25 Question Challenge!

We are currently 1 week into our Florida Trailer adventure as I write this, the sun is shining bright, the sky is blue, and we all have a little bit of a burn from the beach yesterday :) It was a long few days of travel initially but everyone held up so well and it was definitely worth the long drive. We have really liked having our trailer here in Florida, no matter where we park for the night, we always have our cozy little home and beds with us, and that really makes a big difference when travelling. The kids are doing some school right now, and then we plan to spend the rest of the day exploring this new area, and taking some walks, and hopefully some sunset beach pictures later. I thought it would be fun this week to answer these 25 questions as a little ‘get to know me’, I remember doing these Q&A’s on Facebook years ago when Ben was a baby, and boy things have changed! It’s always great to look back and read these and see what has changed and what has stayed exactly the same in your personality…so here we go, 25 question challenge for adults! (ps. I wrote this last week before we left for our trip, which is why I mention winter a lot!)

1. What bill do you hate paying the most? Cell phone, the necessary evil! Also lately I don’t like paying for Amazon Prime (first world problems lol) as they haven’t been delivering well to our area the past few months.

2. When was the last time you had a romantic dinner? Hmmm…I think back in the summer we went on a date to a nice restaurant out of town, there isn’t really anything close by to where we live so we don’t get out often. Sometimes I think just making a good meal together and eating it on the porch in our backyard overlooking the lake in the summer would be the nicest :)

3. What do you really want to be doing right now? It’s the weekend, so something outside and active (skiing, skating with the family) but it’s SO bitter cold today, were just doing some house cleaning and chores for now.

4. How many colleges did you attend? Two technically, I did one year at Tyndale Bible College, and then did an apprenticeship program at Humber College for Early Childhood Education (so I didn’t really have to go to class at the actual college, I did correspondence courses and worked at a preschool for my training)

5. Why did you choose the shirt you have on right now? Because it’s cozy & comfortable…that’s pretty much how I pick all of my clothes, it’s all about the coziness, especially in the winter.

6. Thoughts on gas prices right now? The other day it was so cold that the wind chill was hurting my face and I could barely breathe, so to be honest I pumped as fast as I could (because I was on empty and had no choice) and didn’t even pay attention to the price, I just needed to get outta there! LOL I love winter, but not when it hurts my lungs.

7. First thought when the alarm goes off in the morning? ‘Ok, here we go Mama’ (little pep talk) and then straight to praying, talking to God and trying to set the tone and my attitude for the day ahead. P.S. my ‘alarm’ is typically my 5 year old, asking for cereal :)

8. Last thought you have before you go to bed? I think back on the day and what we did, and what I accomplished (or didn’t) I like to read some short scripture in my head before I sleep, and then I think “I hope we can all have a good restful sleep, and that the kids don’t wake up too early!” hehe

9. Do you miss being a child? I never used to, but in the last few years, YES…oh those carefree days we didn’t know how good or easy we had it! It’s fun to be nostalgic every once in a while and think about all the childhood memories. I have a lot of fond memories, and I hope my kids do one day too when they look back!

10. What errand/chore do you despise the most? Cleaning the toilets (I have one word for you: Boys!) also emptying the dishwasher, I don’t know WHY but I’d rather hand wash, air dry and put away those dishes then reach down into the dishwasher to empty and put those away, haha, (VERY first world problems!) truly I am thankful to have a dishwasher, but if I had to pick a least favourite, it’s that!

11. Up early or sleep in? I’ve typically always been an early riser, if I wake up it’s very hard for me to fall back to sleep, and if I just lay in bed I usually start to get a headache, so I basically just get up when I wake up and don’t laze in bed. Doesn’t help that our youngest is a very early riser, so he wakes me up most the time, it makes it pretty impossible to sleep in. But even when I was a teenager I never slept in late. Getting up early is good though, as it gives me that little bit of quiet time to read the bible, drink some coffee and wake up!

13. Favourite lunch meat? I am not a huge lunch meat fan, but thin sliced turkey or roast beef is nice from the deli! The pre packaged stuff is a little gross, but I still eat it. LOL

14. What do you get every time at Wal-Mart? I always end up needing to get a big jug of Orange juice (it’s the kids fave morning drink, and the rest of the day they drink water) as well as yogurt because we go through a lot of that. And house plants, it’s super hard to walk out of wal-mart without bringing a little plant friend home haha.

