For half of my life, I never dreaded Mondays because I worked in retail and there was no such thing as a weekend to me, but for the past 3 years I’ve come to truly appreciate those weekends and that time off, and that also means, those Monday mornings can get to be hard (not always!)  Sometimes, Monday mornings are refreshing.

This Monday morning was a little on the “hard” side.  As you count down to the last days of your job, it tends to get harder knowing there’s an “end” day in full view in front of you.  (PS: I’m still working my butt off every day until that point though!) 😉

So, imagine my surprise when I received a tweet saying I received The Sunshine Award.   What?? What’s the Sunshine award,  you ask?

So, with every award there’s a bit of rules… One is to acknowledge the person that gives you this award.

So y’all if you haven’t check out my friend AJ’s blog “Confessions of a Fat Girl” you totally need too.  She will have you laughing.  I only wish I could make people laugh, but honestly, it’s really not who I am.. 😉

The second is now I have the job to answer a series of questions she gave me:

1) Who is my celebrity crush?

You know, I have to be honest.  I’ve always had little crushes on celebrities.  From a very young age I thought it was kind of silly to get a crush on a celebrity because I just didn’t see them as attainable, so instead, I rather became “boy” crazy around guys my own age…

But there are always a few celebs that catch my eye, and if I just so happen see them with their shirts off, well, I may just be caught gawking for a minute or two.

The real contenders right now are Ryan Reynolds and Jeffrey Donovan (but I’d like to think I have more of a thing for his character Michael that he plays on Burn Notice.) Oh, and well, I definitely have to give a shout out to Matt Bomer too… if you haven’t seen the show White Collar, you need to.

2) What was the first concert you went to?

LOL.  Oh, y’all are going to love this story.  So, the first concert I ever went to was a concert with my mom.  It was none other than “Debbie Gibson.”  Yep, that was my first concert.

The first concert I went to on my own… I believe was XFest out in SomerSet, Wisconsin… the place where the Memorial Day weekend summer concert began with days of camping and many fun memories from those days.

Also seen concerts from Matchbox 20, Elton John, and Our Lady Peace.

3) If someone gave you 1/2 a million dollars and one day to spend it, what would you do? 

From what you can see from me and this blog is my addiction to new experiences so I’d take that money and book my trip around the world.  I was just told I had to spend it in one day, not use it all in one day, so I’d make it last and worthwhile.

And I’d probably purchase a vineyard to make a dream a reality.

4) What is your Dream Vacation destination?

Ever since I took a french class in my sophomore year of high school I’ve been fascinated with visiting Paris, France.  However, now that I’m older, I’d expand my trip to France to include Paris, but also the wine regions of that area from Bordeaux to Chablis to Champagne.

5) Do you have any Quirky Phobias, if so, what are they?

Ohhh AJ: you’re trying to get the dirt out of me, aren’t you?  I don’t know if I should be admitting this for the whole social media world to see and of course, all of you lovely readers that frequent my blog.

I do have one realistic phobia though and that’s that I have a real fear of being in a horrific car accident.  Lots of scenes flash in my head periodically.  Freaks me out.

When I was younger, my grandma lived in a downstairs condo while my dad lived in an upper one, and I always had a phobia of running up the stairs, at night, with my back to the front door so I guess that’s somewhat of a quirky phobia?  I think I’ve outgrown it though.. still hate being alone in my apartment at night though so maybe not.

6) What is your favorite way to relax?

People often wonder why I’m on the computer so much.  My addiction, yes, but at the same time, it’s also my way to relax.  Some enjoy turning on the tv, or sipping a cocktail, I just enjoy turning on the computer and typing away.

7) How did you celebrate your 21st birthday?

Many people dream of spending their 21st birthday in Las Vegas?  Well, I did.  But it’s a cute story.  My birthday is right around the holidays so we took a trip to Vegas to visit my grandparents and stayed through the New Year.

The eve of my birthday (Dec. 29th) we went down to the strip and at exactly midnight I sat in my first slot machine in Paris Hotel and Casino and gambled my first dollar away while I ordered my first drink (Strawberry Daiquiri!)  My grandparents took a nap so they could take me out to experience this for the first time.  A great memory!

8) What is your social media/blogging pet peeve?

Oh my lordy!  This is a good one.  LOL.

I have a few that have been building up, but the one I’m going to share is this:

Blogging is about genuine readership, building a community, and receiving those genuine comments.  We, as bloggers, help each other a lot, and I don’t mind it at all.  There are plenty of sharing groups, and I take part.

But I guess it bugs me when people take it to an extreme.  For example, if they have one post and share it in 5 or more different groups so they have tons of comments on their blog posts.

That stuff isn’t authentic to me, and if it’s not authentic to me, I wonder how it comes off to others, etc.

9) If you could go to college for free and take any classes just for fun, what would they be?

Honestly, I’ve been struggling with this because I’ve really thought about going back to school to pursue my passions of writing and possibly communications, public relations.

I’d go back and take these classes.  I wouldn’t see them as just classes to take as fun, but more of an investment into my future.  LOL.  And well, I always want to get behind the minds of those I’m working with, emailing while blogging.  Doesn’t hurt, right?

10) Who are your heroes?

I have two: My mom and my grandpa.  They’ve worked hard and give back to their family and to the ones they love.  I only hope to be just as great as them one day.

You still with me?? Good.  Now, the third part of this challenge is that I get to pick 10 of you for the “Sunshine Award.”

1) Ashley from Crunchy Frugalista

2) Kim from Kim Ulmanis Blog

3) Romina from Just Another Hat

4) Xenia from Raised by Culture

5) Jill from Sandy Toes and Popsicles

6) Cynthia from KindaSillyMommy

7) Megan from Sunshine Wonderland

8) Desiree from Sarcastic, Funny, and Brutally Honest

9) Jaime from Polka Dots on Parade

10) Alma from Field Trip Mom

And now the ten questions I’m hoping these lovelies will answer:

1) What’s something you wish you would have known when you started blogging?

2) What’s for dinner tonight?

3) If you could relive a year in your life, what age would you go back to and why?

4) Favorite Place to visit in your home state?

5) Stealing from AJ: What is your social media/blogging pet peeve?

6) If given the choice to go on a cruise, plane ride to a destination, or road trip, what would you choose and why?  All expense paid trip.

7) Share a favorite memory of yours.

8) Is there a place you’ve always wanted to visit, but haven’t?

9) Favorite candy?

10) Best piece of advice anyone’s ever given you?

Look forward to the responses!!