Meme Time!

So my last post was a re-doing of a meme that wasnt really a meme because i'd never been tagged for it ( Got it? Good ). Today, my post is an actually meme because i was tagged for this one, and awarded some bloggy love, by the lovely Hayley at Our Unique Journey. She thinks i'm a Kreativ Blogger!

And, with so many blog awards, come the rules and regulations of the meme. This one wants me to tell you 7 random things about myself. I can't promise they'll be NEW things but i'll give it my best:

1. I secretly enjoy watching childrens television shows. I know in years to come i will probably be sick to death of them, but right now i enjoy both the programs themselves and the bright look they bring to my sons face. At almost 9 months old he's still a bit little to really WATCH tv, but we sit down together at 12pm and watch " Sesame Street " ( Elmo and Grover in particular get a huge smile ) and he also enjoys " The Magic Roundabout ". However, i shant be letting him watch shows that dont use proper language, such as " In The Night Garden ". I cant stand that show and cant understand why anyone would let a child who is developing their language skills watch a programme where all they do is babble nonsensically.

2. I enjoy driving in Sydney. This is possibly because i dont actually live there, so everytime i have the need to drive in there its because i'm on some little adventure. I'm sure if i actually resided in Sydney i'd feel different but for the time being i dont mind driving on the M4 or negotiating the one way streets in the city itself...

3. I never thought i'd have my first child with a man that i had only known a matter of months and wasnt married to ( i always pictured being married first, not that it matters ) but you know what ? The world works in mysterious ways. And i like it.

4. I'll admit it - i'm a pimple picker. I know your not supposed to pick and squeeze at them, but i just can't help it. If i feel a big hard, yucky lump under my skin, i have this compulsion to get it out. Yes, it'll probably scar, but i just cant help myself. Hey, at least i'm not a nose picker....

5. I failed my drivers licence test 3 times. Yep - 3. The first time i actually hit  a car while trying to reverse parallel park ( actually, it was when i was pulling out of the park... ), and the other two times had to with the " blink off " at roundabout road rule here in NSW. I'll cop to the first test, i should have failed that time, but the second and third times were just revenue raising.

6. I think i'm becoming a Zumba junkie. I'd always been in love with yoga ( and still am ) but almost 9 months after giving birth and not having shifted any weight, i decided to give something a bit more hi-impact a try. And i love it! I dont have to be a born dancer and you dont even have to get the steps 100% perfect all of the time, you just gotta feel the music and move. And its way fun!

7. I have a habit of surfing real estate websites for houses in my (pretend ) price range, even though i'm not yet in the market for a new home. We live in a duplex which the bank  I own, but at the end of next year or early 2012 i'd like to buy an actual house to raise our family in. So, even though its a year or two away, i like checking out what kind of homes are out there waiting for me to buy one day...

So there you be! I know i'm also supposed to give this award away to 7 of bloggers of my choice and link to their blogs...blah blah blah...but as i've done this meme before, i might skip that it this time. However, if you want the Kreativ Blogger award leave me a comment telling me how awesome i am ( ha! ) and i might just give you one...

I " Honestly " Love You....

I gotta say – I love you guys, my faithful blog readers. You sent me so much bloggy love in the comments of my last post, when I was feeling all down about the state of my housewifery skills. I really appreciated it that so thanking you all very muchly – you people rock! What also rocks, and is very much appreciated, is being given an award : the “ Honest Scrap “ award ( which I know some of you out there already have ) by the very talented E over at Whining At The World. So a special thanks to you E.


Now apparently there is also a meme that goes along with the award, and it goes a little something like this:
1. You must brag about the award.

2. You must include the name of the blogger who gave you the award and link back to that blogger.
3. You must choose a selection of blogs that you find brilliant in honest content.
4. Show their names and links and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with this award.
5. List at least ten honest things about yourself.
........then pass it on with the instructions!

So......
1. I have hair on my feet. I’m not exactly on par with a Hobbit but I have light skin and dark hair so it’s a little noticeable on places it shouldn’t be. You know, like my toes. Eww.

2. My FIL annoys me. I don’t hate him or anything its just that his idea of a conversation is talking AT you ( not to you ) and he doesn’t really believe in punctuality. Or letting my baby sleep. Those things get on my goat.

