15 Day Challenge: Day 1

Since I am pretty new to this whole blogging thing, I decided to participate in my first link-up.  I found Sar at Life of Love via my friend Ashley (Cooper) Kinney's blog a couple of months ago.  I was excited when Sar announced she was hosting the 15 Day Challenge.  So here I go...

Day 1: List 15 fun facts about yourself.

1) I never missed a day of school from K-12.  My brother and I did get chicken pox once, but it was over Christmas break so we didn't have to miss school.  I guess I got a few lucky breaks here and there, but I'm pretty proud of the accomplishment.

2) I have collected penguins since I was born.  My dad chose an animal for each of us (I have two brothers - Jordan: elephants and McKinley: whales) to collect when we were born.  I have accummulated quite a large collection of all different types of penguins since then.  To this day, I keep a Shirt Tales (remember them?) stuffed penguin my Aunt Mary Ruth made me on my bed along with the cutest little stuffed penguin that Christopher brought back from England as a gift for me when we first started dating.

3) Speaking of Christopher, we have been in a long distance relationship for 2+ years now.  Not sure if that is such a FUN fact, especially when we have to go weeks without seeing one another at times, but it is a fact of life for me...at least for now.

4) I became an aunt for the first time a couple of months ago.  I don't believe a more precious baby ever existed.  Brinley is absolutely perfect.  And I get to see her again in just a little over a week!

5) My family and I have traveled together (by car with the exception of our final two trips) to all 50 states.  We started our official "See All 50 States" mission with a trip to Texas in 1994 when McKinley was just 4 years old.  We made our last trips to Hawaii and Alaska in 2010.  We had a blast on all of our trips together even if it wasn't always easy to get them scheduled once Jordan and I were in college and later working.  So very glad and grateful (thanks Mom and Dad!!) for these experiences.  I truly believe they helped shape me into the person I am today.  My top three states (in no particular order and obviously excluding my home state of Kentucky) were Hawaii, Vermont, and California.  My top three cites were San Francisco, Idaho Falls, and San Antonio.

6) I moved from a very small town in Kentucky to New York City in 2007 without a job and knowing only 3 people who lived here.  Not something I would really recommend, but in the end everything worked out for the best.  I still can't believe it's been 5 years (tomorrow to be exact) that I moved here.

7) I am one NYRR race away from qualifying for the 2013 NYC Marathon.  It will be a real challenge, but I am excited to conquer it.

8) My fingernails are always painted.  Always!

9) I studied abroad in London as a part of my master's program.  I highly recommend it to anyone that has the opportunity.  It was a life changing experience for me.

10) I no longer have any living grandparents, but I had the most wonderful relationship with my Mamaw.  She passed away at the beginning of my sophomore year in college.  She was a true inspiration to me. I still miss her very much.  I wish she had been able to watch McKinley grow up (and lose that baby fat she was always so worried about), meet Christopher, and welcome little Brinley into the world, but I know that she is watching over all of us from Heaven.  She was such a special lady to so many people, especially all of our family.

11) I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgetown College.  I only made two B's in my college career.  Both in my senior year - Statistics with Dr. Wolfe and English Literature with Dr. Brady.  In retrospect, it really didn't make a difference in the grand scheme of my life, but it sure did make me mad then.

12) I was in a sorority (Phi Mu - Delta Eta Chapter) in college, but a lot of people didn't realize it because I was so involved with my position as manager of the Tiger Football team. However, I am glad that I was able to enjoy both aspects of college - Greek Life and College Athletics.  Made me well-rounded :)

13) I want to attend the Oscars.  If anyone knows of a way to do so outside of being nominated for an award, please let me know.  Always loved the Oscars and would just love to have the experience of being in that auditorium for the big event just once.

14) I almost always sleep on a flight.  I usually am out before we take off and wake up just as the airline attendant is announcing the local time.  Some of my best sleep is on planes.

15) I have two favorite holidays - Groundhog's Day and Fourth of July.  Strange, huh?  I got my license on 2-2-2000 so I adopted Groundhog's Day as a favorite at that point.  I have always loved fireworks so the Fourth of July is an obvious one.  Plus it means my birthday is only 20 days away...and I LOVE BIRTHDAYS...especially mine! :)

Hope you enjoyed reading my fun facts!  You should participate in Sar's link up as well!

Andrea :)