“This award is given based on creativity, design, interesting material, and overall contribution to the blogging community”

Thank you so much, JavaQueen, for the award. If you want to see her other (and, in my opinion, more deserving) award recipients, you can go here.

Here are the rules for the Fabulous Five I have selected:
1) Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award based on creativity, design, interesting material, and overall contribution to the blogger community, regardless of the language.
2) Post the name of the author and a link to his or her blog by so everyone can view it.
3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4) The award-winner and the presenter should post the link of the “Arte y pico“blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) Please post these rules.

Without further delay, here are my 5 award recipients.

1. Matthew K. Tabor- Education for the Aughts

~Matthew was one of the first bloggers that I started reading regularly, and one of the first that I added to my Google Reader feed. I always learn something new from his blog and from the commenters that post there. He has a great list of education-related blogs, as well as other "smart blogs" that are definitely worth the read. He has been nominated for several education blogging awards. I am blessed to consider him a friend.

2. Patient Anonymous

~Patient Anonymous, or PA as she calls herself on her blog, is a blogger that you MUST read if you are interested in mental health issues, honest writing, and getting to know a fantastic person. I think she and I must be related in some past life because we are a lot alike. I have been fortunate to chat with her on several occasions, and she is a fabulous person. Don't miss her blog.

3. Greybeard's Cracked Head Blog

~Greybeard is another one of my "inner circle" friends in the blogosphere. He posted a comment on my blog one day when I started opening up about my depression, and he and I have stuck together like glue ever since. I respect how honest he is in his blog. It takes a lot of courage to put your life out on the 'Net for everyone to read. He is wise beyond his years. He is a great poet, too. ;-) He and I both post poetry on the Almost-Dead Poets Society blog. Get to know this guy. He won't steer you wrong.

4. Earnest Parenting

~ AmyL, as she is known on her blog Earnest Parenting, is someone that I actually know in real life. She is a wonderful friend, parent, and all-around person. She also posts on the GNMParents blog (which is another fine resource of parenting blogging.) Amy and I have known each other for at least 3 1/2 years (I think... if memory serves me correct), and I love her like a sister. She is down-to-earth, and a must-read blogger.

5. Letters From Exile

~ La... what can I say about the incredibly talented La? I met her through an unfortunate event- both of our blogs were scraped, and she alerted me via an email. Through her tireless efforts of contacting everyone who was scraped by this one unscrupulous person, all of us banded together and got the scraper's blog shut down! Now that's a determined Scottish lass! :-) She is a fantastic writer, great friend, and she and I have much in common. If you haven't checked her blog out, you must.

As you may remember, it was only a few days ago that I asked/begged for your support in the Witanagemot Blog Awards.  Today, I find myself in the slightly embarrassing position of asking/begging for your support for the second time within a week.  Iain Dale has just started collecting votes for the Guide to Political Blogs 2008-2009, which requires you to vote for your top ten political blogs from across the political spectrum.  I must therefore engage in yet more shameless self-plugging, as I would be very grateful for your support.  If you think this blog deserves a mention, CLICK HERE.

It's my first award, and I am humbled and honored that Amy chose me. Hop on over to read her blog, will you? She writes about trying to live a "green" life, not 'cause all the cool kids are doing it, but because she feels strongly it's the right thing to do. Thanks, Amy!

This award was begun by Crystal at Memoirs of a Mommy. Crystal started sharing the love as a way to honor the young donor whose heart was placed into her little son Noah's chest one year ago. She also hopes to promote awareness about the need for organ donation. Crystal asks recipients to share this award with those who enrich our lives, and asks only that whoever receives it links to this post. So, pop on over, check out that chubby-cheeked son of hers, then pass it on.

Amy tagged me in appreciation of my regular visits and comments. For the same reason, I would like to share this award with:

• The hilarious Chesapeake Bay Woman, author of Life in Mathews
• Laurie (who, despite her claims, does not appear at all to be a dullard) at Foolery
• My good pal BLANK, who is attempting to remain anonymous on her blog, writer of Washwords

Thanks to you all for your regular visits, and for enriching my evolving blog experience. All y'all rock!

