I Have Been Inspired...Or Rather Encouraged!!!

My Friend ChicagoLady gave me this wonderful award!!!

I love her blog! She lives here in Chicago (obviously) and it's nice to know that I'm not the only nut here! LOL! Plus, she's a HUGE Cubs Fan, which makes her "My Brotha from anotha Motha"...or sister...or whatever.

As with all the awards I received, this one brought a tear to my eye. I'm not going to bore you with the "Blog Snob" story again, but all of your kindness really means so much to me!!

I love blogging. I love being able to tell my stories to the whole world via the Internet in hopes that they entertain you and I receive a few comments in return. In the immortal words of Ursula the Sea Witch from "The Little Mermaid"; "It's what I do, It's what I live for!"

Never mind that it's an elaborate hoax in the style of the Batman TV show villains. I write amusing stories, you come and read them unaware that I am controlling a little piece of your mind each time and then soon I will CONTROL THE WORLD....(manic laughing) But I digress.

So now, I get to give this award to the people who have encouraged me. This is going to be tough, because you all encourage me more than you know. So lets go down the list. (I am not limited to only a few bloggers. If you don't give me rules, I can't break them!)

BlueRidgeGal - She encourages me to be creative in my photo taking and story telling. She had a post up where she showed us a conversation between her husband and herself using Barbie dolls. It was HYSTERICAL!!

CasualSlack - One of the first blogs I ever read. Absolutely hysterical!!! What she can find on the web for her "Random Find" is amazing. She also gives me kudos when I write a funny comment.

Jeanne's Happy World - She is really happy!!! She must post 10 times a day. I love the pictures of her daughter Bella, and the way she dresses up her cat!

IntenseGuy - He encourages me with his love of long walks, dogs, and construction barriers. I love that he goes out and takes pictures of ordinary things and writes a whole story about them. I have also learned quite a few things about history from him.

My Side of the Story - What can I say about this guy? He encourages me every day! (Even if he is stubborn about getting that TV)

ChicagoLady - I already wrote about her living in the same city and being a Cubs fan. She is also very passionate about politics and family.

Heather and Heather's Sister - I love living vicariously through these two Twilight sister on their adventures! But I have to admit it makes me ache for my own sister who lives in Florida. These two have the exact same relationship as my sister and I.

Dry as Toast - Ahhhh..New York!! I have been in love with that city since I first watch "An Affair to Remember". I love the way she tells her story about living in the city.

LadyStyx - The way this woman gets on her stationary bike and petals her little heart out everyday is so completely encouraging that I almost feel bad about putting that second Krispy Kreme donut in my mouth. But then I wait a couple of minutes and it passes.

Knit By God's Hand - She is very passionate about her love of God. She also encourages me to go ahead and try to knit. (Something I've wanted to do for a long time) And we have the same name!

ToriZ - I don't know if I can put into words all the ways that Tori is encouraging! She has a definite way of seeing the world without actually being able to see. The sense of humor that she has going through what she has gone through is truly amazing!

Life Just Keep Getting Weirder - Amazingly talented!!! You will literally laugh out loud reading her blog. She is also encouraging by the way she wears her mustache without a care in the world.

Laughing with Spoons - She is probably one of the sweetest people on the web! Her Thankful Tuesdays encourage me to be thankful for what I have.

Bookbitten - She was one of the first to comment on my blog and we became fast friends. She is having a really hard time recently and I send her cyber-hugs. She encourages me to read. I have never met anyone who reads more than she does! Plus she has amazing taste in books.

PoetiKat - The first time I ever read her blog, she was talking about the scary movie "Burnt Offerings" and I believed I was the only one who ever saw it! She has a knack of bring up things from the past that bring back so many wonderful memories.

Livin and Lovin - This lady has so much love in her life (and not just because that's what her daughter's name is)

Iheart2girls - She hearts 2 girls? I heart her blog! She tells the best story about finding other mom's to have play-dates. I totally reminded me of when I was courting the "dance moms" and tried to get them to be my friends.

Jess - I said it before, and I'll say it again...she is immensely talented!!! A 15 year old from across the pond with a very old soul. She will be a prize winning author, mark my words!

I am also encouraged by a whole slew of friends and family who read my blog each day. I have a whole fan club of people who don't leave comments but comment in person. So they should get the award too. Go ahead and print it out and put it on a button and wear it on your lapel or something.

So there you have it. All of you encourage me in your own way. You make blogging so much more fun!

Now, I'm trying to build up the encouragement to clean my house.