My guest for this week's Who's That is under the weather, so we've rescheduled our blog swap. But I didn't want to leave you all with nothing today, so I thought I'd share some totally random things about me.
For those of you Facebookers, you might remember when this went around a few years back. I added some to it and had to update others. Hope this isn't TMI for you all!
1. I'm totally a Floridian. No matter where I live, that will always be home. Until moving out to New Mexico, I'd never lived anywhere but Florida (that I can remember. We lived in Tennessee when I was a baby for a while.) And the first time I ever saw snow was actually in Florida. I'm so happy to be back in the Sunshine State.
2. I have an irrational fear of being eaten by sharks and bridges (like something happening to the car while driving over one and careening over the side-it especially freaks me out now that I have a baby because I would want to save him.) And I'm still a little afraid of the dark-mostly it unnerves me, I don't like not being able to see what's around me.
3. I worked for Compass Bank as a teller for almost 2 1/2 years before our son was born. It was my first "real" job. I got robbed once (you can read about it here.)
4. I come from what some might call a large family-I guess that depends on what size family you come from. I am the oldest of four kids-I have one younger sister and two younger brothers. There is a 9-year gap between me and the youngest. We all get along (for the most part) and I love being able to spend time with my siblings.
5. I'm extremely insecure with myself and my appearance. I always have been. I think part of it is all the teasing I endured in elementary school. Part of me is still that little, awkward, shy fourth grader with the crooked teeth and the knobby knees. That's probably why doing What I'm Wearing makes me uncomfortable.
6. I'm a huge beach bum. I love the beach. I could spend the entire summer there and not get bored of it. And I love to surf. I'm not the greatest at it, but I'm getting better. I'd love to get back into it soon. It's one of the things I missed most about living in New Mexico other than not being able to see my families whenever I want.
7. I'm actually grateful to the boyfriend that cheated on me. It made me get over him and never, ever want to put someone through that kind of pain (not that I have ever considered cheating on someone.) And it taught me what I really wanted in a guy.
8. Robbie, my husband, is one the silliest people that I know, but you'd never know it, because he's usually really quiet around people. But his sense of humor is one of the things I love about him. And he's totally a hottie :) I still remember the very first time I saw him-I didn't actually meet him for almost another month after that, but I remember thinking, "Who is THAT?!"
9. I worry WAY too much. About everything. Mostly right now, I worry that I won't be a good mom. And I've been having awful dreams about Bobby-like things happening to him that I can't stop and it really freaks me out. And sometimes, I let myself get too overwhelmed by things. I have a big problem with anxiety. And, yet, I really don't get stressed.
10. I'm a very opinionated person, but I usually keep them to myself unless it's something I feel needs to be said. I just wait to the appropriate time to voice them. I don't feel that I should force them on other people. And just because my opinion is different from yours, doesn't mean I think any less of you. You're just as much entitled to your opinion as I am. Like people don't really care that I don't like rompers-they're still going to wear them anyways.
11. Before meeting my husband, I thought I'd never get married. I was going to move to NY and live in the city and have a dozen cats (yeah, I was going to be a cat lady.) But I'm so glad he found me (he seriously looked for me at church and asked everyone he knew if they knew me and what my name was.) Being married to Robbie has been the greatest adventure and I look forward to our 50th wedding anniversary (and beyond.)
12. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints (most people know us as mormons) and I'm proud of that. My faith has truly shaped the person I am today. It has given me sort of a compass with which I guide my life. It's given me hope through the rough patches in my life and all of the amazing blessings in my life have come from my loving Father in Heaven. And same as the opinion thing above, just because you and I might not believe the same things, I don't think any less of you. I'm not the kind to hold someone to my beliefs because they're just that-mine.
13. I absolutely love being a mom. I never thought I could love someone this much. Our son is the greatest blessing in my life, second to my wonderful husband. Yeah, he overwhelms me at times, but I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything in the world. I love watching him grow and change and learn. I love his smiles and his laughs and just the loving way he looks at me.
