Hi friends, today I am joining in with some lovely ladies for the ‘Not Just A Mom’ link-up. The topic for January is ‘Introduction’. So today I am going to be introducing myself and my family and sharing a little more about myself. And also a bit about how I got in to blogging.
This past year (oops I was about to say this year). I have been getting to ‘know’ some very sweet bloggers. And so when I saw that the January topic was Introduction. I was happy because this means that I will also get to learn a bit more about them.
Me
Hi, I’m Ruth and I live in a suburb of Sydney Australia. Â I live with my husband, younger son and our little cat named Sushi. And I work full-time in a small local preschool as an early childhood educator. During the lockdown, I got very brave and plucked up the courage to start my own blog. Even though I had been toying with the idea for years. I never went ahead with it because I felt that blogging was right out of my comfort zone. I mean what would I say? What could I write about….my boring life…no way!!
But I am so happy that I put all my fears and doubts aside and went ahead with it. Because so far it has been such a fun journey and a great creative outlet for me. A big bonus is that I feel part of a really welcoming, kind and supportive community. And to top it off I am also making friends with some really lovely people from around the world. Â
Where Was I Born?
I was born In Peru, South America but I have lived in Australia since I was eight months old. So Australia is all I know. I speak fluent Spanish complete with 1970s slang because that’s what my parents taught me.
So when I meet someone who is not from that generation I feel really lost because I just can’t quite work out what they are saying. Even though I have a great Peruvian Spanish accent, I find that I can’t express myself very well in Spanish. Probably because I think in English.
Over the years I have also discovered that some things just can’t and shouldn’t be translated word for word from English to Spanish. I know because I think I might have accidentally offended some people. Oops!
Fun Facts About Me
- Most of my friends and all of my family call me Ruthie
- Practically all the kids at preschool think my name is Roof
- Growing up my nickname was Monkey or King Kong as my cousin kindly christened me.
- I get cold very easily. Five minutes with the air conditioner on and I need to put on a hoodie. I guess that’s why I am not a fan of winter!
- But I am a huge Star Wars fan
- I love good 80s music that you can really dance to. So I can’t understand all this rapper music my son loves and I wonder where did I go wrong?
- I’m terrified of any kind of insect. Ladybugs were only just acceptable until I saw them under a microscope. Ugh!!
- I am an only child and I wish I had siblings.
- My favourite flavour is strawberry- strawberry ice cream, strawberry sundaes and strawberry milkshakes all the way!!
- I got married at nineteen
- My favourite season is SUMMER!!
- I don’t like the beach….too much sand, wind and waves.
- My nose is super sensitive and I can smell things from a mile away. Not sure if that has anything to do with being born in the Year Of The Dog.
- I am completely unsporty and my greatest achievement was doing a forward roll. Don’t ever throw a ball at me because all I will do is squeal, panic and duck.
My Family
Steve
My husband’s name is Stephen or Steve as we call him. And his family is originally from Holland. He doesn’t speak a word of Dutch and he is very ‘Aussie’. In fact, when I first met him I thought that he was anglo Australian. And it wasn’t until I met his mum with a very thick Dutch accent that I found out otherwise. And I was completely blown away!
He works super long hours in the hospitality industry and I think that he can’t wait until he retires. He loves sports and in his younger days, he played water polo and competed in triathlons. We are probably complete opposites because he loves the beach, sports and he is quite competitive. He also makes me laugh a lot with his stories! And sometimes he reminds me of George Costanza from Seinfeld.
Luke
My oldest son is Luke and he will be thirty this year. I think he feels that this is old haha!! He lives about forty minutes away with his lovely fiancee. They haven’t set a wedding date and I honestly don’t really think that they are in a hurry to get married. I won’t say too much about him because he is super private.
But I will say that he is so sweet, kind and affectionate. He always amazes me with his knowledge of facts. And I love how he keeps me up to date on things that are on trend as far as technology and social media.
Sam
Sam is eighteen and he is very tall just like Luke. Tomorrow he is going for his driving test and the day after he has a job interview for a part-time job. He is desperate to work so he can save up money to buy himself a car.
He has decided that he is going to do a Bachelor Of Nursing at uni. And I think that this is great as he will make a fantastic nurse. He is very calm, compassionate and empathetic. Plus he is not grossed out by body things if you know what I mean.
One Fun Fact About Our Whole Family
We all really dislike having our photo taken! Both individually and as a group. My face even starts to twitch every time a camera is pointed at me that’s how much I dislike it!! Hahaha! Occasionally I will do awkward selfies for the blog. And if someone asks me to get a photo with them I am more than happy to. But I just get so self-conscious!