The first one, came last Saturday, the Arte y Pico Award,

There are rules to the receiving of this award.

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contrubutes to the blogger community, no matter of language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y pico” blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) To show these rules.

If Archie hadn't already received this award he would, of course, be on my list.

1. The Blog of Bex for her humorous descriptions of everyday life.
2. The Humor Hero, again for (duh) humor.
3. Unique Muslimah for her beautiful photographs. I especially love her flower pics.
4. Stuff God Hates, this nomination speaks for itself.
5. The J - Walk Blog for coming up with that brilliant 3rd Annual Nigerian Email conference.

And today I have received the coveted Golden Primate Award

I'd like to pass this along to:

1. Coffee Stained News
2. Nullifidian
3. Curiouser and Curiouser
4. Yeah Totally...Right
5. Sojourner's Place

Please pass this on to about five of those you know who are proud of their primateship with a link back to the creator of this award, dorid.

If you enjoy reading this blog (which hopefully someone out there does) then I would be very grateful for your votes in the Witanagemot Blog Awards 2008.  There are lots of categories to vote in but you don't have to vote in all of them.  CLICK HERE if you think this blog is worth a mention.

And now for the rules:
1) Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award based on creativity, design, interesting material, and overall contribution to the blogger community, regardless of the language.
2) Post the name of the author and a link to his or her blog by so everyone can view it.
3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4) The award-winner and the presenter should post the link of the “Arte y pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) Please post these rules.

Here are my 5 receipents of this award:

1. Betme
2. Joy
3. Ugly Ass Opinion
4. That's What She Blogged
5. Just Giftedly Outspoken

awarded me with this beautiful award which I will hungrily humbly accept. OK, I was honestly sort of coveting this award when I saw it going around. I know coveting is a deadly sin but I was doing it anyway. Then out of nowhere RED comes to the rescue. Thank you, RED. RED is hilarious. I love her wicked sense of humor. Passing it on is going to be difficult. It's hard to pick from so many great friends.

And now for the rules:
1) Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award based on creativity, design, interesting material, and overall contribution to the blogger community, regardless of the language.
2) Post the name of the author and a link to his or her blog by so everyone can view it.
3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4) The award-winner and the presenter should post the link of the “Arte y pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) Please post these rules.

Ok, so I actually picked 5 people and didn't try to weasel out of it. I hate picking people because I don't want to hurt other people's feelings. I love all my blog friends so it's hard to just pick out five but for once I thought I would follow the rules. So if I didn't pick you it doesn't mean I don't like your blog as much as the people I did pick. It just means I did eeni meenie miney mo and came out with these five.

Just a Mom

Just a Mom has a great blog which I love to visit and read about her momness.

Wendy at Life With Buck

Wendy is a personal friend that I actually know and she is just as hilarious in person. Our sons grew up together. She got me started on blogging. Thank goodness because I would still be a couch potato otherwise.

Hippy Happy Hay

Hay is a Kiwi from where all the Kiwis come from, New Zealand. She is an awesome photographer and is Mom to 4 beautiful daughters.

Little Miss

Little Miss loves to sew and makes fantastic clothes really fast. She also blogs about other stuff too. She has two wonderful grandchildren.

Hannah at Blairs Boys

Hannah is another mom with two boys and is also a Kiwi. Where did I get all these Kiwis? Doesn't matter they are great people and I so now want to go to New Zealand.

If You haven't visited these blogs just tell them I sent you.

I leave you with The Eeni Meenie Miney Mo Video

So my friends Red and Suzanne recently picked me as a nominee for this "Arte Y Pico" award. Whoever came up with this thing is a freakin' genious because everyone and their brother is winning it and we're all falling for it! The rules are, if you are nominated for this "award", you have to post 5 of your favorite sites as "nominees" and then you have to repost the link to the site that originated it. Brilliant! Seriously...I'll bet this person (who speaks and writes in Spanish) is getting a crapload of people clickin' in!

