68 Days

So, 68 days ago I was nominated by D2, and for 68 days I've been think about this nomination. Today D2 I thank you for being you; you are an inspiration. Thank you for your energy, for your ability to rise above all of life’s bumps and to be better today than yesterday. I accept this Beautiful Blogger Award and in doing so also want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to dig deep. As part of this award I need to list seven interesting things about myself and then nominate seven other bloggers who I think also are deserving of a Beautiful Blogger Award. I’ve never thought about myself as being someone who is interesting; although I love the word. So when I looked up the synonym for interesting, words like motivating, appealing, exciting, fascinating, “out of the ordinary” and remarkable came up. So maybe some of these words work better for me. Exciting, I like to think I can be exciting. Out of the ordinary, I’m pretty sure that fits me. So here goes……..

The Seven Parts of Me (in no particular order):

1. Numbers: My Mom was a countess, that’s what you call a person that loves to count right? I don’t know when she started counting as I only became aware of her counting ways until later in her life. Recently, I have come to realize that I too possess this love of numbers and counting. About a year ago I realized that 2010 was a “cosmic” number year for our family. This year 2010 is the year our marriage numbers collide. It goes like this:

Mr. Man and I will celebrate 37 years
D1 and her husband will celebrate 14 years
S1 and his wife will celebrate 10 years
D2 and her husband will celebrate 8 years
S2 and his wife will celebrate 5 years
See the connection we’ve been married 37 years and our children collectively have been married 37 years. Who thinks of this stuff? I must be a countess too. Okay so maybe I am interesting.

2. Words: I love words like, really and so and interesting and different. I also love hope and believe and obedience too. Because as interesting as it may seem we really aren’t so different. We each have hopes and dreams and aspirations. And I believe when we are obedient we can reach them, remarkable!

3. Passion: Yes I’m passionate. Now being passionate may not be interesting but it can be exciting! I came across an email note my mother had written me on July 21, 2001. She said “I can’t imagine what on earth got you so upset (aka passionate), but do try to put it behind you.” Great advice. Over the years my passion has, I believe, toned down. I think passion mellows with age, thankfully so. Passion takes energy and I choose to save my energy for more important things, like my soon to be 13 grandchildren in 7 years……there I go counting again, it’s the countess in me……fascinating!

4. Ancestors: Now this is interesting at least to me. Bishop John W. Hess, who presided over the Farmington (Utah) Ward when Aurelia Spencer Rogers organized the first Primary there in 1878, is my Great-Great Grandfather. My dad’s cousin is President Cecil O. Samuelson, he is president of BYU. James and Elizabeth Allred (Mr. Man’s 3rd Great Grandparents) were friends of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his family. James was a bodyguard to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Maybe I am out of the ordinary!

5. Cheerleading: The one singular event in my life that I fall back on……..really. When I was a sophomore in high school I really wanted to try out for cheerleading. I tried so hard to convenience my friends to try out with me, alas I had no takers. It was just me, just me at practice, just me at try outs, and it was just me who made it on the squad of 4. I look back and think amazing. Amazing that I had the courage to do it alone…..it would have been so much easier to just watch from the sidelines. That experience taught me that I can do anything in life if I put my mind to it. It also taught me that sometimes we have to do it alone. I gravitate to that experience whenever I feel like something is too hard and I believe it has helped me through a lot……..Motivating

6. Cars: I love them, I just love them. I’m not sure if that makes me interesting or not. I think it makes me unusual rather than interesting. But I do know it is definitely genetic. My dad loved cars. When I was a kid he taught me how to distinguish the different models of cars and what year they were. Back in the day cars changed body style each year; that doesn’t happen anymore. If I could have any car today I would have two. A Corvette and a 1936 Ford. The Corvette because I love them and the 36 Ford because my dad restored them…..Exciting.

7. Shoes: I love shoes because they always fit. Your pant size may increase but not your shoe size. I can always count on my shoes. Hello I’m counting again. Boy once you become a countess it is hard not to count everything…..Appealing.

So this award really got me to thinking and realizing that maybe I am interesting after all.  But the fun can't end here so now it is my privilege to nominee seven other bloggers........
 
1.  Amy: She is my D1. This is her second nomination, I hope she will accept. She is one of my go-to-girls. As a self-designated “Queen of Useless Information” (which is never useless to me) I admire her constant thirst for knowledge as she has stepped into the world of homeschooling, something I could never do.
2. Ashley: This is her second nomination as well, and I’m hoping she too will accept. She is my “excuse me I have a question” girl!  She is my the real "dil" and I love her for it.
3. Jessica: She is my latest blogger friend. I’ve known her for a short time. I love her smile, her zest for life, her courage, her faith.
4. Tiffany:  She is my sister from another mother. She is the other half of my brain. She is a friend for life. We laugh, we cry and dream together.
5. Erin: Who doesn’t love a cherry? She is faith and courage and hope. And I’m privileged to call her my friend.
6. Lynette: I'm nominating her because she really needs to get her boys home (on the blog) from their mission! Plus she is a friend from beginning to end.
7. Sherrie:  I know of Sherrie through the world of blogging. She doesn’t know me and I’m not sure how she is going to know about this award she has been nominated for but I love to read about her insights. She lifts me up.
 
Now for those of you I just nominated/awarded all you have to do is the following; in order to accept this award yourself...

-Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
-Copy the award & place it on your blog.
-Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
-Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself.
-Nominate 7 bloggers.
-Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.