Some Love for your February.

Yo. I'm over here today, interviewing myself... because I'm cool like that. 
So, I love blogging. Really, I do. And you know what?! Part of me is glad that I got shoved out in the middle of nowhere like I did, because not only has it allowed me to get to know myself and find new hobbies, but it's allowed me to get to know you people and your awesome selves. 
Some of your awesome selves are my sponsors. 
As I introduce my sponsors this month... I want to remind you all that it's February, so if you see a bunch of pictures of my sponsors with cutesy hearts all over them, it's because I asked them to give me a picture of themselves with someone they love. 
Amy at Life As I Know It 

Hello readers of Alyx!  I am Amy from life as i know it.  Come over and check out life through the eyes of a 24 year old girl. The random, the weird, the funny, I've got it all.  Come over and say hello...I'd love to meet you too :)
Who is that in your pic with you? Why in the world do you love them? 

A few reasons I love Matthew Brooks Harris:

-He truly is the sweetest boy I've ever met.

-He lets me watch shows and movies with the subtitles on.

-He thinks my ugly faces and weird voices are cute.

-He's not afraid to be himself.

-He brings out the best in me.

-Our sense of humor is so similar its frightening.

-He is my best friend.

-He loves me weirdness and all.

Kassi at Truly Lovely

Truly Lovely is an "all things lovely" blog written by myself (Kassi) with fun little snippets from my sister, Kayli. Things we consider to be lovely are crafts, recipes, DIY, etc. We host a link up party every Friday called Fancy This Fridays where we want to see what you fancied up over the last week! There's a feature post every Monday highlighting our favorite links from the party. Hope to see you over at Truly Lovely sometime soon!pinterest. twitter. google +. Who is that in your pic with you? Why in the world do you love them? Top three reasons why I love my hubs: 1. He's a tall, sexy cowboy. 2. He makes me laugh. 3. He lets me decorate our house however I want! ;)
Kylee at Sincerely, Kylee

Hi! I'm Kylee, I blog at Sincerely, Kylee. I'm a mess most of the time, and that's the way I like it. I love Jesus, my husband, and sharing my musings through my blog. I hope that you'll come by and say hi! facebook. bloglovin'. twitter. Who is that in your pic with you? Why in the world do you love them? I love my husband, Jacob because he's adorable. :P He's my leader, my best friend, and my partner in crime.
Vivian at A Dance for 5

I'm Vivian. I'm a Colombian and a Mormon living in Utah. A Housewife, all things pretty lover, party planner, avid decorator, crafty, world traveler, healthy food fanatic, but above all a MOTHER. I can dance in my dreams as I try to make the world a better place. P.S: And who says Colombians can't have babies with BLUE EYES?Who is that in your pic with you? Why in the world do you love them? 

Why I love him:

Because he accepts me and loves me just the way I am. Because he offers me security, forgiveness and a chance of a forever family. Because he gave me my most precious treasures in the world.

Sunday Confessions Linky Party!

Howdy, frands!!! 


Sorry I'm a little late with the confessions today, it's been a somewhat crazier than usual Sunday around these parts.

So... grab one of these buttons, and link on up for today's Sunday Confessions! 

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1. I’m obsessed with books by Nicholas Sparks. Seriously. After reading the Hunger Games and about 50 other books in German, I decided it was time to read something in English, and luckily my super mommy knows that I love sappy romances. She sent me Message in a Bottle. Yes, I cried. Yes, it was amazing. Yes, I read it in a day.

2. I had a breakdown yesterday. You know the one. Well, I promised a video, so here it is! I really wish I had been wearing actual clothing, because just having the audio is nowhere near as good, but go ahead and have a laugh at my expense, anyway! 

3. I always think it would be cool to be organized, but then I try it and realize I’m hopeless. I mean, really. I try doing the list thing, and I have a planner, but I suck. I’m an organizational failure.

4. Whenever I read a good book, I imagine that I’m the main character. I think about what I would do differently in a situation, I feel the emotions, everything – I become the character. I know, I’m a freak. Maybe Einstein would think otherwise, though...

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5. I shoved my hand in our toilet today to retrieve something. I think that doesn’t really need any explanation. Gross. Gross. Gross. 

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True Love is...

