Since this is as close as I'm going to get to an Oscar, I'd like to thank... (also Christmas 2010 ROCKED!)

This is a totally true story. Two days ago I was sitting on the couch, clad in old navy sweatpants that are two sizes too big (but stay on thanks only to the drawstring waist), a white t-shirt stained with... um... something reddish and black flipflops that are so worn that there's probably only about an eighth of an inch of rubber between my feet and the ground. I was playing with my favorite new toy. (I know, my husband spoils me - it was a Christmas present from J). I was cruising Facebook and gorging on Fritos and creamy gorgonzola dip (shut UP - you know it sounds delicious, don't judge if you haven't tried them) when I saw that I'd been tagged in a post by my friend, Sarah - turns out she was bestowing me with the Stylish Blogger Award! I put down the greasy corn chips and stinky cheese and looked down at myself just to double check... Yup! I am one stylish biatch.

Honestly, I'm just so surprised to have won this award. I didn't prepare a speech or anything. It's an honor just to be nominated. I can't believe you like me... you REALLY like me! First and foremost, I want to thank the big guy upstairs - Jeremy's in the bathroom upstairs because what he's doing is too stinky to be allowed on the same floor I'm in. Thank you for that, Jeremy. Also, I want to thank my parents - without you I wouldn't be here. Literally. In addition, I want to thank myself. Without me, The View from a Broad wouldn't exist. So thank you, Heather - you're my everything. And finally, I want to thank Sarah for being such an incredibly insightful friend to realize my genuis should be awarded. Thank you Sarah.

Okay -I'll stop the smarty-pants act now. Honestly, go check out Sarah's blog. She's a truly dedicated mother (soon to be a mommy for the second time) who is in the midst of living her own American dream - beautiful family (1.9 kids, loving husband, two cats and two dogs), white picket fence, great home and a job she really enjoys. We should all be so lucky.

Now as we all know, with great power comes great responsibility. So I there are a few things I must do as a recipient of the Stylish Blogger Award. I must:
1. Thank the person that gave me the award. (Check.)
2. Share seven things about myself.
3. Pass the award on to other bloggers I follow who have inspired me.
4. Copy the award from Sarah's blog and display it on mine. (Check.)
5. Notify my selected recipients.

Okay... so... seven things about myself. So I'm thinking this should probably be seven things not everyone already knows about me. Which really narrows it down because I kind of share (okay, let's be honest, OVERshare) everything on here. But I'll give it my best shot.

1. I have a peepee dance. You know how parents can tell when their kid needs to go potty because they're doing the peepee dance? I still do it, when I'm too engrossed or obsessed with what I'm doing to really realize that I need to go potty really bad. My Mom still calls me on it ("Heather, do you have to go to the bathroom?" "Yes." "Go to the bathroom right now."). J has now learned to recognize it and calls me on it now too.
2. I have a stork bite birthmark on the back of my neck. It's right at the hairline and so usually hidden. It has absolutely nothing to do with anything but I'm really proud of it. For no reason whatsoever.

My first bath! The red arrow points to my stork bite birthmark. The black bar preserves my dignity.

3. My mother was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma weeks before I got married. This is what killed my paternal grandmother. It's scared the bejeesus out of me and I was ready to cancel the wedding and was in a serious panic. Thankfully Mom's was found early, hadn't metastasized and it was completely removed surgically. (She's six years cancer-free, which is considered "cured". Yay!) Since then I've had three basal cell carcinomas removed via Mohs surgery. My dermatologist tells me that since there is malignant melanoma on both sides of my immediate family it's not a matter of "if" I get it, but "when". That sucks.
4. I cannot burp on demand. Despite years of lessons from Dad at the dinner table - I never could get the hang of it. To his total disappointment.
5. On a related note, I desperately want to learn to fart on demand. My friend Juliet swears she can teach me how...

6. My first car was an electric blue 1979 Firebird. It was in cherry condition when I got it. Two weeks later it'd been through a barbed wire fence. It was a tank. I loved it. Dad sold it for scrap metal while I was away at college and may never get over that heartbreak.



Don't look at my hair. It was 1987. Leave me alone.



7. I'm scared to death of being alone/dying alone. Between our decision not to have kids and what just happened with Jeremy's heart - it's a paralyzing fear at times.

So - how's that for ending on a high note? Awk-ward...  At least you're not stuck nodding your head, looking around nervously and trying to find a way to change the subject. Good thing segues are so much easier in a blog than in real life, huh?

Moving on. My next duty is to pass the award on to other bloggers who have inspired me. That's easy - much easier than the 7 things thing. I'll start with The Tardy Princess written by my best friend, Mary Beth Neukomm. I love this woman - she is exactly the kind of mother I feel like I would have been. And she is also the funniest and most clever woman I think I've ever known. Including me! She hasn't updated the blog in a while (hint, HINT), but her subject matter is her daughter, Ryan. And I am Ryan's self-appointed Fairy Godmother. 

The Tardy Princess herself, Ryan Neukomm.


The second blogger I'll mention is a woman I've never met before in my life. But I found her first blog, French Laundry At Home, very shortly after she'd started a few years ago by accident and was quickly hooked. Carol Blymire is clearly an incredibly brilliant woman with a truly engaging "writing voice". I read every single post immediately after she posted it. And when she finished The French Laundry and started cooking her way through Alinea on Alinea at Home I moved on with her - and continue to enjoy this journey as well. Carol is the blogger that really inspired me to start blogging in the first place. As most of you know, she also inspired me to cook my way through Ad Hoc at Home (due to Jeremy's heart surgery I've taken an indefinate break from that blog - but do hope to get back to it one day). So thank you Carol!