10 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me!

It’s coming up to two years since I started writing my blog, so I wanted to write a post that was a little bit different, and to help any new followers or anyone who only knows me through my blog to get to know me a bit better :).

To do this, I thought it might be interesting to share ten things about me that you probably don’t know… so here we go… 🙂

1. I can drive a digger

When your father owns machinery for a living, and you grow up with three sisters and no brothers, you have no choice but to adopt a somewhat tomboy attitude and get involved in the machinery driving action.  My sisters and I would spend our summer holidays helping our Dad out by driving whichever piece of machinery was assigned to us on that given day lol.  To us it was just normal and we didn’t really think anything of it at the time, but people are always surprised when we tell them lol.  Probably because thankfully none of us kept up the tomboy thing.  We would always go back to school with great farmer’s tans too lol (this is tanned arms and legs with white feet and chest for anyone who doesn’t know what a farmers tan is lol).

2. I moved to London at 21

After I graduated from University I moved from my home in Ireland to London.  A few of my friends were already living there and I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some work experience in a different country and it just seemed like a fun adventure.  This was probably one of the most significant points in my life, moving from a quiet little country road in rural Ireland to the hustle and bustle of the busy London city life.  My plan was to go for a year and see how it went.  One year quickly turned into five and the rest is history… I absolutely loved my time in London and I have so many great memories of it.  It’s where I met Dan, did my masters and made some lifelong friends :).

This picture of Dan and I was taken at Winter Wonderland in London in 2010! It was absolutely freezing and started to snow just as we went ice skating so we had to buy these silly hats to keep us warm lol.

3. I spent the early years of my career working on building sites  

I guess the fact that I spent a lot of my teenage years on building sites with my Dad probably had something to do with the fact that I went on to study Construction, Engineering and Management at University.  As part of my course I spent my 3rd year working full time on a building site.  I absolutely loved this year and to date it is probably one of the highlights of my career lol.  I was the only girl on site which was definitely daunting at first, but I quickly got used to it and I even had my very own portaloo on site lol thank god!! Then after I graduated and moved to London I continued to work on various different development sites across London, some were great and some were definitely not so great!

After this I did my Masters in Planning and Sustainability in London and that was the end of my building site days.  No more steel toe cap boots, hard hat or high vis for me!

I’ve dug out this terribly old and poor quality photo.  It was taken during my uni days but it gives you the idea lol.

4. I am an ‘Irish twin’

I have three sisters, and one of them is just ten and a half months younger than me which in Ireland is referred to an ‘Irish twin’ lol.  We spend 6 weeks of the year being the same age which she used to love, but I on the other hand would not be so impressed and would count down the days to my birthday so I could be older than her again lol kids are funny! How times have changed.

5. My middle name is Patricia

My middle name is Patricia after my mum and also because I was born the day after St. Patrick’s day lol.  Mum likes to remind me of a time when I was younger and scolded her for giving me Patricia as my second name.  Apparently I said ‘I HATE IT’ lol lol what a brat! I personally don’t remember this event myself but lets face it, there are definitely worse names you could be called lol.  Sorry Mum!

6. I wasn’t interested in makeup until I was about 21

Given that I am a complete and utter makeup junkie now, the fact that I didn’t really get into makeup until I was about 21 always surprises people.  When we were growing up our mum always made sure we had good skincare products and knew how to take care of our skin but makeup didn’t really feature until much later.  I definitely ‘liked’ makeup but it would have been reserved for weekends only and I definitely wasn’t into wearing makeup to school or anything like that.  I would have my tiny little makeup bag that would have the essentials and that would be it.  Once they ran out they would be replaced with exactly the same thing again and I wouldn’t even dream of trying something different.  I knew what I liked and that was that.  In so many ways I wish I was still like that lol It would be a lot less complicated, and my bank balance would be a hell of a lot healthier! lol.

7. I am a stationary fanatic

I am, and always have been, an absolute stationary fanatic.  I was that girl at school who had a pencil case full of all of the unnecessary and completely useless things like a mini punch and stapler that I almost certainly never ever needed to use lol, but that didn’t matter because they were cute lol.  One of my cousins even nicknamed me ‘Easons’ (which is a stationary shop in Ireland for anyone who doesn’t know).  Many years on and not a lot has changed.  I love stationary as much now as I did back then.  A pretty note pad and pen can bring me so much joy! I’m definitely someone who still prefers to write a list on a cute sticky note rather than on my phone like a normal person of the 21st century.

8.  I grew up on the border of northern and southern Ireland

People who aren’t from Ireland always find it fascinating when I tell them that I grew up right on the border of northern and southern Ireland.  Technically I live in Northern Ireland but when you drive out of my parents house and turn right you cross the border into the Republic of Ireland in less than 10 seconds.  We can often cross the border about 5 times to get to somewhere that is just ten minutes away.  For this reason it is always necessary to carry both Sterling and Euros in my purse at home as you just never know where you are going to end up.  I guess the thing that people find most interesting is when I talk about being a child and playing outside and suddenly there would be soldiers with machine guns walking through our garden, or our school bus might have to turn back because of a bomb scare on the road.  As crazy as that sounds, that was the reality of growing up on the border in Ireland.  One of my friends is convinced that my childhood was like Claire’s from the TV show ‘Derry Girls’ lol, and there are definitely scenes that I can totally relate to!  Thankfully things have moved on from that ……..but now we just have Brexit to deal with (which might mean that on top of carrying two currencies in my purse, I may also need my passport!) ……….

9. I got my bellybutton pierced when I was 13

After wearing my mother down for about a year, I finally convinced her to let me have my belly button pierced.  I think she just got tired of saying no.  God knows why I thought this was a good idea as it has never been seen in broad daylight – I really don’t have the appropriate physique for that lol lol!  Anyway, at the grand age of 32 I finally decided to take it out!

10. My favourite quote is from Denis Waitley

‘Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable and remove yourself from the unacceptable’

So those are a few things that you may not have known about me.  I really enjoy writing more personal blog posts so I hope you have enjoyed reading it too :).

I’m going back home to Ireland next week so there will be no blog post next weekend but I will be back with a new one the 23rd :).

Have a great weekend everyone!