The Sunshine Blog Award

Well, when it rains, it pours! I got a flurry of blogging awards from fellow bloggers all at once… but in this case it’s not raining OR pouring because I just got awarded The Sunshine Award from The Lonely Lion! Do check out her blog when you get a chance, she’s a doll! Totally made my day! I’m loving decorating my blog with these award blings. It makes me feel like occasionally, sometimes, perhaps, just maybe people actually read what I write here. ^_^

I’m going to be brief with this blog award post, because, well, TV. Distracting. Distracting TV. Zac Efronnnnnnn. 

The Rules for the The Sunshine Award:

– Proudly post your sunshiney new award

– Answer the 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you

– Nominate 11 wonderful bloggers

– Write 11 questions for them to answer

– Let the nominated blogger know you have nominated them

 My Answers to The Lonely Lions Questions:

1. Where is the one place you want to visit before you die?

There are far too many places! But I guess, Egypt? I want to see the pyramids!

2. What stops you sleeping at night?

Recently? My hungry baby. Sleep deprivation has never been so cute.

3. How long have you been blogging for?

I’ve been blogging off and on since I was a teen, but Domestic Geek Girl has been around since May of this year. I started it to keep myself busy when my hubby was in boot camp, but it kind of grew on me.. (and grew over 1,200 followers.. woot!)

4. Do your friends and family read your blog?

I sure hope so!

5. What was the last song you listened to?

What I’ve Been Looking For from High School Musical. (I sent the lyrics of this song to Jonathan while he was in boot camp so he’d get the song stuck in his head. Mwahahahahahahaha!!!!)

6. Do you have any interesting hobbies?

I think cosplay is pretty darn interesting!

7. One fact nearly no one knows about you?

I’m a certified massage therapist. I keep that on the down low so I don’t get bugged for massages… ALL. THE. TIME.

8. Quick, tell us a joke!

A monk once walked into a bar… and you’d think he would have seen it and ducked!

9. What is on your mind right now? (Wow, I sound like 2012 facebook!)

Well, I’m writing this while watching High School Musical, so I’m mostly thinking, “Zac Efron is yummy. Yummy yummy tickles in my tummy. Yum yum. Wow, this acting is terrible. WILDCATS, EVERYWHERE, WAVE YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR!!! I wonder if I could get Jon to cosplay as Troy Bolton? Zac Efronnnnnn.”

10. Whats the view from your bedroom window?

Our apartment complex’s parking lot and the lawn area, with the trash can for pet owners to drop off poop. So usually the view from my bedroom window is a dog pooping.

11. What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

The Bible.

 The Eleven Bloggers I Nominate (In no particular order):

Tales of a Mom

The Creative Cortex

My Family Stew

Iamstacey’s Blog

Life In The Question Marks

Joy to the World

Screenkicker

Ed Mooney Photography

Organic Catholic Mom

Blackmailers Don’t Shoot

Adoption Love

My questions for you!

1. Who’s your favorite actor? (Say Zac Efron. SAY IT!!)
2. What’s your favorite Disney movie?
3. Can you dance?
4. Do you like wearing hats?
5. Do you have any nicknames?
6. Does might make right?
7. What are your thoughts on body glitter?
8. Your deepest darkest fear?
9. What makes you swoon?
10. The most prominent truth in your life?
11. What are the lyrics to your favorite song?

The Versatile Blogger Award

I am getting lavished with love and attention by the blogs that I admire… and I am not complaining in the least. I just hope I don’t get too spoiled with all this thoughtfulness, haha. This makes blog award #3 that I’ve received in my 2 1/2 short months of blogging. This time my day was made brighter by Momma Needs Coffee. If you a re a sucker for family / momma blogs like I am, go check her out! Lots of good reads there!

Now, this award was actually, The Bouquet of Three Award, which was comprised of the Sunshine Award, the Best Moment Award and The Versatile Blogger Award. But since the trio won’t fit on my sidebar, and the imagery of the Versatile Blogger strikes my fancy the most, I’m going to pare it down and pay this kindness forward using just the Versatile Blogger Award. That way I can actually recommend blogs based on that particular quality as well.

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Display the Award Certificate on your website/blog

2. Announce your win with a post. Make sure to post a link back to me as a ‘thank you’ for the nomination.

3. Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers

4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you have linked them in the post

5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

7 Interesting Things About Me:

1. My romance with my husband really is a stalker story gone right. After becoming hopelessly smitten with him, I followed my hubby from afar, creeping after him on Facebook for MONTHS before he finally agreed to love me forever. (I’m not a freak. I swear. Okay, well maybe just a little bit.)

