31 day blog challenge, 7.3.14

In order to get out of an "I don't know what to blog about" funk, I decided to participate in a 31 day blog challenge that I discovered on Pinterest. For 31 days, I blog. About myself. I know, it seems very narcissistic, doesn't it?! But, if this blog has been nothing else, it has been therapeutic to me, so I'm going to go for it. What I am hoping, though, is that it will also be therapeutic to someone else, by inspiring them (or you!) to think about what their (or your) answers to the blog topic would be each day. I think there is something very rewarding about looking back and thinking about seemingly random events and discovering that each of those events made you who you are and affect the choices you make every day.

Love this!

So, here it goes!

In order to wrap this up by the end of July, I am going to cover the first three topics today: Introduction (above), 20 facts about me and what my business name means.

20 (pretty random) facts about me:

1.        I married my first husband at age 17 (and was married for 20 years).

2.        I have 3 kids- 1 girl ,2 boys

3.        I have 2 grandsons.

4.        My second marriage is now 9 years, 7 months, 29 days long and counting.  :)

5.        I kept my first married name so it would be the same as my kids’.

6.        I am a homebody, but dream of traveling someday.

7.        My parents have been married for 55 years.

8.        I am the youngest of three kids- I have an older brother and sister.

9.        I am hopelessly restless when it comes to houses-I like to move. If I can’t move- I continually rearrange furniture (usually instead of cleaning!)

10.     I have a near panic attack just at the thought of paying my bills (even if I know I have enough money).

11.     I am an art teacher.

12.     I am obsessed with trying to live more simply.

13.     I am (too!) obsessed with trying to be healthy.

14.     I am continually inspired by my students and my kids.

15.     I really think I was born to be a mother.

16.     My favorite movie is Lost in Translation (with Unbearable Lightness of Being coming in second).

17.     I am a decent cook, but don’t really enjoy the process.

18.     I love my car (if one can love a car!)- a 5 year old, black Honda CRV.

19.     I  paint, sew and stitch.

20.     I enjoy blogging much more than I thought I would.

Meaning of my business name:

        My business name comes from my love of home and family and my desire to make things specifically for them. Olive is my Shi-Poo- my constant home companion. And Ash(er) is my grandson (and at the time of opening my Etsy shop and starting this blog, was our newest family member). I am currently trying to come up with a logo that incorporates a tree, a child and a dog :)

Tomorrow's topic will be my earliest childhood memory and also an update on abstract painting #2.

Have a great evening! Juli