Good morning and welcome to another week! It has been hot here in Denver the last week or so and without air conditioning we are trying to find all sorts of ways to keep cool. For instance, buckets of water in the backyard with a naked baby. Splashing around is good for hours to our little water toddler.

I turned 32 on Saturday and Rob, Zoey, and I had a fun day going to a new aquarium by us and visiting a place called Tiny Town close to our house. The day also ended with pizza and ice cream cake, which is always a win.

To celebrate turning 32 (at 38 weeks pregnant), I thought it would be fun to share 32 little tidbits about me as a way for you get to know me a bit better. Since this space has so many health, wellness, and fitness posts, I wanted you to get to know more about the person writing it all. Not going to lie, it was harder to come up with all 32 items than I thought! I have never been great when it comes to talking about myself, but think I found some at least semi-interesting facts.

Please share a fun fact about yourself in the comments as well!

1. I have three sisters who are all incredibly successful. Two live in New York and work in Event Planning and Nursing and one lives in London as an architect. We all see each other about once or twice a year.

2. I grew up on the east coast in Connecticut and New York, but wanted to move West ever since we took a family vacation to California and Arizona. Apart from being away from family, I absolutely love living in Colorado and exploring all the beauty and outdoor activities the west have to offer.

3. Rob and I met as teachers in Arizona. We had classrooms next door to each other and when students would move from his class to mine (they moved in pods), I would blush scarlet at anything they mentioned about him related to me or not.

4. In the very beginning of our relationship, Rob and I took a three week road trip through northern Arizona and parts of Colorado. We camped in the back of my Ford Explorer and showered maybe twice the entire three weeks. That is when you know you are in it for life!

5. It irritates me when restaurants put pictures of their dishes on their menus. I am no food photographer, but those photos just make the food look really unappetizing.

6. My Bachelor’s is in English and Education. Basically, I went to college to read. I started as a Physical Therapy major on a whim, but when I almost flunked out because of all the science classes, I went back to where my heart was: books.

7. After 10 years of being a classroom teacher, I am still not 100% sure it is what I want to do forever. While I enjoy working with kids, the politics of teaching irk me especially when people make decisions that are not what is best for kids.

8. Last summer, Rob, Zoey (who was 1 at the time), and I took a 4 week road trip in our RV. It was an incredible experience, one we had been dreaming about for some time, and we cannot wait to do it again. Two kiddos in the RV? We could totally do it!

9. I never used to return anything to stores until I met Rob. One, I just would not buy anything unless I was absolutely sure it was the right kind and fit. Two, I did not want to put the employees out or make them feel bad. Now, I have zero qualms about returning items we no longer feel we need.

10. There are times when I get completely overwhelmed by all the stuff we have. The cars, the furniture, the whole house. Not that our stuff “owns” me, but I feel like we just have so much and could be just fine with so much less.

11. I do not drink coffee and rarely drink caffeine (maybe once a week if that). Not for health reasons, just because I do not feel the need for it.

12. After having them for over three years (pre-Health Coaching), I only realized that my business cards do not have my actually name on them about two months ago when Rob pointed it out.

13. I have terrible taste in movies. I have seen “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” more times than I can count and still think it is hilarious.

14. This one will make my Minnesota family gasp. I never cooked a potato until Rob and I had been dating for over a year. I just never knew what to do with them. Now they are a regular thing around here.

15. Even though adore running, I can tell you the names of maybe two professional runners who are no longer even relevant in competitive running.

16. In tandem with the one above, I do not care about professional sports at all unless it is the Super Bowl in which case I get excited to make snack foods and eat Cheetos.

17. During my Junior year of college I studied abroad in London. To this day, I regret not spending more time getting to know the city rather than focuses so much on maintaining my grades.

18. Many of you may already know this, but Rob and I spent a year living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was one of the most incredible experiences of our lives and we must mention something about it to each other every day. Between learning the culture, getting to travel, and seeing how an international school was run, we had some very eye-opening experiences.

19. I have three marathons in the books. The first two ended in severe dehydration and the third was great in terms of fueling and finishing without walking. I hope the fourth is even better! Obviously, I have the marathon itch, which comes on once every few years.

20. One of the things I say all the time when either I, or someone else, is trying to decide to do something is, “If it doesn’t work out, you are back where you started.” I feel that way about a lot of things. Just get out there and do them!

21. Being a Health Coach and Personal Trainer brings me so much joy because of all the real results I have been able to give my past and present clients. When those I work with realize they do not need to follow a specific diet and can reach their goals by eating real foods on their terms, it is such a win.

22. Rob proposed to me during dinner on a beach in Thailand. We were traveling before heading back to the US after our year in Vietnam. Before I could say yes, our waitress brought the bill and spent what felt like minutes refilling our water glasses. We still laugh about the timing of that moment.

23. While a lot of bloggers I know consider themselves introverts, I call myself a situational extrovert. I can be outgoing when I need to, but still recharge from alone and quiet time.

24. We have a king sized Tempurpedic bed that we absolutely adore. Seriously, if you have been thinking about a new bed, go for it.

25. My absolute favorite time to go for a run is in the early morning, just before the sun comes up when the roads, trails, and paths are empty and the town is still sleeping. It makes me feel like I am stealing something, or seeing something that not many others get to.

26. For the past year, most of my conversations with Rob have started with, “On the podcast I was listening to…” Most of Rob’s start with, “I heard on NPR that….”

27. Whenever Rob or I start a conversation with, “So, I was thinking…”, we know that something exciting is going to happen. That is how we ended up in Vietnam, on our 4 week road trip last summer, and various other things we would not have done without the other’s encouragement (or crazy thought).

28. Worse than nails on a chalkboard is the sound of people clipping their fingernails. One of our co workers in Vietnam used to clip his toenails in the shared teacher office space each week. I had to the leave the room every time.

29. I held off getting a smartphone as long as I could because I knew I would love having one. That also explains why I used to be such a big reader, but now find myself scrolling way more often than I pick up a book. There are currently two on my nightstand that I am very slowly getting through.

30. The daycare we send Zoey to during the school year offers a teacher discount where we do not have to pay if I am not teaching, so she is home with me with the summer. We are two weeks in and I am loving all the time I get with her, but I have so much respect for all of you who do the stay at home mom thing full time. The patience, creativity, education, rule setting, and everything else you all do all day every day is incredible.

31. I ran collegiate Track and Cross Country all four years of college. Cross country is definitely where my heart is, but sometimes I still day dream about being able to high jump again (my track event). If I knew everything I know now about health and training, I could have been such a better runner and jumper.

32. When debating between working more or playing more, you can often find me saying, “What are you going to remember when you’re 80 and looking back on your life? The day you spent at work, or the day you….” Now get out there and do the thing!

Share something unique about yourself! Something you always say? A memory from growing up? Your biggest pet peeve?