Hello everyone! And welcome to Blog-Tember 2015. As I said in my sign-up post, I've wanted to do this challenge for awhile now, but always seemed to remember mid-month. This time, I'm starting with Day 1!

Prompt: Introduce yourself however you like! Pics, vlog, collage, your choice :)

Describing myself is always a challenge.  What do I include? What do I leave out? How do a phrase everything? I'm always so critical of myself and how I am presented. But I'm going to attempt to do it...

My About Me pages says that I am a "Mother, Stampin’ Up Demonstrator, Teacher, Reader, Blogger, Student, Project Manager." All of those identifiers are true. I am also a Thirty-One Consultant (since April) and writer (newly embraced identifier). But they don't really tell you what me, the real me.

I would add to that list, I am a:

• Pessimist -- I'm not necessarily the sunniest person you will meet. I am usually the pessimist in any given group. I have a hard time "looking on the bright side." It seems so unnatural. The exception is in my relationship with J. I tend to take the optimistic approach to his cynicism. Weird how that works out!
• Lister -- I love lists! I love to make lists. I love to look at lists. I am obsessed with lists. J doesn't understand my obsession, but let's my weirdness be most days. I never feel complete without a handwritten list somewhere on my person. Because of this, I have become obsessed with finding the perfect planner. I've recently bought The Happy Planner by mambi and loving it so far. It may be the perfect blend between traditional calendar and list maker.
• Atheist -- I've identified as an atheist for years now, but have been too scared to really say it in public. In the past two-three years, I've become more open about being an atheist when approached with religion. I'm perfectly okay with you having a religion, but don't expect me to sit quietly when you bring it up. I don't want to be disrespectful, but I will tell you my own non-belief. Because of my unwillingness to stay silent, I have made a few enemies in the local parents' group. So be it. I don't I would have been best friends with a deeply religious person anyway.
• Teflon -- I really try to not let things (comments, other peoples' crap, even hurtful comments) stick to me. I'm not always successful, but lately I have been a lot better at just ignoring other people. Amazingly, I think this approach has made me a more optimistic person.
• Advice board -- Apparently I give decent advice given the amount of people I know who ask me for it. My hope is to always be an active listener and give constructive advice. It may not be the "silver-lining" approach, but in the end, I think it's best.
• Introvert -- If you met me in person, you may not realize that I am a huge introvert. I'm always talking and putting myself out there, but inside I get knots in my stomach and anxiety. I don't like being put in new or social situations. I hate having to talk to other people that I don't really know. I much prefer to spent my nights at home reading, writing, or crafting by myself. I need alone time to recharge my batteries. (Can we talk about how difficult this is being a SAHM to a toddler?) So, I may look like an extrovert, but not on the inside.
• Comfortable, but maybe not happy -- Life is decent. We have enough money to be comfortable. I have a fairly large home. I have my children and J. I have friends. But I've realized in the past few months, that I may not really be happy. I'm working on this. Part of this probably stems from the loss of personal identity when I became a mom again. 2016 is going to be about changing my perspective and some activities. I've decided to create my own Happiness Project (based off of Gretchen Rubin's book of the same name).
• Sufferer of depression -- A few years ago, I was finally diagnosed with mild depression. What a relief to finally know why I felt like I do sometimes! I have pinpointed that stress and the seasons can trigger my depression. It's not debilitating enough to require medication (but if yours does, please take what you need!), but I did need to learn some behavioral techniques to help myself. Since the diagnosis, I have learned to create coping mechanisms and behaviors when I stop an episode. But more importantly, I have learned to stop an episode before it gets too deep. I may not always get it right and sometimes it takes weeks to come out the other side, but having tools to combat depression has made the world of difference.

All of this is me, along with a million other things (I love purple and chocolate chip cookies). I always hate having to do a quick introduction about myself. A few identifiers doesn't really tell you who I am, but I realize the necessity of brevity. Anyway, I am still trying to figure out all of who I am, but this was a start!