I've been tagged. I don't really know how all of this works but I was tagged by Kourtini to share 6 random things about myself. So here goes...
1. I love, love, LOVE organizing! Now, I am not an organizational freak and my house is definitely not in tip-top shape all of the time but there is something very satisfactory to me about organizing. I always feel so much better when I can have things in their place and out of the way. When I was younger, I used to organize my dresser drawers for the fun of it! I am always thinking of new ways to organize and come up with better solutions that make me go "ahh!" (as in a feel good ahh, not a stressed ahh). Just today I made out lists that need to be done for each room in our house, things to buy, things to paint, etc. I don't know when we will get it all done and have not set a timeline but at least I have it on paper so I can stop thinking about it! My husband does not always appreciate my skills but he does admit that it makes sense and makes things much easier to find. Now if I could just get him to be organized as well!
2. I am not a huge sweets fan. I think I crave salty things far more than sweets. Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate and sugary things, its just that I rarely ever crave for it. If its around and available then I might eat it but I don't need a sweet fix everyday. I find myself craving pickles, olives, and salty cheese spreads with crackers way more often than a desperate need for brownies. And if given a choice, chocolate chip cookies are my favorite dessert. I don't go wild for ice cream, cake, or pies. But give me a chocolate chip cookie and I'll take two!
3. Since our honeymoon was in Florida and the Bahamas, James and I have made an effort to say that every anniversary following that was to be somewhere warm and close to the water. Now we do realize that it may not happen every anniversary but so far we have made good on our promise! We just had such a great time on our honeymoon that we thought it would be nice if we could take a little mini-vacation everytime our anniversary rolls around so it will commemorate how it all started. This is where we have been so far...
This was just this year. We went back to Orlando and enjoyed the warmth and the sun. We love vacationing in Florida.
This was last year, our first anniversary. We went up to Lake Geneva in Wis. and had a great hotel room with views of the expansive lake. Supposedly all the rich from Chicago vacation there so it was fun to get a feel of the area. (The lake is behind the fountain.)
This is our honeymoon in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We stayed here and in Orlando and also took a cruise to the Bahamas.
4. Since moving to the Chicago area I have only met new people. There was no one here that I had known before, which means everyone here knows me as a blonde. I think most people think that my blonde is natural and when I confess that alas, it is not, they are surprised. I have been highlighting my hair for 5 years now and can't really imagine myself other than a blonde. I had white blonde hair as a kid that gradually turned darker as I got older. Once I hit my teens my hair was a very dark, blah, brown. At one point I finally decided that I would go for highlights to brighten up my features and do something different and then I have never looked back! At our wedding reception, my brother-in-law, Mike, did a little speech where he said that James was looking for a girl that was pretty, petite, and a natural blonde and that at least I got 2 out of 3. :)
The redhead and the blondie.
5. The name of my blog is Showers of Joy. That is what my mom told me is the meaning of my name and why they chose it when I was born. They named me April Joy because they felt as though they had been "showered with blessings of joy" to be given another child. I liked that description and thought it was a fitting blog name as well. :)
6. I never finished college and that is a big regret of mine. After being homeschooled all throughout high school I unfortunately did not feel prepared whatsoever to go into college even though I felt like I wanted to. My parents are very laid back in their approach and have a "whatever you want" mentality. So instead of going to school, I worked several jobs throughout the years. I never felt like I was smart enough to go to college and never had any real confidence to go, no one to encourage me, until I met James. He felt like I could do it if I really wanted to and that I could excel at it. So with his encouragement I started taking some courses at the local community college. I took mostly beginner courses but got A's and B's in all of them. I was able to complete a year of school before we had to switch gears and I needed to work to help pay the bills. Someday I would like to go back to school and actually earn my Bachelor's. That would be a huge accomplishment for me and James would really like me to do that as well. So maybe someday that regret will turn into an achievement. :)
That's all the randomness for today. I am not tagging anyone because most every blog I read has already been tagged.
