I was recently nominated by the oh so lovely Emma from Emma and Family for the "20 Things About Me Blog Tag". Emma and I met through an awesome blogging group on Facebook and she posted some great facts about herself, which you can read here!

I know that I've already written quite a few posts like this, but I figured it's a great time to reintroduce myself to you guys! If you recently read my "Blog Stats and Income Report: September 2016" post, then you know there's a bunch of new readers, followers, and subscribers! And I'm so happy to have you!

So, without further ado, here are 20 things about me:

1. I don't have any tattoos

Secretly, I want at least five tattoos, but I don't think I'll be getting them anytime soon. Before, I always told myself that I didn't want to get them before my wedding because I didn't want them in the pictures. Then we decided to have a seperate reception, eight months after the wedding, and I didn't want them in those pictures either. I had joked about getting them with my bridesmaids later on, but I'm not 100% I could go through with it. You'll see why in fact number two.

2. I absolutely HATE needles

When I say that, I mean it with a passion. Needles, blood, and any other medical situation stresses me out beyond belief. It doesn't matter how many doctors appointments I go to or how many times I have blood drawn, I still have an issue with needles. It's to the point that I will walk into the lab room, put my stuff down, and repeat the following:

- I don't like needles so please don't show them to me.

- I haven't passed out yet, but I might.

- You will need to take from my left arm in this vein, because the other one has built up too much scar tissue.

- Do not hold the tube or vial in front of my face.

- You will have to tell me when to make a fist and when to let go of it.

- Oh, and you will probably need to remind me to breathe.

Have I convinced you I hate needles yet?!

3. I don't have many fears

I've always been an a nature girl and an animal lover, so I'm not afraid of the usual things. I've held/touched more tarantulas and snakes than I can count. I even asked my parents for one of each, but was told no. I'm the kind of girl that will save little creatures and insects that get into our house and release them outside. EXCEPT for cockroaches. I tried to be nice once and it started charging at me. Needless to say, that one didn't make it outside. If I could have it my way, I'd probably live on a wildlife sanctuary with at least one of every species!

4. I used to play piano

It was the first instrument I played and I enjoyed it immensely. If I could go back in time, I would have found a way to continue learning. I remember playing a couple of recitals in Elementary school and I used to play with my step-dad's aunt, but I had to give it up shortly after. I think that's one of my biggest regrets.

5. I have way more at the age of 21 than I ever expected to

It's crazy to think about, but I'm a wife, a homeowner, and a mother to three fur babies. Not only that, but I've also started my own businesses and two blogs. Plus, I've begun working on two different novels! I honestly didn't see my life turning out this way, but I couldn't imagine it any other way.

6. I look forward to the winter season all year long

Even though I was born and raised in Florida, it has never been the place for me. I long to live in a city that stays cold all year long! That's why I'm hoping we get stationed somewhere up north next! 

7. I have 15 chronic illnesses and counting

I know this isn't a new fact for some of you, but it deserves to be repeated! I never thought that I'd be going through this invisible illness journey, but I am 100% better for it! These illnesses have forced me to focus on the things that matter in life, whether it be my dreams, my little family, or the community of chronic illness warriors that I've grown to know and love. Oddly enough, each diagnosis has been a blessing in disguise.

8. I love breakfast foods

If you know me, than you know how much of a picky eater I am. Between my sensitive stomach and my childlike tastebuds, I usually don't eat anything that isn't listed on a kids menu. However, when it comes to breakfast foods, I'll eat just about anything. In fact, my family frequently visited Denny's on the weekends and even as a child, I would get a grand slam. Not only that, but I would finish it and then proceed to finish clearing the rest of the plates on the table. So if you want to win me over, make me breakfast foods!

9. I will always be a child at heart

I know a lot of people say this, but for me, it really rings true! I'm the kind of girl that still watches all of the ABC Family shows. And yes, I know they changed their name to FreeForm, but to me they will always be ABC Family. And then there's the fact that my favorite foods are chicken fingers, french fries, and dessert. Plus, I am the type of girl that has a jumbo coloring book on hand as well as a 96 pack of crayons AND a 64 pack of crayons. And guess what?! I was doing this before adult coloring books were cool! Personally, I will take a trip to the zoo, bowling, or building a pillow fort over being a regular grown up any day of the week!

10. I have a MAJOR sweet tooth

Part of my problem stems from needing sugar to keep my body functioning, but the other part is that I just love sweets! Any time my husband and I go to Savannah, GA, we have to stop by the candy store and fill a bag with all of our favorites. And I probably shouldn't admit this, but I always have s'mores granola bars, gummies, oreos, chocolate chip cookies, candy bars, pudding, and ice cream on hand at all times. And when we go out to eat, I will decide on a restaurant based on their dessert menu.  So they either need to have a cookie sundae, a brownie sundae, a funnel cake, or churros!

