You put the meaning in my life, you’re the inspiration

I’ve been blogging for a while now, and I am still blogging for the same reasons I started: for a creative outlet, to ensure my mind didn’t atrophy from and to make connections with other moms and writers.  I feel like I’m part of a blogging community, which is very cool.  You, dear reader, read what I have to say which is beyond cool.  Many blogs that I read back in the day are defunct.  Many blogs are all about giveaways, and product testing, and sponsored posts, but the blogs that I read and love are the ones that are interesting, funny, and from the heart.  Not that I scorn the other kinds of posts – I just won a label pack from my sweet friend Kimberly – but the bloggers that continue to get my love are those that feel like friends to me.  

Back in the day, bloggers gave each other awards often, and I think we should do that more.  We should show the love to the ones we love, right?  And so I am going to pass along the Very Inspiring Blogger award that my dear friend Hannah gave me!  Some of the people I am going to pass this along to are my very good friends, others may not know I exist.  But, as we said in high school, why should we let that stop us?  They don’t even know we exist is no excuse for not giving a loving shout-out, right?  Keep on keeping on, my fellow bloggers.  Dance like no one’s watching.  Write like your mother isn’t reading (my mom totally reads this blog, but she’s polite enough not to comment when I talk all about sexy times).

And without further ado, I shall accept this award!  Here are the rules:

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

1.  Thank the person who gave it to you, and link back to their blog.

Hannah at Hodgepodge and Strawberries gave me this, and she is like my East Coast sister.  She’s an inspiration, even though she refuses to move onto my street so we can be neighbours.  Just because we have no ocean here!  Whatever, we have the Stampede.  Anyway, I adore Hannah, and if we are ever at a blogging conference together, I am going to force her to be my roommate.  Also, she always answers my Star Wars questions, so much that my kids actually ask me to ask her when they have a question.

2.  List seven random things about yourself.

If you’ve been reading this for a while, you probably already know everything about me.  But I will endeavour to come up with seven previously-unknown things.

* Along with every popular song lyric from the 1970s to the early 1990s, I also have in my brain Kenny Rogers’ entire catalogue.  I impressed my father-in-law last week by singing Lucille.

* I love drinking wine, but I hate to be drunk.  I prefer warm fuzziness.

* I hate the term LOL.  And yet, I use smiley face emoticons disturbingly often.  Sometimes I even sign my name – like, with a pen and paper – and add a smiley face.  I do not know what this says about me, except that at one point in my life I a) dotted my i’s with hearts, and b) signed my name with a flower.

* I – like Hannah – wore army boots when I was a teenager.  I paired them with short little babydoll dresses, which is a grand look.  Later I switched to short little plaid kilts and super tight turtlenecks, which may explain my father’s grey hair.

* Kidding!  My father went grey way before that, and since I take after him, I was completely grey by age 30.  Which means I’m going to be colouring my hair for a long, long time.  I envision myself as one of those old ladies with improbably bright red hair.  Also a grand look.  I shall pair it with bleeding lipstick and Chanel No. 5.

* I was feeling sorry for myself when I discovered I have a dairy sensitivity, until one of my besties discovered she has a COFFEE sensitivity.  Like, no coffee, ever.  I am in awe of this. 

* I was once romantically pursued by a guy who later became a much-reviled politician.  But we never went out!  I swear! 

3. Nominate other blogs

The rule was fifteen – FIFTEEN – blogs, but I have amended it to include blogs I am currently loving, and that I find inspiring.  After all, it is the Very Inspiring Blogger award! 

Allison from Bibliomama!  She is hilarious, and if you don’t believe me, read her posts about chaperoning field trips.  Talk about inspiring – field trips I just don’t do.  I always thought that if she lived on my street, we would be hanging out drinking margaritas all the time, so it’s probably good that she doesn’t, because I like my liver and a gal can’t JUST drink margaritas all the time.

Gretchen from Lifenut.  The woman is making her own baseball team.  HER OWN BASEBALL TEAM.  I stand in inspired awe of her and her (soon to be) brood of nine.

Kimberly from All Work and No Play Make Mommy Go Something Something, which is the longest blog name ever, but she writes with great humour and great heart.  She’s a dear friend of mine, whose honesty and strength inspire me. 

Swistle from Swistle.  Whenever a post from Swistle comes up in my reader, I get super excited.  She has five kids – twins in there! – and she is a fabulous writer.  Also, she won a math medal in her youth, which is to say she is my people.  I think she’s the bomb, and she was one of my early blog inspirations. 

Sarah from Sarah Piazza.  Sarah, oh Sarah, my heart breaks with the beauty of her writing.  She’s a lyrical inspiration.

Catherine from Ben and Birdy.  File this one under people who don’t know I exist, but hers was the very first blog I ever read, way back when she wrote for Baby Center.  She wrote an exquisite piece in the latest Brain, Child, which summed up things for me very nicely. 

Julie from Dinner with Julie.  She’s my foodie inspiration, and I spent an evening with her in June of this year, and it was one of the most fun evenings I’ve ever had!  Even if I almost fell asleep when everyone stayed up until almost 10:00, omg. 

Angela from Oh She Glows.  This is a new blog to me – and so she totally doesn’t know I exist – but a friend told me about her when I complained that the vegan cookbook I bought to get ideas for dairy-free recipes just used regular recipes with fake cheese substitutes.  Burn.  I could have totally written a vegan cookbook if I knew you could just put in regular recipes with fake cheese and egg substitutes.  But Angela has a wonderful recipe repertoire!

Ciara from Hilarity in Shoes.  The title alone is enough.  But Ciara is a funny, honest, and heartfelt writer.  We were also born in the same year and have a thing for Little House on the Prairie, so I feel kinship.

So, smooches, inspiring ladies!  Feel free to play along and pass the award along, but if not, just know that you have inspired me with your words.  I just wanted to share the love with you – you are a fabulous group!