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Today is my birthday! As of 8:07 pm, I will be twenty-six years old. Twenty-six whole years of living in this crazy world. In some ways, every year feels older. In other ways, every year feels the same. One thing that's changed is I don't get super excited about my birthday anymore. Is that just me, or is that adulthood? This is not to say that I don't enjoy the festivities. I love going out to eat with Michael to celebrate (we're headed to The Cheesecake Factory tonight!) and I totally wouldn't mind if someone threw me an awesome party.

Five things

This little thing is going 'round and 'round on the internet. Lacey tagged me in her five things post, so I'm going to follow suit and tell you five things about me!

1. I am an extremely heavy sleeper. I have been known to sleep right through alarms I've set for myself, people bustling around getting ready in the same room, fire alarms, thunderstorms, and screaming children. [I'm really banking on motherly instincts kicking in when I have kids, because I really am worried that I won't hear them cry in the middle of the night.] This does not mean, however, that I can sleep anywhere and everywhere. It takes me a long time to fall asleep and I usually need it to be pretty quiet and dark to do so. It's only once I'm actually asleep that I'm able to zone out of all and any noise. For this reason I rarely nap. It just takes too long to get going and I usually fall into deep sleep so I end up sleeping for 2-3 hours. Not really practical.

2. I lived in Colorado Springs when I was little for a couple years. You could see Pike's Peak from our house! The sad thing is I haven't been back since we moved when I was four. I've heard so many good things about the Rockies and Denver and skiing on fresh Colorado powder, but I have yet to experience it as an adult. I'm hoping that will change in the future.

3. Recently I have been really into taking baths. I take at least one a week and read a book or browse blogs on my phone while I'm relaxing in the warmth. It's my happy place!

4. I am pretty short - 5'2" to be exact! Can anyone tell this from my pictures? Everyone I've ever known obviously knows that I am short and small, but it just occurred to me that my blogger friends may not since we have never met in real life.

5. Michael claims that I "tricked him" into believing I was a football fan while we were dating. Then when we got married my love for football disappeared. He says he really thought his wife would be his loyal sports watching buddy! Here's my side of the story: We fell in love while in college and the entire campus was all about football. You couldn't NOT be into it. I still do love going to games, but I'm not going to check stats, follow the players, or watch every single game on TV. To be fair, I don't think I ever did that while we were in college, so there was no trickery going on there. But I still think it's funny - sort of sad, but mostly funny - that I crushed his dream of having a wife who was just as much into sports as he was. I'm pretty sure that's every guy's fantasy, but rarely the reality.

a little height reference and proof that I do indeed enjoy football games:

Now I tag Rach, Jillian, and Erin! Go!

A turning point

This post is strange to write, because I'm not even really sure what exactly I want to say. I've truly enjoyed blogging here. I feel like I've learned so much through other bloggers I've come to know, and I've also learned a lot about myself. I want to keep blogging - I really do. I'm just trying to figure out what that will look like.

This blog has evolved a lot over time. It has been an update-the-family blog, a DIY blog, a home decor blog, a recipe blog, a lifestyle blog, and there's probably more. Lately I'm finding that I'm desiring to write blog posts (reading them, too) that have a little more substance to them and for some reason, I just don't feel the freedom to do that on this blog. I see "Real Home Living" and I think of it as the DIY/home decor blog that I once wanted it to be, and I'm not exactly sure that I want it to be that anymore. Maybe partly, but not totally. I used to want to be a popular blog that has a ton of followers where I would showcase awesome tutorials on how to make our homes more homey. Now I'm really just wanting this to be a place of self-discovery more than anything else. I feel limited in what I'm "allowed" to write. Stupid, right? This is my blog and technically I can do whatever I want with it. But I can't get over the title. It just feels weird to me.

So right now I'm debating a few options. Do I start over with a new blog? Or do I morph this blog into what I want it to be, keeping all the history, posts, and comments from Real Home Living, and simply change the title? Or do I just take down this blog and take a little blogging hiatus for a while? I hate giving up on things and I love holding onto remnants of the past, so bear with me as I'm trying to figure this out. I will for sure keep you posted before I make any permanent decisions.

Some things you may not know about me

So, my friend Christina from My Life, Laughs, and Love nominated me for The Liebster Award WEEKS ago, and due to all the craziness as of late, I haven't been able to take time to finish this post! I have finally written out 11 things about me, answered her questions, and come up with some of my own for the lovely bloggers below. This is pretty wordy (probably more than you want to read about me) so let's get to it!

The Rules

1. Create a blog post included 11 random facts about yourself

2. Answer the 11 random questions from the blogger who nominated you

3. Give this award to at least 5 blogs up to 11 and link to them in the post

4. Tell those people you nominated them

5. You cannot nominate the person who has nominated you

6. Remember to tag blogs with less than 200 followers

11 Random facts about me

1. I'm 5'2" and wear size 5.5 in shoes. It's never really bothered me, I actually kind of like being small. Except when shoe stores don't carry anything less than a size 6!

2. My favorite class in college was my freshman English class. I absolutely loved our professor and we read some pretty awesome novels. We did so much writing that semester and it was a ton of work, but it was one of the few college courses I actually got a solid "A" in. So why did I pursue a left-brained major like Accounting? I'm asking myself that question right now.

3. I am the oldest of 5 kids. Since I am naturally an introvert, I definitely need my space and alone time, but because I grew up in a big family I love having lots of people around and things going on (hence the social part). I've always thought I wanted to have a lot big family too but 5 may be just a little too many for me to handle. I'm realizing more and more how much work kids are!