Seeing your wife looking like this: 

Realizing that she's crying and saying things like this:- I just wanna be a fat American! - I want a sausage McMuffin, donut, and cupcake with frosting!- I want my car!- I'm not ready to go home! - I hate Germany!- I don't want to pack my life up again! 
And then promptly grabbing the camera and getting the whole thing on video. I'd share it with you guys, but I was wearing my underwear, curled up on the bed in a ball. Maybe I can get Hubby to separate the video from the audio, and I'll share it with you guys, because it's hilarious. Sadly hilarious. Until then, here's a little gem that he took about a year ago. 

Hunger Games Thoughts.

Yes, I already posted today. 
HOLY FREAKING CRAP, PEOPLE!!! That is all I have to say after reading this book: 

Yes, I know I'm late jumping on the bandwagon. 
Yes, I read it in German... I know, I'm crazy. I could have had it done in a few hours, instead I decided to torture myself and read it at a snail's pace in another language. 
All of that aside, let me present this one question: 
KATNISS WHAT THE EFF IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?! 
You make me want to punch a baby. Okay, dude is obviously head over heels for you, RUE FREAKING TOLD YOU HE WAS, and yet you have to go and break his little heart? 
You suck. 
You better freaking redeem yourself in the second book, because right now, if you and I were together in an arena... I'd let the monster wolf tribute things eat you instead of Cato. That's right, I said it. Or... I'd feed you those poisonous berries. Yeah, that's a little nicer. I'd do that. 
Girl... I better be a lot happier with you once I'm done with the second book. 
The End. 
Now I'm going to go answer emails. Yay for an awesome Friday night. 

Favorite Things Friday.

Hey. I know, I know... more creative greetings with each passing day. Maybe I'll write a rap or something for you guys sometime soon. 
So ... it's Friday, which means it's time for some favorite things. 
1. Good Friends. I mean, good friends who are there for you, who don't judge you, who listen to your problems and give you advice. They are good to have. That being said, I'm really thankful for all of the friendships I have made through blogging. You guys really ARE the best, and there are times when I'm not sure what I would do without some of you guys and your helpful comments, your emails, everything. 

2. Parents. I never would have seen myself saying this 7 or 8 years ago. But honestly - I am so lucky to have amazing parents who believe in me, love me through thick and thin, and support me in all of my endeavors. I am lucky to have amazing in-laws who do the same not only for my husband, but for me as well. 

3. Good books. I love to read. Reading helps me keep my sanity. I love being able to escape reality via the pages of a good book. 

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4. Laughing. I love to laugh. I love doing silly things to make others laugh. Laughing is the best. I'm not having a good day, and those are the kinds of days where I'm reminded that laughing is a favorite. Anyone have a good joke??

5. Getting nice little notes from my husband. He's the best. I don't like going all lovey-dovey on Blog... but really, he is my pillar. He supports me through everything, good or bad, silly or serious, hard or easy. He is the best thing that's ever happened to me, my lover, my friend, my confidant, my other half. He's the freaking peanut butter to my jelly. You don't like PB&J? You smell like fish. 

PS: Let it be known that my ninja skills are not a favorite thing. Remember how I ninja-kicked a jar last week and broke it? Well, I just ninja-elbowed a jar and broke it. Ouch. 

What It's Like. (Awkward and Awesome Part One)

What's up, people? I know, I'm getting really creative here. Funny story - I actually had a different greeting on here that I got from Google, and turns out it was a horrible word. So... lesson learned. Never, ever turn to Google for your silly blogger greetings. Just a word of advice. And thank you to the lovely reader who notified me as to what that meant. Oh my gosh. So embarrassed! You can add that to the awkward list for today. 
Anyway. Moving on. If you were a creepy stalker who sat around and watched us in our home for hours on end fly on the wall in our apartment, you would witness some ridiculous things. Some of which are awesome, some of which are awkward. I bring you Awkward and Awesome: At Home with the Garners Edition. Although... there's so much awkward, I think I'll save the awesome for next week. 
Part One: Awkward.Let me talk about the awkward first, because there's just so much to go around: 
- occasionally coming home to a drunk landlord (at 8:30 p.m.). I feel like this doesn't really need too much explanation. 
- coming home from the grocery store with a bunch of frozen goods. You may think, but why is this awkward? Because we have a freezer the size of a shoe box. Watching your 6'7" husband trying with all his might to shut a tiny fridge is actually quite awkward, but also hilarious. 

