The Preppy Mafia Award

I love awards of any kind so I was super happy when the awesome Krysten gave this award to me last week! And it came with a fun survey to complete!

1. Who is your style icon? I honestly don’t have one. I don’t really look to Hollywood style icons for how I dress, or want to dress. I will say that I adore Kerri’s blogging style, the way she dresses, and the way she writes. I think she’s fabulous, actually.

2. Which is your favorite socialite book? What’s a socialite book?

3. Favorite party theme? This is a tough one for me. I don’t throw or attend many parties. I do like the annual Superbowl party my mom and I throw! Great food, great company, and best of all, great football.

4. Go to Halloween costume. Again, tough question. I’m not big on Halloween…it’s just not one of my favorite holidays. I always wanted to be a 50’s girl, though!

5. Extravagance you cannot live without? Oh, definitely my hair appointments. I go about every 2 months and it ranges from $50-$120 a visit. But, man, I love those visits and having beautiful hair!

6. Living person you admire? My mom and my grandma, hands down. They are two inspirational women who are the best support system to me. They are amazing.

7. Greatest fear(s)? Tarantulas, loved ones dying, death.

8. Traits you deplore in yourself? I really wish I was more outgoing and personable. I can be very shy, which comes off as snobbish. And I’m not a people person, at all. I wish I was. But I’m not.

9. Which talent would you most love to have? I would love to be a people person! Sometimes I am, but the most part, I’m not.

10. Greatest achievement? This semester! Graduating with my A.A. degree at 18, even if I haven’t done much since then. Running a 5K.

And now I have to pass this award on. Here’s to five fabulous bloggers: Emily Jane, Samantha, Hannah Katy, Kelly, and Melissa!

Does This Make Me Doubly Beautiful?

Two blog friends, Ashley and Michelle, gave me the same award. And since it's called the "Beautiful Blogger Award" and I was given it twice, it means I'm doubly beautiful. Right? Right. Thanks, girls!

For this award, I must:

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated me for this award

2. Copy the award & place it on my blog

3. Link to the person who nominated me for this award

4. Share 7 interesting things about myself

5. Nominate 7 bloggers

My seven interesting facts are:

1. I have never stepped foot out of this country. And I'm really envious of anyone who has.

2. I've only traveled to 5 states. FIVE! And I'm counting my home state in those five. Pretty sad, for someone who's 22.

3. I would rather sit in my sweats, watching sports, than all prettied-up at a bar.

4. I have an unnatural huge crush on Peyton Manning. I think it's his brain and his talent that turns me on so much.

5. My favorite movie of all time is Tommy Boy. If you haven't seen it, you should.

6. I think about my future husband every day. I'm so incredibly in love of the idea of him. And I can't wait to meet him!

7. I'm addicted to Twitter. I probably check it 20 times a day. Seriously.

My seven nominated bloggers:

1. Jenfer at Pearls and Politics
2. Krysten at After I Do
3. Samantha at A Change of Pace
4. Laura at A Little Coffee
5. Meghan at Blog Voyeur Turned Blogwhore
6. Lauren at In Her Two Shoes
7. Alyssa at My Husband's Watching TV

Unfinished Business

I was recently given three blog awards (and by recently I mean a month ago) by two extra special blog friends. And then I got caught up with the holiday season and end of the year recap posts and kept forgetting about the awards.

But I do have my faults and I love to brag and boast about my accomplishments. So, without further ado...

From Amanda at Teasingly Diverse:










I'm not sure what this award is about, other than the fact that it reminds me of fairies and mystical creatures, something I'm not familiar with at all.

The rules are as follows:
1. Put the logo on your blog/post.
2. Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.
5. Remember to link to the person from whom your received your Splash award.
6. Have F~U~N

I'll take the easy way out and give this award to my last five followers: Linda, Ashley, Barbetti, Stacie, and Michelle.

From Michelle at Things I Said and Meant to Say:












How adorable is this award, by the way? It's so pink and cute and has cupcakes on it. LOVE!

