Real Neat Blog Award!

I’m so flattered, honored, and stoked that my dear Courtney at Tales of A Hypochondriac nominated me for the Real Neat Blog Award!  This is my first nomination, and it means a lot to me.  Not to get too tangential, but I am finding it amazing how the Universe, whatever you want to call it, sends you nudges when you need them.  I stopped writing for almost a month (the newfound hippie in me could possibly attribute it to Mercury being in retrograde…) and I genuinely felt like giving up writing altogether.  As I wasn’t writing or even looking at my blog, I realized how much I missed the people I’ve connected with on here.  When I started writing, it was more of venting, ranting, raving, though I had aspirations I would be the next Glennon Doyle Melton or some such.  It’s funny, I don’t care so much either way how writing goes, but making friends and finding a network of folks who are going through the same or similar shit as me makes me feel less crazy.

Courtney is an absolute gem, and she and I are definitely sisters from other misters.  I love reading her journey in taking back her life, and I am inspired to make changes like her.  The coolest thing about connecting with people like Courtney is having someone to shoot an email to, get the nonsense off the brain, and know that someone else  – regardless of how far they are, gets exactly what you mean.  All of that said, please go check out her blog and give her lots of love! Thank you Courtney – for being a beautiful, wonderful friend, and for nominating me!

Rules for The Real Neat Blog Award

1. Put the award logo on your blog
2. Thank the people who nominated you, linking to their blogs
3. Answer the 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you
4. Nominate any number of bloggers you like, linking to their blogs
5. Let them know you nominated them (by commenting on their blogs, etc.)
6. Ask your nominees 7 questions

Courtney’s questions for me

Q. Why did you start blogging?

A. On July 18, 2016, I woke up and realized that I had dreamed of writing since I was a kid, and aside from random rants on Facebook, I did not write.  I started on LiveJournal, and then moved over to WordPress.  At first, it was something to get me writing.  Then, it became cathartic, then it became an addiction, then it became something I know I should keep doing, haha.  I believe I said when I started blogging that I was sick of my own bullshit.  This remains the case, although I think my bullshit factor has dropped slightly 😉

Q. What’s your favorite song?

A. Oh god…there’s so many.  It’s so weird because I was actually thinking about this exact question while I was driving around at 9:45PM for last minute school supplies last night (Yay procrastination!) I was racking my brain trying to think of the one song I would say is my favorite, and about 80 of them came flooding in to my brain, because I’m slightly obsessed with music.  I think it would be easier to try to pinpoint a few from different genres:

Smashing Pumpkins – Bullet With Butterfly Wings

TOOL – Lateralus

Puscifer – Autumn

Slipknot – Snuff

Lana Del Rey – High By the Beach

Bruno Mars – Moonshine

Van Morrison – Moondance

Baby Got Back – Sir Mix A Lot

Ugh, I could go on forever, and these are just ones that popped in my brain…

Q. If you had a choice to travel anywhere, where would it be?

Italy & Greece, without a doubt.  I’m ~50% Italian (I don’t look like it, but I cook like it), but beyond that, I love the culture…and food.  I also love philosophy, and to walk and sit where Socrates and Plato once stood…? I will get there.

Q. What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen/heard?

A.  Oh man… there’s so many.  Okay, so my youngest, Barrel – he’s insane.  He’s one of those kids that parenting is hard mainly because it’s impossible not to laugh at him, and he’s also so freaking cute.  He has me totally wrapped around his finger.  Anyway, he got obsessed with Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot (not sure where he got that from…) He’s in Pre-K at the time, and at the dinner table, his sister goes, “Mom! Barrel was drawing BUTTS at CARES today!” Already, I’m quietly trying to chuckle, because on the drive in he was repeating I like big butts and I can na laaaa.

Me: Barrel, you can’t draw butts at school.  It’s not polite.  You shouldn’t say butts either.

Barrel (Deadpan serious face): Mom, I make big butts and I cannot lie.

Me: Done

I had to go in the living room, I had tears running down my face I was laughing so hard.

Q. Who do you consider to be your greatest role-model? (friend, family, celebrity, etc.)

A. I think my kids.  Of all the people in the world, my babies have taught me everything I need to know.  I used to want such big things, set such huge demands, and one day I kind of woke up and realized none of the things I say are important actually are.  My first child taught me sacrifice, and love being the greatest power and force I have.  Saying goodbye to her in the hospital and going through adoption taught me strength I never knew I had. After many years, I finally learned how to forgive myself.  Holding my son in my arms in the hospital, I sobbed how he was the child I would take home, and I promised him I’d be the best Mommy ever.  I see so much of me in him, and together, we’re learning to accept ourselves, stop worrying about everyone else’s opinions, and just have fun.  Exposing him and the other two nutjobs to music has made me connect with music even more and watching them get in touch with their emotions and how to let it out…it’s amazing, and probably one of the coolest parts of being a mom.  My daughter is showing me how I need to show her to be a strong woman, because I want to be the example of what I want them all to be.  Strong, Kind, Compassionate, Loving.  She’s my artist, and showing her my love for writing and inspiring her to write and draw is incredible.  My baby is my laughter.  He teaches me to stop taking myself and life so fucking seriously.  I wanna be just like my kids when I grow up 🙂

Q. Do you have any pets?

Yes – a dog – Vader, and a cat – Thor.  Thor is the coolest cat alive, because he’s occasionally affectionate and snuggly, and curls up perfectly behind my knees in bed, but he understands personal space.  Vader is the opposite, but he’s adorable since he’s part lab and part corgi.  Imagine big full-size Labrador with short little corgi legs.  He’s a doofus.

Q. Are you a morning person, daytime lover, or night owl?

A. Night Owl.  I don’t feel right if I go to bed before midnight.  I forced myself to go to bed at 12:30 since I had to get up at 5:45 for school for the kids… I’m still miserable about it.  I drank a liter of coffee and took a nap, and I still am cranky.  I’m a toddler in a 34 year old’s body.

 

Okay, I nominate:

Yassy

Honest K

jhubner73

J-Dubs Grin and Bare It

Dirty Sci-Fi Buddha

Curious Hart

My Questions:

1. What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
2. God dammit! Who put a question mark on the teleprompter?!
3. On a Friday night (or any night ending in y), what is your go to delivery order?
4. What is your favorite quote or one you find most inspirational?
5. If you could speak to any person in the world – alive or dead – who would it be?
6. If you had only three questions to ask the person above, what would they be?
7. When you’re having a bad day, or you just need something good to think about – do you go to a memory or a dream?

 

Woot! Thanks for reading, thanks for those I’ve nominated, because you are all amazing and I love reading you.  Thanks Courtney for the nomination!