Did She Call Me A Rodent?

There’s a new kid in town and he’s going by the name Squirrely. He’s a blogger award dreamed up by Menopausal Mother and he just showed up recently. Imagine my surprise when he dug a hole and started burying his nuts at my place. Wait, I may need to rephrase that.

Since this award is brand new and I’m in the first group to receive the  . . . um . . . honor, I believe this places me in the realm of virgin. And as such I had a lot to learn. For instance, apparently being compared to a rodent and having your “home” nut infested isn’t enough. I’m now obliged to prove myself worthy of the title of “squirrely”. Now there’s some words I never expected to use in a sentence together.

So here’s where we add embarrassment to the mix. I need to divulge 7 to 10 quirky facts about myself and then name 7 to 10 rodent-like bloggers good sports pass this award on to:

Some Quirky Facts:
*I’m super sensitive. So it might not be the best idea to . . . I don’t know . . . call me “squirrely”, for instance.

*I put everything away as soon as I’m done with it so my house is always picked up. Visitors frequently comment on how clean my house is. Just so you know, neat is not necessarily clean. Ha, fooled ya.

*I stopped my subscription to the daily newspaper because I was spending too much time correcting the grammar and spelling in my head.  And I just don’t need the extra work.

*I secretly find joy in pretending I’m sleeping when I know my kids are going to nag me about something I’ve already said “no” to. Of course now my kids go around telling everyone that all I do is sleep.

*It’s just not a Red Sox game unless I’m screaming at the TV.

*If you can’t throw it on the grill, I’ll rarely cook it in the summer. I’ve even been known to make my husband shovel the deck so I can use the grill in the winter. I say that this is quirky, but it’s really evil genius. ‘Cause I do the dishes but my husband cleans the grill.

Grilled Citrus Chicken

*When I know something and my kids can’t figure out how I know it, I tell them I have ESPN. Because I want to insinuate that I have ESP, but I don’t have ESP, and I do have ESPN and I wouldn’t want to lie.

*I can’t wear clothes. Well, I can wear some clothes, but most things feel “itchy” to me. I can mostly only wear cotton and nylon shirts. I can’t wear any sweaters unless I wear a shirt under them. So if you gifted me a sweater and I don’t wear it, it’s not that I don’t like your gift, it's just that the thought of wearing it makes me shudder.

The 7 bloggers who will never speak to me again because I’m publicly calling them squirrely:

Raising Reagan

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

Dates 2 Diapers 

Patience Juice 
Follow me home . . .
Just a Little Nutty 
Stacy Sews and Schools 

Addendum: Because life can sometimes be ironic, just as I had finished this post I got a new award from Karen of Dinosaur Superhero Mommy. Oh how this award fits in with the Squirrely Award. Because this one has me saying some more words I never thought would end up in a sentence together: Thanks for the boob, Karen.

I'm passing this one on to only one person. I think it's fitting that I hand this boob to the woman who thinks I'm squirrely, Menopausal Mother. Take that! No, literally, take it and then please tell me that I didn't just put a boob on my blog.

As always, I have my own rules for tagging: play along if you like but being tagged is a compliment not an obligation.

Grilled Citrus Chicken

                                                                     
©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
4 bone in, skin on chicken breasts
¼ cup lime juice
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
2 TBSP vegetable oil
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp  coriander
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp chili powder
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste (just a sprinkle)
 
Directions:
*Mix all marinade ingredients together and marinate for at least 4 hours and up to a day.
*Grill for about 20 minutes per side or until the juices run clear.

Triumph Trophy

Funny how some things start out so innocently. Kristi of Black Sheep Mom left this comment on my blog the last time I wrote about getting a blogging award: “You should also get an I Didn’t Kill My Teenager Today award as well.”  She’s a Mom of 5 (not a typo) teenagers, so she knows exactly what she’s talking about.

What we both didn’t know was where that sentence would lead. Because, let’s face it, we parents do deserve awards for handling most of what we deal with on any given day. Yet there is no such award, no trophy. Why is that?

Well, there is one now. And here it is, the Triumph Trophy:

And we’re not only accepting these trophies, but we’re passing them on. If you’re a recipient, consider playing along:
1. Display the Trophy in your post.
2. Write a short piece that starts with this: I didn’t kill                  today. It doesn’t have to be a person, it can be an appliance, a business or anything else you choose.
3. Nominate a few people to pass the trophy on to and let them know it’s their turn to vent.

So thank you, Kristi. I’m going to accept this trophy in the spirit in which it was first offered:

I didn’t kill my teenager today. In fact, I didn’t kill either one.

