I did it and it was relatively painless! Whether I wanted to or not, I left my twenties behind and woke up this morning as a 30 year old. In honor of my thirtieth birthday, I decided to write 30 random facts about this 30 year old. I got this idea from my friend and fellow bloggin' buddy Ellen, who wrote her 30 facts last fall. I remember reading her list thinking what a great idea and how I would like to do something similar when my birthday rolled around. At the time my birthday seemed ages away. Unfortunately it wasn't and today is the day. So, here are my 30 very random facts.

  1. Four years ago, I married the most incredible man at a castle in Topolcianky, Slovakia.
  2. I can’t believe it is possible, but I love and respect him even more today than I did then.
  3. I have a beautiful daughter who brings me more joy than I can even describe.
  4. I just gave birth to my son less than two weeks ago.
  5. He didn’t have a name for the first two days of his life. Thanks to my husband!
  6. In my 30 years, I’ve lived in South Carolina, Illinois, Slovakia and Michigan.
  7. I look forward to where life will take me next.
  8. I have a B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina in Journalism that I have never officially used in a job.
  9. If I could do it over again, I would study teaching English as a second language.
  10. I am very content in my current job as a mom. The pay isn’t great, but the benefits are amazing.
  11. Of all the places I’ve traveled so far, Prague is my favorite city, Croatia hosts my favorite beaches and the Vysoke Tatry Mountains in Slovakia will always be at the top of my list.
  12. I’ve hiked to the top of two volcanoes – one in Sicily and one in Greece. But unfortunately I don’t remember their names.
  13. My favorite food is Mexican, followed closely by Italian.
  14. I love chocolate and peanut butter, preferably together.
  15. I am ridiculously afraid of spiders. Thankfully, I married a champion spider killer.
  16. I am currently reading, along with my house church, a book that is extremely difficult to read called Subverting the Empire, Colossians Remixed, but is completely revolutionizing our family.
  17. Andrej and I gave up TV for Lent. I was 100% against it at first, but with Andrej patiently urging me to at least give it a try, I finally agreed. Honestly, I didn’t miss it and enjoyed even more all the free time it gave me to spend with Andrej. Now, months later I haven’t looked back. We do occasionally watch shows together (LOST), but nothing like my viewing schedule before.
  18. I have the greatest friends imaginable, all over the world.
  19. I have a wonderful and incredibly supportive family in SC that I love and miss so very much.
  20. I LOVE to read blogs. I read blogs of people I know, friends of people I know and people I only know through their words. My favorites are other moms with kids around the same ages as my own. I find so much encouragement in their life stories.
  21. Thanks to my husband, I know how to use linux.
  22. I greatly miss Slovakia; friends, family, walking everywhere, food, summertime atmosphere, outdoor cafes, Kompas omacka, and did I mention friends?
  23. I am very much looking forward to our trip to Slovakia in the fall.
  24. I am not, however, looking forward to the plane ride to Slovakia with two kids in tow.
  25. I love living so close to Lake Michigan. It still amazes me at how much it is like the ocean, minus the salty water.
  26. I used to love hot weather and getting a suntan. Now, I much more prefer temperatures in the high 60s – low 70s and a bottle of sunscreen.
  27. Even after enduring four long cold snowy winters in Slovakia and four long cold snowy winters in Michigan, I still do not like long cold snowy winters.
  28. I would much rather spend winter in South Carolina.
  29. I really didn’t want to turn 30. I would rather stay 29, at least until Andrej catches up!
  30. I feel so old, but that may just be a result of lack of sleep due to the Tobster's need to eat around the clock, rather than my age.