Thanks bunches!

I'm always thrilled to receive blogging awards and this week I was graced with two of them. First, Sonia Florian of Sonia's Wonder World awarded me with the Versatile Blogger Award. Sonia's blog is really cool; she's Romanian, studied in Germany where she met and fell in love with a Japanese man, so now she lives in Japan. Her blog is an interesting look at her life in Japan and Japaneses culture, architecture, and art.

So, I'm passing this award along to

Cup of Serenity

Trains, Tutus, and Teatime

Chrissy in America

Scenic Glory

and

Small Things

Sarah from Through the Picture Window gave me this award:

Sarah's blog is a great mash-up of family, life, recipes, and every little other great bit she decides to write about. Thanks Sarah!

I'll pass this on along to:
She Smiles, She Writes
Splittergewitter
Whimsybeams
Peace and Projects
My Best Friend Jules
Bohemian Backbone
and
grainline

And now, in the great tradition of blogging awards, 7 random things about me!

1. In my life, I've owned 15 cats. I like dogs, but I truly am a cat person.

2. In medical school, I wanted to go into Forensics (this was long before CSI) but then the Chief Forensic Examiner of the State of Ohio came to school and showed us some pictures of cases and I ran like the wind from that idea (beyond gory - so far beyond)!

3. I collect tinted lithographs, statues of saints, and art pottery (though not so much anymore).

4. I have a celebrity crush on Colin Firth (I know, who doesn't) and John Cusack (a hold over from high school, when Lloyd Dobler was the ultimate.)

5. I'm a PokeManiac. Yes, and a geek, too.

6. I have a thing for Yo Gabba Gabba. The music is incredible and it reminds me of Sesame Streets psychadelic good old days.

7. I either sleep A LOT or am a total insomniac. I never know which it will be.

So thanks a bunch for the awards, they are always appreciated!

A few more trophies

source

I have been generously awarded two more awards in the last few days and thought I should take the time to recognize the amazing bloggers who gave them to me and thanks them effusively. While I've received a few awards, I still am quite honored when I am chosen to receive one.

The first is from Jenna of Legally Brunette. She has honored me with the Versatile Blogger award.



And in receiving this award I have to tell you 7 things about myself:

1. I LOVE Cinnamon Toast Crunch. So does everyone else in our household of five. A box only lasts a day or two around here.

2. Instead of buying new yarn, I usually buy thrifted sweaters and unravel them. Saves a ton of money - you can usually get 500 yards out of a large woman's sweater.

3. My religious background is pretty unusual: I was put on the Cradle Roll at a Baptist Church, went to Elementary School at a Catholic School, when my mom divorced my father she started going to a Quaker Church and he went to a Nazarene Church. Then my step dad took us to the Methodist church, where I am still a member. Oh, and I went to a Lutheran College.

4. When I was a child, I wanted to be a back-up singer for Aretha Franklin in my spare time.

5. I love goats. If I knew the first thing about keeping goats and had some cash, I'd buy a farm and keep cashmere goats and make goat cheese and Yummy Yarn.

6. I used to collect pottery. I especially love Hull art pottery, Rookwood, and Van Briggle.

7. I'm a bird watcher and have documented 80+ species sightings.

I'm passing this award to

Rachael of Small Notebook
Rachael of Sincerely, Rae
Dewi of innocentia
Michelle of Freckled Crafts
Nancy of "How To" Homemaker

From Sandi of Like Christmas Every Single Day I was given the One Lovely Blog Award. For this one, I have to . . . Tell 7 Things About Myself! Okay. I have to tell you that it took me over an hour to come up with the 7 things listed above, so I'm cheating, and if you want to learn 7 things about me, page up a bit.



BUT, there are lots of Lovely Blogs out there that I can award this to, so I'm passing it on to

Amy of New Nostalgia
Tracy of Boboho
Elycia of elycia
Malia of Yesterday on Tuesday
Estelle of Under a Pink Moon

Thank you, thank you again and again!

I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggonit, People Like Me!

