And the award goes to. . .

YOU and ME (but first me, hmmm, hmm)! To start off, I'd like to thank the academy, blogger.com, my family and all my fellow blogging friends who, without them- this award would not have been possible! And blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! Apparently, I have a BRILLIANT blog (according to one of my favorite fellow bloggers, Tanja,) and I received an award for it today! It was quite the surprise as I'm not usually so fortunate as to win ANYTHING! It was fun to read her ultra nice shout out about why she frequents my blog. I have never met Tanja in the flesh, but I feel lucky to have bumped into her here on the web. She's great! I like visitng her blog because I feel like she GETS what blogging is all about and does it all so well. She has a great way of mixing family memories, fun insight and general wit and wisdom into her daily posts (see an example here). I can always find something inspiring, helpful or fun on her blog and she's a loyal comment giver which I LOVE!!! So, I decided to pass the love along by sharing it with some of MY fellow bloggers. With this award, there comes a small to do list. Here goes:

This award has rules:

1. Please put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. You must nominate 7 fellow bloggers for this award.

4. Add links to the recipients.

5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

Here are my seven picks for great blog reading, whenever the mood strikes!


Okay, here's the low down. I don't spend a WHOLE lot of time on the blogosphere, other than recording my own memories. A lot of my favorite blogs are friends and family who have "private" sites and I visit just to keep up with their lives. So, the fact that some of my faves are private, I can't really post their link (which is one of this award's requirements) so private blog friends, here is a shout out to you too! I love your blogs! But, for the sake of the 'Brillante Weblog Premio 2008', here are my 7 choices and why I chose them:

For Inspiration: These gals are ultra talented and I hop on to their corner of cyberspace just to get a glimpse of the "creative" life.

Morgan makes me almost want to be domestic. She seemingly is good at everything, from cooking, to quilting, to decorating and even her photography is gorgeous! I must confess, I have no idea who she is and she wouldn't know me from Adam. I just happened on her blog one day (when I was trying to figure the whole blog world out) and she has remained a favorite stop for creative energy.

Erin is actually a friend of mine whom I've known since high school. We went through college together, taking just about the same course load the entire time, so that is where I grew to love her! She has a gazillion talents and makes them all seem effortless. I love to visit her blog not only because her photography is amazingly beautiful, but because her words are equally inspiring. She really knows how to stop and smell the roses and appreciate every little moment and she captures it all so wonderfully on her blog.

For a Heck of a Laugh: These are the "GO TO" sites when I'm looking for a good chuckle! Steve would never want the world to know this, but occasionally he can be found checking out the blogosphere as well and when I see him buckled over laughing at the computer, I know he is looking at one of two sites; either Shane's or Mindi's.

Shane and I went to the same high school and we graduated the same year. We had some mutual friends but I didn't know him all that well. I was aware that he was funny, but I had no idea to what extent until I saw his blog. The second shocker, once I got there, was his amazing drawing ability. He actually makes his living drawing, that's how great he is. My little Lewis is a huge artist and loves to check out Shane's blog to see what new material he's come up with. He also includes tutorial videos that I have to drag Lewis away from at times. He's very motivated by Shane. It's pretty addicting once you get started looking at his art and reading the witty text that goes with it. We can't get enough of it at our house!

Now Mindi on the other hand is a site I'm not so sure I'd turn my child loose on! It is absolutely hysterical but on a more PG13 level. She is not afraid to say what most of us barely dare think and I LOVE how she keeps it so real yet has me in stitches every second. She has her own lingo and an amazing knack for finding outrageous photos and general "web-lore" (um I just made up that word, not sure what it means?) that occasionally might cause orange juice to come out of your nose. Anyhoo, for a good time call 555-WORD (to your Mother)!

My Girls: These are my girls. When I click on to their blogs, it's hard to tell if it's their's or my own. We think alike and we have similar takes on life. I know I can find some great ideas, complain a little, or just browse through their posts and nod my head up and down because I so can relate! I actually have QUITE a few of these blogger friends, but I chose to give this award to the gals that I KNEW would appreciate it and send the love along! So, here's to you girls! Thanks for keeping me entertained and enlightened when I log on to cyberspace!

Amy is as ON THE BALL as they come! She's the gal who is always pulled together, totally optimistic and loads of fun! Her website is as full of energy as she is. What I love most about Amy is how awesome she is as a wife, mom and friend. She's one great girl and her family happenings are pretty fun to read about!

Laura is the BOMB! She's another one of those ultra talented gals that makes everything look so simple (why do I have so many of these kinds of friends?). She's been my scrapping buddy for years now and she's the most organized,"get 'er done" scrapper girl I've ever known! She sets up these systems for herself and actually sticks with them! She gets more accomplished in one hour than I could ever hope for in an entire day. She's that way with scrapping and EVERYTHING else in her life! She's spunky, athletic, a devoted mom and has fabulous fashion sense! When I grow up, I truly want to be like Laura!

Teresa is one of my most intense and exciting friends EVAH! I've told her time and time again, I've never known somebody so 'passionate'! She takes the bull by the horns and does not let go! I've learned a lot from this girl in the past five years or so that I've known her. She really knows how to live life honestly and without regret. Once again, beauty, talent and overall awesomeness exude from her. I LOVE how adorable she is with her sweet girls and I'm motivated to be a better mom every time I'm around her, or even when I just happen by her little place in cyberspace!

So, there you have it! Those are my choices for awesome blogging goodness! Thank you for filling my sometimes mundane days with insight, humor and overall fun! I'm so glad I jumped on the blogging bandwagon. It adds a whole new dimension to my life and I feel I appreciate it more now. You all are the bestest!

P.S. Bloggers, I FINALLY did some BE-LATED Tags! Check out the below Tag action! Who cares if they were sent out a bazillion weeks ago! At least I FINALLY cooperated! And, once again, they were fun:)