And the Award Goes To...

Since it's Hollywood Award season right now, and I'm one of those freaks OBSESSED with watching all of the award shows and live-tweeting them, let's just say I'm in the mood for this one. 

Thanks to Kelsey at KinderCoaster for nominating me for the a Liebster Award. Of course, I'm totally flattered just to be nominated, but I'll admit I'm probably only going to play along for half of this thing. Kelsey is a wonderful blogger--I just read her whole adventure start to finish recently (yes, I have job where I can do this sort of thing). She's a fellow infertile, and also a fabulous first grade teacher. Her art projects are just adorable! Check her out.

There are some rules I think I'm supposed to post, and nominate others, but I'll just answer her questions. If you are reading this, consider yourself nominated! (And you can also steal Kelsey's questions to me, because I'm not creative enough to make up my own.)

This also feels like those email forwards in junior high I used to be obsessed with...so here's a little reliving of my dorky past.

Kelsey's questions to me:
1. What is a little-known fact about yourself?
Before I ever wanted to be a mom, I always, always wanted to be an aunt. I hate that I'm not a mom, and that I'm still not an aunt either. My sister separated from her husband a few years ago, and my husband's brother is 23 and not likely to get married/have children anytime soon (and probably shouldn't be allowed to...he lives on our basement couch occasionally and still thinks "shower" and "lots of Axe body spray" are interchangeable). If I can't be a mom, I'd at least like to be a really great aunt. This seems like a double unfair card I've been dealt to not be either.

2. What are your favorite hobbies?
I love playing year-round volleyball and softball in the summer. So I guess my hobbies are sports. I also like crafting and thrift-store shopping.

3. What bores you to tears?
Science. Anything involving lots of math and numbers. Most documentaries.

4. Favorite genre or type of reading?
I love memoir. This probably started when I was a writing major in college and we read a ton of non-fiction. I like the personal quality and good writers create really compelling non-fiction essays and memoirs.

5. Book recommendations?
JoAnn Beard's Boys of My Youth is way up there on my list of memoirs--it's definitely what influenced my senior writing capstone. Tina Fey's Bossypants was hilarious. One of the best books I read last year (I know, late to the game) was Perks of Being a Wallflower. It's not a memoir, but the style is written like nonfiction and it was fantastic.

6. Most annoying thing to hear as an infertile woman?
"Why don't you guys have kids?"/"When are you going to have kids"

7. Do you have pets? Tell me about them! 
No pets. I desperately want a dog. Specifically this dog. I'm just kidding, that thing is not a dog. I'd really love a golden retriever, lab, or German shepherd. My husband is not sold on pet ownership--I know he's right; we're really way too busy to be good pet parents right now.

8. Are you an Early Bird of Night Owl? By choice or by circumstance?
I'm actually neither. I hate, hate, hate getting up early in the morning. I get up around 7:15 a.m. and manage to get to work by 8. And I hate it. I would sleep til noon every day if I could. But I'm not really a night owl either. I'm wiped out by 10 p.m. (sometimes earlier). I'm really more of a 1:30 p.m kind of girl.

9. Guilty pleasure/s?
Bubble baths, Netflix, Project Runway, gummy candy--best if used in combination, like on a home-alone, Saturday-night binge.

10. Best piece of advice/encouragement for others on the IF journey? AND/OR Please share any infertility-related, Oprah-style "Aha Moments."
Well, I'm the wrong girl for advice. I'm pretty new to infertility, and it's a big struggle all the time. I have not really found a good balance of being hopeful and constantly being disappointed.

My encouragement is to find others going through infertility and join forces--either real life friends or through the blogging community. We all need support. Even if it's just someone to say "that sucks, I'm sorry." Infertility feels incredibly lonely already; finding friends is so necessary.

**Now forward to 10 friends and your crush will surprise you with a secret. If you don't, you will have bad luck next week and your crush will start dating your worst enemy...**