Here’s Hoping

My sister, Gabrielle, recently won an award at work.  Apparently this particular award is a big deal; the company is fairly large (located in multiple states) and only three to four people receive this award per year.  This year Gabrielle is one of them. 

It's creative recycling, right?

Based on the number of Friday nights and Saturday afternoons I’ve called her only to learn that she’s at work, I think she really deserves it.  Needless to say, I’m very proud of my little sister.  So I was all set to send her flowers at work to congratulate her on her award, but then I found pajamas I know she really wants. 

I gave her a pair of these pajamas a couple of years ago and she loves them, so much so that they’re looking a little rough from having been worn so much.  She’s a hard to find size, and the store that carries them isn’t local to her.  I’ve been instructed to keep a lookout for them and buy them when I find them. 

I found two pairs, in her size, in patterns I think she will like, the day she received the award, so I decided on congratulatory pajamas instead of flowers.  (Pajamas sort of make sense; she’s worked hard, now it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the award, right?)

I called and told Gabrielle about the pajamas.  We live three hours away from each other, so I was planning to just give them to her whenever we see each other next. Because we’re such patient people in my family, she couldn’t stand the idea of waiting.  So she decided I could send them Fed-Ex because apparently she gets a discount through work. 

Unfortunately, there isn’t a Fed-Ex store near me.  This didn’t deter my sister; she sent me a shipping label to print out, and arranged a pickup from my office.  She assures me that it won’t matter that I don’t have a Fed-Ex box, and that all that matters is that no writing or other company names are visible on the package. 

The pitiful looking box in the picture is what I managed to finagle out of an Amazon box, some paper grocery bags, and a whole lot of tape (she just thought I used a lot of tape on Christmas presents!).  It’s definitely not going to win any awards for being an ascetically pleasing package.  Here’s hoping the Fed-Ex driver will take it tomorrow! 

The Versatile Blogger Award

Peaches Ledwidge at Conceive Writing has graciously presented me with the Versatile Blogger Award.  Thank you Peaches!  Peaches has written a novel that is on the verge of publication.  Her blog is also excellent, so be sure to check it out.

The rules for the Versatile Blogger Award are:

Create a post for the Versatile Blogger Award.

Add the Versatile Blogger Award.

In the same post, thank the blogger who gave you the award and put a link back to their blog.

Nominate 5 fellow bloggers the Versatile Blogger Award and inform each nominated blogger by posting a comment on each blog.

In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.

In the same post, include this set of rules.

So here are seven random things about me:

1.   I’m fascinated by sharks.  While I never want to meet one personally, I love watching any special about them.  One of the best gifts my husband has ever given me was a boxed set of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week episodes.  I love it!
2.   I can’t stand for someone else to wash my clothes.  I have very specific methods for how I like them washed and the thought of them possibly not being washed the way I wanted makes my skin crawl.  Even if we win the lottery and become billionaires one day I will do my own laundry.
3.   I can touch my nose with my tongue.  Sounds attractive, huh?  I’ve been able to do it since I was four.  The only other person I know who can do it is my dad. 
4.   I love going to the dentist.  I look forward to my cleaning every six months.  My mouth feels great when I leave.  Plus, the dentist is the one doctor who doesn’t weigh you, doesn’t require the removal of any clothing, never wants to draw blood, and still gives you a goodie bag when you leave.
5.   I’m pretty much a homebody.  I would much rather stay home and have friends over for dinner/movies/games than go out most of the time.
6.   Loud noises drive me insane.  There are a few restaurants that I will only get take-out from because I can’t stand the noise long enough to eat in the restaurant.  I rarely play the radio on the way to or from work.  I just enjoy the silence.
7.   I have huge feet.  I wear a size 11, and I’m not even especially tall.  My feet are also narrow, and flat, so I have a very hard time finding shoes.  


Now to pass this award on to 5 other bloggers:

1.  Just Eat Your Cupcake
2.  Left-Handed KnitterNavigating The World
3.  This andThat

4.  Mel:  The Positive Pessimist

5.  Klahanie

A Fabulous Surprise

Dana, at The Daily Dose, has passed the Fabulous Blog Ribbon on to me.  Thank you so much!  I enjoy your blog, so it’s nice to hear that you seem to enjoy mine enough to award it a ribbon.  Even better, a virtual ribbon, so I don’t have to worry about a cat eating it! 

Here are rule for the Fabulous Blog Ribbon:

1.       Post the rules on your blog.

2.       Name five of your most fabulous moments, either in real life or in the blogosphere.

3.       Name five things you love.

4.       Name five things you hate.

5.       Pass the ribbon on the five other bloggers.  (Leave them a comment to notify them of their win.)

I have to say, I really like that everything with this award is in fives; five is my favorite number.  Okay, so here are my groups of five things:

Five of my most fabulous moments:

1.       My wedding day; it was a beautiful day, and I got to marry the person who has become my everything.

2.       The day I convinced my parents to let me adopt my dog Emma.

3.       The first time we came to our house after the closing.  It was a great feeling to walk through the door that was now ours.

4.       When the title and contract marked “paid in full” for my car came in the mail last summer.  It was the first time I’d ever paid off a car, so it was one of those really great, responsible “grown-up” moments. 

5.       The look on my grandfather’s face at my wedding when he had his special dance with all three granddaughters and my aunt.

