Blog Awards

I'm horrible about responding to these so I apologize now to Sara & Cynthia for taking so long to accept these! However, I have some time this afternoon so I'm passing them on!

The first award was received from Sara over at Embracing Destiny. I "met" Sara though an homeschooling Yahoo group that we are both members. It's been wondering reading her blog & trading e-mails over the last few months.

Sara graciously awarded me with the "One Lovely Blog Award." I humbly now accept it.

The “One Lovely Blog” award came with a few rules.Those rules are as follows:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

The Cynthia over at Life is Good passed along the "You Make My Day Award." This award is to be passed along to 10 other bloggers.

Granted, I have over 100 blogs in my Google Reader, but I don't typically give out award to those who aren't friends (in real life or online). So here are some listed. If you don't see your name here, please free feel to grab the award anyway. Really. If you do see your name listed, feel free to grab one or both of the awards. In a slight twist (i.e. new rule that I'm making up as a type), I'll share how I've "met" the folks I'm giving the awards to. ;-)

• Jen @ Pondered Moments - Jen & I have been on some Yahoo groups together - mostly for scrapbooking. My time at them has fallen away in the past year or more but I bookmarked Jen's blog. I always enjoy reading what her family is up. She takes fantastic photos of all of her beautiful children.

• Suzanne @ Just a Bunch of Nothin' - Suzanne & I have never met in person & we aren't on any Yahoo groups together. BUT, I know a friend of hers (whom I have met in person & I was on Yahoo groups with -see below - and so I started reading Suzanne's blog. And leaving comments. Really, I was cyber-stalking her. Well, not really. But I love reading Suzanne's blog. It's a mish-mash of fun & she always shares her wonderful coupon deals with everyone!

• Linda @ MacDonald Clan - Linda & I first met on-line in a wonderful scrapbooking Yahoo group we were members of. Her hubby is in the military & during one of their deployments he went ahead & they had to follow a few months later. Her mom lives in Maine! So Linda & I got to meet in person which was very cool. I "met" Suzanne through Linda. It really is a small world you know.

• Robin @ Robin Merrill's Blog for Readers, Disciples, & Dog-Lovers - Robin is a real life friend! ;-) She is Miss H's mom - one of the toddlers I've been babysitting for about the last year. Robin is a lot of fun to talk with - we both talk fast so it can get interesting! ;-) She's just jumped in to the blog world. By day she is a high school English teacher & a freelance writer on the side.

• Dee @ Mike & Dee Plus 3 - Dee is another real life friend and relative. Her family just started on a brand new adventure about seven months ago - triplets! And probably the most adorable triplets I've ever seen and I'm not biased at all - honest!

• Lisa @ Lisa's Homeschool Circus - Lisa is an on-line friend I've gotten to know through her blog & e-mail over the last few years. She lives in sunny Florida where they have lots of sunshine! (I really feel like I'm getting a bit moldy from all the rain we've been having lately!) I love reading her blog to see what her kiddos have been up to. It's always fun.

• Sheri @ The Carneal Chronicle - Sheri is a wonderful on-line friend. I can't even remember exactly how we connected on-line, but I think it had something to do with us being pregnant & due with children pretty much on the exact same day. I had J a week early so they missed sharing a birthday (but that's okay - N shares a b-day with Linda's Hannah). I have a lot of fun reading Sheri's blog. She shares a lot of great obscure holidays on there & wonderful photos from California!

• Debbie @ Following the Narrow Path - Debbie, I almost didn't pass these one simply because you may have already had them awarded, but I had to. Debbie is a wonderful IRL friend. We first met through a "Flat Traveler" project many years ago (I think B was about five at the time). I know we have been friends since I first started homeschooling and she was a huge help to me in all of that. I've gone out to NY a few times with & without my boys for visits & I've always tried to connect with Deb & her family when they come to Maine for their annual camping trip. Deb blogs about life with a large (??) family (I don't consider five children large but many do) living the good life in upstate New York.

• Kristine @ Jewels of My Own - Kristine is an on-line friend living down south with her wonderful family. I know not all consider Virginia south but pretty much everything is "south" for me. I love Kristine's random posts & when she uses photos to document her day. I love picturing her pulling out her camera in all of these public spots to grab that perfect photo for her blog. It gives me courage.

• Dorothy @ You Did What? - Dorothy lives in one of my favorite countries - England. Of course, it's the only country I've ever visited for more than a few hours (the 2nd being Canada & I was there for an hour before the boat returned to Maine - I'll share that story sometime). I love reading about how homeschooling (home educating) is different in England. I also enjoy reading about their new venture - Life Songs - where they are putting on Christian music worship concerts in their community. I wish I lived closer.

So there are ten of my favorite blogs of folks I feel I "know" - whether or not I've met them in person. I once confessed how many blogs I have in my reader (current stat: 150) so I read a lot of blogs (understatement of the year perhaps).

As I mentioned before, if you read my blog and I did not link you up, please feel free to grab one or both of the awards anyway. Just leave a comment to let me know so I can go check out your blog. I'm always looking for more to add to my reader. It's a sickness I think.