Awards :-)

My friend Chris from http://chriselmes2.wordpress.com/ nominated me for two blog awards.  First of all, you should totally check out her blog, because it’s lovely.  And second – thank you so much Chris, for the nominations 🙂

Starting with the ABC award – the rules are as follows:

• Download the award logo and add it to your acceptance post.
• Take each letter of the alphabet and use it to tell something about yourself.

A – Aware… I try to pay attention to things.  Small things that might get missed, like the sunrise in the first window in my dining room, or the way that Jessie’s hair falls on her sweater and is so very pretty.  How Sam takes care of Julie, or how Julie snuggles up next to Marc.  There’s so much beauty there, and I always wonder about what I’m missing by not paying attention.

B – Blessed – because I truly, truly am so grateful for all that I have.  I try very hard to never lose sight of how incredibly fortunate I am.

C – Content – this sort of goes along with the first.  When I was younger, I wanted this.  I wanted a happy marriage (but didn’t think it was possible), kids (I’d wanted to be a mother for as long as I could remember) and I wanted to write.  I have those things.  My goals and dreams are mostly just for more of this.

D – Dreamer – which may seem to contradict the last one.  But I day dream and drift off a lot.

E – Extroverted.  I score almost perfectly in the middle on the myers/briggs scale – between the introvert and the extrovert.  I like to share and communicate and be around lots of people and activity.

F – Fun.  Because I am.  Dammit.  I’m wicked fun.

G – Gastronomically-challenged.  I’m not a “foody.”  I prefer kit kats to godivas, cheap frozen pizza from the grocery store to a gourmet meal.  This bothers me not at all.

H – Happy.  I am.  Even if I’m not always day to day happy, I’m happier than most, and think it’s my job to stay that way.  If I’m not happy, it’s up to me to fix it.

I – Introverted – because I really do get very shy – and incredibly nervous before any kind public speaking.

J – Jessica and Julianna.  Because it’s tough to describe me without talking about my daughters.  They’re a big part of who I am – their mother.

K – Kind.  It’s one of the virtues that I really work at instilling in my kids.  Be kind.  I say it all the time.

L – Late.  I just am.  All the time.  I hate it.

M – Mother – because it’s tough to know me without also knowing my mother.  I am who I am, in large part, because of her.  And Marc.  Because he’s awesome.   And marriage – because it’s one of the biggest surprises of my life – how much I genuinely LIKE being married, how easy it is, and how lost I’d be without him.

N – Nasty – because it’s the flipside to Kind – and one of the things I try really hard to not be.

O – Oblivious – because I don’t always pay attention to what’s going on.

P – Processing – I need time to process stuff.  A lot of time, I need to think and ponder and think and ponder some more before I can come to a decision.  And then I like to think and ponder a little extra, just in case.

Q – quick.  The family lore is that if you want it done perfectly, go to Daddy.  It will certainly take a LOT longer than you think it will, but it will be perfect.  If you want it done FAST – go to Mama.  Because it won’t be perfect, and it might be wrong, but it’ll be fast.

R – Ruminating.  I like to really OVERTHINK things.  A lot.

S – Sam, my boy.  Being his mother is such a huge part of who I am.

T – Telling – because I like to tell.  I like to listen to other people tell me.  Whatever.  I like stories, whatever they are.  I like to share what’s happening with me, and I like to hear about other’s stories too.

U – Unsure – because I’m nowhere near as sure of stuff as I’d like to be.  I can almost always talk myself into or out of a situation.  I’ve just learned that sometimes you have to pretend that you know what you’re doing and fake it.

V – Volunteering – more and more, as the kids get older, I’m doing a lot of volunteering.  I volunteered to be the Sisterhood President at my synagogue, despite having serious qualms about my qualifications.  I’ve only been Jewish for a few years, and I still feel completely uncomfortable during services.  But I love planning events, and thinking about ways to get more people involved, and figure this is one of those situation where you fake it until you make it.

W – Writer – because it’s a title I’ve recently claimed as my own, and I now define myself as one.  Very liberating.

X – Exasperated – because let’s face it, I’m a mom with three kids.  I get exasperated a lot.

Y – Yelling – I’m a yeller.  I don’t even think it’s a bad thing – I don’t yell obscenities or anything mean, but I come from a long line of yellers and I holler at my kids, to my kids, about my kids a lot.

Z  – ZZZZZZZ – sleep.  I never, ever get enough.  I no longer even hope to – I just figure I’ll catch up with all the kids are older.

Now for the Sunshine Blogger Award

I have to write 11 facts about myself.

1 – I’m a crappy driver.  I mean, I’m functional, and don’t hit stuff, mostly.  But I don’t like it, I’d always rather be driven than drive, and really hate driving in the winter.  And please don’t ask me to parallel park.

2 – I love to read.  It’s my thing – I’ve always got a book with me, probably more than one.  I’ve got stacks and stacks that I pick up every week at the library, and literally get bitchy and unpleasant when I don’t have anything to read.

3 – I haven’t taken the trash out, more than a few times, since I got married.  I make Marc do it every single week.  I figure it’s only fair, I don’t think the man knows how to turn on the washing machine.

4 – I’ve only recently (within the last week) gotten all three kid to sleep in their rooms.  Jessie bounced back and forth between her room and ours until Sam was born, and Sam shared a room with us until after Julie was born.  We just moved Julie’s bed into Jessie’s room, and I’m enchanted every night that nobody else is in our bedroom.

5 – I thought extended breastfeeding was insane until I had Sam.  And then I swore I wouldn’t do it with Julie – but she’s actually nursed longer than he did.

6 – I hold grudges against kids who are mean to mine.  There are a couple of fifth graders that I think mean thoughts about whenever I see them.  Long after she’s moved on. I don’t say anything to them, I just think hostile thoughts their way.

7 – I don’t read fiction any more.  Not really.  Nora Roberts/JD Robb, Anne Rivers Siddens, Robert B. Parker, Sharon Shinn – I always read their new stuff, and I’ll reread their old stuff, but rarely try new fiction authors anymore.  I love nonfiction, memoirs, political books, biographies, etc.

8 – I don’t wear a winter coat.  I have one, and reluctantly will drag it out when the temps dip below zero (which happens far too often) but I hate being all bundled up.

9 – I’m a crappy crocheter and knitter.  But not for lack of trying.

10.  Clutter makes me nuts.  And every couple of months, I start to suspect that I’m turning into a hoarder and have to throw a bunch of stuff out.

11.  I haven’t used an alarm clock in years, I just set a mental alarm clock, by repeating the time I have to get up three or four times before I fall asleep and really focusing on it – and it works.  I’m not sure why everyone doesn’t do that.