Last year I wrote a post called 10 Things You Might Not Know About Me. I thought I’d follow it up this year with ten random more things you might not know! If you’re looking for the link-up, scroll down to the bottom!
1. I speak pretty decent Spanish.
I have some Cuban ancestry on my father’s side. I lived in Miami until I was 12 and so I heard a lot of my extended family speak Spanish often. I decided I really wanted to learn Spanish, too, so I took as many classes as I could in high school here in California, and I paid attention to the Spanish I heard spoken around me. I majored in Spanish in college, and spent a month each in Costa Rica and Madrid.
Despite all of that, I don’t consider myself to be fully bilingual. I haven’t had the need to use Spanish often during the past ten years or so, and I’ve lost some fluency. I do try to be intentional about listening to Spanish-language music or podcasts, and I recently started watching a Spanish-language drama called Gran Hotel on Netflix (think Downton Abbey in Spanish…). While I can understand most of what I hear and read, i have a hard time speaking fluidly. However, I think it would come back quickly if I immersed myself in the language again.
2. I’m an ISTJ.
ISTJ is one of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality types. I’ve taken this test several times and I always get a definite ISTJ. According to the Myers & Briggs Foundation website, that means my personality type is:
“Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness and dependability. Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible. Decide logically what should be done and work toward it steadily, regardless of distractions. Take pleasure in making everything orderly and organized – their work, their home, their life. Value traditions and loyalty.”
I’d say that’s a pretty accurate description of me. If you’d like to learn more or figure out what type you are, I recommend the books Type Talk and Please Understand Me II.
3. I love all things productivity, scheduling, calendaring, to-do lists, etc. So geeky!
This is probably connected to the fact that I’m an ISTJ! I love reading blogs and listening to podcasts on this stuff. I’m always trying out the latest to-do managers (despite the fact that I keep coming back to DoIt.Im, Evernote, and Google Calendar), and I just love hearing how other people organize their workflows and routines. If you’re interested in this stuff, too, I highly recommend the following books and podcasts:
- The 5am Miracle Podcast
- The Accidental Creative Podcast
- Beyond the To-Do List Podcast
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
- Essentialism
- The One Thing
- The Power of Habit
4. I have wide feet and it drives me crazy.
If you have wide feet, too, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve never been able to go into a regular shoe store and buy shoes. I have to wear wide-width shoes or go bare-footed. It’s probably a good thing because it prevents me from buying tons of shoes. But it’s annoying because most wide-width shoes are expensive. My dad still talks about how they had to buy me $50 wide-width shoes as a kid when all the other kid shoes were $10! LOL.
5. I’ve been to all 4 corners of the U.S., but haven’t spent much time in the middle.
I’ve been to the Southern Most point in the contiguous U.S. (Key West, Florida), the tip of Maine (and most states in-between) and crossed the border at San Diego and near Seattle. But most of my time in the middle of the U.S. consists of layovers at Dallas-Forth Worth airport and Chicago airport. I have family and a lot of friends in Dallas, so I’d love to spend some time there. And I hear that Austin and Chicago are amazing. One day!
6. I went to India for 2 weeks in 2007.
The church I was attending at the time has supported missionaries in India for decades. I went on a trip with 4 other people my age (I was the oldest, which was weird to me!) to the Bangalore area for two weeks. We spent some time at the ministries the missionaries had established, and I was able to work in a school library there for a few days. It was a very eye-opening and challenging trip, but I’m glad I went!
7. I went on an EHarmony binge in 2010 just before meeting my husband (NOT on eHarmony). I went on over 50 first dates, and once even had two dates (with different guys) on the same day!
Ha ha! It’s true. I wasn’t meeting any single, Christian men offline so I decided to go online. I met some really great guys (and some duds!), and briefly dated a few. There was one instance where I had a lunch date and then a dinner date with a different guy later that night. LOL, I don’t recommend that- especially if you’re an introvert like me. Even though I ended up meeting my husband the old-fashioned way (through friends), I’m glad I did eHarmony since it really helped me learn more about what I needed and what I could give in a relationship.
8. Our house is tiny!
If tiny house living is all the rage now, then we are very trendy! Our 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house measures a whopping 898 square feet. That means those bedrooms and bathrooms are very tiny. We have a king-sized bed in the master bedroom, and it prevents us from being able to open the door all the way! Our bathrooms are smaller than most people’s closets, and our closet….well, don’t even get me talking about that! It’s tiny and it is a pain sometimes, but it’s our little house and we love it!
9. I’m a Dolfan.
Like I said before, I lived in Miami until I was 12. That means I was raised as a Miami Dolphins Fan (or Dolfan, as we say). It’s a heavy burden to bear because they’ve been terrible my whole life, but I’m a loyal fan along with the rest of my family.
10. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.
There’s just something special about gathering as a family and eating good food. I like that Thanksgiving is relatively un-commercial (compared to Christmas and Halloween), and I love the weather that time of year. It all makes for the perfect holiday.
What about you? I’d love to learn more about you! Feel free to tell me a random fact about yourself in the comments.
If you’re looking for more encouragement during infertility, be sure to check out my book, 31 Days of Prayer During Infertility.
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