My dear blogging friend, Heather, at Gofita’s Pages has awarded me the Circle of Friends Award. Thank you so much for thinking of me. Now, I believe I am to list 5 things I love to do and then pass this on to 5 other amazing bloggers. So, here goes!

Five Things I Love to Do
1. Reading
2. hanging out with my husband
3. watching movies
4. shopping at flea markets/thriftstores/antique shops
5. playing board games

I would like to pass this on to the following:
1. Three Wishes
2. TheVintageWife
3. Doe-C-Doe
4. Cloudbusting
5. DigsFrocksandBooks

It is wonderful meeting people and making friends through the blogging world! I am grateful for this award and for the opportunities blogging has given me.

I’ve been bloggin’ since September 2005 (4 years) & I’ve never received an award..until recently!!

The kisser, over at kiss the pen (a blog that I enjoy), awarded me the “I love your blog” award. See:

Yay! Thanks, kisser! I truly appreciate you lovin’ my blog :*smooches*

So, I think I’m suppose to pass this on to other blogs that I adore. I don’t keep up with many blogs (I really need to find new blogs, because I love to read). I pass this award on to the followin’ blogs:

- Maybe So, Maybe No
- She Chronicles
- The Shaka Shaw Show

From Lee at Hormones, Headaches and Hotflashes:

It went out to all her readers, but she went through the time and had the patience to list all our blogs with link! Gotta love her. And read her, because she’s very funny, a great writer and engaging. Her vlogs are relaly good, too. Not everyone can pull off a vlog and be so natural in it.

Alice from Hello, My Name is Alice gave me this lovely award! Thank you so much!

1. Freda @ Freda’s Voice

She always goes out of her way to offer an encouraging word to Amber, my daughter, when I post one of her drawings.

2. Esme @ Chocolate and Croissants

I love her combination of reading and food, two of my favorite things.

3. Ryan @ Wordsmithonia

Not only does he read wonderful books, he also has a fictional character feature that often reminds me of old favorites.

4. Jeane  @ DogEar Diary

She reads the books I can picture my daughter reading as she gets older.

5. Blodeuedd @ Book girl of Mur-y-Castell

I love her taste in books.

6. Stacy @ Stacy’s Books

She has fantastic quizzes, even if I never know the answers.

7. Jen @ The Movieholic & Bilbiophile’s Blog

I love all the time and energy she puts into her reviews. She does a wonderful job.

1. I play the piano. I was so happy when we moved into our house, no more banging on the walls from the people in the next apartment when I play too loudly.
2. I love Christmas music. I’ve had it out since October. I love the decorations too and have a couple of things that I leave out all year round.
3. I love reading, but have a horrible tendency to peek ahead to see what’s going to happen, or who did it, or who’s alive at the end. Sometimes I just can’t stand not knowing.
4. I’m a big fan of playing board games, with family and friends.
5. I hate cold weather. My hands and feet have felt like ice for two months now, and we don’t even live someplace really cold.
6. My totally unrealistic fear is that there will be someone hiding behind the shower curtain, so I have to pull it back and check whenever I’m in a bathroom. Once, we were at a friend’s house and there was a mirrored shower door behind the curtain. I guess they could hear my shriek in the next room.
7. I love scrapbooks, making them, looking through them. It’s a hobby I’ve neglected lately but am hoping to get back to in the new year.

Recently while doing my blogroll shuffle, I found myself both excited and shocked when I visited my friend Luisa at Believe In Yourself. Excited because I was awarded this bitchin “You’re A Blessing” award and as an award slut, what could make me happier? Shocked because I’m used to being called a lot of different things, but a blessing is not one of them. That was until I was awarded this little gem.

Thank you Luisa for thinking I am worthy of such an awesome award and passing it along to me!

If you have never had the pleasure of visiting Believe In Yourself, please do! Luisa’s blog is full of her awesome poems, jokes that are sure to make you laugh and thought provoking posts. You will be hooked on her blog like I am!

Luisa informed me that I am to present this award to five friends so without further ado.

Would the following please stand up and accept this award?

Sherri @ Bloggin’ Sherri Style

Jean @ Jean Has Been Shopping

Lisa @ Just For The -ell Of It

Heather @ The Eyes In The Back Of My Head

Terri @ Terri Terri Quite Contrary

Lovely Julie Anne Nelson @ http://literaryjules.blogspot.com  sent me this beautiful bouquet of flowers.  With it is a condition that I reveal seven unknown facts about me. I find that a bit challenging considering my life is an open book … literally. My book is a fictionalized memoir. Here are seven facts you won’t find about me anywhere.

