Birthday Goals =)

It's almost birthday time for the Christine! =D And it is actually Springtime in North Carolina in March which makes me so happy! It would always snow near my birthday in Utah, ruining my Spring birthday plans. Hahaha. I already have my new pink birthday shirt (more pinkish purple this year, though) and I'm excited to start another year of being me. :) So far we have pretty simple plans of going to dinner or something and watching a movie together at home. (Secret: I'm not a big fan of movie theaters. Sticky floors, booming speakers that make my head hurt, not knowing if the person that sat here before me had head lice - I'm extremely lice paranoid, weird smells, cell phones, annoying people talking, no bathroom breaks, hearing the person behind me CHEWING - yes this actually happened recently - I mean, WHY did someone think it'd be a good idea for a movie theater to sell nachos?... Anyway... renting and watching at home has always been preferable to me.)
I want to make birthday goals (kind of like new year's resolutions but birthday-related ;) this year. I'm only going to be around people that help me feel happy about life (including on facebook). I want to be more active physically and try to get some kind of exercise done daily. I know many people are against formal exercise for one reason or another, but I have gotten so I actually enjoy it. Sure it makes me tired and sweaty and my muscles get sore, but it gives me more energy for the day and I get a sense of accomplishment from it. :) Overall, I want to make this year full of positive, upbeat days. My next birthday I will on my own, since John will be in Afghanistan and I am determined to be a very strong person by that time. =) I'll be turning 29 this year! Gonna round out my 20s with some happy. =D I don't want to get depressed about getting older. It won't change anything and will just give me sad lines instead of happy ones. Hahaha. ^_^

Extra thing about me: Name a geeky hobby you have.

Oh, which one to choose. xD I'm quite the geek, as you all know. (After all, I'm a fan of Star Wars, Rainbow Brite, video games, comic books... I'm a geeky gamer girl and I love it!) Lately I've had this hobby finding as many animal species as I can and finding a few cool pictures of each of them. This explains the animal pictures I have in the sidebar of my blog. I think it's fascinating to see all of the different kinds of bats, snakes, horses, foxes, doves, etc. It'll take many years for me to get through the folder featuring a different animal with each new post, but that's okay. I love animals so so much. I feel like each one has its own unique personality. Some religions feel like the animals' souls will become people someday and so they treat animals with respect. I love that. I met an African gray parrot last week for the first time and looked into her eyes. They are some of the smartest birds on the planet. When John was a kid he had a friend with a very smart African gray parrot that would answer the phone and the door and had quite an extensive vocabulary. When I looked at this parrot at the pet store last week I could see the intelligence. Of course, my strongest bond is with cats (I'm not kidding - they follow me home and John has to take them back to their owners) but I love all animals. For a short time I had a dream of becoming a vet for a zoo. And then I found out there were no veterinary schools in Utah (programs to be an assistant or whatnot but not to become a full-fledged veterinarian). Anyway... animal pictures = one of my geeky hobbies. ;)