Last year, for my 34th birthday, I shared 34 random things about me that most people didn't know. Since I love learning more about other people, I thought I'd do the same thing again this year for my 35th birthday in case you all enjoy learning about others, too. So, here are 35 more things that make me who I am:

I don't love my birthday date. At all. It's just too close to the holidays.
But I do love Winter - it's my favorite season of the year - so maybe having a January birthday isn't so bad, after all. :)
My dad was born in January 25 years before I was.
My grandma was born in January 25 years before my dad was born.
My great-grandpa was born in January I-don't-know-how-many-years before my grandma was born.
I broke the chain - none of my children were born in January, and none were born when I was 25. Oops. :)
I have a thing for proper grammar. When people properly say, "this is a picture of Jon and me at the museum," instead of the more common, "this is a picture of Jon and I at the museum," I get a little bit giddy inside.
I have a hard time looking people in the eye even though I know this is a good thing to do.
People sometimes mistakenly think that because I'm shy and don't like to talk about my strengths that I have a poor self image.
I'm pretty content in knowing that even though I'm imperfect, I have a Perfect Savior who loves me and died for me. That makes me feel amazingly loved and confident in His plan for me and gives me a better self image than anything I could do on my own.
But just in case you're curious, my core strengths are being Jon's wife, teaching the spark plugs, writing, drawing, and playing the piano.
Being patient and giving out hugs without being prompted by someone else first would not be some of my core strengths.
Ironically, as much as I enjoy creative pursuits, I'm terrible at doing crafts with the spark plugs. I think I'm allergic to glitter.
I love learning. I think the invention of online courses that I can work on at my own pace is one of the best things ever.
I'm not big on candy...
...but I love York peppermint patties. I once saw a recipe for making a healthier alternative at home - I need to relocate it and try it!
Actually, I like almost anything Peppermint, with the exception of candy canes and peppermint hard candies. I'm pretty sure this has to do with number 15 above.
Nectarines are, in my opinion, the world's perfect fruit. A fuzz-less peach? Yes, please!
Advertising strategies fascinate me, probably because I'm the default marketing manager for Canvas Gadget.
I think it would be fun to create an adult coloring book someday (see number 11).
For the first time in 13 years of marriage, I created a gallery wall of our photos and framed quotes. It's not perfect, but I love it all the same! (I tried uploading a picture of it to Instagram, but there's a glitch today. I'll try again later...hopefully.)
I'm good at setting goals, but I usually forget to create action steps for implementing and completing them.
I must be somewhat predictable - I just read through last year's 34 Things About Me post and realized that I'd repeated at least four of them in today's post. (Don't worry. I updated them so that there aren't any more duplicates.)
I love white Christmas lights on my Christmas tree, but the spark plugs love colored ones. Since we've had white lights every year and most of our white strands are now dead, I gave in and let them pick colored replacement strands. They are in heaven.
Most of the time, I prefer veggies to fruit.
Lima beans are the only food I truly don't care for. I can eat and enjoy almost anything else, at least that I've tried thus far. I even like Brussels sprouts.
Checking the mail is one of my favorite daily activities.
I didn't get very far on last year's goals to avoid drinking soda and teaching the spark plugs to play piano. Looking forward to see how well I do at those in 2017.
Thirty-five is officially considered middle age, at least according to Google.
I don't feel all that middle-aged, though.
But I did find my first gray hair this past year. I'm not sure if I should be sad about that or happy that there's only one so far.
I tried a lot of new things last year: my first quartet competition, my first 5K run, and my business conference. I enjoyed them all and am looking forward to spreading my wings even further this year with my first vacation without all four spark plugs (Jon and I did get away for two days when Little Princess was 2), my first Whole30, and possibly my first 8K run (that last one's a little more iffy).
I love reading physical books. My Kindle is great for places like the doctor's office where the wait is long and there isn't space for a stack of books, but when given a choice, I'll pick physical books over digital every single time.
Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love the color and smell of the pine tree, the lights on the houses at night, and the cold, refreshing air.
My word for 2017 is "health," but that includes spiritual, financial, and social (marriage & friendship) well-being in addition to physical wellness.
And one to grow on: Social media is my nemesis. I know I need to better utilize it for the blog and for Canvas Gadget, but it drives me crazy. However, I really do enjoy reading everyone's status updates on Facebook - it helps me to feel better connected with everyone there. Too bad it can be such a time suck!

Those are 35 more things that make me who I am. We're all different from one another - we each have our own talents, character traits, and abilities that equip us to serve the Lord and those around us!

Your turn: What about you? What character traits, abilities, and talents make you who you are? Share with us in the comments!