Ya’ll know the obvious- I’m a toddler mom, I’m married, I’ve moved a lot as an adult. It’s pretty evident that health and fitness play a strong roll in my life. Showing the highlight reel on Instagram leaves a lot to be desired in the about me category. But have you ever wondered more about me? I am more than just the fingers behind the screen.
So here are ten things that most people have no idea about me!
- For almost 5 years, I competed in Miss America local pageants. Truth is, I never won a pageant, or even placed, although I did win quite a few community service awards. Interview was my favorite phase of competition, which was shocking because I have terrible fear of speaking in front of crowds. I could never find a good tattoo coverup, which definitely detracted from my swimsuit scores. And my talent, performing in sign language, was hit or miss. Many judges tried to score me as a dancer, but I cannot dance at all.
- Speaking of ASL, I started learning sign language at Head Start when I was only 4 years old. Through the years I learned more, and for a short time had considered going to school to become a translator. I love performing songs in sign, and in another life I would pursue that further.
- I have a neuromuscular disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (which has nothing to do with teeth). It’s caused by the lining of the nerves (called the mylene sheaf) weakening, and the muscles and tendons are weakened. For the most part, it targets extremities like hands and feet. This is why I’m incredibly clumsy and have terrible handwriting. I also am a carrier for cystic fibrosis, which I only found out from prenatal screening. CMT runs in my family, but CF does not.
- My husband and I actually met through a freak accident months before we ever met for real. I had dropped my phone in a parking lot (3 hours from home) and he found it. When I picked it up, we didn’t so much as exchange names. I thanked him and went home. Months later we met formally at an event, and realized he was the mystery man who found my phone!
- We try to be a sustainable family, and use as little single use products as possible. It’s not perfect, but we don’t use any paper towels or plastic grocery bags. I never leave home without a reusable coffee mug (never get caught without one!), and usually keep reusable straws in my purse. I refuse to purchase or endorse the use of balloons. Also, as a family, we use Norwex cloths for all cleaning (no plastic containers and no paper towels), and neither Jonathan nor myself use traditional deodorant. Again, we’re not perfect- we still use toilet paper and plastic garbage bags.
- I have struggled with mental illness my entire life; from crippling anxiety with panic attacks, and the slippery slope of depression, as well as obsessive compulsive tendencies and dissociative personality disorder. As much as I would like to say that I am “better”, these things never truly go away. I have found a treatment routine and coping methods that help me stay balanced, but some days are definitely better than others. Truthfully, being a mom (as much as I didn’t want to be initially) has been the single most impactful change in my life that strengthens my desire to stay on top of my mental health.
- I ate a semi-vegan plant based diet for nearly 15 years. Since I am lactose intolerant, I avoid most dairy. That, stacked with not eating meat, made it easier to Google vegan recipes than attempt to convert a meat based meal to fit my needs. I did eat seafood, because it’s delicious, so never fully identified as vegan. I still only eat American grass fed meat, and use local honey. And I still will not eat pork chops, ham, or bacon.
- Recently, my personal opinion has shifted against the common perception of adoption. Initially after marriage, Jonathan and I considered adoption instead of biological children to prevent passing CMT (before knowing about CF as well). However, after reading many stories of adult adoptees placed in perfectly loving homes who feel traumatic impacts of their adoption, I have completely shifted my view on this topic and no longer support a majority of adoption processes.
- I am a lucid dreamer, and can often times shift the direction of my dreams. Although I am a Christian, I still see the validity behind outside factors like dream interpretations, horoscopes, and enneagrams, and I am a firm believer of the validity of the Briggs-Meyer assessment. (btw, I am INTJ, which shifted from INPJ before motherhood) I am also a Ravenclaw, which says a lot about me.
- Over the past ten years, with a 3+ year gap from pregnancy and breastfeeding, I have donated over four gallons of blood. I started with whole blood, and later donated platelets, but have never weighed enough for double red (now called power reds).
I hope that helps you get to know more about me! Did you know any of these about me from our conversations on social? Tell me something in the comments that most people don’t know about you! And please, if you’d like to know more about me and my adventures, subscribe to my email list. You will only get emails when I post a new blogpost, or my monthly newsletter.
