Sooooo, how've ya been???

Helloooooooo!!!!  Wow, it's been awhile since I've blogged!  It's not that I haven't wanted to......sometimes life just sorta gets in the way, ya know? 

Since I've last updated, I've won a blog award, spent four glorious days in Wisconsin with my family, gotten sick and realized just how much I hate housework! ;)  So let's start with the blog award and go from there!

A big thanks you to Kim from Pink, Pearls and Polka Dots for the Stylish Blogger Award!  I was so excited to see that I had won!  Make sure you check out her super-cute blog!

Here are the rules:

1. Link back and thank the person that gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 5 recently discovered blogs.
4. Contact them and tell them about their award.

Here we go!

1.  You know the book Confessions of a Shopoholic?  Yep, pretty sure that book was written about me.  I absolutely L.O.V.E to shop and I am a firm believer in the power of retail therapy!  I can also justify just about ANY purchase.  Did I mention that I live approximately 8 minutes away from the Mall of America?  :)

2.  I've always been sort of a 'problem-child' for my parents.  When I was little, I had ten seizures before the age of four believed to be caused by extremely bad ear infections.  Fortunately, I outgrew these and had three sets of tubes put in my ears to help with the ear infections.  I cannot even imagine how scary it must have been for my parents though to walk into a room and find me in the middle of a seizure!

3.  I have a cat named Chloe whom I absolutely ADORE!  My old roommate brought her home one day as a playmate for her other cat.  She quickly decided she didn't like Chloe though due to her 'spunk'.  I, on the other hand, fell in love with her.  When we parted ways as roommates she told me I could keep her and I cannot imagine life without her!  She recently got really sick and I thought I was going to lose her.  Fortunately, she got better and is back to being her 'full of life' self!

4.  If I had to choose two foods to live on for the rest of my life I would choose popcorn and mac & cheese hands down!  I'm a bit picky about my mac & cheese though.  It has to be Kraft brand and as crazy as this is, I love the shaped ones.  You know, the ones that look like Spongebob, Toy Story or Scooby-Doo characters.  I swear they taste different from the regular mac & cheese.  Don't judge me! :)

5.  I almost always have a 'to-do' list that I'm working on, though I call it my 'goals' list (that way, if I don't accomplish something, I don't feel quite as guilty!).  On busy days when I have a ton to get done, I'll add simple things like 'shower,' 'get dressed,' and 'put on makeup' to the list.  That way by the time I've finished getting ready for the day, I'll already have been able to cross off a bunch of things I need to do that day.  Crazy?  Probably, but I love the feeling of accomplishment when I get to cross something off!

6.  My favorite tv shows are Glee, Dancing with the Stars, Modern Family and The Bachelor.  LOVE THEM!

7.  I graduated college almost four years ago and have been looking for a teaching job ever since.  In the past four years, I have applied for over 900 positions and gotten...are you ready for this?  ONE INTERVIEW!  While this is incredibly frustrating, I know I will be a good teacher and I'm not giving up!  I WILL find a teaching job!

I'm not sure who has already received this award but I'm passing it onto:

Ashley

Halee

Deviled Megs

Jessica

Katie

If you haven't checked out their blogs yet, you definitely should!  Thanks again to Kim for the award! :)

My First Blog Award!

I received my first blog award!  Big thanks to Jessica over at Pearls and Pink Polka Dots for recognizing my lil' space on the big 'ol internet! :)

Questions to answer:

1.  Who/what inspires you?

This is an interesting question because there is no one person who inspires me in my life.  Rather, there are multiple people depending on the area of my life it pertains to.  For example, when it comes to teaching, I am most inspired by all of the other fabulous teachers out there who graciously post their ideas online in their blogs and on their websites.  In my everyday life, my mother inspires me to always work hard and never give up.  And then there are the people who inspire me in various little ways.  Take for instance Carrie Underwood.  That girl's hair is ah-mazing and she inspires me to try to have hair like that.  :)

2.  What is your favorite season and why?

Summer, hands-down!  I absolutely love the warm weather and the chance to be outside!  It certainly doesn't hurt that my birthday is in the summer either! :)

3.   What are you most looking forward to this year?

At this point, SUMMER!  I am so excited for the warm weather to come back and for CABIN WEEKENDS! 

4.  If you could write a book about anything what would it be about?

 I would write a children's book.  Being a teacher, I love children's books and I think it would be a ton of fun to write one someday!  Either that or I would write a book about my experiences as a teacher:  the things kids say and the crazy things I see on a daily basis!

5.  What is your greatest passion?

Teaching.  I absolutely LOVE working with children and doing fun projects with them!

6.  If you could change one thing about your life or yourself, what would it be?

I would find myself a good-paying teaching job.  At this point, I think finding a teaching job would change so much in my life.  It would give me more financial stability, thus allowing me to quit one/two of my three jobs and give me the opportunity to do more of the things that I want to do.  I know finding a teaching job won't solve all of my problems but it certainly wouldn't hurt!

7.  Lastly, what is your favorite novel?

Man-oh-man, this is a tough question.  I'm not sure that I actually have a favorite.  I LOVE reading and read quite a bit.  I like the Harry Potter series and anything by Karen Kingsbury or Sue Ann Jaffarian. 

Now I get to pass on this award!  I'm passing it onto

Halee

Lyndsay

Ashley

Make sure you check out their cute blogs!  Have fun ladies! :)