A gratuitious "All About Me" post

Today has been the craziest day! I returned to work after five days of vacation, and I had the most incredible pile of things to do waiting on me. I've got 65 blogs piled up in my Google Reader, and I'm got about 49 comments to respond to on my blog. Goodness! It may take me awhile to catch up, but I promise I'll be making my rounds.

Jill at Peeptoe Pumps and Pearls really made my day! She gifted me with the "Your Blog is Fabulous" award. Isn't this the cutest award ever? Totally me, don't you think? Jill is super cute and has such fabulous style. I love her blog, and you will too, so check it out!

Here are the rules:

Copy and paste the rules and instructions in your post. When posting on receiving the award, make sure you include who gave you the award and link it back to them. Post five winners and link it back to them as well. Post five of your addictions. Add the award image. Let your winners know you gave them an award by leaving them a comment on their blog.

My Addictions:

1. Chapstick! My favorite is Smith's Rosebud Salve. Loves it!
2. Anything leopard or zebra print. I'm dying for a zebra print trench coat. How fabulous is this?
3. Blogs. It has become any unhealthy obsession to read all my comments, comment back on blogs, and clear out my Google Reader each day. This is really cutting into my Gossip Girl time.
4. Subway. I could eat there everyday! My favorite sub is either the tuna or the philly cheesesteak. Yum!
5. Celebrity gossip. I hate that I know that Speidi eloped last week, and that Ashlee Simpson named her baby boy Bronx Mowgli.

And the award goes to:

• Mindy at A Life Less Ordinary. She just started blogging last week! Go by and welcome her to the blogosphere!
• Shannon at Bless Our Nest. She is completely fabulous, and I love her home decor style. She gets extra points for teaching me how to hide my cords!
• Carrie at Buzzings of a Queen Bee. I faithfully visit her blog each day, because she is that good! She always has a fabulous project that makes me want to completely redecorate my house.
• Christina Lee at Real Style Real People. That's my kind of girl - one how can translate celebrity trends into affordable style for the regular girl.
• House of Whimsy: I'm so envious of her home decor and projects! There is always something amazing posted on her blog.

The last tag is to go to the your sixth pictures folder, post the sixth picture in that folder, and tell the story behind the picture.

For those of you who don't know: Jason, my husband, is a submariner in the US Navy. From 2003-2008 he was stationed on the USS Nebraska. The typical deployment schedule was three months out to sea, four months home, three months out to sea... and so on, in a continuous rotating schedule. Submarine deployments (known as patrols) are different from other branches (or even surface Navy) deployments. There were no telephone calls. Emails were few and far between, and letters were rare as well. I really had to keep the faith. Because of the limited communication, our marriage came to a halt when he boarded that submarine and started up when he came back home. No news was good news - if I didn't hear differently, I assumed all was well.

I really can't explain the feeling of a homecoming to someone who has not experienced it. It is so unique. You are feeling so many emotions - fear (has he changed? have I?), excitement, nervousness, joy, stress (oh my gosh, everything has to be PERFECT!). You begin preparing for homecoming weeks in advance - a new outfit, a clean house, a new haircut, shaving or waxing, new lingerie, the works! You keep yourself as busy as possible until the day, when you are on pins and needles because you know you will soon see his face. The feeling of seeing that submarine begin to make its way home is incredible: you know he's safe, you know he's near, and you know you'll be back in his arms soon. That doesn't compare to the indescribable joy you feel as you see his face, because you know this is it. He's home. And all is right with the world.

So... do you have any questions for me? Anything you would like to know about me or my life? Is there anything you would like to see more of on my blog? I'm going to be answering your questions in an upcoming blog, so shoot me an email or leave me a comment! As always, thanks for visiting!