I Feel Special

My first blog award!! I feel so special! My friend Gingi at Domestic Geek Girl has nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award. Thank you, thank you! Gingi and I "met" under very unusual circumstances. Even though I have never seen her in person or even heard her voice, she is quickly becoming one of my favorite people ever! I am so blessed to be her friend. We joke that we stalk each other, at least until we can meet in person. Since Gingi and her lovely family are currently stationed in Florida, I "follow" her every way I can, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and through her fan-flipin-tastic blog. When we finally do meet (hopefully when they are transferred back to CA in the spring), we have agreed that we will do a slow motion run towards one another, then proceed directly to Disneyland. 

Now let's do this thang and spread the blogging joy!

Here are the rules for award:

Thank the one that nominated you.

Put up the picture for the One Lovely Blog Award.

Tell everyone seven things about yourself.

Nominate seven other people and tell them that you’ve nominated them.

Seven things about us: (It was really hard to come up with seven things I haven't already written about!)

1.Every morning, when Josh is walking out the door for work, he says "lovelovelovelovelove!" and I answer back in the same way. If you don't know, this is from the movie Bruce Almighty. Not quite sure how it became part of our routine, but now, if he leaves without saying it, I feel somehow incomplete for the rest of the day.

2. I am secretly obsessed with Downton Abbey. This show is awesome!! I grew up watching period movies with my mom. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibilities, and Nicholas Nickleby are a few favorites. Now I can get my British fix on a more regular basis. Downton Abbey satisfies something in me. The music, the etiquette, the accents, love it! I spent a month in England in high school with my best friend and her parents. My love of all things British goes way back. The royal wedding was more exciting for me than it probably should have been.

3. We don't own a coffe maker. Neither Josh nor I drink coffee, ever. We don't like it. We receive the occasional Starbucks gift card, but we just end up buying tea or hot chocolate. I'm thinking this actually saves us a lot of money. Have you seen the prices at Starbucks!!?

4. Josh is a supertaster. If you have never heard of this, it's when someone is born with more taste buds than the average person. He experiences taste in almost a textural way. He is very sensitive to flavors. He can taste the smallest amounts of ingredients. For example, he doesn't like rosemary, but I do. For awhile I tried to add really small amounts to our food, but even if I didn't tell him it was there, he knew, even the smallest amounts!

5. Josh and I would like to retire in Texas someday. We have a standing agreement with our friends Andy and Stacie that someday we will own adjacent estates with ample acreage deep in the heart of Texas. Andy is in the Air Force and someday Josh would like a pilot's license, so our land will have to include a landing strip. Not sure where we'll get the money for all of this but who cares!? We can dream.

6. I hate the words "moist" and "slacks" (as in pants). They are the worst words ever. They make my skin crawl. 

7. Someday I would love to see a professional ballet. Preferably this would happen in a culturally rich city like Rome or Paris; New York would work too. Any professional (like legit professional) ballet would make my heart float. I took ballet lessons from third grade to seventh grade. I loved every minute. Ballet is so incredibly beautiful. Not so much when I did it. I was pretty darn gawky. I don't think most people understand how difficult it is though because, when done right, it looks so light and effortless. I was sad I had to stop because my feet and hips just couldn't take it.

And the nominees are: (Listed alphabetically. Organized.)

1. Beholding Beautiful- Written by a wonderful family who hosted a beautiful little girl from an orphanage in Ukraine over the summer, fell in love with her, and are now in the process of bringing her back home for good!

2. Bringing Home Baby Franz- Written by a fellow Kristin (just spelled differently) about her and her husband Bradi, both active duty in the Air Force, and their adoption journey. They were recently matched with an expectant mom due in January!!

3. Our Family- This is my friend Candace's blog. I've mentioned a few times what an inspiration she's been to me.

4. Smiles and Trials- This is one amazing family. Seventeen kids, eleven of whom are adopted! Enough said.

5. The Reds and I- This is the personal blog of the founder of Adoption: Share The Love. An amazing, compassionate birth mom, and single mother to two super cute red heads.

6. Tiny Little Footprints- This is a wonderful family. They aren't much older than Josh and me, but they're adopting a sixteen year old boy from Ukraine (I guess I have a thing for Ukraine.)

7. We Love St. Patrick's Day- This is my friend Shelli's blog. I've written about Shelli here too. She and her husband are at the same stage of domestic infant adoption as Josh and I. Waiting.

There you have it. There are so many more that I enjoy reading, but the rules said only seven. Now go forth and share the love!