Awards and What-Not

In the past few weeks I've had a number of folks be kind enough to give me an award.  And I hope that I didn't miss anybody when I said thank you- but I have dragged my feet about blogging about them.  I think, on the whole, I find it sort of embarrassing.  I suppose my therapist would peg it as a self-esteem issue.  I'm going to go with digital stage fright.  But in an effort to not look ungrateful, because I'm not, I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge these folks for thinking of me.

These wonderful women nominated me for The Versatile Blogger Award:

And these great gals gave me the Liebster Award:

http://annspencer-annspencer.blogspot.com/

http://taytandallison.blogspot.com/
http://thirdgrademissiontoknowledge.blogspot.com/


And this lovely lady gave me the One Lovely Blog Award






.


All of these awards want you to thank the person that nominated you : Thank you all! And all of them want you to make sure you link back to them, and I feel pretty positive that I managed that. Although the whole HTML code deal frightens me silly, so I hope I did not botch it.  And they seem to want me to write various amounts of random facts about myself, as well as pass the torch to other bloggers.  And over at The Todds, she even had this extra bit about answering questions that she posted as well.  Nobody else had that, but it kind of seemed a little fun, and goes along in the random fact vein as well.

So, no- I'm not going to go whole hog on following the rules, but I am going to attempt them to the best of my ability.

My Questions from Mrs. Todd:

1.  If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
Okay, now this is sort of silly, but I would like to go to England, to visit the places where they film those BBC mystery shows Midsomer Murders and Rosemary & Thyme.  I have a real guilty pleasure sort of obsession with those shows.  And I am sure that in these little villages, people are not being murdered by the handful- that would certainly be awful.  But I want the show boat TOUR.  

 


2.  What is your perfect meal?
The kind I don't have to clean up after.  My fortune says : You lazy woman. Be ashamed.


3.  What is your biggest pet peeve?

My boyfriend.  Yeah, we all know where this relationship is headed...

4.  Would you consider yourself messy or clean? Why?
I am a disorganized mess inside and out.  I don't think I'm a biohazard though.  Just cluttered.  I like what clean looks like.  And I am capable of making it clean after a few hours of work.  But it resumes it's natural blob like state within 24 hours.  I believe this is a "too much stuff" problem.  I'm just this side of being a hoarder I suppose.  But I am a work in progress, and have been starting to throw things out.  Much to the chagrin of my mother, who thinks it's horrible to get rid of anything that "could be useful someday". These are words of DEATH my kittens!  You'll soon drown in your own belongings.  And what makes this all the worse, is that I am currently LIVING with the parents.  Yes, I know, total loser- but I am TRYING to get my own home.  I am just waiting for an irritation with my credit brought about by the divorce to go away.  The big plan is to throw away half of my belongings when I move out.  We'll see though. We'll see...

Not my home or my kids or anyone I know- but this is pretty much the idea. That's me pointing at my mother, trying to pass off the blame, 'cause I'm still a 12 year old at heart.  It's not my fault! Blah.  It totally is.

5.  What is something you couldn't live without?
Nothing.  And I'm not attempting to be blah-se about it. (a word that I just googled for correct spelling and that so totally looks wrong but I'm moving forward)  It's just that, well, my life experience has really showed me how things don't last forever, and yet life goes ever forward.  The world does not stop turning over loss.  I feel in a lot of ways that I lost a piece of my son, when he was diagnosed with autism.  But life has gone on.  And the divorce was heart breaking.  But life has gone on.  I was unemployed and impoverished and felt personally humiliated by being on welfare for two years and was made a point of malicious gossip by many people I had considered friends in the small town I live in- but life has gone on.  Today, in my community, a young boy died after his long heroic fight against cancer.  Tonight, in celebration of his life, at different doorsteps across this county, and even this country, and even this world actually- based on some of the posts on his memorial page- folks have lit candles.  I can look out my back window at this late hour and see some twinkling just through the back woods.  And as much as I know his family grieves, and this community grieves, and even my heart pangs for this loss- tomorrow the sun is going to come up, and we will all have to swing our feet out of our beds and stand up and  keep going.


At one point in my life, within the past five years- I was leading a very church-centered, bible reading, verse quoting, Christian music singing, extra money in the offering plate sort of life.  I have distinct memories of what that relationship with God felt like.  I am truly and deeply aware of how it is not like that now.  But I do not believe that it is something that is gone or extinguished or extinct.  So if I had to pick something that I REALLY couldn't live without- it would be that small warm flame hidden inside.  If it did ever go dark- I feel that, indeed, I would no longer be considered living.

I am of the thinking that I am going to end on that note.  As far as nominating other bloggers for any and all of these awards- who is not deserving?  Here we are, sharing our thoughts for the purpose of growing as people and as professionals. There isn't a one of us who shouldn't be commended for the effort.  Definitely click on these ladies who gave me a nod above.  Definitely take some time and go see some of the folks on the Newbie Blog Hop linky party that's been going around- a good ninety percent of them have under 100 followers.  And folks who'd like more followers- you know what I noticed?  When I followed someone with under 50 followers, they always came over to my blog and followed me too.  And click on different links from our blog rolls.  I've been placing people on mine who have taken the time to comment on my blog, or that I have commented on their blog.  There isn't a single day that goes by that I don't find a blog post that excites me and rejuvenates my imagination for creation for the job.  We are special creatures- finding joy in a job that works so hard to drown us.  But I refuse to sink...