3. I was homeschooled through the 4th grade. I have lots of memories from my elementary years but I probably couldn't tell you how old I was in each of them because my elementary years all sort of run together, since I didn't have different teachers and school years to mark the times. But I learned so much in those years. I developed a love for reading, which I kind of fell away from once I started going to school (go figure). But I wasn't one of those weirdos who didn't develop social skills - I played a TON with my siblings and all the neighborhood kids, and we constantly got together in homeschool groups to do field trips and group homeschooling. It was actually a lot of fun!

5. I am an INTJ. I think I am more of a social introvert than a true quiet introvert. You can take the test here to find out what you are!

6. I did show choir in high school. Like, full out glee club. I was lucky enough to go to school during a time when we had an amazing director and a really wonderful choir program with 5 different choirs to be a part of. I was in a show choir called Pizzazz and an all girls choir called Ladies Select. Our show choir did some really fun numbers - MJ's Thriller (we dressed up like zombies and everything), Shania Twain, songs from Rent and Wicked, just to name a few. We took big spring trips every year to compete in competitions in Florida, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Some of my favorite highlights and high school memories came from being a part of the show choir!

7. I don't like my feet. I feel like they always look fat. But my hands - I do like those!

8. Speaking of hands, I keep my nails short almost all of the time (no, I don't bite them).

9. My maiden name is Yantz - it's German. It's a little different and kind of weird, but I miss it sometimes. It's just not a name you hear everywhere, and that's kind of cool.

10. The countries I've visited outside of the US are Ghana, Venezuela, France, Italy, Dominican Republic, islands in the Caribbean, and Canada (do those last two even count?). I feel like writing these all down makes me want to do a blog post on each one... I'll have to get on that.

11. While I'm really excited to have babies someday, I'm most excited for them to be little kids - like ages 3, 4, 5, & 6. Those are my favorite ages because they are still in the "cute" stage and they are learning and growing so much, asking questions all the time and saying the funniest things!


Christina's 11 questions

1. If your job were to transfer you to a different location, ideally where would it take you?
I think it would be awesome if my job took me somewhere I wouldn't be brave enough to move to on my own. Honestly there are so many places I've been fascinated with lately that I can't pick just one! New York (thanks to this lady and How I Met Your Mother), Chicago, Denver, and London all make the list. I know some of them sound cliche but they are cliche for a reason - people must love them!

2. Do you bunch or fold your toilet paper?
Haha this one made me laugh! I definitely bunch it (and the hubs always complains that I use way too much, which I don't, he's just crazy).

3. What quality do you love most about yourself?
This one is tough for me! I think it would have to be that I'm a "doer." I like having things on my schedule, lists to check off, and projects to work on. However, I also see this as a fault sometimes. Sometimes I wish I was better at just "being" - sitting around and enjoying people without necessarily accomplishing something. So there's my backwards answer to that question :)

4. What is your going out drink-of-choice?
Usually a margarita will do the trick! They are the perfect combination of salty and sweet :) If I want something light I'll go with a vodka tonic.

5. If you won a shopping spree to any store, which would it be?
This is hard! If it was an unlimited shopping spree, it would have to be Nordstrom because they have the nicest clothes. But if I was on a limited budget it would be TJ Maxx!

6. What was your high school mascot?
We were the Spartans - Christina you are fully aware! Our colors were orange and blue, and then I proceeded to go to college where the colors were orange and maroon, so let's just say there is a LOT of orange in my t-shirt drawer!

7. Stilettos or wedges?
I'm really loving wedges lately! They are about 10x more comfortable and it really helps that they're in style now. I feel justified buying them because I know I'll wear them with more casual outfits because they're so comfortable :) (But I do love a good pair of pumps when I get really dressed up!)

8. Most embarrassing moment?
This may or may not be my most embarrassing moment but it's the first thing that came to mind. When I was 10 years old I was climbing trees with some neighbor friends, who happened to be boys. I jumped out of a tree wrong and landed weird on my foot so I was sitting on the ground making sure it was okay, and one of the boys said "Dang, you need to shave!"  I. was. mortified. That night I went home and without asking permission shaved my legs with my mom's razor. And that's why I started shaving at the young age of 10.

9. Favorite season?
When I was in school, summer was hands down my favorite season. I think it's still #1, but fall is coming in as a very close 2nd. My favorite things about summer are the long days and the hot weather! And I feel like everyone is generally much more relaxed in the summer months.

10. Who sent you your most recent text // what did it say?
From my mom: "I'll let you know when I hear something," referring to my cousin who had twin baby boys today!

11. Guilty pleasure?
Shopping for myself when I'm buying gifts for other people. I seriously do this all the time! If I go to a favorite store of mine to look for a present for someone else, I end up spending just as much time, if not more, browsing for myself. Even when I've already used up my shopping budget for the month! I always feel guilty doing it, but sometimes it pays off when I snag that random item that I really needed, which of course I found because I wasn't specifically looking for it (darn you, Murphy's Law!).

And now... the nominees!

Colleen @ Ordinary Tales

Megan @ Happy the Home

Mindy @ Handmade by Mindy
Heather @ Made to Live
Erin @ Life as a Losey
Sherri @ The Life of a Wife

My 11 questions for you

1. What is your current ringtone?
2. Favorite thing to do on a Friday night?
3. What do you usually have for breakfast?
4. Do you have any superstitions?
5. If you had to do it over again what would you study in school?
6. What TV shows are you into right now?
7. What's the last concert you went to?
8. What was your first AIM screen name?
9. Favorite birthday memory?
10. What was your first paying job?
11. If someone gave you $500 for no reason, what would you spend it on?

Are you still with me? Wasn't that fun?? I think I'm going to change up the rules a bit. If you are a reader of my blog and WANT to answer my questions but I failed to nominate you, please do! In a comment, an email, or do a whole blog post like I did! You can totally claim that I nominated you :)