Procasti....ah, I'll finish that later

I've been chipping away at this post for a little over a week now and am finally ready to publish, I think.  Normally I just type and post in one sitting before I have time to edit or talk myself out of saying something.  I don't know why this post took me so long...I've been procrastinating about some other things too...maybe I'll post about that next.  Maybe.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that I had been nominated by Rice Cakes and Redemption for a Liebster Award!  She is a fellow IFer who has been through a lot, including severe endometriosis, surgeries, diets, lots of IVF attempts, and foster adoption in her family-building efforts.  Currently she has one daughter and is in the process of expanding her family through another foster adoption.  From what I have gathered, she is one strong woman with a unique perspective.  I am so honored she found my blog and am happy to accept the award. 

So, the rules for the award seem pretty straight forward:

1. Recognize the blogger who nominated you.
2. Nominate 5 (or more) bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to receive the award.
3. Answer the 10 questions given to you by the person who nominated you.
4. Give your nominees 10 questions to answer.

If nominated, don't feel obligated to play along...."It's an honor just to be nominated," they say.  But, it can be a great way to expand your cyber-circle!

Now, I'm not sure if you can nominate someone for this award even if they've already received it...but I might.  I mean, if you had a sticker on your blog that shows you received the "Liebster Award," then I left you alone, but if not, I figured you were fair game!  I'm nominating the following ladies (in no particular order)...

Stuck in the Waiting Room

Waiting and Wishing 

Our Journey to the School Bus 

I Can Do This

I Should B

Though these women are all at different places in their journeys...whether it be just beginning the journey (like yours truly), in the throws of years of IF, parenting, pregnant, or facing secondary infertility...their archives have helped me immensely as they tell their tales of waiting, hoping, being let down, and trying again.  

So, now on to my questions from Rice Cakes:

1. What is your #1 Pet Peeve?
That probably depends on the day you ask me and what I am doing.  I am not proud of it, but I have a lot of little pet peeves and most of them have to do with tidiness.  I feel more calm when things are tidy and organized...so when someone leaves a cap off of a glue stick, or throws the games into the cupboard after a rainy-day recess (instead of putting them back in a neat pile like they found them), or my husband doesn't rinse an oatmeal bowl...I get kind of peeved. 

2. Why did you start blogging?
I had been wanting to start a teaching blog for a few months when my teaching partner so bravely jumped into blog-land last summer.  I feel like I work a lot already though, and I wasn't sure if I could keep up with the creative minds and expectations of all the teacher-bloggers out there.  So, I didn't start blogging until I hit a place with infertility when I felt like I seriously needed an outlet.  I thought between teaching and infertility, surely I would have enough to talk about on a blog.  Since I started, my blog has been much more of the IF variety than it has been about teaching, but I say that's okay.

3. Biggest blogging-related fear?
I'll just go ahead and quote myself here because I talked about this in my first post. 
When I started this blog "I was thinking that maybe I didn’t have what it took to blog…maybe I won’t be funny or creative or maybe I’ll run out of things to say or people won’t like the things I say or people won’t even read the things I say."  I was, and still am, afraid of judgment from friends and strangers...and that what I say might upset someone.

4. Best advice you ever got?
When facing an obstacle, it's best to take things one step at a time...it's like climbing a mountain, just put one foot in front of the other, and eventually you'll make it to the top.  Try not to get too ahead of yourself.  My husband told me this over and over again while I was working on my Master's Degree, but I think it applies to many of life's obstacles.

5. First job?
Babysitting, I guess??  Although, even before that, my grandpa used to pay me a quarter on Christmas Eve to wrap presents. Working at Dairy Queen was my first, official job though.

6. Secret dream job?
I've always thought cake decorating looked like fun...but funny thing is I hardly ever bake!  In another life, maybe I'll star on Broadway.  For this life, it would be beyond a dream to be a mom!

7. Favorite house-hold chore? Least favorite house-hold chore? (That's a two-fer)
Doing the dishes and vacuuming seem like the quickest way to make things look sooo much cleaner, so I like those chores best.  Cleaning the bathroom, especially the tub, is the worst!  Unless weeding counts as "house-hold," because I can't stand weeding!!

8. Biggest risk you ever took and would you do it again?  
I'm not much of a risk-taker...I guess I've done a few crazy things...but I don't have any regrets.  Perhaps my biggest risk is yet to come.

9. Best vacation EVER (or one you have already taken)?
My parents always took us on vacation (normally road-trip, camping, national parks types of vacations) every summer and there were lots of good ones.  I also went to Ireland with my husband a couple of years ago, which is pretty hard to top.  But I think the best vacation was our honeymoon to Kauai, Hawaii.  I sigh just thinking about how happy I felt.

10. All time favorite movie?
Oh boy.  Has there been one single question that I was able to give a direct and definitive answer to??  No genre guidelines or anything to help me narrow it down?  It would have to be Dodgeball if we are talking comedies, and Forrest Gump if we want to get serious.    

So, there you have it...a little bit of random information about me.  Here are my questions for my nominees:

1. What is a little known fact about you? 
2. What are your favorite hobbies?
3. What bores you to tears?
4. Favorite genre or type of reading?
5. Book recommendations?
6. Most annoying thing to hear as an infertile woman?
7. Do you have pets? Tell me about them!
8. Are you an Early Bird or Night Owl?  By choice or by circumstance?
9. Guilty pleasure/s?
10. Best piece of advice/encouragement for others on the IF journey? AND/OR Please share any infertility-related, Oprah-style "Aha Moments."

Alright ladies, have fun...and congratulations!
Thanks again, Rice Cakes!