1. I dress like a bag lady but spend sixteen dollars a pound for my favorite Whole Foods brand of organic coffee. (Don’t send me hate mail because you went out and bought it and now must adjust your wardrobe finances to afford your new addiction. I will not be held responsible.)
2. I am an extremely complex and serious individual, which stands to reason why my favorite shows are Spongebob Squarepants and old reruns of Get Smart. I must have balance. If I didn’t dumb down at some point I would be just too amazing, wouldn’t I? (Say it’s true. Tell me that’s the reason I must watch these programs. Humor me.)
3. I can’t fold a fitted sheet to save my life.
4. I must write by a window. My library has quiet rooms, which would be a perfect escape from the distractions of my house. But there are no windows. How do they expect me to stare off into space if there is no space? Ceiling tiles do not count as space. They hold no moon or rain or autumn leaves. Ideally, I would write outside, but I can’t see my screen when I do, so it’s back to the desk by the window for me.
5. I am not a vegetarian but if I’m at a restaurant and it’s on the menu, I will always order a tofu dish. Like a fitted sheet, I can’t make a good tofu dish to save my life. If I could prepare a restaurant equivalent, I’d be a master tofu foodie complete with a vegetarian title and the accompanying bragging rights. But until then, “Where’s the Beef?”
6. With so much clutter in my brain, I must have order (much like my dilemma on fact number two). I have overfocused ADD, which means the high-priority project that can’t wait another minute might get cast aside when I decide to clean the refriderator kickplate. Projects take ten times longer than necessary to finish. I can’t just zip through my house and clean it. There is no “zip” in reference to me. I’ll be cleaning a toilet, but decide to clean the back side facing the wall as well. I’ll clean the light fixtures, the baseboards, the glass in the picture frames. I am a downright nightmare. I hate me. So many times, I wish I could be like my mother and “zip” the house clean in fifteen minutes. It takes me eight days and fifteen minutes to clean my house. Now take a guess how I am about finishing my book. You got it. That’s right. It’s on the proverbial slow boat to China in completion. So for order, I have an organized closet (thanks to a day I set aside for shapooing the carpet–somehow the closet got cleaned instead). Clothes are color coordinated. Pants have their place. The clothes I save for when I lose weight are on their own shelf. It’s all good.
7. I was a raccoon in my past life.

Now I must pass the flower torch to seven other bloggers with secrets to reveal.

1. Linda at out of my mind lindacassidylewis.wordpress.com. She loves flowers. There’s even a flower in the name of her novel The Brevity of Roses. I hereby bestow this bouquet to this truly gifted writer.
2. Carol at http://careann.wordpress.com. For having a warm and friendly blog and for returning to mine to comment even though she knows I’m weird.
3. Cynthia at http://catchingdays.cynthianewberrymartin.com for offering so much writing wisdom and thought-provoking posts on her blog.
4. Judy at http://zebrasounds.net for making me laugh and for being the most entertaining blog ever.
5. Laura Best at http://lauraabest.wordpress.com She deserves a bouquet in honor of her book Bitter, Sweet getting published. Congratulations. You’re an inspiration to writers everywhere.
6. Bob Trusty at http://bobtrusty.com for being so adorkable (I borrowed that word from Judy (#4), who is also adorkable and who invented the word. Judy, meet Bob, the new recipient of the highly coveted title).
7. http://rachelhestondavis.wordpress.com . A YA/fantasy writer who is on the query journey (like a lot of us) and could use a little happiness in all the anxious waiting for replies.

Kasie, I thought of you but Julie gave you the same award. I also thought of sweet Candice but Kasie beat me to it.

In the last week I was awarded this fun award from two fabulous, fierce girls and because it’s Friday and I’m oh-so-glad to see it here’s the deal:

I’m supposed to list 10 things that make me happy and try to do/experience at least one of them today, which really shouldn’t be too incredibly hard, right!?

1. Rocking out to Christmas music on my way to work. Yes, I am that girl who turns the music up as high as it can go and shouts at the top of her lungs. I’m currently rocking out to A Very Special Christmas 2 which is incredibly old. So old we used to have it on cassette tape. Remember those?

2. Pseudo-fingerless gloves to get me through winter. I detest having to fumble around in my gloves if I need to answer the phone or grip things tightly. These allow for the thumb and index finger to be “fingerless,” if need be while keeping the other fingers toasty and warm. (Mine are in black.)

