33 Little Know Facts About Me

Today’s my Birthday, so I thought I’d some unknown facts about me. I chose 33 since that’s how old I turned today… Yikes!

1. I was actually born in Pennsylvania, at Hamot Hospital, and spent the first year or so of my life in PA. We didn’t move to NY until I was two, I believe (mom correct me if I am wrong).
2. As an infant, I had a hernia. All because I lifted a bottle that was too heavy for me. HAHA j/k
3. My 16th birthday was spent at a Bush concert, and I thought it was THE coolest thing. I still vividly remember that night and how hot I thought Gavin was.
4. My name is Jillian, not Jill, and I will often take the time to correct folks who call me Jill.
5. In the nickname vein, my mom hates nicknames, so I was always Jilllian growing up. In high school, my way of rebelling was to have all my friends call me Jill. As I got older I went back to Jillian and now I hate being called Jill. It funny, if we’re out and about I run into a friend, Seamus can place when I was friends with them, simply by whether they call me Jill or Jillian.
6. In 8th grade going into high school, I went on a diet that only allowed for 7 grams of fat a day. I stuck to that bad boy, and lost a crap ton of weight, but it didn’t stay off (obviously). Breakfasts were lemon yogurt, lunch was lemon yogurt and then dinner was a salad with fat free dressing. I also tracked what I ate, any day where I stuck to 7 grams of fat or under, I got a smiley face, the days I was over I got a big fat sad face. Yeah, I’ve never had a great relationship with food.
7. I want 4 kids, because I loved growing up in a big family, but I don’t think that we’ll have that many.
8. I switched my college major around a bit before settling on Elementary Education, and now I don’t even utilize that degree (which I’m okay with). When I started, my major was journalism, then I toss around theatre and finally Elementary Education.
9. I obsessively research so many things. What I mean is, if I’m interested in a topic or want to know how to handle a situation, I will research it and read almost everything I find, until I feel confident in my knowledge.
10. I was never able to watch most 90s TV shows because I always had younger siblings around. When people talk about watching My So Called Life, for instance, I recall watching Sesame Street or Barney. 🙂
11. If you turned on an oldies music channel, particularly of the 60s decade, I would likely be able to sing the words to about 80% of the songs that came on. It boggles Seamus’ mind whenever we listen to that station, but it’s because that is what my parents always had on in the car or at home, and the words all just stuck.
12. I met Seamus on match.com, after I had decided I was alright with remaining single for awhile longer. Glad I chose to change my mind.
13. Our first date was at The Irishman, Seamus asked me to marry him after taking me to dinner at The Irishman, and our last meal as just a couple (before we went in to have Emmett), was at The Irishman. That place holds so many memories, and I’ll be devastated if they ever close.
14. The way I take my coffee changes on an almost weekly basis. Currently, I take my hot coffee black or with just a shot of hazelnut flavor.
15. The way I take my iced coffee is different than the way I take my hot coffee. Iced coffee usually has vanilla and cream in it, hot (currently) is just black with the flavor shot.
16. When I get to work, I would love 15 minutes to get settled and have a sip of coffee, before answering any staff questions. I like this time because it allows me to go from a relaxed state of mind, into work mode. I rarely have this luxury any more.  Oh well! 🙂
17. I despise cleaning! It’s all because when we were little every Saturday was cleaning day. My mom would put the names of all of the rooms on pieces of paper and put them in a hat and we’d have to choose 2. This is probably one of the reasons why I have a hard time cleaning up after Emmett every night. I just hate cleaning! haha
18. My credit card was stolen by my roommate in college, and I never pressed charges. I just wanted out of that room, into a single and I got my wish.
19. I have a weird love / hate relationship with vegetables. I love raw carrots, hate them cooked – Love raw tomatoes, hate them cooked. All of my vegetable issues came out on my first date with Seamus, thankfully he found them endearing and not crazy. 🙂
20. I have a serious phobia of lasagna. Just the thought of it makes me cringe, and if something is named lasagna, even if it is nothing like the original recipe, I still can’t eat it. I’m totally odd, I know.
21. I’m the oldest child in my family, so is Seamus. Actually right now, my house is full of oldest children. Totally just realized this. Actually, I guess Emmett is an only child.
22. I absolutely love driving, so long distant car rides are no trouble for me (so long as I get pee breaks).
23. I loved Full House as a child, and continue to love it to this day. My one true hope is that Emmett loves Full House as much as I do, so that we have a real excuse to have it on in our house.
24. Barbies were my favorite when I was growing up. I have to be honest, if I ever have a daughter, I’ll have a hard time keeping her from playing with Barbies if she wants to, despite the supposed body image issues they give off.
25. I was very into theatre in late grade school and high school. I was in almost every play and musical from my Freshman year, until I graduated. I was also in chorus, and had a decent singing voice back then.
26. My favorite subject in high school was Chemistry, and I didn’t even do that great in the class. I liked it because our teacher actually cared and tried really hard to make sure everyone understood the subject. He, in my opinion, is what a teacher should be like.
27. My mom was my first grade teacher. I went to a Catholic grade school where there was only 1 first grade, and she was that teacher. It was not a good experience for me, and probably for my mom. HAHA I was a total brat and thought I was in charge, because she was my mom. She set me in place pretty quickly, but I was so embarrassed. I still remember crying over it.
28. I was only ever in trouble in school ONE time, including high school and college. I was in third grade and we had a male student who enjoyed running around the classroom, pretending to bite girl’s butts. Well, he happened to coming up behind my chair when the teacher walked in, so she caught me jumping out of my chair and the boy acting silly. We both had to sit in the hallway for the remainder of the day. Did I mention my mom was a teacher at that school? Yeah. She knew right away and I was in so much trouble.
29. I’m a dipper. A percentage of the food I eat, is used as a means to dip. Rooties blue cheese is my favorite, followed by Frank’s Red Hot and Honey Mustard.
30. I love camping! I’ll do any kind of camping, but primitive camping is my favorite. Out in the middle of nowhere, where it gets pitch black and you have just your tent. It’s so peaceful, and everything surrounding you is so beautiful.
31. We went to Vermont for our honeymoon, and I think about going back to Burlington and Stowe at least once a week. Honestly, if I were ever able to relocate there, I would do it in a heartbeat.
32. My favorite color is blue, followed closely by orange and pink.
33. Most days I feel like the luckiest person in the world. I have the most supportive husband, the cutest and sweetest child, a family loves me for me, a boss that cares about me as a person and not just her employee, and readers who read and support everything I write.

There you have it! 33 facts you had no idea you needed to know. 🙂 I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit more about me.

Your turn!

I’d love love LOVE to hear some secret facts you have about yourself, that you don’t always share. Please share them in the comments below!