journals | Choosing Peace

1. I have chronic hiccups. I get them almost everyday, usually twice a day. I’ve been a victim of chronic hiccups for the past few years.

2. My favorite color is PINK. This is not a phase. It’s the real deal. Pink makes me smile.

3. I’m a stomach sleeper. Hardcore. This is a somewhat recent development.

4. Speaking of sleep, to sleep well, I require 2 things: complete darkness and white noise. I sleep with a fan on every single night (now Jeremy has gotten addicted to the white noise too) and I need pitch black…I even have to turn my alarm clock away from me so the red numbers don’t keep me awake…intense, I know.

5. I like theology. I like learning about it and discussing it with others. I’m minoring in religion at Calvin – for fun. I’m not good at it, and my grades aren’t the highest, and I certainly don’t understand the half of it, but I enjoy being stretched in this way.

6. I married my high school sweetheart. I think it’s even more fun to say that I married my prom date. We’re not traditional high school sweethearts (we didn’t go to the same high school) but it counts all the same.

Me and my now-husband before senior prom in 2010 🙂

7. The Goo Goo Dolls are my all-time favorite band and Jeremy and I have seen them in concert 4 times, including the night we got engaged.

8. I love all animals, but I have a particularly crazy obsession with squirrels and ducks. Mainly ducks. They’re just pretty great.

A squirrel I feed on campus 🙂

9. I have a passion for adoption, both international and domestic. I hope one day to use my social work degree to work in this particular area, assisting families in the adoption process.

10. Jeremy and I have a dog and 2 cats. Our dog, Optimus Prime, is a chorkie (chihuahua-yorkie mix) and weighs 4 pounds. Our cats are Sanford and Puma (aka Princess, aka our little linebacker.) They’re all boys and we never plan to have any girl pets – I just prefer boys for some reason.

Our sweet San-man, as we like to call him.

Our Optimus Prime

Our little linebacker

11. I currently have 3 tattoos and I hope to get more. I also will never get inked with something that doesn’t hold powerful meaning and that can’t be a witness to my faith.

12. I enjoy watching sports: Football, baseball, and basketball (during March Madness with the hubs.) Favorite teams are New England Patriots and the Phillies (they became my go-to baseball team when I married a Phillies fan.)

13. I like lists. (See current posting. Ha.)

14. I’m a coffee girl. I try to limit to two cups a day, but some days require three cups! Hazelnut creamer is my fave. Starbucks is an occasional treat but when I go, I always get a grande, cinnamon dolce, soy latte! I prefer Dunkin Donuts, but sadly, we don’t have any of those here in Grand Rapids.

15. I love pens. I like buying new pens and I like writing in different colored pens.

16. If I had to pick one song to describe my Christian walk and my faith, I would pick “Sweetly Broken” by Jeremy Riddle. This song has spoken to my heart for years. One of my tattoos is even based on this song! If you’ve never heard the song, you’re missing out – listen to it here.

17. Usually at different times in my life, different Scripture speaks to my heart, but there is a verse that is my constant (which also inspired another tattoo.) That verse is Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I have suffered from anxiety in the past and this verse is my constant reminder that God’s peace guards my heart and my mind, and His peace is greater than my small understanding and my fears.

18. I can’t live without my aquaphor! This stuff defies all chap stick and lip gloss that you’ve ever tried. It’s particularly helpful in the dry winter but I like to use it all year long. You can ask Jeremy – I will have a slight panic attack if we go somewhere and my aquaphor isn’t in my purse!

19. My go-to candy: Junior Mints. Yum.

And finally…

20. I’m obsessed with journals. I always have a journal that I currently use but mostly I just buy them and then they sit around our house filled with blank pages. I just love journals and I might have a slight addiction to buying them. I know for a fact that I’m not alone in this one, though! So if you plan to put me in an intervention for this, I’ll give you some names of other girls who should be right there with me. You know who you are. Grin.