Thanks to Marion (Affection for Fitness) I have seen this tagging post floating around on a few blogs before she chose to tag me. That means you get the pleasure of reading my responses to her questions and answering a few of my own.
Here are the rules:
1. post these rules.
2. you must post 11 random things yourself.
3. answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
4. create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. go to their blog and tell them that you’ve tagged them.
11 Random Things About Me
1) I think sandwiches taste better if you squish them first.
2) My ears are pierced and I love to wear dangly earrings. at one point I owned more than 200 pairs.
3) I can't remember the last time I left my toenails unpainted. They are usually painted a shade of pink (right now they are matte navy blue because Chris bought it for me).
4) I can't stand the sound of an alarm clock beeping (even on tv) yet one of my jobs is dispatching alarms where I heard beeping and sirens for 12 hours straight.
5) I have a weakness for teen television dramas and fiction novels.
6) Whenever I hear the song "One Fine Day" by The Chirelles I get instantly happy.
7) I giggle when I laugh so much so that when I was young my dad nicknames me "Giggles" and bought me a stuffed animal that also giggled.
8) I eat toast that can better be referred to as warmed bread with a slightly golden hue.
9) I sleep with two down duvets on even in the summer because I like the weight of the blankets.
10) After my first date with my husband I told my friends that I was going to marry him. One our second date I told my husband. Our third date was several months later because I scared him away. We got engaged 9 months after that and married 9 months after that. We've been married just over a year.
11) I've always wanted to go to Colorado, but I'm not sure why. It just feels like my kind of place.
Marion's Questions for Me
1. Briefly, what is your best fitness or dieting/weight management or cooking advice (Choose the category you're best at)?
I don't think I'm best at any of these yet. I'm still learning. Fitness-I like to keep variety (yoga, swimming, classes, working out with a trainer, working out with my husband). Dieting/weight management-I've never been on a diet. I just like healthy foods, but have a hard time staying away from sugar and carbs. Lately my advice to others has been "If you can read or chat with a friend while working out or go somewhere after without showering then you have not worked out hard enough".
2.What is your favorite meal and dessert?
My favourite meal is homemade maccaroni and cheese with green beans on the side. My favourite dessert is homemade apple crisp with vanilla ice cream.
3. What singer(s)/band(s) could you spend hours listening to on youtube.com?
I spend hours every weekend listening to music and watching videos on YouTube to pass the time at work (I dispatch on weekends and there is a lot of down time). You name it - I listen to it - lots of Adele and The Band Perry lately.
4. What are your favorite exercising songs?
Creating a new workout playlist is on my to-do list this weekend. Topping my old list are... Ain't No Other Man and Dirty by Christina Aguilera, Black Horse and a Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall, Crazy in Love by Beyonce, SexyBack by Justin Timberlake, Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna, and Be Somebody by Kings of Leon. I chose songs that keep me moving on the treadmill, elliptical, and cybex.
5. What movies are your all-time favorites?
Deep End of the Ocean, The Princess Bride, Life as a House, Rounders, Gattaca, A Walk to Remember, Double Jeopardy, anything about dancing, and my guilty pleasure Galaxy Quest.
6. What is something nice that a random person did for you that you'll always remember?
Last year someone ahead of me in the Tim Horton's (donought shop) drive through paid for my entire order leaving a message of Merry Christmas at the counter. I was surprised because I ordered about $20 worth of stuff to take into work. I passed on the favour to someone else this year.
7. What book(s) do you recommend (fiction or nonfiction)?
I'm always reading as I was an English major and am now a teacher. Currently I'm reading a lot of teen fiction (The Death Cure by James Dashner and The First Stone by Dan Aker). I just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Sometimes God Has A Kids Face by Bruce Ritter. I like non-fiction books by Malcolm Gladwell and poetry by Langston Hughes and Robert Frost.
8. Tell about a moment in your life that really mattered and changed how you felt about yourself.
I talked about this in an earlier blog. My defining moment was when I entered a fair ambassador competition at the age of 16. I entered after being begged to apply as they were short contestants and the outgoing ambassador thought I would like the experience giving a speech in public (I was enrolled in a public speaking group called Toastmasters). I entered up against all the girls I envied for their beauty that were popular in school. While waiting between rounds in the changeroom with all the girls I listened to their conversations about how they did not like how they looked, how they looked fat (they were size 0-4 and I was size 12), and generally talked down about themselves. I decided at that moment that if they could not be happy looking as beautiful as they did there was no way becoming more like them would make me more happier. I would just have to be happy with myself as I was. I went on to beat all of them out, placing runner up to a girl from out of town who was very deserving. Turns out the girls I envied that night were envious of me and wished they could present themselves as confidently and as eloquently as I did that night. I haven't looked back - I've been happy with who I am as I am every day since.
9. What would you like to see more (or less) on other people's blogs?
I would like to see more photos showing progress or lack thereof and of people doing the exercises they speak of in their blogs. I would also like to read more about failures along the way and how people overcame them or pushed through them.
10.What is something you wish people would understand about you?
What makes me happy is spending time with my husband, teaching others, learning something new, and living in a clutter-free space. How I actually spend my time is dispatching, teaching, tutoring, spending time with my husband, cleaning house/running errands, and relaxing.
11. If you had a $500 shopping spree (that couldn't be for any family needs) what would you buy for yourself?
I've managed to save up quite a chunk of my allowance and tutoring money precisely because I can't figure out what I would like to spend it on (other than a lavish vacation). If I had the time I would spend $500 to take an art class and buy the art supplies (maybe this summer?).
My Questions For Those I Tag
1) If you had one day off with unlimited funds how would you spend it?
2) What is one thing you would like to change about your life?
3) What book, song, and movie would you recommend to me?
4) What is one website or blog you peruse a lot and suggest others should check out?
5) How do you fit working out into your schedule?
6) What do you like to read about on fitness journey blogs?
7) What is one fitness challenge you would like to try this year?
8) What makes you laugh/makes you happy?
9) Who in your life influenced you the most and why?
10) What do you do for a living?
11) What is one thing I should know about you?
Hi Amber! A million years ago, I was an English major too. I was very surprised about how much I liked Shakespeare plays--especially Much Ado About Nothing and Taming Of The Shrew.
ReplyDeleteI *love!* Malcolm Gladwell books and further read any similar type of book from the library (but the others pale in comparison).
Gotta love your defining moment above! I agree 100%. People over-value their looks, and then wonder why they lack confidence. Knowledge applied, talents and skills honed and used is a more precious jewel.
I'm glad I picked you. :D
:-) Marion