Many thanks to Elana of The Twinners Rewards and Giveaways for awarding me with the Hardworking Mommy Blog!

-If you are awarded the "Hard-working Mommy Blogger Award" you need to pass on the love to 7 other Hard Working Mommy Bloggers. I think everyone is worthy of this award so I wish I could have given out more awards! Congrats to everyone on being a hard working mommy!

-Accept the award (by leaving a comment on the original award post)

-Post about the award on your blog (include the image of the award) together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and her blog link.

-List 7 other Mommy Bloggers that you want to pass the award along to (no backsies). Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Passing on the Love:

Bárbara d'Alte
The Budget Mommy
The Housewife Eclectic
Mum in Bloom
Just Thinkin'
Latté Mama
Little Miss Momma

I'm Starting to get a Little Embarrassed!

This morning, I received a message from Meg of mbellished, a most wonderful website which you must visit and spend hours reading, that she had awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award but Yenta Mary beat her to the punch. So I wrote her back telling her how really truly flattered I was and that I would tell the world how sweet she was for awarding me. She's really sweet!

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THEN, I got a message from Jessica, who writes Mo Shíorghrá (which means "My Eternal Heart" in Gaelic, a website title and language that would make my great grandfather Pierson Gilliland's heart swell with Irish pride) that I bring sunshine into her life (which is so nice!!!) so she is awarding me The Sunshine Award! Really, I just like to write and find pretty pictures and talk about life and God and my awesome family. I am so humbled and a little embarrassed with all of the attention that I'm getting, but I really appreciate it and I'm so happy that I am bringing joy to other's lives. That's really what my whole goal was.

Jessica is a really fun girl who is livin the life in Las Vegas. And she is a big old ray of sunshine, thoroughly deserving of this award. So go visit her and get lost in her great blog!

So now I get to pay it forward to bloggers who bring sunshine into my life.

Earth Mama (Lisa)
Knot-Cha-Cha (Sharon)
At Upper Pond (Jane)

down in the meadow (Suzanne)
From Lois' Hands
a little light reading (Lucy)
In a Soft Light (Mary)

On The Brightside (Sarah)
5 Orange Potatoes (Lisa)
Pamela Holderman

Photos We Heart It

The Versatile Blogger Award!

So, wow! Yenta Mary of Food Floozie thinks that I'm a Versitile Blogger! If you have not read her blog, you must! It is wonderful, she's really cool (she wrote an Ode to the Peanut Butter Cookie - now come one, that's cool), and I am so honored that she would pick me for this award, especially considering the wonderful group of bloggers that I am included in!

Tell 7 Things About Yourself

1. I've been crocheting for over 25 years, yet never attempted a granny square until last week. Now I am obsessed with them. And I cannot stop thinking about how I need more colors of cotton yarn!

2. I majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry. I loved Chemistry infinately more than Biology, but didn't figure this out until I'd have to spend another year in college to get my major. But Biology is the stuff, too.

3. My first job was as a cashier at Meijer.

4. I am a magazine-o-holic. I will read almost any magazine that you put in front of me, except body building ones, since they freak me out. And now that there are so many online magazines, I should never be bored again.

5. I've always wanted a descented skunk as a pet. I don't think it will ever happen, as my husband thinks that this is totally insane.

6. I'm a personality quiz junkie - my Myers Briggs type is INFJ, which includes less than 1% of the population; Mother Theresa and Martin Luther Knig, Jr. were INFJs.

7. People always ask where else in the world you would like to live - well, I'm pretty happy with Ohio. It's a pretty darn great state.

And now I get to choose 15 bloggers with whom I've recently become acquainted to pass the award to. They are

Curious Girl
Green Submarine
Irresistible Icing
Life-n-Reflection
Tell Love & Chocolate
Urban Farm Designs
The Cottage Sisters
The Seventy Tree
ephemerette
tales of a jUnkaholic
bury me in leaves
le passion for fashion
elycia
*simply scratch*
Ida

{101} Happiness!

