7 "Up and Coming" Blogs

I don't usually participate in the 'rules' following an award. I'm always excited to be nominated and thought it, but usually I'm just lazy or I forget. This time around, I was nominated for the Liebster award, which I've been told is for bloggers with less than 200 followers. New or up and coming bloggers, I suppose. Thanks to Kim for nominating me. 

Basically the rules are post some random facts, answer some questions, nominate others for the award, and ask them new questions. Oh and tell them about the award. I like doing things in even numbers, so I'm not doing the 11 facts and questions like expect. I'm just doing 10! It's hard enough to find people to nominate. Most people are too popular and have a million followers, the rest don't show followers on their blog. 

Random Facts About Moi

1. Lately, I drink a large half coffee, half hot chocolate. Every morning. 

2. I work in an office at a hotel, booking meeting space and such. 

3. I completed college to become a legal secretary, and am letting the education go to waste. 

4. About 95% of my daughter's clothing is second hand. 

5. I spend a ton of my internet time browsing local buy and sell groups as well as parenting groups on Facebook. 

6. I'm almost always cold. Especially in the morning. Summer mornings, I often get up and put a sweater on for the first little while. 

7. One of boyfriend's (many) feminine qualities, is that we've discussed hypothetical weddings many times together. 

8. I plan on having (at least) one more child, but I require Chloe to be at least potty trained before then, if not longer. 

9. Potatoes are one of my favorite foods ever. 

10. I need a fun date idea for this coming Saturday night. It's a special occasion. 

Questions for Me

1. What is your favorite T.V. show?

I have many. How I Met Your Mother, Big Brother, Gossip Girl, Sex and the City, Dexter, Big Bang Theory, Being Erica, 90210, so many more. I review them from time to time on What I've Been Watching. 

2. How old is your blog?

Less than a year. My first post was May 13, 2012: Welcome to My Blog. 

3. What’s your favorite recipe that you make?

Lately, meatloaf. Recipe for that coming soon. 

4. Favorite mascara?

Covergirl Lash Exact

5. Favorite article of clothing?

A black dress of mine that I've worn to a couple of 'dressy' events, but haven't worn in a couple of years now. 

6. Do you watch sports? Which teams?

I don't anymore. I used to watch hockey back in high school, and the Montreal Canadiens will always have a place in my heart. 

7. What’s the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

I have no idea. Probably something on The Art of Trolling. 

8. Who was your favorite teacher?

I won't say her name, but she was my high school teacher. She taught French courses over the years including history and law, and regular French courses. She was the sweetest teacher ever. 

9. What’s your favorite quote?

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10. What word best describes you?

Meh, I hate this kinds of questions. I really don't know. 

To you, I recommend:

1. Our Tiny Place - I cannot figure out how she has under 200 followers, because her blog is amazing, and more importantly, hilarious. 

2. A Life to Love and Live - One of my real life BFFs. 

3. Baby Sister's Blog - Not my baby sister, that's just her nickname. Her blog name is too long and Spanish to spell. 

4. Wrangling Chaos - A big favorite. She's kind of like a super mom, except she's so real and honest. 

5. The Diva is Learning Domestic - She hasn't blogged in over a month. She usually comes back. 

6. Blawnde's Blawg - She has a baby Chloe as well, who's just a little bit older than mine. 

7. BG Life and Design - She has more than 200 followers, but I don't care anymore. 

Ok, I'm bored and I give up. This award shizz is exhausting, and let's face it, most people won't pay attention to it anyway. 

Happy blogging, and have a good weekend! 

What I've Been Watching: Being Erica & United States of Tara

It's time for another edition of What I've Been Watching, the series where I tell you what I've been watching lately, and what I think about it. It doesn't get any better than this. 

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House

House. He's a brilliant doctor, and he's rude, mean, sarcastic, and hilarious. 

I'm finally nearing the end of season 4, so there's still a lot for me to go through. It's taking me forever because while I enjoy the show, if I'm home with my daughter I prefer something mindless that I don't have to pay a lot of attention to. I'm with my daughter a lot. 

So maybe an update is in order if I ever finish the series. I bought the first few seasons years ago, so don't hold your breath on an update anytime soon. 

- Stars to be determined. [ House on imdb ]

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Being Erica

This is now one of my favorite shows. It's Canadian (bonus!) It's about Erica (obviously!) who's going through a rough patch in her life until she meets her new therapist, Dr Tom. Dr Tom is special. She has a list of regrets, and one-by-one he sends her back in time to relive them and learn from them. 

It is a great show about self-discovery. It may have some cheesy moments, but it does teach you something every now in then. This show has managed to make me laugh and cry so many times, and always keeps me interested. 

The final season gets a little confusing, with all the present/future people, but you'll have to watch to understand. Well worth the watch. I'm just sad that there's only 4 seasons, and as I write this I'm a couple of episodes away from the end. 

- 5/5 stars. [Being Erica on imdb]

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United States of Tara

To keep it simple, Tara is a wife and mother of two. She also has multiple personalities. She has three main ones: T, who is basically an annoying teen girl; Buck, who is basically a male redneck; Alice, who is a conservative housewife. She gains another one or two as the show goes on. 

This show sucked me in immediately, although it might not be for everyone. There's swearing, there's violence, there's sex scenes so intense that you don't want to watch this with.. well anyone you wouldn't want to watch sex scenes with. 

I'm on the last season, so my opinion might not be complete, but so far I love it. 

- 4/5 stars. [ United States of Tara on imdb ]

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Check out my last What I've Been Watching post, where I tell you what I think about 90210, Dexter, and How I Met Your Mother. 

Blurbs: New phone, birthdays, and random.

