A while back two wonderful bloggers nominated me for The Real Neat Blog Award. Planting Beans & Baby Brain… Sans Baby – I adore you both! While the precise nature of our journeys are dissimilar, we share in the common hurt of infertility and we also share in our love and compassion for each other. I really recommend taking a few minutes to check out both of these bloggers.
The Rules:
- Put the Award Logo in your post.
- Answer 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
- Thank the people who nominated you, linking to their blogs.
- Nominate any number of bloggers you like, linking to their blogs.
- Let them know you nominated them (by commenting on their blog)
My Questions from Grace at Planting Beans:
If you won the lottery who would you tell if anyone?
If I won a substantial amount of money I would tell Mr. MPB and our financial advisor. Otherwise, we’d probably keep it to ourselves because people get so weird when it comes to money.
Which fictional character can you most relate too?
Oh, I have absolutely no idea. So, I turned to google to find a quiz which would tell me which fictional character am I most like. The answer was Neytiri. Here’s the thing, I have no idea who Neytiri is. So, this meant I either had to google Neytiri (which I did,
she’s from Avatar) or ask Mr. MPB his thoughts on this. He suggested I am most like Velma from Scooby-Doo because we were watching a classic Scooby-Doo episode at the time and I’m nerdy and wear glasses. Then he suggested that I’m like Pinky from Pinky & the Brain because I love that cartoon and like Pinky I often have a very short attention span and get distracted easily.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Sushi. Maybe chocolate. Oh, and maybe a nice glass of red wine too. So, I’m going to say that all three of these are my guilty pleasure, just not at the same time.
Who was your favorite band in high school?
Backstreet Boys. (Yes, I was that girl).
You’re moving to a different country and never coming back. You can take three living people/animals and three of your belongings with you. Who and what do you take?
My chosen people / animals would include Mr. MPB, our Dog and our future child. We’re a pretty awesome family, and I’m confident we’d make new friends wherever we go. And honestly, thanks to this blog, I probably already have a friend in whatever country we’d land in.
I am not a real stuff person, so my three belongings:
- Comfortable shoes because shoes are absolutely critical to investigating a new country.
- My wallet because it includes all the important things that will allow me to function in a foreign country (i.e. visa, cash, medical insurance cards, photos of my mom and sister, etc.). And seriously, if I can only bring three things I need items in my wallet to buy all kinds of new things like weather appropriate clothing, toothbrush, paper, etc.)
- Tummy drugs. I always travel prepared for any sort of stomach illness and after having had a debilitating bug in Peru this is now an absolute must in my opinion.
How did you celebrate your last birthday?
I requested a day with Mr. MPB and a dinner that included one of everything from the ocean. Mr. MPB made my birthday wish come true and we had a great day together with an amazing meal to end the day.
What is something that people might not know about you?
My absolute favourite colour is blue. I love a bright blue sky and am thankful I love in a sunny place even in the cold of the winter. I love our new beach blue bathroom. I love the crisp blue of the ocean. Blue is such a happy colour.
My Questions from Beanie:
What scares you about becoming a mom?
Dying young and leaving my children when they are too young to be left and forced to grow up instantly. This fear is deeply rooted in losing my mom when I was a young teenager and knowing what that has done to my life. While I cannot control this, I desperately do not want my future child to know that kind of loss at such a young age.
What is something that you’re talented at?
I have stared at this question for at least 20 minutes and I continue to draw a blank. But here’s the thing, I know I’m talented at many things so I have no idea why I cannot think of anything right now. I refuse to post this until I can legitimately answer the question.
Photography. I am not a professional, I do not make any money off my efforts, but I do enjoy taking photos and I think I’m not half bad at it.
What is something that your partner does to annoy you?
Mr. MPB has an amazing talent at walking into the kitchen while I’m cooking and trying to kiss me. Now for many people this might be fun and adorable. But he has a knack for doing so at the most inopportune times, like when my hands are elbow deep in raw ground beef or when I’m using a sharp knife. So far he has not lost any fingers, but I worry one day he might spook me at the wrong time and ops…
Chocolate or Vanilla ice cream?
Vanilla if it’s store bought. Chocolate if we make it at home. Seriously, the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker is amazing and worth every penny!
Would you want to be nominated for another award?
Sure, I’d really love to be nominated for any award, it’s always great to be recognized. I am aiming to be nominated for a Grammy or something like that. Of course, no-one outside of my car gets to hear me sing, so I doubt that will ever happen.
In all seriousness, I think these things are fun, I love getting to know people outside of their typical posts, and I love finding new blogs.
