It's spring cleaning time, bitches!

Despite the fact that it's 37 degrees outside and feels NOTHING LIKE SPRING, I've totally gotten into spring cleaning mode (my husband thinks I'm nesting because my good friend just had a baby on Monday, but I think he's just trying to distract me from the giant pile of cables in the garage he still needs to sort. Not gonna work, buddy!) So far I've tackled youngest daughter's closet, the disaster that was the kids' dress-up clothes area (also known as the cats' alternative litter box. ew.) the guestroom dresser area, and the garage (minus the afore mentioned pile of husband's crap).

Making clutter my bitch.

I actually kind of love dumping out a closet or totally rearranging a room. It is soothing to the compulsive side of my obsessive-compulsive disorder. Give me a glass of wine and a shelf to organize and I'm in heaven (bonus points if I can also be near a TV playing something totally trashy like Real Housewives). The thing I hate about it though is how it totally sucks all my attention away from the day-to-day chores. So while I've been giving these projects my attention, the laundry has piled up to mountainous heights and the bathrooms are just plain icky. So this weekend I think I'll have to take a break from spring cleaning and tackle some normal cleaning (which is also more pleasant with a glass of wine, just don't get the wine and the windex mixed-up).

And in the spirit of spring cleaning, there's some blog housekeeping I want to attend to.

First, if you've enjoyed my posts, please follow me on Bloglovin', Twitter, and/or Facebook. It helps me stay motivated to keep writing when I know people are reading (all I want is love, y'all).

Speaking of love, back in the middle of April I was nominated for a Liebser Award by the awesome Rebecca of Mad Scientist, Crazy Mom. I've put off addressing it until after the A to Z... and then today, as I was working on this post I was nominated again, this time by Silvia of Silvia Writes. Thank you, ladies! I'm honored.

Ok, here's what I am suposed to do...

Post the award on your blogs 

Thank the blogger(s) who gave you the award and link back to their site 

Post 11 random facts about yourself

Answer 11 questions that the presenter of the award has asked

Nominate 11 new bloggers with fewer than 200 followers you want to pass the award on to

Ask your nominees 11 questions

OMG, 11?? Ain't nobody got time for that. At least not that x2, so I'll do it once and count it for both. :) 

11 Random Facts About Me:

1. I worked as a cashier at a hardware store for 6 years (high school and part of college) and it was awesome. 
2. I love, love, love hockey but I get little to no enjoyment from playing with men or watching men play on TV (NHL or college) and prefer to keep all my hockey girls/women only, on the ice or on TV.
3. I didn't read Lord of the Rings until college, but I lied and said I had read it earlier to seem geekier in front of my new college friends.
4. I have an "officshmate" (a fish that lives in my office) named Mac and he is so much stupider than poor Carl (my first offishmate who died this summer) that I kind of resent him, but I'm also really dedicated to keeping him alive forever after the untimely death of Carl. 
5. I am aware that I have excessively complex feelings regarding pet fish.
6. My favorite comfort foods are shepherd's pie, tacos, and kraft mac-n-cheese with tuna.
7. If I could get you to read one older post to understand my sense of humor and my OCD it would be Crazy Goes to the Gym.
8. I looooove photoshop. I photoshopped pretty much every picture on this blog in some way.
9. My favorite non-english swear word is "biaozi" which means bitch. I use it so often I forget that it's not english. 
10. I moved from MA to MN when I was in first grade. I hated it and was pissed about moving for years. But at some point in high school I saw the light and now I love it here and never, ever want to leave (even when it snows in May).
11. I'm very sarcastic in real life, which it turns out doesn't always translate into other cultures well. Some cultures do not have sarcasm. This blows my mind.

11 Questions Answered (I picked my favorites from both nominations):

1. What is your happiest childhood memory?
• There are so many. But maybe playing Sound of Music with my sister at night when we were suposed to be going to sleep
2. If you could have a super power, what would it be?
• Is "being a Jedi" a super power. Because I want that.
3. What has surprised you the most about how your life has turned out?
• I always thought I'd be a stay at home mom, but I'm not and I'm happy with that
4. If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?
• Independently wealthy. Everything else is pretty awesome. (or I could get rid of the OCD... but then what would I blog about?)
5. What is your ultimate vacation?
• Traveling around China, staying in interesting hotels, and eating amazing food with my husband and perfectly behaved children.
6. If I were to meet you in person, what is the first thing I would notice?
• I think that's more about you. I tend to notice hair, but my hair is pretty boring right now. You might notice my fabulous ass and sweet rack. Or my giant leg tattoo. Or  that I have spinach in my teeth.
7. If you needed to emigrate, which country would you choose and why?
• Canada. It's the most like Minnesota. I'll visit anywhere, but I'd want to live someplace that felt like home. Also, I can't live without hockey.
8. What is your ultimate way of relaxing?
• Drinks, snacks, and something fun to watch with the family. 
9. What instrument have you ever wanted to play?
• Fiddle. I really have to just get one and teach myself one day. 
10. What role/part would you play in a movie?
• Jedi!!! (am I redundant?)
11. What’s your favorite song when you’re traveling?
• Depends on the type of traveling. In the car I have a very complex system. Most of the time I listen to NPR, but if I'm crabby or it's late at night I listen to Revenge of the Sith, if I'm heading to hockey I listen to something I can sing along with, and if I'm feeling festy and/or riding with the windows down I love some Irish fiddle music. 

11 Nominees (how is this different from a chain letter??)

1. Slimegreen
2. Masked Mom
3. Ponderings of an Urban Gypsy
4. Facebooking from the Edge
5. This Girl's Messy Head
6. My Mom's a Whackjob
7. Bookish Geek
8. The Cowardly Feminist
9. Quirky Chrissy
10. The Transformed Non-Conformist
11. Geek Banter

11 Questions for my Nominees

1. What's a bad habit you have?
2. What's your favorite blog post (you've written)?
3. What is the physical feature you dress to highlight?
4. Odd or even numbers?
5. Movies or plays?
6. What's your favorite slang/silly phrase to say?
7. If you could only have one piece of software on your computer, what would it be and why?
8. What's your least favorite color?
9. If I say "soup to nuts" what does that mean to you?
10. If we're getting together for drinks, what's are you going to order?
11. What's your favorite comfort food(s) when you're having a rough day?

Ok, that's it, I'm tired. Spring cleaning is a pain. Luckily spring is short in Minnesota and soon we can move on to summer not-giving-a-damn.