My older son comes home from school at lunchtime. I’m fairly certain it’s to add some “torture Mom” time to the middle of his day. Earlier in the week, I had baked a new kind of cookie. There are 4 people in this family who loved that cookie. There were 8 left. You see where this is going, right? Son comes home from school for lunch, I tell him to, at the very least, leave half of the cookies for his brother. He goes back to school and I open the tin and find there are two left.

My younger son and I figured out that there’s one sandwich at a particular fast food restaurant that whenever he eats it, makes him sick. So he stopped eating it. Early one morning this week, my older son called me upstairs. He was getting ready for school and heard his brother, who was in the bathroom, being sick. I sent my son back to bed and called the school to say he’d be absent. It wasn’t until he woke up later in the afternoon that he finally told me what he’d eaten when he was out the night before. You can guess, right?

For the record, I’ve killed neither. I deserve a trophy.

If you want to play, I nominate:
Follow me home . . .
The Momisodes
The Pursuit of Normal

Stop by Black Sheep Mom and see who or what Kristi didn’t kill. Oh, and who she nominated.

Really, 11 Things About Me, too?

Liebster Award, Take 2

Final Take

I am shocked to say that after only 10 weeks of blogging I have, again, been awarded the Liebster Blog Award; on 8-25-12 by Dawn's Disaster, on 8-26-12 by Thoughts from a mommy, wife and friend and on 10-31-12 by Mommy Needs a Break.  Thank you for all the bloglove.

The Liebster Awards is given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers as a way to spread the word about smaller blogs who deserve a larger audience.  This award is an honor, but once nominated, you must earn it:

1)  You must list 11 things about yourself.

2)  Answer 11 questions put to you by person awarding you.

3)  Choose up to 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and list their questions.

4)  Go to your nominees’ pages and inform them of the nominations.

OK, first I want to say that 11 things about myself is an added requirement this time. If the requirements of this award gets any longer, it’ll be like writing “War and Peace”.   

 As if winning the Liebster again wasn’t great enough, I’ve also won another award, the Versatile Blogger Award.  Thank you so much Vicky of The Greek Housewife another great blog I read regularly. For this award I have to list 7 facts about myself and name 7 up and coming bloggers. 

And just when I thought there couldn’t possibly be any more, Sarah and Jennifer of The Mommy Chronicles made me the recipient of the Laine Blogger Award on 9-3-12.  Wow, thanks Sarah and Jennifer! Josi at That Suburban Momma surprised me with another one on 10-30-12.  If all this recognition goes to my head, I know who to blame.

Think that’s it? I did too, but on 9-21-12, The Sunshine Award was presented to me on by Rhiannon of Happy Little Feet. And again on 10-20-12 by Vicky of The Greek Housewife. And a third by my friend Meg at http://justalitlenutty.com on 3-26-13. Amazing!

Let me just tell you now that Award Season in Hollywood has nothing on me! On 9-22-12 I was awarded the Sisterhood of theWorld Bloggers Award also by Rhiannon of Happy Little Feet.  I am such a fan of both her creativity and of her as a person so this honor is very special.

Another Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award honor came from Sarah at  The Mommy Chronicles.  Her blog started as her own and has now grown to a 4 person collaboration, a really interesting approach to blogging.And on 10-21-12 a third one from another talented blogger, Jenny at Cassandra's Corner.   On 10-30-12 Michele of Follow me home . . .also gave me Sisterhood Award.  Michele gave me my very first blog award and was my very first blogger friend who truly got me. Never met her but I ❤ that girl.

On 10-13-12, I was surprised by another award, the One Lovely Blog Award. This one came from  Marcia, who blogs at Menopausal Mother. As someone who tries to offer a humorous blog, I’m thrilled to receive an award from someone I consider a very funny blogger.

I must have received every award in the history of blogging, now, right? That’s what I thought, but actually I was wrong again. On 10-23-12, Susan of Fashionably Saving on 11-1-12 April of 100lb Countdown and on 11-12-12 Jessica Marie of Boys Oh Boys honored me with the Beautiful Blogger

Award.  Susan’s blog is a place where she shares information about raising a family on a budget.  April offers honesty, advice and recipes for healthy living. Jessica Marie has a lifestyle/proud mommy blog.

And, just to stand out in the crowd, on 11-14-12, Courtney of Chewylicious presented me with not one, not two, but three awards, the Liebster, the Laine and the Versatile. That woman doesn’t believe in doing things in a small way, and I’m grateful!

