10 Things You Should Know About Me

So I'm just going to point out right now that the majority of the people who will be reading this blog at its start will be people who already know me. But, eventually there will be new readers and people who have literally never met me before. If those readers are anything like me, they'll go through the archives to figure out who the person on the other side of the computer screen is.

So, I guess-- this post is for those people. Hello! So nice of you to be here!

Here are a few things you should know about me, because I'm more than your average basic white girl (although, I'm not denying that I am).

1. Depending on the day, I'm either the youngest of 3 or the 3rd of 4. My parents are awesome people and took in one of my dad's football players when I was a senior in high school. Robbie quickly became my brother. Although I had three siblings while growing up, I now have 4. Robbie is in the Navy stationed in Japan right now, so he's rarely around for family pictures. My older sister, Ashley, is a stay-at-home-mom of 3. My older brother, Matt, is a collegiate football coach. My dad is a high school football coach and my mom teaches 1st grade

2. I mostly speak in movie quotes or song lyrics.

I recall movie quotes and song lyrics really easily. I always have. So 99% of the time, if you say something I'll have a quote of some kind for you. Just a fair warning.

3. I've had the same two best friends since I was 10 years old.

I met Lindsey when my family moved to Rockville when my dad took a coaching job there. She lived down the road and we spent every day that summer together. We quickly became inseparable throughout middle school and high school. College (we call the lost years because we were both so dang busy) we went to school 45 minutes apart but only saw each other on breaks, but it was like nothing had changed. I had the extreme privilege to be her Maid of Honor in her wedding a couple of months ago. It was a beautiful day that I'll treasure forever (and there will be a blog post about it soon).

I met Katie when her family temporarily rented a property my family owned. When my dad would go work on things, I would go with him and Katie and I would "hang out" (because even though we were in the 5th grade, calling it "playing" wasn't cool anymore). We went to camp together each summer and were close all throughout high school and college (thank God for cellphones and Facetime). I wouldn't go to anyone else for my issues.

4. I run on coffee and sunshine.

You'll see me most of the time with coffee in my hand and a smile on my face.

5. I danced for 15 years of my life.

I miss it everyday. I started with ballet at age 5 and picked up tap and jazz along the way. I did multiple competitions a year and won titles. I made so many lasting friendships and learned so much about myself.

6. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 18.

Type 1 was a shocking diagnosis. It has drastically changed things in my life for the better. There are frustrations with it for sure, but I don't look at myself as being sick (or at least I try not to- some days its hard not to), I just have a little more to deal with than most. One of the things I'm passionate about is raising funds for research so diabetes isn't something anyone has to deal with anymore.

7. I LOVE the Hoosier state.

I now reside in Illinois. It's fine, but there's nothing like that good ole' Hoosier hospitality. There's nothing like US 36 in the fall. I love the Covered Bridge Festival. Indianapolis is one of my favorite cities in the world.

8. Chicken Nuggets are my favorite food.

No shame.

9. I self identify as Leslie Knope

I'm passionate about my work and Indiana.... and I talk really fast.

10. I'm just now getting into The Office TV series

People hyped it up too much for me to get into it before now. No shame. (Also it IS as funny as people told me)