Thirty-Four.

Today is my 34th birthday. In honor of that, I thought I’d list 34 things that you may or may not know about me. Enjoy!

1. I have a flying pig figure from Pier One on the windowsill above my kitchen sink. It makes me happy every time I glance at it.
2. I am addicted to coffee and to chocolate.
3. I brush my teeth way too hard. I go through new toothbrushes twice as fast as Kenny does.
4. I always cough when I use a Q-tip in my ears. Strange.
5. I am notorious for forgetting the last load of laundry in the dryer. I’ll come back days later and discover it.
6. I hate dusting, so I don’t do it nearly as often as I should.
7. Whenever I get French fries from Wendy’s I always order a small Frosty too, so I can dip the fries into the Frosty. (A chocolate one, of course; not vanilla. Please.)
8. I never wanted kids before I started dating Kenny.
9. I like eating crunchy things and will often add some crackers or chips to my dinner plate to satisfy my need for crunch. Kenny thinks I’m crazy.
10. I don’t wear makeup regularly, and I am way okay with that.
11. I like bananas, but only if they are on the green side of yellow. When presented with a really ripe banana or any banana-flavored thing, I will gag a little bit because of the smell.
12. I have very sensitive eyes, so I use my trusty onion goggles whenever I need to chop an onion. They are awesome.
13. I used to be an extremely impatient person but having kids will stretch the limit of one’s patience. Not very far, mind you, but I am better than I used to be.
14. I can’t really whistle. Kenny has tried to teach me how, but I just can’t do it all that well.
15. I like to eat M&Ms four at a time. Yes, I realize this is a bit OCD.
16. My hair is naturally wavy and quite thick.
17. My family’s names are all inter-connected: my mom and I have the same middle name (Leigh); my first name is my dad’s middle name and also my great aunt’s last name (Courtney); and my brother’s (and Rory’s!) middle name is my dad’s first name (David). Crazy, huh?
18. My favorite color is purple.
19. On my nightstand when I go to bed you will find a big bottle of Aveeno lotion, my alarm clock, a book, and my Contigo water bottle.
20. I went to an all-girls Catholic high school.
21. I love being barefoot. I rarely have shoes or socks on, especially when I am inside.
22. There are too many to choose just one, but The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favorite movies.
23. My favorite book series are Harry Potter and Outlander.
24. Every once in awhile something totally random will strike me as funny and I will go into a fit of giggles, complete with tears and sore stomach muscles. Fun times.
25. I would love to travel to Australia and to Ireland someday.
26. I am a cat person. Kenny is a dog person. I have a feeling this is a losing battle.
27. I have a masters degree in Marine Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
28. I played soccer for 8 years when I was younger, including rec ball at a local park and varsity in high school.
29. I am NAUI-certified in SCUBA.
30. I have never broken one of my own bones. Someone else’s? Well, that’s another story.
31. I love sleeping on my stomach. However, since having Rory, sleeping that way makes my back hurt. So sad.
32. I worked in the Education Department of the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. I actually started the job 6 weeks before Hurricane Katrina, got laid off for 9 months, and then went back for about another year and a half before getting married and moving to Lafayette for three years.
33. I still have one of my baby teeth and will almost certainly have to have an implant put in eventually. Super.
34. I have the best family. Ever. I am so blessed and loved, and I am supremely grateful for that fact.

Happy Birthday to me!