This letter will provide my credentials and experience, but for the personal bits, please read on...
~ Twenty-five Random Facts ~
1. My all-time favorite animal on this earth is the seahorse. They are just so dainty with that cute, pointy nose, curly tail, and their gentle rocking. I also love that the male carries all the eggs in his pouch until they hatch. While that doesn't technically make him the pregnant one, he does bear a great deal of responsibility. Last summer ('15), while scuba diving, I was finally able to see not one, but three, after years and years of searching countless reefs, rocks, and shallow beds of sea grass. What a treat!!
2. I'm a francophile, loving all things French...the language (C'est magnifique!), fleur-de-lys, toile anything, lavender, old school French music, Le Tour Eiffel, St. Tropez, Nice, Paris, Mont-St-Michel, cafes, castles, wine corks, large wooden furniture, Fragonard perfume, French country anything, well, you get the idea...
3. I went bungee jumping in college. I loved it, but my sister didn't speak to me for a week when she found out. I promised her I'd never do it again. There's always sky-diving, though.
4. My family means the world to me. We are best friends and I can tell them absolutely anything and everything. This makes me feel so immensely grateful. Though we are apart, they are on my mind and on my heart every single day. We also faithfully enjoy 1-2 hour long Skype chats every Saturday.
5. I absolutely love any chance to dress up. Gowns, pearls, ruffles, sashes, swirls and curls excite me. I'm all girl, or should I say, all girly girl? As a child, I used to dress up all the time, changing my outfits about 2-3 times a day. My mom would come in my room and say, "What happened here? Why are those clothes in the laundry basket? They aren't dirty!" I would even make princess hats out of paper and put a scarf at the pointy end. In some ways, I'm still exactly the same today...all these years later.
6. I'm a risk taker. I adore adventure, travel, and culture. Every time I see a plane in the sky, I can't help but wonder where they are going. By God's sweet, undeserved grace, I've traveled to more than 55 countries and have enough memories to last me a lifetime, unless I get amnesia, in which case, I've prepared countless photo albums.
7. Living in Brussels for 3 years still takes my breath away sometimes. It was a longing fulfilled and I'm still so thankful to God for richly blessing me with such an experience. It's where I really grew up and became my own person.
8. I played 4 years of college volleyball. Few people know how fiercely competitive I can be. Shhh...
9. I'm a great sleeper. I can usually fall asleep in less than a minute. My sister timed me once and even though I asked her not to (as I was afraid I'd stay awake under pressure), she told me the next morning that I was asleep in 38 seconds.
10. One of my favorite sounds is a distant train horn in the night.
11. I only wear a contact in one eye, my left one. (-2.75) My right eye is near perfect.
12. I love warm, peanut-butter, chocolate chip and pretzel cookies. Notice that that is plural. Very plural.
13. How I love to create! One of my favorite things that I began my first year of college has been to create these artistic journals, which include poems I've written, drawings I've done, lists galore, verses, magazine clippings, illustrations of special moments, memories, photographs, keepsakes, etc. I have about 8 or so that are chock full of my own reflections on life. They are precious to me.
14. I have a terrible habit of cutting my toenails too short. Inevitably, I make at least one toe bleed. That's the best excuse I have for getting pedicures every so often.
15. My first job was when I was 13 and I've been working every since. When I was 12, I wanted all the nice, little things that all my friends seemed to have. My parents said, "Ok, then you can get a job." So, I got on my bike and cycled to our local library, The North Palm Beach Library and asked if I could please have a job. Their reply, "Oh, I'm sorry, honey, but you're too young. You could always volunteer." So, that summer, I read books to children during their story hours. The next summer, they offered me a job as a page and I started making (and spending) my own money. Two years later, it was Fran's Hallmark in the newly opened Gardens Mall. Then, Burdine's (owned by Macy's), then Palm Beach Shores Resort (Kids Club), then nannying, then finally, my teaching career. I am so grateful that my parents fostered such a great work ethic in me.
16. A few life highlights include: para sailing in Malta, seeing the sunrise over clouds at 10,000 feet on a volcano in Hawaii, snorkeling on Champagne Reef in Dominica where warm bubbles are constantly flowing from heat vents in the ocean, swimming with sharks in Belize, singing for the 50th anniverary of D-Day in France and England with my college chorale, hearing and seeing the crack of a glacier calving in Alaska, playing with destitute Bolivian children in the Andes Mountains, going down a dry-luge slide in the Swiss Alps, swimming in the Dead Sea, and dune-bashing in Dubai.