- The tricks Hubby plays on me. It is not unusual for Hubby to jump out from a dark corner at 2:00 in the morning as I'm walking by, fresh out of the shower, wrapped in a towel, humming "Hit Me Baby One More Time" to myself. I then scream at the top of my lungs, drop my towel, and turn to run. Yeah, we're cool. 
- having more than 2 guests over at once. I recently invited 5 people over to our 450 sq. ft.  apartment without really thinking. We have one table and 4 chairs. Yeah, not enough room for 7 people. We ended up sitting in our bedroom/living room to eat. It was fine, until I accidentally ninja-kicked the jar that I was drinking out of (we only have 4 glasses...) under the couch. It shattered. 

the room in which the ninja-kicking took place, and the couch under which the jar shattered. 

- How loud we are. Thank goodness for well-built German houses, otherwise we'd be on the street. It is not unusual for us to break out into song (at the top of our lungs), for me to scream at the top of my lungs when I see a huge spider, or for me to yell to Hubby to get my towel for me because I forgot to grab it before I went to shower. And believe me - I am loud. I bet I could beat any of you in a "how loud can you be" contest. Random fact - my mom once told me to use my inside voice, and I yelled back at her, "THIS IS MY INSIDE VOICE!!!"
- The obscene amount of pop that we drink. Guys, it's not only awkward, it's borderline unhealthy. I'm not even going to tell you how much it is because it's awful. Let me just show you our weekly supply.

- How intense games get. I'm really competitive. Really. I get it from my dad. Anyway, it also happens to be that Hubby is really good at games, and he always wins. Every time. This makes me mad. After 5 or 6 games of something, I generally accuse him of cheating, then I throw my hands in the air, tell him I will never play with him again, then go sulk. Three hours later, I feel the need to redeem myself, and the whole cycle repeats itself. 
So there you have it. Stay tuned, because next week the theme will be how awesome we are. Ha. 
PS Don't forget about the Sunday Confessions Link Party! 

Blogging Pet Peeves.

Hi. I like eggs. <-- [If you know what that is from... leave your answer in the comments and we can be friends.] 
Anyway. I'm not doing WIWW today because I didn't have to go to work today and after looking in my closet, I decided I didn't feel like trying to get creative. I mean, I pretty much do the 30x30 thing every day of my life because I'm living out of two suitcases. Yeah, TWO. For a YEAR. Now let's all quit complaining that we don't have anything to wear, because I guess that to some people, two suitcases of clothing would be quite a bit. 
So. Moving on... I've decided that I'm going to tell you all a few of my pet peeves when it comes to blogging. I figure that as someone else who probably writes a blog, you might like to know what other blog readers find really annoying. You're welcome in advance. Ha. 
1. Word Validation on Comments. You know what, people? I'm not a robot, and when you make your page refresh and have me type a word, chances are very high that I didn't realize I'd have to type a word, and I've already left your page. This is highly unnecessary. I've had that thing turned off since Day 1, and have only had maybe 1 spam comment? Google's spam detection is pretty dang good. Use it. If you don't know how to turn it off, email me. I'll help you. 

2. Tiny pictures. Pictures are great - I love pictures. But you know what I don't love? Straining my eyes for ten minutes because I can't tell if your tiny picture has a dog or a horse. 

3. Run on paragraphs. People, line breaks in text are not only nice, they are almost necessary. My eyes will hurt, I'll lose my place, I'll get pissed and leave your page within 30 seconds of being there. Do yourself a favor and learn to use the enter button. It is a wonderful thing. 
4. Girly text for the body of your posts. Having fun text for post titles is great, I even encourage and welcome it. BUT. When I get to your page and it is any text other than times new roman, arial, trebuchet, verdana, courier, helvetica, or georgia (the default blogger fonts), I will probably leave. Unless I like you. Then I'll read until my eyes get tired (which will take about 30 seconds) and leave a comment about what I read. Do yourself (and the rest of the world a favor) and change your font!! 

5. Generic comments with three words and a link. This does not bother everyone, but it makes me so annoyed. As a general rule, I almost never visit people who do this. The standard offense looks a little something like this. 

BONUS Pet Peeve: No-Reply Bloggers. We've gone over this already. If you have the new blogger dashboard, email me if you can't figure it out. I'll help you, because I want to reply to your comments that badly!