I Would Like To Thank The Academy....

So maybe it's not really an Academy Award. Unlike Kate Winslet, I'm pretty sure I'll only be making my acceptance speech in the bathroom with a shampoo bottle for the rest of my life. It's hard to be discovered when you're almost 40 and more Frumpy than Fabulous.

But I am pleased and honored to receive the Kreativ [sic] Blogger Award from Mary at The Adventures of Mommy Maestro. Thank you Mary!

The rules of the award state that I must list seven things I love, and then to pass the award on to seven bloggers I love to read.

In no particular order:
Seven Things Irishembi Loves (besides husband, children and assorted pets):

1) Grocery shopping by myself - No joke. I enjoy grocery shopping solo. I'm not sure if that's because that is the rare place that I do sometimes get to be by myself, or if I really just enjoy grocery shopping. Maybe a little of each. When the kids are with me, it's a trip guaranteed to produce a nervous breakdown, tears and snot, and at least one temper tantrum. And then sometimes the kids have a rough time too. But when by myself, I stroll through those aisles. I read packages and labels. I check out new products. Look over all the items in the $1 bins just in case I might need a miniature size can of foot powder some day.

2) The smell of my kids' hair, clean or dirty - I'm sure that will change once they enter puberty and dirty hair smells less like the syrup they got in it at breakfast time, and more like sweaty teenager.

3) Music - I love music of all eras and genres. I have completely random taste. There are certain artists or genres I might be more familiar with or prefer, but for me it's all about the way a particular song makes me feel. Could be the melody, a certain turn of phrase in the lyrics, or even just that a particular song reminds me of a certain time in my life. A song can bring back a memory to me in such a way that I can feel that memory with all of my senses. I love music from Classical, to the cheesiest of Pop, to Disco, to Rockabilly, Jazz and Heavy Metal. There is a finely tuned string somewhere inside my soul and certain songs make it resonate. Music, especially played in a public forum such as a concert hall or marching band, can bring tears to my eyes. Not to be confused with making me cry, it just plucks that inner string and the emotion and sheer feeling overflows from my eyes. I also love to sing. I'm told I should never do this, but my singing always sounds far better inside my head than out of it.

4) Kennywood - I've promised a full blog entry about this local Pittsburgh Amusement Park in my post about Pittsburgh. But the short version is that I love the sounds, the smells, the foods (three words: POTATO PATCH FRIES). I love the build-up of anticipation to the annual Kennywood trip. It still feels almost the same as it did 30 years ago when I couldn't wait to go.

5) Really Good Coffee - Nuff said.

6) My friends - I am blessed to have wonderful friends that would do anything for me at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately those hats are mostly in different time zones to the tune of several thousand miles away. Even my BFF that I grew up with right here in Pittsburgh had the nerve to move to England. Hmmm, maybe I should shower more often......

7) Books - I have a love affair and passion for books. It's cerebral, it's sensual. The smell of a new book, the cracking feeling when you open it for the first time, the feeling of the paper pages; both smooth and slightly scratchy at the same time. The moment the book opens up I can escape to a world that is "other." I have looked at a Kindle on Amazon, and while I like it in concept, I am reluctant to give up my real books. I cannot understand people that don't enjoy reading. Cannot relate at all. It is a love affair that has not wavered since I learned to read approximately 35 years ago.

Seven Blogs I am passing this award on to (again in no particular order, and I love ALL my blogs on my bloglist) :

1) Welcome to the Snug
2) The Chronicles of Blackheart Lola (since giving her an award seems to be the only way I can induce her to write)
3) Been There - Done That - By Jo (because I haven't heard all her stories yet and I never get tired of them)
4) Say it Ain't So (because I'm waiting for her to tell ANY story ;-) )
5) The Other Side of the Fence
6) Confessions of a Mommy Blogger
7) Life's a Journey...Not a Destination

For Moi? Why Thank You!

My cousin Colleen from Welcome to the Snug has given me the Honest Scrap Award. My cousin Colleen is a few years younger than me. We were always around each other growing up as her Dad is my Dad's brother and we lived about 15 minutes away from each other. My favorite memory of my cousin Colleen - even though it wasn't necessarily a happy time - was when I lived at her house for a week while my sister was in the hospital.

The first full day I stayed there I came down with an AWFUL virus which meant I had to stay home from school. And because I like to share, I promptly gave the virus to Colleen, so we hung out together all week in her Family Room watching cartoons, reading Highlights Magazines that my Uncle brought home for us and eating fried bologna sandwiches. My other two cousins; her brother and sister, somehow escaped the virus, so it was just Coll and I all week long.

I'm really glad we've recently re-connected via email and blogdom! I sincerely thank you for the award.

Here are the rules for this award:
a) List 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep! and
b) Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

1. During the winter I sometimes don't shave my legs for a month (or more). But I have to shave my armpits. Drives me crazy to have stubble under my arms.
2. I have a sister who is severely handicapped. She used to function on the level of a 2-3 year old child, but has declined to where we're not sure how much she can see or hear and can't communicate much. She lives in a group home now and I only see her once a year or so and I feel really guilty about it.
3. When I was a little girl and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would respond in all seriousness, "A Princess." I was really disappointed to find out this wasn't a career option.
4. I won 3 spelling bees. Really. My Mom still has the trophies.
5. I fell in love when I was 15. You think that doesn't really happen at that age, but it does sometimes. I'll try to remember that before I tell my daughters (or son) "there are lots of fish in the sea," when someone breaks their teenaged hearts.
6. I secretly like to watch Hannah Montana with my daughter. And not just because I think Billy Ray Cyrus is HOT (can't say the same for his music though).
7. I was married once before. I was only 20 when we got engaged and by the time I realized marrying him was a bad idea, I was too scared to call it off. Married at 22 and divorced by 24.
8. I wanted to have 6 children when I grew up. But when you start at 31 and your kids are all two and a half to three years apart, you run out of time (not to mention money!).
9. I am addicted to Doritos. They are like heroin to me. I try to keep them out of the house.
10. I am pathologically frightened of spiders and centipedes. I stayed awake one night until 3 a.m. watching a centipede on the wall because I was too scared to kill it, no way in hell was I going to sleep with it in the room, and my parents didn't get home until 3:00. I literally did not take my eyes off of it for close to 4 hours.

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And now I pass on the awards to:
Boo at Discover Boo
Kate at Does This Newborn Come With a Manual?
Kelly at The Secret Life of Ducks
Martha at MelodyGibbons.com
Dani at We Are Outnumbered!
Etta at The Chronicles of Blackheart Lola
Michelle at Life's A Journey...Not a Destination

I was limited to seven so I apologize to anyone I left out. You can see my blogroll to the right and at the bottom of my blog. They're ALL worth checking out.