Let’s Chat | 25 Things About Me

Good morning lovelies!  Since we’re just getting into the swing of things over here (and still on a little bit of a high from officially launching Live Well Play Together), I wanted to share a few facts about me to help you all get to know a little bit more about who I am and what I like.  So grab some coffee and let’s chat.

I’d love to get to know you better, too.  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know something fun about you and where you’re visiting from!

• My name is Mary Leigh.  I go by Mary Leigh or ML, but don’t really have other nicknames that I can think of.
• I drink all my coffee decaf.  This started when I was pregnant with Little and since I had already given up the caffeine in my lattes, I just didn’t pick it back up.  Caffeine doesn’t make me more alert, but it does keep me from sleeping if I drink it too late in the day.  I love the taste and smell of a good coffee drink and that’s enough to get me more alert and moving throughout the day.  I do love a good latte though.
• Hubs and I met in college and started dating on Leap Day.  While we were dating (and possibly still) Hubs knew exactly how many days we had been together.  It was really special and we celebrated some pretty awesome days.  I do remember that Thanksgiving was on day 1,000.  We got engaged on day 1,234 and married on day 1,583.
• I studied Economics and Public Policy in college and have a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Non-profit management.  I worked in the public university system after graduating for 4 years before deciding to become a stay-at-home mom.  I loved the university, but momming is my favorite job, hands down.
• Baked goods are my kryptonite.  I just love them.  I love cookies and brownies and ice cream (although that’s not a baked good) and donuts.  Little does, too so whenever we get treats now we share.

• I am always looking for things to get rid of in our home.  Things that we don’t use anymore, things that don’t fit well, don’t work, are broken, etc.  I don’t love clutter at all.  But I do save Christmas cards and birthday party invitations with pictures of my friends’ kids on them.  I just can’t toss them.
• I almost never paint my finger nails.  It’s not because I don’t like it, but because I always pick at it as soon as I spot the tiniest chip and it starts to look terrible.
• I like Parks & Rec. better than The Office.  Hubs will disagree with me on this, but I didn’t get into The Office.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s funny.  But, I binge watched Parks & Rec in the first few weeks of Little’s life when I was spending almost all my time on the couch nursing him and I thought it was hilarious.  Maybe it’s because I worked in the public sector.  Maybe because it’s just funnier.  I don’t know.
• Fall and spring are my favorite seasons.  I love cool mornings and warm days.  I don’t really like triple digit heat plus humidity in the summer and I definitely do not like the cold.
• There are 4 kids in my family so it was almost never quiet growing up.  We’re all pretty close, but live in 3 different cities between the 4 of us and none of us live in our hometown so we aren’t all together nearly as much as we’d like.  (One sister lives in the same town as me though, which I love.)

• I love being outside and near the water, but that doesn’t have to mean the beach.  It can also mean the mountains on the lake.  I just like the outdoors and water.
• I do not like swimming in the ocean.  It’s scary to me.  I used to not be as scared, but the more I realize how huge the ocean is and how powerful it is, the more I am convinced that I’m good to admire it from the beach, dip my toes in on a walk, or ride on it in a boat, but you won’t find me swimming out very far.  It’s beautiful, but it’s not a swimming pool.  I mean, sharks?  Nope.  Nope.
• I really want a farmhouse table and love farmhouse style homes.  I don’t have one, but I love them.  I don’t know that our home really has a specific style.  It’s mostly full of things we like that are comfortable and came to us on a great deal.  And toys.  So many toys.  I’m not complaining about it though.  We do life here and I love it.
• I’m wouldn’t call myself a “runner” (yet), but I do like to run.  It’s something that I’ve always thought I wasn’t very good at, but I’ve been practicing it and I can tell a difference in my body’s strength and endurance.  It makes me feel strong and able-bodied to see myself improving.  I’d like to run a 5K this year, I think.
• I’m pretty good at small talk.  I’m a people person and will talk to anyone.  I really enjoy meeting and getting to know people, so small talk comes easily to me.

• I am good at not going shopping.  I used to shop just for fun.  Now, I don’t even go to the mall unless I really need to.  I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I’m way better at saving money than I used to be.  I think this has a lot to do with being more content with what I have and also having so many more things to do with my time.  But whatever the reason, I’m not mad about it.  Hubs isn’t either.
• I drink almost exclusively water.  And lattes.  And the occasional Ginger Ale or Diet Coke if I’m out.  Some people get tired of the plain taste of water.  I do not.  But I prefer it with lots of ice.
• I prefer to use reusable bags at the grocery store.  This is partly because I want to be environment friendly and mostly because the bags pile up way faster than we can use them around here and I don’t like the clutter.
• I don’t mind eating by myself at a restaurant.  You know some people think it’s weird, or don’t really like being alone.  I actually don’t mind it one little bit.  I love people and love being around people.  But I don’t have any problem being by myself.
• But I don’t think I would last very long by myself.  I think a few hours would be all I’d really like and then I’d like to have people around me.

• Little and I leave the house almost every morning.  If we don’t leave the house, we try to go outside.  I think it’s helpful for both of us.  We maintain a pretty flexible schedule so we can change plans pretty quickly if needed, but we try to get out everyday.  These outings most often include the library for story time, local parks and playgrounds, donut shops, the grocery store, and the backyard.
• I don’t love conflict, but I’m not afraid of it either.  I’m a big believer in speaking the truth in love.  I think that you can and should speak honestly and say what you mean, but that you can do that in kindness.
• It makes me really happy to see others around me encouraged and doing well.  I especially love to be around other women that are passionate about life and are willing to share that in a way that builds others up.  I hope that you’ll find some of that around the blog.
• I wish I was more of a morning person.  I can think of so many things I’d like to do before everyone else in the house was awake and moving around, but so far, I haven’t mastered it.  I’m working on it though.
• I have some pretty ridiculous dance moves and sometimes I just do them at random times.  Life is fun and sometimes you just need to get it out a little bit.

 

That’s it, folks.  Hopefully you feel like you know a little bit more about me.  Now it’s your turn.  Tell me about yourself below in the comments.  Where are you from?  What is one fun fact about yourself?