Six Things About Me - Updated

When I first started blogging, I joined such a special little community.  This was before it became such a business.  Most of us were just finding our way and had no idea what SEO, DA or MOZ meant.  Follow links and Google Analytics meant nothing.  Just pick a pretty template, start writing and connecting.  We all had a blog roll in our sidebar featuring our favorite blogger friends.  We sent each other awards and shared guests posts.  All without expecting a fee.  It seemed so much more interactive than now.   I miss those days, don't you?  Linkys, blogs hops and questionnaires.  There was one called "Six Things About Me" that made the rounds.  I think because of the personal nature, it's still one of my most read posts.  I revisited it recently and decided to do a little update.  

1.  Why I blog and how my blog came about.

I'm married to Matthew, a wonderful Englishman (you can read our love story here) and about a year into our marriage we decided to move from my home of Texas to his home of England.  I immediately started scouring the internet looking for information about living in the UK and London.  I stumbled upon several blogs written by others who had already made this transition.  I couldn't get enough of their first-hand experiences.  They inspired me to record my own journey as an expat.  I can't believe that was almost six years ago!  Over the years, as I settled in, the focus of my blog became more about travel.  It's something that we both have a passion for and will do at every opportunity.  Matt now has 119 countries under his belt and I've been to 50.  (Next up is Israel and Jordan.)   I've also discovered a love for travel photography along the way.  One thing that hasn't changed?  The best part of blogging is still the connections that I've made along the way. 

2.  What I am most proud of.

I am most proud of my gorgeous daughter Jessica and my two beautiful grandsons.   I had Jess when I was 21 and clueless.  Not to say all 21-year-old's are clueless, but I certainly was.  Luckily, she was born strong, smart and independent.  She is my best friend and I had so much damn fun raising that girl-child.  She is now a mom herself and lives in Texas.  She is a tough, no-nonsense cookie with a soft, mushy sensitive center.  Being her mother is, has always been and will always be my greatest pride and absolute joy. Now to see her as a mother and to be "Gigi" to those gorgeous boys, I am  beyond blessed.  

3.  The one goal I would like to accomplish before my next birthday.

Ugh.  I so need to lose some weight.  Bleh. Such a pain! Please let me whine about this some more while I lick Nutella off a spoon and chase it down with some rosé. (Well, now that sounds like some motivation, doesn't it?)  Okay.  So how can I put a positive spin on this one?  My one goal, that I WILL accomplish before my next birthday is to run walk crawl drive a marathon, 10K, 5K to the pub.  I need to do some work on this one.  Maybe I'll follow up in a later post.  Let's just move on, shall we?  (This is word for word what I wrote several years ago, no update needed unfortunately.) 

4.  Of the places I've lived, this is my favorite. 

Duh.  Texas, y'all!  Texas is a wonderful place with amazing people. Texas has its fair share of embarrassing politics and stereotypes, but it's so much more than that.  If you ever get the chance, just visit Austin, San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country in between.  You will love it!  I promise. I'm going back in two weeks for a visit and I cannot wait!!!!  But, I must admit another place has also stolen my heart.  That place is London.  I never dreamed I could love a city as much as I love London.  These are my two homes now, no matter where I end up.

5.  This is what inspires me.

I'm inspired by gaining new knowledge and experience.  Nothing is more exciting than  seeing someplace you've only dreamed about.  I love trying new things and stepping out of my well-lived-in-comfort-zone.  I love learning to look at things in a different way.  I love when people surprise me and teach me something that I never would have known without crossing their path.  This is why travel excites me so much.  Everything is new and I'm constantly learning and growing.  I just can't get enough! Still.

6.  Something you've accomplished recently.

I finally learned to drive in the UK!  I'm beaming with pride, because it was so damned hard!  I took hours of lessons which cost me hundreds of pounds.  I started about 4 years ago.  I passed the written test and took a few stressful lessons before giving up in defeat.  When we moved to Surrey, it became more of a necessity.  I retook the written test as my first one had expired.  Failed. Took it again.  Passed.  Then started lessons again.  It was stressful and frustrating and I wanted to give up.  I had to unlearn 35 years worth of bad driving habits and get used to driving on the other side of the road.  Not to mention shifting gears with my left hand.  The national pass rate is less than 50%.  Can you believe that?  But I persevered and six months later I passed on my first try!  (Thanks to Melanie of Apex School of Driving.)  It's still stressful and I still hate it, but I can do it. 

There's my update.  I'm surprised at how little my answers have changed in the past four years.  I'm now a grandma that can drive on the other side of the road that still loves to travel and adores her family.  How about you?  do you have a "Six Thing About Me" post to update?  If so, I'd love to see it.  Maybe we can get it making the rounds again.

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