20 Facts About Me

Hi there!

It's Day 2 of the blogging challenge!!! It is a minor accomplishment that I have made it this far, and I am totally pumped! 

When you are at a get-to-know-you activity, the leader always wants to go around the circle, room, etc., asking everyone to share their name, where they are from, and something about themselves. I always dread this part.

Why?

Because I never, EVER, know what to say! What comes out is always SO lame! As I was writing my list of 20 things, I made it to 10, and then hit a roadblock. A great start to the challenge, right?

When you need help, who do you go to? Mom, of course! That's exactly what I did! And thankfully, my little sister was in the group. My exact question was this: "So... this is totally off topic, BUT... I need some help with my next blog post. I just started a 30 day blogging challenge, and I am already stuck. 😂 I am suppose to be sharing 20 facts about me, but I only have 10 so far. Can you guys think of anything unique (or not so unique) about me? If not that is okay. I will just brainstorm. You are the only 2 (plus one random stranger) who have subscribed so far, so your input is valued!😊"

As a side note, to the random stranger who has so kindly subscribed to my blog, THANK YOU!!!! I realized as I was including that message in this post that it could come across as I don't appreciate you too, which is false, so once again... thanks! You have no idea how happy I was when I got a new, and unfamiliar, subscriber!

Anyway, so yeah. I needed some help. And they were AWESOME and helped me out! So, thanks to my mom and sister, Brittany, I present to you...(drum roll).... 20 facts about ME!

1. I am married and have two boys.

I love my boys and I love my husband! Matthew and I met in Missouri and were married in 2014. He was working and attending school at Missouri State University.

One week before our first anniversary I had our first son, Ira. He is 3 now. Ira is thoughtful, cautious, quiet, and obsessed with all things related to the alphabet!

Pursuing a different career path, we packed up and moved to Utah, where we had our second son, Asa! He is pretty much the exact opposite of Ira. He loves all things boy! Wrestling, balls, and cars, you name it!

These three boys in my life are the reason I get up every day, and I wouldn't change it for the world!

2. I am an introvert.

I know, right? What is an introvert doing on a blog? There is a reason that I am not all out there, marketing myself and trying to get more traffic in a more proactive way. That makes me extremely uncomfortable. So right now, I am happy to have my small number of faithful followers, and I will work on slowly putting myself out there more.

3. I like to make things, especially if it involves knitting.

I remember my mom working on cross-stitches a lot when I was very little. That led me to want to try crafts myself. If I can make it, I will at least try it. I taught myself how to knit when I was in high school, and realized that if a project involves yarn, I will probably love it. I am not good enough yet to make my own patterns. Anything I feature here is a pattern that I found somewhere else.

4. I love Regency Era movies.

Despite loving crafts, I get bored. Really easily. SO, I watch movies and shows while I am working on them. Right now I am not watching a Regency Era show (I am trying to finish Once Upon a Time. Do you ever start a show, and even if you aren't in love with it, you have to finish it because it bugs you that you never finished? If so, I get you 😉), but I DO have a list of shows and movies to watch next, and most of them fit into this category. Which one is my favorite? The 2004 version of Pride and Prejudice. Love everything about that movie!

5. I am a self-taught piano player.

My brother told me in high school that there is a different between a pianist and a piano player. The pianist is actually accomplished and knows the instrument. The player does just that, plays the instrument without fully understanding it. I feel like I fall under that category. I love to play, but I don't practice as much as I should, and I certainly can't just sit down and play any piece of music for you. That is my goal, though. I have been working on it since my mom gave me a piano book when I was about 10 or so.

6. I was homeschooled.

There are six kids in my family, and except for three grades, I was homeschooled. My younger two siblings have never been to school, and are still being homeschooled! I can honestly say I enjoyed it! So much so, we are homeschooling Ira (at least for right now). Because I am the second oldest, I helped occasionally teach my younger siblings, and so sometimes those memories make me nervous to try to be the teacher, but I am excited to try! Today is actually Ira's third day of school! Wish us luck! 😉

7. I don't like pets.

Actually I don't like animals, in general. I always thought I would love to have a farm, but big animals like horse and cows scare me, and chickens and pigs creep me out. I want chickens for eggs, but after watching some chickens for a friend this summer, now I am not so sure. I couldn't even touch the things! Maybe starting with chicks will be different...

Dogs and cats have hair that bothers me. Rodents smell and I really don't like holding them. And reptiles and amphibians... yeah, can't hold them either. Maybe I will let our kids have fish...maybe...

8. Eating is my real hobby.

Forget crafts, blogs, reading... I love food! Especially carbs and sugar. Give me all of it! BUT, I am trying to eat healthier, and so have just discovered that I have a slight obsession with squash. It is seriously the yummiest!

