Blog Love Gone Wild!

I must be doing something right here in the wondrous blogosphere, because I’ve been blessed with another wave of awards from my colleagues. And I try not to hoard these either, promise, but it’s like they travel in packs and jump you all at once!

It really is humbling when you think about it; a fellow blogger taps on your shoulder and asks you to stand up, out of the hundreds and hundreds of awesome blogs to choose from, recognizing you for the contributions you’ve made to this amazing community. What’s so great about awards is that it’s not only cool being honored by them, they’re a blast to pass along as well. The one downside to this particular part of blogging is that by choosing someone to pass an award to, I’m effectively not choosing someone else. I use these awards for one purpose, to shine the spotlight on those blogs who have opened my eyes to the world of “making words dance”, through their posts or comments left here. If you can do that, then there’s an award waiting for you somewhere.

My first award comes via the Portia Sisco and her blog, Thoughts On Writing, The Paranormal, And Anything Else That Goes Bump In The Night. This is a woman who really knows her stuff and how to use it to draw out your potential. Her blog is informative, thought provoking, and touching, all wrapped up in a very lovely bow. This is one blog you don’t want to miss! The award she passed along to me is the Super Comments Award (although I’m not sure why because all I ever write is, “Yeah…what she said”).

So in passing this along to a great commenter it was actually really easy to choose. Nicole Ducleroir at One Significant Moment at a Time always leaves meaningful comments that not only acknowledges what a blogger was trying to say, but expands upon it as well. She is a rising star that will soon be shinning brightly. Check her out!

My next award is a repeat, but that’s totally okay because it gives me another reason to pass it along! Jen at UNEDITED is an amazing upbeat writer who makes me smile, A LOT! She tagged me with the Superior Scribbler Award (I think his tongue should be sticking out) and all I need to do here is select four other bloggist (is that a word?) to honor.

My choices:
1) Kat O’ Keeffe at Words, Etc. This is one organized dynamo whose determination is infectious.
2) Anne at Piedmont Writer. The snippets of her WIP are really fun to read.
3) Lola at Sharp Pen/Dull Sword. Her sword may be dull, but her wit is razor sharp.
4) Sierra Godfrey. If you’re interested in some insightful and relevant observations about the writing process, this blogs for you.

Next up, the Sunshine Award that I received from the talented Leslie Vance. Going against my inner-child, the instructions implore me to do the following:
1) Post the award
2) Pass on to 12 bloggers that brighten your day
3) Link to nominees
4) Link back to givers.

You guys know by now that I’m not so good at following rules, so in the interest of time, space, and mental health, I’m trimming the list of bloggers I’m passing this onto down to four. They are:

1) Holly at 504 Main. Holly is just as comfortable demonstrating frugal crafting as she is composing eloquent prose.
2) Kristi at Random Daily Thoughts. Kristi’s book The Wolf Within was just released a couple weeks ago and her blog is definitely on my “tingle” list.
3) Tiffany Neal. Although Tiffany’s blog is awesome, she really knows her way around the Twitter universe.
4) Amy Holder at Written in Lipstick. Amy’s YA debut novel “The Lipstick Laws” comes out in 2011 and her blog is available right now! Truly enjoyable.

Will it never end? No not yet! I received The Soul Mate Award from Julie Dao and Lola. It’s a relatively new award and given to people who "get you". So obviously I have to give it to people who "get me." Rules are simple:

The rules:
1. Choose five followers/commenters that 'get' you
2. Write something fake (preferably not too mean) about them
3. Link to them, and link back to this post to comment your receipt of the award

So here are my five (5) Soulmates who "get me":

1) Julie Dao at Silver Lining: Julie turned down a golden opportunity to play Mulan at Disney World when she discovered the costume wasn’t green.
2) Sierra Godfrey used to be the costume designer at Disney World. She changed the Mulan costume from green because she felt it made the girls skin look yellow.
3) Kristin Rae at Kristin Creative: Kristin was the second runner-up to the women’s 2010 Olympic curling team.
4) Kimberly Franklin at Confessions: The Secret Life of a Writer: Kim loves to volunteer her time each summer as a camp counselor at the Outback School for Hot Boys.
5) Kristi Chestnutt at Random Daily Thoughts: Kristi is a distant relative of Bonnie Parker from Bonnie & Clyde fame. She is just a few credits away from earning her degree in Finance.

And finally (the crowd goes wild) my last award comes from both Anne at Piedmont Writer and Amy at Written in Lipstick.  It’s the Prolific Blogger Award. There are more rules to this award. I have to pass this on to seven others, (four), I must link to the blog from which I received it (I did), I must link back to this post from where it originated (I tried but the link didn’t work). Okay, the awards go to:

1) Sharon at Random Thoughts. Her blog is a fountain of useful information that I’m always bookmarking.
2) Gina Leigh Maxwell at Passions on Paper. I’m a fan of quantity over quality, but in this case you get both. Her Top Ten Reasons I Suck at Blogging is classic.
3) Lorel Clayton at I’m Blogging Drowning Here. She may be from down under, but she definitely knows which way is up. Good stuff a plenty here.
4) Michele Emrath at Southern City Mysteries. I really enjoy visiting Michele’s blog because she’s always so positive and offers a wealth of information for us newbies.

I guess that’s a wrap…except for one more thing. Anybody take a peak to the left and notice something significant (at least I consider it so)? *HUGE GRIN* More about that on Monday.

Everybody have a GREAT weekend!!