six things

back when I was in Chicago, Chelsea from Lost in Travels tagged me in a "six things you should know about me" post and left some questions for me to answer. I'm not always the best at doing these kinds of things [or figuring out who to tag] but hurray for me- I did it! since I've been on the road for a while, it's taken a bit to get this posted... and especially for one reason you'll see in a minute.

1. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I went through a lot of phases, but the earliest thing I clearly remember was in kindergarten. most girls had dreams of ballerinas and princesses, but I was a little entrepreneur. I wanted to own an ice cream store. one that was shaped like an ice cream cone. and I have proof:

yes, I literally waited until I was back at my parents house to write this post so I could dig that out of the basement and take a picture. we couldn't find the original - the sprinkles were definitely rainbow though. oh, and the head on the cone is my face poking out the window of the store to take someone's order. don't ask me how you can have a building literally shaped like an ice cream cone, but that's what I wanted.

2. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I think what revs me up most often is grammatical stuff- when someone makes improper use of your/you're or says "suppose to/use to" instead of "supposed to/used to". [though obviously I don't follow all the rules of grammar myself.]

3. What is your biggest fear?
that I'll never figure out what I'm doing with my life, and I'm just wasting time. or maybe, that I'll never be ok with not knowing exactly what I should do. I'm afraid that I'll try something [writing a book, starting a photography business, taking this blog seriously] and fail. but mostly I'm afraid I'll be too afraid to try... so I've been trying to start trying. if that makes sense.

4. Would you rather be rich and stressed? Or poor and happy?

this one I can answer from actual experience [or close to it.] before we moved to Taiwan, I was in a high-paying but very stressful job. for some people it may not have seemed so bad. but my personality and tendency to get emotionally involved in things made it really rough for me. I had good days, I had good coworkers, and I was actually pretty darn good at what I was doing. but to be completely honest... I was miserable inside.

now, I don't have a job. I'm not sure we were what qualifies as "rich" before, and we definitely aren't "poor" now. but our total income was reduced by about 75% when we moved abroad. that sounds extreme, but the cost of living in New Jersey vs Taiwan is so different [and our housing is now provided by the school] that we aren't really strapped for cash.

we have less money because I don't work, but I have more time. more time to cook healthy meals, time to exercise, time to write, time to relax, time to spend with Husband... basically time to do the things that make me happy. and I can say with absolute certainty that I am happier now, and would much rather live this way.

5. Why did you start blogging? Do you still do it for the same reasons?
it actually took me a while to figure it out, but the reason I started blogging is... I love to write. in my past blog lives I may have lost my way a bit and blogged more for pageviews and pinterest hits [I think all bloggers struggle with that sometimes.] I occasionally wonder what my blog would be like if I had a posting schedule and sponsors and "took things seriously"... if I would be able to find the right balance. I think it would be hard to stay true to myself because I would want to be "successful" or more popular than I am now.

even though a big part of this blog is to keep family + friends updated on our expat adventures, I still love to write. and I try to only blog when I want to write, because I want to write, and want to write what I love, and to write what is honest.

6. What makes you the happiest?
Husband, he's the best. [kittens are a close second.]

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Thanks so much to Chelsea for tagging me, and to my cousin for snapping these photos in Chicago.

I'm going to tag Phyllis, Carin, Yelle, Adriana, Allison, and Danielle, and ask them to pick six of the below questions to answer:

1. Where did you travel on your all-time favorite vacation?
2. If you could fix one big problem in the world, what would it be and why?
3. Name a book you've read that has made a huge impact on your life.
4. What is the one thing you never leave home without?
5. A decade ago, where were you and what were you doing with your life?
6. What is your favorite blog to follow at the moment?
7. How many countries have you traveled to? How many of the 50 states?
8. Which room of your apartment/house would you redecorate if you had an unlimited budget?
9. Describe the best meal you've ever eaten.

have fun, ladies!