The Sunshine Award

Jessica over at {The Newly} nominated me last week for a Sunshine Award. That sweet sweet girl! Jessica and I have become good bloggy friends over the past year, and I just adore her, her blog, and of course, her cutie pie son!

Here are the rules:

{1} Acknowledge the nominating blogger.

{2} Answer 11 questions the blogger has created for you.

{3} List 11 bloggers that deserve the recognition & love (not including the blogger who nominated you).

{4} Post 11 questions for the nominated bloggers to answer.

1. Where is your "happy place?"

This is going to sound somewhat pathetic, but on the couch, in sweats, cuddled up with Cooper and MG. I couldn't be more comfortable or happy.

2. If you could tell your 18 year old self one thing, what would it be?

Throw away the "timeline"....enjoy what's in front of you instead of worrying about what is/isn't going to happen, etc. Party a little bit more in college so you party a little less in grad school (maybe).

3. Fall or Spring?

Spring, minus the allergies. It's so refreshing to go from the cold to warmth, and knowing that summer is right around the bend is always nice. I can't help but smile on nice Spring days. And I get to use my sunroof which always makes me happy.

4. What's at the top of your Christmas wish list?

I haven't really thought that much about it--MG and I are buying each other our wedding bands for our Xmas presents, which I'm really looking forward to (altho it'll be a little delayed gratification since I wont actually get to wear it until April...). I honestly don't really NEED anything right now. If I had one WISH for Christmas, it would be that my dad would start feeling better and regain some of his strength back.

5. Favorite breakfast food?

I love a good omelette with feta in it.  And a sausage patty. Yum.

6. If you could change your name, what would you choose?

I'm not sure. Originally my mom was going to name me Jessica, so maybe that. I feel like at this point I'm so associated with my name that I can't imagine being named anything else.

7. If you had to choose: french fries or dessert?

This really depends on what mood I'm in since I sometimes crave salty and sometimes crave sweet. More likely than not, though, it would be french fries.

8. Favorite quiet time/de-stressing activity?

I really like to read to de-stress. Or have a glass of wine haha. Hanging out with friends to de-stress is also a good one, too. Combining wine and hanging with friends is usually a good combo, too :) 

9. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Greece. I want to go SO badly! All of the pretty pictures from there, the history...I just want to see it all. A trip to Athens, Santorini and Mykonos and I would be the happiest girl in the world!

10. Favorite store to shop for yourself in?

Hands down, LOFT. I have the credit card bill to prove it.

11. If you had all the money in the world, what's one item you'd most like to 'splurge' on?

I dunno if this actually counts, but I would love to buy a house that MG and I could grow into. We're in that phase of thinking about a family sometime soon and our little one bedroom w/sunroom condo just isn't going to cut it. Everything in the DC area is SO expensive that it's gonna be hard for us to find something that we love that won't break our bank. I'd love to have a cute home for us and our future family.

I'm going to nominate the following girls (some of whom have already been nominated, but that just means you're doubly sunshine-y, right?):

1} Trish @ Tales from Trish

2}Casey @ Poodleism

3} Janna @ Perception is Everything

4}Samantha @ It's all in the Details

5}Lynn @ Illegally Blonde

6} Katie @ Life, Love and Pursuits of Katie

7} Elyse @My Life with a Cherry on Top

8} P!nky @ Pink Persistence

9}Megan@ Fried Green Pickles

10} Meg @ Life of Meg

11}Michelle @ Virginia Beach Housewife

Here are your questions, ladies:

1. What is your favorite activity to do on a rainy day?

2. If you could go back in time, what is ONE thing that you would change?

3. If you could be one Real Housewife from any season, which one would you be and why?

4. Favorite ice cream flavor. Go.

5. Name/show something that you've seen online that makes you laugh every time you see it.

6. Tell about the best date that you've been on. Or the worst.

7.  Who is your celebrity crush?

8. If you could eat one thing/meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

9. What's the best thing, for you, about blogging?

10. If you were a gazillionaire, do you think it would change you, or would you lead a relatively normal life?

11. What's your favorite month of the year, and why?

Thanks again, sweet Jessica! I think you're just as sunshiny! :)

Sunshine Blogger Award

Woohoo! I got an award today from the sweet Amanda at A Year of Me today and it made my day! Thank you, chica!!

Rules of the Award:

1. Include the award log either in your acceptance post or somewhere on your blog.

2. Answer 10 questions about yourself.

3. Pass the award on to 10-12 other deserving bloggers.

4. Add a link on your post to all of the talented winners and comment on their page to let them know they've been deemed amazing.

5. Thank the brilliant soul that recognized your talent and bestowed this wonderful award on you...and of course link back to them as well.

And just when you thought you knew everything about me...

