Blogger Love

Lest you think the title refers to google "Blogger", let me put your fears at ease... I mean you guys! I am so thankful this blogging community each and every day. There are SO many awesome things about being a part of this community! For quite a while now there have been several "awards" floating around, and I'm embarrassed to say that I've done nothing about it for months. Sad trombones.

Erika brought up a pretty spectacular analogy a week or so ago when she compared these to the phenomenon that was the survey in the 90's... kind of takes me back to the good ol' chain letter. You know: do these five things, send it to these ten friends, or your luck will be ruined for a whole year. Ha. Good times. I wasn't very good at the survey of chain letter back then, and I'm apparently still not. BUT, this blog has been a little down in the dumps lately, so it's high time for some love and cheer. And who doesn't want to know a whole heck of a lot more about me? I know, calm yourselves.

The number of nominations times the number of questions was simply too much to tackle, so I've answered a few of my favorites from each nominator. Hopefully, I got everybody. Without further ado:

 

Annie- Sweetest in the Gale:

What is your favorite thing to cook? Or, for non-cooks, to order in?
Haha. I don’t cook. Like at all. Crazy lucky that my husband enjoys it. But if I had to cook, I’m pretty good at grilled cheese! But if I'm ordering in, it'll be pizza.

It's your day off. No commitments yet. Shockingly, ALL your laundry is clean. What do you wear?

Hmm… Am I staying in? If so, I’ll be in my husband’s sweats. If I have to venture out, I love leggings and boots… essentially dressy sweats.

 

You can have one word or phrase stricken from the minds of humanity--they just forget it existed and you NEVER have to hear it again. What is it?

LOL. BRB. LMAO. Essentially all text type… Despise. It. All.

 

I've got a gift card for you! You can't spend it on bills. Only frivolous things. Where do you go?

How much is on this gift card? Does Tiffany’s do gift cards? Haha. Umm, probably Pottery Barn.

Aubrey- Two Hearts and One Dream:

Why do you blog, and will you continue to blog when you get pregnant/have a baby(ies)?
I initially started blogging because I was newly married, in a new city where I didn’t know anyone, and unemployed. It also had suddenly become trendy among my friends, so I thought “why not?”. Genuine Greavu was around before infertility, I hope it will be after too!

What would you say is the best piece of advice for someone who is not going through infertility, but who doesn't know what to say to someone who is?
It’s as easy as, “I’m sorry you’re going through that. It sounds awful. I’m happy to listen if you’d ever like to share.”

If you won the lottery, what would be the FIRST thing you'd do?
Are we pregnant? Ha. It all comes back to that. I guess the FIRST thing would be to tithe 10%. Sam and I plan our finances from a simple plan: give 10%, save 10%, live off the rest. So I guess we’d give 10%, save 10%, and then pay off student loans! After that... whoa, never thought that far.

What is your middle name?
Marguerite- It’s my grandmother’s name. I used to HATE it… ugh! It was so old fashioned. But now I love it. She was an incredibly special lady whom I loved to pieces; I feel very blessed to carry her name.

Where would you live if you could move to anywhere you wanted in the whole wide world?
The whole world??? Gee, I don’t know, the whole world is kind of big. I haven’t seen much of it, so I think I’d stick close to home and move to Colorado… probably Fort Collins or Loveland.


Teresa- Where the *Bleep* is Our Stork?:

Shaken or stirred?
Hmm, can I go with brewed? Alcoholic beverages aren’t really my thing, but if I wasn’t ALWAYS trying to conceive, I wouldn’t pass up a blended beverage either… sweet and girly!

Would you ever consider writing your own book?
Ha. My mom constantly tells me I should do this. I think I’ll wait until someone other than my mom says that they would read it.

 
Amie- Is It Time Yet?:

Do you watch sports on TV? Favorite Team?
We never miss the Dawgs. We watch most big Division 1 football and basketball games but I can’t stand pro-sports. No thank you!

How many kids do you wish you had?
The plan was 5-6. Hoping for at least 1 still.

Which candy is your most favorite?
Snickers. Looovvveeee. I’m also a huge fan of Milk Duds.


