Happy 101 - I got an award!!!

I did I did I did!!!! The Mommyologist has to be like, one of the sweetest blogger ladies I've met so far! This is the second time she's bestowed upon me a lovely little award, and I could not appreciate it more. No really. When I saw her in my inbox this morning I was SO excited. And I hope she's well aware of just how much it means to me. Someone recognized me, for serious. And I couldn't be more overjoyed. It feels so special to know someone out there thinks highly enough of this little old blog to share awards. It makes me feel that there is a purpose to this, other than to hear myself talk (or I guess that's type?), and of course to keep me out of the loony bin.

So here it is, in all it's shiny glory:

So, here is the deal with this award, once received you are charged with the task of listing out 10 things that make you happy. It's easy peasy, and a GREAT way to start the New Year. It is also a great way for me to stay on track with my resolutions, which simply relate to me enjoying my life more.

So here it goes, and in no particular order. I'm not very orderly and if you asked me to rank these, I would shrivel up an die. So they are coming out of my head, in random spastic order, like everything else I post :D

1 - My dog. I know, a strange place to start, but of course he's laying here beside me on the couch, snoring and snuggling under the blanket and I cannot deny how much I love him. He's my fur baby and the first animal I've ever loved in such an unhealthy manner. I got him almost 6 years ago when he was just a brand new baby bean. His name is Tuker (like Tucker and NO I didn't spell it WRONG, I chose to spell it that way). He is a Boston Terrorist, I mean Terrier and he's 100% insane. He's a lot like me. He cannot focus, he gets separation anxiety and on occasion, I catch him sniffing his fingernails. He's my first bundle of joy, and no matter how totally crazy he is (and he IS completely bonkers) I love him more everyday. Even on the days where I come home to a giant pile of puppy puke and eaten up baseboards....I may get annoyed but deep down, I know it's only because he missed his mommy so much. I am SO glad he cannot talk because this dog knows more of my deep dark secrets than anyone should. He's always there for me, he loves me unconditionally and he never ever makes me feel bad about myself. Even when I forget to feed him. He's my monkey, my baby, my snugglebunny, my Tuker Tuxeedo:

2 - My niece. I know, seems weird that she follows the dog, but like I said, I am random. Also, she's younger than him and thus has been part of the love in my heart for a shorter period of time. She was born on September 14, 2008 an entire 6 weeks before she was due. She was fine, she just knew my mom and I could throw a kick ass party and she did not want to miss her baby shower. She is probably the cutest and most hilarious child ever to be born, and I'm totally not biased. She's so cuddly and so happy, and I just want to eat her up. If it was acceptable to squeeze a baby until their eyes popped, it would have been done several times already. She is the reason I got hard core on the baby train, and she really gassed up my biological clock. I hope my daughter is as happy and carefree as my Teegan Alexis, because this kid is truly amazing:

3 - My new house. Again, these are totally random, so while I do love the house less than my dog and my niece, I don't love it more than whatever follows (and I am totally doing this list on the fly so who knows what those will be anyway?). It's a 100 year old, 4 story house with a bit of a chip on it's shoulder. We had to put on a new roof a few short months after moving it. We also painted the flesh coloured walls a series of fun colours, and my main floor is now predominantly a rich, bright purple, a deep sexy grey and a bright grassy green. And I'm talking a lot of purple. The second floor is full or red, blue and teal, with some grey to calm it down. When I was younger my first apartment looked like Rainbow Bright threw up, but we've done it in a more sophisticated manner this time. Since moving in, we've also had to replace the furnace AND hot water tank, and have had to deal with being landlords for the first time. It's not perfect yet, and it may never be. But we're not perfect either, so what can you do? It is the home we're making, it's where my daughter will spend the first part of her life, and where we will become a family. One day I hope to be as with it as my mother or sister, and have a nice clean house all the time but, let's be realistic, it won't happen. I'll just continue to spot clean and make people think I've got it all together. Here she is, pre new shiny black roof:

4 - Friends. Nothing makes me happier than friends. I've got some from high school that I miss everyday. Even though we only live 40 mins apart, this life is so busy and we definitely do not see each other enough. However, 2 of them have children already and 2 are pregnant and due just after me, so 2010 promises to be a year I get to see them more. And then there is my BFF, who I met in university and who I could not live without. I'd of never married my husband, got pregnant or bought a house if I didn't know her. That might seem stupid but it's true. She's the support and love I've relied on in my formative adulty years, and without her sense of reason, our Thursday night dates (6 years strong) and her way of making me see things from a different perspective, I'd of never made it this far and remained as almost sane as I am. And then I've got some friends I just met last year (actually, we're coming up on our friend-a-versary very shortly here!!!) who've made a huge difference in my life. They are the type of people who you meet and who instantly treat you like they've known you your whole life. Without them, this last year would have been infinitely harder. Then there are a handful of others, who positively impact my life every day. I could go on for pages and pages about my friends but the bottom line is this, finally at almost 30 years old, I've managed to weed out the people who suck time and energy but don't provide anything in return, and surround myself with only the people who truly love and appreciate me. It's been a great year in friendship. A lot of them are missing from this photo, but we had a pajamarama in adult sized onsies this year (with FEET), and any excuse I can use to talk about it I'm all over:

5 - My mother. My mother is and will always be my best friend. At the age of something just slightly over 50, she has more fun than a lot of 30 somethings out there. She exercises more than a reasonable person should (seriously she's got like, 4 gym memberships), keeps an impeccable house, cooks like a maven and does it all with a smile. She makes me laugh more than anyone I've even known, and inspires me to just relax and enjoy life. I can tell her anything, and I want to tell her everything. I don't think we've had more than 2 fights, even in my formative years. She's been the best mother a person could hope for. She never judges you, she never second guesses you, and she'll drop any and everything in an instant if you need her. I can't wait to give her another granddaughter, to teach and love and hang out with. I hope my daughter can learn from her as much as I have. I love my mom and just thinking about her makes me smile, no matter what!

