Belated Blog Awards!

Hello Readers,


I have been the lucky recipient of two new awards in the past few weeks, and thought I had better give a big huge thanks to the sweet Blue Eyed Runner for the Sunshine Award. You're supposed to send the sunshine award to someone who brightens your day, and honestly readers, I just couldn't pick. What brightens my day the most is the interaction I have with each of you on your blogs, as well as on this little blog. So if you haven't received this award yet, consider yourself tagged (I know it's kind of a cop out.... but none-the-less I truly do mean it)!

The ever southern and deliciously beachy Coastal Belle tagged me with the Happy 101 Award. In which I am supposed to list 10 things that make me happy and to try to do at least one of them today... and then I'm supposed to tag ten of you, so here goes:

1. Running.... I love it. When I'm out of shape I hate it for the first few weeks, but once I get to the point where I can easily run 3-5 miles I love. There is something so freeing about just hitting the road and hearing my own breathing and my footsteps (I don't run with my ipod, I know I'm a freak, but I posted the reason why on this post). I also love the energy I get after a run, and the sense of accomplishment, and the simplicity. I don't need a machine, or weights, or to even go anywhere, I don't have to feel uncomfortable, or compare myself, I just put on my shoes and head out the door. 


2. Love interacting with my sweet dog Victoria Anne (Tori, or Muffy for short). Tori is a fox terrier mix and is 35lbs, but she holds her own against my boyfriend's 75 lb boxers. Tori thinks she's a big dog, and I am her whole world. She lights up to see me, she follows me everywhere, she is smart, and playful, and obedient, and is always up for a good run. She knows me so well that she can tell if I'm mad, or sad, or upset or excited without my ever having to say anything, and she is so good at it, that my boyfriend has learned that if Tori is stalking around the house behind me with her ears laid back, I must be upset about something, even if I am acting like I am not. 

3. I love having conversations about my faith and what I'm learning with friends and family. I try not to shove my beliefs down anyone's throat, and I'm not actively involved in a Bible study group. So I do a lot of my growing and learning on my own. Thus, I'm always eager and excited to talk about my Jesus and what He's doing in my life with anyone who wants to know.


4. I love family dinners. I grew up in a household where the only time we ate as a family was on major holidays. So I love it when PBF and I sit down at the table to dinner, or when we go to visit his family and his sister and grandad come over for dinner. It's just so grounding and solid and nice to sit and eat and visit with family. 

P.S. isn't the preppy family disgustingly good looking? I feel out of place there in the back row with all those gorgeous people... who let the homely girl in? This was on our vacation in Mexico...


5. Gardening... I love to plant flowers and vegetables and to watch them grow. It makes me feel like I am making the earth greener, and prettier. Nothing tastes better than a tomato from your own garden!


6. Driving... not like commuting to work, but loading up the car and heading to another town for lunch, or driving to visit friends and family in another city. I love having a full tank of gas, and all day to just drive and get where I'm going. 


7. Achieving a goal... any kind of goal, whether it be personal or professional, physical or emotional, complex or simple. Something about telling myself I want to do something, and then going out and doing it, makes me feel like all in the world is as it should be, and it makes me feel like I'm on the right course with my life. 


8. Reading Research... I know super lame. But I am always so intrigued by how things work, or why we do things, and the correlations and relationships between actions, or results with other actions and results.  I am super thrilled to be a doctor, but if I ever thought for one minute that I could have a paying career doing research I absolutely would. I did my Senior Thesis in college on the effect of living in a dry country (meaning no alcohol served or sold in the country) on the rates of heavy drinking as compared to those living within a wet county. I loved every minute of it (and if you want to know, there is a higher incidence rate of heavy drinking in dry counties than wet counties, at least in Arkansas, using the parameters of heavy drinking set by the CDC). 


9. Giving... I have been in a position where I didn't have an extra penny to give to someone in need, or where I couldn't give great gifts to people... so it's been fun as my finances have grown to be able to give and share. It's actually one of the things I'm the saddest about having to give up/cut back on in medical school.


10. Getting my hair done. I love to change the color, and to some extent the cut, although I've been growing it out for quite a while now so my cut hasn't really changed all that much. I just love having a professional color done... I always feel so fresh and new, and although I only do it once or twice a year (the rest of the time I box it at home... never looks as good but gets me through to the next salon job)... I am always so thrilled to get it done!




Sorry, my ramblings turned out pretty long! I tag the following people:


The Blue Eyed Runner
Beautiful Dirty Rich
Glammed if you do, glammed if you don't
The Joyeful Journey
Leaving and Loving on a Jet Plane
Southern Living Preppy Style
Up North Preppy
Just Another Day In our Midwest Paradise
Confessions of a Domestic Goddess
Married to a Medical Student