14. I am an inducted member of 2 college honor societies, as well as being on the Dean's List, Who's Who Among America's High School Students 2 years, National Honor Roll 2 years and Who's Who Among America's Junior Colleges. That was a huge accomplishment for me, mostly because school has always been a struggle for me.
15. After 5 years of being out of college (that's a whole long story for another day), I started going back this past November to finish up my bachelor's degree. Truth be told, I'm hating it, but I long ago set the goal of finishing college and it's something I'm holding myself to, no matter how much I dislike it. I'm only about a year from graduating. I'll be so happy when it's all done and behind me.
16. I try really hard to stay in shape. I love doing yoga and pilates and want to try kickboxing one day. I even completed all 90 days of P90X-it sucked but the results were well worth it. I've learned, however, that to really stay motivated, I need someone to work out with. Sadly, when we moved to Florida, I had to leave my awesome workout buddy in Albuquerque (yet another reason why you guys need to move here, My!) But I hate HATE running.
17. I love to sing. I was in chorus in elementary school, high school and college. But I'm really shy singing by myself in front of people. When I was little, I really wanted to be a rockstar. Sometimes I still do. My sister and I had a little "band" and we wrote songs. They were really cheesy.
18. I gained 46 pounds while I was pregnant with my son. It took me 2 years to lose the last 15 of that.
19. I've never done drugs of any kind-luckily never been offered drugs, either. Never even smoked a cigarette. In fact, I'm highly allergic to cigarettes.
20. I had braces twice. And my teeth are still a little crooked (darn wisdom teeth.)
21. I'm actually a really loud person once I'm comfortable around people. It drives Robbie nuts : ) He's constantly telling me to be quieter, especially when I'm around my family. What can I say, we're boisterous.
22. I love to travel. I definitely don't get to do it as much as I'd like. I have been to over half of the 50 states and been all over Ontario, Canada and parts of Quebec, but I've never "really" been out of the country (back then, you didn't need a passport to go to Canada.) I have a long list of places I want to see before I die and I'm going to see them all.
23. I love photography. It started as a hobby and progressed into a passion. I always have a camera of some sort with me. My dream house includes a dark room. And before I met Robbie, I was going to school for photography and wanted to work for National Geographic as a photographer. Now I do weddings and other various photo-related things. It's a way for me to keep doing what I love and still be a mommy and wife. I would love to have my own studio someday.
24. One of my goals in life is to be on Jeopardy. Seriously, I'm so not joking. Yeah, I'm a nerd. But it's going to happen.
25. My other goals are to learn to play the violin and the bass guitar, to learn to snowboard, see the world, master Photoshop, publish a book of my photos, to learn to scuba dive, go para-sailing, surf in Hawaii and grow old with Robbie and see our great-grandchildren.
26. Since being married, I've gotten so used to there being someone else in the bed with me, I have a hard time sleeping by myself. When my husband first starting traveling for his job, I couldn't sleep. I'd seriously be up til like 4 in the morning. That goes by to my whole anxiety thing, too, I think. It's gotten better since I've had to get used to it, but I still have a hard time sometimes.
27. I love flowers. Any kind. I think they're beautiful. I do have favorites, however. I love gerber daisies, hibiscus, hydrangeas, big orange poppies, and orchids.
28. The thing that most excited me about owning a house, besides being able to decorate it however I wanted was being able to plant a garden. I think there's just something so satisfying about eating something you've grown yourself. Kind of like when you make something and someone compliments you on it. You're all like "Thanks! I made it!"
29. I love finding a good deal. I think that's why I love thrift shopping so much. Finding those little treasures at awesome prices just totally makes my day.
30. I am a self-admitted cheapskate and I'm proud of it. I just can't bring myself to shell out ridiculous amounts of money on things. Now, obviously some things do cost a little more and there's no way around that-I'm talking big things like a house or a car or a computer. Everything else, I can totally find a cheaper way to get it : )
I hope you all enjoyed this little "get to know Courtney." Hopefully I didn't scare you off!