Rainbow for Rainbow:

If you had to choose one person, other than your significant other, to live with for the rest of your life, who would you choose?
My mom… I think she’s probably the only person other than Sam that I could tolerate in huge doses without going crazy!

What is one skill/talent you’ve always wished you had?
Hmm. I wish I could sing really well. I have no desire to do it professionally or anything, but I’ve always wished I was more musically talented.

What was your best subject in high school?
Writing isn’t a subject, or it would be writing…. I was good at English but hate being told what to read, so I didn't love English. I guess, overall, I was best at math.

What movie makes you cry?
Is it weird that I cried the first time I saw What to Expect When You’re Expecting?


Erika- Something Beautiful:

If you could have a top-of-the-line, totally tricked out household appliance (just ONE!) for free, what appliance would you choose?
I need a new vacuum cleaner… a really good one to get through the massive amounts of hair our animals shed, but what I want is a Vitamix.

What company could you be the spokesperson for?
Hmm, not really a company, but I could be the spokesperson for dry shampoo… revolutionary. It will change your life.

Would you rather have 10 cats living inside your house or 10 dogs (mixed breeds/sizes)?
Cats. No question. Cats are so easy, require so little work and offer so much love. Although, I’ve never had more than one cat at a time; I’m not sure if that many cats could all get along.

Which Disney princess do you most identify with? Or prince. Or villain. Or goofy side-kick.
I’m taking Amanda’s hint and using the quiz… I also got Belle!

What is your most hated food item?
Mashed potatoes. No, pickles. No, mashed potatoes….


Hidden Infertility:

What celebrity do you look like?
When I had long hair, someone would tell me (often multiple times a week) that I look like Sandra Bullock. I also get, “you look like that girl from that movie with orange hair”. They are always referring to The Fifth Element’s Milla Jovovich.

Yea, I'm not sure it's a huge compliment

What story does your family always tell about you?
My mom loves to tell stories about how dramatic I was as a child… I think her favorite is the time I (supposedly) told her I was almost eaten by an alligator at preschool. She assumes that I saw a lizard on the playground.

What chore do you absolutely HATE doing?
Dishes…. Ugghhh. Hate them. I’ll wash ten loads of laundry before I’ll wash dishes.


Suzanne- Our Journey to a Baby Bump

Was there a particular moment in your infertility journey that made you realize that you wanted/needed to start blogging?
Initially, my motivation was totally selfish. I opened up about infertility because I just needed to find someone who understood. I had miscarried and was about to start taking Clomid which seemed like such a big deal… I needed someone to listen.

What was your favorite vacation spot ever?
Vail, Colorado. Skiing, hot tubs in the snow… it’s my heaven on earth.

What food could you never live without?
Pizza… I’m not a foodie, by any means. I still essentially have the taste buds of a twelve year old.

We have so many tears through IF...do you have a REALLY funny moment that you've shared with your husband through all of this?
Haha! Makes me laugh just to think about it: During our last IUI, we had quite the humorous moment with the ultrasound technician. At every other appointment, they always said “waist down for me” meaning take off your clothes from your waist down, hop in the table and cover up with this snazzy paper sheet. They step out, I change, hop up, cover up and wait for them to knock. Well this lady just parked it on her chair at the monitor… she never left the room! It was SO awkward. I didn’t know if I should act like it was no big deal and drop my pants right there, go in the bathroom and come out with the sheet wrapped around me like a towel, or remind her that she was supposed to leave. We spent what felt like ages chatting awkwardly while I waited trying to give her time to leave… most awkward day ever. And Sam was dying laughing the whole time… so embarrassing!

What is the best part of blogging your IF journey?
This community. Hands down. The IF blogging community is the best thing ever and it was exactly what I needed to get through these years.

And with that, I'm done. I'm fairly sure just about everyone has been nominated, and as I've already admitted, I wasn't very good at continuing the chain letter. Womp womp. I love you ladies to pieces! I think if nothing else, the last few weeks have shown us all exactly why we do this, why we keep up with these blogs. It's not to see how many followers you have or how many comments you can get, it's to be there when your friend gets bad news, to celebrate the amazing wins, and to rally as a community when things go terribly wrong. Infertility sucks something crazy, but I'm proud to be a part of such a strong, beautiful community!