A Lil' Sumpin' Sumpin'

Because I am tired and in a silly mood, I figured I'd write a bit more of a fun post. Well, maybe there will also be some serious parts, but we shall see. I have shared a lot of deep shit about myself on here so I figured I could share some less serious things this time around. Bear with me. 

Now I am trying to figure out what I should tell you about myself that you may or may not know about me. Maybe you don't even give a damn either. Haha! Oh well. My middle name is Louise, which was passed down to me from my mom and her mom, my maternal grandma. My favorite color is mint green, and I love mint chocolate chip ice cream. I would say that my favorite food in the world is buffalo chicken wings. They have to be crispy enough and done just right with the sauce or else it just becomes a shit show. When I lived in New York, I used to go often to this sports bar & restaurant called Tully's and would order their buffalo chicken tenders with the sauce on the side because I hate me a soggy chicken tender. I also love mushrooms (the legal kind) so if you made me a mushroom pizza, I would love you forever and ever, amen. It figures that I started about food. I guess it shows you where my priorities in life are! Hehe. I love me a good hard cider, and it would be a dream come true to do an entire cider tour in the UK someday. I am the weirdo who used to only drink milk with her pizza and applesauce on her potatoes. I dunno. I also always loved going to the Bville Diner in my hometown and ordering fries with gravy. Yummm. I have so much more taste testing to do in this life! 

I am a terrible decorator. Some of my friends would tell you otherwise, but you really shouldn't believe them. I have a shit ton of Pinterest boards that I have created throughout the years for my dream home, and I have yet to be able to put an actual look together. For being a creative person, this type of creativity is surely not my forte. I do, however, love writing. I am currently working on my first book, and I am super excited about it. I am pretty sure I shared more about this in a previous post so I won't bore you here. I am making some progress slowly but surely, and I am happy about that. It's been a bit of a challenge the past several weeks due to kids at home for summer break, a busy travel schedule, etc. I am hoping to go more full-force again starting in the fall. I also love music. I have written all kinds of songs, and I used to take both singing and piano lessons. I am going to be taking singing lessons again starting next month, and I am super excited about it! I have no idea where I will take it, but that doesn't matter. I do still miss my old teacher who left me to move to NYC and then ended up settling with her husband in Brussels. She was absolutely wonderful, and I learned so much from her. Here's to hoping that my new teacher is just as great. When I have a moment, I will also be dusting off my keyboard so I can refresh my skills and breathe some life into some of these old songs I have laying around as well as hopefully birth some new ones. I love this journey of creative self-expression, and it gives me so much hope and healing. Coming out with an album someday is definitely on my bucket list, but I honestly need to work on my confidence in regards to my singing voice. Baby steps. I remember my old singing teacher always encouraging me to get out in the bars and cafes and start singing there. I never did it as I was mortified at the thought alone. I think that's changing in me though as I am becoming older because I am learning to just live my life, do what I love and not to give a shit about people's opinions or expectations or even giving in to my own fears based on what I think they think of me and my voice. Ah well. Room for growth, I guess. 

I have become a more avid reader as of late. I purchased an e-reader a while back, and I absolutely love it! I never used to be a good reader due to my ADHD (yay lack of attention span!), but I have been working on training myself in this area which has proven to work a bit. I have read some pretty amazing books in the past year alone, some of which have been life-changing. I know I have mentioned at least one in a previous post before, but I will share again because it's worth it. I would say that the three books that have made the largest impression on my life thus far are: 'Untamed' by Glennon Doyle, 'The Shack' by William Paul Young, and 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee. I could get into a whole thing about any of these books, but I think it's better to save that for a future post. I listen to all kinds of music. I love gospel music, 90's hip hop, 80's monster ballads, and 90's rock. My all-time favorite band growing up (before NKOTB became a thing) was Heart. I also grew up with a mother who was and still is crazy about Phil Collins and Genesis, and I also grew up with a stepfather who had an extensive LP collection with some of the greatest artists and bands of all time. Whenever he played that special edition Woodstock album...oh em gee. All the feels. However, whenever he'd force me to sit through those god awful boring Star Trek movies, not so much. By the way, my favorite NKOTB was Jonathan McKnight. I also was in love with Freddie Prinze Jr. during my senior year of high school and freshman year of college. I had the shrine on my college dorm wall made up of magazine photo cut-outs, and I am not even ashamed all these years later. I grew up listening to Nirvana, Grateful Dead, and the Beatles. I was even a wannabe hippie with my tie dye t-shirts and my birkenstocks with thick socks back in the 6th grade. Good Lawd. Did I mention that I also could probably have won contests for the worst hairstyles ever? I used to sport everything from a mullet to my infamous afro to whatever this punk choppy haircut was in high school. I was a mess when it came to fashion, and I am so glad that I have FINALLY learned a damn thing or two (I hope!) over all of these years. I do miss my long hair though, and I am now in the process of growing it out. This should be interesting. Cheers to weird phases of hair growth! 

