My 43rd birthday is October 17th and I’ve always loved celebrating another trip around the sun. Getting older is a fact of life that we can’t ignore… it’s gonna happened - and it’s never really bothered me.

So I’m going to have a little fun with this week’s blog post. I’ve done lists like this before, but I’m going to TRY to come up with 43 NEW facts about me for this one. Here goes… in no particular order or organizational pattern (LOL)...

1. My Granny’s favorite color was brown and I used to  think that was SO WEIRD…  but browns and oranges are my favorite colors now.

2. I am OBSESSED with pens. That is all. I have way too many (or do I?)

3. My husband collects contact candle holders and I’m always on the lookout for “new” (old) ones. It’s kinda unusual for a man to have a collection, so I’m more than  happy to feed that hobby!

4. I have a love/hate relationship with mushrooms. I love the flavor, but their texture is VILE! Mash those suckers up and hide them in some ravioli though - SO GOOD!

5. I have a stomach condition and I  have to limit alcohol, dairy, gluten, sugar, beans, raw greens… all my favorite things. I guess that’s why I’m miserable most of the time… 

6. I’m an artist and my closet is full of color, but I only wear the black and grey. Go figure. I like my neutrals!

7. I go to essential oils BEFORE medication 99% of the time. Oils have been used for centuries and can truly alter your mood, they can relieve pain, you can use them in cooking, etc.

8. I collect children’s books. ESPECIALLY Christmas books. 

9. I haven’t bought myself a new coloring book in AT LEAST a year… My coloring book shelf is currently full and I need to figure out what I’m going to do about that.

10. I’m a DIE-HARD Georgia Bulldawg, but I live in Auburn, AL. Go figure. 

11. I’m allergic to mosquitos and when they bite me that area swells up and gets hot and itchy (and itches and itches for DAYS).

12. Until 5 years ago I thought I had a black thumb. Turns out - with  sunlight and a good watering schedule, ANYBODY can be a houseplant mama! WHO KNEW!

13. Today would be my Mom’s 73rd birthday. She left this earth when I was 24 and I’ve been without her almost as much time as I had with her… and I miss her every day. 

14. I was a cheerleader in high school.  But I went to a Christian school and our skirts were MASSIVE! Like knee-length cheerleader skirts. When we left the school grounds though, we all rolled our skirts up to appropriate cheerleader skirt length (who cared if we looked like we had an inflated inner tube under our shirts?).

*I actually went in search of a pic for y’all, but it’s just too gruesome to share. I could outfit an entire family à la “Sound of Music” with the fabric from 1 skirt …

15. I just realized coming up with a list of 43 facts about me was going to be harder than I originally thought...

16. If I could go back to college, I would love to study Art History. I’d love to just research and learn…  about art and the way styles evolved through the ages. 

17. My DREAM JOB is to be Indiana Jones. More about that next week… (I know you’re DYING with anticipation)

18. I still have the first set of Prismacolor colored pencils I bought in college in 1995 (well,some of them anyway). They’re expensive but if you take care of them THEY WILL LAST  forever.

19. I would really like to own a racoon or an otter… or maybe a sloth… 

20. I pretend to be really organized, but I’m actually pretty messy (you can hide lots of stuff behind closed doors… sorry, Emily Ley). 

21 . And dirty… I HATE to clean the house.

22. I have AWFUL allergies… seasonal, dogs and cats (yes, we have both), trees, grass… An allergist told me one time I was “allergic to nature”.

23. I LOVE pumpkin-flavored stuff. In fact, I ALWAYS have at least 1 can of pumpkin puree in the pantry. (**going to check to make sure  I ACTUALLY have some…)

*And I don’t currently have any. Adding that to my grocery list.

24. I crochet,  but only in the fall/winter. 2 years ago I made blankets for both of our daughters and also my daughter-in-law. Last year I made one for my mother-in-law and started one for me. It’s still in a bag unfinished… but it’s cool enough outside right now that I may get it out!

25. I always look tired… I think I was born with super dark circles under my eyes… I’ve always had them. So if you ever see me looking awake and dewy, I either have makeup on or I’m using a damn good Instagram filter!

26. I love refurbishing old stuff to use around the house. This chair was like $20 and GROSS when I bought it (I completely stripped it down and made a new seat for it) and our coffee table was a plain $30 wood table that I painted and added a new wood topper.

