I'm a Liebster STAR!

I won an award.

Yup.

The Liebster Award...

Never heard of it?  Well, despite being awarded this prestigious award by Carrie "CJ' Jean over at Military Wife Life I also had to google it. 

But...this may be my one and only chance to do Academy Award style thank you's so you'll just have to wait on what I found out...in the meantime...

I'd like to thank my elementary school teacher, Mrs. Matthews.  This is what I remember most about her...she collected pigs and she would let me hide up in the reading loft when I was supposed to be doing something else.  Thanks for encouraging me to read and being the best librarian ever and instilling a love of words into a 5th grader.

Thank you to my teenage angst years, my adoration of New Kids on the Block and my complete nerdiness in high school that provided mountains of journal writing experiences of which I still have and cherish and laugh hysterically when reading.

And last, but not least...thank you to my parents who made me write essays as punishment.  It was those hours of writing no less than 500 words on "Why I should not lie" that has made me the blogger that I am today.

If i forgot anyone I'm terribly sorry...receiving the award has just gotten me all flustered!...

Ok...so in my google search...What I discovered is that the Liebster award has its roots way back in 2010 in a German blogger who decided to start an award for bloggers who have less than a certain number of followers.  I've seen numbers from 3000 to 200...it doesn't really matter in my case.  I fit both criteria.  Its kind of like a blogging chain letter...only MUCH cooler and you can't get arrested for it if you ask for money.  Which I may add to the Liebster award rules...nominate bloggers and then they have to pay you for accepting.  I may be onto something here.

Soo....I get the award...answer a list of questions asked by the one who nominated me and then pass the award along asking my own list of questions...

On to my award!  I get a badge and everything!

1.  What is your favorite quote?

I adore CS Lewis.  I find him absolutely brilliant.  This favorite of mine brought me much peace in the years I struggled with faith...

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

And then of course there is my second favorite which is much less serious, but still has a religious underton... 

"The 11th commandment:  Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator."

2.  What was the last song you listened to?

Ha!  Katy Perry - Firework.  LOVE her.  LOVE this song.  I just find it inspiring...and I LOVE the music video.  Bella and I danced while Jaxxy jumped in his exersaucer.  It was DANCE PARTY!

3.  What was your first blog post about:

I had to go back and look!  It was about starting a blog and writing like Dave Barry (who I find very humorous).  I'm not sure if my humorousness has reached his level....

4.  What is your favorite blog post on your site?

Oh, unfair!  I have no favorite.  (Booooo! Hisssss! say the crowd)   So if I absolutely HAVE to choose a favorite..I would say the one where I got this awesome award called the Liebster award....

5.  How did you come up with your blog name?

Ever seen Magnificent Seven?  There is a quote in there...

[as they ride to the village, Chico is following them]
Vin: Riding out there in all that dust and heat... what a chucklehead.
Chris: Yep. Not smart like us.
Vin: Yep.

And it was a good line.  And a good movie.  So when we started geocaching we needed a family name and became the chuckleheads. 

Also an interesting note...chuckleheads is synonymous with the word blockhead.  Guess what they call New Kid on the Block fans?  BLOCKHEADS!  I do believe everything in my life eventually ties back to New Kids on the Block.

6.  What inspires you?

Easy...my kids.  They are my light..my laugh...my love...  They make me want to be happy, healthy, kind, loving, exciting, energetic, active, spiritual, sweet, fun....

7.  Where so you see yourself in 5 years?

In 5 years....I shall be an old woman and I shall wear purple...

No seriously?  We'll still be in the Army...maybe living in Korea?  I'll have a 9 year old and a 5.5 year old.  I'll be on the PTA and have my own motorcycle to ride around on.  Oh, and I'll have actually crafted everything I have pinned on Pinterest.  Yeah Right.

8.  Describe yourself in 3 words.

Kind
Funny
Intelligent

Awesome, gracious, loving, sweet,  generous...and of course humble...

9.  What is your hometown and what is it like?

I always choose my birthplace as opposed to my hometown for questions like this.  I think deep down inside I liked being a country girl.  So, Vale, Oregon.  Little town of about 4,000 people.  One flashing stoplight.  It is as country as you can get...dusty, farms, migrant workers, trucks, one schoolbus to take all the kids to elementary, middle and highschool...

I loved living there.  I ran wild in the fields, swam in leech infested ditches, had my first boyfriend (Zach VanMeter - be still my beating 8 year old heart!)   Swam in a pool that had paint chipped in the deep end that I thought was in the shape of a shark....boy did I swim FAST in the deep end...I picked up potatos an beets from the side of the road as they dropped off trucks loaded high with produce.  I picked asparagus in the ditch banks and we drove an old Scout that could take a bump at 60 like no other car.

It was a glorious place to live.

10.  What is your dream job?

Dare I say writer?  My dream is to publish a book someday....

11.  How long have you been blogging?

Since 2004.  Thats 9 years...on this same blog.  And I love it.  Cheers to another 9...

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for...my Liebster nominations...

1.  Southern Stepmom
2.  A Handful of Hannants
3.  A Daily Dose of Del Signore
4.  Mrs. Lawler's Lovelies
5.  My Life in Custody
6.  The Amburgular
7.  Lipstick Uniforms and Bare Feet
8.  The Pert Skirt
9.  These are the Days of Your Lives

(its not a real liebster rule that I HAVE to have 10...I always had a hard time following directions anyway.)

And your 10 questions...

