I'm feeling the love with some Reader Awards

I'm just taking a moment, actually more, to drop what I've been doing and thank some lovely people for a couple of readers appreciation awards they've handed to me. It thrills me no end to receive such awards, even if I take ages to acknowledge them (sorry guys!). The reason why I take a while is because I'm always left scratching my head wondering who to pass these on to since I'm really bad at that. So, I decided to just club them all together and do my best.

The very first award I received was by the delightful Choc Chip Uru. She's just a teen but, you won't be able to guess by the amazing desserts she concocts. Seriously, she's probably half my age but already has double the talent! At her age, all I could think of were which Backstreet Boy was cuter and when I could get home to play my computer games. My mom would literally have to drag me to the kitchen if she needed help. But, CCUs parents are truly blessed to have such a wonderful daughter. I'd adopt her in a second if I could ;) You should absolutely make regular visits to her blog for the most drool-worthy dessert recipes.

The next couple of awards were given to me by the Happy Little Tomato. She's funny, she makes yummy-to-the-tummy desserts and she resembles Snooki (that's what she claims and I'd have to agree ;)). What more could you want from a fun food blog? I just recently started reading her blog and it brightens my day to see a lot of desserts, because I'm a dessert girl (can you see a trend?). You give me desserts instead of meals, and I'll be the happiest kid on the planet. So, head on over to Bridgett's blog and get your plates ready.

So, it's time to get down to some awesome business now. Because these awards don't just sit pretty, they come with responsibilities that awesome people like us have to respect. But, if you'd like, you can make them just sit pretty. They're your awards now so make your own rules if you want to. I did. By clubbing all rules together to make one grand list of rules. 

This is what you do when you get the awards:

• Pass the awesomeness on to up to 6 other bloggers or just admire the awards on your blog
• Follow and link up to the blogger who gave you the awards
• Let the people you've awarded know they've got awards waiting for them
• List 10 random/funny/outrageous facts about yourself
• Preen in front of the mirror. Oops, ok, I just added that in so I won't feel alone doing it.

So, here are 10 facts you can use to blackmail me if you ever need to:

1. As I grow older I'm getting more and more like my mom in the kitchen. She's kind of a kitchen nazi and everything has to be in its place, perfectly perched, at the right angle and not even a millimeter out of place. I'm like that in the kitchen. I hate it when anyone moves things around. It'll drive me nuts till I can put them back in place. I'm very finicky about hand-washed dishes too and the way dishes are loaded in the dishwasher. What can I say? Somewhere the marbles got muddled. 
2. I'm petrified of leeches and creepy crawlies. They are my worst nightmare. You put me in a room with just ONE leech and I will hyperventilate and die even if it's nowhere close to me. The last time I gardened (or tried to), I was pulling weeds and came across earthworms and snails under the roots. I dropped everything and ran into the house, never to weed again. 
3. That leads me to the next point. I guess in a good way it's ok that I can never garden properly because plants hate me. I can deal with indoor plants because they sit in pots and do not attract creepy crawlies. But, none of my plants ever survive. NONE. No matter how religiously I take care of them, they'll still die. And that makes me sad. So, I have now decided to resort to fake plants.
4. I love Coca Cola. I can live on it and replace water with it. But, I have to consciously make an effort not to.
5. Nail polishes make me happy. I get excited just buying one, or a bunch of them, as it usually happens ;)
6. I hate day-to-day cooking. It's worse than a chore to me. But, you ask me to cook for a special occasion or friends, and I'll be all excited to plan a menu and cook up a storm. There's just something about cooking everyday that doesn't sound appealing to me at all. Go figure!
7. Guilty pleasures include buying trashy gossip magazines at the grocery store check-out, finishing a whole pack of chewing gum in one day and continued interest in my favorite Backstreet Boy from back in the day, Kevin Richardson!
8. The husband and I have a crazy 1 year old 'puppy', Pebbles, who's all of 50 pounds but jumps on us like she's a little chihuahua. Some days I want to strangle her and some days I want to hold her so tight so I never have to let go. She also hates it when I'm on the phone, she'll whine till I hang up and then she'll quietly go to sleep. 
9. I used to be a chronic shopaholic like Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic series of books by Sophie Kinsella. I still think she's a long-lost twin of mine. I would like to think I've sobered down now, but it's just manifest itself in different ways. For instance, if I don't shop much for myself it's only because I'm shopping with abandon for Pebbles or the house. So that doesn't count, right? Right.
10. I can't stand cold. I have very low tolerance for cold weather or even air-conditioned places. Even in peak summer, you'll find me huddled under a blanket at home because I'm shivering and my toes and fingers feel like ice. I used to carry jackets to my workplace and even contemplated carrying socks. If you see an eskimo boarding a plane, please walk up to me and say Hi!

And here's who I'm passing these three awards on to because I enjoy their blogs a lot and also it'd be fun to get to know them a little bit more...

Jen at Juanita's Cocina

Devaki at Weave A Thousand Flavors

Kankana at Sunshine and Smile

Honey at Honey, what's cooking?

Heather at Girlichef

Kimmi at Grubarazzi