Well, I should probably tell you that I used to want to be a pediatrician growing up, and this lasted for quite a long time until I was around 14 or 15. At around that time is when my writing journey really began. I used to write stories, songs, movie ideas and scripts, and much more. I had a dream of becoming a screenwriter one day. I almost made that dream come true when I got accepted to two universities with a film studies program, including a semester studying at an LA film school. The third college I got accepted to didn't have a program anywhere close to that but was located in New York, which meant more student financial aid so yeah...that's the one I went for. Sometimes I still regret my decision, but hey. I am still young and therefore can still manifest this dream and any others if I am willing to put in the work and believe for it. Who knows! I have a big and wild imagination, and I love writing these fun stories and see them come to life. Maybe part of my destiny in the future is to write fiction books. I would probably love it, honestly. We shall see. The sky is the limit, and I have decided that I will not allow any glass ceilings to stand in the way of my hopes and dreams. Woop! That all said, I am following another huge passion of mine by starting a study this fall for coaching & counseling, and I am beyond excited! I have been a mental health advocate for some time now, and this has only grown in recent years. In less than two years, I will be finished with the study program and can start up my own practice. I actually could probably do some stuff already with my bachelors (HBO) in Social Work. I am currently looking into it. I used to have a heart to work with women until earlier this year when I had an epiphany. I realized that there are so many men out there suffering from mental health issues, and they're seldom talked about because of the negative stigma that society has placed on men in regards to this area. But hey, just look at the suicide statistics alone, and you will be shaken up into action (at least I hope so). I have gotten to know so many broken men along my journey thus far, and it's just devastating to hear their stories and how lost and alone they feel. The level of shame, fear or rejection, abandonment, etc that they deal with on a daily basis is just horrifying. Add to that this toxic masculinity that has tainted our minds, and you've got a recipe for distaster. I will get off of my soap box now, but just know that I will be discussing this very important topic in the near future. 

If you know me, you would know that I am one who has a real sense of adventure. I love to travel, explore and try new things...sort of. I also hate being surprised (working on it!), and I am not always the most spontaneous person in the world (fuck you, anxiety!) but I have definitely become more relaxed in this area in recent years. I have had the privilege of traveling a bit around the states as well as Europe. Some of y'all reading this are way ahead of me regarding how much of the world you've been able to see and experience. Yes, I hate you, and yes, I am jealous of you. Ha! Just kidding. I absolutely love living in Europe. I just got back from a long weekend in Germany last weekend, and I will be heading there again next week for my birthday. I will be heading to Italy in a couple of weeks as well. I absolutely love cities like Lisbon, Paris, Florence, and Budapest. My favorite sweet wine on the planet is one of Hungary's best kept secrets. It's called Tokaji wine, and it's named after the region in which it is produced. It is so delicious, and I cannot wait to get my hands on a bottle again someday. I really want to see more of the states at some point. I love places like Boston, LA, San Francisco, and the North Carolina shore. I really want to actually see Chicago beyond its airport as well as visit Seattle, Portland, and New Orleans. Road trip, anyone? I really should go back to the bucket list of places I want to travel to that I wrote on a napkin many years ago. I have that thing somewhere and am happy that I can already cross off several places from that original list. I definitely need to see Japan and also Morocco. I would love to visit my good friend in Israel as well. Gosh, I need to win the lottery so I can pack up the kids and just go everywhere! Hmm...maybe I'm onto something. Ha! But honestly, traveling is soothing to my explorative soul. I love learning about the history, culture, and customs of any given place. Let's not forget the food and drink though either, people! I grew up in a community where many people just stay where they're at, and I honestly could never wait to leave. I remember when I sold all of my stuff, packed up my life into two huge suitcases, and headed to Amsterdam to start a new life and adventure in 2006. My grandparents weren't too thrilled, but I think deep down they knew/know that this has been the best thing for me and is something that I was born for. I am an adventurer, and I am a damn proud one as well. I guess it explains my 478 Ennegram tritype, but we will get into that another day. 