It's time for some blurbs (random snippets of thoughts and such), Wrangling Chaos style. 

- I got a new phone. It's been a long time coming. I got my Samsung Wave back in September 2010. I wanted an iPhone, but those were expensive and oh-so-popular that they had none in stock. The Wave went through technical difficulties charging when my mother spilled an entire bottle of formula on it, so when boyfriend paid a small fortune to upgrade early to an iPhone, he gave me his crappy Blackberry. I turned the old Wave on the other day and it actually works like a charm, despite being in the toy box for the past 6+ months. 

I got an iPhone. I paid a fifth of what boyfriend paid for his, for the exact same phone less than a year later. Cause I'm awesome. He tells me I'll soon be as addicted to my phone as he is to his. So now I'm making it my life goal to prove him wrong. Goal or not, I can survive a bathroom break without my phone, thank you  very much. 

As you can see, I've got all my addictions in one place now. Apps are my best friend now. The only paid one is Bloons Tower Defense 5. My favorite game. 

Ps, I got (and felt like a moron, but finally figured out) Instagram. So follow me for boring updates whenever. 

- That one 'blurb' was not supposed to be that long. My bad. 

- Lil M, also known as Madi, also known as boyfriend's daughter, turns 2 on Sunday. When I met her, she wasn't even one yet, and couldn't walk. Chloe couldn't even sit. 

- I've never said boyfriend's name in here yet. It's just habit now. I don't care if you know, but it makes me feel mysterious. Gotta find excitement where you can, right? 

- A cinnamon roll and half coffee/half hot chocolate are the highlight of my every morning. I tried to go without it this morning, and I got a headache and couldn't stop yawning. My brain is addicted to caffeine. Somewhere on my list of goals is to give up caffeine for a week. I don't doubt that I can do it, but I will miss it. My finances will thank me. Luckily, I'm still living off a coffee gift card from Christmas :)

- My blurbs are kind of boring, but at least I feel like I'm documenting life. 

- Tune in tomorrow for an episode of 'What I've Been Watching'. 

- Signing off, leaving you with a little bit of cuteness, stolen from boyfriend's phone....

My little C, a bit before Christmas

Lil M taking a high chair nap, also a bit before Christmas

I have a toddler, not a baby - 16 months old.

This kid of mine? So full of personality lately. She waddles around babbling all day. 

We had such a good weekend together that I miss her already, and I've only been at work for four hours. 

Some stats?

Age: 16 months on January 25. 

Weight and Length: She might be around 20lbs now. That's all I know, and I don't even know it. 

Diapers: Size 3s still fit good, and size 4 overnight diapers. If we don't use overnights, she wakes up soaked. 

Clothes: 12-18 month jeans (Old Navy, mostly), 6-12 month tops, some a little bigger. 12-18 month pjs. Size 4 in shoes. Size 3 still fits, but toes are too close to the edge. 

Sleep: From 7-7 basically. At home on weekends she takes super long naps around lunch. Both naps this weekend were about 3 hours long. 

Likes: 

- Mommy's toys - cell phone, laptop, any kind of remote or gaming controller.
- Taking plastic containers out of the cupboards.
- Shoes. If the closet is left open, she always goes in and grabs a pair.
- Taking the dvds off the shelf and throwing them on the floor.
- Mr and Mrs Potato Head.
- Climbing on the coffee table and couch.

Dislikes: 

- Sippy cups, but only because she'd rather her bottle.
- Getting her clothes/diaper changed.
- Being in a shopping cart for too long.

New things: 

- She waves 'bye' a lot, but that's not new.

- She blows kisses!

- She mimics a lot more now - sticking out her tongue, taking a sip of water then making the 'ah' sound. 

- She knows where her socks and hat go on her body, and can almost put them on herself. She can get the hat on sometimes. 

- Likes to dance and wiggle a bit more. 

- Climbs everything that she can. 

- Whines when she sees her bottle and wants it. 

- Passing stuff to people and saying 'tata'. 

- She's a little rough. Will stand up for herself by hitting/biting. Sometimes she'll hit for no reason at all. 

She likes food lately. It's about time. Foods she seems to love these days:
- Blueberries
- Cereal with milk
- Pasta and tomato sauce
- Potatoes
- Apple sauce
- Raisins
- Shepherd's Pie
- Cheese

Food's she's not much of a fan of:
- Muffins or cookies that are made with oatmeal and aren't sugar-filled
- Pickles
- Cantaloupe
- Toast with peanut butter and jam

She's just so much fun. All full of words and laughs and trouble. I still think she looks funny walking, and I love just watching her. She's such a Mama's girl - always needs to know that I'm nearby. She'll play alone, as long as she knows I'm close. She's my favorite.

And just for fun,
20 Ways Toddlers are Like Drunk People
and
Having a Toddler is Like Living in Poltergeist

My Goals for the Next 2.5 Years

I am taking part in the Day Zero Project. Which is 101  goals you would like to complete in 1001 days. I've started compiling my list of goals. I started my list on December 28, which 1001 days later brings me exactly to the date of Chloe's 4th birthday. I think that's a sign of something special. I won't be listing all the goals here, but I will be updating periodically with things I've done, and things I'd like to do soon. 

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10 Things to Work On in January

1. Build a snowman
2. Compile my list of 50 must-see movies
3. Complete 1 Pinterest project (Goal is 10)
4. Put a little bit of money back into my savings
5. Be more positive
6. Learn to count to 10 in another language (Goal is 10)
7. Buy a sled
8. Start planning a game tournament
9. Do a jigsaw puzzle (started one January 9)
10. Create a photowall

I'll update at the end of January to see how much I've completed, and pick some goals to work on in February.