Auburn Gal Always

You like me. You really like me!

[fans face. bats eyes. blushes. wipes tears. grips imaginary golden trophy.]

I want to thank my parents for not just killing me as a kid and using all that money for my braces and clarinets and college on glamorous vacations to Branson, The Mighty Hunter thanks for digging for your clean underwear and socks in the laundry basket while I poured my heart and soul out to perfect strangers, Stinkerbell and Lucky I hope you’ll forgive me for telling all these stories on you!, Rachel you started this with your Connections blog, and Jesus for giving me reason to get up in the morning and forgiving me for going back to bed when I shouldn’t have, well that and all those other sins, but mostly going back to bed, and Jennifer at Playgroups are No Place for Children for nominating AND awarding me

Jennifer, the ultimate Playgroupie, has done something quite dangerous. (She's just wild and quite a rebel, y'all!) She has, without any thought to the repercussions and consequences and stalking that this will cause, given out her Thinking Blogger Awards. And guess who is all worked up and excited and full of herself now because Jennifer picked her! Go ahead, guess. I'll wait.

[drums fingers. "doodidoo dee doodidoo".]

ME! I KNOW! Whodathunkit?

So, here's the thing. I'm still pretty new at this blogging thing, especially at the community-like behavior we're supposed to display. You know, commenting, reciprocating comments left here with a visit back to the commenter's blog, not asking for home addresses and locks of hair, not. writing. like. this. ALL! THE! TIME!, making sense occasionally and other good manners. But I think I'm supposed to link back to the original Thinking Blogger Award site, and then tag 5 other bloggers.

But, I think I'll do a little something else. I think I'll share with all my stalkers - uhm, readers - all the previous things I’ve won in the past. It’s a short list, I promise. A short, sad list.

1 - In 4th and 5th grade, I won my class and school spelling bees. In 4th grade, I beat my older brother (8th grader). The word was “apparel.” I guessed. I had to use spell-check just now to make sure it was right.
2 - In 9th grade, I won Miss February (maybe it was March, I forget, see how important it was to me!) in my school’s annual calendar girl beauty contest. We didn’t have calendars printed with our pictures in it (see how important it was to everyone else!)
3 - In 9th grade (it was a banner year) I won a raffle drawing at a marching band fund-raiser (band geek? HERE!). It was a mirror. In a plastic gold frame. With a lion’s head at the top. And a clock inside the lion’s mouth. And red, silk roses in the clock. We still have it. We TREASURE it. We’ve given it away as a gag gift dozens of times. We shipped it for a gag gifting via UPS, who broke the mirror and paid us $100 for the damage. I LOVE this mirror.
4 - I won a photography contest. One year, I entered photos from our vacation to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and won the grand prize ($200). The next year, I won for best children’s photos for pictures of Stinkerbell’s bare butt ($100). This was BDC (Before Digital Camera), so I still have to dig those shots out and scan them. And, no, they’re not scrapbooked away. I have to choose blogging or scrapbooking, folks. And I just love y’all more than my family’s photos.
5 - I won a book earlier this year just by sharing how I would read a favorite book to Stinkerbell and how special it was.


Ok, now I have to follow the rules. Darn rules. I’m supposed to tag 5 other bloggers who make me think. First, you’ve got to understand that right now, in the midst of a mild amount of postpartum depression, not much makes me think. A lot of things make me cry – no, weep. But think? Not so much. I’m afraid you’re about to be disappointed in me. Mostly because of my limited imagination, I would award those who have already been awarded many times. I'm just a follower, folks.

(Since it might be a little repetitive, I won’t tag Jennifer. But I really want to. Just so you know, Jen, you’d get an award from me too!)

1 - Girl on a Mission – I don’t really believe in coincidence. I believe that we live in a paradox of God’s omnipotence and omniscience and our free will. But there are definite times in my life that I realize (usually in retrospect) that God has guided me to do a certain thing. One night a few weeks ago, I was fighting the insomnia demons. In an attempt to exhaust the voices and static in my head, I turned on the laptop and began following blogroll links. I found Kelly’s blog and she had just posted a very revealing entry about how God had restored her marriage. It was exactly what I needed to read, and I’ve gone back to it several times since. Thank you, Kelly, for your blog, your comments, your prayers and your example.
2 - Especially Heather – Heather is in the midst of a health crisis. I only began reading her stuff when I saw BooMama’s entry about the terrible news she received and am completely, totally, absolutely amazed at the grace and strength and peace she shows as she seeks out doctor’s opinions and treatments for, the mother of all health terrors, a brain tumor. Her faith amazes me. Amazes. Me. She is in my prayers; add her to yours.
3 - Bettie Bookish – A cancer survivor and mom to 2 adopted toddler daughters and a very tall son with some wild hair, Bettie writes of her life somewhere in NY. Her posts about her mother’s house – the house that has a life of its own – are incredibly poignant. Her reminiscences of her childhood are wonderfully bittersweet. Her humor is razor sharp and keeps me returning.
4 - The Wait and the Wonder – The mom of 2 beautiful, precocious girls, Moreena tells of her normal life with a child who is awaiting her third liver transplant. Two things in that sentence warrant repeating: normal life and third liver transplant. The pictures of amazing courage and humor and wonder-of-it-all that she paints with her words are truly a joy to read. It baffles me to read how she does all she does and makes sure her daughters - particularly the older one with the health issues - have a wonderfully happy, wonder-filled childhood.
5 - BooMama – I list BooMama last mostly because she has received many awards before, and I fear that this one will be lost in the clutter of some blog closet with the other acknowledgements from perfect strangers. I mean when you’re nominated here, things like this can get lost in what must be a LONG list of commenty emails. But she totally rocks. She's funny as crap! But she also communicates some beautiful things and encourages the rest of us to do the right things in our little blogging neighborhood.

So there. I've been awarded and done my own awarding.

A note before I shut up – My Friend Rachel’s baby blog is private. Were it not, I’d totally put it at the top of my list. Her friendship is what gets me through some very, very rough days. So, Rachel, consider yourself tagged, should you want to award some of your favorite bloggers. Oh, and I love you to death! BFF! [snickering at my own dorkiness]

One more note before I shut up – Jennifer, you may have created a monster. While I appreciate the award, I’m quite amused at this nomination and seriously wonder if you really understand that it’s about blogs that make you think, not shake your head in pity and disgust.

Now, go forth and share the bloggy love!