I'm just bein' real with ya, people...

So, today you have the privilege of learning more about little ol' moi. Aren't you just so excited? Well, you should be!

One of my best blogging buddies, Jenners, over at Life with a Little One and More, gave me an award for my blog, and it really meant a lot to me. Why? It's the Honest Scrap award, which is given for writing with honesty in your blog.

It meant so much to me because that's what I want my blog to be about. Honesty. Honesty about how I'm really handling the challenges of motherhood, and the challenges of life in general. I see no sense in pretending that things are easy all the time, and I see no sense in pretending that I'm June Cleaver or Mrs. Brady. And you shouldn't either. That's why I write what I write.

All of us struggle, and we just need to be real about it. It makes us feel a little better and a little bit more not-so-crazy when we know there are other women out there struggling with the same things.

Shall we get on with it already?

Here is my fabulous award:


Now, with this award comes the stipulation that I share 10 honest things with you about myself, so here goes.

1. I am a Girly Girl. I'll admit. I love all things girly. Fancy dresses, cute shoes, pink stuff, makeup, jewelry (oh, how I miss my dangly earrings since having a baby!) - all of that stuff. I love to get all dolled up (can't remember the last time that actually happened, though...), and I love things that are just cute and feminine.

2. I am pretty much NEVER on time for anything. I'm late to just about anything you can think of, and it drives my husband nuts, the poor guy. You name it, I'm late to it - church, work, family gatherings, appointments. It's one of my (many) weaknesses.

3. I may be a social worker, but I'm not a bleeding heart - in fact, I think I'm a bit cynical. I've seen all kinds of things in my line of work - moms who do meth on their way to the hospital to deliver their babies, people who see little green men crawling on the wall, people actively withdrawing from alcohol and/or drugs who think they are in 1974 in a helicopter, and families that have been torn apart by things like alcoholism or various kinds of abuse. I'm not one of those social workers who is like, "Oh, they will change. Let's just give them another chance." You abused your child, and you want me to feel sorry for you? No. You made your bed - you can lie in it, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you never hurt your baby again. Your family won't talk to you because you've been drinking for 35 years, violated their trust, broken their hearts and used them in every way shape and form, and now you want me to convince your mother to take you under her wings because you've got nowhere else to go? I'm sorry. I can't fix 35 years worth of your mistakes - you're on your own. You're tired of crack ruining your life and you want me to sit here and convince you of all the reasons why rehab might be a good choice for you? I'm sorry, but if you don't want to change, I'm not going to sit here and try to convince you of all the reasons why you should. I may come across as cold, but I assure you that I'm not. I love my job, and I love to help people that want to be helped. And I love to advocate for people who are unable to do it for themselves.

4. I've got some OCD tendencies (admit it - you do, too!). It's not like I've gotta flick the light switch on and off 7 times before I leave the room - we haven't progressed to that just yet. It's a bit more simple, but it's still there. For instance, if I've got bulk items in my pantry (juice, granola bars, cake mixes, etc.), they all need to be lined up *just so* and they've got to be facing the same direction - labels facing forward, not off to the side. I also love lists (mostly "to-do" lists), and if I do something that's not on the list, I'll write it on the list, just so I can cross it off. If I misspell something on the list, I'll crumple it up and make a whole new list because God forbid I have a list with a word that is crossed off before the task is actually completed.

5. We eat cereal for dinner around here quite often. Thanks to The Crockpot Lady and her 365 days of crock pot recipes, hopefully this will be changing in the near future.

6. I'm pretty disorganized. This is one of the things that frustrates me most about myself. I can be organized. I have great ideas in my head about how to make things all neat and tidy, but actually putting those ideas into action is a whole nother story. I think my disorganization is part of the reason my house is such a wreck so often - because there are so many things in my house that don't have a "place." So, I'm working on that, too. Creating a place for everything and making our home a more organized and enjoyable place to be.

7. I am stubborn as a mule.


8. I sometimes (my husband would probably say "a lot" of times) over react or take things way too personal.

9. I tend to use way more words than I really need to when I'm trying to say something. The theme song my parents had for me as a child was, "You Talk Too Much" by the legendary rocker, George Thorogood. Hey, I'm a woman. It's what we do. Right?

10. Super Mario Bros. 3 brings out the worst in me.



When my husband and I were newly married, we played this game one time. I had played it throughout my childhood, and I assure you that back then, I was completely appropriate during game time. I guess I became an adult and some switch flipped inside. Suddenly, I transformed from sweet little wife into a sailor. "Stupid effing Mario! Get down that *^%! tunnel. You did NOT just kill me, you @$#% Koopa!" It was ugly. My dream of teaching my child to play the classic video game was no more. I realized it would not. be. good. for me to play such a video game with my child.

So, there you have it. 10 honest things about me. And, like Jenners, I feel like my blog is the place where blog awards go to die. I'm just not into the whole "pass this award on to 85 people thing." I don't mean to be selfish, it's just too email-chain-lettery for me...So, I guess that makes 11 honest things about me.

11. I'm a selfish blog award recipient.