Thirty Days of Me...Days 1 and 2

My Blogger Friend, Julie from A Succulent Life had this thirty day meme on her blog today that she saw on another friends blog.  I like things like this and maybe, just maybe this will help get me back into the habit of blogging everyday!  I hope others will join in, I suppose I like things like this because I'm a little nosey and enjoy learning more about people that I know.  If you're game, copy and paste the thirty days from below and post away.
Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your first love
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your siblings
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Favorite movies
Day 8-A place you’ve traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you’re afraid of
Day 11-Favorite TV shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Bible verse
Day 16-Dream house
Day 17-Something you’re looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Picture of yourself
Day 22-Favorite city
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you’ve learned
Day 25-Favorite memory
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture

Like Julie, I'm going to have to tackle two days today since I'm obviously a day behind.

Day 1 - Introduce, Recent Picture and 15 Interesting Facts

You know by now that my name is Mandy, the facts can tell you the rest.

This is the most recent picture I have, seeing as how I really try and avoid them!  However, these new pj's were super cute and I had to send a picture to my mother.  Yes, they're piggies...you'll learn more about that if you keep reading.  On to the "interesting" facts...

1.  I love to read, mainly Christian fiction, but have found that I really enjoy the cozy mysteries too!
2.  I enjoy Sudoku and word games, currently I'm a Words with Friends fanatic. 
3.  Growing up I always wanted to be a teacher.  The closest I got to teaching was teaching the children at church.  After trying the various ages, my favorite is the 3 and 4 year olds.  Something about that age just captivates me!
4.  I married a man that is 14 1/2 years older than me, and quite happy I have him.
5.  We got married on my 20th birthday in Las Vegas.  Both our families lived in different states at the time, and I thought this would be easier.
6.  My dream job would be owning my own bookstore with a succulent nursery attached.  My friends all say I belong in a nursery.
7.  I have been married 15 1/2 years and we have two daughters, ages 14 and almost 11.
8.  Growing up, I learned to play the piano and then the clarinet.  Never cared for sports at all until our oldest wanted to play volleyball in the 5th Grade...wow what that did to my dull life!
9.  I had my tonsils taken out at 32 and it was a walk in the park.
10.  I collect pigs and have been since I was pretty young.  Hence the reason I grabbed the piggie pj's without looking at the tag.  I'm sure I'll do a post one day (or several) on my collection.
11.  I love big words, the bigger the better! 
12.  I am a spirit filled believer, but I believe that's also a post for another day.  I'll leave it as I love Jesus and couldn't imagine going through life without Him!
13.  My tastes in music could confuse people, and my coworkers swear that I "go clubbing in secret"!  My iPod on shuffle is fun, you might go from a gospel song to something by Pitbull and then jump to Elvis followed by Yanni.
14.  I suppose because I like big words, it's only natural that I have to know the real name of all my plants.  It took me forever to get my neighbor friend to quit calling Calibrochoas "mini petunias"...they're not the same thing. 
15.  I love to laugh and sometimes will get myself laughing so hard over something that I just thought in my head that I can't breath.  Those are the moments that my husband just says, "You're mother's at it again."  Sometimes it can last a while.  What can I say, I crack myself up!! 

Wow...if you've made it through all that, you're good!  One day down and one day to go...

Day 2 - Meaning behind your blog name

I started blogging because I was googling succulent names and kept coming up on all these great blogs.  Not sure what to call it, I figured A Few of My Favorite Things was as good as any.  Succulents, books, my daughters, other plants...these are some of my favorite things.  I also love musicals and this title reminded me of The Sound of Music, a favorite movie.  It's a happy song and I'm usually a happy girl. 

Have a great weekend!
Mandy