Dekuju, moc!

That is Czech for "thank you very much!"

I have been voted a "versatile blogger award" by my friends Drew & Leah at Our Year in Books! This is my first blog award and I am very excited! I hope to make this blog worth reading amidst all the billions of blogs out there, and worth your time. I value my own time very highly, so I want to do the same for my readers. Here are the stipulations that came with receiving the honor:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic!
4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award

Thank you so much, Drew and Leah! I am honored.

Hmmm, seven things about myself.

1. I judge people by their grammar and spelling. I know it is totally uncool and uptight, but it's like a switch in my head that I can't turn off. If you have graduated high school, and write "I'm going to borrow there car tomorrow," you should never be able to complain about your job at 7-11. If you write that sentence and have graduated college, you should just crawl back under that rock from whence you came.

2. (Now that you all hate me) I have more stories than I can count about peeing my pants. Most of these took place in college. Several were instigated by my roommates in an effort to add even more stories to the tally. My favourite one was when my roommates and I were all at Riggy's (horrible gut-busting Mexican restaurant that all college towns seem to have) and 3 of us were teasing the other about flirting with a guy from school who was also there that night. Said "other" promptly stormed out to her car (note to us: don't tease the person with the transportation) and proceeded to try to leave without us. I had already had to go to the bathroom, but by this time it was a dire situation, which ended with me riding on extra clothes from the trunk so that I wouldn't get my pee-filled jeans on her seat. HAHA!

3. I sometimes divulge too much personal information to people who barely know me.

4. I have been in 8 (count 'em) weddings. I officially retired last year after being 'matron of honor' to my sister. Matron just sounds soooo old, like I am British, wearing shoulder pads, and smell funny. I just can't handle that. Sometimes, I test my memory by trying to name all the brides. (shaina, kita, kate, steph, michelle, nicole, bethany, jenny- YES!)

5. In my 26 years, I have worked 15 different jobs. I cannot name all of them. I will say that my favorite was Fleming's (before the love died), my least favorite was being a caretaker to housebound elderly people (though waking up at 4 a.m. for Starbucks is vying to take that crown) and the most random was being a mentor to underprivileged black students (think me and a 200 lb guy with diamond studs named Cedric driving down the 91 in his white Camaro... it was pretty awesome).

6. This July will mark the 10 year anniversary of me meeting and falling for my husband, Spencer. TEN YEARS. And to clarify, we have only been married 2 and 1/2, and we've been together for about 4 and 1/2. The other five of those years consisted of me basically pining away hopelessly and driving my roommates and friends crazy in the process. I have to say that I still think it is a miracle the way things turned out, and I feel like even if we both live to be 100, I will be wishing for more time.

7. If/when Spencer and I do have children, they will probably end up with very strange, slightly-southern-influenced names. I would reveal these on here, but I am too paranoid that people would steal them, despite my knowing that the names I love are bound to get my future children killed in elementary school.

Ok! Moving on. 15 bloggers I have recently discovered and who I think are fantastic. Let me just say that for the record, the following are blogs of friends of mine who I think are fantastic, but who I of course have known about for longer than 'just.' Leah's cooking blog (also check out their book review blog- mentioned above), bethany's hilarious blog (who made me fall in love with blogs. She is currently busy with her 4 month old daughter, her new house and her Master's degree, but I can't wait for her to come back!), Kristiana's book review, Molly's new endeavor as an indy book publisher, Sarah and Steve's blog about the process of adopting their next child from Africa, and Spencer's music/design blog (which will shortly be moving to his own website).

Since I just used five of my options to promote my friends, I will not list another 15.

1. My favorite blogger, Stephanie at sabbespot writes about interior design (among other things) from her ultra hip apartment in Boston. Her DIY projects, insider tips and photos of other amazing homes are the reason why hers is always the first blog I read.

2. Josiah's Nest. I am not just saying this because I advertise on her blog. Of the millions of blogs in the world, approximately half are baby blogs, but Moriah's stands out from the crowd. She constantly has giveaways, product reviews, and stories of new motherhood- all with a realistic and funny tone that let's me know you can become a mommy and not lose your identity! Phew!

3. Cannelle et Vanille. GORGEOUS food styling and photography. Delicious recipes. I love to cook and would love to one day go to culinary school, but until $40,000 drops from the sky, I will content myself with reading this blog.

4. Deliciously Organized. I am not one of those people who has tons of little boxes and bins with labels, but I appreciate space and order. Tiffany and Carlee have tons of helpful hints, inspiring ideas and enticing shopping recommendations. It is always fun to visit their blog.

5. I know it might be cheating, but the LA Times 'at home' blog makes me happy. If for no other reason than their home tours, where you get to see photos of remade mod digs in the Hollywood hills. Spencer and I have been emailing these back and forth for months. It's like our form of greeting cards. We both dream of moving to LA one day, and these gems are like those posters that Amway gives to its entrepreneurs to keep them motivated.

6. This is purely mind boggling to me: a barely-fourteen-year-old who gets invited to the Paris Fall Runway shows and then gets to hobnob with designers, models, photographers, etc. It seems unreal, but somehow it isn't. If you haven't read style rookie yet, go there right now. The crazy thing (I know, it's not already crazy enough) is, the girl is so down to earth! I want to meet her and watch Empire Records together (which she cites as one of her favourite movies, despite the fact that she wasn't even BORN when it came out. I at least was born when Sixteen Candles came out, even though I didn't watch it until high school). You need an encyclopedia to follow all her name dropping and fashion talk, but it's totally worth it. I can only imagine where she will be in ten years.

That is all I am going to do. There are many more I want to share, but Spencer just came out of the music room and I want to go watch the Sarah Mclachlan's Mirrorball concert dvd with him. He dreams of me cutting my hair and buying a feather boa. Perhaps. Blue eye shadow? No way.