A little about me

    I realized that there may be a few new people stopping by the blog because of the Write31Days challenge. I thought that I might use today's post to tell you a little about myself.   I'll try to add in some interesting facts for people who already know me but chose to read this anyways! (Thanks!)

 

     My name is Jen. I live (and have always lived) in Massachusetts. The town that I currently live in is on the North Shore so I have many beautiful and/or historical places to visit. We rent an apartment but I would really love to buy a house. Unfortunately, it is super expensive to buy a house where we currently are. (Feel free to send me money. 😀)   I long to have a place where people can just drop by to say hi, have a cup of coffee or just hang out.

     I am married. My husband is a candy maker. Seriously, it's not too painful. We have been married for almost 20 years and we have 2 sons. Our oldest son will be 12 tomorrow. (More on that then) Our youngest son in 9. We are all Christians. Faith and family are important to us. 

      I work as a music teacher. My students are in 5th-8th grade. For my international pals, the students are about 10-14 years old. I know that teenagers scare a lot of people but I'm really passionate about my job and love the opportunity to work with hundreds of kids a year. Not all of them love me, but some really do. I invest a lot in my job because it's what I feel I was called to do. I teach general music to all of the kids at school and chorus to the kids who sign up to be there. My daily life at school is usually an adventure. I laugh (or cry.. lol) all day long. 

      I have many hobbies. The hobby most people probably think of when my name comes up is penpalling. I have had penpals off and on since the time I was in 3rd grade. I write to a lot of people all across the world. In fact, this blog started when I had the idea to try to send at least 1 piece of personal mail per day. My hope was to receive a ton of mail too but that didn't happen. I failed miserably the first year. The second year was better and I actually completed my goal on the 3rd year. Secretly, I think I'm fully funding the United States Postal Service. I've also got a whole bunch of teenagers checking and sending snail mail. #nerdgoals  I'm involved with Postcrossing and ChemoAngels. My "reply" pile is a bit full this week. My next letters are headed to: The Netherlands (2), New York, Singapore, England and Canada.

     I don't know if I consider music a hobby for me since it's my profession. Voice is my primary instrument but I also play piano and percussion. When I perform publicly, I'm usually in a band or orchestra playing percussion. I also sometimes sing and play in my worship band at church. 

     I love to read too. I'm a huge nerd. Currently I'm reading an advanced reader copy of a book called Quackery. The book comes out on October 17. I'm still reading but, so far, it's pretty entertaining. I'm more than a little happy that I live NOW after reading what used to be common treatments. Honestly, this book has made me wonder what treatments that we have now that will be thought of as "crazy" 100 years from now. I am a member on NetGalley and Goodreads and I'm participating in a few reading challenges this year. (More about those here.)

 

     Other hobbies I enjoy- traveling, cooking and baking, playing volleyball, learning, blogging, and spending time with family and friends. 

    Now it's your turn. Tell me a bit about yourself. I'm asking 5 questions. Feel free to answer all of them or just 1.

1. What's the first thing you notice about people?

2. What were/are your best/worst subjects in school?

3. What's one quality you admire in people

4. What's one of your quirks?

5. Where are you from? 

     Hopefully I'll get to know a few new people and learn more about some of my current friends. Have a great night!