Lovely, lovely, lovely...

Thanks to musician extraordinaire Stan Stewart, I am again honored with the "One Lovely Blog Award." Stan writes the unquestionably lovely Muz4Now blog with musings that are relevant to artists of all persuasions, not just musicians.

So, in keeping with the spirit of the award, I shall share 7 things about myself and pass the "1LBA" along to 5 (some say 15, but the rules on this are fuzzy) other worthy bloggers.

And heee-eee-eere we go:

1. I have met President Ronald Regan, broken bread with Norman Mailer and listened to hauntingly beautiful Celtic music while sitting on the same couch as Frank McCourt. All were fascinating men, but I'm happiest when in the company of my husband of 23 years.
2. I love to cook, though I rarely make a recipe "as written." I'm always convinced I can improve on the original.
3. I could eat Thai or Indian food at every meal every day for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy with the menu.
4. There is no such thing as too many Heath bars or too much coffee.
5. Life without dogs or horses is not worth living.
6. I love LEGOs. I've already informed my 8-year old daughter that when she outgrows them, we'll be keeping them for me to play with.
7. I have a habit of developing deep and abiding crushes on my characters. This leads to carved-in-concrete casting opinions, which is certain to get me in trouble should any of my books ever be optioned for film.

And now, I'd like to bestow this award on some fabulously wonderful blogs:

• Check out writer, painter, and purveyor of exquisite snark Alyson Peterson's newly established "Dirty Green Jello." Alyson once wrote the "Crazy Writer Girl" blog, which ended when her life exploded. But she's back now and I, for one, am glad of it!

• Romance Writer Roni Loren's (@RoniLoren) "Fiction Groupie" blog is an excellent source of writerly information and (for those cold winter days) womanly inspiration. 

• Quilting queen Kelly Smith's (@quiltinRedhead) "Redheaded Quilter" is part travel journal, part quilting blog, with the occasional recipe thrown in for good measure. Kelly is a wonderful writer with two books and a major editorship to her credit. I liked it better, though, when she lived just down the street instead of halfway across the country...

• Tell-it-like-it-is writer Lydia Sharp (@lydia_sharp) writes "The Sharp Angle" where she discusses music, craft, current reading, and the state of the publishing industry with acerbic aplomb.

• I manage a health and fitness blog for a client and through that blog have discovered Jeff and Mike Adams' (@TruckinFitness) "Truckin' Fitness." Their blog is consistently excellent, full of solid, interesting, usable fitness and training information.

And there you have it. Thanks to Stan, you now know far more about me than you ever wished to. And you've been introduced to some mighty fine bloggers. Go forth and read them to your heart's content. My job here is done!

Keep on keeping on.

Awards, Honors, Random Facts & Blogs You Shouldn't Miss

Whoa! I am honored -- honored, I tell you -- to learn that in the past week, this blog has been the recipient of not one but two awards.

Thanks, Glitter Lady!

The first is the Versatile Blogger Award, bestowed on Friday from the ever-lovely Stevie McCoy, aka @TheGlitterLady. Her Glitter Word blog is the home of #TuesdayTales flash fiction, as well as other fabulous posts to motivate, educate, and inspire writers of all flavors.

Then, on Sunday, the inimitable Michael Haynes (@mohio73) presented me with the Liebster Award. From what I can tell, it's designed to show love to bloggers who aren't powerhouses, but who have a dedicated core of followers (you know who you are).

The rules are sketchy, but as I understand it, part of accepting the Versatile Blogger Award is telling the world 7 Totally Random Facts about yourself. Part of accepting both the VB and the Liebster Award involves passing the award along to other blogs. The numbers vary from 5 to 15, depending upon whom you believe. In essence, it's the bloggy version of MLM meets a chain letter. Sort of. Because it's more fun and less vicious than either.

Thanks, Michael!

Ahem. OK. So, in an effort to play nice with the generous award committee (because, really, karma does exist, and if one wants to win, say, an Oscar or an Emmy at some point, one should practice gracious acceptance of any and all awards bestowed in the meantime), I hereby proffer the following

7 Totally Random Facts

Daylight is SOOOO overrated.
Photo credit: manicmorff from morguefile.com

1. I am a night owl. Which means that as the day goes on I pick up speed. I can be barely keeping my eyes open at 9 a.m., even after a long, restful night's sleep. But at 10, 11, 12, 1... I'm still going strong. This proved useful when...
2. I once worked 56 hours straight when I was Head of Proofing at an advertising agency. I did not go home. I did not sleep. I committed nutritional suicide and mainlined coffee. We were on crazy deadlines for several clients and told we couldn't go home till everything was out the door. At this time, I made my worst proofing mistake ever when...
3. I approved a calendar to go to print that had Good Friday a full, solid week before Easter. By the 40th or so hour, even this night owl was too pooped to hoot. Fortunately, upper agency management forgave the blatant proofing error.
4. I met my husband while making prank phone calls to the boys' dorm two weeks into my freshman year of university...
5. After we dated for 2 weeks, WunderGuy asked me to marry him. I was appalled. "Are you crazy?" was, I believe, my verbatim response. I told him to ask me again in a year or so if we were still together. Thank God he did.
6. I am capable of holding entire conversations made up only of movie quotes and in-joke references, and routinely do so with family and close friends. I often underestimate the annoyance factor of this Sekrit Langwij on those who are not fluent in it.
7. I once received the following job review. (ahem) "You are an excellent worker; conscientious, dedicated and thorough. But, dear, you have no tact." Sadly, I have not acquired any in the years since.

And now, with my randomness showing, I shall pass the awards along to these blogs that I love, and I know you will too:

• Food Snots: A flat-out fabulous cooking blog with fantastic recipes. Want to know how to make cupcakes that glow under a blacklight? You'll find out here. Seriously, though, try the Chicken Tandoori. It's excellent. Great step-by-step pics & easy to follow directions. Mmmm! (@foodsnots)
• 120 Socks: Dublin-based writer Louise Phillips' (@120socks) blog is full of awesome randomness. My hands-down favorite post is How Times Have Changed - Utterly Bizarre, which merits close reading and elicits both hysterical laughter and fervent prayers of gratitude that I live in the 21st century.
• Bliss Habits: Blogger Kathy (@BlissHabits) lists 13 "virtues of bliss." Every week, she chooses one and dedicates her blog to exploring it in greater detail. This is not a sappy blog. It's insightful, interesting, well-thought-out, and often inspiring.
• The Musings of a New Englander: Writer Sharon Williams (@NewEngland_Muse) shares her writer's journey, with posts on such things as WWE, "Supernatural," cockatiels, and the writing life. [Special shoutouts and thanks to Sharon for inviting me to join her Triberr tribe. Which I'm still trying to figure out. Baby steps...]
• Zongrik: Prolific poet and aerospace engineer Bat-Ami Gordin's (@zongrik) blog of relevant, timely poems that make you think and enrich your day. Worth the visit.

So there you have it: complete and total randomosity, plus a few great blogs you may not have known you were missing!

Thanks again for the kudos. It's a joy to pass them along...