Freedom!...and Day 01 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge

I finally have a few minutes to myself.  No class.  No care plans.  No case studies.  Bliss.

A friend of mine challenged me to blog daily, and even though I couldn't find the site she recommended, I found one that challenged thirty continuous days of blogging.  Sounds like fun to me!

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.
Day 02- A picture of something you cannot live without.
Day 03- A habit that you wish you didn’t have.
Day 04- List 15 songs that represent your life’s soundtrack.
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to.
Day 06- A hobby you have.
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why.
Day 09- Something/someone you’re proud of.
Day 10- A story about a past relationship.
Day 11- A picture of something you dislike.
Day 12- A picture of your room & don’t cheat by cleaning it. Share a secret.
Day 13- Write a letter telling someone something you could never tell them.
Day 14- A picture of something you ate and 10 confessions.
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle & share the first 10 songs that play.
Day 16- Something you could live without.
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why.
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have.
Day 19- Nicknames you have & how or why you have them.
Day 20- If you had 3 wishes, what would they be.
Day 21- Share a picture from your day.
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else.
Day 23- What is something you crave.
Day 24- Share a story about your past that you are ashamed of.
Day 25- What I would find in your bag.
Day 26- Places you want to visit before you die.
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge?
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned.
Day 30- A picture of you today & 20 goals you want to accomplish.

So.  Today is the first day.  Without further ado, a picture of yours truly:

And fifteen interesting things about myself...

1.  I am, and forever will be, a band dork.  I loved being in the band in high school.  My best friends were in the band with me, and some of my fondest memories from high school are from trips to games and competitions, not to mention "band camp."

2.  I am a reader to the very core of who I am.  I read cereal boxes, blogs, shampoo bottles, magazines.  If it has words on it, I will read it.  I have been to every country, even countries that don't even exist, within the pages of books.  A child who doesn't know how to read is one of the most negligent things a parent can do to a child.  It's an education, a mystery, an escape.

3.  Life is unfair.  Brutally so.

4.  I believe in loving life for everything it is worth.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow, and life is far too short to give two flying flips what someone else thinks about the kind of person you are.  Quirky?  Goofball?  Weird? Yes, please.

5.  I am terrible at math.  

6.  People will never cease to disappoint and disgust you.  But people will also never cease to surprise you, either.

7.  I am a Taurimi.  My birthday falls on the cusp of Taurus and Gemini, and though I don't put a lot of stock into horoscopes, I like to read both and pick the one I like better.

8.  Some of my very best friends are the ones that I never get to see.  I sometimes think that we have such a strong friendship because we are never together, and the stressors of daily life don't take the same toll that they would if we lived in the same town and saw each other all the time.

9.  I think my mother is one of the strongest people I know.

10.  It is rare that I get angry.  Even rarer that I hold a grudge for very long.  But some of the events that have recently transpired have tarnished my faith in a lot of things, and I don't know that time or patience will heal those wounds.

11.  I wear a 7 on my right foot and an 8 on the left.  Shoe shopping is a nightmare.  I'm probably the one to blame if you can't find the mate to the shoe you're in love with at Target!

12.  I have a very strong dislike of cold weather.  I was told that there is a town in Florida called "Frost Free."  I think I need to live there.  

13.  I'm a big, fat redneck at heart.  I love to play in the mud, drive big trucks, make a mess, play in the woods.  I'm just not quiet enough or cold-blooded enough to hunt.  I can't sit still that long.

14.  My husband is my very best friend and champion.  I consider myself to be one of the luckiest women on the planet.

15.  The glass is ALWAYS half-full.