6 - Vacations with my hubs, those make me insanely happy. We love road trips, and seeing new places. And though he hates to fly and it creates an insane amount of pre-vacay anxiety, we've had some amazing times in the last 5 years. We've been twice to Hawaii, we've driven down the entire coast to San Fransisco, then flew back there just this last year. We've visited the island on numerous occasions, to just enjoy the simplicity of the cabin. Everything from day trips to full on, pack your bag vacations, taking time out of our lives to travel and spend time together truly makes me happy. Something about the vacation us is so refreshing. We don't stress, we don't argue and we don't worry about small things like leaky faucets or stupid jobs. We just laugh at our mishaps, and carry on our merry way. Vacations with my husband, be them for a day or 2 weeks, are one of the best things in life!!

7 - My little sister. Granted I tried to give her away to the milkman when she was first born (I'd gone 6 whole years as an only child, then spent 3 months with my mom, eating peanut buster parfaits and laying in the sun...then along she came and ruined it all...so sue me for sticking her outside on the door step and hoping the milk man would take her). We didn't always love each other as much as we do now. Well, that's a lie, When I was 13 and she was 7, she adored me but I thought she was annoying. Of course, the tables turned when I hit 21 and she was only 15 and she told me I was passed my prime. After working out all the silliness (and all in all, it was VERY minimal. We've always been great friends) she's one of the most important people to me. I never thought I wanted more than 1 child, but I cannot deny how wonderful and important my sister is to me, and I would hate to deny my daughter that same experience. My sister is so much like me and so different from me it's confusing. I love her, and I am so proud of the woman, wife and mother she has become. I look up to her, even if she is 6 years younger:

7 - The hubs. I can't do a top 10 things that make me happy without talking about the hubs. Now, he also infuriates me to no end and I spend many a moment shaking my head at him. But fundamentally the things that make me shake my head are the things that make me love him. We're so different it's hard to imagine we could be together. I'm so A-type, go go go and he's so B-type take it slow. It's good for me since I can talk anyone in circles, but bad for him since he gets almost no word in ever. He's patient with my insanity, and he takes care of me in silly little ways. He goofs off, he plays music, he makes video games and above anything else, he love me. He really, truly loves me more than I could even hope to be loved by anyone. It makes me happy to think someone could appreciate the bizarre insanity that is me, and still continue to love it. I'm not going to go on some sappy tangent of "he's my heart, my soul mate, my love" because that's not us. But he is all those things, just in a less sappy way :D

8 - The bump. She makes me happy. I know that in 3 short months, my bump will be a baby (well, I assume the bump will remain for awhile after that, but it will no longer contain my daughter). I love the way I feel her hiccups (even in strange places), I love to feel her move from the inside, and feel her move from the outside. I love that I can be connected to someone I've never seen or met, and be so in love with someone that's only been introduced to me through the wonders of medical technology. It get's a little bigger every day, and people are actually starting to notice her!! I love my bump, and I'll miss it when it's gone. Being pregnant has been a wonderful, exciting and amazing experience, something I never knew I'd enjoy so much. My bump, the Hubs calls her Sarah Jessica Barker, my BFF calls her Herm. I call her lots of things, but mostly I call her my heart:

9 - Ok, I'm done with the sappiness and onto some not too personal things that make me happy. So let's call number 9 shoes. And not just shoes, but shoes, sandals, boots, pumps, flats, whatever they are, they make me happy. One of the biggest challenges ever was finding the right ME shoe for our wedding. They make me smile, they make me feel sexy and fashionable, they are part of my everyday life. I heard somewhere that your feet can grow an entire size during pregnancy, and never go back. And THAT is so much more scary than the idea of a stretch mark. On last count I had close to 40 pairs, but if you include flipflops, and add the ones I bought since we moved, I'd guess we've crossed the 50 mark. But don't tell the hubs. The wedding shoes:

10 - hmn, last but not least, what can I choose? Somewhere between all things teal and aqua coloured, and things I can cram in my face. I love teal and blue, and anything that colour makes me happy. I am insanely obsessed with peacock feathers, and will buy anything made of them. But let's not make that #10. Let's make food and wine #10. And not just the physical consuming of said things, but the entire social aspect that relates to food. I love shopping for food, preparing food and consuming it. I love having parties, where I've put out a great spread and everyone enjoys eating and drinking. I take photos of food when the hubs and I go on vacation, or when we're at a birthday party. I almost enjoy prepping and serving food more than I enjoy eating it, but that's irrelevant. And I can't deny that I also love the wine and beer we can pair with food. I am no Coors Light girl. I drink fancy, fruity micro-brews, and taste test anything different that I can (thanks to the hubs). Obviously, the drinking has taken a back seat to my eating lately, but I love them both equally. So maybe it makes this 10 & 11, but I figure we'll call it all consumables, and leave it at that.

So there are 10 things that make me infinitely happy. Thank you to The Mommyologist, for giving me this award, and this opportunity to reflect on 10 things that make me happy!

Happy New Year!!!!