An Award!

Pam over at 30 Something gave me this award today. Considering how much I blog as of late, it was very generous of her to think of me. Thanks Pam!!!

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they've been nominated.

7 things you may not know about me.

1. Coming up with seven unknown facts about me at this point in the game that I’m willing to share is a hard thing to do!
2. I feel more exposed opening up our soap business than I ever have in the six years that I’ve been blogging.
3. I got my carpet cleaned last week and it really gave me a feeling of contentment knowing that it was clean. How sad is that?
4. I don’t have time to read very much these days. This includes blogs, articles, and books that I read for leisure.
5. I think I’m a little addicted to Bag, Borrow, or Steal. I’ve spent a little bit of money there recently, hehehe.
6. I’m tired of living in Small Town, U.S.A. I need more.
7. You wouldn’t believe the amount of time it took me to make this list.

Now I’m supposed to nominate seven blogs for this award. Sadly, I’ve fallen behind in my blog writing and reading and I have no idea which blogs to nominate that haven’t already been nominated. :( I suck.

On Being Me

I’ve been in a mood lately. Or to be more accurate, I’ve been moody. What?!?! ME!! Moody?!?! Never! I know. It’s a shocker. I need therapy or something, I’m sure. Anyway, today I am focusing on the positive. Barring any unforeseen punishments, we are taking the kids to a Kinston Indians game tonight. We’re having some spectacular weather and it will be a perfect evening for a game. I’m really looking forward to going as a family this time, lol. For your reading pleasure, I’m going to list some other things that I enjoy. I’ve done something like this before, I know, but my tagging system is, well, not a system and I can’t find my other post, lol. So, if there are any repeats, you can rest assured that it’s something that I really  like.

1. I really love getting into a freshly made bed at night. Crisp, clean, lovely smelling sheets are a perfect prelude to a good night’s sleep.
2. Coming home to a clean house after being away for a few days.
3. Hannah when she sleeps in my lap. Or as much in my lap as a 60 pound dog can be. She’s such a cuddler that I think she’s a lap dog trapped in a larger dog’s body.
4. Bailey when she smiles. She’s four years old and it still makes me giggle every time she does it.
5. A hug from my youngest daughter. She gives the best hugs out of anybody I’ve ever known my entire life. You can tell she means to give love and comfort with her tiny arms.
6. When I look at my oldest daughter and I’m suddenly struck with how beautiful she is and getting a glimpse of the young woman she’s becoming. Every once in a while, I’ll glance at her and see that woman on her face. It’s amazing.
7. Watching my husband watch TV or read. I don’t know what it is about it, but I just like watching him concentrate on something, lol.
8. In the early, humid, morning, right after the sun has risen, I love the scent in the air. That smell that is fresh and a bit crisp because the day is still chilly but you can tell it’s going to be a scorcher. I love that. It reminds me of my dad.
9. My desk after it’s been clean and organized.
10. The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She is so funny. I laugh throughout the entire show and it just makes me feel good. Her Move It, Move It game makes me laugh until I’m crying. It’s a must DVR show.
11. This one is shallow, but having money in the bank. When we’re broke and I’m worrying about finances, I have migraines and insomnia. Sleeping at night and getting through the week without emptying a bottle of Excedrin is a good thing.
12. Relaxing with a glass of my favorite wine and an episode of a favorite show. I actually have “Wine” shows, lol. Weeds, Californication, Dexter, The Secret Diary of a Call Girl, are a few of the shows that a glass of wine is the perfect accompaniment.
13. Listening to the rain at night. I like to leave the windows open, turn off the lights, and light candles while it’s raining at night.
14. Playing the radio LOUD in my car. We have a rockin’ stereo in the Scion and it' is so much fun cruising around with it bumpin’. No. I’m not 17 years old, heheh.

That’s it for now. I have laundry waiting for me. Not a favorite thing of mine, heheh. But I’m wearing my last clean pair of underwear so it’s a must do.

Have a great and awesome weekend.

A Brief History...Sorta

It occurred to me yesterday when Liz commented that she's been trying to figure out where I'm from originally, that my references to California, Vermont, N.C., and Ohio are probably confusing to those who don't know me personally. I figure this would be a good time to give a brief history of me.

I was born in Marion, Ohio where I lived with my mom until the middle of my 7th grade year and I was 12. I moved in with my dad, step-mom, and sister who were living in Pleasant Hill, Ohio which is where I graduated high school. Once I graduated in January '95, I moved back to my mom's where I got a job. I met my husband in April of that year and we got married in May of '96. We, being very young, ran into hard times and moved in with my dad who had moved to Springfield, Ohio in Sept of '96. The Mister joined the Marines and went to boot camp in Sept of '97. The oldest child and I moved to Pensacola, FL in April of '98 where the Mister was doing some training for his job in the Marines and I got pregnant with child #2. The oldest child and the pregnant me moved back to Marion on 9/30/98 because the Mister was sent to Jacksonville, FL for more training and we couldn't move with him (I wasn't even supposed to be in Pensacola) and my pregnancies are never easy on me. Then, the Mister got his first duty station in Feb '99 and I had child #2 in Feb '99. The Mister was stationed in San Diego and as soon as the youngest was old enough to fly, the kids and I moved out to San Diego in April of '99. We all lived out there until December of '03 when the Mister got orders for recruiting duty. We moved into our house in Vermont 1/1/04 and lived in Vermont until January of '07. Then we moved to North Carolina which is our current residence.

When people ask me where I'm from, I really don't even know how to answer. Am I from Marion where I lived for the first 12 years of my life? Pleasant Hill where I lived for 5 years and graduated high school? Or Springfield where the Mister joined the Marines and Springfield is our home of record? In fact, when people ask us where we're from in Ohio, we answer Marion, Springfield, and Kenton (where the Mister was born) interchangeably, lol. We haven't lived in Ohio for eight years and have no plans to ever move back and I don't really consider it home anymore. I miss California more than I miss any place that I have ever lived. The astronomical cost of living there is the only thing keeping us from actively trying to move back.

So that's me in a nutshell. But just in case, here's a time line to clarify:

6/30/77 - I was born in Marion, Ohio
Sometime in 1989 - I moved to Pleasant Hill, Ohio
1/13/95 - I graduated high school and moved to Marion, Ohio
4/13/95 - I met the Mister
5/3/96 - The Mister and I got married.
9/96 - We moved to Springfield, Ohio
9/21/97 - The Mister went to boot camp.
4/98 - The oldest and I moved to Pensacola, FL
9/98 - The oldest, the youngest unborn, and I moved to Marion, OH
4/99 - The children and I moved out to San Diego, CA with the Mister.
1/1/04 - We moved to Vermont
1/26/07 - We moved to North Carolina

We also moved around a bit in California and Vermont, but it's not really relevant to this story. All in all, I've lived in 3 cities in Ohio, 1 in Florida, 2 in California, 2 in Vermont, and 1 in N.C.
Currently, I'm not even sure which state I'm a resident of. I own a house, earn an income, and am licensed to drive in Vermont but I live in North Carolina and the Mister is a resident of Ohio. You figure it out.