Here's the deal folks...you either write this stuff to be popular or you write to let out creative steam. For most of us it's either or...usually not both (although some lucky souls get both...right Danny at "Dad Gone Mad"?). I'm not in this to win a popularity contest. As a matter of fact, I didn't even know that there WAS a contest to begin with. I am not looking for a gazillion hits by a certain date, I am not trying to score a book deal, I am not looking to get on t.v., I am not looking to be the greatest blogger in the history of the internet. I am in this to write. I love writing. I love writing the way I write on this site. I am not organized enough to write a novel or a short story (although I was a decent short story writer in my high school/college days!). I write because a friend thought I should give this a shot...and I did...and I enjoy it...and now I have folks who enjoy reading what I write! And that is really freakin' cool! But I don't need an award for it.

I have a family who loves me. I have a job that I really enjoy. I have everything I could want in my life aside from a home that is paid for and an endless supply of new release movies being beamed to a high definition t.v. in my basement. I am living the dream. And if it weren't for the government totally screwing up everything, my family would be doing pretty good right now. But that stuff is all boring! No one wants to hear about how good I got it. So I write about things that I find to be annoying and stupid! It's my niche! Oh yeah...and I like movies and music and talking about stuff that I do with my family. I hate the term "daddy blog" because I don't feel that is what I am. I write about anything. I enjoy that because it leaves a lot of doors open. And I like that in all the sites that I visit frequently as well!

So screw this stupid award stuff. Below are the sites that I really give my love too. I visit them probably 2 times or more a day. I keep adding sites to my blogroll, but the ones below are the ones who are my main destinations whenever I get 10 minutes to myself. These people are, as far as I can tell, class acts who enjoy wiritng as much as I do. Go check them out and let them know that if I were to hand out silly blogging awards (which I kinda did here), they would be the tops of my list!

You guys rock! :-)

Red at Dr. Pepper Is Good For The Soul

Suzanne at Twenty-Four At Heart

Danielle-lee at A Little Left Of Lost

Daniel at Daniel's Critical Corner

Heather at Keltic Kaos

Whoever Is Runnin' the show at Tales From The Vinyl Villager

Ashley at ...is this thing on?

And I've also been enjoying the writing at "Midlife Slices" and "Dad Gone Mad" is an internet staple already...but I still give him props 'cause he makes me laugh like no other!

The other blogs on my blogroll are all good as well, but these are my favorites. Please visit them as much as possible! They're very funny people and always an entertaining read. Now...on with the show!

Isn't it beautiful!!

Here are the rules:In order to display this 'You Make My Day Award' proudly on your blog you must re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blog land. Let them know through email or by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware, you may get the award several times yourself, and if you do, consider yourself really, really loved.

Here's My List:

Shannon ~ Colour in a Glass House

Aleks ~ The {A} List

Di Hickman ~ Paper, Digital & Hybrid, doing it all!

Leica Forrest ~ I'm here to Live Outloud!

Jeanne ~ Quote Collage

Ingrid ~ Scrapbook Mania & More

Dolores ~ Scrapper in New York

Christina ~ Eye Candy - a Blog About Pretty Things

Liz ~ How Many Shoes Does A Girl Need?

Miranda ~ Miranda's Scrapsite

Monica ~ Nana's Place

Stacy ~ Zinnias and Every Day Life

Wendy ~ doodlelicious

My perception of Tunsia has developed in three stages over the years. Stage number one - wishful thinking. Stage number two - the mediated reality check through the eyes of a friend. Stage number three - the virtual reality check.

During stage one Tunisia has always seemed to me like a very attractive travel destination. I remember seeing an article about some gorgeous Tunisian Mediterranean seaside resorts several years ago in a flight magazine. Then, last year one of my best friends made a trip there and provided an exciting account with plenty of photos, but emphasized that the place looks and feels far from the polished tourist magazine image.

Here I am concerned mainly with stage number three - expriencing Tunsia through its blogosphere or as they call it over there - the Tunisphere. This online trip proved to be the closest to reality from all my previous impressions. In my wanderings throughout Tunisian blogs I arrived at several observations. First, it is a vibrant community of bloggers, many of them rightfully concerned with the issues of political freedom, human rights, social justice and freedom of expression, which apparently are seriously threatened there. Second, Tunisian bloggers fill in a void space that official media do not reflect and the consequesnces of being a blogger and a journalist in Tunsia often include censorship, closing down of your blog or publication, job loss, personal freedom restrictions and even imprisonment. That was the case with Slim Boukhdhir, who remains in detainment since December, 2007, and has gone on numerous hunger strikes to protest the harrassment he experienced in jail by Tunisian authorities.

