YAY! The Sunshine Award!

When I was in school, only one person won each game. Only those who truly excelled received trophies and only the top echelon won awards. That said, I did not ever get an award. Or a trophy. Or win. Heck, I was just happy not to get picked LAST every game!  I was your average awkward tween/teen and just wanted people to like me. I tried to blend in because 

A. From the time I was in kindergarten, I was a giant 

and 2. Whenever I was noticed, trouble followed. I was ALWAYS at the wrong place at the wrong time.

WELL, my friends in the blogosphere, that gangly girl of the 80s has now received her THIRD award. Yes, that's right--THIRD.She was completely taken by surprise when she got the first, was convinced that the second would most definitely be her last, but she has now been given A THIRD. Why is said girl speaking in the THIRD person, you ask? I don't know really--and it IS annoying, so I will stop.

I feel a little weird "...thanking my fans..." for making all of this possible ( because who do I really think I am, anyway?!), but it always makes me feel so honored to know that 1. Someone (ANYONE besides a blood-relative or in-law) is actually READING my material and B. Said person actually LIKES what I've written. THIS even tops getting picked first in kickball (not that I would know)!

Check out Melissa Gardener at My Unpublished Life as she was nice enough to nominate me for The Sunshine Award and I am so thrilled to accept it--thank you, Melissa! You will definitely not regret checking out Melissa's page and sharing the love!

There are five rules that go along with accepting The Sunshine Award and they are:

1. Include the award's logo in a post or on your blog.

2. Answer ten questions about yourself.

3. Nominate ten to twelve other fabulous bloggers.

4. Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know that they have been nominated.

5. Share the love and link the person who nominated you.

Now, those of you who have been doing your homework and reading my posts for these last few months know how I feel about LISTS, but I already knocked out two of the listed items, so I may be able to accomplish this before I lose it (which is HUGE for me)!

Now for the questions (for the record, I am the worst question anwerer (yes it IS now a word) EVER, so bare with me...

What is your favorite color?

REALLY? My FAVORITE color? Of what? Car? Bedroom? House? Dog? I have never been able to accurately answer this question. I KNOW that "normal" people have "favorites," but I've never really been good at it. I like warm browns, oranges, and reds for my clothing and my walls, yet my FAVORITE VEHICLE OF ALL TIME was royal blue. I generally choose red Skittles and Starburst, but love a green Jolly Rancher. I find yellow very cheerful and love it paired with teal or hot pink. I will pretty much like ANY color if it is presented nicely.

What is your favorite animal?

Again, it is hard for me to have a favorite, but recently I seem to be partial to this:

...and THIS...

...and THIS!

Although, this is too cute for words...

Of course, we watched Mr. Popper's Penguins and I was quite convinced (as were my children...husband, not-so-much) that we could make the whole penguin thing happen. Maybe if we were still in Montana...