What is your favorite way to eat a potato?
I am not a fan of potatoes, in fact I’d go so far as to say that I really do not like potatoes. If I have to eat them, I’d go with potato skins as an appetizer at a restaurant because sour cream, bacon bits and scallions help make potatoes palatable. Or I could eat any potato made in Peru because the Peruvian’s know how to make wonderful food, including potatoes! I cannot tell you what type of potatoes these are, or how they were made, but these are from a restaurant in Lima and they are the absolute best potatoes I’ve ever had.
If you could have unlimited, all inclusive, all paid trips to ONE place, where would you pick?
I love to travel to new places, so this one is hard for me. But if I have to pick repeat trips to the same place, I’d probably pick Thailand. I adored our time in Thailand and could spend countless trips exploring more of the country and relaxing on Thailand’s picturesque beaches, like this secluded beach we found in Phuket and had to ourselves.
My Nominations:
I always struggle with this part, so I’ve decided to take a different approach – I’m going to nominate bloggers that are newer to the blogging world and could probably use more support and love. If you feel like participating have fun, if not, no worries.
The Questions I’m asking you:
- What is your favourite Song?
- What do you value most about blogging?
- Do you have any pets?
- What does your typical day look like?
- What game do you play the most on your cell phone?
- What are your hobbies?
- What is your favourite meal? If it’s homemade, please share the recipe.
If you like this post, please feel free to share and please click the follow button on the side or return to myperfectbreakdown.com to follow my journey.
It’s after 1am. I am wide awake. Once upon a time 1am was early for this girl. 1am probably meant I was at a bar dancing the night away, or snuggling on the couch voluntarily watching a movie.
Photo Source (Adapted from original): Office.com Clip Art
Somewhere along the way I got old/responsible/lame and 1am became well past my bedtime.
Needless to say, I am now at a point in my life where I typically do not like being wide awake in the middle of the night. In fact, I love sleep, so this is not my idea of a good time.
And what makes matters worse is that in this very moment I am exhausted. My eyes want to close and take me into a deep slumber to a place where my dreams dance in my mind. My eyes want to close and my brain desperately wants to turn off for the night as to wake up refreshed in the morning.
But, that does not seem like it will happen anytime soon. Our latest adventures have rendered me unable to get comfortable for more than 2 minutes at a time.
No, I didn’t do anything to hurt myself in a bad and scary way. I have no broken bones or twisted ankles. Thankfully.
Rather, I just ache from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. You see, our week has involved extensive physical activities.
Last weekend, we attacked our garage with a vengeance and built new shelving and re-organized everything. I had no idea but evidently moving tonnes of wood, holding wood above your head for multiple minutes at a time, playing with power tools, etc. will result the the rediscovery of muscles I had no idea existed in my body. We also spent hours prepping are yard for spring – raking the leaves from last year, mowing the lawn, trimming our trees, etc. And that’s not easy work, at least not for this girl.
Of course we’ve also been continuing on with our fitness resurrection. I am determined to make the best of the spring weather. I am even more determined to make use of my body now that I can again. I am determined to lose some weight and to feel in control of my body again. This week we upped all our weights, so now I am lifting heavier weights then I have lifted in…well, ever actually. And I cannot forget the awesome cycling we’ve been doing now that spring is arriving and it’s warm enough to play outside. The only downside has been the crazy wind has resulted in crazy hard riding. But torrential head winds aren’t stopping us.
All of this means that my body hurts. I just popped two Tylenol in hopes letting my muscles relax enough to find a comfortable way to be for long enough to fall asleep.
And while I’m annoyed at the fact that I’m awake right now, I am also revelling in the fact that my body hurts! Because it’s a good hurt, and it’s been much too long since I’ve felt the good kind of hurt. For me, this hurt means that I am able to use my body again! After nearly three years on the sidelines, so many losses, and feeling as though my body was failing Mr. MPB, failing our babies and failing myself, it is amazing to be able to exhort control over my body again. It’s even more amazing to know that my body CAN do things right.
Honestly, it feels amazing to be at a point where I see my body returning to its old shape and my active lifestyle is resurfacing.
It is amazing to see the baby weight leaving my body. It is both figuratively and literally time for me to stop carrying that weight with every step I take.
And while I may not be able to sleep tonight, I love that I feel physically healthy again.
There is still progress to be made, but tonight while I lay awake watching old TV shows, I will enjoy my rediscovered health, sore body and all.
If you like this post, please feel free to share and please click the follow button on the side or return to myperfectbreakdown.com to follow my journey.
My Perfect Breakdown 