Consequently, we don’t have many photos of our family where we are all looking normal and not scarily stunned. But I did manage to capture one about two years ago. Here’s hoping I’ll be able to get a more recent one soon.
I guess that about wraps up my introduction. Thank you so much for being here today and letting me share a bit more about myself and my family. I hope that you have a fantastic week.
Happy Monday
Linking up with Holly and Sarah
Not Just A Mom
Sharing on
That was lovely! I have enjoyed reading about your life in Australia. I was fascinated about what you said about your Spanish since I’m a Spanish teacher in the US. We teach Castilian Spanish with some Mexican-centered vocab. thrown in since our kids are closest geographically to Mexico.
Oh wow that’s amazing Amy! My family always used to proudly say “Hablamos Castellano”. But I haven’t met a single person here in Australia who has ever heard of Castilian Spanish. I’m excited to hear that you guys in the U.S do 🙂
Awww this was so fun to read Ruth! Loved learning more about you sweet blogging friend XO
Thanks Amy 🙂
Hi Ruth, thanks for sharing all these details about yourself. I enjoyed reading this post and especially reading about the fun facts. It is good when we know who the blogger behind more than just the name….
Have a wonderful week!
#MMBC
Thanks Amila. I hope you have a wonderful week too 🙂
I love following along with your blog and your daily life! I feel like we have quite a bit in common- I also grew up in a different country than my passport country but I have since returned to the US to live. It’s always fun to read about your life in the Southern Hemisphere and some of the things that are the same and some things that are way different! I am also in early childhood education, but I teach 1st grade. It’s never dull, that’s for sure!
Thank you so much Suzanne. I totally agree about never having a dull moment when working with young kids. They certainly keep me active even on the days when I don’t feel like it!
It’s lovely to learn more about you. I often think of you as a youngster, I still can’t get my head around you being a Mum of a 30 yr old! It is strange to think of someone in Australia not liking beaches or bugs, when us Brits think of Australia our first thoughts are often of beaches and spiders, lol.
Haha! 😂 Oh my goodness yes we do have plenty of scary bugs!
It is so lovely to learn more about you.
I am going to join in with the Not Just A Mom’ link-up this year. I have my post going live tomorrow. 🙂 x
Yay! That’s so great that you are joining in!
What a fun read! I did learn quite a bit about you today. I am not a fan of bugs (or spiders or anything that creepy and crawly)… but I’ve heard that Australia really has some large and rather deadly ones besides!
We do have some deadly creatures! Spiders like the redbacks and funnel webs are the ones we have to be careful of as they can potentially be anywhere. I’ve only seen redbacks. yuck!
Ruth it was so lovely to get to know more about you!! I am happy you started blogging, and understand your reservations because I thought all the same things– what will I write? Who will read this? Etc. But I adore your blog and am happy you took the leap of faith to try something outside your comfort zone!
Lauren from Don’t Mind Our Mess
Awww thanks so much Lauren 🙂
Thanks for linking up! I am so glad I found your blog through the Hello Monday linkup. I love learning all about your Australian life! Have a great week!
Thanks Sarah! Have a great week too.
This is such a fun intro. You’ve told us so much about yourself. I love that you have a cat named Sushi! Thanks so much for linking up with us.
I loved reading about you and your family! So many special things about each and every one of you. Thanks for linking up with us!!
It’s so lovely to “meet” you. I had no idea you had an older son! I also love the fact that you are a newer blogger. The blog community really is quite wonderful!
It sure is! I hope you have a great week Natasha 🙂
I really enjoyed your introductions! Such fun posts to read! And your family photo is a keeper – really good. I don’t think I could find one of my family. At all. Which is rather sad and something I should try to remedy actually. Hope you are having a great week…and that Sam got his license!:)
Thanks so much Jennifer. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up with the driving test and time. The booking centre messed up so now Sam has to wait until February to go for his driving test again. It was a bit disappointing for him but oh well, I guess these things happen. I hope you have a great week too.
Nice to meet you through the NJAM link-up! We all imagine our lives are boring until we see them through someone else’s perspective, right?! I think your very international background and family is really interesting and look forward to getting to know you better through your blog.
Thank you Kym 🙂
Hi Ruth! Great to meet you and look forward to reading more from your blog! My oldest is almost 18, so I’m a bit behind you in the child raising, but I like finding other moms who can teach me their ways, lol!
So great to read more about you and get to know you better! You have a beautiful family! Your blog is a favorite read of mine, so I’m glad you gave blogging a chance!
Thank you so much Mandy. Your sweet comment just made my day! 🙂