Favorite non-alcoholic drink
I am SO VERY BORING. ANYONE who has had the (dis)pleasure of dining out with me knows how VERY ANNOYING I am when it comes to my beverage. I ALWAYS drink a large ice water (no lemon because I waited tables and it cured me of EVER wanting fruit in my beverage...) with extra ice. Often times I will ask for ANOTHER glass of just ice because few people really believe me when I say I want extra. If you ever come to my house you will find that we have alcoholic drinks, milk, and water. Not the BEST hosts...
I do have to say that my time in Montana introduced me to yummy coffee drinks--or dessert in a cup as I like to call it. Some of my former students will attest to the fact that I should RARELY partake in coffee drinking as I am already hyper enough!
Favorite number
Again, REALLY?! My whole life I have made up "favorite" numbers and colors because it seems like people ALWAYS have a favorite, but I rarely have a favorite ANYTHING! I guess thirteen was my "number" for a while because it was the number I used to type in orders when I waited tables. Then, 2 and 19 were the numbers I used when I lost all of the money that I earned waiting on those tables on Keno. Now...three? Five? I honestly don't know, but if I ever win the lottery, I am certain that my feelings will change!
Facebook or Twitter
This should probably read, "Facebook or...anything else..." because it seems I love facebook a little too much. Maybe I can start a support group on facebook...
My passion
Mmy family...blogging...teacher's rights...human rights...(that should probably be in a different order...) I am quite certain that my husband and son (it must be a weird male thing, because my daughters could care less) would say, "The computer, facebook, blogging, Words With Friends..."
Prefer getting or giving presents 
Giving, definitely...especially now that I am older. I always did love giving presents more than getting them, but now it is even more so because I know the value of things and I would much rather spend the money on someone else. Unless my husband wanted to buy me a pair of great boots. you know--a pair of, "Wow, Melissa nominated me for the Sunshine Award and I am so happy to have  that AND new boots!" boots
Favorite pattern
 Hmmm. I guess it depends on what colors are used and if it is for clothing or house decor, adult or child... I like plaids and stripes and polka dots...hmmm...
Favorite day of the week
Saturday. I love having my family together (when my girls aren't trapped in their room "cleaning" all day!) and knowing that we have one more day together before everyone is back at work and school.


Favorite flower
Well, Melissa posted this:

 

and I LOVE it! It's a Frangipani and this is the first time we've met. If I HADN'T "met" her flower, I would have said sunflower or gerbera daisies. Sunflowers are just so happy and bright and cheerful...did I mention happy? Gerbera daisies are so pretty--one of my (awesome and amazing)students watched our cats for us when we went to Buffalo (TWELVE years ago!) for my grandmother's funeral (which happened to be on my birthday). When we returned from the trip there was a bouquet of multi-colored Gerbera daisies waiting for me in a vase on the table. So now they remind me of my grandmother and I have LOVED them ever since.


SO...thank you again, Melissa--and I would like to nominate these amazing ladies and a pretty cool gentleman for The Sunshine Award. There are quite a few listed, but that is because of my whole "Can't pick a favorite" issue! PLUS--they are ALL AWESOME!


http://icouldhavebeenmotheroftheyearif.blogspot.com/


http://www.youknowithappensatyourhousetoo.blogspot.com/


http://www.perspectiveparenting.com/2012/03/03/college-planning-the-prerequisite-course/#comment-464


http://www.adoredbefore.com/


http://designherbrands.blogspot.com/


http://sweetmiasdesserts.com/


http://shopnserve.blogspot.com/


http://yourdoctorswife.blogspot.com/2012/03/back-side-of-medicine-and-technology.html#comment-form


http://hollowtreeventures.blogspot.com/


http://couponqueensthrone.blogspot.com/


http://www.thepetiteyoungblonde.blogspot.com/


http://www.alittlelucidity.com/2012/02/humpday-caption-contest-229.html?showComment=1331082563214#c6576346142255523545

http://theevilthatyouknow.blogspot.com/2012/03/fodder-of-week-dads-4-fair-play-join.html#comment-form

http://thenittygrittymommy.blogspot.com/2012/03/love-letter.html?showComment=1331082803017#c1053510612877602091i

Please click on each one of these and tell them that I sent you--you won't regret it!

!

NO shuffling for US this weekend

As you know (at least you KNOW IF you did your last assignment http://anothertiredmommy.blogspot.com/2012/02/when-im-eighty-five.html), my grandfather turned eighty-five this week. It was a very exciting week for us because we were going to visit him to celebrate his birthday--YAY! I haven't seen him since July when my maniacs invaded his home children and I visited with my Godson and college roommate and had an AWESOME time and my husband hasn't seen him--wow--since LAST EASTER! THAT is too long--ESPECIALLY when you don't live in MonFREAKINtana anymore.  http://anothertiredmommy.blogspot.com/2011/10/hundred-dead-bodies-simply-arent-enough.html

My grandfather is hilarious--really--he seriously cracks me up ALL the time. He is always trying to get people riled up and then he sits back and watches the drama unfurl. I suppose this is in part because he spends most of his days falling asleep to the sound of Glen Beck, Bill O'Reilly and *shudder* Hannity. I KNOW--MANY of you welcome this about my grandfather and think that you too will spend your golden years with the rantings dronings musings of Fox news celebrities in your ear (and think that I'M a "... liberal tree-hugger, which I am not). Only I am pretty sure that my Papa watches it to gain material. Material for WHAT you ask? Material for the drama that makes him thrive.