What is happening to blogger and journalist Slim Boukhdhir is terrible and at the same time not surprising in a country, where YouTube is banned. Yes it is, believe it or not! You can not access the biggest online video sharing service anywhere in Tunsia, because the government is affraid that you might stumble upon footage of police violence on Tunisian workers in the rich Phosphorous mines of Gafsa, Redyef and Oum el Arayess, who went on strike earlier this year to defend their right of employment. Many people were seriously injured. Official media remained silent, as if nothing was happening. This was the first case when Tunisian bloggers joined forces with human rights activitist in getting the story of repression out to the rest of the world. They even posted videos, showing wounded protestants.

The Tunisphere is a land of contrast. Just like Tunsia itself - it has both a serious and a casual face. Aside from the serious human rights and freedom of expression issues, there is obviously a young, hip, fashion and style-conscious generation in the country, which also contributes to the bloggosphere. A good example is one of the winners of the first ever Tunisia Blog Awards. Yosra World received the "Most Trendy Blog" award in 2007. Another top Tunisian blog is Subzero Blue, which is one of the few written in English.

A curious news that circulated in the Tunishere very recently is about Dahsha - the new online Arabic encyclopedia. Tunisian bloggers introduce and discuss how it is similar and different from Wikipedia. The principle of volunteer contributors is the same, but Dahsha publishes also video materials, studies and books, which are not supported by Wikipedia as types of content. It currently holds over 32,000 articles and is aiming to "enrich Arab content on the Internet", according to blogger Mohammed Marwan Meddah. I wonder what are the chances of Dahsha joining Wikipedia one day? And I ask myslef - does it really have to? No doubt it is a different voice in the virtual conversation of knowledge and perhaps it is better for us to be able to draw on a multitude of authentic voices and viewpoints instead of trying to merge the sources.

is the winner of this Edition of the WordPress.com weblog award.

Here is part of the post that caught our eye:

Elitism in Schools Isn’t Such a Bad Thing

... That’s when it began to click and I told them simply, “Unless you went there, you wouldn’t understand.” What I began to realize after that conversation was that beyond academics, beyond the talent of the students and teachers, what made my high school and others like it successful was a sense of elitism. We were told nearly every day that, “Excellence is our standard, not the exception.” We were told that we should thank our parents for sending us there. We were told that we represented our school wherever we were and we were to carry ourselves accordingly in the local community (we could receive disciplinary actions for a speeding ticket or a fight on the other side of town). ...

This D*mn House has deemed my blog Excellent, before my 15 minutes seconds of fame on local tv. I'm humbly grateful for this honor. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! Actually, I truly am. I enjoy blogging and am glad to know I'm making people happy/concerned/overjoyed/peeved enough to care.

You like me! You really like me!

 The hard part comes with bestowing this award on TEN other blogs. I don't really have the energy to narrow down all of the blogs I read. I've already given some of them awards. They alldeserve awards. Do I play fair Blogger and give other bloggers the award? How about I play lazy Blogger. Nicole, can I take a bye in awarding this and do it at a later date? How about you readers let me know if you want to be awarded. First come, first served. Because, obviously, if I'm reading you you're "E"xcellent to begin with.

Now, I'm going to go revel in the blog's "E"xcellentness...and stare at it 'cause I'm still loving the design.

No, è che uno si iscrive quando non c'hanientedafare (me lo sono scritto nel contratto, ogni tanto lo devo fare)
E poi sei iscritto e non c'hai tempo per curare il blog.
Però orami sei iscritto.
E c'è il tuo nome.
E che volete fare? Non votarmi?
Naaaaaaaaa

Siamo nel gruppo 2, un click ed è fatta!

qui

is the winner of this Edition of the WordPress.com weblog award.

