The post in which my true procrastination colors show through

I am going to finally take care of the tags and awards that I have neglected for the past few months - yes months. Some of them are from in the Septemberish timeframe when I was in a bit of a funk and not much up for fun. Then there were so many that I just got overwhelmed. I just kept adding them to a post and it got a bit out of hand. LOL. So here they are (with dates included to let you know how horrible of a slacker I really am):

1) 7 Random Facts

I was tagged by Tara (09/25), Caroline (10/20), and Jill (12/15).

1. Despite the fact that we have now lived in CA for almost 10 years, I still crack up and belt out the tune of the CHiPs theme song every time I see a motorcycle cop driving on the freeway. If there are two of them together, my song is followed up by a "Go get 'em, Ponch and Jon!!".
2. I sneeze very loudly. Almost 12 years with M and he still makes an issue of it every time and reminds me how loudly I sneeze for such a little person.
3. I have to set 2 alarm clocks every night (my phone on my nightstand and our regular clock across the room). They are set a few minutes apart and I have only used either of them a couple times in the last year because I consistently wake up at least 1-2 hours early and can't get back to sleep.
4. When surfing channels on TV (or radio), I can only go in ascending order. I'm okay with starting in the middle if I punch in a specific channel, but to use the up/down arrow in a decreasing manner freaks me out.
5. The only kind of bean I have ever liked is "jelly".
6. My mom "forced" my brother and I to drink milk with every meal. Now, as an adult, I cannot eat roast beef, anything with gravy, lasagna, or chicken noodle soup without a glass of milk. These are a few of her specialty dishes.
7. Before leaving my parent's home, I was in 2 go-cart accidents (one with no brakes), a couple of 3-wheeler spills, bucked off a horse, 2 roll-over car accidents and several spin-outs and ditch incidents (all with no seatbelts), fell out of a tree, had a drunk trampoline "incident", gave the Principal's son a bloody lip, and jumped off a train (it was stopped when I climbed on and then it started to move). Not one involved me in the emergency room, but I still think my parents slept better after I moved out.

Cop-out #1: I'm not sure who hasn't done this one yet, but it has been floating around awhile so if you haven't yet done it consider yourself tagged!

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2) 6 Non-important things/habits/quirks
Infertile Mad Woman (09/25) and Reggie Boppy (09/29) tagged me!
Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post by linking to their blog
5. Let each person know they've been tagged by commenting on their blog
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

1. I obsessively count things and tap my feet when I am riding in a vehicle. It's hard to describe without sounding too crazy, but I think I've already passed that point. LOL. I always have to end on an even number and my right foot. No exceptions.
2. Despite the fact that I love oranges and orange juice, I hate ALL orange candy (starburst, skittles, etc.) and refuse to eat it. Sometimes I even leave the orange M&M's on principle alone. LOL.
3. My clothes are hung in our closet by 1) coordinating color and 2) short sleeve to long.
4. Despite my analness with numbers, order, organization, and precision (I think I got 'em all), I am the type of cook who rarely measures ingredients (unless it's a new recipe). I learned to cook by the method "cook to taste" and love to just dump stuff in.
5. I created an Excel budget program 6 years ago because none of the available money software tools were detailed enough for me. M occasionally sits down with me to try to learn how to use it, but always ends up telling me I have major issues. I finally just created a new and improved user friendly simpler version for 2009 to make us both happy.
6. I stopped eating ketchup and french fries when I was 3 and didn't have an urge to even try either again until I was in college.

Cop-out #2: I'm not sure who hasn't done this one yet either, but it has also been floating around awhile so if you haven't yet done it consider yourself tagged!

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3) Picture Tag

Just Another Infertile (12/23) tagged me!

Here are the rules:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 people to do the same. NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)

LOL. This is a picture of a hole in the ceiling of our garage. It is the hole that M created when he slipped while building a plywood floor for attic storage this past spring. He didn't fall to the garage floor and wasn't hurt. Upon learning all was well, I promptly took pictures and sent them to his brother so someone else could share in my heckling. (If I had picked picture 3 from folder 4, you would have seen M flipping me the bird while patching up his hole.)

Cop-out #3: I'm not sure who hasn't done this one yet either, but it has also been floating around awhile so if you haven't yet done it consider yourself tagged!

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4) I 'heart' your blog

Chelle (10/21), Jill (10/31) and Suzanne (10/31) have given me the "I 'heart' your blog" award.

All of them are strong and amazing women who inspire me, make me laugh, and give such great support to me and so many others in the blog world. Chelle and Suzanne are both gearing up for IVF#2 sometime soon and I wish them both the best. Jill recently found success on IVF#3 at CCRM and is now pregnant with twins!

