Feelin’ 35

Hey you guys, my birthday was last week!  No crazy celebrations this year and it was kind of perfect that way.  All I really wanted to do was spend some quality time with my family and that’s what I got.  I also had a fab dinner with good friends with a few+ glasses of my favorite wine.  I know I’ve been a little quiet on social media lately, but it really was a great birthday!

As I mentioned in a most recent blog post, in honor of my birthday I wanted to share a fun little fact about me that you may or may not know.  One for all of my 30ish + years!

These are in no particular order, and honestly, if you get all the way to the end I’ll owe you a high-five!

1. I was born in Baltimore MD. Moved to VA when I was three.
2. After my parents divorced, my dad moved to Cape Cod and I moved there for a year or so just for a change of scenery. Such a beautiful area. In a short time I met some amazing people and made some great memories that I’ll always remember.
3. I got my first job at 15. Chason’s Country Buffet Baby! I was a salad bar attendant. It’s okay, you can laugh! I do!
4. I worked in retail for 10 years following that first gig. Most of those years were spent at American Eagle where I started as a sales associate and worked my way up to a Store Manager. My last retail job was the Managing Director at a Lacoste Boutique in the Tyson’s Galleria.  I left there to work at a bank and said I would never ever go back to those retail hours!
5. I love Mexican food and make it at least once, if not twice a week.  I could probably live off of chips, salsa, and guacamole. Oh, and margaritas too! On the rocks please, light on the salt.  I went almost 30 years of my life without trying an avocado and had my world rocked about 5-ish years ago when a friend made guacamole and I was like oh. my. god. I’ve never looked back!
6. I have a serious sweet tooth.  Like, I crave something sweet on the daily, usually after dinner. This made Whole 30 super difficult for me, but I somehow survived 30 days.  I also like to cook, but I loooove to bake.  It’s a weird therapeutic thing for me.  I’ll be sharing more of my favorite recipes on the reg here soon!
7. Since I love me an adult beverage, here are my favs.  Red Wine | Pinot Noir, White Wines | Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Prosecco.  I also like vanilla vodka and have been drinking that with sparkling water here lately to cut calories and to help stay hydrated.  Oh, and beer-yum. I wish I didn’t like alcohol as much as I do, but I am who I am, folks. Cheers!
8. My least favorite house chore is cleaning my hardwoods. And laundry of course.  But I am getting better about scheduling my cleaning and laundry days and it has helped!  We had a cleaning lady for about 2 years and I miss her something bad. That was one of the things that was quickly removed from the budget so I could stay home.  But I’d love to have her back for at least a monthly deep clean! A girl can dream. 😉
9. I’ve taken more of an interest in running over the past year and it feels really good!  My husband and I have run a couple 5K’s and have another one coming up in September.
10. I have super thick naturally curly hair, that I prefer to straighten and re-curl.  Anymore when I wear my hair naturally curly it ends up in a pony tail within a couple hours. I just can’t deal with it, especially in the summer!
11. I was born with a large birthmark on my right temple and had it removed the summer between 5-6th grade. The scar is  pretty visible, at least to me, but I’ll take the scar over a big ol’ mole any day!
12. I played softball for a few years as a kid. That was the only sport all through school! Apparently, I preferred the sport of crushing Oreos on the couch after school.
13. I tried out for cheerleading in 8th grade and didn’t make it. My toe touches and pikes were pretty sad so it’s no wonder!
14. I started working right after high school and didn’t take college courses until much later. Still no degree to show, and am reminded of that frequently when we pay student loans every month. Maybe one day I’ll finish it!
15. I’m famous for falling asleep during movies. Not in the theatre, but at home. My husband laughs at me.
16. Speaking of, I’m a lover of romantic comedies and dramas. Which again poses an issue on movie nights because my husband likes the exact opposite.
17. I don’t watch much tv these days but when I do it’s Bachelor/Bachelorette, Southern Charm, cooking shows, HGTV, or other reality tv. It’s my guilty pleasure! I also LOVE This Is Us, Big Little Lies, And surprisingly got into Stranger Things with my hubs.
18. My fav celebrity is Jessie James Decker. She is such a beautiful mama and REAL.
19. I literally listen to every kind of music, but my favs are Country, Pop, and Classic Rock. I listened to rap a lot more in my younger days, but still dabble here and there to keep my gangsta talk fluent. Fo sho!
20. I love love LOVE live music and have been to a bunch of concerts. Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan several times. Dierks Bentley, LinkIn Park, KORN, Breaking Benjamin, OAR, Blake Shelton, Little Big Town, Jack Johnson, Fall Out Boy, Counting Crows, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, Nickelback, DMB, Shinedown, Aerosmith—1st big concert! And lots of others that I’m drawing a huge blank on right now!
21. I love to sing and dance (but do neither well!) and have daily dance parties with my girls!
22. I hate bugs. ALL BUGS.
23. I have Ornithophobia. A fear of birds!! (I admittedly just had to google that!) I love looking at them from a far far distance, or in pictures even. But get one even relatively close and I freak out a little. Birds! Birds! BIRRRDS!!!
24. Speaking of, a seagull pooped on my head/down my face on the Ocean City Boardwalk when I was a kid. I’ll never forget crying hysterically and my brother and cousin laughing as hard as humanly possible. That’s a super fun memory! 😉
25. I had a fake id for a year before turning 21.  It’s pretty crazy to think about how crazy I was in my younger days!  I’ll be sparing those details in this list!
26. Had a zillion cats growing up and will never own a cat again. All the hair and litter box mess for the past 30+ years has done me in! I’m good with my dog who barely sheds and poops outside, at least most of the time. ;-/
27. I have a great group of girlfriends! Some I’ve known since elementary school, and  others from middle and high school. Even though life is crazy with kids and jobs we don’t see each other that often anymore, but always pick up where we left off. So many great memories with my crew!
28. I don’t follow current events, or watch the news much.  Yep, I know, it’s bad.  And it drives my husband insane!!!  But, you know, I kinda just like to stay in my own little bubble and not be pulled down by all the negativity, hate, political BS and all the other awful things in the world.  I’d rather just block it out.  If that makes me ignorant, so be it.
29. I’m not a big reader, but I do bring a book on vacations.  I got more than half way through one book this year!  Haha.  I am trying to enjoy it more because it does relax me, but also makes me sleepy.
30. That said, I’ve been loving podcasts lately.  I really like Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe because she’s silly and hilarious and some others that are more focused on blogging related topics.
31. I love decorating and browsing the isles at Hobby Lobby and Home Goods any chance I get!
32. My husband and I met (were matched) on eHarmony back in 2008.  He was overseas for work and we talked for three months before meeting face to face. THREE MONTHS! Craziness! Is online dating still a thing?
33. I have killed more house plants than I would like to admit, but am working on it!
34. I’ve only been out of the country once, to Mexico on our honeymoon, but have so many places I’d love to visit!

Okay, there’s ONE more to go, because yes, I turned the big 3-5 this year!  If you are still reading this….KUDOS TO YOU!  And for the love, thank you for hanging in there!

35. We’d love to grow our family at least one more time!  Hopefully within the next year 🙂

Again, thanks so much for reading!  I’m really looking forward to 35 because honestly, the past 5+ years have been so amazing.  I love being a wife and mama more than anything, but I also look forward to my own personal growth and development. Bring it on mid-30’s!