Here is part of the post that caught our eye:

Kale is a Four-Letter Word

I’m a little scared of kale. Mostly, my experiences thus far with kale include it as a saute ingredient. Which is, you know, fine. Except that sometimes it’s still tough and chewy. And it tastes so… healthy.

...

Then my friend Aliza introduced me to the concept of kale chips.

Am sharing this awards to:

Axinia, Era, Bojoy, Emmy Rose, Jen, and Shimumsy.

This blog had really humble beginnings. In fact it was not even my idea to start a blog, it was my work that encouraged me to start one. Initially I felt that I did not have that much to contribute to the world at large. In fact I still don't feel that my blog is as innovative as some others, although judging by the response to my 'Routing In Rails Tutorial' it appears as if I do have a nice way of explaining things. I guess this is one of the main reasons I have been voted onto the shortlist.

The competition ends on the 31st of July 2008. If you would like to vote please go to this on-line voting page. This blog can be found under the 'Programming and technical blogs' drop-down list. It is a surprisingly painless exercise, it takes less then a minute and no registration is required.

Thank you to all of you who have voted for this blog.

Daryn

Finalmente sono arrivate; dopo la settimana d'iscrizione e il breve periodo di pausa, da oggi fino a venerdì 18 luglio avranno luogo le votazioni per i blog awards 08!

Il meccanismo è semplice: basta andare sul sito gossipstyle.altervista.org, scegliere il blog preferito in ogni gruppo e fare click su votaMI!

Nella settimana seguente al termine delle votazioni verranno pubblicati i risultati...

Qualsiasi mezzo di propaganda è lecito. Quindi un post ad onore dove si invita i propri lettori al voto è (secondo me) necessario è sicuramente utile.

Per chiunque ne avesse bisogno, ho preparato delle immagini+link a vostra disposizione.

Codice: <a href="http://gossipstyle.altervista.org/wordpress/"><img src="http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/4676/votami1my7.gif"/></a>

Codice: <a href="http://gossipstyle.altervista.org/wordpress/"><img src="http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/3503/votami3rv9.gif"/></a>

Codice: <a href="http://gossipstyle.altervista.org/wordpress/"><img src="http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/4673/votami2dk6.gif"/></a>

Codice: <a href="http://gossipstyle.altervista.org/wordpress/"><img src="http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/4817/votami4mj1.jpg"/></a>

Codice: <a href="http://gossipstyle.altervista.org/wordpress/"><img src="http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/8886/votami5rz4.jpg"/></a>

Codice: <a href="http://gossipstyle.altervista.org/wordpress/"><img src="http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/1790/votami6op4.jpg"/></a>

Le immagini potete anche modificarle a vostro piacere, o crearne delle vostre "uniche".

Ora non vi resta che votare! I sondaggi vi aspettano su gossipstyle.altervista.com

E' gradito un commento di conferma da chi avesse votato ;-)

I've talked about squirrels and my favorite doggie, how about some really really cute babes whom I've had the chance to meet as through blogging as fellow co-sojourners?

Sometime back, a friend and I talking about the local blogging scene noted that most of the posts that struck us or posts that our topics revolved around came from one blogger, a very cute one for that matter :

Yes, Meet Qiaoyun a.k.a. Sheylara. WARNING : DON'T go to her blog. I repeat, DON'T go to her blog.

You end up laughing yourself silly and totally hooked to it.

Which explains why she's been nominated as one of the most entertaining blogs in Singapore.

Go Go vote for her, just requires a simple email and password and you can vote daily!

While you are at it, look out for the Best Blog Shop by another cute babe whom I'm never met in person.

She's so cute and sexy she has stayed elusive from the public eye so this may be the best picture we have of her :

The sexy maths tutor Celine Loi of 五大超级补习天王天后 (lit. The Five Heavenly Super Tutors) fame

Go vote for her under the Best Blog Shop category!

Celine has put together a dummy's guide to voting for her here.

For the rest of you wondering what I've been up to, I'm on a new religion and playing tonnes of basketball.