Now, the way this works, is I answer the following questions with single word responses, and pass the award on to 7 other bloggers:

1. Where is your cell phone? Nightstand
2. Where is your significant other? Fishing
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? Strong
5. Your father? Guardian-angel
6. Your favorite thing? Beach
7. Your dream last night? Bizarre
8. Your dream/goal? Mommy
9. The room you're in? Den
10. Your hobby? Blogging
11. Your fear? Misunderstood
12. Where do you want to be in six years? SAHM
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? Content
15. One of your wish list items? Baby
16. Where you grew up? Nebraska
17. The last thing you did? Dogs
18. What are you wearing? Sweats
19. Your T.V.? Off
20. Your pet? Geriatrics
21. Your computer? Temperamental
22. Your mood? Mellow
23. Missing someone? Dad
24. Your car? POS
25. Something you're not wearing? Bra
26. Favorite store? Ann Taylor Loft
27. Your Summer? Sad
28. Love someone? M
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Today

Now, I'd like to pass this award to the following bloggers. I know alot of people have already received this and I tried to look back through to make sure this isn't a repeat. Apologies if I screwed up. LOL.

kaaron at Our Infertility Journey
BB and MTB at Baby Quest
Just Another Infertile at Just Another Infertility Blog
Sweet Georgia at None in the Oven
Pepper at On 2 Plan B
Tara at Divine Secrets of the Infertility Sisterhood
Caroline at My fascinating life

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5) Uber Amazing Blog Award

Reggie Boppy (11/16) was sweet enough to give me the "Uber Amazing Blog!" award. Thanks! I'm glad my mindless babble is loved by someone. She is a mommy in waiting for her perfect match. :)

Here is a little bit about the award:

The "uber" (synonym for super) is a blog award given to sites who:
- inspire you
- make you smile and laugh
- or maybe give you amazing information
- a great read
- has an amazing design
- and any other reason you can think of that makes them uber amazing!

The rules of the award are:
1-Put the logo on your blog or post.
2- Nominate at least five blogs (can be more)that for you are uber amazing
3- Let them know that they have received this uber amazing award by commenting on their blog
4-Share the love by linking to this post and the person you received the award from.
5. So here they are (and I couldn't do just 5):

Erin at Pieces of Me
Polly at In 2 Me See
Devon at Homesick
wishing 4 one at After 10 Years... Finally... IVF
Phoebe at Tales of the Phoenix
Davs at Planet Davila
Karen at One Good Egg
Wendy at Our Story
Sara at Gas Passer aka UUer
Me at We Are What We Repeatedly Do
Erika at Little Tiny Footprints

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6) Speak Up, Speak Out Award

Tara (11/20), Me (11/30), and Wendy (12/01) nominated me for an award.

The spirit of this award is to acknowledge those who are open about our struggle with infertility.
For more information, read this wonderful post that describes infertility struggles perfectly - with some humor thrown in :)
Rules for posting award:
1. Link to this post so that others will read the original story behind the award
2. Nominate others who have not been "silent about their infertility"
3. Enjoy speaking out and speaking up!!
Here you go ladies:
Jill at Desperately Seeking Spawn
Sam at Communique
Niki at My Journey to Myles and Beyond to Surrogacy
Chelle at Our Life in a Nut Chell
Emily at What to Expect When You're NOT Expecting

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7) You are the Best Award
Suzanne(11/21) has started a brand new Award and voted me "Best Sense of Humor". To read more about why her brilliant mind came up with this, check out her post here.

I had trouble picking just one for each and some were just too hard for me to answer so I am not so gracefully bowing out with my picks. I encourage anyone who wants to do this to grab it and pass it along as it really is a cute award! Here are the categories:

Most Popular
Best Sense of Humor
Most Likely To Succeed (pregnancy or adoption)
Best Looking Couple
Cutest Pet
Best Smile
Most Positive Attitude
Most Supportive

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8) The Silver Lining Award
Murgdan wanted to come up with a way to thank those people who continually brighten her day; who remind her that although infertility is an ugly monster, she can be conquered (momentarily) with a laugh.
Sam (12/18) so graciously passed the award along to me.

Now I'm passing it on to:
Shelby at The Great Big IF
Suzanne at Conception Deception
Reggie Boppy at Baby Mac... Where are you?
Filoli at Quest for Bearable Lightness of Being
Just Me at Still Standing Strong in a Bloom of Hope
retro girl at ivf at ccrm
Flying Monkeys at Run... Fat Girl... Run
Murgdan at Conceive This! - Yes, I'm giving it back to the award creator because she really does make me laugh and deserves to receive it too!

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Ahhhhhhhhhhh. If I forgot anything or anyone or screwed something up, I plead the fifth. I am declaring myself caught up. LOL. Oh, and I hope all you recipients are able to find your awards as it is just too much to go to each blog and let you know. Totally lazy, I know.