30 Things....

There's a blog hop going around that I thought might be fun to jump on. The purpose is to get to know each other a little better and maybe learn some things about us bloggers outside of our horses (or maybe just some horsey facts from long ago because horses have been most of my life). It would be super fun if you all played along too! I'm sorry I'm not sure who to credit for the hop, I saw it on The $900 Facebook Pony, but I know Amanda hopped on it from another blog and I've already forgotten which it was. Feel free to comment if it was you or if you know who! So without further ado... Here are 30 things you may or may not already know about me.

1. I have ZERO natural riding talents. None. Every little bit of skill and knowledge I have now came from lots of hard work, tears, frustration, and some really patient instructors. My old trainer once acknowledged she was surprised I stuck with it because I really wasn't a very good beginner.

2. Along the same lines as 1... I'm not naturally athletic. I tried dance (ballet and tap), gymnastics, and swimming as a kid. The only thing I stuck with was riding. Though I can swim enough to save myself hopefully thanks to all the lessons back in the day.

3. I've always possessed a pretty decent side eye

4. When I was in elementary school, our town library held a raffle for all the kids in town. You could earn 1 entry for each book you read that summer. I read 52 books and won the raffle! It was for a set of wooden blocks that built a pretty legit castle and a set of little metal medieval people and horses. It was amazing.

5. I graduated 6th in my class from (public) high school, but since our class was so small, I wasn't in the top 10%.

6. I've never really had a "squad" of friends. I have a handful of close friends but they don't all necessarily know each other.

7. My best friend and I have known each other since I was in fourth grade and she was in fifth. We met through riding but she doesn't ride any longer.

8. Bestie and I are total opposites. She's outgoing, loud, tall, and blond. I'm more introverted, quieter, short and brunette.

9. I graduated from Skidmore College with a degree in Pyschology. I pretty much knew from the start I would not go into that field, but I really enjoyed learning about it.

10. I'm not an overly picky eater, but I have a list of things I try to avoid as best I can: swiss cheese, eggplant, olives, sausage, and onions. The first four I just don't like, but onions don't like me.

11. I like tomatoes, but not so much ketchup or red sauce. I don't dislike either entirely, but I don't seek them out. Unless we're talking pizza. Always say yes to pizza!

12. Despite my aversion to swiss cheese, I love most others. But if I eat too much, I will get a terrible headache. Evidently, that is a form of lactose intolerance.

13. I've owned 13 horses throughout my equine career thus far, but the most I've had at one time is 5. Usually I just have 1 or 2 simultaneously.

14. I have an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's Disease. If you have to have one, it's the best one to have because all it does is kill your thyroid. Not that you want that, but it's controllable with a medication that's inexpensive and has basically no side effects.

15. I have two brothers. One is 3.5 years older than me (we share both parents) and the other is 7.5 years younger (we have different moms). We are absolutely nothing alike and share zero interests. But we all get along pretty well now that we're adults.

Pictured here with our dad at his wedding

16. Speaking of weddings, I have been in 4. The first I was a flower girl for my cousin when I was 4 or 5. The second I was the Maid of Honor for my first step mom when I was 7. They didn't have a real wedding party, so I was MOH and my older brother was the best man. Next was my older brothers wedding and I was a bridesmaid. The most recent was my dad's third wedding. It is Jewish tradition that both parents walk the groom down the aisle, but my dad's parents have passed. My older brother and I walked Dad down, and my little brother was his best man.

don't mind what's going on with my dress... it was windy!

17. My legs don't get tan. Ever. Even if I make an effort.

For the record, I am not wearing white stockings.

18. I hate running, but I have completed 7 half marathons and countless 5K's. I kind of enjoy races because runners are the nicest people on the planet. That's probably the only reason. My half PR is 2 hours 9 minutes and my 5K PR is 28 minutes and change. I can't do any of that anymore.

19. I give human traits to everything, be it horses, dogs, or vehicles. They all get names, and I'm usually very sad if I have to say good bye to any of them. You may already know this since I wrote an entire blog post about trading in my truck last year.

20. In college, I didn't have a minor, but I was two classes away from fulfilling the requirements for both an art minor and an English minor.

21. In high school, my favorite subjects were math and English. This is weird because usually it's math & science or English & history.

22. When I bought my house I was determined to not decorate it "horsey". I soon realized that horsey is who I am, and the entire house pretty much reflects that.

23. I will cry at a funeral for someone I didn't even know. They're just so sad!

24. Along those lines, I hate crying in public. I have a cold hearted reputation to uphold.

25. I love to laugh, and my favorite people are the ones that laugh with (or at) me whenever we're together.

26. I have toys all over my office.

27. I'm not really a night person, and definitely am not a morning person. I think I'm more of an afternoon person, but that doesn't seem to be a real thing.

28. The older I get, the more of a child I become. When I was a little kid, grown ups always commented on how mature I was. Jokes on them, because now that I'm a grown up, I laugh at fart jokes and have an office full of toys.

29. I sometimes wonder if I'm a failure because I chose to work for my family instead of pursuing a career on my own.

30.  I occasionally dream of being a stay at home horse/pug mom and just peddling my crafts to support us. Fortunately, I know this is not realistic, so it won't ever actually happen. Fear not my friends.

Phew! THIRTY! That literally took me four days to write. I'd love to see your thirty things too, so I hope you'll play along! Drop a link in the comments if you do! Did I leave anything out? Have any questions?