Who Am I?

Well, since you’re feeling nosy…

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I was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia on May 8th, 1975. Known as Tammy to my family and friends, my full name is Tammy Breigh Canavan (with a – Soldaat attached as of May 12, 2000). Yup, that’s right.. Breigh actually is my name. It’s said Bree-ah and is gaelic for beautiful.. no it’s not Bray or Bree, even though I’m sure you will all call me one or the other anyway.

I grew up in a small town called North Sydney (the red dot on the map!), where I had the most amazing childhood. I had tons of friends, parents who made me feel safe and loved. Pretty much everything you could imagine the perfect childhood to be. I’ve never liked school, nor have I ever done well in it. Things have to truly interest me for me to learn about them, otherwise things pass my eyes and ears without ever finding their way in.

I lived in North Sydney until I was 21 when I left for Prince Edward Island. I lived there for approximately a year before getting the itch to move again and leaving for Toronto. I loved Toronto.. if I had to choose any place to live right now it would be there. I left Toronto in 1999 when I moved to the Netherlands to be with my husband.

rotterdam_map

Now we live in Rotterdam, a city that took some getting used to but I have really grown to appreciate over the years.  It’s such a modern, lively city with so much to do.  The public transit is fantastic and I have really made some great friends in the time I’ve been living here.

The rest is just random facts, so I’ll just throw them out there that way…

  • I’m an animal lover and am terrible for wanting to take every animal I see home with me.
  • I’m short, but I don’t mind being short because I’m also chubby and with short you at least still get the cuteness factor.
  • I had braces when I was a kid and am constantly worried that my teeth are going wonky again or that a tooth will get knocked out.
  • I love my husband’s hugs. If I’m down it’s the most warm and comforting place in the world.
  • I hate armpits with a passion. I think people shouldn’t wear sleeveless tops in public unless their arms are firmly planted at their sides at all times. This isn’t a joke, male or female, hairy or bare, I am disgusted by people’s armpits.
  • I’m a major TV and Movie nut. I download tons of each and always have my laptop near me with something on it to watch. I don’t know what I’d do without Bit Torrent.
  • I have trouble wearing makeup because I forget about it and rub my eyes.
  • I hate Monty Python and don’t get how the rest of the world likes it.
  • In 2012 I had gastric bypass surgery. You can read about it here
  • I think fleece sheets are one of the best parts of winter.
  • I prefer to have a few close friends than a lot of acquaintances.
  • My family is the most important thing in the world to me.
  • I’m a major geek. I love my laptops, games, downloading shows, chatting and arsing around with my blog.
  • I have a weird obsessing with looking at local house listings. We aren’t even looking for a house but I still like looking at the interior photos of houses that are for sale and how much they are selling for.
  • I eat ketchup on most of the things I eat.
  • I am really outspoken and have trouble knowing when to not say things.
  • I talk too much when I am nervous.
  • I have no children, but there was a time when I wanted them.  You can read about my experience with infertility here.
  • I secretly love to sing, even though deep down I know I’m no good at it.
  • I love cold pizza for breakfast.
  • I hate small talk and am not very good at it.
  • I love to knit, crochet, cross stitch and quilt, but my favorite is knitting.
  • I have tattoos and piercings and have trouble explaining why I like them or have them to people who don’t.
  • I love dogs.
  • I have a weird need to not sit with my back facing a room.
  • When I feel like someone is treating me badly I can be very vengeful and bitchy.
  • My biggest regret is not integrating to live in the Netherlands sooner.
  • If I could go back to school to study anything it would be psychology.
  • I love taking pictures.
  • I was a total tomboy as a child and often kept things that terrify me now, like bugs.
  • I need my own space, I don’t like to feel hovered over or crowded.
  • I spend more than I save.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. If there’s anything else you’d like to know, I guess you’ll have to ask!

9 comments

  1. Hi Tammy,
    In one of The crochet-groups that I am in on fb, there is a request to your “Between the lines” pattern in Danish –
    Will you allow me to translate it for you to use here and on your ravelry-account?

    Regards,
    Janne Andersen

  2. Linda Kay Spooner

    You remind me so very much of myself as a young woman. The things you say and things that you do. I am living in Ft. Worth, Texas, now. Lived early years in Pennsylvania, then Florida. Married and moved to Oklahoma. I followed him to Houston, Texas and that is where I met my now husband. We have been together for 44 years.
    We have 3 kids, 12 grandkids and 5, so far, great grand kids. My house is busy. I knit, mostly, crochet, quilt, cross stitch, embroider and a very little needlepoint. I prefer knitting and cross stitch. I am going to turn 71 in February. Getting old is not fun. It really hit home when my baby turned 41 and has 2 grand babies of her own.
    I am short and fluffy. I am getting shorter because of my back fusions. But I have a tall son who lives with us and I yell for him to get things down for me. Take care lovely girl. I look forward to your postings. Linda

  3. Hi

    My name is Joyce, I am a marketing executive at expatfinder.com which is a leading expat information and services website.

    I saw on your blog that you are and expat. I wish to interview you to further share some of your tips. The questions are mainly about the housing, the daily life etc.

    It just takes 5 minutes (or more depending if you have lots to say :)

    Of course, if you accept we can add a link to your blog or some of your website.

    If you are interested to participate at this project, please send me an email at interview@expatfinder.com.

  4. I saw your webpage on the Scheepjes 2016 CAL. I am from Sydney River and live in northern Manitoba right now. Just wanted to say hello to a fellow Caper!!

  5. Dear Tammy,

    I would like to discuss a collaboration through our affiliate program. Looking at your website and content, I am convinced that KLM and http://www.breigh.com/ would be a perfect match.

    Therefore, I would like to invite you to become an affiliate of KLM. By integrating deeplinks to our flight offers in your relevant content, you can effectively earn commission on flight sales as well as add useful information for your visitors. On KLM.com, your visitors can book KLM flights as well as flights that we operate in collaboration with our partners Air France, Delta, Alitalia and more. We cooperate with a great variety of (travel) blogs and websites and I am happy to share our experience and best practices if you’d like our input to get the most out of a collaboration.

    You can find more information as well as the link to subscribe here: https://www.klm.com/travel/us_en/about/company/klm_affiliate_programme/index.htm.

    I hope we can welcome you as an affiliate soon and look forward to hearing from you!

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