Shiny Stuff: Blog Awards

There are lots of shiny awards that get passed around the blogging community. I've been honored to be given these bits of shinyness from some incredible bloggers...

Thank you Trooper Thorn for my first ever blog award!

Gramma Ann gave me this lovely award.

I'd seen this one floating around before Trooper Thorn gave it to me.

Gotta love the classy picture in this award from Jeanne

Addictions and Awards

I just received a shiny New Year's gift from Jeanne over at My Life With
Two Kids. She gave me the Fabulous Blog award. Now it's my turn to list 5 addictions and pass the award to 5 other Fabulous bloggers.

Addictions:
1. Strawberries
2. Dark chocolate (the darker the better)
3. Music (especially soundtracks)
4. Internet (trying to break this one)
5. Reading

Five Fabulous Blogs
1. Beth over at A Mom's Life. Two words: Miracle Mondays. Talk about inspiration. Simply fabulous!
2. Sue over at Navel Gazing at its Finest. She put together the FABULOUS book to benefit NieNie's recovery fund. And as if that alone doesn't make her deserving of this award, there are all of her other Fabulous posts...lots of life and wit, always interesting.
3. Ryanne over at Leavittation Station. She just finalized and sealed her darling Orissa to their family. If that's not fabulous, I don't know what it.
4. Heather over at Mindless Junque. One of the founders of The Secret is in the Sauce, her blog is just as fabulous (and French) as the Sauce.
5. Katie over at It Is What It Is. She's one of my newest bloggy friends and has a pretty new blog herself. She is absolutely fabulous and I definitely recommend you check her out. While you're at it, send some prayers and cheers her way as she works to finish her nursing degree

...I've officially used my quota of the word "fabulous" for the next year...well, at least the next week...

Shiny Stuff: Part Two

I have to hand it to Trooper Thorn, he definitely got me spot on in his award description...I have to include what he wrote about me, it makes me smile :)

As though she was emulating another young woman trying to make it on her own, Jaina can "take a a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile." Plus she could use some more visitors. And I'm betting an apartment make-over by IKEA.

Isn't he sweet? I was absolutely tickled to receive this from him. I mean, you've gotta love a Mary Tyler Moore reference. And while I LOVE my apartment, he's not wrong about the Ikea make-over.

Here are the rules that go along with this beautiful award:

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

And without further ado and in no particular order, I'd like to pass this award along to the following friendly, exceedingly charming bloggers...

~ Momo over at Momo Fali's : Such a sweet blogger, she always has nice words for everyone. Her son has been sick I truly admire her spirit and determination, she is most definitely deserving of this award.

~ GG's Mama over at Thing One, Thing Two, A Thing Or Two : One of my favorite blogs, I love GG's Mama and all of her stories about her twins, G1 and G2. Both girls are absolutely beautiful and I love her updates about their growth and progress and how she recognizes their individuality and cherishes them both.

~ Petunia over at Petunia in Paradise : Sophisticated and beautiful but completely down to earth. Petunia is a new addition to my reader and I absolutely love her. And she taught me about a Jewish celebration too, now I know :)

~ Latte Mommy over at Latte Mommy : This caffeinated mom's got it all down, and to top it off, she just got back from what sounds like an AMAZING vacation. I'm definitely jealous. She always has thoughtful, well-written posts and I think she definitely deserves this award.

~ Joy over at Joy the Baker : Is there anything more beautiful than the things this girl comes up with? I drool everytime I read her scrumptious blog. If you haven't met her, do go visit, you won't be sorry.

~ April over at Thoughts in My Tumultuous Brain : Love this girl, you never know what she's going to write about, but it's ALWAYS great. I love her variety and her unique perspectives on life and everything in it.

~ Cheryl over at Wishing and Discovering : This beautiful mother has so many things on her plate, I don't know how she does it, but she does it with love and a smile. She is one of the strongest, most resilient bloggers I've been lucky enough to know.

~OHMommy over at Classy Chaos : Last but never least, the fabulous, stilleto clad OHMommy and her unrivaled classy blog. I would love to live a week in her household, it sounds so exciting and classy. She keeps a beautiful blog with her wonderful children and when I saw this award, I thought of her.

Shiny Stuff: Part One

I'm delighted to have received not one but two lovely awards from two wonderful fellow bloggers. Since I get to pass on each award to multiple people, I decided to split it into two posts.

