Did This Really Just Happen?

Over the past two months I have been honored with some very special blogging awards. It is still so shocking to me that, not only do people read the things I have to say, but they also enjoy them enough to actually give me an award for it. That is just incredible to me and it is an honor I never expected once let alone three times!

First the Versatile Blogger award. This was given to me by two other incredible bloggers. I would like to give a HUGE thank you to Martin Shone and Lynn Kelley for choosing to pass this award on to me. Be sure you check out their blogs, you will find some fantastic stuff there.

There are three rules in accepting this award.

1. Thank the person who shared the award with you by linking back to them in your post.

2. List seven things about yourself.

3. Pass this award on to 15 newly discovered blogs and let them know that you included them in your blog post.

I have already linked back to Martin and Lynn (and have just done so again ), so I will go on to number 2. This part is rather difficult for me, especially since many of the fun things I could mention I have already talked about in previous blog posts, but I will do my best.

1. Over the course of my vocal studies I sang in 7 different languages. English, Latin, Italian, French, German, Spanish, and Hebrew.

2. I was an extra in the 1994 movie Summertime Switch and you can actually see me in the scene I was in. I look ridiculous.

3. I like ice cream. A lot. I can eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in 5 minutes without purposely trying to do so. My in-laws used to buy it for me just so they could watch.

4. I played the Fairy Godmother in my 5th grade production of Cinderella.

5. I almost died at the age of two from encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).

6. When I was 13 and went on a family vacation to the Smokey Mountains I was chosen to compete in one of the games in the performance ring at the Dixie Stampede.

7. When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out it was right before my birthday. I got the book at midnight and was going out with my girlfriends the next evening, so I stayed up all night and read the entire book so I could fully enjoy my friends without wondering what was going to happen to Harry.

Okay, now for the fun part. I get to pass the award on.

1. Natalie Hartford – Life Out Loud

2. Jenny Hanson – Cowbell: You Need More of It

3. M.G. Miller – A Little Southern Exposure

4. Jillian Dodd – Glitter, Bliss, and Perfect Chaos

5. Debra Kristi – Sparks in the Fire

6. Marcy Kennedy – Life at Warp 10

7. Coleen Patrick – Read. Smile. Repeat.

8. Clay Morgan – Pop Culture & the Meaning of Life

9. Liz Schulte – Bat Country

10. Ginger Calem – I am Blogger…Hear me Tweet

11. August McLaughlin – Savor the Storm

12. Emma Burcart – Occasional Epiphanies

13. Alicia McKenna Johnson – Arm Chair Adventures

14. Colin Falconer – Looking for Mr. Goodstory

15. Lena Corazon – Flights of Fancy

Now imagine my astonishment when not long after I received the two Versatile Blogger awards I received another. This time it was the Liebster Blog award from the one and only Myndi Shafer. I was rendered pretty much speechless from this. Myndi is one of my absolute favorite bloggers and for her to recognize me was one of the biggest compliments I could receive.

“Liebster” is the German word for “dearest” and this award is given to new bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. As before, there are a couple of stipulations for accepting the award.

1. Thank the person who awarded you and link back to them.

2. Pass the award on to 5 fellow bloggers and let them know.

I have already thanked and linked back to Myndi, so now to pass this award on.

1. Coty Chanley – My fellow, and hilarious, Glee Chat co-host uncensored.

2. Tim O’Brien – Static in the Airwaves

3. Karen Rought – The Midnight Novelist

4. Fabio Bueno – Diomonds & Rust

5. Samantha Warren – Stealing Starships

* * *

If you are one of the blogs that I listed here I hope that you will be able to take the time to pass your award on, but there is absolutely no pressure. Feel free to take your time if you are just too busy right now – I certainly did. Also, make sure that you remember to save the image and attach it to the blog post that you create.

I really hope that you check out some of the blogs that I have listed. I know that there are a lot of them, especially when you combine the two lists, but I promise you they are worth it.

Paying it Forward

This week I had a very unexpected pleasure – two bloggers listed me as a blog worth checking out. Ginger Calem awarded me with the Versatile Blogger Award along with 14 other bloggers. I was still gaping in speechless wonderment when, just two days later Jessica Salyer included me in her Pay it Forward blog post along with 3 other bloggers. I am so honored that these two wonderful women chose to include me in their lists. My blog is still such a young baby and being recognized by two fellow bloggers is more than I could have ever hoped for. As a thank you I am going to continue what they started.

Martin Shone: Martin is one of the nicest people I have met since joining the worlds of blogging and tweeting. He writes some amazing poems and short stories and has recently started a new blog where he shares his thoughts on various matters using his unique style and humor.

Stephanie Scott: When I read the tagline for her blog, “Book reviews, a writer’s life, and some nerd culture”, I knew this was a blog I would enjoy and I was not wrong.

Girls With Pens: Marcy Kennedy and Lisa Hall-Wilson share this blog on writing. My first experience with this blog was a very entertaining post that used Buffy the Vampire Slayer versus Bella Swan (from Twilight) to illustrate what makes a good character in a story.

Tiffany White: Tiffany, like me, is an avid television watcher and a post on one of my favorite shows, Psych, is what brought her blog to my attention. Her blog is a ton of fun and infused with her personality whether she is writing on TV, movies, or whatever else she is Ooo-ing over.

the Little Red Reviewer: As the name of this blog implies it is full of reviews, mostly scifi/fantasy books. This blog is an excellent source for reading material and also engages in “readalongs”.

UPDATE 10/19/11:

Myndi Shafer: I just discovered this blog and HAD to add it. Myndi has a great, funny personality that shines through her writing. Whether she is writing about underwear drawers, popsicles, or crying in public there is something relatable and funny.

I hope that you are able to check out the blogs I have listed as well as the two that were kind enough to honor me. There are so many amazing blogs out there that I am still discovering every day. It was a pleasure to take the opportunity to highlight a few of them.