Some Love from Friends

A few kind friends in Blogworld have sent over a little encouragement. That is a great feeling - hands down. But being fairly new to Blogworld, I never quite know how these things work. There are some rules to getting them, which usually involves awarding others.

I love to pass on the love, but I kinda feel like a bit of a poser with no real authority to bestow awards on others (who am I to give out awards??? I'm no Grand Puba in Blogworld) after I receive my award.

But I sort of feel like I'll get in trouble by the 'blog-police' [who are they????] if I don't follow the rules. Or, the awarder will think I'm a snob if I don't continue to pay it forward. But honestly, I'm hesitant because I don't really feel worthy to be awarding awards to people who are clearly higher up on the Blogworld ladder. Does that make sense??? It's a funny little place, this Blogworld...

But, in receiving my award, let me perform my due-diligence in Blogworld, which I am more than happy to do:

I got this sweet award from Meg at Just Another Manic Mommy. What a wonderful, strong mom. I've enjoyed following her journey a bit. Anyhow, she gave me this award:
The 'rules' to accepting this are as follows:
1.) acknowledge the person who gave it to me (see Meg, above)
2.) list 10 items that make me happy
3.) award it to 10 other bloggers.

Then, my good friend Chocolate Lover at "A Chocolate Lover's Confession" sent over this one to me. She is another bride-to-be, a big encouragement and I have learned so much from her. I also like the idea of friends in Blogworld. Sometimes it can feel intimidating, so this is especially meaningful to me:
The rules for this one is to list 5 Things I Love to Do and pass this on to 5 other bloggers.

I am going to cheat just a little bit. I will do the 10 Things that Make Me Happy and the 5 Things I Love to Do.

And then, I would like to pass on both of these awards to 10 bloggers (instead of 10 and 5). Since I am doing 2 awards to 10 bloggers, I think I am doing more than the rules call for - 20 awards! Is that allowed? Don't know if the 'blog-police' will come after me, but I'll risk it.

And to you bloggers who get the award, you can receive it any way you like. You can just enjoy it, pass it on, follow the 'rules' - or not. No blog-police will come after you. Promise.

So, without further ado...

10 Things that Make Me Happy

10.) I am happy to write the 10 Things that Make Me Happy! I plan to do some 'Top Ten' stuff on my blog up-and-coming, so it is good practice!

9.) My fiancee - he drives me a crazy a good percent of the time, but he makes my life very full and happy.

8.) Finally finding time to go to the gym today

7.) Thinking about Winter Break in 2 weeks!

6.) Our new house - we are so blessed!

5.) My bridal shower this weekend (please pray it doesn't snow!)

4.) Sitting with my nephew watching The Office

3.) Blogging...it has become a new favorite hobby - and the cool people I have met in Blogworld.

2.) My family - they are my support and my rock.

And the number 1 thing that makes me happy is:
1.) My security in Jesus. When all else fails, He never will.


5 Things I Love to Do

5.) Sleep

4.) Sleep ( I love to do it that much)

3.) Listen to worship music

2.) Have meaningful conversations

1.) Travel

Award it to 10 other bloggers

That is the easy, fun part. I have met so many great bloggers here.

1. To Nicolasa at"Low Expectations" - a teacher and a wonderfully authentic and beautiful person.

2. To Kathryn at "Singing in the Rain"- A great sister in God who has a lot of wisdom and a lot of great connections to great resources, too (Did I mention she was great? lol)

3. To Diana at "The Girl Creative" -She is my little sister and to her I owe any and all blogging success! She is the craftiest girl I know and I am so proud of her and her crafty niche. She has over 200 followers! Go, girl!

4. To Paloma at "The Coffee Shop"- A sweet friend who always has an encouraging word and a caring spirit.

5. To Janet at "Out of the Extraordinary" - A genuine, spiritual, honest girl who has given me a lot to think about with her honest posts.

6. To Jen at "After the Alter" - A great writer documenting beyond the wedding day - all things life-related. Always an interesting read!

7. To Jessica at "Adjusting to the World" - Already a good friend and spiritual encouragement!

8. To Kate at "Newlywed and Unemployed" - Always a good read! I have appreciated her straight-forwardness and willing to share her life stories.

9. To Crystal at "Into the Wings" - A true kindred spirit! I have genuinely appreciated her encouragement and dedication to the Lord.

10. To Holly at "504 Main" - A totally hip mom and person, with always something fun and useful and interesting to read!

OK - so, there it is...and I'm passing the love - yours to do what you will. :)

Awards, Give-aways, and Other Random Blog Events!

OK, lots of things going on on some of the blogs I read, so I am going to share some of them with you!

* On JDaniel4smom 's blog, she is giving away 4 free sessions with a life coach! That is pretty amazing, considering all the amazing things that might transpire in your life from that! And a little daunting - sometimes we are comfortable in our dysfunction, lol! But it is a great way to boost the new year's resolutions. Check out her blog and enter!

*For all of you coffee drinkers out there, The Coffee Shop, a blog that makes you feel like you are just sitting in with a friend having a nice latte, is giving away a $20 giftcard to Starbucks! That's pretty great! I haven't splurged on Starbucks in a while because of all of the wedding/house stuff going on, so that would be a great treat!

*Here is a shout out to my sister, The Girl Creative, [who got me blogging in the first place]. This is for all of you crafty, DIY-types...Moody Girl Projects is using my sister's blog to host a "Top 10" Party launching January 15th. You post your top 10 crafty projects, then link up at The Girl Creative! Check it out if you'd like to attend!

* I mentioned this before, but Daisy Kisses is hosting Project 365 - a picture for every day of the year. Even if you can't jump in (Why not? Start now! Better late than never!), by following some of the links, you will see some great photography. I feel like an amateur next to some of them, but I am hopefully going to get better as the year goes on. Feel free to visit This Beautiful Mess to see some snapshots of my attempts to see something extraordinary in my ordinary life. Which leads me to my next
item...

*Out of the Extraordinary and A Chocolate Lover's Confession have both given me my first blog awards! I didn't even know awards existed until last week, but I feel very honored to get them! Out of the Extraordinary is just like it says...finding the extraordinary in every day things. Chocolate Lover's Confessions is a wedding planning blog. Both are great! Take a visit!