3. I secretly worry, at the back of my mind, that Mick will figure out that I am not totally sane and will up and leave me one day. That thought scares me.

4. I don’t have many friends. I never have really – I was always the girl at school who kind of got along with everyone, but really only counted a handful of people as good friends. In the 9 years since leaving high school, even those “ good “ friends have dwindled down to only 3 – and I’m not really even sure about one of those either.

5. I leant some of Micks boots to a photographer friend, even though I was 95% sure he wouldn’t lend them to her if he were here. Then I lied about lending them. This is the only lie I’ve ever told him – and I feel really bad. I’d make a “ maybe he should spank me “ joke right about now, but if he busts me lying about his boots he wont find anything funny in it at all.

6.I haven’t done yoga for a while – there was only one antenatal yoga class offered in my town and it was too expensive, and my normal yoga teachers couldn’t cater to me once my bump was too big – but, when I did go to classes, I felt superior to other women in the class because I was better at it then them. I know, shame on me, but I’m good at yoga ( I’m also kind of a yoga Nazi… ) so call it pride, call it ego, but it felt good to know I was better at something than someone else for once.

7. Mick and I are having our engagement party on Easter Saturday, April 3rd. So far we have had quite a few people RSVP “ not attending “, including every single person that I work with. Even though most people who aren’t coming cant come because theyre going away for Easter, I feel really rejected – truth is, besides birthday parties when I was little, I’ve never actually had a real party before. And now heaps of people aren’t coming to this one and I feel like a big old Nigel No-friends. Poo to that.

8. I think I can sing well. I don’t know what anyone else thinks because I’m too embarrassed to sing in front of anyone but my baby ( Flynn loves my rendition of “ Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes “ ).

9. I don’t get along with my maternal grandparents, especially my maternal grandmother. Without delving into details, she’s not a nice person and I just don’t like her. People tell me I should because she’s my grandma but that doesn’t mean jack – you earn respect, its not just handed to you on a platter people.

10. I’m not normally into shameless self promotion, but today I am – head over to Blog This! , vote for me in this weeks Challenge poll ( for this post here ) and help me see if I can win!

And now for my recepients:
Daughter @ Daughter of the Stars
Madisons Mum @ Raising Madison
Paula @ Insert My Blog Name Here

Joining the Operation and Accepting an Award

Once in a while other, more interesting blog writers than myself come up with an idea that strikes a cord with others. This time a really wonderful writer, Holly over at Mama Dearest/Domestic Goddess, has come up with what she has decided to call " Operation Think Happy ". What is this operation, you ask ? Well, its basically just a promise to make regular posts about things that have made you happy; Holly is going to make her list every Thursday and i'm going to ( try ) and make mine every weekend. What better way to finish a week than to look back at the things that made you smile over the preceding 7 days ?

* My post pregnancy boobies - ok sure they sometimes get tingly, hard as a rock and leaky, but boy do they look good!

* Flynns new found smiles - my boy gave us his first smiles this week. He does this little smirk thing out of one side of his mouth and then throws his head back and has a huge open mouth, like he's laughing with out sound. Too, too sweet....

*Caramel Tim Tams, straight outta the fridge - chocolate coated chocolate biscuits with a chewy caramel centre. Yes please.... a little bit of happiness at my finger tips.

* Black shorts - or, more precisely, finally finding a pair of black shorts that were the right length, right price and that flattered my mummy tummy.

* Getting out of bed to find that Mr Gil has sorted all the dirty laundry - and was in the process of washing it all too. What a good fiance/daddy!

* " Burn Your Name ", by Powderfinger - still absolutely loving this song and everytime i hear it it makes me smile....

* A bbq at my parents place - just us and them. I'm happy to admit that Mr Gil and i get along really well with my parents. So much so i think we can say we actually LIKE hanging out with them ( O.M.G ... is that wrong of me ? )

So thats my first contribution to " Operation Think Happy ". And now, onto accepting an award which was given to me by Suzanne Icognito at Incognito Soapbox Confessions. Apparently she thinks i'm a " Kreativ Blogger " :

I dont know how " kreativ " i am - lets face it, i'm not all that good at coming up with new and exciting blog projects or operations of my own - but hey, if she wants to give me an award i will gladly accept it! There is also a meme that is supposed to be done when accepting the award - i have to share 7 things you guys dont yet know about me. Even though that seems like an impossible task ( how long have i been writing this blog, and how much random crap have i already shared ? ) i'll give it a shot. Here goes:

1. I like my tuna sandwiches best when there kind of soggy. Dont drain all the brine or water from the tuna and add lots and lots of avocado!

