It's no secret that today is my birthday. If you follow me on Facebook or IG, I am sure you have seen some posts about it.
Today I turn 34. Wow. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was in my 20s being carefree and going BIG for my birthday. Now that I am married with kids, I like the more subtle birthday celebrations. And since I shared with you all, 39 things about my husband on his birthday, I thought I would share 34 things about myself with you all on my birthday.
1. I have one tattoo on my ankle. I got it about 10 years ago with my sister. I had always wanted to get a flower tattoo, more specifically a lily tattoo. I took in about five pictures of lilies and told the tattoo artist that I wanted a mix of them. My own unique lily. He did an amazing job on it. And the color is still bright and beautiful even 10 years later.
2. I have never wanted another tattoo until recently and I plan on getting my girls names on my rib cage.
3. In my 20s I went to a ton of concerts. It is what I spent my money on. I went to the Vans Warped Tour every year from the time I was 17 or 18 until my late 20s. I have been to Snowboarding for Breast Cancer where bands like Lincoln Park and Blink 182 played. I have seen Incubus 4 times. I have seen so many punk bands play in small venues where I live. Tool was one the best shows I have ever seen live, but Black Keys is right up there.
4. I feel like I was born in the wrong decade. My love for music is strong. I grew up listening to bands from the 60s, 70s and 80s. I love classic Rock so much. The Nirvana station on Pandora is the best. It has a mix of Nirvana (duh), Sublime, ACDC, Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Miller Band, Foo Fighters, Boston and so much more. The best.
5. My favorite classic rock band is Pink Floyd.
6. I am double jointed in both of my thumbs.
7. I am a steak snob. Growing up, I didn't like steak that much, but as I got older and my parents introduced me to filet minion, I haven't turned back. I will chose filet over almost any steak every single time.
8. I have had 7 surgeries. I have had foot, knee, emergency c-section, 2 umbilical hernias one with a partial ab closure, a breast abscess and augmentation. These are not counting all the mole removals, wisdom teeth or anything of that nature.
9. Growing up I wanted to be a doctor, but now I want to be a nurse. Yep, I let technology win me over in college, but feel like I should have went with what I loved from the beginning. Medicine.
10. Growing up I always wanted twins because I thought it was so cool. I wanted identical twins too. But as I got older, I realized how much work, how hard it would be and that I wanted two pregnancies. Well guess what, life does give you what you want sometimes because I had twins all those years later and they are identical. Full circle.
11. I have gotten a severe concussion/whiplash/swollen neck and tore my meniscus while snowboarding (two separate incidents) and I still continue to snowboard. I am just more careful now, ie, I don't go off of jumps, do rails or even really board through the trees.
12. I wear a size 8 in shoes which means everyone always takes my sizes. When I was pregnant, I thought my feet would grow (my gyno told me it could happen), but mine never did. So I still have to fight for my size 8 shoes.
13. Speaking of shoes, I had some interesting jobs before heading off to college. I was a grocery bagger, shoes salesman at JC Penney's, sales rep at a local video store and a student worker at a local insurance company. The video store clerk was my favorite. It was a lot like the movie Clerks.
14. I never went to my senior prom. My boyfriend and I had broken up not long before, so my good friend Andy was going to take me, but then that got all messed up. I did go to the junior prom at my boyfriend's school though and it was in Lake Tahoe, so that was even better.
15. I graduated high school with a 3.95 and thought college would be a breeze like high school. I was wrong and I got a D on my first exam which was in Economics. Needless to say, my study habits changed quickly.
16. Do you all remember LEI jeans? All the girls in high school (1998 - 2001) wore them. I unfortunately or fortunately had very long legs in high school and couldn't wear them. They were high waters on me. So after my mom took me to Sacramento on a shopping trip, I found Abercrombie and Fitch jeans. They came in long and my life was forever changed. At that time, jeans were only about $39 a piece. Now to think they are about a $100 a pair.
17. While in college, I lived in an old sorority house. I had 7 other roommates which meant crazy cheap bills, lots of drama, some life long friends made and some of the best times in my life.
18. When I growing up, I was in jujitsu and I was pretty good at it. I made it to a brown belt (right below black belt) and would have made it farther, but then I quit. I loved to wrestle the boys and was pretty good at beating them.
19. When I was a senior in high school I learned to play the guitar for my senior project. Not only did I have to write a 10 page paper on the history of the guitar, but I had to play 3 songs for them. I played Scar Tissue by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blink 182's Dammit and a Spanish Flamanco song my teacher taught me.
20. I donate blood and try to do it every 8 weeks.
21. In high school, I wrote a lot of poetry and was published in many books.
22. My favorite food is Italian food. I would eat pasta everyday if I could and wouldn't get fat. I loved spaghetti so much growing up. I would put down 2 plates easily. #fatkidatheart
23. I had my first kiss at 14. It was with a basketball player at my middle school.
24. My favorite cocktail is a Moscow Mule. Otherwise, I drink wine.
25. When my dad went to Afghanistan for a year, I think I took it the hardest. I am a total Daddy's girl.
26. I have been out of the country many times, but I have barely made a dent in my wish list. I have been to England, Scotland, Gibraltar, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and Australia.
One of my favorite places in Costa Rica, Lola's
27. I am sooo afraid of sharks. I used to have the hardest time going in the ocean. I still do, but now I constantly watch what is beneath me. But I also have taken this fear to a crazy level as I watch all things shark. I basically feed my fear. This probably makes me sound crazy, but the best shark videos are attack ones. I want to know how to get out of that situation if I am ever put in it.
28. Speaking of sharks, I wanted to go cage diving with great white sharks as my 40th birthday present. Ha. I am crazy, right?
29. Growing up I loved New Kids on the Block. I was so obsessed with them. I had their pjs, sheets, shirts, books, posters, cassette tapes, etc. The obsession was real.
30. When I was growing up chocolate was my go to flavor for everything. I loved mochas, rocky road ice cream, milk chocolate bars, etc. As I have gotten older, my tastes have gone completely opposite and I chose vanilla for everything...vanilla lattes, vanilla ice cream, vanilla bean yogurt, vanilla cake, etc.
31. My middle name is Kira. Before I was born, my parents were picking my name and my mom wanted to have my first name be Kira after her favorite movie Xanadu. You know the one with Olivia Newton John. But after awhile, she didn't like Kira as the first name and named me Danielle Kira.
When I was growing up, I didn't tell many people my middle name because it was different from other peoples like middle names: Lynn, Marie, Christine, etc. Now I love that my name is different. Though Kira is becoming more and more popular. Sutton's middle name is also Kira to carry it on.
32. I love the NFL. I seriously live for it. Sometimes it makes me mad, but it is just so fun to watch. I know a lot about the NFL and I have had some showdowns with guys who think I don't know squat about it. It is so much fun to show up a guy and let him know that girls love sports just as much as guys do. Plus I was always told it was awesome to have someone who loves NFL because they want to watch it just as much as their spouse does.
One of our last games at Candlestick Park
33. I played the clarinet in fifth and sixth grades. I was actually pretty good at it, but stopped playing.
34. I used to do yoga three days a week for about 6 years and then the price of it got in the way. That is when I changed to spin class and loved it so much more. I wish I was still at my old gym and could take a spin class twice a week.
It is seriously hard to think of this many things about yourself. Ha. But it is also fun thinking about this sort of stuff. Definitely a stroll down memory lane.