17. I applied to be on the CBS show Survivor. If chosen, I would've ended up in Thailand. The video my sister and I made is the MOST embarrassing thing I think I've ever done. No one will ever see it again, if I can help it, anyway.
18. Music is a passion of mine. I so appreciate the creativity and artistry involved and couldn't imagine life without it. One of my favorite movies is August Rush because I resonate with the way the 3 main characters felt the music in their souls and heard it even when it wasn't playing. I regret giving up the piano and wish that the guitar in my living room wasn't dusty. One of these days, I hope to excel in both.
19. I am a descendant of one of the men who crossed the Delaware River with George Washington on my mom's paternal side. Mmmm, is it too late to join DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution)?
20. I recently became a scuba diver and absolutely love it! Over the summer ('16), my sister, Julie, and I obtained our Advanced Open Water certification and Nitrox certification, as well. So far, I've done about 35 dives in the Caribbean, Florida, Africa, and the UAE. The highlight thus far has been swimming with 6 species of sharks on one of our deeper dives. We were even able to see a hammerhead at our safety stop! It was incredibly thrilling. Here are some diving photos from the summer.
21. One of the things on my life wish-list is to attend a Paris Fashion show.
22. I go to bed too late. Then, every morning, as I pull myself away from my bed, much like pulling two strong magnets apart, I say to myself, "OK, tonight is the night I'm going to bed early!"
23. Our family raises service dogs, who will breed more service dogs. We work with New Horizons Service Dogs and love to see how dogs make such a difference. Here are my favorite summer pictures of our dogs. Oakley, our Lab, has already given birth to 3 litters of service dogs and Keebler, our spunky 3-year-old Golden Retriever, is almost ready to start the breeding process.
24. I love, love, love the details in life. I pay attention to things like the lines on a leaf illuminated by sunlight, the perfectly spaced patterns on a seashell, or the way some frogs seem to be smiling. It's truly the little things in life can sometimes bring us so much joy.
25. Learning something new everyday invigorates me. I'm a big believer in researching something if you don't know much about it and I've gained so much new knowledge through this practice. I also love talking to people to find out more about their culture, experiences and why they do what they do. People are often the best teachers, especially when they have passion about their subject.
That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about me and feel inspired to make every moment of life count!
2. I'm a francophile, loving all things French...the language (C'est magnifique!), fleur-de-lys, toile anything, lavender, old school French music, Le Tour Eiffel, St. Tropez, Nice, Paris, Mont-St-Michel, cafes, castles, wine corks, large wooden furniture, Fragonard perfume, French country anything, well, you get the idea...
3. I went bungee jumping in college. I loved it, but my sister didn't speak to me for a week when she found out. I promised her I'd never do it again. There's always sky-diving, though.
4. My family means the world to me. We are best friends and I can tell them absolutely anything and everything. This makes me feel so immensely grateful. Though we are apart, they are on my mind and on my heart every single day. We also faithfully enjoy 1-2 hour long Skype chats every Saturday.
5. I absolutely love any chance to dress up. Gowns, pearls, ruffles, sashes, swirls and curls excite me. I'm all girl, or should I say, all girly girl? As a child, I used to dress up all the time, changing my outfits about 2-3 times a day. My mom would come in my room and say, "What happened here? Why are those clothes in the laundry basket? They aren't dirty!" I would even make princess hats out of paper and put a scarf at the pointy end. In some ways, I'm still exactly the same today...all these years later.
6. I'm a risk taker. I adore adventure, travel, and culture. Every time I see a plane in the sky, I can't help but wonder where they are going. By God's sweet, undeserved grace, I've traveled to more than 55 countries and have enough memories to last me a lifetime, unless I get amnesia, in which case, I've prepared countless photo albums.
7. Living in Brussels for 3 years still takes my breath away sometimes. It was a longing fulfilled and I'm still so thankful to God for richly blessing me with such an experience. It's where I really grew up and became my own person.
8. I played 4 years of college volleyball. Few people know how fiercely competitive I can be. Shhh...
9. I'm a great sleeper. I can usually fall asleep in less than a minute. My sister timed me once and even though I asked her not to (as I was afraid I'd stay awake under pressure), she told me the next morning that I was asleep in 38 seconds.
