Award and Meme Day

For those that are new to the blogging world, a Meme is basically a list of questions that spreads around blogs and you answer them. The technical definition is an idea that gains momentum. If you get tagged, it is always nice to respond.

Also, as a blogger, other bloggers can give you awards. This isn't the red carpet or anything, it is just a way to spread love around the old Internet.

Hang on! This one's a BIG ONE!!!


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How lucky am I??? Chel from Happiness is Everything gave me an award. The daily dose award. I am so flattered that she said she comes and visits me every day. HOW am I supposed to choose who I go and visit every day? I want to give it right back to her because I do visit her EVERYDAY. If I HAVE to choose, I am going to say:

-Hilary. I read hers every day, although we are usually on the phone when we are typing our entries and telling each other what we are writing about.

-Itybtyfrog. She has an amazing goodness about her and I love the example she is to me. I heard her curse once…SHHHH! Don’t tell.

-Rookie and Alice. HOLY CRAP!!! These two are good. They are both brilliant and well spoken. I love hearing their insights and how their brains work. Give them a subject and they can write a brilliant essay on it. How about corn chips ladies? Did you know I used to babysit Alice? Talk about surreal. She is all grown up and has a career and everything. I feel old now.

-Others that I visit every day are Kris, Kara and my sister (even though she only has one freaking post). I love to see what they write…and I LOVE Kara’s pictures. I wish she would post a THOUSAND times a day (HINT, HINT).

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The Rookie tagged me for this writing meme. Here I go.

The Rules

*Link back to the person who tagged you.
*List three things that you believe are necessary to make writing good and powerful.
*Tag five others and comment at their blog informing them that they’ve been tagged with this meme.

I am not a writer. I don’t claim to be proficient in the English language. I am a mediocre writer at best. So I am tackling this from the angle of what I enjoy reading and what keeps me coming back to blogs...or what makes me stay away. Either way you look at it.

1. I can’t say it enough…paragraphs. When I come to a blog entry that is a solid sheet of words, I skip it. One of the basic rules of design (I do know a few things about design) is that your eye needs a place to rest. White space (or blue, or yellow or beige) allows you to not become overwhelmed. I think the same applies to reading.

2. The proper use of words such as two, to, too, threw, through, there, their, they’re, pair, pear, your, you're, etc. I see the incorrect usage of these words all of the time as I am blog-hopping. It makes me cringe.

3. Genuineness. I love reading blogs where people are themselves. You can tell when people are imitating another blogger. In my blog I wear my emotions on my sleeve. You know what kind of a day I am having when you read the content of my blog. I am not perfect and my life is a series of mishaps and mommy adventures. I just try to share that the way I see it. Nothing makes me sadder than to read a blog where the writer is trying to be someone they are not. We are all unique and that is what makes us beautiful. I Yam What I Yam. ;)

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Husband Meme


What's his name? DH. ;) I call him “J”. Seriously, I think I have forgotten his real name. When we first met, his little sister called him “J” and it sort of stuck.

How long have you been together? Almost 11…if you count when we dated.

How long did you date? 3 months…engaged for 3 months. It was fast and I wouldn’t change a thing.

How old is he? 32

Who eats more? I used to be able to out eat him. Not so much anymore. He eats more than I do since Squishy was born

Who said I love you first? He did.

Who is taller? Him.

Who is smarter? We are both fairly intelligent people. I waited for a missionary and when he came home I dumped his sorry behind because he couldn’t carry on an intelligent conversation. That is one of the first things I fell in love with. DH is so well versed in so many subjects.

Who does laundry? Me. He shrank my favorite wool sweater when we were first married and I haven’t let him come near the washing machine since. I am HIGHLY protective of my laundry. Just ask Hilary. She wouldn’t come near my laundry room with a 10 foot pole.

Who does the dishes? Most of the time…him. He empties the dishwasher (which is his household duty until the kids are old enough to take it over) and I am supposed to load it and do the dishes that need to be washed by hand…but he usually ends up doing those as well.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Him.

Who pays the bills? We split them. I have my own checking account. He pays the mortgage, car payment, health insurance, life insurance, etc. I pay the utilities and car insurance (and my GAP credit card bill) and I buy the groceries and stuff for the kids. It works for us.

Who mows the lawn? He does. Our rule is I am in charge of the inside; he is in charge of the outside. The lawn is thankfully on the outside.

