Blog Love to Celebrate & Share!

Ack! The 18th? Seriously, the 18th? That's how long I've been away? Too, too long, for sure!! Hubby was gone for that week, came home, went back to work the next day, and school started up on the 20th. It has been a busy couple of weeks here for us and I've been pretty much exhausted (the 5:40 am alarm is not doing anything to help that, either!! lol). And unfortunately, I've been absent here and most places online while we settled back into early mornings, school hours with just my daughter and I, nightly homework with my son, and just the general Zip! Zam! Zoom! pace of school days. There was so much to do last week that my list had run off the end of my paper. And one of those items, written in Bold letters is to get back on here!! I've got a whole lotta blog love to celebrate and share! Not to mention, I have so missed visiting you and seeing what you are up to!

Now, I must say what a lucky and fortunate gal I am to have "met" so many wonderful people online!! And Kelley at My Front Porch has been so much fun to "meet"! She's creative, full of inspiration, and has kidlet tales to share. She kindly passed on a blog award to me (back on that 18th day of August.......yes, blushing cheeks, shaking head, and apologies for not posting earlier to THANK YOU, Kelley!!!), the Karma Award.

The Karma Award: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly written text into the body of their award."

Tracey at My Fenceposts2
Julie at My Little Scrap Shop
Cheryl at What I Do Instead of Laundry
Penny at Penny Duncan Creations

And then, on that very same day, I visited Julie at My Little Scrap Shop and found another blog award! There was some serious smiling going on here. :> Through my love of Papertrey Ink, I found Julie and am always so delighted when she stops by for a visit here or I get the pleasure of visiting her at her blog. I always feel like I'm on the phone with a girlfriend when I read what Julie is up to and she never fails to inspire me with her creations. Thank you, Julie!!

Two deets of this award are to tell you five things I like to do and pass this award on to five other people. So, here we go!

1) I LOVE spending time with my family! Last night, as I was leaving to go to Back to School Night, our kidlets were on an adventure on a research vessel in Antarctica, tracking penguins....I kid you not! I had such a chuckle over that one. Thank you, National Geographic Kids magazine (which is where I think the inspiration for their latest adventure came from)! And tonight, we are all planning on playing Monopoly together. I've forgotten what a Friday night out is like, but I'm happy there will be some family fun to cherish!

2) I like to read at night and a good book has been known to keep me awake and reading into the wee hours of the morn'. So, if you see me with toothpicks holding my eyes open, its a good bet that I'm into a fantastic adventure, often in a land I've never been, other than in my mind where those splendid little letters and words have taken me.

3) Of course, I love to get a mighty bit colorful....with ink, with paint, with markers.....on my fingers, my hands, and I've even had it on my nose before! And guess what?! I seem to be passing that on to my son. We always know when markers have been part of his day at school because not only will his hands look like a kaliedoscope, but the evidence is always plainly written on his face...........literally!!

4) Girlfriend getaways to Disneyland are most definitely a favorite of mine! And at the Happiest Place on Earth, you're never too old to have a little kid-like fun!! Girlfriend getaways are good for the soul, for sure!

5) And last, but certainly not least, is blogging and visiting all of YOU!!! I just love seeing what you are up to, or being inspired by your latest creations, or tapping my toes in a Happy Dance for an achievement, or getting a good chuckle from some of the fantastic wit and humor I read or just getting to know a new online friend, who makes me smile! I cherish each and every comment that I get here, love your emails, and grateful for this online world that makes geographical distances irrelevant!

And here are some great blogs to go check out and spend some of your time with:

Adventures from the Monkey Hut
Ethel at The Paperquilter
Stacy at Stacy's Memory Triggers
Anita at Castles Crowns and Cottages

And would you believe it? A few days later, I visited another online friend, Siri at Ein hund, mykje handarbeid - One dog, loads of crafts and found that she had so kindly awarded me the Kreativ Blogger award! One lucky gal am I!!! Siri has been so much fun to "meet"! She uses materials in unique ways, crafts her projects down to the last detail, and is always willing to try something new! Thank you, Siri!

Here are this award's deets:

1. Thank the person who nominated me for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on my blog.
3. Link the person who nominated me for this award.
4. Name seven things about me that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate seven Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the seven blogs that I nominate.
7. Leave comments on all seven blogs letting them know I nominated them.

Hmmmm......seven things that you might find interesting about me...........

1) My addictions, er, um, creative obsessions, goodness! I mean hobbies started with learning about stamping in 1994 and scrapbooking in 2000.

2) Well, actually, those dates aren't entirely true....... My love of the "cut and paste" grew out of crafting at school and in Girl Scouts as a kidlet. I started Girl Scouts in the 2nd grade in Brownies (back then there were no Daisies and 1st graders couldn't be a Brownie) and continued all the way through a year of being an adult co-leader of my old Senior troop (not sure I actually did anything 'adult' like that year....but, I sure did enjoy Scouting for one more year after graduating!).

3) Welllllllllllll.......actually, there is more truth to my love of crafting.... I remember my parents having their own crafty hobbies as a kidlet. I remember some drawing, both of them doing stained glass, and Mom creating with silk flowers. And now I'm enjoying passing on that fantastic love of crafting to my own kidlets.

4) Ever since having kidlets, I can tear up over the silliest things! Its like that preggo hormone just never left me. Its ridiculous and drives me batty!!

5) When I was a kidlet, I could not stand mustard! And I would tell anyone who would listen that if you eat mustard, you will get "Mustardania", a horrible, no good, fatal disease and that is simply why I could not eat it, not even one tiny little itty bitty teensy weensy drop. Oh yea. Now, I {heart} mustard. :>

6) One more kidlet tidbit o' me......I played the piano, violin, and flute and sang in choir. And while I do not play or sing (outside of my car or to my kidlets) anymore, I am so thankful that music was such a large part of my life while I was growing up.

7) Little things often make me smile even brighter than the big things.

And here are some fabulously Kreativ Bloggers who I want to share this award with:

Dana at Paper Daydream
Elise at Mamcow Creations
Courtney at One Day at a Time
Cristina at Welcome to my Blog!
Deb at sPaRkLiNg sCrApBoOkS
Traci at {TG}
Tami at Dapple Designs

Fun, inspiration, talent, and tales await you on all of these blogs! I think I've linked seventeen different blogs. So, hopefully, you have a cup o' your favorite in hand and some time to do a little blurfing. Have a marvelous trip!! I'm off to do a little blog traveling of my own and for the first time in a week now, I can hear the whispers in my ear telling me of the fun ride. :>