Choosing My Word for 2023

As I sit here typing this out we are just under one month away from my 37th birthday….wait…hold on….37? No 36?

2023-1986=37

Ok, yeah. As I sit here typing this out we are just one month and 3 days away from my 37th birthday and I am still trying to work out what exactly my “Word of the Year” will be. I have been choosing a WOTY for a while now but last year simply because I was just completely tapped out on life I never took the time to choose something to focus on. And I’ll be honest when I say it shows.

So this year I am making it a priority.

Over the course of my life I have spent a lot of time trying to be who and what I think other people want me to be. And if that hasn’t worked then I have struggled to be…less…to simply just not be seen so that maybe I am not taking up space and causing issues. Funny feeling for someone who has also sought to have some sort of online presence and share her thoughts and opinions with the world.

So this year I have decided that my word for the year is going to be:

Authentic

The internet defines “authentic” as: of undisputed origin; genuine.

So my goal is to live in the mindset of being genuine.

I’ll be honest when I say I have absolutely no idea what exactly that is going to look like because, as I said earlier, I have spent a lot of time trying to be anything but that so I guess this is kind of the beginning of a new journey for me to figure out who exactly I am and who I want to be.

So with that in mind here are 25 Get to Know Me questions to get me started.

25 Get To Know Me Questions:

1. What is your middle name?: Diane. I have always joked I was named after a queen and a princess so of course I have high expectations.

2. What was favorite subject at school?: In grade school it was English. In highschool it was anything that my favorite teacher, Dawn Rupp, taught. Which means it was either Home Ec, Art, Drama, or any other elective she got handed. I also really enjoyed Band. In undergrad it was probably my psychology classes. And in grad school it was a toss up between my clothing construction course and my independent study/thesis class.

3. What is your favorite drink?: Tea. Any and all tea. I probably need to seek out some kind of 12 step program for my tea issues.

4. What is your favorite song at the moment?: This is where things take a strange “authentic” turn for me. I have reached a point where music is basically just more noise added to the noise pollution in the world. I struggle to enjoy listening to any one particular song, artist, or genre on any type of a consistent basis. The best I can do is that I have been playing quite a bit of soft soothing jazz or classical music for focus and concentration while the kids are working on school.

5. What is your favorite food?: I don’t know. Another “authentic” move I am making is realizing that eating is also becoming one of those events in the day where I have to do it because food is required to survive. But choosing a favorite is just such a challenge. Nothing really just screams “must have” anymore. Which is probably why I struggle when people ask me where I want to go or what I want to do when it is time to get a meal.

6. What is the last thing you bought?: Groceries for breakfast last night. Oh, and dayquil because a cold has also decided to attack my home.

7. Favorite book of all time?: Again I just do not know the answer to this. The first book I really remember reading was “Little Women” and of course I LOVE that book but I am not sure I would call it my favorite of all time. I read so many books that choosing is a challenge.

8. Favorite Color?: Yellow. Always has been, always will be.

9. Do you have any pets?: Nope. I had 5 dogs at one point in my life but I am at the point where it takes too much work to keep my children alive, pets wouldn’t stand a chance.

10. Favorite Perfume?: Don’t have one because I don’t really wear perfume. It is hard to find one that won’t attempt to kill my asthmatic husband.

11. Favorite Holiday?: I have thought about this one a lot and I think it is a toss up between 4th of July and Thanksgiving. The reason for that is that both of those holidays are times we can come together as family and friends and celebrate and eat and enjoy each other’s company without the stress of gifts or any other major activities. (Except fireworks on the 4th perhaps.)

12. Are you married?: Yep. We will celebrate 15 years of marriage this June.

13. Have you ever been out of the country, if so how many times?: I went on a cruise to Mexico when I was 18. That was my only trip out of the country.

14. Do you speak any other language?: Officially, no. But I often say I speak fluent toddler.

15. How many siblings do you have?: I have a younger sister and 2 younger brothers.

16. What is your favorite shop?: I am not really a fan of shopping so I don’t have a favorite one of these either. I do enjoy a good tea shop or bookstore however.

17. Favorite restaurant?: CJ’s Si Senor Mexican Restaurant here in my home town.

18. When was the last time you cried?: This morning. It’s basically a daily occurrence now.

19. Favorite Blog?: Is it shameful to say that even though I am a blogger I don’t read blogs? I used to read one monthly called The Everyday Homemaker but the author’s of that one have taken a break so for now I just don’t really read anything regularly.

20. Favorite Movie?: The Princess Bride. Hands down. I will watch that one over and over again always and forever.

21. Favorite TV shows?: Whatever my husband and I happen to be binge watching through at the moment. For a while it was all the Star Trek shows. Now its Ghosts. SO FUNNY!

22. PC or Mac?: PC because that is all I have ever used.

23. What phone do you have?: Samsung Galaxy something. I have no real idea other than that.

24. How tall are you?: 5’5is, which means I typically have to use a ladder or climb on things to reach things. My family often finds this as a funny thing. I, however, do not.

25. Can you cook?: I can cook; however, I am no top chef. I like to try new meals in hopes that they don’t taste horrible. The things I think I make fairly well are: meatloaf, tacos, lasagna, and almost anything I can just dump in a slow cooker and walk away from.

I hope that these questions helped you get to know a little bit more about me! This is a going to be an interesting journey but perhaps some of these surface level things will help me dig deeper into learning more about myself. I’d be interested in learning more about you too so chose a question or two and leave me the answer in the comments.

See you next time!