Thanks to everyone that commented or emailed me about things to see and visit while on my east coast vacation. I'll post some pics and reviews in the next few days but while you're waiting, you can read some review snippets in my Cupcakery Review tab above.

So... guess what I got?!!

+

I heart blogger awards! What a great welcome home.

Thanks Janna from Honeyed Hashette and Mary from Shazam in the Kitchen for giving me the Arte Y Pico (Peak of Art) Award and Tanya from Take That Cannoli for the YumYum award! I am so honored and flattered. You girls are too sweet!

Now I admit that I don't read rules very well but I think the gist is that I get to give out each award to 5 other bloggers and those bloggers get to give it out to 5 more bloggers and so forth and so on. So here we go...

**********

1. Angie from Bakerella
What can I say about Angie's blog that bloggers don't already know? She's been on Martha Stewart's show for pete's sake! I want to switch creative brains just for one day.

2. Jess from Cakespy
If you haven't checked out the Cakespy blog, you've been living under a rock. Jess' art is known all over the blogosphere and has been published in many magazines and websites. She integrates her art background with tasty desserts by writing reviews and baking up various sweet treats. Definitely one of my favorite blogs!

3. Cheryl from Cupcake Bakeshop
Even though Cheryl has recently taken a hiatus from blogging, her cupcake blog is my go-to cupcake read every time I am in search of cupcake inspiration for my own cupcake creations. I hope she comes back to the blogosphere soon. I know I won't be the only cupcake fan that welcomes her back!

4. Blake Bake contributors from Blake Bakes
I am not sure exactly how many contributors there are but I can tell its a great eclectic group of bakers. I am a little biased b/c I am a contributor too (though I haven't posted a recipe yet! I am such a procrastinator! Sorry fellow BBers! I'll get on that stat!) but what I've read so far keeps me coming back.

5. Ree from The Pioneer Woman Cooks
This classy lady is such a fun read and her recipes are fabulous too! What more can you ask for in a cooking blog? I am a HUGE fan of her Asian Noodle Salad. OHMYGOD. You have to make it. NOW.

**********

1. Nikki from Crazy Delicious Food
She’s my mentor, my bestest foodie friend and the one I always turn to for advice, inspiration and motivation. You know what else? I've seen her kitchen and I am in awe of all that she can create in that teeny little mouse hole. Just imagine what she'll be able to do with her dream kitchen someday? I hope she invites me over for that housewarming party!

2. Holly from Phe/mom/enon
I met Holly through my baking group, Tuesdays with Dorie [Greenspan]. Even though some friends would call me anti-children, this phenomenal mom (now you get her blog name right? haha) makes it looks so fun to bake with her kids. She has a great sense of humor and fun writing style. Definitely a must-read!

3. Lindsey from Cafe Johnsonia
I also met Lindsey through my baking group, Tuesdasy with Dorie [Greenspan]. Unfortunately she's on a hiatus due to preggo stuff (Congrats to her!) but that doesn't stop me from reading her blog on a regular basis. My recent favorite recipe on her blog is the Cilantro Citrus Chicken. My husband loves it so much that its on my regular weekly menu rotation more days than not!

4. Joy from Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker's blog is pure joy to read. I love her photos, her recipes, her writing; I love everything. I wish I lived closer so I could come bake her. I bet it would be a fabulous time... or at least hold the video camera for her next podcast. A new one is long overdue! ::winkhintwink::

5. Steph from A Whisk and a Spoon
I first got a glimpse of what Steph could create as I first followed the Cupcake Hero challenge. I call her my cupcake nemesis (at least in my head). I love her photos and her cupcake creations. She's already won 2x and well deserved too. I definitely aspire to be like her cupcake greatness someday.

Please feel free to play the "pass on the award" game but if not no worries. I promise I won't tell. It will be just between you and me. Lips zip.

Stay tuned for an important announcement of the cupcake kind later today...

Thanks to everyone that commented or emailed me about things to see and visit while on my east coast vacation. I'll post pics in the next few days but in the meantime... guess what I got?!!

What a fabulous welcome home to receive a blogger award. My first one too! Fellow cupcake-er, Mara from Lick the Spatula, gave me the "The Arte y Pico" award which translates to 'Peak of Art'. I am SO flattered!