3. Sending cards. Not just at Christmas, for birthdays and other special occasions, but just because. I’ve stocked up on some great cards with wild art and can’t wait to send them out. I still have a few more Christmas cards to send out and it makes me so happy to send cards. No idea why, just does.

4. Attempting to make a difference. In the last six months I’ve ramped up my donation/volunteer efforts donating everything from used books, pencils for school children, shoes all for various drives as well as money and time more to give back to my community and hopefully make someone’s day brighter. While it’s not as much as I’d like to do, it’s a place to start.

5. This is totally dorky but playing my Crossword game on my Nintendo DS.

6. Coming home at the end of a long day. Mundane, maybe but so true. The warmth of the house, the dogs greeting me at the door, the promise of time to myself with family or friends, it literally warms my heart.

7. Blogging. This whole entire experience keeps getting better and better. I can’t fathom my life without it.

8. Running. It’s my release. My “me,” time. I can collect my thoughts, think freely and resolve some of those pesky life problems that affect so many of us when I’m running. It’s definitely an addiction.

9. Baking. I love that when I’m cooking or baking I have to focus on the recipe, the mix, the output and nothing more. It’s therapeutic in ways I never thought possible.

10. Hugs. Doctors recommend touching someone you know and love at least once a day. The physical contact is important for the brain and the soul, they say. I’ve always been a big fan of hugging and have no qualms about hugging my family members, close friends and even my dog, Jack.

What’s making you happy today (besides the fact that it’s Friday!?)

Awards Are Awesome In Blog land…..Love Them!

CHECK OUT MJ’S DESIGNS ON HER BLOG http://dazzlingdesignsbymj.blogspot.com/

The rules are: I need to pass this award on to five people, post on their blogs to let them know I left this award, and then I need to answer this list of questions in ONE word….

Here goes -

1. Where is your cell phone? KITCHEN

2. Your hair? UP RIGHT NOW

3. Your mother? CLOSE BY

4. Your father? DITTO

5. Your favourite food? PASTA

6. Your dream last night? NONE

7. Your favourite drink? MT DEW

8. Your dream/goal? ALWAYS BE IN GOD’S PERFECT PLAN

9. What room are you in? STUDIO

10. Your hobby? Scrapbooking

11. Your fear? NATA

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?  RAISING MY FAMILY AND GRANDCHILDREN

13. Where were you last night? SNUGGLING WITH MY HONEY

14. Something that you aren’t? A RED HEAD

15. Muffins? BANANA NUT

16. Wish list item? MY CHILDREN FIND TRUE LOVE

17. Where did you grow up? FLORIDA

18. Last thing you did? LUNCH

19. What are you wearing? JEANS AND A TANK

20. Your TV? On

21. Your pets?  PENELOPE AND COOPER

22. Friends? THE BEST

23. Your life? BLESSED

24. Your mood? MOTIVATED

25. Missing someone? GROWN CHILDREN

26. Vehicle? EXCURSION

27. Something you’re not wearing? LIPSTICK

28. Your favourite store? GAP

29. Your favourite colour? PINK

30. When was the last time you laughed? TODAY

31. Last time you cried? JUST A COUPLE DAYS AGO-HAPPY TEARS

32. Your best friend? MY HONEY

33. One place that I go over and over? STUDIO

34. Facebook? YES

35. Favourite place to eat? BONEFISH GRILLE

I am passing on the award to:

Hannah

Sarah

cre8ivegirl

Liz

Becky

CLICK ON THEIR NAMES TO CHECK OUT THEIR BLOGS! THEY ARE FAB!!

Recently, while doing my daily blog roll shuffle as I like to call it, I was pleasantly surprised to see I had been awarded the “Best Blog Award” from my blogging buddy Tasneem at Laugh Hard!. It’s ALWAYS a nice feeling for an award slut to visit a blog and find an awesome award waiting for them when they arrive. I was so excited; I had to put a nitro pill under my tongue to slow my heart rate down to a safer level.

As if that wasn’t enough, a few days later when doing the blog roll shuffle once again, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was presented with yet the same stellar award from my blogging buddy Luisa at Believe In Yourself. The feelings of shock, surprise, amazement, happiness, joy, glee, excitement and pure slutiness were coursing through my very being.

And now for a few thank you’s…..

I would like to thank the first skanky chick that laid on her back and spread her legs for any passerby to take full advantage of. Without the total disregard of your health, family and friends the term “slut” may have never come about and I would be title less. You stared STD’s in the face and laughed. Having sex with someone you met 10 seconds ago meant nothing to you and you liked it. For these reasons and many more dear skanky chick, I thank you!

