I'd like to thank...

It's been a banner couple of weeks for me - some of my bloggy friends have given me AWARDS - or recognitions - or tokens - or.... something. Badges! I have badges!

The first one was from Mindy and Jenny over at GoodMom/BadMom. In recognition of having a blog post worth sharing - the MY LIFE IS A MESS CHALLENGE! It looks like this:

Then a couple of days later, Karisma awarded me this:

And most recently, SwampAngel at Florida Journal gave me this:

This one came with the admonition to pick 10 blogs that I feel are excellent and award the badge to them. That's the hard part.





For one thing, I visit LOTS of blogs. For lots of different reasons. And when I started doing Fun Monday, I found a whole 'nother treasure trove of bloggy people to follow. Just so you know, if I visit you and leave comments, I consider your blog an EXCELLENT blog! So perhaps one of you 10 will pass this on to some other blogs I also think are excellent...



The first two you probably know:

Mindy and Stephanie at MamaDrama: There used to be more Mamas, but Katie went and had another baby and wasn't ready to come back from "maternity leave." And Heather is apparently very busy with her own Ethan. Mindy and Stephanie have done a fine job of holding this blog together - with the promise of new Mamas in the near future!!!

Jenny at The Bloggess has kept me clutching my sides for a couple of years now. She began as one of the Mamas at MamaDrama, then branched out to her own rather irreverent blog, when? A year or so ago, maybe? In addition to being a gifted photographer and photo retoucher, Jenny has struggled through the disability and death of a much loved pet, Bubba the Half-Paralyzed Tub Cat and followed that up with having her wisdom teeth pulled (apparently she didn't have any on top, but they gave her the full dose of painkillers anyway).

Okay, okay... since I've gone this far, I suppose I should make it a sweep for you Houston gals - Mindy and Jenny are also the authors of another blog - Good Mom/Bad Mom. They take turns wearing halos and devil horns (though their picture has Mindy in the horns and Jenny with a slightly askew halo). I swear to God I'm going to get out there to Houston to meet up with you hot mamas (all of you) one day. Finances don't allow this summer. Bummer.

Another favorite read of mine is HoosierGirl at the Coffee Table. J is a single mother of four and a teacher. For some unknown reason, she is still relatively sane. She has a new love, Steven, and PROMISES that we shall meet when they make a run to Florida. You make me laugh and you point me in the direction of some really fun Blogthings when my blogging inspiration is running on fumes.

LisaMarie is living in Chaos. At least she was. At the moment, she is busily taking the most marvelous pictures - lately of birds that wander into her territory. If you ever run into someone with zoom lenses for eyes, that might be her. She gets some of the most amazing shots! She seems to have left some of her chaos behind her and found a little peace behind a camera.

A long time blog friend is Jeff at Psychosomatic Wit. We "met" when a bunch of us got together to try to lose our rather large derrierres in the "Operation Lose That Ass" challenge. He dropped out because he was the only guy in a group of gals and felt somewhat out of place. He was desperately trying to get himself in better shape for his wedding in Jamaica. The wedding took place and the marriage has been bumpy, but shows promise. And I've been right there with him all the way. He's debating whether or not to continue blogging - and I really hope he decides to stick with it because he truly is an excellent blogger.

Speaking of losing asses, I would be remiss if I didn't include Jennette, the Pasta Queen who blogs at Half of Me. She began blogging as a way to keep track of her efforts at losing weight. And was she successful!!!! If you have a sharp eye, you may have seen her in the health section of your newspaper - she's just published a book called "Half-Assed: A Weight-loss Memoir" by Jennette Fulda. Mine arrived yesterday and I've taken a peek - it's good! And I can't wait to get back to it. Just gotta finish this post first...

Another old friend - perhaps my first visit to someone else's blog - would be J at Oh, The Joys. I absolutely adore J, K, The Mayor and Rooster. J has a definitely irreverent style when it comes to writing, working, and motherhood. She's got a thing for Park Rangers and actually managed to swing a uniform for her husband to wear! Fantasy come true! Of course, if you read her for any length of time, you will realize that while fantasies do come true, real life is often just as rewarding and fulfilling as a Park Ranger Uniform.

The next three came to me via FUN MONDAY! I don't know a whole lot about them, but after visiting their blogs every Monday, I found myself returning on OTHER days of the week as well. I look forward to getting to know them even better as time goes by.

Sandy at Myanderings, Kaytabug at Lady K, and Beckie at Give It a Try are all on my regular read lists. Sandy has a host of dogs, among other things, and while I only have one, this makes her a lady after my own heart. Kaytabug is the ONLY soul brave enough to tackle her bedroom closet with me in the MY LIFE IS A MESS challenge! And a fine job she did, too! Beckie is my newest acquaintence and I'm looking forward to reading more of her blog and getting to know her better.

Whew! There you have it - my 10 recipients for the Blogging Excellence Award. Visit them when you get a chance. They're worth the read.