2. My attention span can be measured in nano-seconds.

3. I am fascinated by things I don’t understand, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying them. People tend to be surprised when they realize how woefully uneducated I am in topics that I regularly express interest in – like cars, or astronomy, or art.

4. I am slowly working my way through a 501 Places To See Before You Die book. I only have like 35 of the places checked off. Sigh.

5. I maintain that playing dress up is the worlds greatest hobby and a ticket to eternal youth. To quote one of my favorite songs: “Sometimes you reach whats most real just by making believe.”

6. I only watch TV for Fox News or the Food Network. I end up screaming and / or drooling at the TV over both of those things.

7. I hate talking on the phone. But I love texting.

My nominees are (in no particular order):

1. Nia Simone

Nia blogs over a plethora of her favorite hobbies from travelling to photography to books to skiing to poetry. Check her out!

2. Alice Vega

A pop culture fiend that follows the latest happenings in the anime, convention, cosplay, nerdy, and Asian American community. The more I learn about her through her posts the more I burn with jealousy over her inherent coolness.

3. Confessions of a Nerf Herder

I get most of my movie / pop culture news from this guy first, before I see it up on my Twitter feed or from other news sources. Timely, precise, and interesting blog posts that are fun to read with my morning coffee!

4. Ed Mooney Photography

Another photographer I admire in my WordPress blog feed. Always stunning and inspiring work!

5. Laurie’s Lovely Living

This gal has a blog style very similar to mine… she loves to blog about food, family, travel and whatever stikes her fancy! Naturally, I’m a fan. ^_^

6. Sarcastically Witty

A personal blog from a really cool gal. I like her style and her humor. A blog totally worth checking out. (I have an unhealthy attachment to personal blogs, haha.)

7. The Crafty Book Goddess

I am awarding my IRL friend again, mainly because she has yet to do anything with the last two awards I gave her, and so I am going to increase her to-do blog list, and therefore increase my personal entertainment at her expense. 😉

8. Food Flavor Fascination

A gorgeous gal (I love your profile pic) that loves to experiment with food and baking and explores all kinds of flavors and cuisines. She aspires to write a cookbook and open a restaurant. And when she does, she owes me an autographed copy of her book for being one of her original blogger fans. 😉

9. Just An Okie Family

Another family blog that I enjoy peeking in on! I particularly enjoy the writing style of Mrs. Okie. I like the spunky freshness each blog post has.

10. Thoughts In My Head

A 20 year old blogger that I’ve recently discovered. A very skilled writer, definitely worth checking her blog out!

11. The Simple Life of a Navy Wife

A new Navy wife like myself. Since my whole motivation in starting this blog was to chronicle my journey into the realms of motherhood and Navy life, I am particularly interested in fellow Navy wifey blogs like this one!

12. Tokidoki

Lots of travel photography on this blog. I’m always stopping by to feast on the eye candy.

13. Epic Adventures of an Ordinary Life

My IRL friend Shauna has a very cute personal blog that she rarely upkeeps. Everyone needs to stop by and tell her to stop being so shy and post more often. ^_^

14. My Meals Are On Wheels

Another food blog I have taken to following! I like that this blog offers a lot of educational context with the food posts. That’s right up my alley. I want to feel edified while I’m eating, darn it! Hehe.

15. Photography in Patmos

More visual eye candy. What can I say, I’m a sucker for photography blogs.

The Super Sweet Blog Award

This is another super belated blog post that I’ve been meaning to write for… umm, forever now. (I can’t remember how long I’ve been sitting on this one. When dates fail me, I usually opt for reckoning time with infinity.)

I was given this award by the lovely Miss Buffy of the Storytime With Buffy Blog. She is a delightful gal living in London and she is a horrid horrid bookworm like me. Only she talks about her books much more than I do. Which I hope to soon remedy. (Gonna start doing more book reviews and catch up with you, chick! *shakes fist!*)

It’s always really nice to know that someone likes your blog. I ultimately blog for myself, it’s a kind of an acceptable narcissism and creative time waster in my life, but when someone else says, “Hey, I read this thing you wrote. And it’s not awful.” It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So this award is kind of sweet. And I’m more than happy to pay it forward to the blogs that I find worth reading!

The Super Sweet Blogging Award

The rules for those nominated:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Answer 5 Super Sweet questions. These can be found down below.

3. Include the Super Sweet Blogging Award in your blog post.

4. Nominate a baker’s dozen (13) other deserving bloggers.

5. Notify your Super Sweet nominees on their blog.

 5 SUPER SWEET QUESTIONS

1. Cookies or Cake?

Cake. Cookies are too easy to make. When I want to indulge my mouth hole with sweet sugary decadence I want to go with something that I am either too lazy or too unskilled to make myself.