1.  What was your weirdest hairstyle ever?
2.  Do you believe in love at first site?
3.  What is the last thing you put in your mouth?
4.  Why did you start blogging?
5.  If you could be famous for one thing...what would it be?
6.  If your mom was describing you what would she say?
7.  you could go back to highschool what would you change about that experience?
8.  Who do you admire most?
9.  First kiss tell all...what when where who how...
10.  Are you thrilled to receive the liebster award?

Ready...Set...Blog!

In all my spare time...

Well, since I don't have enough to do now I decided that I better add more work to my plate. 

I have started a new blog...It's kind of an activist blog...you know...the kind where people get all fired up and want to hurl you through a window?  Well, maybe not that bad, but its a father's rights blog.  It's geared toward men who are actively pursuing a place in their child(ren)'s life and are being stopped either by the family courts or by their ex-wife or both. 

Hot topic, eh? 

First, I need to say that I know a lot of single moms with custody of their children.  This is not meant to be anti-mom nor is it anti-mom having custody.  What it is supposed to do is raise awareness at how unfair the division of time is between custodial parents and non-custodial parents when the non-custodial parent is an active positive influence in the child's life.

Those are the key words there... I get all fired up when I hear about custodial mothers who use their children as pawns to force their exes to do their bidding...holding them as leverage to get what they want.  And, unfortunately, in more cases than not, the family courts uphold this manipulation. 

And, I hope it helps dads with the guilt and anxiety and sadness that comes with being a non-custodial parent.

So, if you want to take a peek you can find this new blog at http://fathersfightforrights.blogspot.com/

Thank you...this soapbox is now closed.

Then and now...

I had a funny thought today.  I was thinking back to the year 2000...Actually, the year 1999 when it was going to become the year 2000 and there was all that speculation about what would happen with the change of the century...  There was widespread panic about computers crashing, missiles spontaneously ejecting themselves toward Russia/China/Middle East, bank accounts looted, stockmarkets crashing, and packs of wild dogs roaming the streets of Orem, Utah.

Yes...thats right...my mother was absolutely certain that there would be packs of wild dogs roaming the streets...And no...we have NEVER let her live that one down.

But, the reality is that we all got to live through something that is pretty cool...the change in a century!  And, if you are at least my age...the 80's...which is almost as cool as a change in the century.

Thinking back...I never ever would have guessed that today I would be sitting in Germany with a soldier for a husband, two kids under my roof, driving a subaru.  I even eat brocolli these days...which is a big deal for me.  I was absolutely certain that brocolli was the vegetable of Satan. 

Oh how wrong we can be...kind of like those packs of maurading dogs...right mom? 

I also never thought I (my life, my hopes, my dreams, my past) would be so transparently available to anyone and everyone via a written blog...  Of course...I also was alive and mostly grown up before Al Gore invented the internet...so its not like I was able to dream of being a blogger one day.

Which brings me to my blog...

Remember a while back when I mentioned that I wanted to upgrade my blog...make it a little fancier...try and get it noticed just a little more.  Well, I've slowly been researching and attempting to discover exactly what it is that will push me from the intimate circle of readers I now enjoy...out into the vast blogosphere...

In particular, perhaps you've noticed my OCD/ADD changes in my blog backgrounds.  I cannot find one that fits ME.  I think I've tried about 50 different backgrounds over the past week...and I've ended up with black and white because black goes with everything...right?

I'm just alerting you to the fact that you'll be seeing quite a few changes happening over the next few weeks...  Don't worry - I'm trying to make it easy to navigate.  No fancy things you HAVE to click, although if you happened to love me enough to click them or rate me or vote for me I'd surely appreciate it.

Plus, if you haven't noticed I've added "pages" to the top...I'll be adding a few more so keep an eye out.

And...if you have any suggestions or comments they would be greatly appreciated.  Even the ones that are considered "constructive feedback"...I promise not to pout or send you hate mail.  Not even anonymously.

And I promise not to sic any packs of wild dogs on you either.

I know you are but what am I...

Remember when you were like 26 8 years old and would taunt your brothers and sisters mercilessly with snappy comebacks like, "I know you are but what am I?", or "If you love it, marry it..." And my personal favorite from some joke book my sister brought home one day...

"A jerk is a tug, a tug is a boat, a boat goes in water, water is nature and nature is beautiful so thank you for the compliment."

Yeah - memorize THAT one for the next time someone calls you a jerk...

Along with those taunts (at least in my childhood dwelling) came the numerous face twisting grimaces with tongues askew and eyes crossed and fingers stretching your cheeks to appear the most hideous you possibly could be just to Drive. In. Your. Point.

Because at 8- getting the point across was very important.

And what did you mother say to you?

"If you keep making that face...(say it with me now...) your face is going to freeze that way."

I never really believed my mom that  face could do that...and then I grew up and became an actual adult. (shudder...)

And I started reading blogs and one in particular caught my eye and has been a favorite read ever since.

Attack of the Redneck Mommy is funny and serious and very real and sometimes a little crass and she's made me laugh outloud and cry buckets of tears.  And in my little world thats the makings of a good blog. 

Today she wrote about her third-born who didn't live very long in this world and was born with a frozen face.  Just like my mama told me...  Only her little guy didn't get it from making faces.  He was simply born into the world that way.

Its called Moebius Syndrome...and her blog today is very much worth sharing...so I'm passing along the fact that today is National Awareness for Moebius Syndrome...and if you take a gander - go read about Shale who, "never blinked, never smiled, never frowned."

And then make it a point to smile today.