Gramma Ann over at Ann's Quotes and Things gave me this great award:

I am honored to have received this award from such a wonderful blogger friend. :) Now, in terms of sharing this here award, it's my understanding that you select 7 Kreativ Blogger friends to pass this to. So in no particular order, I'd like to award this award (hehe) to:

~ Mr. Lady over at Whiskey in My Sippy Cup : She has some of the best writing around, and she's just so darn funny! If you don't already read her, you should. And as Latte Mommy once said, you can thank me later.

~ Trooper Thorn over at Dogs and Jeans : He's got a witty sense of humor and can find humor in nearly anything. I may not always agree with his political feelings, but you should seriously read some of his elections posts, they're absolutely hysterical.

~ Jennwa over at Ramblings of a Crazy Woman : She can take ANYTHING and turn it into a beautiful art project. I don't know how she comes up with all of these great projects, but her kids have to be in absolute heaven! If she doesn't deserve thie Kreativ Blogger award I don't know who does.

~ Jill over at Caffeine Court : She's got a great variety of blogging material and you can always talk to her about tennis. :) She even started a joint blogging effort called Collage where we all go to write on selected topics that are often controversial. It's really a lot of fun.

~ The ever fabulous Eat Play Love : She's always got a great story to share, and you've gotta love her Tuesday Tips, I always learn SO much from those posts. I look forward to Tuesdays. :)

~ Mrs. D over at A Cup of Thought, An Ounce of Sass & Just a Dash of Crazy : I met her recently through Jill's Collage project and have fallen in love with her blog. And she has a special surprise coming her way, I couldn't be happier for her :) Congratulations Mrs. D!!!

~ Bee over at Bee Repartee : Bee always has a humerous take on life and tells the greatest stories, she's a lot of fun to read :)

May I Have the Envelope, Please.

I am very excited, I got my first blog award from Trooper Thorn over at Dogs and Jeans. I have to say I'm extremely flattered. I just hope I continue to have interesting observations to live up to the award. Thanks Trooper, I really appreciate the award! I've really enjoyed reading your stories ever since you came across my blog a while back.

So, according to the rules (well, they're more like guidelines actually), I'd like to pass on the award to several wonderful bloggers that I am privileged to "know". I had a really hard time narrowing it down from all the amazing blogs I read...it helped a little that some of you already have this award, and I wanted to share the love (okay, am I losing points for cliched phrases?) So, in no particular order, I'd like to present this award to:

~Kim at Temporary? Insanity
...because I adore her egomaniacal ramblings (her words, not mine ;) ), and she always has really interesting posts. She's down to earth, and really funny. And she also just
recommended a book I'm REALLY excited to buy and read later.

~Eileen over at A Life of Triggers
...because she has got so much to deal with in her life and she still finds time to encourage others and do what is best for her family, and she does it with class and integrity.

~Erin over at Following My Folly
...because she's really nice and I absolutely love her blog and she was the very first person
I ever "met" in the blogosphere, and who was kind enough to leave my first comment
ever.

~Mama Geek at What Works for Us
...because really, have you SEEN this woman's photography? Seriously, most
amazing stuff ever, I wish I could take lessons from her, and maybe steal her
camera. (just kidding...well, in that I wouldn't actually steal it)

~Cecily at My Chaos My Bliss
...because she has great stories, and also co-hosts my favorite weekly event Photostory
Friday. That's actually how I came across her blog, and I've loved every minute of it.

~Gramma Ann over at Ann's Quotes and Things
...because she always has the funniest stories and anecdotes, and she gives
wonderful advice (plus, she's the World's Greatest Gramma)

~Melissa at Melissa the Mouth
...because I want her to be my personal shopper! Seriously, these companies should be
paying her for these great things she finds and loves. I've found so many great things from her recommendations. She also does really cool arts and crafts with her kids, and I love her views on life in general.

~Converse Mama at Ordinary Art
...because I love her blog and I really admire her no comment policy. She's a
wonderful mother, and her children are SO incredibly blessed to call her
mommy.

~Kellan at On the Upside
...because I can always count on her for a smile, and I love how she always wishes me a
good evening or a good day. She's so nice and her kids are a hoot, they provide plenty of
wonderful blogging stories.


Directions for this here award:
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs. (I defied rules and nominated 9, so there!)
4. Add links to these blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

I'll post again soon, hopefully tomorrow. I have lots to update on. But I'm actually working on a training documentation project at work that I need to get done hopefully by Thursday so my supervisor can view and edit so we have it ready for her first training session on Monday. It's fun, I'm enjoying it, I feel very productive. But I'm also VERY behind in my blog reading...I promise I'll be catching up in the next few days. I figure I just get more amazingness all at once, that's a good thing, right?