Yay me--I got an AWARD!

I've been slacking a bit on the blog lately--I feel like I'm losing my mojo. I know I ramble and sometimes it works for me (rarely, but SOMETIMES), but sometimes it's just rambling. Lately, I have been so tired and busy and I feel like the maniacs are ALWAYS hovering over me, so it makes it tough to be funny when I'm screaming at hoverers. THEN I feel guilty for yelling and for not spending time with them and it goes into the cyclical mom guilt spiral until I just need to be done with it. I hit return and pray that some of the words came together enough to make it somewhat entertaining--if only to make people laugh AT me. Imagine my surprise when fellow blogger, http://www.nakedmommydiaries.com/2011/12/youre-awesome-now-shake-my-hand.html, gave me the "Tell me about yourself" award--right when I was feeling like perhaps I'm not as great at this whole blogging thing as I THINK I am. Thank you, http://www.nakedmommydiaries.com/2011/12/youre-awesome-now-shake-my-hand.html for motivating me to try again! You are also inspiring me to learn about things like buttons--hopefully the one you sent me will show up on my blog...I 'm new to the "button world!" So, as part of this award, I need to write seven things that you may not know about me, though I find this hard to do because I tell everyone PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING, much to their dismay! This will be an EXCELLENT treat for my children when they are in middle and/or high school--I'm sure they won't be embarrassed AT ALL! Okay...brace yourselves. This COULD BE painful for ALL of us! 1. So the ENTIRE state of Montana AND close friends and family members know this, but most people don't. I have some sketchy autoimmune diease that either A. has not yet been discovered (out of the DOCTOR'S mouth!) or 2. is Sjogren's, but doesn't come up as Sjogren's in the blood test, but seems to be [kind of] managed with Sjogren's meds. Does THAT make it Sjogren's? I really don't care, since NOT being diagnosed for years really sucked--at least now I [kind of] have answers! 2. I'm afraid of basements. ALL basements. It doesn;t matter if your million-dollar-movie-room is dwon there--I WILL run up the last few steps to escape...the basement monster? I don't know, but whatever it is it envelopes me at the top of the stairs of EVERY basement. 3. I thought I would be one of those mothers who got pregnant when her children were just about to go off to college. No worries now because... 4. I have no uterus or ovaries anymore! They were in a battle against the rest of my body and we called in for back up--TWICE. My doctor won--thank goodness--and those parts of my body are no longer around to rebel (and to get the other parts of my body all riled up). 5. I love my children so much it makes me angry. 6. I used to be SOOOOOOO nice (seriously--I was RIDICULOUSLY nice and wanted approval from EVERYONE--NOT healthy in this cranky world!) and one day I snapped. THAT was before marriage, so my husband and his family never saw the nice me. Maybe remnants of her, but not in its entirety. Motherhood has brought out BOTH sides of my personality. This "harder" version of myself is more practical than emotional and wants to be strong for my children so that they can endure ANYTHING with or without me. I also feel weak when it comes to them because I love them so much it clouds my ability to reason at times. THIS is what makes me angry. THIS and the fact that they spend their days trying to hurt themselves and others when that is what I work to prevent every day! 7 . Hmmmm. Number SEVEN...I had (have? What is the proper protocol for this?)a baby sister. Some people know this, some don't. I'm pretty sure she watches out for me, but whenever I fall (which is ALL the time) I think it is her trying to pay me back for the sibling rivalry we never had the chance to have. She's DEFINITELY winning, though I haven't fallen yet today...I guess I'm due... Some of you know all of this already, so I'm typing this for those few people who read my blog WITHOUT being threatened by me to do so! The threats WILL continue, but hopefully my material will pick up--it IS the holiday season--crabby shoppers and angry bell-ringers should supply me with SOME funny material, right?! So now I need to nominate FIFTEEN bloggers for this award. I have had the opportunity to find SO MANY great blogs these last few months--I feel like we are all friends! Fifteen should be easy--at least easier than coming up with SEVEN things you don't know about me! 1. htmlhttp://thebloggess.com/ 2. http://​www.thejoyfuljungle.c​om 3. http://homeschoolblogger.com/martha 4. http://www.adoredbefore.com/ 5. http://www.designherbrands.blogspot.com 6. http://www.stowedstuff.com 7. http://dosweatthesmallstuffblog.blogspot.com/ 8. http://www.foundthemarbles.com/ 9. http://1epicmom.com/ 10. http://whybecauseimthemommy.blogspot.com/ 11. http://www.muffintopmommy.com 12. http://meettherobinsonsfour.blogspot.com/ 13. http://shopnserve.blogspot.com/ 14. http://lilycontadino.blogspot.com/ 15. http://www.perspectiveparenting.com/2011/11/30/the-elf-on-the-shelf-who-mocks-me/ I also wanted to give the award to my friend whose blog (sweetmiasdesserts) on wordpress I could not find, which is a shame because she makes AMAZING desserts (she also does head bands and American Doll clothes for Katie J. Designs on etsy). http://www.alittlelucidity.com/p/funny-and-wonderfully-inappropriate.html is also a top pick for me, though http://www.nakedmommydiaries.com/2011/12/youre-awesome-now-shake-my-hand.html already "awarded" her. I thought fifteen would be difficult, but there are so many talented people out there who have just as much to say as I do. Well, maybe not AS MUCH as I do (who could possibly beat THAT amount?!), but they provide me with a great amount of entertainment--if you find your mind drifting in my posts, let it drift to one of these blogs to bring you back again! Thank you, ladies--and to Naked Mommy for sending this award to me! I look forward to you all shaking my hand back! (Is this looking suspiciously like a chain letter?! That's OKAY! Shake my hand anyway, just because I MEAN it when I compliment and thank you all!) I look forward to learning your "seven secrets" and to finding your fifteen bog suggestions! if only I could figure out how to place this button...https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtysbcH1GVJKAOzwOhS6Azs8qCXTc5KpUIWVQTtMCWiHArV95DEyc1aRguwAvBpHzS3yVIyV_6vlCVQTFH8lMbB8hy0DLY_DTjOJ-TngEeReH4P8k-yooCOYaH9g8nLlyqgkBgcX1xz7J/s1600/tellmeaward.jpg