The rules:
1. Copy the award image in your post.
2. List 10 things that make you happy, and try to do at least one of them today.
3. Then, tag 10 bloggers that make you happy! (I've got quite a long list over there on my left sidebar!)
4. For the 10 bloggers who get the award, link back to me and spread the happiness!

Ten things that make me happy:

1. My iPod Touch. I seriously underestimated how amazing this little piece of technology is. It's a lot like having an iPhone...without the Internet coverage (I have to rely on wi-fi to get a connection), camera, or phone capabilities. But I still think it's pretty great and it's so much nicer than my crappy iPod shuffle that only held 137 songs. Pretty pathetic.

2. Old Navy. Not only do they have great, casual clothes but I bought a pair of size four skinny jeans there last week. Size four. I am not a size four. But in Old Navy land, I am. And that's why I love them so much - they make me feel like a Skinny Person.

3. Blog comments. Seriously, I love them.

4. Blog followers. I love them, too!

5. Cleaning. My mom may laugh at this one, but it is true! I just have to be in the mood for it! When I get into the mood, I turn on some music and clean to my little heart's content. It's very relaxing, a good time-waster, and even helps to get some activity in! And the house always looks so much better when clean, don't you agree?

6. Chocolate. I've probably eaten my body weight in chocolate in December. I lost any ability to resist it and I'll admit I probably went a bit crazy. But a new year is upon us and I need to get back on track and lose this belly of mine. So I'm definitely drastically reducing my chocolate intake, which is going to be very hard and I really hope my body doesn't go into shock.

7. My family. We had family come over to ring in the New Year and had such a fun time! We ate some good food, played games, laughed way too much, and just enjoyed each other's company. And considering the fact that I've had two friends lose family members to cancer this month (one friend had her 12-year-old brother die while the other lost her father), it was so nice to see my grandma, healthy and happy this year. Last NYE, she was way too sick from chemotherapy to celebrate with us. We are so blessed that God gave us a "yes" when we prayed for healing for her.

8. Sleep. This four week break from school has been so nice! While I do still have to wake up at 5am for work, I have my afternoons and nights for myself. Lately, I've been getting off work at noon and I really haven't been very productive over my break. I've been coming home to nap, fool around online, read. I haven't been exercising or working on my novel at all. But it's been nice to be a lazy bum. I only have one week left to do it!

9. Vera Bradley. It took me a few years to buy into this new style. I've been skeptical for a while, mainly because it seems people only buy one of her styles. But I went onto her website during the holiday season, looking for a gift for my sister-in-law and found a world of purses and accessories I had never seen before! I've ordered a laptop bag and a big tote for school, which I am so excited to get! And she has so many other cute things: wallets, binders, planners, eyeglass cases, beach bags, make-up bags... I don't want to become one of those people who has all Vera Bradley stuff, but gosh, why not? They're all so cute!

10. Goals. I love writing down goals, whether long-term or short-term. I love having something I need to achieve. It keeps life from becoming mundane and dry. And it always gives me something to push towards.

This award goes out to the following five people who make me smile: Chelsea, Courtney Rae, Amanda, Lauren, and Emily Jane.

From Lauren at Her Silent Musings:

I'm supposed to name 5 things I like to do and give this award to 5 more bloggers.

1. Sleep.
2. Play "Sally's Spa" on my iTouch. I'm addicted to this game now and it makes me feel like a little girl again.
3. Blog. Another addiction of mine. I love writing blogs, reading blogs, getting comments, giving comments, and every single blog friend I have made. This is such a fun community to belong to!
4. Watch football. Sadly, we just have 3 weeks of playoffs, the Pro-Bowl, and the Superbowl before it's all over until August.
5. Starting the semester. By mid-semester, I'm so sick of everything to do with school but I love the newness of a new semester, new books, new classes, new school supplies, and a new schedule to get used to.

And to five bloggers that I seriously consider friends (and I hope you feel the same way. Otherwise, this is really awkward.): Amber, Nanny, Kaitlyn, Shalay and Sarah Lynn.