So when I started blogging in earnest, I immediately found a bloggy soul sister in Roxanne. Her blog is so cool! Which is why I am so honored to have received a Happy 101 Award from her; it's my first blog award and I'm feeling a bit giddy right now!



So the idea behind the Happy 101 Award is that I share 10 things that make me happy and ten bloggers that I love to read, then they get to do the same thing. Groovy, eh?

So, without further ado . . .

1) My family goes without saying. So number 1 is Vintage Mixing Bowls - yes, mixing bowls. I am a little obsessed with them. My favorite kinds are Jadite, Pyrex, and Fire King, but if it catches my eye, look out. They make me giddy.



2) Cats. The things I love about them are the things that others hate. They are independent, free-spirited. They get crazy, then sleep all day long. They pad you with their little paws little they did to mama cat when they were kittens. If they love you, they squint their eyes at you in the most blissed out way. They do nothing that you want them to do. A feather drives them insane. They curl up on little comfy balls with each other. And then they sleep on your face at night because they KNOW that you love it!



3) My three-year-old's voice. And his laugh. And when he sings the "SpongeBob SquarePants" theme song (he knows just about every cartoon theme song - and also "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga which I'm stumped by - but SpongeBob is by far my favorite).

4) Ice Cream. I've talked about my love of ice cream on this blog a lot. A lot. So here's a tempting picture of it. Just to make we want some more.



5) Americana. I love folk art and old lithographs of George and Martha Washington. I get silly misty at Greenfield Village and The Ohio Historical Village, not to mention the grandaddy museum-of-Americana, The Smithsonian. There is something about everything from quilts that women in Maine sewed in the 1700's to Archie Bunker's chair that makes me feel all gooshy and patriotic. I should mention that I cried watching Ken Burn's "The Civil War," so I have a thing for American History. Shoot, I could go on for hours about that. It's the art, though, the creativity, that really gets to me.



7) Shoes. Yes, it's cliched. But I love them. I love little kitten heels and ballet flats. Pointy toes that make your feet look twice as long. Shiny red patent leather, cheetah prints, loafers, and Chucks. Chucks with silver sequins. And gold ones. And zebra stripes. Must stop now.

8) Birds. I've been a bird watcher for as long as I can remember. My mom and step-dad were active birders and we would go on nature walks and find red-headed woodpeckers and nuthatches - things you didn't see at our apartment complex in Columbus. I keep a list of all of the species I've seen, but it's not just about numbers. It's about grace and gorgeous colors and jaunty hops through the yard. It's about haunting songs and bobbing heads and fearless dives into the water. They are amazing.



9) Cooking a Great Meal. I come from a big German-Irish family. It wasn't so much "food is love" as it was "if I love you, I will cook for you." What thrills me more is taking it a step further - making a fantastic coq au vin and seeing that "oh, my" look in the eyes of the people I'm feeding. Or making their favorite cake just because. And making it taste fantastic.



9.5) Anti-depressants. Okay. I'm joking here, but only partially so. I've alluded to the fact that I am diagnosed with depression. Before I was on the medication regimen that I was on, I wasn't a happy girl. I'm making light, because it goes so far beyond not being happy, but, if I'm really technical about it, those anti-depressants really do make me happy.

10)The Promise - John 3:16. It changed everyone's lives. In moments when I am the most down, I think of forgiveness and I know that I have something even more amazing waiting for me later.



It was extremely difficult to pick just ten bloggers to award with a Happy 101 Award (Roxanne helped me out by already awarding Kate, so even though I'm giving her props, she doesn't count!). A lot of these women have been my blog sisters for a long time, a few I just met, but all of their blogs are special and they have been an encouragement to me. Read them and feel happy.

Cora from Heartfelt and Homemade
Lisa of Earth Mama
Julochka's Moment's of Perfect Clarity
Samantha of Perfection is Boring
Stephanie's Handmade by God
Michelle from Give a Girl a Fig
Debbie of Strings of Purls
Kathy of A Beautiful Ramble
Manda from There Is a Time
Stacey of golden bird knits
And for added measure, a blogger I just started reading and adore
Alison from and flowers pick themselves