10. One of my favorite sounds is a distant train horn in the night.
11. I only wear a contact in one eye, my left one. (-2.75) My right eye is near perfect.
12. I love warm, peanut-butter, chocolate chip and pretzel cookies. Notice that that is plural. Very plural.
13. How I love to create! One of my favorite things that I began my first year of college has been to create these artistic journals, which include poems I've written, drawings I've done, lists galore, verses, magazine clippings, illustrations of special moments, memories, photographs, keepsakes, etc. I have about 8 or so that are chock full of my own reflections on life. They are precious to me.
14. I have a terrible habit of cutting my toenails too short. Inevitably, I make at least one toe bleed. That's the best excuse I have for getting pedicures every so often.
15. My first job was when I was 13 and I've been working every since. When I was 12, I wanted all the nice, little things that all my friends seemed to have. My parents said, "Ok, then you can get a job." So, I got on my bike and cycled to our local library, The North Palm Beach Library and asked if I could please have a job. Their reply, "Oh, I'm sorry, honey, but you're too young. You could always volunteer." So, that summer, I read books to children during their story hours. The next summer, they offered me a job as a page and I started making (and spending) my own money. Two years later, it was Fran's Hallmark in the newly opened Gardens Mall. Then, Burdine's (owned by Macy's), then Palm Beach Shores Resort (Kids Club), then nannying, then finally, my teaching career. I am so grateful that my parents fostered such a great work ethic in me.
16. A few life highlights include: para sailing in Malta, seeing the sunrise over clouds at 10,000 feet on a volcano in Hawaii, snorkeling on Champagne Reef in Dominica where warm bubbles are constantly flowing from heat vents in the ocean, swimming with sharks in Belize, singing for the 50th anniverary of D-Day in France and England with my college chorale, hearing and seeing the crack of a glacier calving in Alaska, playing with destitute Bolivian children in the Andes Mountains, going down a dry-luge slide in the Swiss Alps, swimming in the Dead Sea, and dune-bashing in Dubai.
17. I applied to be on the CBS show Survivor. If chosen, I would've ended up in Thailand. The video my sister and I made is the MOST embarrassing thing I think I've ever done. No one will ever see it again, if I can help it, anyway.
18. Music is a passion of mine. I so appreciate the creativity and artistry involved and couldn't imagine life without it. One of my favorite movies is August Rush because I resonate with the way the 3 main characters felt the music in their souls and heard it even when it wasn't playing. I regret giving up the piano and wish that the guitar in my living room wasn't dusty. One of these days, I hope to excel in both.
19. I am a descendant of one of the men who crossed the Delaware River with George Washington on my mom's paternal side. Mmmm, is it too late to join DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution)?
20. I recently became a scuba diver and absolutely love it! Over the summer ('16), my sister, Julie, and I obtained our Advanced Open Water certification and Nitrox certification, as well. So far, I've done about 35 dives in the Caribbean, Florida, Africa, and the UAE. The highlight thus far has been swimming with 6 species of sharks on one of our deeper dives. We were even able to see a hammerhead at our safety stop! It was incredibly thrilling. Here are some diving photos from the summer.
21. One of the things on my life wish-list is to attend a Paris Fashion show.
22. I go to bed too late. Then, every morning, as I pull myself away from my bed, much like pulling two strong magnets apart, I say to myself, "OK, tonight is the night I'm going to bed early!"
23. Our family raises service dogs, who will breed more service dogs. We work with New Horizons Service Dogs and love to see how dogs make such a difference. Here are my favorite summer pictures of our dogs. Oakley, our Lab, has already given birth to 3 litters of service dogs and Keebler, our spunky 3-year-old Golden Retriever, is almost ready to start the breeding process.
24. I love, love, love the details in life. I pay attention to things like the lines on a leaf illuminated by sunlight, the perfectly spaced patterns on a seashell, or the way some frogs seem to be smiling. It's truly the little things in life can sometimes bring us so much joy.
25. Learning something new everyday invigorates me. I'm a big believer in researching something if you don't know much about it and I've gained so much new knowledge through this practice. I also love talking to people to find out more about their culture, experiences and why they do what they do. People are often the best teachers, especially when they have passion about their subject.
That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about me and feel inspired to make every moment of life count!
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