Beautiful Bloggers!

I'd like to give a shout out to Miss Tori and thank her for nominating me for a Beautiful Blogger Award!
Following the rules of this award (no clue who initiated this!) seems like a great way to raise awareness of a few of my favorite blogs. I must say though, that it was extremely hard to choose only seven bloggers to nominate here. I enjoy so many of your blogs, and could have easily found twice as many people to nominate!

Here are the rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you for this award;
• Copy the award and post it in your blog;
• Link to the blog of the person who nominated you;
• Tell seven interesting things about yourself;
• Nominate seven bloggers; and
• Post links to the blogs of your nominees.

My Beautiful Blogger Award Nominees:

1. Amy - Because she is absolutely hilarious, is one of the most open and honest bloggers around, and I always get a kick out of reading her blog.

2. Angie - Because she's feisty and fun and loves her outfits! Plus, she gives good advice and feedback, not to mention encouragement on the workout front and is just as great in person as I thought she'd be from her blog! :)

3. Sarah - Because she's a Couch to 5K champion, a bandster-turned-runner, who is thoughtful, kind and clearly is a really great mom!

4. Cara - Because she has a gorgeous family, writes AWESOME congratulatory poems, teaches us all about Aussie expressions and food items, and is a great person to boot.

5. Jen - Because she's doing amazingly, is the bandster blogger I've met in person the most, and is a fun, kind, thoughtful real person who is a blast at brunch or on a shopping trip!

6. Mary - Because her enthusiasm is contageous, and I love hearing about all of the ways she gets enjoyment about her life as a bandster (congratulations on being chosen for the fashion show!!) :)

7. The New Me - Because hers was one of the very first blogs that I read before my surgery, and her story was so inspiring and comforting to me that it gave me a lot of confidence in my decision and in my ability to succeed with the band. Also because she's doing amazingly well, despite having a broken ankle.


Seven Interesting Things About Me:

1. I've never owned a car.

2. I love Scrabble and own seven different versions of the game.

3. The summer after my first year of law school, I went to Morocco by myself for a week. For safety's sake, I did this through a tour company. I bought Moroccan music cassette tapes from a kid on the street in Tangiers and played them on my Walkman day after day, looking out the window and enjoying the solitude and scenery as we drove through the Atlas mountains.

Me, in the marketplace in Fes, Morocco - August 7, 1995

4. I've lived in six different countries (U.S., England, France, Holland, Saudi Arabia and The Bahamas).

5. I hope this isn't TMI, but somehow, my bra size went from a 40 DD to a 34 DDD during the last 15 months. I don't even understand the math on that. I am not complaining -- it just is not what I expected.

6. To avoid crying at very emotional events (weddings, funerals, etc.), I do math in my head. Usually adding two 3-digit numbers together is just complicated enough so that I can listen to what is going on, but distracting enough to keep me from shedding any tears. It's not perfect, but it does help a bit. Is that weird? :)

7. I really love the movie The Big Blue. It was my favorite movie for years, and I've probably seen it 20 or more times. The summer after college, I got a grant from the French Minister of Cultural Affairs to go to a theater festival in Avignon, France. Jean Marc Barr (star of The Big Blue) was starring in one of the plays. One night, I saw him in a cafe with some friends, and went over and spoke with him. He was so charming and nice, and smiled just as brightly as he did in the movie. It was clear that he was a little bit tickled by the whole thing, in a sweet way.

Jean Marc Barr. . I still love him!!