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Happy Friday everyone! I feel like this week has been a very long week and yet, at the same time a very short week too! Do you feel that too? Today, if you are an instagram fan you know it’s #fridayintroductions, but I thought I would move the fun over here to the blog today and share some fun personal quirks, facts, and things that you might not know about me! I was actually inspired by my friend Bethanne , who is an amazing wedding photographer who shook things up a bit and shared this personal post on her blog on Monday! These are just silly things that if we were able to sit down and hang out together for maybe a week vacation you would learn! You might discover them just by being around me and noticing the little details or you could discover them through deep conversations! Just for today though, you get to discover them without having to take a trip with me (or live with me) and understand a little bit more about who I am, other than just the goofy, clutzy girl behind the camera!
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1. I love Coca-cola! My love really isn’t above the drink itself, it’s more the carbonation and also the association with my mom! My mom also loves a nice ice cold coke and so whenever I see a coke, drink a coke or even hear the pop of a soda can and the fizz of the carbonation, I just always think of my mom! Coca-cola was my mom’s (and still is) her morning coffee. It’s her comfort drink when she’s had a rough day. It’s her go to when she has a migraine and so for all of my life, coke has been those things for me as well. And… when I just need my mom, I grab a coke. I know that probably sounds silly to some, but a nice, fizzy, cold coke in a cup with a straw is comfort for me! That’s why I drink it! I can go without it for sure and I have for many months at a time and for years even… but there’s something so safe and comforting that reminds me of mom just when I need it!
2. Barefoot Forever, Shoes Never! For as long as I can remember, I have never liked shoes. I still don’t like shoes. Well, I take that back, my husband will beg to differ. I actually LOVE shoes and have a closet full of them. I just never wear them! I prefer to walk barefoot, even if my feet are freezing (and they usually are!) I walk the dog barefoot, I ride in the car barefoot to most places that I don’t have to get out of the car! I’m just always barefoot!
2.5. That used to go for underwear too! This is an embarrassing story and I would probably never share but my parents LOVE to share it and it’s been heard so often now that, who cares! That’s also why it’s 2.5 and not 3. When I was little, like pre-school age… I used to not like underwear either! My parents would have to double check to make sure I was wearing it. I would go to school looking cute in skirts and then sit in a straddle. Yep, that’s me, I just like my freedom! Back then… right, let’s get that straight! Now I’m a complete lady!
3. I’m always cold, always! It can be 100 degree’s outside and I will pack a hooded sweatshirt with me. I might even be wearing a zip up and shorts! I’m always cold. I actually love August and September here in Florida because the heat doesn’t bother me. In fact, I can still wear a long sleeve shirt and shorts down here. People look at me like I’m nuts but I am just always cold!
4. Linc has a T-shirt that if I could fit I would wear it because it suits me perfectly: I put Ketchup on my Ketchup! It’s my truth ya’ll. I put ketchup on everything. I put it on my eggs, my pizza, my grilled cheese even. I like to put it on plain spaghetti noodles or soba noodles that are swimming in chicken broth and make it a soup. It’s a real thing I promise! I like to put ketchup on chips. I even like ketchup on fruit! I just love my ketchup!
5. I am a total Grilled Cheese connoisseur! If a grilled cheese is on the menu, I will order it! If Linc orders a kid’s grilled cheese and we could make one better at home, I still don’t care I’m going to finish his left overs! I LOVE a great grilled cheese! It can be fancy (which that’s just amazing) or two pieces of bread with a american slice in the middle, it’s all delicious to me!
6. I am a hoarder of TV series that I love and I will binge watch on repeat forever! When I say forever, imagine the kid from the sandlot and say it like him… FOR.. EVVV.RRRRRR! I will give you examples: Alias! It’s my all time favorite TV series, I mean Sydney Bristow was a bad ass and it was 5 seasons of crazy amazingness. I own them all on DVD and I just watch them from the pilot to the series finale again and again and again. It drives Tuck mad! He doesn’t understand. Burn Notice is another one: Fiona Glennanne… Bad ass! Same thing, I own them all and I can finish Alias and start that series and watch until it ends, again and again! I love it because I’ve seen them all and I don’t have to focus entirely on them. I can do other tasks (like edit, blog, or fall asleep). They are predictable to me and comforting. I know what to expect! But they are still entertaining and again, the female leads are such strong role models! I can recommend some other shows too: Merlin (OMG phenomenal) Luther (also soo amazing and the character development is fantastic) and Jane the Virgin is hysterical!
