It’s my birthday (31!), so I thought I’d stick with my tradition (that I apparently skipped last year, oops), of sharing a few facts and tidbits about myself right now! I obviously don’t change year to year as much as the kids do, but it’s still fun to look back on these. I absolutely love birthdays and always make a pretty big deal out of them, and I think I’ll probably want to write these posts no matter what my age is. Here goes!
1. I make chocolate-chip cookies just so I can eat the dough.
2. I am still terrible at laundry. I thought I was getting better at it, but then I guess we’ve added a couple of kids in the past few years, and it’s still just all chaos.
3. Going into my late 20s and early 30s has been amazing. I know a lot of people complain about getting older, but I honestly feel like I’ve grown to really discover myself and feel a lot more confident in who I am. I still have some personality traits that I’m learning to deal with, but overall, age has been good to me.
4. One such personality trait would be that I am still painfully introverted… and I don’t see that ever changing. Socializing is really hard, but I try to do it as best as I can. There are probably only a few people who know the “real” version of me, and while I wish that weren’t true, it’s something I think I’ll forever be working on.
5. This blog is still so important to me, despite feeling like I have almost no free time or energy to work on it these days. I’m really writing this for my kids, with the hope that one day, they can look back and see what life was like when they were little. I want them to have kids and be able to come here and glean a little knowledge from the experiences I’ve shared as their mom. I hope that if they ever find themselves struggling, they can read these posts and see how much I have always loved and cherished them beyond anything I ever knew possible.
6. I thought maybe I was becoming less clumsy, but in the past 24 hours, I’ve dropped and broken my electric griddle and a whole jar of strawberry jam. Oops. I think our hardwood floor is not a fan.
7. As of this January, I have given up almost all dairy. If you’ve known me for a long time, it’s probably completely shocking that I’m not eating ice cream anymore. I wouldn’t say that I’m lactose intolerant, but I definitely have sensitivity to dairy, and I wasn’t happy with how I’d feel after I consumed it. It’s surprisingly been a lot easier to give up than I thought it’d be.
8. Right now, I’m really into all the “retro” 1960s television shows: Green Acres, the Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, etc. I used to watch these shows all the time in high school, so it’s fun to revisit a lot of them via Netflix and Amazon now!
9. I’ve been running for TEN YEARS and I can’t believe it’s been that long. It took me a long time to start racing (my first official 10k was less than 3 years ago), but I’m coming up on my second half marathon! To say that I’m nervous is an understatement.
10. I have been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 12 years now, and I honestly don’t know where I would be in this world without it. One of my favorite recent quotes comes from Elder Dieter F. Uchtfdorf:
“Those who find a way to truly behold the Man find the doorway to life’s greatest joys and the balm to life’s most demanding despairs.
So, when you are encompassed by sorrows and grief, behold the Man.
When you feel lost or forgotten, behold the Man.
When you are despairing, deserted, doubting, damaged, or defeated, behold the Man.
He will comfort you.
He will heal you and give meaning to your journey. He will pour out His Spirit and fill your heart with exceeding joy.”
I am grateful for our Savior and the ability He has to heal us, comfort us, strengthen us, and love us.
Here’s to 31!