Last week May as Well Event (who has the cutest little squish of a mare, btw) did a 30 Facts About Me post that I thought was a really great idea. We know a lot about each other’s horse-related lives, especially in the present or not-so-distant past, but what about that non-horse stuff, or things that happened a long time ago? I think it’s interesting to learn more about each other, so I’m adopting her good idea and bloghopping it! I hope other bloggers participate too.
1. I am a super picky eater. It’s not that I want to be, it’s just that a lot of things make me want to barf. I have texture issues more than taste issues… onions and coconut and lettuce have the most sickening crunch, mayo and mustard are just slime, and please don’t get me started on sushi. Vomit.
2. In my life I have moved a total of 18 times. I’ve lived in North Carolina, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Maryland. Someday I want to end up in either NoVa or the Aiken area.
3. I’m super into tiny homes and probably could totally live in an RV too. I like the idea of minimalism and flexibility, plus not being tied down to one place.
4. I have 4 tattoos, three of which are literary in some way. I have the last two lines of my favorite poem Invictus on my arm, a quote from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader on my collarbone, a quarter sleeve with Hogwarts plus a mishmash of some original cover artwork from the Chronicles of Narnia, and then a random horse on my hip. Even though I’m not religious, the Narnia books are my all time favorite.
5. Along those same lines, my favorite fictional character is Reepicheep. He’s just a mouse, but he’s pure courage and honor and adventure and I love him.
6. One of my first jobs was as a receptionist at a hair salon. For anyone who knows me, this should be extra hilarious. All the stylists called me “the pit bull that guards the front desk”.
7. I’m not really that into TV/movies. I do like documentaries and the occasional very interesting TV show (ok, exception: Parks and Rec. The only sitcom I’ve ever loved.), but generally of the Netflix variety where you can watch it all at once. Commercials are stupid and so is waiting. If not for the SO I would probably not even have a TV anymore, I prefer to read.
8. My most awkward and uncomfortable side gig ever was when I picked up a few sports modeling gigs. One was for a stock photo company that sold the pictures to whoever the heck wanted them, and somehow different pictures ended up in 3 magazines (Competitor, Austin Fit, and some other cycling one I forget the name of). I hate having my picture taken so for real it was SO AWKWARD OMG. I basically spent a lot of time running or cycling back and forth in front of the same spot, or drinking water, or some other stupid thing, while a semi-creepy dude took a thousand pictures and everyone else stared.
9. Despite a lifetime involved in a lot of different sports, I’ve only managed to crack a few ribs, a tailbone, and a toe, and break an elbow. Really not bad, all things considered! Knock on wood.
10. I have very little interest in shopping for, talking about, or participating in things that are not horse or riding related (ok, maybe literature-related is alright). I’ve given up trying to be well-rounded. I tried, I swear.
11. In school I took 2 years of French (of which I remember very little), 3 years of American Sign Language (I can still sign at least 3 Green Day songs, a Foo Fighter song, and a Garth Brooks song, if that’s worth anything?), and have been working on German over the past year.
12. My first CD ever was the Lion King soundtrack. I still know every word. No I’m not kidding, EVERY WORD. I’ve also seen The Lion King the movie at least 10 times and The Lion King the play once (I’m down to go again, just not in Vegas because Vegas sucks). Generally not a fan of Disney movies, but that’s the exception. Probably because there are no people in it.
13. As a kid I swam competitively and did a ton of swim meets. I still really like to swim, I find it to be super relaxing. Just don’t have much time for it anymore.
14. Kind of along those same lines, when I was a kid I wanted to be a marine biologist when I grew up. I was really in love with dolphins and orcas.
15. Six years ago when I started doing triathlons I was surprised to find that I was actually kind of naturally talented at it, mostly because I have never felt like a “natural” at anything. I won several triathlons and ended up “on the podium” (top 3) all but twice. Money-wise and time-wise I ultimately had to choose between riding and tri’s, but if I had the resources I would have totally kept going. Riding is so much more difficult for me, comparatively, but it’s where my heart is.
16. My favorite subjects in school were creative writing (it was an elective for us and I took it as many times as they would let me), journalism, and history.
17. I’ve always fantasized about living overseas and would love to make that happen someday, even if it’s just for 6 months. I think it would be really cool to immerse myself in another culture.
18. When I’m too old/broken to jump anymore, I will get a buckskin, palomino, or roan reiner.
19. Most of my family is from, and still lives in, Arkansas. I lived there for 7 years and I gotta say, I think it’s the most underrated state there is. The northern half is especially beautiful. If it had a better horse scene I could live there in a heartbeat.
20. My mom was very crafty, especially when it came to sewing. She made sure that I learned how to sew (by hand and by machine), quilt, and cross stitch really well as a kid. I distinctly remember spending one summer handstitching a Pink Panther wall hanging. It was not, and still is not, my favorite activity, but I’m glad that I know how.
21. I was in Girl Scouts forever and I loved it. The camping part especially. I was very much a tomboy and really liked learning all that stuff. Still kind of am and still kind of do.
