Ok, ok…maybe it isn’t the Academy, but it is the little (or big) blog world that I have recently joined. 

Just a few weeks after deciding I really wanted to get serious about my blog, I have been nominated by a fellow blogger for the Versatile Blogger Award. How cool is that?  This award has some rules, and I have listed them below. 

• Thank the person who gave you this award. That’s common courtesy.
•  Include a link to their blog. That’s also common courtesy — if you can figure out how to do it.
•  Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. ( I would add, pick blogs or bloggers that are excellent!)
•  Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award — you might include a link to this site.
•  Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

First things first,  a great big thank you to Emerald Pie  for the nomination.  This blogger found me all the way from Ireland.  She has delightful posts about motherhood on the other side of the ocean.  Her finding me and finding her back is truly one of the most wonderfully surprising things that have happened  with this blog. It just isn’t every day that Iget a new virtual friend in a countryI have never even visited.

I have to admit, that I am not yet into the bloggosphere enough to have 15 nominations, but the nominations that I haver are near and dear to my heart.  Some blog often, some just every so often, but they all have wonderful things to say.

Confessions of a Working Housewife : This is a blog from a new friend in my hometown.  She has a career that kind of leaves me awestruck (neonatal nurse) and a heart for all moms. 

Pa5tord : This is the blog of my dear friend and pastor.  His heart for all kinds of justice are featured here and in his new venture. “Just Christian” which you can (and should!) find on Facebook.

Love and Stories: This is another local friend who is (IMO) the ultimate stay at home mom.  She posts such wonderful things about her time, her faith and her adventures in crafting, studying, cooking and mothering.  She is the kind of stay at home mom I would want to be if I could do it for more than a week without losing my mind. 

Simple Life and Home: This is a site and blog created by my beautiful cousin.  Here you will find practical household tips, yummy recipes and ideas that will just make your life simpler and sweeter. 

Elastamom:  This is another new blog friend.  She writes beautiful posts about mothering two boys and a daughter with special needs.  You can feel the love through her words, and best of all, she keeps it real, which makes her even more worth following.

I Miss You When I Blink : This is a blog that I recently discovered from a Facebook share.  I love this blog because it is irreverent and oh so funny.  My favorite blog so far is the one about the rules of cursing, so as you can see, it is a little different than the rest of the list…which makes it even more fun.  If I was going to let it all hang out, I would want to be just like this blogger. 🙂

Marvelous Magnificence of Malcolm: This is a blog by my dear friend.  It is mostly about her amazingly smart and funny son, but also  the things she is passionate about. 

These are my favorite blogs so far.  I’m sure there are others that I have enjoyed, but these are the ones I have decided to follow because I really want to read all the posts that they put out there.  I hereby nominate them all for the Versatile Blogger Award.  For more information on the award, go to: The Versatile Blog Award Blog  (go figure!)

No I need to tell my new Irish friend a little something about me, and I suppose those things ought to be different than she could have already figured out by reading my blog.

1) I am shy.  Most people don’t know this about me, but it is true. I am very comfortable in small groups and with people I trust.  Sometimes that comes fast, sometimes slow.  In all other circumstances, I am much more comfortable watching other people from the sidelines than being front and center.

2) I love to cook.  I started baking with my mom when I was young, and still bake, but mostly I have learned to enjoy creating things in the kitchen.  Recipes are guides rather than plans.  If I won the lottery, I might go to culinary school to learn among other things, mad knife skills.

3) I have the attention span of a gnat.  It is really quite annoying sometimes.  In church, in meetings, and even when I am TRYING to concentrate, I often find myself 100 miles away.  It is a good thing I can get the gist of things quickly!

4) I really don’t like bosses.  It isn’t that I don’t like the people who have been my bosses.  It is just that I really don’t like to be bossed.  Never have, never will.  Fortunately, I know it is a necessary evil since I’m also not ambitious enough to try to be the top boss.  I enjoy the balance of life too much to want to work that hard.

5) This blog is really a way to see how I do with writing.  Ultimately, I would love to write a book.  It has always been on my bucket list.  One of my book ideas is the “Advice to My Beautiful Daughters”.  I would pick the ones with the best stories (there is almost always a story behind my daily advice) and make chapters out of them.  Maybe someday.  Until then, I’m testing the waters with this blog.

6) I am a terrible procrastinator.  Interestingly enough, I’m using this blog post to procrastinate right now.  I really need to be packing and preparing for a business trip tomorrow morning.  Packing always gives me an opportunity to hone my procrastination skills.

7) I love to travel.  If I really took the time to write out my bucket list, I suspect that 90% of the things on it would be the places I want to see.  Iwant to fill my passport with stamps with my wonderful traveling companion husband.

The seven things list was harder than I thought it would be.  I wish it was more interesting, but it is me (or at least shows glimpses at part of me).  If you read my blog, please feel free to share and tell others about it.  Although asking for that seems like shameless self-promotion, I really do have a teensy little dream of developing a huge following.  Of course all of us bloggers probably have secret dreams of turning this into a profession, right?