3. I worked for Compass Bank as a teller for almost 2 1/2 years before our son was born. It was my first "real" job. I got robbed once (you can read about it here.)
My first day as a teller
4. I come from what some might call a large family-I guess that depends on what size family you come from. I am the oldest of four kids-I have one younger sister and two younger brothers. There is a 9-year gap between me and the youngest. We all get along (for the most part) and I love being able to spend time with my siblings.
My sibs: Ethan, Josh, Emily and Me
6. I'm a huge beach bum. I love the beach. I could spend the entire summer there and not get bored of it. And I love to surf. I'm not the greatest at it, but I'm getting better. I'd love to get back into it soon. It's one of the things I missed most about living in New Mexico other than not being able to see my families whenever I want.
7. I'm actually grateful to the boyfriend that cheated on me. It made me get over him and never, ever want to put someone through that kind of pain (not that I have ever considered cheating on someone.) And it taught me what I really wanted in a guy.
8. Robbie, my husband, is one the silliest people that I know, but you'd never know it, because he's usually really quiet around people. But his sense of humor is one of the things I love about him. And he's totally a hottie :) I still remember the very first time I saw him-I didn't actually meet him for almost another month after that, but I remember thinking, "Who is THAT?!"
9. I worry WAY too much. About everything. Mostly right now, I worry that I won't be a good mom. And I've been having awful dreams about Bobby-like things happening to him that I can't stop and it really freaks me out. And sometimes, I let myself get too overwhelmed by things. I have a big problem with anxiety. And, yet, I really don't get stressed.
10. I'm a very opinionated person, but I usually keep them to myself unless it's something I feel needs to be said. I just wait to the appropriate time to voice them. I don't feel that I should force them on other people. And just because my opinion is different from yours, doesn't mean I think any less of you. You're just as much entitled to your opinion as I am. Like people don't really care that I don't like rompers-they're still going to wear them anyways.
11. Before meeting my husband, I thought I'd never get married. I was going to move to NY and live in the city and have a dozen cats (yeah, I was going to be a cat lady.) But I'm so glad he found me (he seriously looked for me at church and asked everyone he knew if they knew me and what my name was.) Being married to Robbie has been the greatest adventure and I look forward to our 50th wedding anniversary (and beyond.)
12. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints (most people know us as mormons) and I'm proud of that. My faith has truly shaped the person I am today. It has given me sort of a compass with which I guide my life. It's given me hope through the rough patches in my life and all of the amazing blessings in my life have come from my loving Father in Heaven. And same as the opinion thing above, just because you and I might not believe the same things, I don't think any less of you. I'm not the kind to hold someone to my beliefs because they're just that-mine.
The Orlando Florida Temple
13. I absolutely love being a mom. I never thought I could love someone this much. Our son is the greatest blessing in my life, second to my wonderful husband. Yeah, he overwhelms me at times, but I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything in the world. I love watching him grow and change and learn. I love his smiles and his laughs and just the loving way he looks at me.
14. I am an inducted member of 2 college honor societies, as well as being on the Dean's List, Who's Who Among America's High School Students 2 years, National Honor Roll 2 years and Who's Who Among America's Junior Colleges. That was a huge accomplishment for me, mostly because school has always been a struggle for me.
15. After 5 years of being out of college (that's a whole long story for another day), I started going back this past November to finish up my bachelor's degree. Truth be told, I'm hating it, but I long ago set the goal of finishing college and it's something I'm holding myself to, no matter how much I dislike it. I'm only about a year from graduating. I'll be so happy when it's all done and behind me.
16. I try really hard to stay in shape. I love doing yoga and pilates and want to try kickboxing one day. I even completed all 90 days of P90X-it sucked but the results were well worth it. I've learned, however, that to really stay motivated, I need someone to work out with. Sadly, when we moved to Florida, I had to leave my awesome workout buddy in Albuquerque (yet another reason why you guys need to move here, My!) But I hate HATE running.
