Kick Ass Blogger Award

Woo hoo! My friend Kate at Chronicles Of A Country Girl bestowed me with the Kick Ass Blogger Award. I feel a mixture of pride and modesty that someone of Kate’s esteemed caliber would think my blog worthy of this award. Thanks MUCH, Kate! This is yippy skippy!


According to the guidelines, which were developed by Mamma Dog, the blog to be awarded must have any of the following criteria:

1) a mixture of incredible, original content, overflowing with creativity
2) a blog that enables you to become a better blogger
3) a bloggy friend you know you can count on
4) someone who inspires you to become a better person
5) someone who sends you to the floor, laughing your a** off.

As a recipient of this award, I must choose 5 award winners that meet the above criteria. There are many good bloggers – excellent, in fact – who would qualify as a recipient. To be fair, I’m going to exclude my circle of friends and family and instead award the Kick Ass Blogger Award to three bloggers whose photography and writing inspire me. They are Stop And Smell The Flowers, The Mental Pause Chronicles, and Scrappy Sue. So please go give them all a visit and see why I regularly visit their blog.

Being recipients of this award, Janette, Mental P, and Sue should contact the recipients they choose, link to them, then link back to Mamma Dawg, and put their name on the Mr. Linky list there.

Thanks to all for visiting and commenting. I appreciate each and every one!

Brillante Weblog Award

Today marks the end of a brutal week for me. TGIF! I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I live for the weekend (click here for a related post). As I am reminded by Kelly (Half Dozen), I haven’t posted in almost a week. This is unusual for me, but I feel I’ve earned a reprieve after the hellish week I’ve had. Congrats on the successful closing on your new home, Kel! This solidifies you as Californians – a long, long way from life in Michigan. Having picked up Doughboy at the airport tonight, this is my first opportunity all week to catch up on reading my favorite blogs. Imagine my surprise when I saw my name listed on Chronicles of a Country Girl as one of seven recipients for a blog award. Woo hoo! This is my first award! Thanks much to Kate for gifting me with the Brillante Weblog Award. I humbly accept this honor. Thank you!

Below are listed the rules for receiving this award:

1) Place the logo on your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on yours
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

So now I share this honor with the following friends and fellow bloggers that inspire me everyday!

Jamie at Our Crazy Life…she introduced me to the wonderfully creative world of blogging and is my constant source of inspiration. I love her candid stories about life in the Payne household, as well as her photography, recipes, and hobbies.

Janette at Stop And Smell The Flowers…she motivates me to be a better photographer. My favorite subjects are Sammy and her lovely garden.

Scrappy Sue… her blog about life in New Zealand is never dull. You never know what she’ll write about which keeps me coming back for more. We also share a common interest – scrapbooking. Thanks for the inspiration, Sue!

Chere at Miss Priss’ Follies…she is just plain crazy! Check out her blog mascot. We really need to help her give him a name other than mascot.

Judy at Judyann’s Fun Blog…as a fledgling blogger, Judy is a talented photographer, busy mom, and fellow scrapbooking Diva. Most importantly, she is a terrific friend and one of the people I most admire in life on so many counts.

Deb at Drivin’ 55…I enjoy her eloquent posts about driving around the country with her hubby and two cats, living in an RV, and being a new grandmother.

Kelly at Half Dozen…no one has more emotional range than Kelly! Her posts are about family, challenges of a busy career delivering babies, and the roller-coaster life that only she can describe in dramatic detail.