35 Things...

Today I am 35! Seriously...how did that happen so fast?  I thought I'd share 35 things about me...

 The day I was born...with my Dad and older sister, Chris!

 Me as a 6th grade cheerleader! Ha!

Learning to walk with my mom...I definitely had some thunder thighs!

Gotta love an Olan Mills portrait...

1) Tulips are my favorite flower.

2) I've always wanted a French bulldog.

3) Rob and I met at a Hal and Mal's Christmas party...you CAN meet your future spouse in a bar!

4) I think about past patients all the time. There is one in particular with whom I had such a special bond. I think about him often.

5) I've been taking medication for anxiety/depression for more than 12 years now. I know it's kind of a taboo topic, and I plan to write more about it soon. I'm an open book about that piece of me because it's made such a positive difference in my life...and I want that for others who need it too.

6) I am cold all the time. I honestly sleep in a jacket some nights. Yes, my thyroid is fine. No, I'm not anemic. I'm just cold!

7) My favorite thing to do as a little girl was to ride my bike. I'd spend hours each day riding my bike around my neighborhood. It was my happy place.

8) I tried out for The Real World when I was in college. Didn't make it past the first round.

9) I do not like surprises. I always like to know what's going on, and I'm one of those people who reads ahead in a book to find out what happens. I'm reading The Husband's Secret right now...I've only read the first two chapters, and I already know the husband's secret because I scoured the book for it.

10) My mother died of breast cancer when I was almost 10-years-old. I lost a lot of confidence after she died and gave up on a lot of things I was passionate about.

11) My Dad remarried, and I call her my mom too. That doesn't take away from the role of my first mom, nor does it mean I miss her any less. I miss her terribly, and I miss her every day. But I'm also thankful for my second mom and for all she's done for me and our family...most notably I'm thankful for her love and support.

12) I am a big believer that good can come out of even the darkest moments. That I attribute to the grace of God.

13) I hydroplaned more than 6 years ago coming home from work one night. It was on the interstate, in the rain, and it was the scariest moment of my life. I truly thought I was going to die as my car spun out of control. I was fine, though, and I still believe I have a guardian angel (or many) watching over me.

14) I love bar food...give me nachos, cheese sticks, and fried mushrooms, and I'll love you forever.

15) I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with Lily!

16) I'm strongly opposed to the death penalty.

17) Probably the biggest star sighting I've ever had was Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon in NYC...this was when they were a couple, and I passed them walking down the street (holding hands)...it's so hard to know what to do when you see a famous person...what I do on the inside is spazz out, but on the outside I would totally play it cool and act like they were just a regular Joe walking down the street.

18) If you told me when I was younger that I'd be a nurse one day, I wouldn't have believed you. I was the kid who had to be strapped down to get a shot...I was never interested in science, and I barely got out of Chem II alive. And now, I love everything about nursing.

19) I interned one summer in NYC for a group of media magazines...one of the editors always gave me her tickets to media events because she knew how much I loved pop culture...and I think she also saw me as this little hillbilly girl from Mississippi who had never experienced anything interesting in life. Anyway, because of her, I got to attend events for People magazine and Entertainment Weekly. That was a fun summer, needless to say!

20) There is nothing that feeds me more than feeling like I've made a difference in someone else's life...even in something small, like slightly improving their day. That's so important to me.

21) When I was a freshman in college, I really wanted a purple unicorn tattoo. Thankfully, I never pulled the trigger...what was I thinking?

22) I do still love the color purple.

23) I love Diet Coke with Lime...drink one every day!

24) I lived in Innsbruck, Austria, one summer...it was the summer and experience of a lifetime...I'm so grateful to my parents for gifting me with that opportunity.

25) I adore Ellen DeGeneres...what I would give to be in the audience at her show...

26) I had to go to speech therapy in 7th grade...what a terrible/awkward time to go to speech therapy! I had a lisp, and thankfully it was corrected pretty easily.

27) I am a strong supporter of gay marriage. I'm so happy the law has recently changed. Love wins.

28) I loved everything about majoring in English in college...everything except my Shakespeare class...do I appreciate Shakespeare? Yes. Do I like his stuff? Not particularly.

29) I have kept a list of potential baby names for as long as I can remember...thankfully I didn't have Lily in my late teens or her name would've been Rain Starflower or something similar...

30) I just can't get on board with a Kindle. I need to hold a real book in my hands and turn the pages.

31) I broke my kneecap when I was living in NYC. Walking to work one day, I tripped and fell on the sidewalk...I mean, who breaks a bone that way? I was in a tremendous amount of pain, but I didn't know what to do, so I got up and walked the rest of the way to work. I sat at my desk for a few hours (I worked at a magazine) and then the pain became unbearable, and I went to the ER. I ended up having knee surgery up there and was out of work for 6 weeks recovering and focusing on physical therapy! Ugh...glad that memory is behind me...

32) I am a morning person through and through. I wake up at 4:30 every morning to have some time to myself...that said, I go to bed by around 9 every night!

33) I think the prettiest sight in the whole world is to see the sun rise. That brings me so much peace.

34) I love reality TV...give me pretty much any show on Bravo, and I'm a happy girl.

35) Public speaking is one of my biggest nightmares. And bats...I am simply terrified of bats.

And one to grow on...

36) As a child, I loved having my birthday parties at Dairy Queen...it was hard to top a Dairy Queen ice cream cake!

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Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has a great day! I'm going to treat myself to Starbucks this morning and look forward to spending the day with my family. Rob is cooking dinner for me tonight, and the girls will help me blow out my candles. Life is good, and I am thankful.