Procrastination Pays Off - Sometimes

At the end of January, my sweet internet buddy, Stephanie at Wild Crickets awarded me a Stylish Blogger Award. I was completely flattered but figured I'd wait to post about it until I needed a "filler" post. Well, I waited so long that Amy over at Heartfelt Homeschooling gave me the same award earlier in the week. So today, I must post a big thank you to both ladies and pass it along to spread some bloggy cheer.


The rules are rather straight-forward....

1. Thank and link back to the person (or people) who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award

Seven Things About Me

1. I am one of five children. I am child #4 and the second girl. I have two older brothers and an older sister as well as a younger sister. My mom had all of us within the course of ten years. She was actually pregnant seven times in those ten years but lost two babies to miscarriages.
2. I have lived in Maine all of my life. My parents moved here from Massachusetts about three years before I was born. I now live about 45 minutes west of where I grew up. My family now lives on the farm my hubby grew up on. It's where his grandfather was born. In fact, his grandfather still lives in the farmhouse he was born in 85 years ago.
3. I am slightly addicted to the internet. I love finding out things at the touch of the button.
4. I own an Etsy store where I sell my photographs. I consider myself an above average amateur and I am far from professional in any way shape or form, but I have a lot of fun with it.
5. I've started taking piano lessons again after a number of years of not playing...as in over 20! I have the playing down or I should say, with lots of practice I'm doing okay. It's learning theory - something I never did learn - that is really challenging me. Minor chord, variations, circle of fifths....it's all sometimes a foreign language.
6. My hubby just received a rather big promotion at work. He's now the President of his company. I'm pretty proud of him.
7. I love to read. In fact, you could say I'm addicted to books. Our living room decor is very much "bookcase." We live in a trailer and our living room is about 14x14 and it contains two 5-shelf bookcases (one for me and one for hubby), two 2-shelf bookcases (small ones), one long 2-shelf bookcase, and one homemade small 4-shelf bookcase. There are over 1000 books in this space. Although, I will be getting rid of some of them. I need to make room for the new digital piano that will be arriving this week!

Passing It On

1. Our Family Forest - my local friend (yes, I know her IRL!!!) just started blogging and is loving it! She's looking for some "friend-love" so think about following her blog. She's also planning to start a weekly meme on Thursdays so be watching for that! I love how's she's jumped in with both feet!
2. The Cow Queen - Beverly is a member of my mini-Crew for the TOS Homeschool Crew. I love the look of her blog and she does a great job sharing about her life on the farm.
3. A House Upon The Rock - Again, Trish is a member of my mini-Crew. I love the style her writing and the glimpses she gives us in to her family life.
4. Confessions of a Wanna Be Wonder Woman - This one is written by my very own SIL! We live on opposite sides of the US and she and my brother are in a much warmer part of the US. I'm so happy she is blogging as now I can see glimpses of my sweet nieces.
5. Embracing Destiny - Sara is a perfect example of how the internet makes the world smaller. We met a few years ago while participating in a large homeschooling yahoo group. We realized we had a lot of things in common and began emailing each other. Out of that a friendship was made. 
6. From the Country Farm - Another IRL friend! "Twistie" is a lot of fun on her blog and IRL. You just get to know her on her blog but it's a chance I wouldn't pass up.
7. Gallivant Family - I'm on a roll. Another IRL friend. Except this friend and her family decided to leave the cold weather climate of Maine and packed their six kids and themselves in to an RV and headed south. They are living a nomadic life right now and sharing about it. 
8. Living the Good Life - I love reading Kayla's blog and seeing what she's up to. She and her hubby have five children who all came to their family through adoption. I hope to adopt someday myself so that's another reason I enjoy reading her blog.
9. Mike & Dee Plus 3 - Another relative of mine. I think Dee & I are second cousins? How does that work. Her grandfather and my grandmother are/were brother & sister. Since we live in different states it's great to stay caught up via blogs. Aside from that, she has the most adorable triplets (identical twin girls and a boy) that I love seeing photos of!
10. Our Side of the Mountain - Another Maine blogger. Sometimes I feel like we are few and far between. On Wednesdays some great nature studies are shared too.
11. Write At Home Mom - Another IRL friend. Remember Miss H & Mr H? This is their mom. She has some really great tips on becoming a freelance writer.
12. The Adventures of a Country Mom - Imagine - another IRL friend! See, I don't spend all my time on the internet! Fun and funny - that pretty much sums this one up. 
13. Bits N Pieces - An internet friend. Sheri's second daughter and my third son were born just a week apart. She is now living in sunny Hawaii - thanks for the military - and has some pretty amazing photos.
14. Following the Narrow Path - Debbie is a great example of how the internet can bring you together. We met online almost nine years ago now and have had some "real life" meetings as well. She's a wonderful friend.
15. YOU! If you are reading this and want to participate I've left this last spot just for YOU. Join the fun!

I encourage you to check out the blogs I listed and if you like what you see, become a follower and "share the love."