1. What would you most like to change about yourself?

I think I would worry less and not get worked up about the small things

2.  What is your theme song?

My theme song? Hmm...I guess I would say One Republic's "Good Life" because things are feeling pretty darn good in my life right now, and I don't have much to complain about :)

3.  One part of your life, a memory, action, etc. that you wish you could surgically remove from your brain?

I'll have to agree with Amanda on this one and say that everything happens for a reason and I wouldn't be the person I am today, in this life, without everything having happened. And since I'm happy with things, I'll keep all of the memories, etc.

4. What generation do you wish you had been a part of?

I'm happy to be an 80's child. And if I was part of another generation, I'd have different parents and friends, and I'm pretty sure MG wouldn't want to date someone much much older or younger, so I'll stick with my 80's background :)

5. What was your favorite childhood toy?

There were so many but I remember being very fond of Polly Pockets and Littlest PetShop things

6. What is your favorite housecleaning chore?

Laundry. And basically anything that doesn't involve the bathroom.

7. Do you Twitter?

Kind of....I'm on there but not a ton. @jamiffer3

8. Any goals?

To hopefully have a successful year at whatever new school I start at this coming school year. Hopefully it will be a good working environment with nice people.

9. Do you really drink margaritas all the time?

I think I'd choose sangria over margaritas, but I do like me a frozen strawberry marg every now and again. And don't forget that sugar rim!

10. What is the ugliest car you've ever driven and were embarrassed to be seen in?

Uhh, it wasn't necessarily "ugly" but it was an old man car. My first car was a Chrystler Concord. It was a boat. It treated me well while I drove it, but it was definitely not a young and hip car.

And now, the ones I nominate are:

P!nk Persistence

Tales from Trish

Poodleism

Page: Twenty-two

OMG I'm Back in DC

The Vintage Apple

Sweet Silver Linings

Fried Green Pickles

Perception is Everything

Lovely Little Things

Go check them out--they are all amazeballs!

I got an award, y'all!

Ok I'm back for my second post of the day because things have slowed down a bit at work (aka, kids have gone home for the day! Hooray!!) and because the sweet Shay over at sweet silver linings nominated me for a blog award! Woop woop! Thank you, girl--you are too kind! :)

One of the premises around receiving this award was to share 7 random facts about myself, so here goes....

The facts... (pardon me if some of these are repeats from other blog awards--I can't remember what random facts I have/have not shared with you all).

1. My favorite color, for about as long as I can remember, has been purple. I have no idea why, but I love it! So much so, that my bedspread is purple, and a significant portion of my closet has some hue of purple (purple-pink, dark purple, etc etc). I love that it is a "royal" color, and it tends to make my blue eyes pop a bit more than other colors. Woop for eye pops!

2. Although I wouldn't consider myself OCD, I guess I have some habits that might fall under that category. One of those being, that my closet, which is filled with TONS of shirts (yet I never have anything to wear!), is color coordinated. All of my white shirts are together, all of my blue shirts, green shirts, etc. Obsessive Compulsive? Maybe. Totally organized? Absolutely! (Maybe if I remember when I get home, I will take a snap shot of this for you, until then, you will just have to visualize!)

3. One of my nicknames is "jamiffer" which is part of one of my email addresses. When I give this to people, I often get a look or comment of "what? M? Two f's?" Well, it came from back in middle school, when my BFF's mom got me an xmas present. Apparently in her haste, she wrote my name on the card super duper fast. When my friend went to get the present for me, she looked at the nametag and said "Jamiffer???? Mom, did you write JAMIFFER?" To which a ton of laughing ensued, and the name has stuck with me ever since. My friend still calls me jamiffer ("jammie", "jam" or some other version of jamiffer) to this day. I even had it printed on my senior t-shirt in HS.

4. I've never broken a bone in my body (knock on wood!...just watch me get hit by a bus on my way home from work today...)lol

5. I'm an only child and for the longest time I only ever wanted to have one kid whenever I got married. I've since decided that two is the perfect number for me, because as you get older, it's nice to have a sibling around and wish that I had at least one to pal around with now. MG is 1 of 3 and has said he'd like 3. We'll see about that. I'll have the first two and when he can figure out how to give birth to the 3rd one himself, then I might agree to a 3rd haha


6. I had a regular old goldfish that lived 7 years, and coincidentally was named Lucky. I got him when I rescued him from being fed to my at-the-time-bf's bigger fish. He survived that as well as a fishbowl "drive-by" by my family's cat who knocked over the bowl one night, and somehow lived through the night in the tiniest amount of water ever with one of those fishbowl houses on top of him. He was a good little fishy!