The New Year brought a new award, the Very Inspiring Blogger Award was a gift from The Insomniac's Dream on 1-15-13. And TWO more on 1-19-13 from my friends Sarah at The Sadder but Wiser Girl and April at First Time Mom and Dad. Two months later, on 3-19-13 I was awarded a fourth by the sweet and thoughtful Kristal of Clearly Kristal.

And on 1-26-13 I received the Epically Awesome Award of Epic Awesomeness from the ladies at The Momisodes. Never heard of that one? Me neither.  That’s because Sarah made it up, which makes me love it even more. On 2-27-12 I got another one from the funny and thoughtful Sarah, who blogs at The Sadder but Wiser Girl.

Another new award on 1-30-13, the Inspiring Blog Award, came from Starr, of The Insomniac's Dream again. Our friendship started when our paths crossed on FB one night and we moved on to emails. The rest is history . . .

The second one came on 2-8-13 from Molley, another funny blogger at A Mother Life, and a third from my friend Marcia at Menopausal Mother on 2-21-13. She was the first person I trusted to do a guest post on my blog and she made the whole process painless, even fun. And then the very next day I was honored with another, from Darla at Mom's World. Another smile.

 Another new one! A brand new award I'd never heard of. I'm so grateful to Arielle of Their World We Live In  for the Best Moment Award received on 3-28-13.

So here goes, 7 things about me for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1) I've traveled to Israel, Hong Kong, Indonesia, England, Venezuela, Mexico, Canada, Korea, Hawaii, St. Croix, St. Lucia, and more!

2) I have para-sailed.

3) I love reading and mysteries are my favorite.

4) Favorite band (and first concert) Aerosmith.

5) I sing, loud, in the car and I don’t get the words right and I don’t care.

6) I love lobster and don’t mind cooking them myself.

7) I love ballet.

Plus another 4 for the Liebster:
8) I love the ocean, now live nowhere near one but have made sure my kids have gone, many times.

9) I love skiing and now live nowhere near a mountain, but have made sure my kids know how to ski.

10) I am so honored to receive these awards again BECAUSE they're awarded by other bloggers, but it’s a lot of work.

11) Honored or not, I’m not doing this again!

My answers to 11 questions:

1)  What is your favorite color and how many rooms in your house are painted it?

Blue (have to say that, I have 2 boys), only one room.

2)  Who is your favorite Disney movie character and are your more similar or different from them?

Ariel. I love to swim and I miss the ocean.

3)  What is your favorite blog (share link, please) and why?

follow me home . . .   because Shel was my very first blog friend and because she inspires me and makes me laugh every single time she writes.

4)  What kind of car do you drive and is it your dream car?

BMW. Love it when my son lets me borrow it.

5)  How many kids do you have and how many do/did you want?

I was pregnant 4 times with 5 babies and have 2 kids. I was grateful beyond belief after the first.

6)  What is the highest formal level of education do you have?

I graduated from college.

7)  Do you have pets?  If so, what type?

No pets.

8)  What did you do on your last "date night"?

Dinner out. I didn’t have to set the table, cook or clean!

9)  Chunky or smooth peanut butter?

Smooth.

10)  What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Mint chocolate chip

11)  Big wedding or small wedding?

Small wedding just days before moving 1500 miles away.

My questions for the blogs I’ve nominated:

) How long did you think about it before deciding to blog?

2) Have you ever just completely taken a day off from all things blog?

3) Have you done guest posts on other blogs?

4) Have you or would you host guest posts on your blog?

5) Have you ever said anything in a blog that you wanted to take back?

6) What’s your favorite season?

7) What’s your favorite song?

8) If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

9)  Name one food you just can’t stand.

10) What’s your favorite secret indulgence?

11) What one thing do you dread the most?

My nominees, check out these blogs, they’re well worth reading:

Jae Mac at http://imjustsayindamn.blogspot.com/

Michelle at http://torigaga.com

The Head Peanut at http://www.peanutlayne.com/

Renee at http://www.motherdaughterbookreviews.com

LouLou at http://bookofloulou.blogspot.com/

Vicky at http://thegreekhousewife.blogspot.com/

Michelle at http://the-michelle-show.blogspot.com/

Bonnie at http://www.alittleunhinged.com/

Nicole at http://www.wonkywonderful.com/

Melanie at http://www.thedomesticengineersblog.blogspot.com/

The Spring Chick at http://www.maturespringchick.com/

Thank you again: Dawn, Janna,Vicky, Sarah, Jennifer, Rhiannon Marcia, Jenny, Susan, Josi, Michele, April, Jessica Marie, Courtney, Starr, Sarah, April, Molley, Darla, Kristal, Meg and Arielle. Love sharing the Blogosphere with you all.  I’m overwhelmed with the amount of support I’ve had in such a short time.