This one time, I was 33.5 weeks preggo, and I let some girl take pictures of me...

And they turned out like this!!

Beautiful Blogger

I know, I know, I should be doing a post regaling you with tales from my baby shower yesterday. Complete with how many women we crammed into my living room, and how absolutely freaktastically adorable my cake was (and sooooooooo yummy). And I will. I WILL do it. But I want to get some photos loaded and I've just plain run out of time and energy for some of these things lately. My shower deserves time. It was awesome, and a lot of fun. So it deserves the photos and anecdotes to make you all feel like you were there. And I'm at work, sans photos, with a cake hangover and 27 people asking me to do things so....I will save that for tomorrow.

And I will move on to something else TOTALLY exciting.

On Saturday night I laid in bed, iPhone in hand, wishing I had the energy to boot my laptop and catch up on all the bloggy goodness I've been missing out on the last week. I knew I needed to get some sleep because there was a lot to do before my shower the next morning, but I was a little on the excited side, so I was checking in on Twitter. And one of my FAVOURITE "friends who I've never actually met, but who I want to be my BFF because she seems SO cool online" bloggers put up a link to her most recent blog post....actually, that's a lie. Another equally cool person, who also falls into the above category (KristiMaristi) posted a reply to her blog, and I just had to go check out what it meant. Cause I'm an internet stalked like that ok?

Emmie B of This is the First day of My Life (an AWESOME Bright Eyes song...and if you don't know who Bright Eyes is then, well I feel sorry for you), got an award from another bloggy friend of hers...and that award meant she had to give it out to 7 more people (I'm getting to that soon), and ZOMG she gave one to ME! And not ONLY did she give MY BLOG one (she reads it, she really reads it!), she did mine FIRST! Like as in, #1, like, I am the FIRST one all her bloggy friends will see. It was exciting!

To those of you who read and don't blog, you might thing this is silly. But, it's really not. The thing is, no one blogs for validation (ok, I shouldn't say no one, there are some people who truly do blog for that reason alone) but it's always nice to know that not only is someone reading, someone is enjoying. I mean, I enjoy it, and that's enough for me, but it's always fun for someone to recognize.

So now onto the real stuff. Here it is, the Beautiful Blogger Award:

And now, the rules (we aren't all unstructured out here in the world of blogging you know. There are rules and shit):


1. thank the person who nominated me for this award
2. copy the award & place it on my blog
3. link to the person who nominated me for this award
4. share 7 interesting things about myself
5. nominate 7 other beautiful bloggers

1 - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I was seriously excited, and if my hubs cared at all about blogging, I'd of jumped out of bed to tell him I got an award in the #1 spot but, you know, he doesn't. He'd just look at my like I was insane, tell me it was nice and go back to his video games. But hey, I don't get the appeal of hours of time spent on a game that seems to infuriate you so, we're even.

2 - Done that!

3 - In case you missed it the first time, you can find Emmie Bee's adorable blog, about her son Hudson and soon to be TWINS (another boy AND a girl), who are arriving on March 3rd (keep them in there Em!!) here: This is the First Day of My Life . I love this blog. She's honest, open and heartfelt. Even with all the things going on in her life (and there is A LOT - hello, cholestasis), she manages to post something worth reading on a very regular basis. I can't remember how I found her to be honest, but I'm so glad I did. Visit her. Do it. But not until we get to the end of this :D

4 - 7 Interesting things about ME? I'm so not that interesting but let me try:

1. I hate soggy foods, like HATE them. And not just in that way where I think it's gross when things sit too long, but in that way that makes me like a crazy person. I eat cereal faster than anyone should, and I am not someone who can take a sandwich made in the morning, and eat it in the afternoon. I DO NOT dip my garlic bread in my pasta sauce, I hate the whole concept of croutons or crackers in soup, and I don't put gravy on anything but meat. And this has transformed into a full on hatred for my foods touching. When I put ketchup on my KD, I individually dip each forkful into it, and I NEVER cover my fries in ketchup either (the only time I break this rule is for poutine...don't ask). My idea gift would be a plate with several compartments for my foods, so they never had to touch. 
2. I was allergic to chocolate until I was like, 14. I used to cry a lot when I was a kid, and get hives. So they did an allergy test and found out it was chocolate. I didn't eat any for something like 9 or 10 long years. I went to a lot of birthday parties where I couldn't eat the cake, and the Easter Bunny always brought me jelly beans and white chocolate. I discovered sometime in my teenage years I could eat it again, but I attribute this hiatus to my lack of a chocolate obsession. Sure I like it, it's tasty, but I'm not one of those people who would die to have some. I'm also so over white chocolate, probably forever. 
3. I met my husband when he first moved to Vancouver from his home town. I think I was about 19-20 years old (which would make him 23). I was dating this guy (as in, for 4 years, we owned a house), and I was close friends with said guys brother. Said guys brother was roommates with the hubs. We used to hang out, and I knew the hubs had a little crush on me then, because said guys brother told me so. But it wasn't until 5 or so years later, that we ran into each other after I'd just broken up with another guy (and he was dating someone, ehm), that we got anywhere close to romantic. Technically, I've known him for almost 10 years now I think. If you asked 20 year old me if 28 year old me would marry the hubs, I would have laughed. Not because he's not awesome, but because how that scenario would ever play itself out would be impossible to imagine. But I am so glad it did! 
4. I've only eaten 1 Big Mac in my entire life. I was 27 years old, it was 4:30am and we were in Winnipeg with the hubs family after our wedding social (if you don't know what that is, it's ok. I didn't either until I had one). I was so proud of myself for never having eaten one, but I caved. I don't remember it being any good, and I'll probably never have one again. 
5. I barely ever use the microwave. I lived in an apartment for 7 years in which, using the microwave would cause the fuse to blow. If we wanted microwave popcorn, we use to turn off EVERYTHING in the ENTIRE apartment, including lights, and hang out in the dark while it popped. And sometimes even then the fuse would blow. Now we have a perfectly capable microwave in our house. I use it to store frying pans in. 
6. I dig vacuuming but HATE emptying the dishwasher. I don't know what it is. I will vacuum all afternoon, and feel like I've accomplished something, but trying to get me to empty out the dishwasher requires a major mental kick in the ass. It's tedious. The dishes are sometimes wet, and it just seems so futile. That said, after spending the last 7 years with NO dishwasher, I'll take emptying it over hand washing any time any day. 
7. I'm a faker. Not in a super bad way or anything. I just like to pretend a lot of things don't get to me, when they really do. People's insensitivities, callous behaviour and bad talking non-sense make me cry alone in the shower, even when it's not directed at me. I don't like to show that to other people. It's not because I think I need to be strong, but because I think mostly, crying over someone else's stupidity is an epic waste of time. I just need to let it out, and then I'm over it. Show me an SPCA commercial, or a movie in which an animal is mistreated however, and I will cry out loud over it for hours. Seriously, at the end of Kong, I could not hold myself together. I was a sobbing mess for an hour...because Kong really DIDN'T KNOW why they were being so mean!