7. I love online shopping...so much so that I even got both of the guys in my life from online. WHAT?? No, MG wasn't a mail-order-boyfriend/hubby, but you all know that I met MG (Match Guy) on Match.com. So there's that explanation, but here's the story of the other "guy" in my life: Cooper.  I bought my cutie pie pup, without ever having seen him. I had been obsessed with getting a miniature or toy poodle for a while, and had been spending much of my free time gawking, cooing and generally ooh'ing and aah'ing over puppies at puppyfind.com for far too long when I came across pictures that I couldn't resist. These pictures to be exact:

I instantly fell in love with him, and bought him on Thanksgiving day, without ever having met him in person. Something about the little guy just told me he was for me. I waited a month to actually get him because I was driving cross country from TX back to MD, and picked up my little guy in Killen, Alabama. He's been the best thing ever since!

So, that's the story of my internet "men"....I guess I took "online shopping" to a new level! :)

Random enough for you? I sure hope so!

And now I'm off to read some more blogs get back to work!

Recipe, Review, and Award!

Happy Tuesday, peeps!! It's my first day of the week (thank you, MLK for being awesome), and I've already started the day in a parent meeting...and the day will be ending the same way. Boo! Oh well, nothing like jumping back into the week, full force, right?

Anyway, I'm bringing to you today a Book Review, a recipe and talking about a blog award I recently received! First up, the book review!

This weekend I finished the book Blood Red Road by Moira Young:

It took me a while to get into the book and I think my main two issues with it were that it is written how the girl speaks, which is not in correct grammar (ex: She will say things like "ezzacly" for exactly, and "an" for 'and') which threw me off a bit when I first started reading. The other thing that made it hard for me to get into the book was that there were no quotation marks for when someone was talking, so many times I would be reading and not realize that someone was talking, or WHO was talking and would have to re-read.

These things aside, once the story picked up, it was pretty good and I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. Her twin brother gets taken by strangers and she vows to go and find him and get him back. Along the journey she encounters some crazy things and has to fight through in order to reach her twin. That's putting it lightly. But, it's a good book filled with some interesting characters, about a land much different than our own. I would recommend reading it! (Thanks Trish for the recommendation!)

Now, for the recipe piece of this post. I made the Penne a la Betsy that I posted from my Pinterest loves last week from the Pioneer Woman:

{link to website with recipe here}

It was QUITE tasty, just as promised on the site! Mine did not have the basil because MG thought that he had basil at home, which he ended up not having, so maybe this would have been even more flavorful. My recommendation? Let it sit for a few minutes (maybe 10) after you are done cooking to let the sauce thicken up and the flavors come together a bit more. We ate ours right away, but when MG had seconds (after it had sat for a little bit) he said that it was even better.

I highly recommend this recipe! And, I think throwing in something like some really soft broccoli would be really good too, and add a bit of healthy stuff to the recipe as well!

And, finally, my award that the lovely Miss P!nky @ p!nkpers!stance gave to me yesterday! The Kreativ Blogger Award!

Woot! How awesome??

Here are the rules for the award:

1} Link back to the person who gave you this award.

2}Complete the form.

3}Award 5 blogs and let them know in a comment or email.

4} Share 7 random thoughts about yourself.

The form:

1} Name your Favorite Song: I dunno if I can choose just one, but I do enjoy me some "Say Hey" by Michael Franti...it always makes me happy and bouncy

2} Name your favorite dessert: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. YUMMMM!

3} What ticks you off? People who are rude, self-centered, dont care or think about anyone else

4} When I'm upset: I need someone to talk to. Sometimes I need my alone time but I always need someone to talk to whether it be my mom or my friends, or the boyfriend.

5} What's your favorite pet? Obvi, it's Coop-monster, my little fluff ball of a pup

6} Black or White? Depends what it's for....

7 }Biggest Fear: drowning or ending up alone (or ending up alone while drowning haha)

Seven random thoughts/things about me:

1} I can't swim but I am obsessed with dolphins. OB-sessed!!!

2} My longest relationship ever was 6 years (acckkk!!)

3} My favorite number is 3 (I thought it appropriate to write that in the 3rd slot, hehe, I am a nerd)

4} I am a reality tv JUNKIE....like, I seriously might have a problem!

5} I had 5 wisdom teeth...yes you read that right, 5. That must be why I'm SUPER smart, right?:)

6} I used to insist on being called Jenny when I was little, and now I can't stand it when people call me that--it makes me feel like a little kid. The only people allowed to call me that are my grandma and my parent's 90+ year old neighbor.

7} Part of me wishes that I had joined a sorority in college--it's so hard to find good female friends, especially after college, and I think it would be a nice connection to have in the post-college world. I don't have a ton of really close friends, but the ones who I do are awesome and I love them to pieces. It would just be nice to have that bond, I think, so that's one thing I regret not doing.

The blogs I would like to pass the Kreativ Blogger award to are:

                                              1} Casey @ Poodleism

2} Trish @ Tales From Trish

3} Amber @ Brunch with Amber

4} Shari @ The Daily Dish

5} Jenn @ Perfectly Imperfect

After that marathon post, I'm out! Hope you guys have an awesome day!