I’d like to thank…

No, really, we got our first blog award! Thank you to purejoy at consider it pure JOYfor passing along this award. Purejoy and I have become blog friends over the past few months, and I really enjoy getting to know her through her blog updates – her daughter’s high school graduation, her family business, her lovely nature photos.

Shamefully, I have not updated the blog in over a week, because I have been putting off this post. I couldn’t think of enough items to complete the list below. Finally, however, I think I’ve done it. I’m supposed to tell 10 honest things about myself, so without thanking everyone who makes this blog possible (hah…ok maybe not so funny?), I’ll hop get to it:

1. My hands and feet sweat a lot. It’s embarrassing. This has plagued me ever since I was born. My mom remembers feeling my feet while I was nursing and noticing they were dripping with sweat. As I type this, my hands and feet are sweating (TMI? sorry). When I took piano lessons, I was always embarrassed that I left sweat all over the keys. My family used to joke that my hands would be ridiculously sweaty on my wedding day. However, they weren’t sweaty at all!

2. I love animals. I never knew it until we got Béni, though. He makes my heart melt at least once a day. Even when I’m mad at him, I love him and can’t wait to hug him again. I want another pet…

3. I love learning languages, but I haven’t learned German very well yet. I know, it’s embarrassing. My newest attempt to learn the language is by working with Rosetta Stone. Their old program wasn’t very good, but I’m loving their newest release. So far, it’s much better. I’m learning a lot more about grammar than I have previously understood.

4. I did not go on my first camping trip until I was 23. Late at night, I touched the top of a butane lantern with a few fingers on my left hand and got very painful second-degree burns instantly. I rolled around screaming on the tent floor. John thought I was laughing at first. I ended up in the ER with Vicodin and Morphine. We made it back to the camp site sometime after 3 am and spent the rest of the night there (it would have been about 5 am if we had driven back home and I just needed to get to sleep because of all the pain and the meds). I still can’t believe that happened. See photo below, taken in the tent upon our return from the ER:

 

5. While on the Morphine that night, I thought I saw an elephant in a tree outside our tent. I also swatted at invisible bugs in the tent.

6. I am 3/8 Norwegian. I speak Norwegian and still have family there, but I have never visited. I really hope I get to visit some day.

7. I did not try Taco Cabana, Sonic or Starbucks until I was in high school. The Starbucks thing may not have come around until HS, but the other two were definitely established way before then. I cannot believe the awesome fatty foods I missed out on. (Thanks, Mom!) 🙂

8. I do not live olives. Every few years, I try one to see if my tastes have changed. They never do. Blech. Olives are disgusting.

9. My undergraduate degree is in photojournalism. I worked with a professional photographer in San Antonio for a few years before working for two other photographers in Austin for the last 1-2 years prior to moving to Germany. I would still like to be a photographer ifI could work whenever I felt like it and photograph whatever I wanted. Since I can’t do that, I am happier leaving it as a hobby. I seldom pick up my SLR camera these days, which has to do with a) free time or lack thereof and b) lack of a decent lens.

10. I won several flexibility and high kick contests in high school. I now have trouble touching my nose to my knees, and don’t even get me started on high kicks! I miss dance a lot…I danced from 4th grade until my senior year in high school. I took ballet, modern, tap and jazz and was on the pep squad and dance team. I was captain of the pep squad and made officer on the dance team; however, I resigned my senior year to concentrate on my studio dance classes and photography for the student newspaper and yearbook. Also (maybe this is cheating and is an 11th, but talk of high school reminded me…), I got my 1st job at 16 just because I wanted to work. I was a malt maker, hostess and server at a little burger restaurant. It was the most fun I have had at a job. I didn’t know how lucky I was, though, since it was my first job. After that job, I also worked at a little knick knack shop and my favorite restaurant ever — Alamo Cafe as a server (which was also a REALLY fun job).

Now, I am supposed to nominate 10 bloggers for this award as well. However, I am going to limit it to 2 as I have severely cut down the number of blogs I read these days (and I’m only awarding it to 2 so I’m not giving every blog I read this award!).

I am passing along this award to:

Roots and Rings – Chelsea is a phenomenal writer, and I look forward to reading her blog every week day. Her blog is a great way for me to stay in touch with a friend and get to experience her gift of writing on a regular basis…not to mention her posts are incredibly entertaining and often hilarious!

and

dreaming BIG dreams– Jamie blogs about her family and day to day life. Her husband is the pastor of worship at our church back home. One of the biggest things going on in her family’s lives right now is their adoption of two children from Haiti. Their journey has been inspiring to read about, and her dedication to and love for God is an excellent example for women.

The Rules:

(1) Thank the person who nominated you for this award {that would be me}

(2) Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

(3) Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

(4) Name 10 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

(5) Nominate 10 Honest Scrap Bloggers. (Apparently I break the rules)

(6) Post links to the 10 blogs you nominate.

(7) Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.