2. I have a scar in the centre of my hairline from walking into a door when i was little. No, i wasnt drunk - i was only a toddler and learning how to walk and, you know, i lost control and crashed into the hinge of the door. Ouchy McGouchy!

3. I may be 26 but i still love " Sesame Street ". In fact, because its Sunday afternoon and there is zero else to watch on tv, " Sesame Street " happens to be on right now.

4. I think i have too much body hair for a woman. Seriously, i'm one of these poor unfortunate ladies who is a natural brunette and is sadly afflicted with dark body hair. I'm not exactly the bearded lady, but its enough to make me feel decidely unfeminine sometimes...

And thats all i've got. Sorry Suzanne, but i seem to have exhausted my supply of random tidbits a long time ago!

DD minus 20: The Day Of The Slug ( And Winning An Award )

The day of the slug - and who, or what, is the slug you may ask ? The slug, my friends, is me. Thats what i felt like today - a big fat lazy slug. I woke up as the same time as usual, got up with Mr Gil and ate my breakfast and saw him off to work and after he'd left i thought i'd watch the last 20 minutes of the morning variety program. This was at 8:40am - next thing i know, i open my eyes and its 10:30am. I'd fallen back to sleep! And even when i opend my eyes and realised what time it was and what had happened, my first instinct was " man, cant i get just five more minutes ? ". I dont know what it was - maybe i'd done too much work yesterday afternoon after another attack of the nesting instinct - but i was just overwhelmingly tired, lethargic, sluggish; and it didnt really get much better over the course of the day. I had a shower, woke myself up a bit, but all i could manage the motivation for was web-surfing, tv watching and magazine reading. Way to spend the day Amy.

And so, there is not so much to report on today. However, thank god for Chantal over at Growing Up...Townsend Style. She's very kindly bestowed the " Happiness 101 " award on me, and thus she has saved my blog post for the day from complete and utter boringness.

The award also comes with a meme of its own - i'm supposed to list 10 things that make me happy and give this award to 10 other people. That being said, i dont think i want to name 10 of you - i think i'm going to go with 3. I mean, i want to keep this award somewhat exclusive.... if i share it around too much it'll lose all its glory! ( Kidding, of course. Or am I ? ) Anyhoo, 10 things that make me happy:

1. My neices , H and B. One is 4 years old, the other is having their first birthday in 8 days time, but they are both adorable little cuties that do amusing things.

2. " Ripe " by Ben Lee. Its just a really good pop album that makes me want to sing along. Singing along makes me happy.

3. Mr Gil, my gorgeous fiance. Granted sometimes he does things that make me unhappy or frusturated, buut most of the time he makes me insanely happy.

4. Mangoes. One word - yum. I am so having one after i'm done with post.

5. Finishing a crossword puzzle. I'm trying to keep my brain sharp to stave off baby brain moments and possible dementia, so being able to completely finish a crossword puzzle ( and not the type which is entirely made up of pop culture answers ) gives me a real buzz.

6. Blog post comments. Hint, hint people...

7. A really good nap. I know the napping itself is kind of a non-event but its the refreshed feeling after a really well earned nap that makes me happy.

8. " Amelie ". I've seen this movie 7 or 8 times, and i own it on DVD, but it doesnt matter how many times i watch it it never fails to give me that fuzzy, feelgood, feeling.

9. Jeans and a white tank top. I've mentioned the power of this very simple outfit, but i'll say it again - jeans and a white tank or t-shirt always make me feel sexy, and feeling sexy makes me happy. Hell, the power of this outfit has even worked for me whilst i've been pregnant, which is really saying something.

10. Macadamia icecream.....mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm.

And who am i handing my award to?

Sheena at If These Walls Could Talk

Paula at Insert My Blogname Here

Andy at WildARSChase

Go to it people!