Who cooks dinner? I cook the majority of the time, but I LOVE to cook. He makes NICE breakfasts on Saturdays and Sundays and he ROCKS Japanese cuisine. He is always willing to cook when I am too tired to do it.

Who drives when you are together? He does unless we (which really means HIM) are running late for church. Then I hop in the driver’s seat and threaten to leave without him.

Who is more stubborn? We are each stubborn in our own areas.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.

Who asked out who first? He asked me out.

Who proposed? Him.

Who has more siblings? Him. He has four, I have three.

Who wears the pants in the family? We are pretty equal. It has ebbed and flowed one way or the other at different times, but we are pretty respectful of each other’s wants and needs, and we rarely make big decisions separate of one another…except for that blasted tv..that I have grudgingly grown to love. We rarely say “My spouse LET’S me…” because we cherish each other and respect our individuality. It’s not about “letting”. We check with each other and coordinate our lives. Neither of us is the “boss”.

How did you meet? (this is my own question that I added for fun because I LOVE these stories!!!!) DH and I meet in a “Preparing for a Celestial Marriage” Institute class. Both of our friends that talked us into taking the class in the first place dogged us…and I am grateful they did. We were split into groups and he and I were the only ones in our group that talked. Well, we kept on talking and talking and talked all of the way out of class and haven’t stopped since.


I know beyond all reasoning that DH was meant for me. We have our ups and downs but we hang on tight through them. He cherishes me and respects me. Just yesterday I was having a ROUGH day and he was there to help me through it. He held my hand and held me up when I couldn’t do it myself. He spoils me and takes care of me and our girls. I feel so lucky to have him in my life.

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50 Random things about me Meme

1. I have an ongoing love affair with Mary Jane shoes. I own at least 13 pairs. My daughters are becoming addicted as well.

2. I only wash my hair every other day. I hate taking the time to blow-dry it.

3. I don’t have a calling. They won’t give me one.

4. It must be because I swear sometimes.

5. I never wore perfume before I married DH.

6. I wear it every day now.

7. Same with jewelry. I rarely wore it before I was friends with Hilary

8. I wear it almost every day now.

9. I like being feminine.

10. I weigh myself every morning.

11. I should probably stop that.

12. My favorite color is red.

13. You can tell when you walk in my house. EVERY room (except for the kids rooms)
has red in it.

14. That must be why I love Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

15. I crave Swedish Fish All. The. Time. HEY! They are red too!

16. I have not crafted since before I was pregnant with Squishy.

17. I want to get rid of all of my craft stuff to get rid of the guilt I have that goes with it.

18. But I won’t.

19. I have 1761 fonts on my computer.

20. I can name almost every one.

21. I think I have an ingrown toenail.

22. I have never had one before so I can’t really tell.

23. I eat oatmeal for breakfast every morning. It is my favorite.

24. My hair is falling out in clumps.

25. And it is all over my house.

26. And it makes me sick.

27. I use my crock-pot at least 3 times a week.

28. I love the smell of lemon pine-sol.

29. My desk is a disaster. It looks like a paper store vomited on it.

30. I go to Wal-Mart at least 3 times a week.

31. It is a sickness really.

32. I have a hyper-sensitive sense of smell. Super-manish almost.

33. If I don’t write something down on my calendar, I forget all about it.

34. Since we bought our mini-van, I can’t ride in a car. I feel like my bum is going to drag on the ground.

35. I didn’t winterize my flowerbeds this year. That’s going to suck this spring.

36. I LOVE weeding and working in my flowerbeds. There is such a satisfaction making it pretty and fresh.

37. I watched my next-door-neighbor 4-wheel around our cul-de-sac a couple of days ago when it was all snowy.

38. It made me nostalgic for my childhood when my dad would do that with us.

39. I like to kiss on Squishy. I call it “making out with my baby”.

40. I danced with DH on Friday for the first time in YEARS. I love dancing with him.

41. I love spending time with DH. He is my favorite person…most of the time. ;)

42. I don’t know how to use my camera.

43. I have a photog friend willing to teach me.

44. I want to hug her!

45. We have a fire pit in our back yard that has only been used 3 times.

46. Because I hate the smell of campfire smoke.

47. I want to rip it up and plant raspberry bushes…but DH won’t let me.

48. Some days the only exercise I get is walking to the mailbox.

49. Because some days all I do is feed people all day long.

50. And I love it!

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YOU'RE IT! If you made it this far and you actually finished BOTH of my lists, consider yourself tagged. Pick a Meme, any Meme.



Day 22…I am grasping at straws here!!!