11. I will always be a cat person

Growing up, I have only ever had cats and fish, which weren't always the best combination. I always wanted a dog, but my parent's didn't want any more animals. Of course, I got it in my head that my husband and I would get two cats and two dogs. I can tell you right now, we are 75% of the way there and we will not be getting to 100%. Two cats and one dog is way more than enough! Trying to mediate between the three constantly is an ongoing battle.

12. I am a bit of a nerd
Besides my love of reading and writing, and my constant need to correct others, there are many other reasons that my husband refers to me as a nerd. I'm the type of girl that has always been a list maker, a planner, and an overachiever. But the real thing I'm nerdy about is my games. While the usual 20 somethings are playing *Insert popular game here*, my phone is filled with sudoku, word searches, word scrambles, scrabble, and solitaire. And if that's not unusual enough, the only "normal" games I have on my phone include bejeweled, mancala, jenga, and snake. The thing is though, I love these games and my husband doesn't have much room to talk! He's a superhero lovin', Lord of the Ring watchin', physics studyin', nuclear engineer. Pretty sure he takes the cake for the nerd in this relationship!

13. I hate the sound of things cracking
I know we all have pet peeves, but this one genuinely drives me crazy! Anytime I hear someone crack their knuckles, or really any part of their body, I'm incredibly grossed out. Not only that, but pissed off too. I just cannot stand that noise for the life of me. Oddly enough though, it doesn't bother me when I do it to myself. I think that's just due to the fact that my conditions cause a ton of joint pain and if I don't actively bend and crack things, my body will lock itself into place.

14. I am almost always hungry
I know I've mentioned this before, but I can eat A LOT of food! It's to the point that my husband and I not only have a kitchen pantry full of food, but we also have two large kitchen drawers completely dedicated to snacks. And I snack all the time! Again, part of it is due to my blood sugar, but the other part is just because I'm always hungry. I mean, today alone I've had a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit, a hash brown, a pack of fruit snacks, chicken fingers, french fries, a DQ blizzard, bread, and half a dozen chocolate chip cookies. And I'm not even done for the day!

15. I have only left the country once
A Christmas or two ago, my husband and I took a trip to Canada, but that is the only other country I've been to. Personally, I hope to be able to change this fact soon! I'd really love to head to Europe. My ultimate dream vacations though would be to visit Ireland, Iceland, and New Zealand. After that, it wouldn't matter much where we went next, as long as it was in Europe!

16. I wear glasses
I don't think I've told you guys this before but when I was younger, I envied the girls that had glasses. Don't ask me why, because I honestly don't think I had a logical reason, but it's true! I wanted glasses so badly, that I actually remember failing my eye exam on purpose in an attempt to get a pair of my own. Of course, that didn't exactly work. And little did I know, I would actually need glasses later on in life. Sometime during middle school, I learned that I have astigmatism and I am nearsighted. At first, I was only five points off from normal, but now my eyesight is much worse. Currently, I receive a new prescription every six months and I'm frequently being tested for eye toxicity due to my Lupus medication.

17. I drive a Mazda 6
Originally, I wanted a Nissan Altima, but my husband wouldn't let me get one. Now don't read too much into that! At the time, the Altima was named one of the most popular stolen cars in America; so it made sense that he wouldn't want me to have one, especially since I was living in Jacksonville, FL at the time. Nevertheless, I still love my car. I did a TON of research when I was car shopping and I ended up falling in love with a used model at CarMax. I didn't even need to see it in person or test drive it. I simply took a screenshot of the one I liked, walked into the dealership, and said "I want this one" to the first employee that I saw while showing him the screenshot. It was easy as that!

18. I clean when I'm angry
I don't know why I do this, but it happens time and time again. When I'm really angry, I'll start cleaning whatever room I'm in and then when I have to move something to another room, I start cleaning that room too. Eventually I move in and out of rooms until the whole house is cleaned.

19. I am a bit of a pack rat
I'm not sure when it started, but I've been doing it for the longest time. I keep anything and everything that I consider to be sentimental. I've kept everything from my prom dresses, to my concert tickets, and I even have my Girl Scout vest from elementary school. Of course, I haven't reached full hoarder status though. When it really comes down to it, I'll go through everything and get rid of some clutter. There is one thing that I will never get rid of though, my books!

20. I love fairs, concerts, zoos, and aquariums
It's true! If someone asks me to go to one of these things, I will almost always say yes. They are the of the very few activities that I can actually enjoy and forget about my illnesses and limitations for a little bit. When I was younger, the local fair was a yearly tradition and I still try to keep up with it as often as I can, no matter where we're stationed. As for the concerts, you guys already know that I've seen more than 50 artists in concert, and I can't wait to see more! Plus, zoos and aquariums are just one of the things that my husband and I like to do together. We've made sure to visit at least one in each state that we visit and we've been to more than I can count!

Well, there you have it! Now I tag:

If you're interested in getting to know a little bit more about me, you can always check out these great pages:

I can't wait to get to know more about each and every one of you! So feel free to post some facts about yourself in the comments or drop the link to your own "20 Things About Me" post!