The Hayes Homestead: It's My Birthday!!

Hey y'all!! It's April 23rd so that means it's my BIRTHDAY!!! Woo-hoo!!!

I'm turning 34 this year so I thought I'd do a fun post of 34 facts about myself (thanks for the idea, Marie!). Hope you enjoy!!

I was born a month early, but still weighed over 7lbs.

I have the same birthday as William Shakespeare, Michael Moore and Shirley Temple.

I've had three last names, but I've only been married once. I had my last name legally changed when I was 23.

Cooking is my favorite hobby. Love it. Just wish I loved cleaning as much!

I'm the baby of my family - my sister and brother are 8 and 6 years older than me.

My lucky number is 13. I was married and found out both times I was pregnant on the 13th.

I moved in with my husband after only dating for 3 months.

I changed my major 4 times in college, finally deciding on English. If I knew then what I know now, I would have become a Dietician or Nutritionist.

The farthest I've ever travelled was to Italy. Jason's brother was living in Rome at the time so we went to visit. We also travelled to Florence and Venice while we were there.

My favorite meal is Eggplant Parmesan.

The best Eggplant Parmesan I ever had was at a restaurant named Za-Za's in Florence, Italy.

As a kid, I thought that the laughing you'd hear while watching a sitcom was the people watching and laughing at home. So, I would laugh as loud and as hard as I could to try to hear myself. I never could. ;)

When I was younger, my dream job was to be a comedienne. Then I realized that I was the only one who really thought I was funny. Haha!

Waiting for Guffman is my favorite movie. If you haven't seen it, you should.

Dave Matthews Band is my absolute, hands down, most favorite band of all time. I've seen them 15+ times in concert. LOVE them.

Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol is mine and Jason's song.

Carnations are my favorite flower. Gerber Daisies are a close second.

Wedding bouquet of white carnations & pink Gerber daisies.

I had a natural birth with both kids. They attempted to give me an epidural with Redmond, but it didn't work. I didn't even try for one with Ashlyn.

Redmond

Ashlyn

I love popcorn. But, I don't love movies. I have been known to go to the movies just for the popcorn. No joke.

I've been a vegetarian for almost 9 years.

The first and middle names of both of my children are named after family - Redmond is the maiden name of my mother-in-law and his middle name is Jason's middle name as well as Jason's great grandfather's first name. Ashlyn is a combination of my middle name (Ashley) and my mom's first name (Carolyn). Her middle name is after one of Jason's favorite aunts.

I absolutely love my in-laws. No, for real. They are absolutely amazing. I'm closer to them than my parents.

I have a deep, deep love and respect for all animals. Always have, always will.

Our wedding was an outdoor wedding. The morning of our wedding, rain was in the forecast. My mother-in-law had heard an old wives' tale that if you put 9 brooms in a tree that it will keep the rain away. She gathered 9 brooms (from random people!), went to our wedding site and put them all in a tree. The rain stayed away for our ceremony and we even had a beautiful rainbow! (See, I told you my in-laws are amazing!)

I grew up watching scary movies. From as early as I can remember. I hate them now. No scary movies and no crime tv for me!

My favorite colors are pink, black and green. These were also my wedding colors.

I have lived in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and part-time in Maryland.

My favorite vacation spot is Siesta Key, FL. Jason grew up going there, I went for the first time on our honeymoon. We've been back a couple times since. The most amazing sunsets happen there.

I love camping! (It may or may not be because of campfire (or Hobo) pies...) We always tent camp, but I've been trying to convince Jason that it's time for a pop-up :)

I cry. A lot. I'm just a very sensitive, emotional, delicate flower. And I don't like it when I'm told no. :)

Music is a HUGE part of my life. My taste is all over the place. Some of my favorites include (other than DMB, of course): Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Grateful Dead, REM, Dr. Dre, Mumford & Sons, Michael Jackson, Adele, Zeppelin, Ed Sheeran, Tom Petty, etc. etc. (I could seriously go on all day).

The only famous person I've met is Jeff Corwin. He was a guest speaker at Ball State (my Alma Mater) my sophomore year. As you can see by the photo, I was quite excited. Haha!