TAG: 19 Random Facts

Before we get into this tag, I just wanted to apologize for being MIA for the past several days. My husband and I have both been ill and I've haven't had the energy to do much of anything. Yesterday was so rough that I could hardly stand up without feeling like I was going to pass out. Luckily, my Mom is a nurse and she told me what medicine to pick up so I'm feeling quite a bit better today. Plus, my amazing sister brought me loads of medicine, soup, cough drops, ginger ale & chocolate last night. It's times like this that I am truly grateful for my family. (:

Anyhow, this tag is circulating YouTube right but I thought it would be fun to bring it to the blogging world. It was created by Liz [iheartmakeup92]. You can find her YT channel here. Let's jump right in!

High School

Wedding Day

1. I married my "high school sweetheart." Matt and I started dating my freshman year of high school [2004]. We actually broke up for about 6 months my junior year but, obviously, got back together. We got engaged on Christmas Eve of 2009, the year after I graduated, and got married on September 10, 2011. 

From L to R: Jessica, Me, Lindsay, Meghan

2. I have 3 sisters. I have always joked that I have one of each kind--1 full sister [Lindsay 24], 1 half sister [Meghan, 11]  and 1 step sister [Jessica, 22]. While I grew up with Lindsay and Meghan, Jessica lives in Washington and we don't get to see her as much as we'd like to. She flew in for my wedding and Lindsay and I are in talks of going to see her soon, hopefully this year!

3. I have a cat named Boston. I got him when I was 19. I lived alone at the time and I was really lonely. I wanted a dog but I was working full time at the hospital and wasn't home enough to care for a dog, so I ended up with Bos. He is seriously my little baby. I adore him! Fun fact--he is named after the Boston Redsox [a baseball team in the States]. My sister, Lindsay, picked the name.


4. I have always wanted to pursue social work. For as long as I can remember, I've felt a "calling" to help people. I went away to school in 2010 to pursue my degree but when Matt and I got engaged, I moved home to be closer to him. Unfortunately, there is only one college in my area that offers a social work program and it's a private school. The tuition is upwards of $30,000 per year and we can't afford it. I'm hoping that once we pay down our other student debt, I'll finally be able to go back to school.


5. I am insanely afraid of snakes. Even as a child, the sight of a snake made me want to vomit. I'm not sure what it is...I just cannot handle them. I have frequent nightmares about them and I even check the toilet before sitting down now because I saw a photo of a snake coming out of a toilet! My husband always jokes that he is going to put a rubber snake in the toilet to scare me...let's hope, for his sake, that he never tries it! ;) 


6. I still love, and frequently listen to, 90s music. I'll never forget my sister and I making up dance routines to N'SYNC in our garage. I have to say, though, that my all time favorite 90s band is the Spice Girls.


7. I missed my high school graduation. The high school that I went to was SO big. In fact, there were over 1,000 kids in my graduating class. I opted to not sit through graduation because I just felt overwhelmed by how may kids there were. Also, I transferred in my sophomore year. I had a hard time adjusting and never felt like I had good friends at my new school.  I know my parents wish I would have walked with my class, but all that mattered to me was actually graduating and moving on with my life. To this day I do not regret missing graduation.


8. Speaking of high school--I had some serious health scares while in high school. My sophomore year I suffered from persistent migraines. I was in and out of the ER for pain control and I saw several specialists. Doctors were throwing around things like Lupus or Multiple Sclerosis. I eventually ended up at the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago after suffering from a continuous migraine over the span of a month or so. I was admitted to DHC for about a week. They were able to get my headaches under control and put me on preventative meds to keep them from coming back but we never did figure out exactly what caused them. While I do still suffer from migraines, they are easier to control now. My junior year I had a 3rd degree facial burn. My Mom and younger sister were baking cookies and had stacked two pots together to make a double boiler. Because the pots weren't made for that, and they had no way to ventilate, pressure built up and they exploded. It just so happens that I had come downstairs to ask for help with my homework and I was standing right over the pots when they blew up. I was instantly blinded. I blacked out after that--but to make a long story short, I ended up at a burn clinic for close to 2 weeks. I was completely blind the entire time and they weren't sure if I would regain my sight. Thank God, I did and I have minimal scarring. My senior year I had kidney stones. They were too large to pass so I had to have them surgically broken up. High school was not a fun time for me, obviously!


9. I am a Taurus. My personality is pretty consistent with everything you read about Taurus', too! For example, I tend to be a home-body, I am pretty level headed until you make me mad...at which point, I become insanely stubborn, I have a hard time seeing things from the point of view of others, but I tend to follow the rules.


10. My favorite color is purple. It has changed a lot over the years but now I love purple. When Matt & I rented our first house, my crafting room was purple and zebra print. Now, my makeup desk is in our bedroom but I still have some of my purple and zebra print items out.

11. My celebrity crush is Jake Gyllenhaal...for obvious reasons.


12. I love Spring! I live in the midwest so the seasons change pretty frequently. I don't mind the snow in Winter, but the ice freaks me out and driving is too difficult! Summers here are unbearably hot and humid. Fall is gorgeous, too! However, I love watching the flowers bloom in Spring and the temperature is just right. I'll take 60's-70's and thunderstorms any day!


13. I don't like coffee. I know that may really surprise some of you. I have never really been a fan. I do love the smell of coffee beans, though. Is that odd? Yeah, I thought so.


14. My Dad picked my name. My Mom wanted to name me Jordan...I am so glad that never happened! I'm not a fan of names that are suited for a boy and/or a girl! I much prefer gender specific names and while Lorin is the masculine spelling of my name, there aren't many men with that name in the States.


15. I've never broken a bone. I'm probably jinxing myself by saying this, but it's true! I have sprained both of my ankles more times than I can count, but I have yet to break anything.


16. I don't have any tattoos. It's not because I am against them, I just haven't mustered up the courage to actually go have one done. I would like a small peace sign on the upper right hand corner of my right foot. I think when tattoos have meaning, they're beautiful. I don't understand people that have them all over their bodies, but they don't mean anything significant. If I am going to do something permanent to my body, you best believe it's going to mean something important to me!


17. I have had 5 piercings in my life. Two holes in each ear, and a nose ring. I went to job interview several months after having my nose pierced and decided to take it out. I was in the interview for about 3-4 hours and by the time I came out, the hole had closed. I was so upset. I haven't had it redone yet, but I plan to soon.


18. I love chinese food! I am super picky and only like certain items, but it's still one of my favorite cuisines. My favorites are egg rolls, pot stickers, and beef with broccoli. 


19. I want 3 or 4 children. I know this is going to sound so corny but I have always felt like my main purpose in life is to be a Mom. I have known that I wanted kids since I was a kid myself and that feeling has never left me. It's been a struggle for me watching several of my friends have babies. I have often felt jealous or envious of them. However, Matt and I have always been adamant about making sure we're 100% ready for children before we have them. There are things about each of our childhoods that we wouldn't want for our kids, so we're working extra hard now to make sure those things don't happen. We would like to buy a house that our children can grow up in, feel safe in and know that it's "home." Also, we want to be more financially stable so that we're able to provide our children with everything they want and need. I know that we'll have children one day, hopefully soon. All in time, right?


I hope that you guys enjoyed this post and I tag each and every one of you! If you do this tag, make sure to comment below with a link to your blog so I can check it out!

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