A kind word...

Last week, right in between the Great Furniture Stampede and preparing for my dad to arrive, sweet Lorrie at My Spot on the Shore gave me an award. I was so touched, but I don't think I did an adequate job of letting her know because I was, well, frazzled. Frankly, I was stunned that she even knew who I was. (I know she follows me, but you know what I mean!) Lorrie is Mom to boys...only boys. I wonder if that is why her blog is so terrific. Why would I ask that? Well, you just don't have some of the chatty conversations with boys/men that you do with women and Lorrie poses some really thoughtful questions in some of her blog posts. In between making my brain hurt with tough questions about faith, friendship, and life, she reminds me of life in So Cal, she shares her life of strong family ties going back generation combined with new challenges and the ever-changing world we all live in. So, imagine my surprise when someone I'm enjoying getting to know so much gave me an award? So, Lorrie, thanks...I would love to sit at the beach and chat with you for hours. (It really did mean a lot, even if it took me a while to get back online!)


"This award is bestowed on blogs whose aim is to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement and are real. Our hope is that when the ribbons on these prizes are cut, even more friendships are made... "

So, what blogs do I think are following that credo (besides Lorrie's, I mean)?

First off, let me introduce you to DarcyLee at In This Season. DarcyLee just became a grandma for the first time to a beautiful baby girl born last week! She is so generous sharing hints and tidbits about life with older kids (which is what I now have!), as well as always willing to lend an off-blog shoulder or ear when I need one. DarcyLee is definitely someone I'd be calling to have lunch with, if only we weren't thousands of miles apart. So, go say "hi" to my friend DarcyLee and congratulate her on her brand-new granddaughter.

Next, I'd encourage you to head over to see Andrea at the Train to Crazy. Andrea mixes crafting and parenting of young girls with thoughts on the world even as she and her family are in the midst of relocating. She's also just begun a new blog called Hatch (from which I borrowed a buttermilk pancake recipe that my family said was better (!) than the recipe I've been using for years!). As I understand it, Hatch is all about making things: food, clothes, anything. So far, so good.

Alicia at Confessions of a Snowflake is one of those bloggers who sneaks up on you. She's quiet and hangs back, but I love her blog. She fills it with honest reflection, even during struggles, and I feel like you could tell her anything and she'd listen. She writes about her faith and life's journey and, frankly, I just like her.

And, for those of us who love to see what others are doing in their homes, I think you should head on over to Tootsie's and Lil' Sista's houses so that you, too, can wonder if these girls ever, ever sleep. They always have such terrific ideas for things to do around the house and Tootsie's garden is to die for. Even better? They share the how-tos!

Finally, I have to mention Alicia at More than Words. She's the blogger who has given us Friday Photo Flashback, but that is not why I'm mentioning her. Actually, her blog is some warm and friendly, I imagine she's the woman whose door is always open. I picture her life full of bustle and energy, but never too busy for a friend.

Catching Up...

Well, I haven't been saying much about it, but my technology issues have been making me crazy. Up until recently, I've been receiving and reading all my blogs via RSS Feeds through Microsoft Office Outlook. About a month ago, however, it sporadically stopped working. Pretty soon, I figured out that you all were, in fact, posting and I just wasn't getting the updates. So, if you've missed me, chalk it up to the fact that I didn't figure out you were still writing...yes, I can be slow...

Well, I give up! This weekend I'm moving all my feeds to Google Reader. I wish I didn't have to...I like reading my blogs when I read my emails and, when it worked, Outlook put them all in the same place for me. A girl has got to do what a girl has got to do, though, and I can't stand it another second. I need my regular fix and I must make sure I get it in a uninterrupted fashion. (I think blog reading will replace morning newspapers for the next generation, what do you think?)

Anyway, in the midst of all of this, I neglected to thank two bloggers who gifted me with awards...

Back on May 9, my friend at Generations Gone By gave me this lovely award...and on May 17, my new friend Renee at Always a Southern Girl passed it along as well.