Ok, that's 7. I told you, I am not that interesting. 

Now for 7 bloggers that I am nominating. This is hard. I haven't been at this too long, and I sometimes think the ones I nominate for these things don't need my support. I follow a lot of blogs with a bazillion other followers, and I'm just one little Canadian. My 35 followers (hello I love you all) probably already follow these others, because they have upwards of 500 followers, and I've mostly found people by stalking their sites. So let me try to do this in a different sort of way. And I can't really nominate Emmie Bee again, or else she'll be back trying to find 7 more and it'll never end. So, ya, just know you'd be on this list if it wasn't for the whole circular awarding thing :D

1 - The Mommyologist - I nominate her for two reasons. Firstly, she is hilarious. I laugh out loud every time I read her posts. So much so, I've stopped reading them at work. Secondly, she's always there to support a fellow blogger. I've received 2 awards from her, and never had one I can give back. I am SO happy to be able to give her one in return, because she so deserves it. She cracks me up, and I do so love her approach to life with her son, and her husband. Thanks to her, I will never think of Q-tips the same way again. 

2 - The Pursuit of Mommyness - This lady spends a lot of time coming up with great idea about how you can improve your blog world. I love the MondayMEME , and her tips and tricks for helping newbies like me. It's also very full of resources AND she just found out she is pregnant with her first. so I bet things are going to get a lot more interesting :D

3 - Maybe If You Just Relax - Jen is SO SO funny. I wish I could be half that funny in a blog, let alone in real life. I love reading her posts because I KNOW I will giggle all the way through. Even when her poor little baybee Olivia was experiencing feberal seizures due to fever, she managed to make me smile. Not a light hearted subject, but she handled it SO well. 

4 - Parenting in Progress - I stalk Mae because she guest posted on another blog I love, and it was hilarious. I also stalk her because she has some pee in your pants hilarious tweets going on, and I love to watch her pop up in my feed. Her daughter Piper is oh so adorable, and her website is full of more than just parenting. From the things she's made, to the things she's going to do more of, Mae is out there, telling it how it is. And I love it. 

5 - smonk you - The dudes a daddy blogger and I have the utmost respect for him. He hangs out in a world of mommy bloggers, and keeps up. He's hilarious, supportive and totally speaking from the often forgotten side of this parenting equation. I sadly didn't find him until very shortly before his son Miloh was born, but the play by play Tweets of the labour were all I needed to want to read more. He's super hilarious, and I LOVE to hear things from the daddy perspective. It just does not happen often enough. 

6 - The Wifey Blog - Ok Gabrielle is the kind of girl you sort of want to be, but are afraid to. This woman holds nothing back. She tells it like it is, from her marriage, to her friends to her annoying party animal neighbours. She has her weekend irks, which are always a good read. She seems like she'd be an excellent person to have on your side, and kind of a scary on to have against you. I love that she changes her blog look on a weekly basis, and I'm sad to see she's been discovered by those "IRL" and is considering censoring herself, because her blog is awesomeness. 

7 - Things I Can't Say - Shell is another one of those hilarious, say it how it is ladies. Are you sensing my pattern? Make me laugh, make me want to be you, make me jealous that you're so free with your words and so uncensored, and I will apparently follow you like a lost puppy. Except, chances are high I won't hump your leg (certainly not when I'm giaganto like I am right now). She's defined "Motherbitch" and it's probably one of my favourite phrases. I like this lady, a lot. 

So there you have it. 7 not-that-interesting facts about me, and 7 blogs I like to read. You should visit them all, and follow them, and tell them where you heard of them so they know I have some pull in this bloggy world. Even if it's only a small force. 

Thanks again Emmie!