My First Award!

RULES:

1. Link back to the person who nominated you

2. Write 11 facts about yourself once nominated

3. Answer the 11 questions from the person who nominated you

4. Come up with 11 questions for the 11 people you nominate 

Many thanks to my girl at Faster Than Forever for nominating me for this award! You gals should check her blog out, I promise you'll enjoy :)

This award requests that I write 11 facts about myself (this will be fun!) Hopefully this will be a way for all of my blogger friends (and hopefully new followers) to get to know more about moi. Let's begin!

1. I was recently hired as a police officer for an Illinois police department. This has been a goal of mine for a VERY long time and I finally decided to pursue it late last year. I have 2 more weeks left at my current job and I am beyond excited & nervous to begin this new chapter of my life.

2. I was diagnosed with Endometriosis in June 2012 via laparoscopy. I had suffered from excrutiating pelvic pain and periods for nearly 5 years before I decided to do something about it. It's something that I deal with & manage the best I can without having to rely on medicine. I chose to manage mine with diet, exercise, Chinese herbs & acupuncture.

3. I have a horrible temper and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Bad tempers run in my family and it's something I've tried over and over again to manage. I can say that it's definitely gotten better through out the years but I'm still not full of sunshine lol. Just sayin'.

4. I was the ULTIMATE band nerd growing up. I played Oboe and English Horn and was in symphonic band, pep band, I was band president my senior year, drum major junior & senior year, and section leader.

(good thing I didn't play the flute!)

5. I am obsessed with meeting celebrities. I'll admit it, I'm a groupie and proud of it. Thankfully, I haven't had to take my clothes off to meet them. Tee hee hee.

I've met:

Enrique Iglesias (my future husband and baby daddy)

Kanye West

Common

Lupe Fiasco (he sometimes comes to my job straight chillin like he knows everyone)

R. Kelly (he also comes to my job but for legal purposes obviously. He's actually quite nice, handsome, and freakishly tall).

Tom Delonge

Kyle Korver

Norm Van Lier

And one of my personal favorites:

Waka Flocka Flame

6. I have a shoe addiction. I easily bought close to 40 pairs of shoes last year. What am I going to do once I start my new job that will require me to wear department issued shoes? I HAVE NO IDEA.

7. If I didn't pursue a career in law enforcement, I'd move to an island and make a living using whatever skills I have. I have always felt that I'm not supposed to stay in Illinois for the rest of my "professional" life. Midwest winters are not my thing.

8. I talk way too much. Chatty Kathy is what I am. Sometimes I just want people to tell me to shut up. But then when I let people "do the talking" and they don't talk, I get super annoyed and take charge. I'm such a bully.

9. I may be "homeless" once July hits. And by "homeless" I mean that I will probably be moving back home with my parents and/or brother. I have lived on my own in Chicago since I was 20 years old (I'm 25) and the police department I will be  working for is located about 1 hour southwest of Chicago - not a fun drive to do twice a day. I am freaking out on the thought of not having a place to call my own.

10. I talk about "Le Firefighter" a lot on here. He is the man who has my heart and who makes me melt every time I see him (cue corny "awww's"). Our relationship has been tested with career issues in the past year, but we are on the right path and focusing on being the best we can be individually and together. And yes, he is a firefighter. And I am a cop in training. Don't see that too often, do ya?

Le firefighter and me.

He would probably kill me for posting about this but oh well :)

11. I have always considered myself to be the "girliest tomboy" ever. Makes no sense, right?

Let me explain:

I hate doing my hair and rarely ever do so but I am obsessed with growing it out and making it look absolutely beautiful when I wear it down. I've also never dyed it.

I hate painting my nails or getting them done but I always have to have them painted.

I love cars, sports, guns, paintballing, running 5k's that require me to get muddy all over but also love shopping and aiding my shoe addiciton even more.

Pheewwwwww that was a lot. See what I mean about talking too much?

Now to answer Lil Desiqua's questions:

1. Where did you go on your favorite vacation?

A. Jamaica, hands down, was the best vacation EVER. I went for my brother's wedding and it was the best alcoholic time I've ever had.

2. You win $5,000! What are you gonna do with the money?

Buy my Tory Burch purse I've been wanting and use the rest to pay off my car.

3.  Who or what do you miss the most?
I miss my college years the most. I had the best times, met the most awesome people, and really "YOLO'D" my whole 4 years. No bills, no surgery, no care in the world - it was the best. I also got to live in Europe for 5 weeks - BEST TIME EVER! I would give up my kidney to go back to those years. Ok, maybe not my kidney, but still.

4. I love hearing new music! What is your favorite song right now?

I have recently fallen in love with Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man"

5. Do you have a signature scent/perfume? What is it?
I've been wearing "Lucky You" since I was 15 years old, so a good 10 years now. Don't judge me guys. I've tried several different fragrances through out the years but they just didn't work out for me. Stick with what ya know.

6. Do you have any collections? What are they?
My roommate and I recently started a collection of magnets from each state in the US. We've gotten quite a few in the past month. The plus side of having friends all over the country!

7. What is your favorite tradition?
My best friends and I used to have a tradition of throwing one sock in Lake Michigan. You read that correctly. It used to happen every year on May 20. Don't ask. Don't judge. 

8. What is your biggest fear?
Having my endometriosis get in the way of my career, fertility, & life. 
9. What trait do you value most in a love interest (bf/gf/hus/wife/etc)?
Honesty and communication are the 2 big ones for me. If you can't talk to me, we are not going to work. If you can't be honest with me, we sure as hell aren't going to work. 
10. I'm a quirky girl. What's one quirky or something others might find "weird" thing about you? 
I always sleep with my fan on the highest setting, even when it's freezing. I do it for the noise not so much for temperature. 
11. What makes you happy?

My friends and family make me happy. Living my life how I want to live it and pursuing my goals and dream makes me very happy. Meeting new people and engaging in hour long conversations really makes me very happy. There's something about listening to someone else tell you about their life, their struggles, their journey, their everything - definitely makes me appreciate life much more. 

11 questions for my nominees:

1. Backstreet Boys or N'SYNC? 

2. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

3. What is your favorite piece of clothing/accessory/or favorite "go to" outfit?

4. What's a deal breaker for you when on a first date? 

5. Do you think money can really buy happiness? 

6. Choose one: Would you rather be stranded on a dirty, stranded cruise ship with Ryan Reynolds or lost at sea on a tiny boat with Ryan Gosling?

7. Out of the four seasons, which one best fits your personality? 

8. What's your ideal thing to do on a Friday night? 

9. I'm not a DIY type of gal, are you? If so, what's the best DIY project you've done? 

10. I can recite the movie Clueless word for word. What's a movie that you can do the same to? Or one you can watch and never get tired of? 

11. Do you like to Karaoke? If so, what's your favorite song to karaoke to? 

Blogs that I nominate are:

A New Kind Of Normal

Mrs. Inappropriate

Acupuncture Chicago

Making Our Own Way


Check these ladies out!

That's all for now. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. 

Ciao!