I admit I love awards. Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. As much as I love getting them, I also love giving them out.

The rules for the award are:
> I have to pick five blogs who deserve this award because the content of their blog is creative, interesting, and they inspire the blogging community.
> Each recipient has to have their name and link back to their blog.
> The recipient must display the award and link back to the blog that awarded them the award.
> The recipient must also show the link back to Arte y Pico blog so everyone knows the origin of the award.

I have over 300+ blogs in my Google Reader that I read religiously everyday so its hard for me to narrow the list down to 5. I tried to choose blogs that inspire me and delight me every time I read them.

1. Nikki @ Crazy Delicious Food
She's my mentor, my bestest foodie friend and the one I always turn to for advice, inspiration and motivation. Her blog aint bad either. I kid I kid. Her blog always makes me laugh and my absolute favorite picture is the marshmallow one. You'll have to go peruse her blog to find it.

2. April @ Wine Lover's Cooking Diary
Me and Ape (as I affectionately call her) have been friends for the last year. She writes about food, wine, family and life in her blog. Reading her blog is like getting a letter in the mail from a good friend everyday.

3. Rachel @ Coconut&Lime
I want to be like her when I grow up. Rachel writes 100% original recipes on her blog. I aspire to be like that with my blog someday. Hey, a girl can hope right?

4. Melanie @ My Kitchen Cafe
I can not tell you how many of her recipes I have tried and loved. Her blog is my go-to blog every time I have menu/dinner cooking block. The honey lime chicken enchiladas are freaking fabulous! You have to make them. NOW.

5. Shari @ Whisk Blog
I met Shari through our baking group, Tuesdays with Dorie, and she definitely stands out in a crowd. She has a friendly personality that you instantly become addicted to and her blog is absolutely amazing. I am so jealous of her photography skills.

Trust me. My list of deserving blogs could go on forever but I am still jet lagged and in need of about 24 hours straight sleep. Please feel free to play the game or not. I promise I won't send the blogger police after you... or will I?

Good nite. Zzzzz....

I normally would not do this.  I buy the majority of my supplies from Michael's or if I want a specialty item, I buy online.  However, last night I took on a catering that is exactly one week away.  There were a few items that I can't buy at the craft store and ordering online and paying more for rush shipping was out of the question.  So I decided to visit what apparently is the only cake decorating supply store in all of the Chicago-land area, Cakewalk Chicago.  From what I could see on their website, they had exactly what I was looking for.

So I got into my car loaded with 1/4 tank of gas (hahaha...even with the great mileage, I severely underestimated my car's ability to get to and from my destination with no worries) and drove down to Cakewalk.  The tiny shop did have exactly what I wanted and then some, but I had to stop myself from buying the whole store just because the stuff was there.  I kept telling myself, only get what you need for this party, anything else can be bought online.  And even though I was tempted with dozens of different extracts and oils, a hundred different candy molds, and food colors galore, I walked away with less than 10 items.

I only pictured what I figured was worth picturing.  Some edible sugar pearls, six mini tart pans, Americolor Super Red and Super Black soft gel paste (I actually am not using these for the party, but I just really, really wanted them), LorAnn champagne-flavored oil, gloves, baking cups, and silver dragees.  I'll be testing out the champagne oil tomorrow on some mini cupcakes, so stay tuned for that.

Before I left, the cashier said to me, "Wow, you come a long way to get some food coloring!"  Um yeah...do you want to open up a store in my area so I wouldn't have to come such a long freakin' way to get some food coloring?

So back to the gas situation (gas as in car fuel...not some other situation).  I got back in my car and almost immediately, the needle drops down to empty.  Well that's just lovely--all I had was a checkbook on me and I did not see a branch of my bank in sight, so I drove about 45 miles on empty.  Remember that Seinfeld episode where Kramer and the car dealer try to see how far they can get on empty?  That is how I felt.  I was sweaty, nervous, scared.  When I pulled up to my apartment building, there was a sense of relief I've never felt before.  Seriously, my little Toyota Echo is the most awesome car EVER.