Two bloggers in one month found something they liked in my blog! I could play coy and pretend I'm not tickled, but that wouldn't be me. Frankly, I'm definitely tickled a bright shade of pink.

Generations Gone By is a blog by my friend T, who really writes about life and intersperses it with tales of ancestors "lost and found" as she indulges in her passion for genealogy.

Always a Southern Girl is written by Renee...seriously, what more do I need to say than this: Any woman who includes this in her rules to live by, is a woman I need to know:

#3.) Please don't wear low rise jeans with a thong. We really do not want to see the view of your underwear.


In the bloggy world, awards give us the opportunity to share with you some blogs that we love, in case you haven't discovered them yourselves (or even if you have, that way, you'll know we love them, too!).

So, I'm passing this award along to a few of my favorites, in the hopes it will let them know, despite my technical difficulties, that I really love their blogs.

1. In This Season - DarcyLee is the mother of 4 daughters and is expecting her first grandchild! (How cool is that?) She shares a little bit of sewing, cooking, and life advice with us all and I just love her blog.

2. Tootsie @ Tootsie Time is a new discovery of mine. I love her gardening tips (and the pictures of her garden!). She's just so common sense and easy to understand. I'm always learning something new and being inspired by her.

3. The Train to Crazy - Andrea is the mother of a three little ones and writes about everything from selling homes to the myth of the supermom. I love viewing life from the perspective of a mom who's in a completely different place in life than I am. It makes me smile when her stories send me back 15 years and it makes me appreciate the journey my life has been so far.

Each of these is a new discovery of mine and, as you can see, each is a completely different type of blog. I hope you'll go check them out...you won't be disappointed.

Thanks again, ladies, for gifting me with this award...it made me feel special.

I received an award!

During the drama of my technology issues sandwiched between two boys' birthdays, Generations Gone By gave me this award. If you haven't looked at Gens blog, you need to check it out. I particularly loved this post detailing the bequests an ancestor made in his will. It was like reading about someone real. (Yes, I know our ancestors are real, but you know what I mean!) I felt like I knew them.

Part of receiving this blog award means I get to pass along the award to blogs I love and, hopefully, introduce you to bloggers you might not have read.

1. The Barefoot Kitchen Witch. If you haven't read her, I urge you head on over. This post about the realities of the middle of the night with sick children had me bent over laughing and crying for her--she filed it under "The Joys of Motherhood"!

2. Mayamade - Mayaluna makes amazing stuff. I've been really inspired by her. Later this week I'll have a post about her amazing pretzels, but for now, go explore.

3. Shannon at Staker Sensations is so creative and shares it all with us (and her Etsy shop). I figure it is because we are her estrogen outlet (she's got three sons!)...honestly, you've got to love a woman who makes tutus for her Etsy shop and makes her son model for blog!

4. Connie at Smockity Frocks has become my newest hero because of this post that helped me with teaching Buttercup long division...what can I say...I can be bought! Actually, though, I love the way Connie intersperses tips and talk with interviews with people she finds interesting. She did an awesome interview with her sister who received a Cochlear implant at the age of 40+...can you imagine hearing for the first time? Wow!

5. 50's Housewife is one of my favorite bloggers. This post on how to make Challah is just one of many that inspire me to run into my kitchen and try something new.

6. David at Simple.Organized.Life. is one of my newer finds. I like his simple approach to simplicity in life. He and his wife left the hustle and bustle of a big city to simplify and are now living in a small New Mexico town.

7. Organized Everyday is written by Organizing Mommy and I feel especially fortunate to have discovered this blog the day she wrote a post about making friends easily. The day she posted this (or the day I saw it) was the same day I had just made a new friend over a conversation begun as strangers at Costco!

So, here are some of the blogs I like that might be off the beaten path or not on your radar. Of course, I have so many more I like, but I thought I'd try to share with you some of my newest finds. Thanks for checking them out!

Generations...thank you for gifting me with this award. It made me feel so special and I treasure our bloggy friendship. (And, in response to your post on the subject a few months ago, I'm certain we'd like each other in real life, too! We have kids who could live on chicken strips...really, what else do you need to know?)