SO I commented (okay--maybe yelled or whined)  (when we visited him TWO years ago) that he should really watch SEVERAL news channels to maybe get CLOSER to the truth about whatever "news" they are peddling ranting about each day. I went on to complain (and I REALLY believe this to be true) that I HATE the news these days. There really isn't any "news" at all, really--there's a bunch of editorializing and it is possible that we NEVER get the truth about ANYTHING. Simply saying that at all was enough to prompt my Papa to begin our "Fox News" war. EVERY TIME he would turn the television on he would say, "Time to watch the liars now..." or "I wonder what the liars have to say." The best was when we talked about the weather and he said, "Who knows--the liars said it was going to rain, so it will probably be sunny!" Here is where I need to interject. He DEFINITELY fought FOR my position on THAT one because I think we ALL know that weather people are RARELY on point with their forecasts. In fact, I will encourage my children to go into that field BECAUSE of the fact that it is a field where they can be wrong and virtually NOTHING happens to them. "Well, it LOOKS LIKE we COULD get some rain tomorrow..." "I GUESS we were lucky that the winter storm coming in from the east missed us completely!"  Nice.

Back to my Papa. He has the MOST fun with people who take themselves too seriously or take HIM too seriously.  Unfortunately, that doesn't make it much fun for THOSE people all the time...THAT'S when he needs to pull out his "I'M EIGHTY-FREAKIN-FIVE, PEOPLE!" card. (I think I need to make one for him...)

On to the visit. It didn't happen. Our plan was to leave at around 12 or 1 to visit my husband's family near Binghamton on Thursday and to head to Buffalo on Friday to spend the weekend with my family there (and to celebrate the fact that my Papa is...well, you know--EIGHTY FIVE) (and not that HIS family isn't MY family and MY family isn't HIS family--I just wanted to avoid--well--THIS!), but Wednesday night at about eleven, my husband complained of having a bad stomach. Every twenty minutes all night long, his "bad" stomach...attacked him and he ended up calling in sick to work. He was STILL a trooper, however and said that maybe he would feel better so that we could leave later in the day. Now, I know how I felt after waking up every twenty minutes WITHOUT using the bathroom--I can only IMAGINE how he was feeling ("It was like a terrorist attack in there..." Have you ever seen Ghost Town with Ricky Gervaise? My friend Amber let us borrow it this summer--and we STILL have it (because we are horrible people and sucky friends)--but I think you would have had to see that movie to think that comment was funny...) , so he definitely gets points for even CONSIDERING it!  Sadly, the doctor confirmed that he would STILL be contagious next week--even after his symptoms are gone. The good news is, as long as there is A LOT of hand washing at our house, the rest of us should be safe from it. The bad news is, I am the only one who takes hand washing seriously.

Needless to say, I am pretty sure we ALL will be getting it and although my husband attempted walking hobbling down the stairs at about 10:30 this morning claiming, "Maybe if I rest for a few more hours we can head to Buffalo later..." Now, if you could have SEEN what this man looked like as he groaned out those words, you too would have fallen out of your chair laughing. I wish I would have taken a picture--he was quite pathetic looking--AND sounding. And we both knew there was NO WAY we were driving ANYWHERE today. The children, however still think it could happen. Addison keeps asking, "Why don't we djust dwyive theywewer and put Dada in a bed whyel we pwyay wif Auntie Johwjohw and Aunt KK..and Papa John?"  If I didn't think it would make my Papa spend the week after his birthday in the bathroom, THAT would have been the plan