Let's switch gears (hahahaha)....

I have been given my very first ever blog award from Rita at Clumbsy Cookie!  I feel so honored!  Thank you so much!  And now it is my duty to pass this award on to five fellow food bloggers.  In no particular order:

Jenn from The Left Over Queen:   Because she has me thisclose to buying a bread book when I've previously sworn off making bread from scratch.  That is some crazy persuasion right there!

CB from I ♥ Cuppycakes:  Because she makes some of the yummiest cupcakes I have ever seen!

Stef from Cupcake Project:  Because, dude, she made cupcakes by grilling them in hollowed out oranges.

Susan from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy:  Because her food always looks amazing and that blog name always makes me want something sweet.

The gal behind How To Eat A Cupcake:  Geez I feel like an idiot for not knowing the name of the awesome lady behind this blog.  But she's always making some awesome cupcakes and lets her readers help decide the cupcake she'll be baking.

Congratulations you guys!

]]> http://notsosahm.wordpress.com/?p=450 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:42:39 +0000 notsosahm http://notsosahm.wordpress.com/?p=450 ...or Jaci (at Ravings of a Mad Housewife) as she's known in my circle.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I WON!!!

I've never won an award before! Well, there was that time I got first place in the crab walk. But that was during, like, the fifth grade field day. So, ahem, I'd like to thank

• my mom for giving me life;
• my hubby: you complete me;
• once again, Jaci: without you I'd still be a little ole nobody who's never won anything;
• my manager: oh, don't have one of those;
• my agent: um...
• GOD! Everyone thanks Him, right? Without God I wouldn't be.

I've seen this award on other blogs and have wondered if I would ever be good enough special enough to receive any award. So I traveled over to Arte y Pico, the originator of the award. Thanks to Babelfish I now know that "this blog awards art and creativity". Wow. I'm...speechless... Well, not really, but I'm really honored!

Here's the hard part. I have to pick out five blogs to pass the award to. Have I told you how many blogs I subscribe to? I know I have. I do have a couple of things to do today. Bills. Pack a UHaul. Clean the house. Attend an award ceremony (not for me). Each will take a couple hours each. But first things first, right! Now I see that with honor comes responsibility...here are the rules:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.
4. The award winner and one who has given the prize have to show the link "Arte y Pico" blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. Show these rules.

Wow. So if I pick you, you have some responsibilities as well. This is either a really important award, or we're really being told what to do (ala Animal Farm). Those of you who know/read me love me for my wit and dry humor so don't be offended by that last remark.

Here's my list in alphabetical order:

1. Finding Atman. Heather is my Dooce. If only she were to blog everyday...which I'm working on. Everything she writes is interesting and funny. And this week she is blogging everyday, AND she's blogging about shopping! She is my "shopping twin" as she just called me in an email. Can I consider that another award? She is one of only two people who have the same shopping stamina that I do (Hey Mom! You're the other!). New York - three days - average of about 10 hours per day on our feet shopping - heaven. And Heather, I give you full permission to forgo the rules above since you're blogging about shopping this week and are sure to have Baby E early :)

2. Lulaville. Please. If you haven't seen or read Leigh Anne's blog go. Her writing is creative, her design is creative, her material is rather interesting (especially if you're into the nether region), and she contributes to the blogging community (personally I think she's addicted to commenting, giving and receiving).

3. Snapshots of My Life. Tori's blog is beautiful because her photography is beautiful. Oh wow! And her background has changed. I love it! Check out her other blogs, linked at the top of Snapshots. Order some of her prints. Thank me later.

4. The Secret Is In The Sauce. Talk about contributing to the blogging community. Heather and Tiffany have created the SITS community where we show each other bloggy love e.vuh.ry.day. Join and get in on some comment luv.

5. This D*mn House. Nicole's blog fulfills the part of me that's void: being a weekend warrior on all things structural. She's building a house blogging community about fixing up houses that I will join the second we become home owners again (which may be years). But for now I live vicariously through her many projects.

Thank you Jaci. I will display this award with honor on my mantle above my fireplace, right over there in the left sidebar ('cause I have two sidebars now. Moving up in the world).