Awesome Stuff: A list and an award!

This will not be a post consisting of 90% pictures. But it is a little long…Anyway. So, if you haven’t notice, I’ve been having a rough couple of days. I was originally going to make a list of crap that’s irritating again, but after reading Not Just Another Jen’s post last Friday, I decided I was going to make a more positive list. Why? Because 1) sometimes when you smile when you don’t feel like it, you feel happier anyway and 2) I like lists dammit. I might make my list of frustrations anyway later, just so I can tell you about our crappy experience with our insurance company. Or I might just write a post about that later anyway, but for now, awesome stuff.

1) My dad thinks I’m a good cook. I’ll be the first to toot my own baking capabilities horn, but I never really cooked before. The last couple of weeks I’ve been making dinners so that Chris and I could eat healthier and spend less money. The other night I made some pretty rockin’ oven barbecued chicken and we had a lot left over (I’ve picked up the habit of cooking way more than needed from my mom), so I brought it over to my parents in case they wanted it. My dad ate it all. Now, it could just possibly be that he didn’t want to hurt my feelings (I liked it), but he put on my facebook post to my mom about said dinner that it was delicious and both his daughters could cook. It made me melt into a little girl again.

2) Chris makes me paper things. Like, origami swans and stuff. So far I’ve received numerous origami swans and one of those little blow up paper balls, a couple of paper footballs and one weird rabbit thing that he just kind of slapped together. And he’s practicing geese now. They are the awesomeiest (or is it awesomest?) gifts. He also colors pictures for me and didn’t make fun of me when I wore maternity pants the other day. It’s the little things.

3) I did the #wineparty hosted by Kit at Blogging Dangerously on Friday and had a blast and met a lot of cool people. For two weeks I’ve been wanting to participate, but have been too shy (yes, too shy for an effing Twitter party). I finally decided to at least stalk and before I knew it I was tweeting along and keeping up with the many conversations being had.

4) All the people I’ve met through blogging. I adore them and their blogs. I’m making friends left and right!!! Check them out on my reading list, there are a couple I just read, but there are others who I feel like I’m “connecting” with, as stupid as that sounds.

5) Summer television provides us the opportunity to catch up on our Netflix queue. When we first got it a year and a half ago we ran through DVDs like it was life or death. And then we started finding shows we enjoyed as a couple. And then we started getting lazy. But now? With us only watching The Bachelorette and occasionally catching up on Deadliest Catch, we can sift through the hundred movies we have on there.

6) Another awesome thing about summer? I wash less socks. Our sock pile goes from washing 15+ pairs a week, to only washing 5. Washing socks is one of the many thing I’m OCD about when it comes to laundry. I cannot stand there be an uneven amount of socks or a partner missing. It used to not be that way, but now nothing is more frustrating to be folding clothes and then come across a lonesome sock. Chris is the only one who wears socks in the summer in our house, and only for work. The baby barely wears shoes…I barely wear clothes, then again, the baby barely wears clothes either.

7) One of my best friends from work just announced on Friday she was having a baby girl. I’m so completely ecstatic for her, I can barely contain myself. I’ve mentioned her before in “The Great Surrogacy Debate”. She has PCOS’ and is the only person in this world (other than my sister, of course, and my brothers’ wives) would I ever consider surrendering my body in such a way for. She has been by my side through many, MANY issues and has always had a shoulder to lean on or a helping hand. She really wanted a girl too, so that just makes it even better. The little one is going to be named Abigail Grace and is due November 15th I believe, which is right around the time of the Marine Corps Birthday, which her husband happens to be a Marine. I’m so excited for them.

8) I’ve been reluctant to discuss it, but for the last week and a half, Caitlin’s sleeping habits have gone back to normal. It had been almost 3 months (it would have been three months next week) since she went to bed at her bedtime, in her own crib and slept through the night. It was a really long three months, but over the course of Mission: Hanging @ Mr. Cooper’s, she readjusted and is now sleeping in her own bed, at her bed time, with minimal crying and puts herself back to sleep when she wakes up at night. It’s amazing.

9) Caitlin is a total water baby. I was so interested in doing swim lessons for her, just to get her used to the idea of swimming but she really doesn’t need them. We put her in a life vest this time around instead of her floater, and she loved it. She would float on her back and kick her legs all crazy like, moving herself around. Before we left we took the vest off in the shallow end and she immediately started trying to swim on her belly on her own. Chris and I passed her back and forth like that a little bit, and when she would get a little water up her nose or swallow some, she didn’t cry. It was crazy amazing how well she did and how excited she was about it.

10) And finally, last but definitely not least, I got an award!!So, here’s the dealio with this award. (Ack, I got an award) Chris will be sooo excited when I tell him…because he’s fake like that.

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Share ten things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 10 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic!
4. Contact the bloggers and let them know you’ve picked them for the award.

So first off, thank you, thank you, thank you Roxane. I bloggy look up to you, so this awesomeness already is far surpassed by the fact that I got it from YOU! It made me day, nay my week. Possibly even the rest of the month. You are so awesome. Plus she has mad button making skills, and along with my award she made my button!! She makes me want to marry her.

Next, 10 things. Wow. This post is just full of lists isn’t it? That’s okay. Totally worth every word.
1. I absolutely cannot eat seafood or pork products. I know, I’m un-American, I’ve heard.
2. I really want a nose job. I think the thing is huge, not cute on my face at all, but my family is all like “Whatever big nose. It’s fine. I can hardly notice it, from a distance.”
3. The first time I saw Chris I knew I wanted to marry him, but I didn’t tell him that until much later.
4. I’m obsessed with Dear Abby articles. Oh, how I love them.
5. My favorite food is steak. I love steak. I could eat it all day, everyday. And cake.
6. I can’t keep a pair of sunglasses longer than about 3 months. I only purchase cheap ones because of this.
7. I want to have a no-kill animal sanctuary one day for all abused, abandoned, mistreated animals. It’s a pretty big pipe dream but it’s my pipe dream.
8. I adore Will Ferrell. I think he is absolutely hilarious.
9. I’ve considered switching to cloth diapers, but let’s be real. I’m too lazy.
10. I have Spina Bifida Occulta, a curved spine (which you can feel when running your hands down it), and two dislodged lumbar vertebrae (which you can also feel by pressing on my lower back). All of this is the reason I have such bad back pain, and the only way to fix it, however, is a surgery I’m not willing to do. I’ve grown pretty used to the pain so I don’t complain about it often or take meds for it unless it’s a bad day. When I do take the meds, I take 3-4, including a narcotic pain killer, two muscle relaxers, and one to ease the pain to help me sleep along with a Lidoderm patch to wear. Looking in my medicine cabinet you’d think I was a druggie.

So now the hard part. 10 blogs…I’m still discovering blogs that I love so I’m not sure I have 10 but I’ll give it a go.
1. Depressions and Confessions
2. Mommy of a Monster
3. Newlywed Adventures
4. Mom-Nom
Geez, I need to start reading more blogs. When I think of more I will pass this along!!! Until then however, I must complete the rules of this award and head on over to let this fabulous ladies know.