22. I’m borderline obsessed with Maya Angelou and have read everything of hers that I’ve been able to get my hands on. Also listened to her audiobooks that she herself narrated. There was just something about her and her life that is so captivating to me.
23. I have fallen off a horse on my birthday THREE TIMES. Considering that I don’t fall off very much, and I’ve only ridden on probably a little more than half of my birthdays, this is an impressive statistic.
24. I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night but throw a warmblood stallion’s name at me and I can probably give you a full dissertation of him and his entire pedigree. This is why I don’t have room for other things in my brain.
25. I hate wine AND I hate beer AND I hate coffee. But, like… water and juice are good. Maybe a cider or a cocktail on rare occasion.
26. I don’t really believe in the “institution” of marriage anymore, or organized religion. But I believe very strongly in an individual’s right to believe (or not) whatever they choose and marry (or not) whomever they choose, and I’m open to lots of different kinds of spirituality.
27. I keep a fairly small group of close friends, and most of them I’ve known for at least a decade. It takes me a while to warm up to most people and feel comfortable with them, but once I do I’m pretty fiercely loyal and if you mess with my friends I will absolutely cut you.
28. The first horse I ever rode was named Cinnamon, at a friend’s birthday party in the late 80’s.
29. My two favorite types of food are Mexican and Indian. Basically if there’s spicy chicken and rice, preferably with some kind of cheese, I’m down.
30. I feel like it’s really important to me to be brave with my life. To do things that might intimidate or scare me, but to always still have the courage to do them, if I want to. And to stay true to who I am even if it means going against what is “normal”. I feel like life should be an adventure of my own design. I think my biggest fear is getting to the end of my life and realizing that I lived it doing things that someone else (be it society in general or any one person) wanted or told me I should want, instead of what I actually wanted for myself.
breedrideevent.com 
now i know more about you (kind of sad how I knew some of it already:)) I don’t know if i can come up with 30 things about me LOL!
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I didn’t think I could either but once I started rolling it wasn’t too hard! Look through old pictures.
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Love fact 12!!!
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Love Facts 5 and 12.
Reepicheep is the best.
I have seen the Lion King movie I don´t know how often. Jeremy Irons is just deliciously evil as Scar.
Did you notice the the soundtrack version of “Be prepared” is slower than the movie version? It bugs me, it really does.
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Be Prepared is my favorite song from any animated movie soundtrack ever, regardless of version. LOL
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Its fun to learn more about people in their non-horse lives! I have many doubts that I could come up with 30 facts about me..I’m pretty boring.
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Everyone thinks they’re boring, but I doubt that’s true!
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Oh my GOD I relate to #1 so hard. Also I took a year of ASL in college but I retained wayyyy less of it than you did apparently haha. Maybe my teacher should have taught us to sign songs, I would have been way more on board then!
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Every 6 weeks we had to learn how to sign a new song as our major test score for the grading period, and for some reason that’s what I have retained the most! Kinda works though, I know more words than I otherwise would.
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I retained mostly the signs for breakfast foods — at the time I was taking the class I was waiting tables, and I had a deaf customer who was a regular. He used to just write down his order and hand it to us, so I intentionally learned most of the words for his order so I could communicate with him about that. Poor guy was so excited and then he had to deal with my stilted conversation where I had to spell out like every 5th word cause I didn’t know enough conversational signs haha. I do wish I had retained more, we have a big school for the hearing impaired in my town, so I run into people who sign quite frequently.
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Oy, I am so bad at sharing about myself. Either I don’t think it is interesting or that people really care. But this cool, thanks for letting us a bit into amandaverse.
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People are always more interested than you’d think. Look at the Kardashians! LOL
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What a good idea! I love learning more about fellow bloggers. I might have to join in this blog hop, although I don’t know if I will be able to think of 30 interesting things about me…
Creative writing was/ is also my favorite subject in college, with biology coming a close second.
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Just start jotting random stuff down, you’ll be at 30 before you know it!
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Love this! I also know the entire Lion King sound track. I don’t think my friends and I understood the hyena scene from Be Prepared is supposed to be a bit Nazi-ish and we totally used to goosestep around and sing. Hahaha!
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So many things take on a different meaning when you watch or read stuff again as an adult!
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Glad you decided to take on this challenge! As much as we all talk about our horsey-lives, practically none of us talk much about our non-horsey lives!
I took German in high school up to the AP level and traveled to Germany my senior year… All because there was some horse stuff in German that I wanted to be reading/listening to.
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I wish I had done that. I almost took German for that reason but it wasn’t as alluring to me at the time as French was.
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Picky eaters unite! Screw lettuce. Hate it. Totally a texture thing because I can do cooked spinach and onion, but let me find one raw and I start to struggle. Having not even met you in real life, I still snorted at the idea of you as a receptionist at a hair salon. 😉
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I like spinach, although I prefer raw to cooked. Its not nearly as crunchy and squeaky as lettuce is. Cannot do onion in any way, shape, or form though.
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I too, wanted to be a marine biologist. But with sharks. But I am still fascinated with all marine life and just spent the whole cruise time in the water when possible.
Thank you for sharing. Some of these made me laugh, some made me nod my head in agreement, and some made me very impressed. You’re a cool person. Because you can still eat donuts.
