Blog Awards I Can't Ignore Anymore (Part 1)

I used to think I have a great memory. Back in grade school, there was a 6-stanza poem we were supposed to learn and memorize for a week. Our teacher wanted us to recite 1-2 stanzas per day so we could build up to memorizing all of the stanzas by the end of the week. Well, little me decided 1 stanza was too easy. So right after breakfast, while I was putting on my school uniform (yes, we had to wear uniforms!) I went through the poem over and over again.

Yep, I recited the whole poem that very Monday.

Nope, I didn't make one mistake.

Sigh. I wish I still have that good of a memory. I swear every time I get pregnant, some of my brain cells disappear. I rely on lists now to keep myself sane (and so I don't miss any important events). Yeah, I know people say forgetfulness is a symptom of pregnancy, but really, this forgetfulness goes way beyond gestation. Anyway, I AM rambling. The point, really, of all this...rambling...is I have blog awards I need to acknowledge and give away. Some of them I've forgotten about (picture me scrambling to read my old posts so I could see who left me awards from months ago). But I can't ignore them any longer because if I do, I'll NEVER get to them...evah. And my conscience would not allow me to be rude about it.

So! Here we go (starting with the most recent):

This one came from the lovely and talented Medeia Sharif, author of BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. (Flux, 2011). She's cool and awesome! Thanks, Medeia!!

Oh, right. The rules (almost forgot).

The rules for this award:

This award is for book bloggers only. To receive this award the blog must be at least 50% about books (reading or writing is okay)

Along with receiving this award, you must also share your top five favorite books you have ever read. (More than five is okay) You must give this award to 5-10 other lucky book blogs you adore.

Hmmm. Five favorite books, eh? Tough to narrow down, but I'll try: (not in any particular order)

        

(Okay, so I couldn't just pick five. I am sorely tempted to add more because there are so many great books out there, but I had to stop myself.)

Next up comes from my gorgeous blogger friend from the UK, Nikki of Inspire Nordic. She writes about Scandinavian/Nordic language and culture. Cool, eh?

and

Oh, she gave me two. Thanks, Nikki! You're such a sweetie. :)

There are some questions I have to answer. I'll keep it short and sweet.

What is your favorite song?

Gah! I'm stumped. My "favorite" song changes all the time.

What is your favorite dessert?

Man, you're asking me at this point in my life where every dessert sounds good. Cake, cupcakes, lemon bars, ice cream, bread pudding, key lime pie...you name it, I'll probably gobble it up in seconds.

When you're upset, what do you do?

I have kids so when I'm upset, I have to hide in the bathroom. Not because I don't want them to see that I'm crying, or to shield them from the fact that I'm upset/angry/mad, but because the questions will NOT stop. What's wrong, Mommy? Why are you crying? Did you get a boo-boo?

What was your favorite pet?

Can't say it was my favorite, but I totally thought our pet turtle was cool. We let him loose around our yard (it was fenced-in), and then we couldn't find him anymore because he was really good at hiding behind my mom's flowers and bushes. After a year (maybe?), we found him swimming in our little fish pond. So we took him out and somebody had the brilliant idea to paint red and white dots on his shell so we'd have an easier time finding him. Uh, didn't work. He may be slow, but he was a master at evading us.

What do you prefer to wear, black or white?

Ugh, can't wear white. Do you know how hard it is to keep yourself clean when you have little kids around you? Yeaaahhhh...

What is your biggest fear?

That something bad will happen to my kids or my husband, or anyone in my family, really.

What is your attitude mostly?

I'm a pretty laid back person. I like to believe I'm a cautiously optimistic person (still positive, but not to the point of being blind, ya know.)

What is perfection to you?

Perfection is acknowledging we're imperfect. :D

What is your guilty pleasure?

Playing games. :)


Whew! This post is getting too long so I'll have to do the rest later. For now, I'm handing over these lovely blog awards to the following people:

The {Booker} Award:

1. Jemi Fraser: A fabulous writer and school teacher. Her students are very lucky.
2. Lynda R. Young: She always has fantastic, helpful posts about writing and social media.
3. Cherie Reich: She's a writer, a freelance editor, and a library assistant. She's all about books!
4. Stephen Tremp: 'Cause his book BREAKTHROUGH: THE ADVENTURES OF CHASE MANHATTAN is out and free on Amazon--today is the last day so grab a copy!
5. Emily R. King: This new mama knows her stuff. :)

One Lovely Blog Award:

1. Michelle Hauck: She's a lovely person, and she was gracious enough to let me babble on her blog.
2. Leslie Pugh: A sweetheart! She's so cute and warm and friendly.
3. Cristina dos Santos: Her blog's always full of heart. <3
4. Joyce Alton: All hail the mother"ship" of AQC's Speculative Forum. :)
5. Shallee McArthur: A lovely mama--she's going to have a baby, too. At around the same time I am. How cool is that? *belly bump!*

Stylish Blogger Award:

1. E. B. Black: She calls herself the "death author". Creepy cool, eh?
2. Kela McClelland: A lovely friend from Agent Query Connect. :)
3. Wendy Lu: Because, like me, she just recently embraced her inner diva...I mean, her real name. And I must say, it's a lovely name, Wendy!
4. Andrea Teagan: A new blogger friend. Hi, Andrea!
5. Alex Villasante: She's my newest follower! Hi Alex! *waves*

Enjoy!

P.S. Awardees, no pressure at all. You are free to accept or ignore the awards--I promise I won't get mad at all. I know how busy you all are. :)