9. I love YA fiction!

I like to read. I even love to read instruction manuals and the backs of containers. But I really love YA fiction. It is my way to run away from the real world, and it is awesome! And I always love suggestions for new series to try. I have a growing list of books, and I am pretty sure I will die before I get through it because of how often I add to it.

10. Hiking is my favorite outdoor activity.

Actually, walking is. But if I want to take it up a notch, hiking is the way to go. I also like cycling, but I don't have a bike anymore, or a baby trailer to pull the boys. Someday we will get one.

11. I love salsa on everything!

Actually, it is so bad that I eat everything with my salsa! Never less than a half a cup! This is why my favorite dinner is enchiladas. Nothing goes with salsa better than a good enchilada. Yes, even chips are not half as good.

12. Happy dances are my way of expressing how proud I am of myself.

When I am happy with what I have done, I need a better way to express it than just smiling. I use to go all out, but I have gotten pretty boring over the past 5 years or so, so they are much more toned down. But they still happen, believe me.

13. I love birdwatching!

For a school assignment when I was in 7th or 8th grade, I had to observe birds. The first birds I ever watched with my dad's really bad binoculars were some Gold Finches in my neighbor's yard. I have been hooked since! I recieved a nice pair of binoculars for Chirstmas one year, and borrowed from the library bird books. Now that I have moved to Utah, it is really frustrating because I don't know ANY of the birds I see. But all it will take is a book and some quiet time to observe, and I will know all of them too.

14. I was born in Alaska.

Well, living in an igloo and eating whale blubber wasn't the greatest experience, but we managed.😄 Haha, just kidding! Since I can remember, when I would tell someone I was born in Alaska, they would ask me if 1) I lived in an igloo, and 2) Did I eat whale blubber and lots of fish. No, and no, although fishing and the consumption of fish is high there because well, it is easily accessible. My family lived in a little town on Prince of Wales Island until I was 3 or 4. Then we moved to Missouri. So though saying I was born in Alaska is a great conversation starter, it doesn't lead anywhere because I don't remember much of it. Someday I will go back to visit.

The green star...yep, that's were I lived for the first years of my life.

15. My activity of choice at any time of day is reading while munching on my favorite snacks.

When I was in highschool, I would tell people during icebreaker activities that my 3 favorite things to do (not in any particular order) were reading, eating cheesecake or brownies (a combination of the two is equivalent to heaven), and sleeping. I still love those 3 things. I can literally sit all day and read a book, as long as I have something yummy to eat. Gone are the days when I can do that (I can't exactly leave two toddlers to fend for themselves), but I most certainly look back to those days with fondness.

16. I use to clog.

I took clogging lessons for a couple years, and loved it! If you have never heard of clogging, look it up on Youtube and check it out! It is loads of fun! I learned how much I love to dance while learning to clog, so I still dance to this day, but it is mostly things like Zumba and hip hop fitness videos in the safety of my living room...

17. My wardrobe is mostly from thrift store (as well as most things in my house).

I use to love buying things brand new, but now I recoil in shock when I see price tags. My mom always went to the thrift store, but it wasn't until I moved out here to Utah that I realized how much FUN they can be! And there is no shame, no shame at all to tell someone who compliments your shoes that you got them for $4 at DI. Actually, it is quite satisfying to see their look of awe when you tell them. Now, that isn't to say that I never buy things brand new. I just bought my boys some new toys from Amazon, and I am kinda falling in love with IKEA, so I am not a thrift store shopping snob.

18. I love being a mommy to watch the process of learning and discovery.

There are a lot of reasons to love being a mom, but for me, I get so much satisfaction from watching my boys have "light bulb" moments. It is so fascinating and satisfying to watch little humans go from relying on you for everything to fully capable children. And to be there when they finally do something themselves for the first time, and they look at you with a proud expression on their face... yep, there is nothing like it.

19. My first craft I ever did was at 5 years old.

Yep, I was a little go-getter. I wonder what happened...😂 My mom did lots of cross-stitches when I was little, and so the day came when I wanted to do one myself. So my mom asked me what I wanted to sew, and I wanted a bird (being a birdwatcher was destined to happen at some point). I finished it pretty quickly for a 5 year old, and to this day I have it framed and hanging on my wall. It is inspiring to me. If I could be that motivated and determined at that age, I can still be like that.

20. My hero is my Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am a religious person. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and they are a big part of my life, of who I am. I work hard to make them a part of my day-to-day activities, and I want my children to have a personal relationship with them at a young age, even if they decide to not believe later in life. I at least taught them all that I believe, and that will give me all the peace I need.


Well, now you know 20 more things than you did when you started this post. 😊 Keep a look out for my next posts from the challenge.