Liebster

I am honored to be nominated for the Leibster Blog Award from Heidi at Bartle Bulletin. If you haven't read her blog before, I HIGHLY recommend it. She is a fantastic writer and conveys the ins and outs of family life in a way that is very relatable and fun to read. Plus, your kid will never top her Gavin stories. ;)
 

As for the award, turns out that Leibster is a German word that means favorite.  This award is passed from one blogger to another as a way to tell them that you enjoy reading their blog--and they should keep it up!

 

To be honest, as I was scrolling through Heidi's post, I wondered if I was nominated. By the end, I convinced myself that surely I wasn't on the list. And then I kind of cringed when I saw my name because I wasn't sure I wanted to actually try to come up with 11 things and THEN 11 questions. But, it was so fun to be thought of and nominated that I decided to play along. Here's what I have to do:

1. Post 11 random things about myself.
2. Answer the 11 questions my nominator set for me.
3. Create 11 questions for my nominees.
4. Nominate 11 other bloggers with fewer than 200 followers (no tag-backs).
5. Go to each of their blogs to tell them about their nominations.

 

My 11 Things

1. I can touch my nose with the tip of my tongue.

2. My degree is in Family Science--and not because I was married, engaged, or even seriously dating someone during college. I simply find familial interactions fascinating.

3. I have had a scar above my left eyebrow for as long as I can remember. It has significantly faded, but there, nonetheless.

4. My husband is a few years younger than I am.

5. Until I met Ryan, I thought I would marry someone several years older.

6. I was homeschooled for 6-8 grades.

7.  One of my goals for this year is to hang pictures on my walls.

8. I've lived in my house for almost 3 years.

9. Pippin and I started Puppy Manners class on Wednesday. I think I will actually be able to enjoy my dog now.

10. I rarely do dishes or vacuum. Very rarely.

11. I haven't put my favorite nativity away yet. I usually like to leave it up anyway--but this year, it's not up on purpose. It just hasn't made it back into the boxes yet.

 

Heidi's 11 Questions
1. When was the last time you brushed your teeth? This morning. (Whew--thanks for asking today.)

2. How many days per week do you make your bed? On average? 0.

3. What does the last text you received say? "Ahhh pregnancy such an interesting ride"--from my pregnant sister.

4. If you could do anything you wanted for a day, what would that be? Travel on a plane to Hawaii to start a week-long vacation.

5. Are most of your friends real or virtual? Real. But probably not by a large margin.

6. With how many adults have you spoken in person today? 2, my husband being one of them.

7. What did you have for lunch (or your last meal) today? Quinoa salad with scrambled egg mixed in.

8. If you could go to lunch with anyone, with whom would you dine? My first thought was Rachel, my college roommate. I really just love talking to her.

9. Are you hungry yet? Or craving grown-up conversation? Not yet. But the day is still young.

10. If your toenails are painted, what color are they? Rockstar Pink, (that's what the bottle said).

11. What's your favorite Gavin story? Body surfing on the table with bananas.

 

And now for the lucky 11! (You know you want to!) These are in no particular order. They're just blogs that I love to stop by and read. I nominate the following bloggers, (linked unless they're private):

 

Mickelle at Scattered Sunshine

Katie at The Tylers

Kendra at The Pettit Family

Rachel at The Times of Rachel

Kristi at The Larsen's Whatever Blog

Mel at The Broadbent Fam

Jamie at JJREA

Erin at The Wells Family

Shannon at Bowling for Cute

Ashlee at konashkimsamalli

Rebecca at Love Like Crazy

 

Your 11 Questions

1. When was the last time you cried?

2. What is your favorite outfit?

3. What is your most recent triumph?

4. Where have you always wanted to visit, but haven't yet?

5. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

6. When you have 10 minutes of time to spare between responsibilities, what do you do?

7. What is your least favorite household chore?

8. What is the household chore you might actually look forward to?

9. What is your favorite kids' music?

10. What talent do you wish you had developed in your youth?

11. Without looking it up, what's your favorite go-to recipe?

 

Don't feel like you have to play along--but it would be fun for me to see your answers to my questions and your 11 things on your blog!

Put a Sock in It

I have a confession to make. I have been on Pinterest. Yes, me. That girl that doesn't do Pinterest. I have perused that pictorial wonderland a handful of times recently.

It all started a couple of months ago when my friend, Jenny, was hanging out at my house and wanted to show me something she had pinned. (I can't for the life of me remember what it was...but it was relevant to our conversation at the time.) Since then, when I pop up a blank tab on IE, one of the little "recently visited" boxes offers to take me to Jenny's Pinterest board. And because she's my friend, and because we have similar interests, and because curiosity killed the cat, I've clicked over a few times.

And on one of those clandestine visits, while I was skimming over her pins, I found something that changed my life:

THE SOCK BUN.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to any woman that I have a love/hate relationship with my hair. Just like most women, I have phases of leaning more toward one side of that relationship than the other--but it usually balances out as I resign myself to the state of my hair, for better or worse.

Just prior to my amazing discovery, I was at one of those critical crossroads of hair styles. You know, when you HAVE to do something different or you may end up shaving your head? (At least that's what you threaten... Or that's what I threaten...) I really like having my hair long. It lends itself well to many quick and easy hairstyles. But a ponytail only takes you so far in life. And my hair, ponytail or not, kept getting stuck in/on things or just plain getting in the way. So, I was definitely in the market for something new.

New, this definitely was. You cut the toe off of a sock, roll that sock into a ring, put your hair in a ponytail, slide said ring over pony, and then starting at the ends, roll your hair around the sock until it reaches your head. You can just leave it rolled like that or slide a few bobby pins in, (which I always do--just because it feels more secure).

I am, admittedly, always a little wary of trying hairstyles I find online. What works beautifully for a girl with thick, well-textured hair just never turns out the same on my baby-fine, slightly-less-than-average thickness hair. So, per usual, I was a little wary of this particular tutorial. But, I courageously forged ahead anyway and out came this:

And I loved it. Finally, an easy hair style that gave my hair the illusion of being thick and well-textured! Fancy enough for a night out, but casual enough to toss up so you can go to the grocery store. Another bonus is that this makes for AMAZING second-day hair.

Take THAT, stick-straight hair! (Well, take THAT on a sunny day...because no curl will EVER hold in this hair on a rainy day...)

The moral of this story is: I still don't do Pinterest. And I still don't intend to. But, my hair and I are glad that Jenny does.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take a sock out of my hair.