check 'em out (vol. 3): Versatile Blogger Award

Rachel of Many Miracles gave me the Versatile blogger award back in September and I am finally getting around to passing it on.  Thanks so much, Rachel!  I think your blog is pretty awesome too!

The delay isn't because I wasn't honored - I was very honored indeed - but because I read so many great blogs, the thought of picking just a few to pass the award on to makes me a bit anxious.  But since I haven't written a post of my favorite links in a while, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do so.

Here’s how the award works. After accepting the Versatile Blogger Award, the blogger must:
I. Thank the person who gave the award and link back to them in your post.
II. Share 7 things about yourself.
III. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.

Seven Little Known Facts About Me:
 

1. Prior to meeting my husband, my plan after college was to either be a missionary is South America or get a Ph.D. is history (or both).  I would love to still do these two things, even if they have to be scaled down (short mission trips and a master’s).
 

2. My favorite sound is a train whistle while I’m lying in bed at night.  I know, who has a favorite sound, right?  Much less, one that is dependent upon the time of day and place where you hear it?   I can’t really explain why, but hearing the sound of a train while I’m falling asleep just reminds me of home and childhood, comfort and safety.
 

3. I miss being pregnant.  I was very fortunate in that my pregnancy was complication free and, beside some early morning sickness and terrible heartburn the last few months, was fairly symptom free as well.  Of course I love snuggling with my daughter and staring at her sweet face, but I miss the feeling of having her safe and protected inside me. 
 

4. I started working a few months after I turned 15.  My first job was at a movie theatre and I worked there for 2 ½ years.  That’s the longest I’ve ever been at one job.  It was also the most fun job I’ve ever had.  My parents met while working at a movie theatre and teased me that I might meet my husband there.  I did go on dates with three different boys who worked there, but not more than one date with each of them.
 

5. I identify very closely with my Hispanic heritage.  My grandmother is from New Mexico and can trace her descendents to when they first came to the territory from Spain in the 1500.  She is a native Spanish speaker and makes delicious Mexican food.  My Spanish is only so-so and mostly learned in school (Spanish was one of my college majors), but I can make a few great Mexican dishes. 
 

6. I’m a stickler for proper grammar.  Even my text messages have proper spelling, grammar, and capitalization.  That’s not to say that I won’t have a typo or two here or there in my own writing, but I tend to unfollow blogs if there are consistent spelling/grammar errors.
 

7. When I went on the first date with my husband, my mom was very worried thinking he could be a serial killer since I met him online.  So after dinner, I went to the restroom to text her.  I wrote “Leave me alone. He’s cute!” ( she still has that text).  Apparently I was in the bathroom so long that my husband thought maybe I jumped out the window to ditch him!  We joke about it all the time now.

Now this is where I'm going to fudge the rules a little bit.  Instead of picking 15 bloggers, I'm only going to pick five so that I can actually write a little blurb about each one.  I encourage you to go check 'em out, there's a little something for everyone:   

Imperfectly Inspired - Shannon has an awesome blog filled with her domestic endeavors - cooking, decorating her home, crafting, hosting an Oscar Party, etc.  She claims to be no expert, but her amateur attempts sure put me to shame! (Bonus: She's originally from Colorado too, so her references to it make me nostalgic!)

A Journey to Catholicism - This blog I truly did find recently...well, I had to, since Cari just started this blog about a week ago.  But already I'm hooked.  Cari is chronicling her conversion to the Catholic faith.  Don't you all just love a great conversion story?  And better yet, this one is in real time!

the C.W. - Cat is a military wife and new mother to baby girl Cora.  And just like me, she's always one for a good deal (fortunately for her, she's also a lucky gal and wins all kinds of fun prizes!).

A Dillightful Adventure - Ashlie is a Catholic newlywed who post about her life with her husband, her faith, and a lot of fun!  What I love about this blog is how uplifting and insightful it is (and the pictures are amazing!).

Elisa Loves - A young wife and mother has to go somewhere for advice and sometimes I feel like this blog is my domestic and mothering how-to resource!  Elisa has great household advice (this is where I got the cloth diaper detergent recipe I use) and activities for kids (can't wait until Lucia's old enough to make her this quiet book, although I'm sure mine won't come out as cute as Elisa's!).