43 Random Facts about me

July is my birth month, I will be 43 next week. And, no, I am not one of those ladies who lies about how old she is. I am not 39 again, or 29 again, I am happy with my age. To me, it is just a number and I am thankful that each year that number gets higher! To God be the glory and thanks for letting me be here another year. I decided in honor of my birthday to share 43 facts about me that you may or may not know. They are not in any particular order. 

1. I am an introvert! Being in groups drains me, the longer I am with people, the longer it takes to recover.
2. I was born in KY. I was the only baby in the hospital at the time so I got lots of attention.
3. I have always loved the smell of coffee but did not start drinking it until I was 35!!
4. I slapped a boy in the 7th grade for calling me a witch with a capital B.
5. I am a highly sensitive person. 
6. I have lived in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Nairobi, Singapore, and Athens Greece.
7. 
   I have been to more countries than states.
8. I love the show "Virgin River" on Netflix. I hope to find the time to binge watch season 3 soon. Apparently it is based on a book series, but I have not read it, but probably should!
9. Birthdays were not a big deal in  my house growing up. I do not remember any of the presents I
   got or the cakes that were made, with the exception of my 13th birthday because my older sister made the cake and I have a picture of it. I am sure there were presents, but I just don't remember.
10. My first car was a 1984 Plymouth Reliant.
11. My first job was baby-sitting for a Jazzercise class when I was 13.
12. I got my first cell phone in 2002, I was 23 years old.
13. I had a severe allergic reaction to poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac when I was in third grade and had to miss the last week of school. The doctor said if I ever got it that bad again I would die. Me and my siblings were building a club house on the side of the house and cleaning out the "weeds". My older sister and brother were pulling the weeds out while me and my younger sister carried them into the back yard. I had no idea that poison ivy even existed.
14. I have a kidney disease.
15. I've had at least 9 surgeries (it's all I can remember at the moment).
    
16. Music has always spoken to me and been a catalyst for hard times.
17. Books have always been a welcome escape.
18. I gave my life to Jesus in a Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis when I was 8 and haven't regretted it for a moment.
19. I sing soprano but I can't sing as high as I could when I was a teenager.
20. I am at my lowest weight since before I got pregnant with Kayla (19 years ago).
21. I laugh at inappropriate times.
22. I have a fifth grade boy's sense of humor (not all the time, but still!).
23. I had suicidal moments as a teenager (I did not act on them). I also thought about running away as a teenager. I didn't act on that one either, I had no where else to go. 
24. 
    I fell in the toilet when I was 3 years old. Me and my younger sister were super skinny kids and so we would always sit on the toilet together. Well, that day she went into the bathroom with me, but didn't have to go, so I fell in. Jennifer ran to get my mom and she said when she came in all she could see was my head and feet. She was laughing so hard she could barely get me out 😂 Thankfully that has not happened since.
    
25. I use humor as a deflection mechanism.
26. I am stubborn.
27. My great grandfather was 50% Cherokee Indian. I love that I have Indian blood in me.
28. I have bouts of depression and anxiety, at times being medicated for it.
    
29. It is hard for me to pick a favorite book because I love so many!
    
30. I am lactose intolerant. My mom said even as a baby I would throw my bottle out of the crib.
31. I love Elvis because my Grandma Dixie loved Elvis. She was crazy about him.
    
32. Sarcasm is my first language, English is my second...I have learned to be more careful with who I am sarcastic around, it is not always taken well. 
33. I love the beach, it is my favorite vacation spot because it is always a mental health reset for me. 
34. My Bachelor's degree is Child and Family Development with a B-K licensure.
35. I have a Master's Degree in Religious Education.
36. I had a miscarriage before Kayla.
37. In the winter my favorite vacation spot is the mountains.
38. I have two sisters, one brother, a half-sister, and a half-brother. My half-brother is younger than Elijah.
39. My favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11 (maybe one day I will blog about why).
40. I don't take compliments well, they make me uncomfortable.
    
41. I have felt left out in places where I should not have.
42. I have had 3 boyfriends and only kissed two boys...the second one was a better kisser and now I get to kiss him every day! 😉😂😁
43. I have the two best kiddos in the entire world and I am thankful and blessed for every day that I get to spend with them. They are the best parts of me and Matt and I love them more than I ever thought possible. God has truly blessed us and I enjoy seeing them grow up a little more each day and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for them.

P.S.-bonus-maybe I should have said I sang in the choir all through middle school and high school, I LOVED it. I also sang in the choir at church.

Did you learn something new about me? Is there something you would like to know more about? I would love it if you would share a random fact about yourself as well :)