40 Things You Don’t Know About Me

This month, on April 29, 2015, I will turn 40.  Yep, the BIG 4-0.  And to celebrate, I have decided to write a few posts about the number 40.  This is the first one…40 things you don’t know (or might not know) about me. You can read my official about page here, but I had more fun writing this one.

They are in no particular order of importance….enjoy!

1. I have stood at the equator in two different places – Ecuador and Uganda.
2. I was born in Miami, Florida and my sister was born in Denver, Colorado.  We lived in both of those cities for a short time; therefore, I spent most of my growing up years living in small towns.
3. I lived in a small Toyota RV for 3.5 months.  I measured it once and it was only 125 square feet of living space.  I learned a lot about what you can live without.
4. I was a finisher in the 2014 Pikes Peak Ascent and part of the PikesPeakSports.our team.  Yes…I was actually a sponsored runner!  It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done and one of my greatest accomplishments
5. My favorite dessert is cheesecake.
6. I was runner-up in Miss Flag City USA pageant my senior year of high school.
7. I grew up as a PK (pastor’s kid).
8. I won a writing contest in 5th grade. It was the first time I was paid for my writing as I won several Susan B. Anthony coins.  Little did my teacher, Mr. Oliver, know the seed he was planting into my life.
9. I practiced as a licensed Physical Therapist for 12 years and quit my job as a Physical Therapist at the end of August 2011 to work full-time in our business and ministry.
10. I traveled to Haiti after the earthquake to give medical care as a volunteer Physical Therapist.  Commercial flights were not entering the country yet and so they flew us in on a private plane.  I saw so much emotional and physical pain as a result of the earthquake and yet so much joy in the lives of my patients.  Such an amazing experience.
11. I lived in Belize, Central America for two years as a volunteer/missionary.  I worked with a nonprofit organization, CARE Belize, and helped children with disabilities.  It was definitely some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done.
12. I have a white birthmark.  Yep…on my stomach where most people will never see it.  Trust me.
13. I love to laugh and have fun, but I don’t like sarcasm. I believe there is always some truth to sarcasm and prefer to encourage those around me instead.
14. My personality type via the Myers Briggs test is ENFJ.  What is yours?
15. My favorite food is Mexican.  I think I could eat it everyday if needed.
16. My favorite color is red.
17. I learned to drive on a stick shift car, a Chevy Sprint.  My dad said if he ever needed to go to the hospital and I was the only one to take him, I needed to know how to drive a stick.  Glad I learned.  However, I failed my first drivers test.  I was looking ahead to where I was supposed to turn and ran a stop sign.  Oops!  I still say there was a tree covering the stop sign.
18. I played the flute in band and piccalo in marching band.  Unfortunately, I was bullied about being in the band and quit after my freshman year even though I had natural talent.  I was first chair in the band as a freshman!
19. My favorite candy bar is Reese’s Cup.
20. I twirled baton for a year when I was young.  Then, I played basketball throughout high school and ran track my senior year.  However, I wasn’t a great athlete.  I participated in sports more for the social interaction.
21. I love to travel and have been to over ten countries.  We traveled to St. Maarten for my honeymoon.
22. I attended the same high school as Ben Roethlisberger.
23. My first kiss was during a play my 8th grade year. I had the lead role in Lumberjacks and Weddingbells and had to kiss my real-life “boyfriend” at the time in front of a live audience.  My classmates never let me live that one down!
24. CJ and I have paid off over $150,000 of debt (not including a mortgage).  This includes school loans, but also debt we acquired from poor financial decisions.  We’ve learned a lot from our mistakes and no longer use credit cards as a result.
25. I met my husband in prison…prison ministry that is.
26. I love to sing and grew up performing in choirs, show choir, musicals, etc.
27. I love getting a good bargain and am a recovering shopaholic.
28. I’ve finished three half marathons but have no desire to do a marathon.
29. I’ve been married for 16 years. Our friends joked that we were the greatest “Hitz” of 1998.
30. Both of my parents have a doctorate degree and always valued education. My stepdad also has a doctorate degree and graduated from MIT.
31. I was a speaker before I was an author.
32. I committed my life to Christ my junior year of high school.
33. I like coffee better than tea. #coffeelover
34. My favorite Girl Scout cookies are Samoas.
35. I love adventure and have been white water rafting, snorkeling, and repelling.
36. CJ and I drove a 1989 Suburban from Ohio to Belize…over 3000 miles.  Oh, the stories we could tell from that trip!
37. I have the gift of sleep. Once I slept through a fire happening across the street with multiple fire trucks, police sirens, our dog barking, etc.  Actually a bit scary, if you ask me.
38. I used to sleepwalk when I was growing up. One morning my mom found me sound asleep under the baby grand piano.
39. I grew up reading and collecting the books in the Nancy Drew series.
40. I actually enjoyed gross anatomy when I was studying physical therapy during college and I was the one to open the body bag and make the first cut in our group. It fascinated me to study the human body in 3D (not just on paper) and actually see how everything fits together.

BONUS:  I’ve summited five 14ers in Colorado and plan to do more in the near future.  I love hiking in the mountains.  The picture below is from my FIRST 14er I summited.  What an amazing feeling!

What a fun post to write!  Did you learn anything new about me?  If so, share it in the comments below.

And if you’re interested, you can read my “official” about page here.

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