for. It works out very well with our schedule. Currently, I’m working part- time at a medspa in Rockville , Maryland . Our lives seem very busy lately. Once we get home from this vacation, Andy’s going to Austrailia with some over-achieving high school kids for 3 weeks . I’ll be a single mom but will enjoy it.

xoxo,
Karen Karnes