Despite the Tiara, I am NOT Cinderella

Mood: Tired and headachy (that's right, 2009 has decided to charge out on the wings of a migraine.)

What I'm Watching: Judge Jeanine (I'm not typically home this early in the day and had no idea that such wonderful trash tv now existed!)

Current Word Count: *Ahem* No comment

It's New Year's Eve...that time of year when people all over the world celebrate the illusion of a new beginning. They make resolutions, promises to themselves that they're going to eat better, exercise more, be kinder, work harder, watch less tv, etc. Personally, I don't necessarily believe in the magical power of a new year. I think that if you're a basically lazy, chocolate snarfing smart ass (like me) on December 31st, you're going to be a basically lazy, chocolate snarfing smart-ass on January 1st.

However, I do believe in the power of positive life changes and rearranging your priorities to better reflect the things that are important to you. So, in the spirit of things, I've taken a good hard look at the things in my life that I'd like to change. So, here goes:

Things I'd Like to Change About My Life Which are In No Way to be Considered "Resolutions"

• I'd like to make more time for my writing. It's my passion and recently when a friend referred to me as a writer, I realized just how right that felt. I need to find a way to make my writing a priority.

• I crawled out of the shallow end of the gene pool which basically means that I'm short, fat and, based on family history, prone to a million and one different diseases. While there's not much I can do about this I have recently become very lax re: healthy eating and exercising. I accept that I'm never going to be a size 2 but I can be healthier. I need to make taking care of myself a priority.

I recognize that I'm a human being without the benefit of either fairy godmother or glass slipper and, as much as I might like it to, change definitely won't come magically at that stroke of midnight. However, I do have a sparkly tiara, a husband who loves me and thinks I'm beautiful...not in spite of my flaws, but because of them, and a job that, while stressful, is secure.

So, at midnight tonight, instead of thinking of all the things I'd like to change in my life; instead of lamenting the disappointments that visited my doorstep in 2009, I'm going to don my tiara, declare myself the queen of the New Year and have a great time because, really, we can make life changes any time...tonight? Is a time for celebration of all things that are fun and all things that are possible.

And The Award Goes To...

Mood: Worn-Out (been a busy, busy weekend!)

What I'm Watching: Storm Chasers (The hubs is drooling at the idea of being so close to a deadly tornado. Suspect he's completely insane).

Current Word Count: 9,602 (hanging head in slacking writerly shame)

Aside from a certficate I received from the American Heart Association for winning a slogan contest, I've never won anything in my life. Until Now. Natalie, over at The Sound of Rain, has graciously given me the Kreativ Blogger Award. YAY!!! Natalie is a totally awesome blogger who combines a great wealth of writerly type musings with the occasional history lesson and it's a combination I find absolutely irresistable. Really. You should go check her out. I'll wait until you get back. You are coming back, right?

Okay, so on to the rules (there are always rules):

Alright, the rules for this award are....

1. Copy the Kreativ Blogger picture and post it on your page.

2. Thank the person that gave the award to you and link back to their blog.

3. Write 7 things about you that we don't know.

4. Choose 7 other bloggers that you would like to give the award to.

5. Link to the bloggers that you chose.

6. Let your winners know that they have the lovely award!.

The seven things you don't know about me:

1. I've been happily married to the hubs for 7 years now.
2. My eyes change color according to my mood, what I'm wearing and the seasons. Right now? They're green. Yesterday? They were a deep blue. When I'm angry? They turn a stormy grey. It's weird.

3. My driver's license still has my weight from high school listed on it. I figure if the guy at the DMV can look at me w/ a straight face and ask "Is the weight still the same?" I can say "absolutely!"
4. Obviously, pursuant to #3, I'm an absolutely shameless liar or living in a state of complete denial.
5. I don't know my father. He beat feet when I was a year old and I haven't seen him since.

6. I've almost died twice in my life. Once when I was born and once when I was in my late teens.

7. I'm the oldest of 5 children. I have three younger sisters and one younger brother.

So, now that you know those things about me that no one ever wanted to know, here are my fantastic 7!

1. Moriah Jovan

2. Kristy Colley

3. Sally Royer-Derr
4. Julie over at Fire Drill
5. Johanna at Johanna’s Blog
6. Gwen Hayes
7. Jamie at Totally the Bomb

So, there you have it! I'm off to finish the requirements of my reign as a Kreativ Blogger. Should I be unable to fulfill my reign due to any reason, please be aware you'll have to tear the tiara out of my cold dead hands! What do you mean there's no tiara?

My (almost real) Tattoo

Mood: Forgetful (because I promised a while ago to post this picture)

What I'm Watching: Lockup: San Quentin (Wondering why on earth people become criminals...prison definitely doesn't look like fun to me)

So, I posted a couple of posts down about our adventures at the county fair, including my cool, albeit temporary, tattoo. I also promised to post a picture and then promptly forgot. So, here it is, the closest I will ever come to having an actual tattoo.




















It's a four leafed clover which has done me absolutely no good since I've since bought two lottery tickets that haven't won me a single penny. Also? This completely showcases how dry my legs are. Must remember to moisturize!!!

Weekend Fun!

Mood: Happy (Scott and I have had a great weekend!)

What I'm watching: Kendra (I know, trashy reality tv, but really? It's the essence of who I am. LOL).

Scott and I woke up on Saturday morning without the foggiest idea what we were going to do this weekend. We had no plans, no ideas, nothing. Oh, we had to do the usual...laundry, shopping, etc. but other than that we were wide open. Now, usually this means that we will either A: spend the weekend sitting on the sofa doing nothing but veggitating in front of tv/computer screens or B: spend the weekend alternating saying "What do you want to do?" / "I don't know, what do you want to do?" Only to settle on doing something like wandering through the local woods for an hour before deciding we're too hot, old and out of shape to do much more than drag our tired selves back to the sofa to commence the tv/computer watching.

However, this weekend was different. We ran our errands and then decided to have a real date night, complete with dressing up, the wearing of make-up (me) and the shaving of the wildebeast beard (Scott).

After dinner we decided to check out the county fair...it seemed like appropriate date night material (well, maybe for teenagers but still).

Things I did/saw at the fair:

1. I petted a baby pig - so soft and cuddly, really, they were cute.

2. I petted baby bunnies - awww...I so want one.

3. I petted baby chicks - felt kinda bad since I'd had eggs for breakfast and I secretly wondered if it was one of their relatives. I think they knew and they were running away from me. :(

4. Saw monkey's riding dogs in a race. Seriously. Who knew this type of stuff existed?

5. Saw a guy wrestling an alligator. When does that ever happen in central illinois?

6. Rode the Tilt-a-Whirl. I haven't ridden one of those in years. Turns out I still LOVE being swung around in circles. I just couldn't stop giggling. Scott? Not so much! LOL.

7. Got a temporary spray on tattoo. I indulged Scott because he really wants me to get a real one and, honestly? Not going to happen.

How many cameras do we have? 2. One digital, one video.

How many pictures do we have of these amazingly interesting and fun experiences at the fair? None.

Why? Because we didn't take our camera. Sigh. Also? I've been down this road enough times to know that if we'd had our camera with us there wouldn't have been a single, solitary thing worth photographing within a 500 mile radius.

I did manage to get a shot of my tattoo when we got home...have to post a pic of that later. :)