Wednesday, December 28, 2011

{Part 1} 25 Random Facts

1) I was born in Joliet, Illinois. Located 40 miles southwest from the greatest city in the world, Chicago! My family relocated to North Carolina when I was 10 years old. As much as I love it here, I will always consider Chicago "Home".


* Fun Fact: The television show Prison Break was filmed in Joliet. 

2) <-- My favorite Numbers are 2 and 22. What can I say? I love my 2's. Lol

3) I am of Sicilian, German and English descent.

4) I would love to visit Italy one of these days. I actually still have family in Sicily...maybe I could swing by? Please? *smile*

5) My neighbor has a Sicilian Donkey who frequently comes to visit. His name is HotRod Jack and he is adorable! He was just here last night in fact. 

6) When I was 21 I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Europe! I spent 10 glorious days in London, Oxford, Normandy and Paris! Looking forward to the day I can return and actually take some photos. lol

* Remind me to share that story with you in an upcoming post!

7) Normandy was my highlight. My Papa was a Naval Seaman on an LST Ship (Landing Ship Tank) during WWII. He was stationed at Omaha Beach in Normandy during D-Day. He wasn't directly involved in all of the horror taking place on land but he does have quite a few truly terrifying memories. A couple of days before I left on my trip I went to visit my grandparents in Morganton. During that visit my Papa shared more with me about those days than he ever has with any of his grandchildren. I sat there in awe of this man who has always been such an incredible force in my life. I called my Papa the day that I arrived in Normandy. He answered the phone with "Hey my Normandy girl!". I choked up and tried to get through the conversation without completely giving into the emotions I was feeling. This part of my trip meant so much to me and I really didn't understand why. I figured it out as soon as I felt the cool winds and sand of Omaha Beach. As I looked out over the water, I felt the most intense chills I have ever experienced in my life. I have always had an overactive imagination...but I could almost see everything unfolding on that day so long ago. Tears fell from my eyes as I silently thanked all of those men and women who lost their lives for me and this country. I thanked my Papa too.

8) I actually traveled to Europe with a group of people I had only met once!

9) When I landed in North Carolina after my trip to Europe my family greeted me with a sign that read "Welcome Home Aunt Ashley!". My sister had learned that she was expecting her first baby while I was away. She had a hard time keeping that a secret. *smile*

10) My favorite animals are penguins and lions!

11) I am terrified of moths and spiders. *shiver*

12) My very favorite actors are Gregory Peck and Gene Kelly!

13) My favorite movie as a child was "Banjo the woodpile cat". Whenever my family rented movies I made sure to get this one each and every time. So often that I actually called the rental store "The Banjo store". Years and years later my mom and I were at Family Video here in Shelby. They were selling a lot of their VHS tapes to make way for DVD's. To my surprise and complete joy they were selling "Banjo"! I hope to find the DVD one of these days so I can share it with my own children...in the very far off future. lol

14) My favorite sports teams are: The Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers and of course the UNC Tarheels! 

15) My favorite guilty pleasure is wasting my time playing The Sims! lol

16) One of these days I would love to have a Lab in every color!

17) I used to sing in the Youth Praise Band at Putnam Baptist!

18) I love to write! I have a ridiculous amount of notebooks. lol

19) I prefer the Monkees over the Beatles. Let the backlash begin, haha!

20) When I was around 12 years old I genuinely thought I was going to be a country singer...

21) ...I currently can't stand country music. haha

22) I have a goal to visit all the different missions in California. 

23) My favorite vacation spot is Ocracoke Island! 

24) My favorite films are: Roman Holiday and Pride and Prejudice!

* Fun Fact: My best friend Annie and I have given each other the nicknames Jane and Elizabeth after the characters in Pride and Prejudice. Annie being alike to Jane and myself being alike to Elizabeth. I am happy to say that we both found our Mr. Darcy's. *smile* 

25) 2011 has been an amazing year for me! I want to thank all of you for filling it with so many wonderful memories! Here's to the next 100 posts! Love you guys to pieces!!

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