Now for five things I hate (I know I’m skipping around, but I want to end my five things on a positive note):

1.       Animal abusers. 

2.       Snow, ice, and really cold weather. 

3.       People who are mean or cruel to anyone weaker than themselves, whether it’s a child, an elderly person, an animal, or just someone less able than they are.

4.       Condescending people.

5.       Anything hazelnut: coffee, candles, anything at all.

Five things I love:

1.       My family and friends, and especially my husband.  Without them I am nothing.

2.       My pets, a.k.a. the fur kids.

3.       The (near) daily reminder in the comments on my blog and in reading other people’s posts that the world is full of interesting, decent, kind, wonderful human beings.

4.       Cooking, especially if it’s for a big crowd of people I care about.

5.       The beach.

Now for the really hard part, passing the ribbon on to five other bloggers:

1.       Carrie at The Slow-Dripped Life

2.       Cat at Cat’s Stuff

3.       Martha at Seaside Simplicity

4.       Mare at Adventures In The Ballpark

5.       Julie at Empty Nest Insider

I Can't Believe It!

I am very happy and honored to announce that Carrie at The Slow-Dripped Life has bestowed the Kreativ Blogger Award upon me.  I met Carrie during the A to Z Reflections, and have been happily reading her blog since then.  It's my first award, so I'm pretty excited about it.  Thank you so much Carrie!

The rules for the award are as follows:

1.Thank and link back to the awarding blog.

2. Answer the seven questions

3. Provide ten random factoids about yourself.

4. Last but not at all least, hand this on to seven deserving others.

The Questions:

What is your favorite song?

This one is always tough.  There are so many really great songs out there, and a lot depends on what kind of mood I’m in.  I think I have to say Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World.  I’ve loved this song for as long as I can remember, and it was the song my dad and I danced to at my wedding, so it has some great memories.

What’s your favorite dessert?

Definitely Crème Brule!  I LOVE it! 

     What do you do when you’re upset?

This one is kind of embarrassing because I’m a crier.  I cry if I’m sad, but I also burst into tears if I get really angry.  It’s so annoying to start crying when I’m MAD, which just makes me madder, which makes me cry harder.  Pathetic, I know.

Which is your favorite pet?

Rescued!  I don’t have a preference between cats and dogs.  We have more cats, but I think cats are easier to have more of.  I love rescued cats and dogs.  I’m not into rodents, fish, or birds (which is probably a good thing considering our fur kids), and definitely not reptiles, but I love cats and dogs.  Being a rescue, and of course getting along with the other pets, are my main requirements for a pet.

     Which do you prefer, white or whole wheat?

Whole wheat!  It’s not a health conscious choice; I just can’t stand white bread.  It seems like a soggy, bland mess to me.

     What is your biggest fear?

This one is kind of heard to answer; I’m a total chicken, and I have a very active imagination, so there’s a lot!  I guess most of my fears come down to bad things happening to people I love, or getting hurt.

What is your attitude mostly?

Hmm, that’s kind of hard to answer about yourself.  I guess I’d have to say I’m kind of a wait-and-see person, but I definitely trust my instincts, and with go with that in the absence of certainty in any situation.

Radom Factoids:

I’m left-handed, just like my dad and my grandfather.  I can barely do anything at all with my right hand. 

I didn’t love my wedding dress when I bought it.  The whole dress-shopping experience was pretty bad, and I was getting close to the cut-off time for getting it ordered.  I was okay with it, it was in our price range, and my husband loved it, so I ordered it, at least partly so I could get out of the store.  It worked out well, though, because I really did love it by the time our wedding day came around.

I don’t like any kind of chocolate, except white chocolate, which a lot of people tell me isn’t real chocolate.  I’ve tried everything else, and I can’t stand it. 

I love Thanksgiving.  It’s possibly my favorite holiday.  I just love it.

I am terrified of escalators.  I will NOT get on one.  I’m coming up on 26 years of staying off of them, and I intend to keep it that way.  We saw a lady get her high heel caught in one in the airport when I was four, and it was awful!  I’ve stayed off of them ever since then.

My sister and I used to fight like cats and dogs when we were growing up, but we get along much better now.  I’m not sure if living in two separate states has anything to do with it.

I am totally addicted to caffeine; mostly in the form of Coca-Cola Classic.  It’s not a pretty sight when I haven’t had enough caffeine.

I am hyper-paranoid about our pets’ health; even though they seem fine I’m always a nervous wreck at their check-ups until the vet says they’re in good health.  I need the official confirmation that they’re alright, and I’m a total pain about it whenever one of them is sick; I always think about the worst possible thing it could be.

I am obsessed with feeding people during a crisis.  I don’t know why, and I know a pot roast dinner isn’t going to bring someone back to life, or cure cancer, but I can’t help it.  Anytime someone I care about has a real crisis I want to feed them and their family.  I think all of the chopping, cutting, beating, etc might be a way of working out my own grief. 

 

My engagement ring has sapphires, but I had it before Kate Middleton made sapphire engagement rings popular.   People used to think it was a little unusual, but not so much anymore.  We chose it because we both love sapphires, and also because it’s the birthstone for September, which is the month we met in, and the month we got married in.

Now for the hard part, passing the award on to seven other bloggers:

Delores at TheFeathered Nest

Linda at Writers DoLaundry,Too

Archna at As If ByMagic

Becky, a.k.a. Grover at Inane Ramblings

Dana at The DailyDose

Sarann at SarannWrap

Betty at A BenchWith A View