Notice the pair of shoes by both the coffee table and my leopard print chair. Yeah, I need to get better about picking up after myself, apparently. See #21.

27. I like to experiment in the kitchen and we LOVE international flavors. Lately I’ve been doing lots of Moroccan and Mediterranean flavors. LOTS of cinnamon (even in savory dishes)

28. Speaking of cooking, one of my places to shop is the Asian grocery store. They have SUCH  great prices on produce and WHO KNEW there were that many brands/kinds of rice? Although it does smell a bit funny in there...

29. I have really thin fingernails and can’t grow  them out. I take a biotin supplement and they’re a TINY bit thicker than they used to be, but not much. If you ever see me with painted fingernails, just know that I PROB painted them that morning. It never lasts longer than 24 hours-or-so.

30. I’m REALLY BAD about starting projects and not finishing them. For example - about 3 years ago  the girls and I started peeling their bathroom wallpaper upstairs so we could remove it and paint the bathroom. 3 years later the wallpaper is still there (partially peeled). Sorry Steve…

31. I hate throwing away jars. I use them for storing things, flower arrangements, etc. I really should think about thinning them out... 

32. I love the sound of wind chimes

33. I am OBSESSED with Christmas cactuses (cactus? cactus’s? Whatever)

34. I ferment my own water kefir. It’s a really good probiotic and dairy free (unlike traditional kefir). It’s like nature’s soda. My daughter calls it “rotten water”... I’m the only one in my family that likes it, so if you need any water kefir, I’ve GOT PLENTY! 

35. I LOVE sweatshirts and sweaters. If I could keep the house cool enough to wear them all the time I would be totally happy. 

36. Fall is my FAVORITE time of year (see #35 from above). If it could be cool and breezy all year I’d be totally happy. 

37. I talk to my dad almost every day during the week and we sometimes play cards virtually on the weekend (he and my stepmom live about 6 hours away).

38. Am I not done yet?! 38… ummm… OH! My favorite tv show is Supermarket Sweep! I LOVED watching it when I was in high school. For REALZ… I’m gonna be on that show one day. Kroger better watch out - I may need to practice! Where do they keep the racks of lamb, big wheels of fancy cheese, and garden hoses?

39. I can bake a mean loaf of bread, but I can’t bake biscuits. I know I’ve mentioned this before and it’s not technically a NEW fact, but it’s worth repeating. They may revoke my “southern lady” card… sad.

40. I LOVE a good picnic! In the backyard, at a local park, at the lake - eating outside makes ANY meal special! 

41. I like to take a soaking detox bath once a week-or-so, but I try to stay in there AT LEAST 40 minutes! I put about 1c epsom salt, 1/4c baking soda and sometimes I add 1/8c himalayan sea salt. The first 20-ish minutes is the detox period, then the remaining time your body re-absorbs the good minerals in the water. I always try to add frankincense (the king of oils) and lavender to my bathwater (super relaxing).

42. I am a firm believer in chiropractic care. I had daily headaches for about 10 years and tried everything - acupuncture, meds, special headache Rx meds, neurologists, MRIs… I finally thought I was a lost cause and decided to try a chiropractor. Wouldn’t you know my chronic headaches were posture-related. Now if I start getting a stiff neck or that same ‘ol headache creeping back in, I go in for a quick pop and I’m ALL BETTER! 

43. I LOVE CAKE! I think cake with icing (or a good pound cake) has to be my favorite dessert. Cookies, pie, trifle, ice cream - I will pass those up 99% of the time for a good slice of cake. **If my husband is reading this - I’d REALLY like one of my Granny’s pound cakes for my birthday on Saturday. And FYI: the recipe is hanging on the wall by the back door… in case you were wondering.

Whew! I need a cup of coffee after that huge list. HOPEFULLY this will satisfy y’all for a while on random facts about me. LOL!

Hey, why don’t you pop my birthday in your calendar (It’s this Saturday, by the way) and shoot me an IG or FB message on Saturday to tell me you remembered! 

…then I can sheepishly say, “Awww shucks… you shouldn’t have! Thanks for REMEMBERING! “

AND… Just because I LOVE surprises… How about a free birthday download - just because?! Click on the picture below to download this sweet Happy Birthday drawing and you can print it out and color it as many times as you want!