2. Chocolate or Vanilla?

This really depends on the food! But as a general rule, I tend to go with vanilla over chocolate.

3. Favorite Sweet Treat?

Yeah, don’t ask this of a pregnant lady if you’re not expecting a response that is about 20,000 pages long. My favorite sweet treat is whatever sweet edible morsel happens to be in front of my face.

4. When Do You Crave Sweet Things The Most?

When I see them. I’m an out of sight, out of mind type when it comes to desserts. So I’d have to say when I’m at the grocery store and I pass the bakery section. Then I buy ALL DA SWEET THINGS!

5. Sweet Nick Name?

Sweet Muffin Butt Loaf Cake. (I am not joking in the least when I say that I have called my husband this on multiple occasions. I’m not really good at this whole pet names thing….)

NOMINEES FOR THIS SUPER SWEET BLOGGING AWARD

(In no particular order.)

1. This Hobbit’s Life

A sweet gal and IRL friend, Pip is a fellow nerdtastic Browncoat and long time blogger. (Or at least it seems long-time to me, being so new to this whole blogging venture! Haha!)

2. NOAEFame

An inspiring gal, this blog is run by a fellow Christian mother and wife that loves to share her thoughts and discoveries with those around her!

3. Paddy Hobbs

I recently discovered this blog, but in the short time I’ve been following it, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading! Run by an IT student with a great taste in hobbies and interests!

4. The Adventure of Inigo Boy

A photoblog of a boy in the Philippines, it started as a private blog for family, and now it’s public so nosy girls like me can ooohhh and ahhhh and follow along on this sweet family adventure.

5. The Crafty Book Goddess

Another great IRL friend, Amber is a nerdy mother of six. Her blog is updated frequently with short stories, photos, family updates and general awesomeness. I highly recommend checking her out!

6. Melodypj4

A lovely gal in the process of chronicling her journey and the experiences that shape her. Another blog I’ve only been following for a short time, but I really do enjoy what I’ve seen so far!

7. Fergusons Fine Jewelry

I’m not in the habit of following business blogs, but this one just tickles my fancy. I have recently discovered a love of antique and estate jewelry (my wedding ring is an antique Edwardian), and this blog is eye candy for my soul.

8. Big Ganga Photography

His photography puts mine to shame, so I both love and loathe looking at this blog, haha. It’s inspiring and refreshing. Always happy to see a new post in my Reader from Big Ganga!

9. Co-Op Campaign

Their blog tag line says it all – “From marital bliss to cosplay awesomeness”. I can count on one hand the number of happily married couples that are hardcore cosplayers in my life. Since my husband and I are happily wedded cosplay geeks ourselves, I’m naturally partial to this amazing blog. Check them out!

10. Around the Writing Rainbow

A writer and an intellectual nerd. I very rarely spend my time reading word-heavy blogs (I have to have a healthy balance of eye candy and ramblings to capture my attention) but her style is so compelling I always find myself stopping to read her full posts!

11. Mama Bree

One of my good IRL friends, and a mother of four. Along with Amber (Crafty Book Goddess), I bullied her into making her blog. So I take partial credit for all the awesomeness found here. ^_^

12. J and J Plus Two

Another blog I’ve recently discovered! I have found that I am an absolute sucker for family blogs. This chick is currently expecting TWINS! I like trolling her posts and reading about her happy married life!

13. The Creative Cortex

And yet another blog I’ve recently discovered! Run by a hairdressing student, avid knitter and comic book fiend. I need to stop discovering fun blogs because I’m quickly running out of time to sit and read! Haha!

The Very Inspiring Blogger Awards

This is a horribly, horribly belated post, and for that I apologize! I’ve seen these things floating around the WordPress blogosphere for awhile now – and have been burning with jealousy and pining with longing for one – and when I finally had one bestowed upon me, I dropped the ball! *hangs head in shame*

So without further ado! I was given this Very Inspiring Blogger Award by Will from Will’s Eye View Blog. I want to thank Will for brightening my day and encouraging me with the award. With my blog barely over two months old, and mainly acting as a “don’t lose your flippin mind” outlet for my husband being away to Navy Boot Camp, it’s nice to feel that someone enjoys the drivel that I post here.

I’m constantly amazed at what garners attention on this blog, and what doesn’t. One post I just “know” is a flop ends up circulating the rounds on Pinterest, and one that I am giddy with excitement over gets 2 “likes”. So clearly I have no idea what I’m doing in the blogging world. But if my posts have inspired anyone, in any way, I’m happy!