I guess I could conclude this with some random fun facts just for shits n' giggles. I don't wanna bore you all too much, but it is kind of fun to write about this stuff because it has brought up a lot of memories. I love it. I feel so blessed to have been able to live the life that I do, regardless of the hardest of times when I never thought I would make it alive another day. Obviously, God/Universe felt that I needed to be on this earth at this very moment for a reason, and my life has purpose and value...so here we are. Okay, so random facts... I am a shoes and clothes whore. It's true. I remember my old college roommate and her mother watched as my dad and I pull up with his pick up truck onto campus for our freshman year and commenting to each other that they felt sorry for whoever's roommate that is. Ha! Joke's on them. Okay, but as much as I love to buy clothes and shoes, I am also one who equally gets a thrill out of purging and throwing all unnecessary shit away. So if you are a hoarder and can't part with your band t-shirts from 8th grade because they have sentimental value to you, I probably shouldn't be the one whom you ask to help you pack. My favorite movie of all time used to be "Shag." It's probably now still "A Walk to Remember" because I am an emotional sap like that. But if you're too emotional and sappy, I can't deal with that either so a proper balance is important. Haha. I am ambidextrous, but I am also left-handed. I write with my left hand, but I play guitar, bat, etc with my right hand. Don't they have trophies for weirdos like me? If not, then they should. Kidding, kinda. My favorite cuisine would probably be Italian. I know I will most likely be putting on a couple of kilos when I head over to Italy soon and there are honestly zero shits given. Gimme all of da pizzas and pastas and gelato. I ain't holdin' back even a little bit. One of the biggest turn offs is a man with a unibrow. Ask Tom. My roommate and her boyfriend at the time tried to set Tom and I up during Freshman year of college. Tom was totally diggin' me, and I really wanted to like the guy. He was kind and funny and had nice dark hair and blue eyes. However....the one thing that I just couldn't get past with Tom was his damn unibrow! I know, I know. I could've gently suggested that he pluck it, shave it or something, but I just couldn't bring myself to be THAT asshole. I was 18 at the time. I mean...I guess I've grown a little when it comes to my superificiality in regards to guys' looks?! Sigh. I am allergic to onions. All of 'em. Thanks to birthing three kiddos, my bodily make up has officially changed and now flips to bird and any and all onions. It is what it is. I never really cared for them before becoming pregnant the first time, but I surely cannot tolerate them now. I become sick for like two days afterwards if I eat them. It is what it is. 

I think I'll stop there. It's getting late, and I have a big day planned with two of my three offspring tomorrow in a nearby city. We shall eat all of the pizza, go see a fun movie, and maybe do some school shopping. The oldest is currently living his best life at a surf camp and will be returning home tomorrow evening. I am very much anticipating hearing all of his crazy and fun stories about his week full of adventure. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Speaking of which, I am still looking for someone to go bungee jumping with me one of these days. We can also jump out of an airplane or whatever. So if you're interested, you can sign up in the comments. Ha! As I approach 40, I am learning to live more purposely, have more fun, and give less shits about things that are out of my control. Easier said than done, but I guess that's all part of the journey!