Thursday's Ten: random things you may not know about ...

me!

(ok that sounds self-centered.  there really IS a reason though...read below :)

please join me for this one!  i think i'm going to make it a once in awhile thing (random things about...potatoes.  or penguins.  or random things that start with the letter "p" since i already have 2 on the list ;)

today i'm combining my thursday's ten with accepting a blog award from the lovely casondra

here's the specifics for this particular award:

Rules for accepting this award are:
1.  Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award

thank you Casondra!

2.  Share 7 things about yourself.
done below.  with 3 bonus things :)

3.  Pass this on to 15 other great bloggers you recently discovered.
15 RECENT?  hmmm...

4.  Contact the selected bloggers and tell them about their awards.

So 7 things about myself...

1. pretty much if you offer me chips i'll take you up on that.  huge weakness of mine is crunchy or savory snacks.

2. i can give myself a mean french manicure if all the elements are right.  but i can't for the life of me paint my toenails without getting polish everywhere.  i'm not sure if it's thinking i don't have to pay attention, or a subconscious way to convince myself i should get a pedicure.

3.  i love, love, love my friends.  they're pretty amazing.  

(casondra, my things are looking an awful lot like yours but i SWEAR i didn't mean them too!)

4.  i own like 2 lamps.  i don't know why -- i MUCH prefer lamplight to overhead.  i should probably fix that and ask for a lamp or two for christmas.

5. i love telling people i teach at a studio on music row.  if you lived in nashville you would know that's not really a HUGE deal, although the studio being there is quite convenient for industry contacts and the like...but it sounds pretty cool to out of towners.  except you, if you are reading this and didn't know that.  now you won't think i'm cool. oops

(please, if you're a regular reader of my blog you know i'm a big dork anyway ;)

6. my girl crush is olivia benson (mariska hargitay's character on law and order: svu)

7. i can take a good shower in 3 minutes flat (which came in handy during our month of water rationing after the floods in may) and can get ready in less than half an hour.  you would think this would make me early to places.  instead, it means that i literally wait until the last.possible.moment to step into the shower, and i'm ALWAYS running out the door.  i'm getting better about being it, but that fast shower and getting ready bit most definitely works against me.

8. *  i'm kind of jazzed about my new tab at the top -- a link to every.single.recipe i've ever posted on the blog.  it's broken into categories in alpha order, naturally.  there will be many more added, and i'm going to definitely keep it up to date.  honestly, this is going to make it a lot easier for me to direct people to recipes they ask for, or for me to find it and copy/paste :)

9. *  i have discovered strawberry milkshake poptarts, and pretty much i love them.

10. *  i can't WAIT to have a few hours in the kitchen this weekend.  how i've missed cooking!

*bonus tracks ;)

mmmkay, 15 new(ish) blogs.  well, in no particular order (except alpha) here they are!

a heart of alabaster (jackie) 

(oh how i love this blog :)  the song that starts when you visit is an old favorite of mine!)

absolute narcissism (sandra)

(funny, funny, funny!  and satire.  and sarcasm.  and funny.)

always on my mind (jamie)

(a fellow nashvillian, and coupon lover.  plus she has a separate blog just for recipes.  do love!)

bare feet on the front porch (stephanie)

(an online friend of mine for ages...military wife and mom doesn't even begin to sum it up!)

beyer beware (leah)

(reading her profile, i can SO see mine reading similarly in a few years.  awesome new blog friend!)

blessed chick (ashlee)

(i'm a sucker for anyone who puts "blessed" in their title and means it, and she is wonderful!)

bossy betty (betty)

(cheeky, fun and smart, this is a woman i could sit around and talk to for hours!)

dilly dally (vanessa)

(i met her through our friend casondra, and she's such a sweet, amazing new friend!)

laundry hurts my feelings (joann)

(don't you love the name?!  and the blog is just as good)

lucky in love (jenny)

(one of those like-minded in so many ways bloggers...and she's expecting her first sweet bebe!)

mrs southern bride (heather)

(i love love stories, especially ones like theirs, which is so marked by the Father)

my alabaster heart (erin)

(ahhh, another crazy liberal christian.  see?  we DO exist!)

teach*tea*travel (nicole) 

