I Won Something and Maybe You Did Too

In mid-December, as I was in the midst of dealing with holiday stress, school stress, and most gloriously of all - self-induced stress, Ado over at The Momalog blessed me with a blogger award:

Just what I needed - to feel liked and somewhat appreciated, especially for something so dear to me - my writing.

In response, awardees are required to do the following:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. List 7 things people may not know about you
3. Pass the award on to 15 other bloggers and notify them.
4. Post the badge on your blog.

So, here we go:

Seven Things You Don't Know About Me But Which Aren't So Personal That The Sous Chef Would Recommend I Delete My Blog and Change My Name

1. I am a Trekkie.  Or is it Trekker?  Either way, I love me some Star Trek.  I even went to a Star Trek convention when I was a teenager.  I am a child of the Next Generation series and movies, though I have an appreciation for the original series.  I am in the process of converting the Sous Chef, and so far he's taking a liking to it.  Live long and prosper, my friends.
   
   
2. When I go to bed, I have to have some sort of "white noise" going, or I can't fall asleep.  Once again, the Sous Chef has learned to adjust (Star Trek and noisy sleeping conditions? - he really is a saint).
   
   
3. I am absolutely, positively, 100% against animal cruelty.  I watch those videos of farm animals being hurt, and I literally start crying.  I look at my cats and I wonder, How could anyone ever harm an animal?  I also love a good steak, seared and roasted to meaty perfection.  I don't know if I'll ever find peace.
   
   
4. I still have every single report card I ever received, all the way back to kindergarten.  On a side note, I am working to resolve my anxieties about people judging me based on my behavior, work habits, spelling, and algebra skills.
   
   
5. I am a "Friends" expert.  I can see a few minutes of any episode and tell you the title of the episode and the season it came from.  In our house, the saying goes, " 'Friends' makes everything better."  Whether I'm under the weather, depressed, or bored, I know I'll get by with a little help from my "Friends".
   
   
6. I utterly despise when people try to talk to me when I am watching either a movie I've never seen or a new episode of a television show I follow.  Just.  Shut.  Up.  I am equally annoyed when I am watching something and someone in the room fires off quotes right before the actual actors say the lines.  Unless I'm in a cave, I don't want to hear echoes.
   
   
7. I have an aversion to large forks and spoons.  Don't ask me why.  Okay, fine.  See, I don't like when my food gets on my face, and having to wrap my dainty mouth around an extra wide or extra deep soup spoon inevitably results in remnants of food in the corners of my mouth.  I'm cringing just thinking about it.  When I set the table, I always put a small salad fork and teaspoon at my place.

So there you have it: I'm an anxiety-prone geekette who likes to laugh, express my love for animals whilst eating them, and shush people who interrupt my regularly scheduled programming.  And really, who does like having food on their face?

And now, to bestow the award upon others.  I'll tell you right now, I am not going to list fifteen bloggers. I don't have time to because the Sous Chef is five minutes away from serving up either a mammal or a bird for dinner - at this point, I'm so hungry, I don't care which it is/was.

So here are a few bloggers that I enjoy reading and would also like to learn a little more about:

• Tiffany and Morgan at Strudel and Streusel:  I met these lovely ladies at the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival and immediately fell in love with them.  They're funny, down to earth, friendly, and can bake a mean babka!
• Junghwa from An Apple a Day: Another FoodBuzz Festival Friend; a warm soul who writes about healthy food, products, and a strong affinity for something called kabocha...
• Colleen from The Smart Cookie Cook: This chick is only 18 years old, and yet she has a beautiful, well-manicured blog with wonderful recipes - an inspiration!
• Kita from Pass the Sushi: I love this blog - the colors, the photos, the Great Cheese Steak Debate...what's not to love?
• Yasmine from cat versus human: Because I love cats.  And so does she.  And she makes comics about loving cats.  This is one of my favorites; if you're not a cat person you won't get it.
• Annie and Maggie at A Bitchin' Kitchen:  Sisters who love cooking and writing about it.  They take great pictures, and frankly, any blog with "bitchin'" in the title should be on your Google Reader.

Go check out these blogs for yourself, and if you don't use Google Reader, or you use it but are scared of it, check out this tutorial written by my cyber-literate stepsister over at with a Side of Sneakers; it'll help you realize Google Reader's inherent Awesomeness.

Eat (and read) well.