7. I never thought I was a TV person until I became a mother! I realized that I use TV (and binge show watching) as an escape from real life! That’s so tough to admit to myself and it’s scary to admit here because you never want to be “that” person but if you don’t own up to your faults how can you change them?! Before we become parents we always say I will never do that as a mom, or my kid will never have that! It’s funny because the second you become a parent it’s all about surviving and just trying to do your best for that day! Then you laugh at your “before children” judgey self! I have realized, especially after our move, just how much TV we have in our house, and also how much time I spend “away” from my family to watch my shows folding the laundry or resting! So I made a goal this year to change that! I want to be outside and present more! Intentional and mindful friends!
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8. I worked in a children’s hospital for 6 years before I became a mom and I have a title after my name of CCLS! Certified Child Life Specialist which means so much to me because I worked so darn hard for those initials! If you haven’t ever heard of a Child Life Specialist and your a mom who finds herself in a children’s hospital one day… you need to know who they are! They will become your best friend and ally! Check out the full job description here. I loved my job as a CCLS and it taught me so many life lessons but the biggest take away that I try to bring into my life everyday is that life is exactly what you make it! Children see the world with such wonder and amazement: even when they are so sick, when they feel good they want to play! They are never the victim! They don’t try to get sympathy or feel badly just for the sake of it. They just want to be happy and enjoy the moment!
9. My first job ever was at our local pharmacy! I sold candy, worked at the soda fountain making real, traditional lime-aides (still my favorite treat to this day if I can find them) and then eventually helped the pharmacist which was really great and educational.
10. My second job all the way through summers home in college was working in a surf shop! Those were the best days and I even learned how to build skate decks!
11. I am a huge empath! I feel everything and very deeply! If someone else is hurting, I hurt too and in a big way. A lot of people might see this as a weakness but I have always felt it was one of my biggest strengths.
12. I cry… a lot! I cry when I’m sad, I cry when I’m happy, I cry when I’m angry and I cry when I’m frustrated. Sometimes this can get me in trouble! I find it hard for people to take me seriously in confrontations or difficult situations when I need to come across as strong and confident. I feel like I’m always saying please don’t mistake my tears for weakness. I am not crying because I am sad or afraid, I am actually crying because I am extremely frustrated with our situation right now and would like to come to a mutual agreement and resolve the issue.
13. I have a serious wanderlust right now and desire for travel! I have been to France and Peru with my parents and both were amazing trips! Tuck and I went to St. Lucia on our honeymoon. We just went to the Bahamas on our Disney Cruise which was gorgeous. I am still dying to go to Alaska, New Zealand, Italy, Australia, Africa, Japan and Ireland…. just to name a few!
14. I have 4 tattoos and am working on a 5 right now!
15. I have a full shoulder replacement and we joke that I am the bionic woman! Seriously though, my right shoulder is titanium and that is what allowed me to travel with my parents through Peru!
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16. I am a complete believer that everything in our lives happens for a reason and that there are no coincidences! I believe every situation in our lives is there to teach us a lesson that we need to learn or to slow us down so we can appreciation what we have in our lives at this given moment! Nothing is random and nothing is without a plan or purpose. If we can’t see it right away, that’s OK we just need to change our perspective a bit.
17. I am a complete clutz. I trip over everything. I run into walls (often). I stub my toes on objects I know are right in my path. I constantly have bruises all over! One time on a date, I walked right into a light pole. I fell down an entire set of brick stairs while shooting a wedding. I fell of a ledge into a pool while shooting a family session (thank goodness I didn’t have my camera on me) and daily I run into the corner of our bed, that hasn’t been moved an inch since we moved in a year ago!
18. My husband calls me jowls or gums because I apparently have the biggest cheek walls he has ever seen!
19. I like real images of play better than sitting still and posed because that is my life! We are all in a constant state of movement, especially with young children. Why wouldn’t we want to capture life right as we are right now?! Working in the hospital I realized that life is seriously precious. I brought that home and it has shaped the way I live and the way I parent. I want to capture Linc just as he is in this moment which is crazy active and always bouncing and moving. I want the life! I want to movement! I want the giggles and the laughter and even the “naughtiness”! He never sits still! That’s why I shoot the laughter and the movement and the bear hugs. That’s truly how I see life. That’s how I want it to be lived!
20. My house is a shrine to Linc and it’s slightly embarrassing! We are hoarders of images and prints. We are also slightly over doing the color blue, but that’s OK!
Life is all about having a good balance of crazy and calm! At least that’s how we try to live. We have a little more crazy than calm probably but we are hoping some day it will even itself out!
What are some of the things that you love?! What are some of the quirky traits that you have? Do we have anything in common? Are you a weird ketchup lover like me or have crazy cheek walls?!
I would love to know!
I hope you have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend friends!!!
See you next week for a Magical Monday (hooray) talking about Disney and then some fun sessions in store later in the week!