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I kind of hate the beach, and I hated the one cruise I went on, so it’s probably a good thing I didn’t pursue that. Really I think it was just an animal thing. Still love dolphins though.
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Also I just ate a donut yesterday, and thinking about that made me want more donuts.
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I was obsessed with dolphins and orcas too!!!! As a kid I loved Flipper (the tv show) and wanted to live near a beach and have a dolphin friend. I really did consider going to UNC Wilmington and major in marine biology but I decided I liked horses and didn’t care that much for the beach and so went an entirely different direction, but there was a brief moment I considered marine biology 🙂
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Also loved Flipper! When I was a kid I almost exclusively watched Nick at Nite, so I was “raised” on stuff like Mr. Ed, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, Lassie, I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bewitched, Flipper, etc.
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This is so awesome. Things in common: Wanting to be a marine biologist (OBSESSED with orcas), being in Girl Scouts (from Daisies to Adult), and knowing every single word of the Lion Kind soundtrack.
Things I will never relate to: Loving spicy food, Triathalon anything (running? What’s that), and Arkansas (which I pretty much forget exists most of the time- sorry).
Also.. I thought you weren’t a dilute fan???
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I had a whole blog post confessing my love for the dilute, especially WH Topgun and Quasi Gold. https://the900facebookpony.com/2015/05/22/those-weird-colored-horses/ Buckskin is one of my favorite colors. I haven’t yet found a dilute warmblood stallion that I like ENOUGH yet though. Quasi Gold is the closest, there just isn’t enough jump in his pedigree for me. I’d 100% take a Topgun/WB/TB cross foal, though!
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Ah ha, yup- now I remember that post, and that our chat was about dilute WBs. I stand corrected 🙂
And seriously I do freaking love Top Gun. UGHHHHH love.
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If I ever decide I don’t want to jump anymore, or can’t, I’m buying a Reiner and taking lessons with Shawn Flarida, who is essentially the nicest and most generous equestrian I’ve ever met.
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Reined cow horse would be fun too! Clearly I watched Down the Fence recently…
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I know several people who have a deep love for Arkansas! I really want to visit because of that.
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Highly recommend visiting northern Arkansas in the fall! It’s gorgeous.
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I love this! I used to want to be a marine biologist too. If I didn’t like horses, I think dolphins would be my favorite animal!
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And obviously, I’m all about the dilute colors. Buckskin just makes me melt.
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They are definitely still one of my favorites! It’s fascinating how intelligent they are.
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I love posts like these and am definitely going to hop on the bandwagon. I, too, worked as a receptionist in a hair salon (my mom is a hairdresser) and did competitive swimming as a child.
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As a new (and local! I’m in Georgetown) reader of your blog I appreciate this post so much! It’s great to get some behind the scenes deets, so to speak.
(And as someone who is also a massively picky eater and has texture issues, it was great to see I’m not alone!!)
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And then when people are like “omg you can’t even taste it, just eat it!”… sorry YOU can’t taste it but I sure as hell can.
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F O R R E A L.
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Great list! I might try to come up with 30 as well!!
Question – how are you doing German? I love the study of languages, but get frustrated on my own and am constantly trying to find a better way.
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Duolingo plus audiobooks plus I follow a shitton of German stuff on social media lol. The Duolingo is good for the reading side and the audiobooks are good for the speaking side, I think. I’d probably have a harder time if I just used one or the other, but if I’m confused about something in one, the other tends to explain it better. And then the social media stuff is just to kind of force me to use it in more “real world” type situations.
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I liked duolingo a lot actually, but hadn’t tried audiobooks. That’s a really good idea. Thanks!
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Oohhh! I love this. Will have to do.
I also swam for years, still love it, miss it, but just don’t have time. I also wanted to be a marine biologist for the same reasons…but then grew up and the whole Seaworld drama happened and I decided I didn’t like sand enough to do marine biology lol.
And Arkansas IS so underrated. We drove through there on our road trip a couple years ago and stopped along the way to mountain bike. It was freaking awesome. I’ve since learned that the mountain biking championships for some division or other have been held there several times. Such a beautiufl area.
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“Pitbull guarding the front desk” – LOL!!!! I can so see this!! Loved this blog hop. Off to do my own!
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This is such a great idea .. def going to snatch this 🙂
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I loved this. Some of your answers are so much like mine! I am going to do this also.
I love how you wrote that you basically want to live “your” life and not how someone wants you to live it. I also agree that fear is not useful and when i am scared I go and do it so that I can not be scared of it anymore.
A fav quote of mine “True courage is knowing what not to fear” , I think it was Socrates,;;; It’s a good one
mel x
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This is so fun! Thanks for sharing all about your non horsey youness. I think I’ll play along too.
I LOVE The Lion King and definitely could sing along to the entire sound track. I’m taking Mom to see Elton John this fall and am so hoping he busts out something from soundtrack.
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“Extraordinary things happen to extraordinary people.”
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💙
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Invictus is my favourite poem too! My Dad used to recite it to me as a kid. I’m also a non-religious Narnia fan 😉 Cool to see these things I love on my fav horsey blog.
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