She Loves Me Too!!

Yesterday Michelle over at Laundromat gave me this best blogger award.  YAY, I FEEL LOVED!!  I must say I was surprised and totally stoked to get it, as the whole little blog awards thing always seem to pass me by.   Over the past few weeks there’s been one going through all the expats here like a brush fire and I kept thinking someone pick me!!! … but nobody did.  Yeah that’s me whining, and I’m talking about you!!  Yeah you, expat person reading this who doesn’t love me and didn’t give me the award when they got it!  I’m just yanking your chains.  I don’t mind.   It’s only absolute and utter rejection… I’m fine… REALLY! 

Honestly, no worries, I’m just messin’ with ya… not really.

Seriously though, Michelle had some really nice things to say about my blog, which felt great.  I have had a few periods where I totally neglected this place because I wasn’t sure what to do with it anymore.  It was made to be a place for me to complain and rant about how difficult my life was here when I had no friends to talk to, but when life started to not be so bad I wasn’t sure what to write about anymore. 

DUH, write about the good stuff, dumbass!  That’s what your thinking, right?  I’ve never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer, ya know!

That’s what I’ve decided to do.  I’m sure there will still be frustrating moments and believe me I’ll share the shit out of them, but I also want to share the fun things I am doing now, the new things I learn and the people I meet.  I know my blog has come in handy for a lot of people who are struggling here, if for not other reason than to make them feel like they aren’t crazy for finding it difficult or to know someone understands.  Hopefully they still can find a connection even though things aren’t so bad.  Maybe to show them that it does get better.

I’ve also decided to start writing more about non-expat stuff that I love… photography, crafts, TV shows, movies, new cooking adventures.  Whatever strikes my fancy really.

Anyhow, I’m happy to be writing here again, even though it’s not constant complaining anymore it’s still therapeutic and I enjoy the connections it helps me make with other people going through the same, or even different, life experiences as me.

Thank you Michelle, I really appreciate your kind words and that you thought of me for the award!

Now, who shall I pass it on to?  I’m going to go by who’s blog I make a point of looking for every time I go to my feed reader.  Someone who’s blog I enjoy, that I feel I can connect with either by what is going on in our lives, what we enjoy or just because their writing style makes their blog enjoyable for me.  When I tried to think of who that person is, I knew right away because her blog was the one I had checked first for updates just this morning. 

Sure enough there was one and it showed we had even more in common, our blood type!

Yes, it’s Megan from Crafty Intentions!!

I first found her when I was thinking about doing my spare room over into a craft room and saw photos of her craft room.  Oh … my … god.  Craft room of my dreams!  I swear if I ever get a house big enough to have my own craft room, I’m saving up and flying this girl over to help me set it up.

After stalking her on Flickr for a while I discovered her blog, which I have read faithfully and loved ever since.  She is brutally honest about her quirks, which I love… and she’s crafty as all get out.  I’m constantly looking at things she’s made and wishing I had an ounce of her creativity.

Like her FRAMED set for example.  Ok these are things I could make myself having already seen her do it, but I never would have thought of it myself.  That’s what I mean, I see these lovely framed craftworks and totally want to make them too, but would I have ever come up with the idea on my own? Not a chance!

One of my favorite things is when she shares her home renovations with us.  Seriously, I want to live in her house.  I love the bold color choices she uses and how she accessorizes in just the right way.  I did our house in neutral tones because we plan to sell it but when we get our ‘forever home’, look out!! I’m totally copycatting Megan. Sorry Megan!  You can just consider our new house your Euro House!  You’ll be welcome to stay anytime, especially if you want to teach me crafts for room and board.

Honestly, here are just a few examples of her renovations so far.

Look at her romantic bedroom makeover.  It’s a long one but worth the read.  Books organized by COLOR, COLOR PEOPLE!! I’d have done by author or genre, but who sees that when they enter a room.  What a cute idea.  Oh, and it’s gadget friendly, and you know how much I love gadgets.  I need me one of those docking stations.

This is still my favorite though…her dining room renovation *faint*  I want.  Plain and simple.  Clearly I’m not the only one who loves her though, she got an award in that post too!  Yes, that is me swooning in the comments.  Leave me alone, I think I have a girl crush.

Oh, and check out what she did to her living room.  I absolutely love it.  I love the green, I’m crazy about the Christmas deco, but we all knew I would be, being the Christmas freak that I am.  I also love her bold choices with lighting.  That’s one area where I am always lost. We still have all the same ceiling lights in our house because lighting is one thing I cannot figure out.  I don’t know what would look good here.

Besides the whole crafty and awesome decorator thing, she’s also a big time animal lover.  Like me, she wants to take home every animal she sees.  Sometimes she does!  She, like me, obsesses about what animals to get, how to best care for them, and how to make sure everything is just right.  I love following her through her saga with adopting a dog and all the craziness he’s brought into their lives.  She is one of the most responsible and thoughtful pet owners I know, and that goes a long way with me because I’m a huge animal lover too.

Her biggest saga has just begun though, as she’s recently found out that she is pregnant.  I can only assume that this will bring about a whole new range of posts, as well as a whole lot of crafts for baby.  I’m looking forward to that!

Anyhow, she gets my best blogger vote this time, wholeheartedly.  Thanks Megan, for keeping us all entertained, making us laugh and inspiring us with your creativity!