I would like to thank my wife and children for loving such a slut of my caliber. Living with and loving a slut such as I is not an easy thing to do. Imagine what my kids have to endure at school with having a slut as their daddy. My poor wife gets pointed at while at work walking down the hallway and she is of course the center of all the office gossip because of her slut husband. So I must thank my children for enduring their daily ridicule from their friends and teachers and my wife for standing up for me to her coworkers. I love you all!

Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank both Tasneem and Luisa from the bottom of my heart. They obviously have good taste in their sluts and I couldn’t be happier with their choice.Thanks so much for contributing to the delinquency of a slut.

And now by the powers vested in me by the state of flux, I now pass this stellar award to…..

Sherri @ Bloggin’ Sherri Style

S. Le @ I Feel Unusual

Jean @ Jean Has Been Shopping

Joy, Nikki, Sue, Laura and Pam @ Joy Erickson’s Blog

Lisa @ Just For The -ell Of It

Heather @ Life Is Funny Wearing Purple Colored Glasses

Leese @ Living Me 101

Terri @ Terri Terri Quite Contrary

Tammy @ The Tesserae

Era @ Today’s Thought

Joan @ Whatever I Think

Congratulations to you all!

I was nominated for another award-I truly feel loved. Thank you so much to The Long and Winding Road for this You ROCK!

The rules for this award:

Put the Lemonade logo on your blog or within your post.
Nominate at least 10 blogs with great attitude or gratitude.
Link the nominees within your post.
Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

1. Chasing A Miracle
2. Trying to Get Knocked Up By Another Man She helped me find my fabulous RE!!!
3. Beyond Alice
4. GoodEggies
5. The Baldwin Adventures
6. The Road to Happily Ever After
7. Pregnant Yuppy
8. Still Waiting for My Sunshine
9. Trying to Calm
10. Fertility Chick

So go on, go check out these lovely blogs right now!

I interrupt this week’s Friday’s Hardwired Hints post to introduce:

FINALLY: Winners of the 2009 Homeschool Blog Awards!!! | The HSBA Post

This is the link to the list of 2009 Homeschool Blog Awards winners.  Sadly, Topsy-Techie didn’t make the cut, but I thank you to each of you who took the time to stop by and vote.

But don’t let my loss discourage you (hee)…head over and discover some terrific homeschooling blogs that we can add to our “network.” 

Have a great weekend everyone…

(HHH will be back again next week when I can stop hyperventilating long enough to pull it together, I promise!)

I was given this award by Lu at Just a Girl. Thanks so much girlie! Everyone should go check her blog out if you haven’t already done so, her posts are always really interesting

1. Elle
2. Tackyblueeyshadow
3. Lipstickrules
4. Toomuchblush
5. Fordomesticgoddessredial
6. Nicolavc86
7. Beingbrazen
8. Jordysbeautyspot
9. Helenandsheeniesnicethings
10. Makemeblush
11. Itsunbeweavable
12. Thisiscaz
13. Simlpyhayleyann
14. Iheartcosmetics
15. Cocobella

thank you, thank you, thank you, Hayley, for this award! this is so awesome. haha. (: you’re a super blogger and the sweetest. ♥

1. Thank/Link the person who nominated you for this award;
2. Copy the award and place it on your blog;
3. Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself;
4. Nominate 7 bloggers and post theirs links.

♥ i’d really want a tattoo when i’m old enough to get one. maybe i’ll get two or three of them.
♥ i have come to love blogging after discovering a whole world of interesting, beautiful and just plain awesome bloggers out there. (: you somehow helped me love being myself and do what i love.
♥ i believe in soulmates. yeah, i guess you could say i’m a totally hopeless romantic. but i believe in fate and destiny, too. if you were meant to be together, one way or another, you will. à la Serendipity.
♥ i have a huge phobia of frogs and heights. the mere mention of either one gives me shivers down my spine. gah.
♥ i have a fetish for Britain, New York and California. through books, pictures, movies and my imagination, they all have this very homey feeling that i so love. (:
♥ i have never been to a place during winter before.
♥ i’m a very impulsive person. or so i think. (: like last night, i digged out my watercolorpencils and started making random things with quotes on them. i found them quite pretty, with possibly all the colors in the box blended together.

and now, 7 of my all-time favorite blogs (in no particular order);

♥ http://lafleurbelle.blogspot.com
♥ http://rainbowstodust.blogspot.com
♥ http://kimikarma.tumblr.com
♥ http://serenalovestomatoes.blogspot.com
♥ http://heysilly.tumblr.com
♥ http://simplyhayleyann.blogspot.com
♥ http://likethewind.tumblr.com

♥

I would like to raise my glass and toast to the end of the Monday workfest. CLINK! CHEERS! HURRAH!