I’ve already had a few private messages of people sharing photos of the projects they made that they found through my blog. Which makes me happier than I would have imagined. So thank you again, to Will and my readers, for the encouragement, the virtual award, and the smile you put on my face!

The Rules for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award:

1. Display Award Logo on Blog

2. Link back to the person who gave you the award

3. State 7 Things About Yourself

4. Nominate 15 Other Bloggers for this Award and Link Back to Them

5. Notify those bloggers you have nominated.

7 Things About Me:

1. I hate pumping gas at gas stations, and will often invite friends to hang out, just so that I can make them pump the gas for me while I sit in the air conditioning with a cold Starbucks.

2. I read the Bible every single day. It is my roadmap to life. I also compulsively devour manga, so it’s like a daily dose of Jesus and pre-teen drama romance is regularly pumped into my veins.

3. I once peed in the original TV series Batcave in the Hollywood Hills. True story.

4. I insist that I am awesome at multi-tasking, but I’m really not. Shhhh!!!

5. I had a dream of my husband the night before meeting him. When he walked in the room, I knew he was the one, and promptly stalked him till he married me.

6. I once hurt my knee on a weekend backpacking trip, and every time the pain flares up in the cold, my husband likes to go, “See? I told you you were gonna hurt yourself if you didn’t pace yourself.” And then I get defensive and grumpy.

7. I hate the way I look while pregnant. I am impatient to have my baby out of my tummy and into my arms for various reasons, (the most obvious being, well, it’s my baby) but among them I long to cosplay an anime-esque high schooler again without looking old and puffy.

The 15 Bloggers I’d Like to Award (in no particular order):

1. Buoyed Up

What started as a single blogger with a loved one in Navy Boot Camp, turned into a group blog with multiple authors and contributors. They offer encouragement and advice to those new in the Navy family, and have personally reached out to me with offers of help and support. A truly inspiring bunch!

2. The Crafty Book Goddess

An amazing gal, and a personal close friend, Amber is a working mother of six, a bookworm, a crafter and an amazing writer. She is constantly trying new things, posting new discoveries and sharing her works  and words. Check her out!

3. The Patchwork Pirate

An avid costumer and self-taught seamstress, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I am drawn to this super cool chick because she reminds me so much of myself. (I know, she must be pretty awesome, right?) Stop by to see her newest adventures and costume shenanigans.

4. Always Travelicious

KJ is a Taiwanese girl living in Malaysia, and she loves to travel. She’s always posting memoirs of wherever her itchy feet take her, and it’s a joy to read of her insights and adventures.

5. How To Dance

Just glance at her page – Daily Photo Challenge, recent Arrested Development quote – I mean her tag line says it all: “life, the dog, outdoors, more life, and a glass of wine or two”. Check her out!

6. Blackmailers Don’t Shoot

One of the few blogs that I find myself stopping to read every time. Fun social commentary on politics and cultural shenanigans.

7. Geek Leak

This blog is run by two girls who have a passion for all things geeky. In short, girls after my own heart. I am always excited to see what’s new whenever they update their blog.

8. DIY Navy Momma

This blog is run by a fellow Navy momma, with far more experience and insight than I have to offer, haha. She’s got a big heart, a strong family, a love of DIY crafting and an eye for photography.

9. Storytime With Buffy

A gal who lives in England, yet doesn’t speak with an English accent. Try to wrap your head around THAT for a second. Haha. Anyway, another fellow bookworm with a beautiful head on her shoulders (and thoughts to match, haha).

10. Tales of a Mom

An amazing mommy, nerd, military wife and Christian woman. Another kindred spirit that I am blessed to add to my growing list of super mommies that blog. Inspiring and kindhearted, check her out!

11. Mom Of A Pregnant Teen

A super sweet super mom that designed her blog to chronicle her journey into grandmotherhood with her pregnant teen. Uplifting, social stigma breaking, inspiring and a joy to read. Stop by and say hi and give her a virtual hug!

12. Femme Lords

I have called dibs on “biggest fan” for this blog, so BACK OFF!! But, ya know, go check this blog out because it’s awesome. Nerdgasmically delicious, if you will!

13. Big Dog Diving

Lots of stunning pictures to be found on this blog. I’m always happy to see these posts pop up in my blog feed, it’s like eye candy for the soul!

14. Delicious Ambiguity

A classic journal blog from a delightful British girl studying zoology. (What’s with me and my British-blog-loving self?! Haha) Thought-provoking pictures coupled with charming posts. What’s not to love?

15. The Underestimated Mom

A talented, happily married, beautiful mommy and crafter with a blog full of fun stories, happy life imagery and domestic crafts that both delight and inspire. Check her page out!