(this is one of my oldest and dearest friends...and she has a brand new blog!) 

the human race 600 (lisa)

(fresh perspective, got her stuff together kinda girl :)

the kenningtons (nicki)

(what a fun life they lead!  so full of adventure and inspiration -- she's an awesome runner!)

i'll be notifying my winners as the day goes on...but if you see your name here, consider yourself served.  in a good way, of course!

thursday's ten: i confess

true confession time! join me for your thursday's ten confessions if you like :)

i confess

- that i'm often spurred to write a blog post because of my boyfriend's disappointment that i haven't updated in awhile

- that i can be rather lazy when there is a computer, couch, or tv involved

- that i hate yogurt. ok, hate is a strong word. i despise yogurt.

- that i often find myself watching children's programming after the children have left the room

(or that i dvr it for myself)

- that i'm completely addicted to texting

- that i kinda think photoshop is cheating. although if i had it i'd totally cheat.

- that i'm really into america's got talent lately

- that i may never stick to a decent bedtime

- that as much as i love organics, sometimes mcdonalds calls my name

- that i can't remember the last time i had a pedicure...and one is badly needed!

please join in!

Thursday's Ten: Warmer Weather Edition

it's finally getting to be the time of year that makes living in middle tennessee completely worth it.

warm

not yet too humid

(although give it a couple of weeks)

and not over 100 degrees just yet

perfection

well, without a beach

THAT would be perfection

:)

here's my list of ten things i love to do around town when it starts warming up :)

1. go for a hike or a walk. besides the greenway, radnor lake is a favorite place. and amazingly enough i have just moved within a few moments of the trails there!

2. visit the zoo. anthony and i joined last year and i'm totally renewing my membership. with my new nanny gig(s) (more about that later...) and friends who love animals as much as we do it's pretty much a necessity. plus the reciprocal membership with zoos around the country is fantastic!

3. lay out. i know, i know, sun damage...skin cancer...but i CRAVE the sun. i'm never out THAT long...

4. eat. which kind of doesn't seem to fit with the above, but shall i explain? fresh fruits and veggies straight from the garden, avocados sliced up on a sandwich, organic stuff--just anything! i feel like eating so healthily during these summer months--which is probably why i don't have a problem with the diet and exercise routine!

5. garden. i'm excited because this year i'll be planting tomatoes in the ground, plus reviving my herb garden in containers!

6. head to the park--grown-up park with friends, playground park with kids. they're all fun, and everyone feels like a kid when we just play!

7. read. on a rainy or cloudy day, curling up in a chair. when it's nice outside, taking a book and a blanket to the yard and just hanging out with the characters for awhile.

8. take a nap. there's something about coming home on a sunday afternoon...opening the curtains...putting a comfy robe or pj set on...and laying down in the sunlight. it's my inner cat, i suppose--emi and i usually jostle for the most sunny area to sleep in!

9. have a popsicle. those fla-vor-ice pops from when you were a kid? yeah, i totally keep a box on hand at all times. pure sugar...pure fun

10. get a pedicure. ok, so this one is a self-done pedi lately...just can't justify the expense for myself at the moment! but there's something about walking around in flip-flops with pretty feet that makes life a little sunnier :)

what about you? as it warms up, what do you like to do?

GIRL'S NIGHT!

T-3 hours, and I will be sitting at my favorite Latin infusion bar, sipping a mojito and having an appetizer of chips and 3 different kinds of cheese...and probably splitting some other yummy food with my girlfriends. And while going to Lime (the restaurant) excites me greatly, so does the idea of a Girl's Night...this time a Girl's Night OUT. I need my girl time...and tonight I'll have it.

So to be really girly, I'm getting ready to hop in the shower, after which I will actually fix my hair for the first time in forever (it's been so rainy here lately that I've been letting it do it's own curly thang, and I'm a little weary of that!), put on a shirt that I feel like I look cute in, and do some fun makeup. Then it's off to the nail salon to get new acrylics put on (it's overdue) and to get my eyebrows waxed. Yep. I enjoy being a girl on days like this!

So what about you? What do you do with your girlfriends on a Girl's Night In/Out? (or with your guy friends during your manly man man time?)