I’m always glad when Mondays conclude, but today I am ecstatic. I was simply not on my A game today. I was tired, distracted, allergetic (now a word, thank you), and busy. All of those elements did make the day pass rather quickly though. I am just now starting to take on the responsibilities of my new position, so I had a lot of new information to process and the day just zipped by. Now if I just had that glass of champagne…

My lunch was interesting today. I had planned on having a boca burger on my German Dark Wheat bread, but the bocas were severly freezer burned. Instead I had a sandwich of two Laughing Cow cheese wedges and hot sauce.

Might seem strange, but it was quite tasty. I think it would be even more tasty with cream cheese. I also had a salad on the side to get some veggies up in thurr.

All in all it was a great lunch! Snacks were pretty minimal. I had some mini pretzels, compliments of Delta, that I’d forgotten I had.

And a lop-sided nasty-tasting apple that I only ate about 1/3 of.

Now I’m about to hit up some yoga. Normally I wouldn’t go because I know I have obligations during the next 2 or 3 classes, and I haven’t been in a few weeks. But I need a good stretch, and I need to remember that exercise isn’t all or nothing.

Oh, and before I go, I’ve been graciously given an award by two of my fave bloggistas – Taylor from the Joy of Food and Jolene from Everyday Foodie.

And now I shall tell you 7 Things You Don’t Know About Me:

1. My middle name is Sue, and so is my Mom’s.

2. I have a secret fantasy of marrying a man named Jude so I can play “Hey Jude” at our wedding (and pretty much everyday of my life) and sing it to my husband. I’m a HUGE Beatles lover.

3. My first kiss was in the 6th grade and the boy I was kissing leaned in so hard that he bloodied my upper lip.

4. I’m one of those people that gets a little blue around the holidays. Even though I try to fake it so I don’t bring anyone else down.

5. I have a tattoo on my hip that says “Que Sera, Sera” (what will be, will be). I may have mentioned that before, but I’m not sure.

6. I may be the most unathletic person on the planet.

7. I am a kind, loving and generous soul – but I get downright annoyed at significant others when they are sick. It takes all I have in me to be nice to them. I have no idea why. Big personality flaw.

And now I am going to take the cop out route and nominate everyone reading this for this award! I love you all and I just can’t pick

So I thought I was being clever in swapping my red and green scrub tops and bottoms for some Christmas cheer (and to celebrate it being my last day of work til 2010!!!!!). I mean really, who enjoys such obnoxiously loud attire other than me?  …And then I saw a reeeeeeeally old lady at the post office wearing something practically identical. I guess I have the Christmas cheer of a grannie . She and I were twins to a tee – green on top and red on bottom.

A poor bathroom mirror attempt

OK, define the word “nosh” in your head and THEN scroll down (no cheating!!!!!!!!)…..

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Definition: munch. Example of use: “I was noshing on guacamole and chips.”

So, were you right? Close? Confused?

I recently learned of the word “nosh” and I thought it might be some fun trivia for you all.

Gina of Simply Life gave me this award today (thank you, Gina!)! Her blog is so much fun, be sure to check it out!

I would like to pass this award on to 5 blogs and bloggies I love to follow:

- Georgie of Ask Georgie

-  Grace of Food-Fitness-FreshAir

- Missy of Missy Maintains

- Biz of Biggest Diabetic Loser

- Diane of Fit to the Finish

Don’t forget to go enter to win some Chobani on yesterday’s post! Chobani delivered to your doorstep? SCORE! 3 easy ways to enter, don’t miss out! Entries will only be accepted until tomorrow morning at 8am!

And if you’re still lolly gagging over the Prevention Cookbook, get on it already! The recipe pool is nearly to 70, and I know everyone wants 70 new, awesome, bloggie-inspired recipes to try in 2010, riiiiiiiiight? What to do? Just send a recipe! Easy as that. Go here for all the details. You have until January 1^st to submit!

Hot date with the treadmill and lots of packing to do tonight – Chicago-bound in the AM! Do you think a wine bottle opener would constitute as a “weapon”? I’m thinking so. Guess I’ll end up having to ship those…bummer!