30-Day Bloggity Blogness: Day 1

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts

Introduction

My name is Angela. I have been married to my best friend, Matthew, since November 2000. We met in college and were mutual friends for almost a year before we started dating. Our first date was September 24, 1999. We got engaged on February 12, 2000. We got married on November 19, 2000. When you know, you know.

Matthew has worked (in various departments) at Cigna Healthcare since he graduated from college in December 2000. I taught elementary school for seven years directly out of college (1999 to 2006) and am now a stay-at-home mom. We both earned our master's degrees and enjoyed going out to eat, traveling, and sleeping late on Saturdays. We spent five-and-a-half glorious years as a married couple before we started our family. (Why did we used to think life was hard???)

NYC--December 2002

We have three sons: Andrew, Benjamin, and Thomas. (More on them in another post.)

We now spend our time cleaning the house, changing diapers, and traveling. We love to travel. Some people golf. Others go out to eat a lot. Others own a boat and spend time on the lake. We travel. Specifically to Myrtle Beach and to Disney World, but to other locations, too. Sometimes we bring our kids, but other times we are fortunate enough to go alone.

Recent Picture

January 7, 2012

3:45 a.m.

Right before running the Disney Half Marathon 

15 Interesting Facts

1. I once punched a complete stranger in the chest. (Click here to read details.)

2. When I was nine years old, I wore women's size 9 shoes. When I was 10, I wore a 10. And, yes, when I was 11, I wore an 11. (I stopped there, thankfully, though now that I run longer distances, I have to wear size 12 running shoes or my toenails go dead--gross, I know...) So basically, I can wear the same shoes that I wore in the 5th grade.

And the same roller skates.

(Yes, I still have them, and, yes, I can still wear them. But mine are WAY more beat-up and dirtier than this!)

3. I have two brothers and no sisters. My husband has two brothers and no sisters. We have three boys. We are destined to be surrounded by a LOT of testosterone. My only saving grace is our female cat. (Though the male cat kind of cancels her out...)

4. When I was in the 1st grade, I won a reading contest in my class. I read over 1000 books. The prize was that I got to go up in a small airplane and fly around my town for 30 minutes (with a classmate's dad, who was the pilot and owner of said plane). That was circa 1984, and I barely remember it. The next time I ever flew was in 2000 on my honeymoon.

5. That wasn't the only first that took place on my honeymoon. ;)

6. Roughly a year and a half ago, I could not run for 60 seconds without stopping for breath. I also weighed about 30 pounds more than I do now. Last Saturday, I completed my 12th race, 4 of which were half marathons since December. (If you have ever said, "I only run if something is chasing me," that was me. If you are that person but have a desire to be able to run, click here.)

7. My middle son has Down syndrome. More on that later. ;)

8. My birthday is March 14. Which is 3-14. Which is like 3.14. Which is pi. If you don't know what "pi" is, then you must've slept through geometry. Two weeks from today is Pi Day, otherwise known as my 35th birthday.

9. I am an organized person, and I like my days to be very predictable. I am also a grammar nazi.

10. Matthew and I wanted four children until we had three. Three children, especially one with special needs, is PLENTY for us. Part of me is sad that I will never get my Katherine Elizabeth, but 99% of the time, I'm fine with the family that God has given us.

11. I am one of those really annoying pregnant ladies that never gets sick and loves being pregnant. I am also a self-proclaimed poster child for C-sections.

12. I have over 1000 Facebook friends. I am not bragging, only pointing out that most of those people I have never actually met in real life. I met many of them online. There are two kinds of people in this world: People who get that and people who don't.

13. My very first movie to ever see in the theater was Ernest Goes to Camp. It was October 1987.

14. I love cheese and Dr. Pepper. Like borderline-obsessed love cheese and Dr. Pepper. I don't partake of either as much as I'd like, but if I could marry both of them, I would.

15. I also love my minivan. (Again...there are two kinds of people in this world...)

That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed. And if you didn't, why in the heck did you read the whole thing? It's YOUR time; don't waste it!