17. I love to sing. I was in chorus in elementary school, high school and college. But I'm really shy singing by myself in front of people. When I was little, I really wanted to be a rockstar. Sometimes I still do. My sister and I had a little "band" and we wrote songs. They were really cheesy.
18. I gained 46 pounds while I was pregnant with my son. It took me 2 years to lose the last 15 of that.
At 32 weeks with our son
19. I've never done drugs of any kind-luckily never been offered drugs, either. Never even smoked a cigarette. In fact, I'm highly allergic to cigarettes.
20. I had braces twice. And my teeth are still a little crooked (darn wisdom teeth.)
21. I'm actually a really loud person once I'm comfortable around people. It drives Robbie nuts : ) He's constantly telling me to be quieter, especially when I'm around my family. What can I say, we're boisterous.
22. I love to travel. I definitely don't get to do it as much as I'd like. I have been to over half of the 50 states and been all over Ontario, Canada and parts of Quebec, but I've never "really" been out of the country (back then, you didn't need a passport to go to Canada.) I have a long list of places I want to see before I die and I'm going to see them all.
23. I love photography. It started as a hobby and progressed into a passion. I always have a camera of some sort with me. My dream house includes a dark room. And before I met Robbie, I was going to school for photography and wanted to work for National Geographic as a photographer. Now I do weddings and other various photo-related things. It's a way for me to keep doing what I love and still be a mommy and wife. I would love to have my own studio someday.
24. One of my goals in life is to be on Jeopardy. Seriously, I'm so not joking. Yeah, I'm a nerd. But it's going to happen.
25. My other goals are to learn to play the violin and the bass guitar, to learn to snowboard, see the world, master Photoshop, publish a book of my photos, to learn to scuba dive, go para-sailing, surf in Hawaii and grow old with Robbie and see our great-grandchildren.
26. Since being married, I've gotten so used to there being someone else in the bed with me, I have a hard time sleeping by myself. When my husband first starting traveling for his job, I couldn't sleep. I'd seriously be up til like 4 in the morning. That goes by to my whole anxiety thing, too, I think. It's gotten better since I've had to get used to it, but I still have a hard time sometimes.
27. I love flowers. Any kind. I think they're beautiful. I do have favorites, however. I love gerber daisies, hibiscus, hydrangeas, big orange poppies, and orchids.
28. The thing that most excited me about owning a house, besides being able to decorate it however I wanted was being able to plant a garden. I think there's just something so satisfying about eating something you've grown yourself. Kind of like when you make something and someone compliments you on it. You're all like "Thanks! I made it!"
29. I love finding a good deal. I think that's why I love thrift shopping so much. Finding those little treasures at awesome prices just totally makes my day.
30. I am a self-admitted cheapskate and I'm proud of it. I just can't bring myself to shell out ridiculous amounts of money on things. Now, obviously some things do cost a little more and there's no way around that-I'm talking big things like a house or a car or a computer. Everything else, I can totally find a cheaper way to get it : )
I hope you all enjoyed this little "get to know Courtney." Hopefully I didn't scare you off!
That was way fun to read!! :) So interesting!! If i lived in Florida, I would probably never want to leave too!!! And your not the only one that's insecure, I think almost all normal girls are a little or a lot. I always keep this quote in mind whenever I'm feeling down. "Comparison is the thief of Joy" It's so true, I just think of that when I'm feeling EXTRA insecure!!
ReplyDeletei SOOOO miss you!!! We have so much in common. And I miss P90X with you. I haven't been able to keep up with it without my partner either! :-(
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, when I read the second one, my first thought was why is she afraid of being eaten by bridges? Apparently a lack of sleep makes me a little crazy...
ReplyDeleteI just started reading your blog and love it by the way!
Courtney! I love this--just now catching up on some blog reading...and really enjoyed getting to know you better! ;)
ReplyDelete