I'm feeling the love!

I am so blessed to have such great followers and blogging friends! Over the weekend, I ended up getting TWO awards so my week started off wonderfully. However, I was so busy yesterday that I didn't get a chance to tell you about them here. I also have a giveaway (my first ever... yay!) coming up probably tomorrow so make sure you check back for that. I'll address the awards separately since they have different rules to them.

Canadian Blogger Girl thinks I'm stylish or likes my blog anyway, but she thought enough of me to give me this awesome award. I think she was one of the earlier blogs I started following, so you should go check her out. She has some great stories about her wacky neighbors, but I think she deserves an award for living next to them!  I guess if I'm going to have such a snazzy award on my blog, I better spruce up the place. Expect that soon, since I've been meaning to do so anyway. In any event, thank you CBG! You rock, woman!

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2. Share 5 things about yourself
3. Award 5 recently discovered great bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award 

Five things about myself... I'm trying to come up with things that you all don't know about me yet.
1. I've worn glasses since before I could walk.
2. I have always secretly wanted to become an author.
3. I record General Hospital religiously every day though I'm insanely behind on watching it.
4. I listen to Country music more than any other type normally.
5. My favorite board game is Monopoly.

Recently discovered great bloggers.. There have been so many since the holidays that I found, but I guess I'll have to go with these folks. It's so hard to choose, and I'm trying to spread the love a bit to those I don't think have gotten the award. Please go check them out!

1. Vicki at Glitter Frog .. I found her on Twitter recently, but she has been so worth it. Go read about the crackhead she met recently, and vote for her in a competition she's in if you don't mind.
2. The Adorkable Ditz.. She is young but is wise beyond her years. And she always leaves great comments.
3. Robyn at Life by Chocolate.. She is about to embark on a great new career, and I can't wait to read about it. Don't miss her! I think I found her on Twitter, too.
4. Alessandra at The Life and Times of A. Nighbert.. I simply love her, and I'm sure you will, too. Another great one for comments. :)
5. Average Girl at It's an Average Life.. Okay, this one is my "fudge" on the rules. I didn't find her recently (unless you consider my entire blog to be recent), but she needed to be given an award called "Stylish." She has a new, really nice look to her blog, and I thought she needed some lovin'. Go check her out.

Ib at The Habitual Hobbit totally caught me off guard with this award. I guess I just haven't talked to him much, so I wasn't expecting it. But I was so excited, and it looks like it's been going around a lot lately. His blog is pretty great, and he actually informed me I'm "naughty" the other day. You'll have to go read it to find out why.

For this award, I have to link back to the award giver, answer some questions, and pass the award on. Here are the questions I'm supposed to answer.

1. If you blog anonymously, are you happy doing this? If you aren't anonymous, do you wish you started out anonymously, so that you could be anonymous now? I am semi-anonymous, but I wish I had started out 100% anonymous. Some of my friends and family have the link to my blog and occasionally pop over to read it. Unfortunately, if I Google my real name some of my early posts come up when I used to have my full name on it. So I am limited on things I can vent about, especially work if I ever wanted to. I am loving the blog world though, so I wouldn't change finding all of you. I might start a completely anonymous one sometime though.


2. Describe an incident that shows your inner stubborn side. Seriously? You're asking a Taurus this question? Ummm, which one do I pick? Okay, I firmly believe that M&M's are the best candy ever, and no one will convince me otherwise! Yeah, it's cheesy, but I'm stubborn about a lot of things.


3. What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror? I see a woman who cares very deeply for her family and friends. She can be stubborn, but she will stand up for those she believes in to the end. She needs to take care of herself more and have fun more often like she used to. 


4. What is your favourite summer cold drink? Iced tea, without a doubt!


5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do? Normally, I curl up to a good book or movie. I'm thinking bubble baths need to get back into my life, so I see them making a comeback. I haven't done that in forever! (Is Bailey going to try to get in the tub with me?)


6. Is there something that you still want to accomplish in your life? So many things... I think I mentioned above that I'd love to be a published author. Maybe my publishing world will be the internet through a blog that can make me some change, but who knows? I would seriously love to buy a house someday though. I also hope that I can leave this world having made an impression on my nieces and nephews. I love them all more than they'll ever know. 


7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever, the shy person or always ditching? I guess I was a bit of the first two. I finished pretty high in my class, and I was always out to make sure everyone had a good time. I was pretty outgoing.


8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment in your life, what would you see? I think it would have to be holding my oldest nephew for the first time. I was only 12, and I remembering being so fascinated with this little person. I am now fascinated by the man, husband, and father he has become. 


9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog, or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people and events? Well, I have to make myself open up sometimes, and I tend to joke about things to keep my life from getting too intense. So I guess I do share my true self in my blog in that way. Honestly, I don't think I can be too honest about emotions and feelings without it hurting me or someone else in my life because I am not anonymous here, but isn't that the ironic part? As far as sharing experiences though, I'm pretty much an open book.


10. If you had the choice to sit down and read a book or talk on the phone, which would you do and why? I would definitely read a book. I really don't like talking on the phone much, so that's something that's usually reserved for when I've had a few cocktails. 


Okay, are you bored to tears yet? Last thing and I'll let you go! Who do I pass this one to?


Sam over at A Redhead Named Sam.. She said she could help me spruce this place up (and I'm about to take her up on that), and I've enjoyed her posts since the first day I stumbled onto her blog. 


Stephanie over at Seriously??... Reeeally?... Seriously?.. She was an early find for me, and she has always cracked me up. She's a fellow animal (and especially dog) lover, and I feel so terrible for her recent loss. So go give her some blog love, but please be respectful of her wishes on her Scooby post. 


I'm all done for now. You can go if you must.