Blog Award?! Me?!?

Wow - so I received a "blog award" last week from a great friend, Andrea. (Thanks, AJ!) She grew up in Alma (or around there) with me and was in the same grade as my brother. Needless to say, we knew eachother but never got to truly know eachother growing up. Her Mom was my favorite teacher (and still is my favorite teacher, to date), Ms. Edington; she taught Family & Consumer Sciences at Alma High School and we had so much fun together taking FHA trips and such together. Honestly, it is Ms. Edington that has inspired me to become a high school FACS teacher, which is what I'm working toward right now!

Back to the blog award... to go along with it, I'm supposed to talk about 10 things that make me happy. I could be super obvious and talk about my wonderful kids, my husband, my family, my friends... but I'll try to dig a bit deeper so you can all get to know me better. Here we go...

1. Our Church. We LOVE our church! Celebration Church is something that some friends introduced us to when Austin was a baby, and we loved it from the first time we went. Fast-forward four years and we are now members and absolutely love Sundays when we get to load up and head to church as a family. Our pastor, Joe Champion, is simply amazing. Sundays certainly lift me up each week!

2. Garage Sales. I must admit -- I used to think they were yucky & wondered why anyone wasted their time going to them. Granted, I lived in Rudy, Arkansas and I'm sure that was not the "cream of the crop" for good garage sales. Since moving to Round Rock, I have become infatuated with going to garage sales... I'm simply amazed at what I can find! (I'll have to devote an entire blog post to this later this week because I have so much to share!) I think after getting pregnant with Austin, I realized how expensive kids can be, so with no other option (because we certainly couldn't afford buying everything new), I began shopping at garage sales on Saturday mornings. Now, I never miss a Saturday morning from early Spring until late Fall... and boy, do I find some great stuff!!

3 Craigslist. This goes right in with my need of finding great deals. I've bought stuff from clothes to Kaylee's crib to my office desk off Craigslist... and have sold stuff from outgrown kids clothes to Justin's old 4-wheeler to a baby grand piano on this site! L-O-V-E it!! (And Austin has one of the best markets for Craigslist, so yet again... I love you, Austin, Texas!!)

4. Good Jeans. I must say that I'm a bit of a jeans snob. I don't do it on purpose, but ever since I realized that there are good jeans out there that can truly make your butt look better... what's the point in wearing jeans that can't offer that?! My obsession began in college and still continues. My favorite brands? 7 For All Mankind (favorite styles are Flare & Dojo Wide-Leg) & Citizens of Humanity (favorite style is Ingrid Low Waist Flair). Now, granted, these jeans retail for $180+, but thanks to eBay, I've gotten the majority of my jeans wardrobe for a deeply discounted price. My two latest finds? A pair of 7FAM Dojo jeans for $9.99 and a pair of 7FAM Flare jeans for $9.00. They're used, but I'd much rather buy used and pay that price than buy new and pay a premium.

5. Hydrangeas. My favorite flower ever. Just seeing them make me smile & remind me of our wedding; that was our flower. Justin's Mom gave me a plant that she transplanted from one of her huge bushes at her house and it's planted in front of my house. Every Spring when the leaves begin turning green & blooming out blooms, I just love it...

6. Chocolate. I MUST have it every day. I'll leave it at that!

7. Summer Dresses. My favorites are made by Billabong. Last summer, I was on a mission to get a really great collection of summer dresses that I could live in all summer. Thanks to eBay, that happened; about 10 dresses later, I'm a happy lady in the summer. Billabongs are always very light & flowy, and feels like summer to me. Summer in California. And, honestly, can you get any better than that?

8. A clean house. Justin laughs at me that having a clean house means so much, but those of you with kids know how rare this occurrence can be. A clean house (living room & kitchen seem to be the most important to me, I've noticed) puts me in an instantly better mood. (I married a man that doesn't notice junk or clutter or messes -- which is great 99% of the time, but that 1% of the time that I'm stressing out because I can't stand the mess, it's not so fun!)

9. Sweet Tea. Something I grew up on, thanks to my Mom. I'm still convinced she's the best sweet tea maker west of the Mississippi! I have just recently discovered that a fast food chicken place about 2 miles from our house called Chicken Express has the most delicious sweet tea -- and you can get a large for only $1.00. Bad discovery... I go there too often now!

10. Sleeping In. Once again, need I say more to those people with kids who don't ever get to sleep in anymore. "Sleeping in" used to mean getting up at 10am when I was in college. Now, it's more like 7:30 when Austin informs us that the sun is up & it's time for all of us to be as well. This morning, he slept in until 8:30, so that was a little piece of heaven for me too!

And now, I have to choose 3 people to pass this award on to:

1. Rebekah at The Harris Family. Rebekah is one of my best friends from college; we were both Nutrition majors, not really sure why we had become Nutrition majors (and still trying to figure that out 7 years later!). She moved to Waco a few years ago and we have thankfully been able to see eachother quite a bit over the past year or so. She has the sweetest little girl, Cilla, who I swear it the sweetest, most beautiful little girl you've ever seen. (Just check out the pics on her blog -- you'll agree!) Plus, Rebekah is probably one of the sweetest friends I have -- such a kind soul, so thoughtful and so giving... plus, she has remarkable taste and loves to shop just like I do! We are quite a pair when we get together! Love you, girl!

2. Rachel at Rachel's Blog. I met Rachel when working for Alliance Management in Austin before I had Austin (did that make sense?); we were both pregnant at the same time, shared a baby shower, and actually even share a last name, though we've decided we're not related. Bummer because she is amazing. I always love reading her blog -- she's so witty and funny, and I wish I had just a pinch of her humor. She is an amazing mother & I know we can all learn some pointers from her!

3. Erica at The Kennett's Krazy Life. Erica graduated high school with Justin, and I only got the privilege of meeting her at their 10-year high school reunion a couple of years ago. She is super sweet and she is one of those people that makes you feel like you've always been friends, even if you just met her 10 minutes ago. She is an amazing mother of three beautiful/handsome kids, helps run her husband's business, and still finds time to do super fun things along the way. I really think that if we still lived in NW Arkansas, we'd be getting together to hang out all of the time. Here's to you, Erica!!