5 Things You Might Not Know About Me

If you read this blog, you more than likely already know that I love to drink tea…a lot. A friend pointed out that it might be interesting to let my readers get to know me a bit more, outside of tea. I’ve got to be honest, it actually took me a while to come up with enough things for this post. Tea really does dominate a large part of my life but people are like onions and ogres, we have layers. ☺

I’m a bookworm

Long before I discovered tea, reading was something that I have always really enjoyed. I held the class record for Pizza Hut certificates from BOOK IT! and was thrilled to go to summer camp at the library. If there was something to learn, I wanted to read it. My mom even recalls me diligently reading the entire Encylopedia Britannica set cover to cover. By the time I entered high school, I had already read most of the assigned readings like Shakespeare, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and J.D. Salinger. My favorite smell is old books, which is why I always visit the rare book room whenever I go to Strand Bookstore in NYC. I think that constant quest for knowledge was probably what led me to dig so deeply into tea when I first became really interested in it. My Kindle is my constant companion and I read 50+ books a year.

I love to cook and bake

Cooking and baking are passions that I discovered a bit late but I really enjoy them. As corny as it may sound, it actually all started after watching the movie Julie & Julia. I was inspired to give baking a try, bougth a cute apron, and haven’t stopped churning sweets out since. Cookies are kind of my specialty but I am also the family pie maker every Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’ve also been known to make enough Irish soda bread to feed a small army.

My tea baked goods aren’t always the biggest hit with my fiance and family but that suits me just fine. More matcha shortbread cookies for Nicole! Powdered tea can easily be added to just about any mix or batter but I also love experimenting. Infusing butter with tea is also a great way to add a unique flavor to plain jane sugar cookies.

I’m an animal lover

Ever since I was a child I’ve been a big animal lover. I read every book I could get my hands on and would frequently “teach” my very patient aunts and uncles about my favorites. That love of animals led me to major in equine studies for a bit in college. I had dreams of becoming a horse trainer. Although that plan didn’t pan out, I went on to manage a boutique pet store for years. My current apartment doesn’t allow cats and dogs but several creatures have still found their way home.

My fiesty betta fish is named David Bowie because he has red lips and I couldn’t think of any other men who could rock that look. My fiance, Jason, is convinced my anole is a bit evil so we’ve dubbed her “She Who Must Not Be Named”. She’s fun to watch but very skittish (and costs me a small fortune in mail-order crickets). My long haired hamster Einstein ran right into Jason’s foot while he was walking home one night. He’s the gentlest and most people oriented hamster I’ve ever met. We got really lucky to find such a sweet boy!

My current menagerie – Bowie, She Who Must Not Be Named, and Einstein

I love to do genealogy research

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they have to do a school project on their family history. I was in grammar school and had been assigned just such a project when we realized that we actually had no idea who was in our family tree. My mom and I had great fun concocting the most Irish sounding names that we could because that was about all we knew and the project was due the next day. We had just gotten our first computer with its “high-speed dial-up” connection so after that, I decided that I should do some research.

Little did I know that I had just dived into a lifelong rabbit hole. After years of combing through Ancestry.com and census records, I’ve managed to trace my family’s history back well into the 1600’s. It turns out that we’re actually just as Irish, if not more so than my mom and I had imaged all of those years ago. Genealogy research is a journey that never ends but it is nice to have a sense of place now. I can look at a map of Ireland and actually have an idea of where my family is from and I think that’s pretty awesome.

My 2nd Great-Grandparents

I love yoga

I have asthma as well as allergies so exercise is often difficult. I just don’t have the lung capacity or stamina to go running or hop on an elliptical machine. Last year I discovered yoga and have discovered that it is something I can really enjoy without having to risk an asthma attack. Attending classes can also be hard because of my busy schedule but Yoga with Adriene has been a godsend. My living room becomes a yoga studio thanks to her free YouTube video series.

I’d like to challenge my fellow tea bloggers to write their own versions of this post. Let’s all get to know each other a bit better! I’ll link any posts on this topic that I see here.

The Tea Squirrel – 5 Things You Might Not Know About Me
Tea Happiness – 5 Things You Might Not Know About Me
Oolong Owl – Sunday Tea Hoots 33 – 5 Things You Might Not Know About Me
The Cup of Life – 5 Things You Might Not Know About Me (Outside of Tea)