Unfinished Business

So, the awesome Sarah Lynn from Postcards From Far Away has tagged me in a photo meme and given me an award. I haven't yet written a post on either of these things so I thought I'd finally return the favor! (And plus, it's Halloween and I have nothing to write about this holiday)

Photo Meme
Rules:
1. Go to the first photo album on your computer.
2. Go to the 10th picture.
3. Post the picture and tell a story about it.
4. Tag 5 more people and let them know


So, I had to go to my third photo album since my first two didn't have 10 pictures in them. This is a photo of my nephew at 8 months old. My mom and I had stopped by my brother's apartment to spend some time with this butterball. I took him in his room when he was getting fussy and found this hat and it was such a photo op! I had to take a picture! How cute is he in this hat? I took this photo on my cell phone and kept it as my screensaver for months.

Five people to tag: Amber, Amy, Issa, Courtney, and Cassie

Award!

For this one, I have questions to answer. I'll try to be somewhat interesting:
1.Where is your cell phone? It's in my wallet in the living room.
2.Your hair? It's in a messy, lopsided ponytail. And my bangs are at the stage where they're too long to wear as bangs but too short to pull back with my ponytail so currently, they are annoying me to no end!
3. Your mother? My best friend and biggest support system.
4. Your father? Next month will mark 2 years I haven't spoken to/seen him. I have no idea where he is now, or if he's even alive.
5. Your favorite food? Publix subs rock my world! I would choose them over "fine food" any day! 6. Your dream last night? I had this really crazy dream that I had this class that I never attended. I went for the first 3 classes and then stopped going until the end of the semester. It felt so real that when I woke up, I reminded myself that it was just a dream and that I have attended that class the whole semester - before realizing I don't even have that class!
7. Your favorite drink? Coke rules my life.
8. Your dream/goal? Become a published author, fall in love, get married, have some babies.
9. What room are you in? My bedroom.
10. Your hobby? Just one? Um...I'll go with blogging.
11. Your fear? Dying, tragedy.
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Hm...hopefully everything I mentioned in my dreams/goals.
13. Where were you last night? I was at home because I'm COOL like that. I also carved a dreadful-looking pumpkin. Poor thing. He never had a chance.
14. Something you aren't? A teacher. I know because I tried and failed miserably.
15. Muffins? I love them but only blueberry or double chocolate.
16. Wish list item? An iPod Touch. I see one and drool.
17. Where did you grow up? Around these here parts.
18. Last thing you did? Well, I just came back from a Target shopping trip. Fun, fun.
19. What are you wearing? Lounge pants and a t-shirt. I'm thinking of putting on some white pants and my Peyton Manning jersey to be Peyton Manning for Halloween. Weird.
20. Your TV? It's off.
21. Your pets? Dutch, my mini-daschund who is sleeping beside me. He's going to be a pumpkin for Halloween!
22. Your friends? I don't have many of those and yesterday I realized why I don't want any. It's just easier to be acquaintances and less hurtful.
24. Your mood? Happy.
25. Missing someone? Always.
26. Vehicle? Well, I drive a Mitsubishi Lancer that is in my mom's name and she pays for. Sometimes, I even let her drive it herself!
27. Something you're not wearing? Lipstick.
28. Your favorite store? Clothing-wise, Kohls. But Target fulfills all my other needs.
29. Your favorite color? Green.
30. When was the last time you laughed? Sometime today.
31. Last time you cried? I was so close to crying twice at work yesterday. People suck.
32. Your best friend? My best friend is my mom and yes, you should be jealous.
33. One place that I go over and over? Publix. I'm there almost every, single day.
34. One person who emails me regularly? Disqus?
35. Favorite place to eat? Carrabba's.

Two people to pass on this award: Samantha and Christina

I Am A Winner!

Stop laughing. I am! The oh-so-lovely Jennifer at Somewhere In Between has graciously given me not 1, not 2...but THREE AWARDS! I'm not even going to begin to explain how long I have been waiting for a blog award. I only recently got involved in reading other blogs and commenting. I've been blogging for a long time (since middle school) but it wasn't until I got comments from Shalay and Nanny that I realized there was this big blogging community out there. And, gosh darnit, I was sick of seeing '0 comments' on my blog posts! So I began to get involved in the blogging community (slowwwwly) and I found out about these awards. I have been anxiously anticipating one for AGES! And now I have one.