15. Beach or lake? This is a tough one, as I love both…but I think I’d have to say Lake, because I love how there are typically a lot of trees around lakes, and nice shady spots, whereas beaches tend to be right in the sun. Lake’s also feel more rustic and in the woods which I love.

16. Is marriage overrated? No, I don’t think so. I really like having my partner in crime to do life with, and to have a friend that’s always there at the end of the day to laugh with or just hold hands and watch a show together before bed. I love my hubby :)

17. Ever crashed a vehicle? Yes, I was very young, and new to driving, and rear ended someone at a red light (the car in front of me started moving forward so I assumed the light had turned green and got a little too pedal happy when the light was actually still red) the person I hit was very angry at me (got out and yelled at me, and called the police), I felt horrible, and my car ended up being wrecked only because I had hit right on the air bag sensor and set them off, even though I wasn’t going fast, so I had tons of ‘air bag burn’ marks all over my arms. The people in the other car were totally fine and so was their car thankfully, but they were mad is all I remember.

18. Strangest place you've brushed your teeth? Hmmm, weird question! I guess when camping before I’ve brushed my teeth using a water bottle and outside in the bush? Wild and free :) (I can update this, I brushed my teeth on our travel down here to Florida in a gas station parking lot!)

19. Somewhere you've never been but want to go? The Swiss mountains! We just watched the documentary style show ‘The Horn’ on Netflix which follows the ‘Air Zermatt Rescue Team’ at the Matterhorn Mountain in Switzerland, and I am pretty sure that is on our bucket list now. (it was before but not is’ REALLY on there, what a gorgeous spot :)) really anywhere with mountains, I would love to see and photograph them all. That saying ‘The Mountains are calling, and I must go…” definitely applies to me.

20. At this point in your life would you want to start a new career? Yes I would, because I always like trying new things. But I also like that I’ve stuck with the photography gig for all these years now, as there is something to be said for longevity. So no new business ventures at this point, just going to try keeping our wedding photo/video business thriving for now :)

21. How old are You? 35, I’ve liked this age, the 30’s have been good for me, I am more sure of myself and confident in my choices. I am past the ‘baby/toddler’ stage, but still have my kids home to be with which I really enjoy (not off to college yet), I like this stage a lot.

22. Do you have a go to person? Probably my husband Chris, I know I can alway rely on him or tell him anything. He’s always a phone call away ready to rescue me from my many predicaments, lol! Also my Mom and Sister are always a text/call away and we love laughing and sharing things.

23. Are you where you want to be in life? I think this is a hard question because I believe we should always be growing and learning and never really ‘arrive’. So yes I am very thankful for where I am in life, I love my family so much, but I think there is always something to improve upon or learn. I am very content for sure, but still feel ready to grow as the years go on. God definitely isn’t finished with me yet.

24. Growing up what were your favourite cartoons/shows? Full House was always the big fave, and my kids have already watched it on Netflix (the original) and they love it just as much as I did. I also loved Dr. Quinn, our family used to watch it on Saturday nights together, and I always looked forward to it. Slowly making my way through the box set now as I received it as a gift. I also loved ‘Who’s the boss’ and ‘Family Matters’, they were definitely close seconds. I don’t think I really had a favourite cartoon, I guess even back then I wasn’t too fond of animated shows.

25. What do you think has changed about you since you were a teenager? I used to be extremely shy, quiet and reserved. Sometimes people would think I was being stand offish, but really it was just I was too nervous to get the convo going. Now I am much better at forcing myself to talk and get out of my comfort zone, because I want my kids to see that meeting new people and talking to people is a good thing to do. Honestly though so many things have changed, and I’ve learned a lot, still lot’s more to learn too!’

The fam on the beach at Anastasia State Park

So that’s me, If you want to do the 25 Question challenge also I would love to read yours too! Next week I plan to post our ‘Florida Travel Diary’ with pictures and words about our adventures thus far here in the south, so that should be fun! Thanks again for reading friends :)

stay cozy,

Shelley