And now I must tell you 10 things that I've never told you before. Sigh. OK. I'll do just about anything, short of giving up my virginity, for a blog award. Here goes:

1. I spend my mornings/afternoons working with two-year-olds. It's challenging, fun, and never, ever boring. And I get this special, warm feeling in the pit of my stomach when they say my name. I know it's silly but it makes me feel loved. And they're 2, so they have the cutest ways of saying my name, such as Stephmamy, Steppy, Stetty, Daffy, Teffy, etc.

2. I'm weird about dates. There are certain dates that I just don't like. For example, I was extremely excited when I found out my nephew would be born on September 25. That, for me, is a nice date. Days I'm not too keen on are: 1, 6, 12, 15, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, and 29. And I don't like to blog on those dates. I'm not even kidding you. It's just this weird thing I have about those days. (And I'm really, really sorry if I offended anyone with this, especially if you were born on one of those days! I'm just a weirdo.)

3. When I'm in the car with someone, I never sing along to what's on the radio. But when I'm alone, I can't help but sing along to every song I hear. I laugh at people when I see them singing and dancing along in their cars...yet I do the exact same thing. I must look like a freak.

4. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm curious enough to be a reporter. I'm more interested in magazine writing but who knows where I'll end up when I graduate! I don't always know the right questions to ask and frankly, sometimes, I don't really care. I'm trying to dig deeper into my own self and become more of an inquiring mind...but it's hard.

5. The Mitsubishi Lancer that Mom and I "share" now is my first-ever "new" car my family has ever had. We've had our fair share of embarrassing cars. We had to drive the church van for a while, which was good for taking a nap in but not fun to show up to school in. Then there was the car that looked like sharp turn would make the frame fall off. We had to use pliers to get the wipers to work and I never let Mom pick me up at school in it. I would rather walk to another place and have her pick me up there. And then there was my great-grandma's car. My grandma drove me to school in it and would always park right in front. This car was made in the 1970's with a hood that looked like it was 10 miles long. So...I love this Lancer.

6. I really wish I had the courage to get short, short hair. Halle Berry short. I wish I could pull it off. Because, honestly, as much as I love the look of long hair...I hate the maintenance. I can never keep it down for very long. And if I do manage to keep my hair down for a whole day, it goes right up into the ponytail the minute I get home.

7. I'm not really a Steph. I've always been a Stephany. The only person who calls me Steph, really, is my brother. And sometimes I get annoyed with people who don't really know me calling me Steph. When I lived in hell (a.k.a. the dorm), my roommate had a boyfriend who called me Steph. And I just wanted to slap him across the face everytime he did. Only people I know really, really well get to call me Steph. And people I like.

8. I'm a bookworm, through and through. Ever since I've learned to read, I've had a book. I'm never not reading something. I really get sad when I hear of people who either don't like to read (something I don't understand AT ALL) or people who like to read and don't have time to read. I really hope that never happens to me.

9. I'm very critical of my waiter/waitress at a restaurant. Really, I'm just asking for them to do their job. Take yesterday, for example. At Carrabba's, my waiter pushed only the most expensive items on the menu. (OK, I can understand this a little.) Then when I asked him (a la Biggest Loser) how they cook the chicken, he told me, "We grill it with seasoning." Um, duh. I'm not an idiot - I know this. I want to know what's in the seasoning. Loser. And when I inquired more, he was still very obtuse about it. Then, near the end of my meal, he came by and just took my plate from me! My drink had been empty for a good while and he didn't even ask if I was finished. Granted, I just had some broccoli leftover but still...ask me first! Needless to say, his tip was quite low. Deservedly so.

10. When I was younger, my favorite color was purple. Not because I particularly liked the color...but because I wanted to be "different." All the girls I knew liked pink. I liked purple. Man, I was such a rebel!

I'm picking 5 bloggers that I adore to pass these awards onto. Have fun!

Nanny

Kait

Samantha

Issa
Courtney