And the Oscar goes to...

When I was a little girl and I had little girl aspirations of being famous and going on talk shows and winning awards, I used to practice my interviews and speeches-- just so I'd be prepared. And then I grew up and my biggest award is cleaning more than two poopy diapers per day, usually presented to me by Emma, and its usually by default. No one else wants the stinkin' award. My interviews these days consist of trying to decipher Ryan's ever increasing vocabulary:

Ryan: ouwhas

Me: Juice?

Ryan: {Nodding head beaming}

Me: Apple or orange?

Ryan: Appey

Now that I look at it, I'm actually the talk show host. Hey, I can live with that.

But I have been a very negligent, ungrateful blogger. I haven't meant to but it just happened. Things were busy and crazy and all the "izzy's" that go with life and Christmas and gigantic giveaways. Not to mention the P word, Procrastination. But now life is back to normal, whatever that is in our house, and its time to write those thank you notes.

I have been given an award! Not just one but FOUR! Three of them I received the week of the Big Giveaway, one was last week. So without further ado:

My first award is:
I don't know ** hanging my head in shame** It was the first award I received during The Six Days of Christmas and I've lost it and can't find it. I've looked everywhere. I can't even remember who gave it to me. If you gave me an award and I don't mention you I would love to have you tell me. I'll even give you your very own post!


The Second Award is from Joanne at Barely Domestic Mama and she presented me with:

This award comes with a few rules and here they are:

Put the logo on your blog or post. Nominate several blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude! Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

I give this award to:

1) A Family is Forever by my friend Kristin. Kristin has 2 teenagers and 2 younger daughters adopted from China and she has a full time job teaching kindergartners! But her blog is always pretty up beat and FUN! She's the next Dr. Seuss, I'm telling you. You heard it hear first!

2) Ni Hao Y'all by Stephanie. This blog is well known in Chinese adoption blog circles. Stephanie has 8 children, so she's beat me out by 2 kids, and she has a very special place in her heart for Chinese special need orphans in need of homes.

3) Dragons and Elephants by my friend Heather. She has 3 beautiful children, her youngest an adopted son from China. Kai, her son, is facing an upcoming surgery and Heather has handled his condition and her fears with grace and poise.

4) Our Life with Lindsey by my frozen friend in Alaska, Kathy. Kathy's daughter Chelsea died 3 years ago this month but before she died she told Kathy she wanted a sister, which led Kathy and her husband to adopt from China. The strength Kathy displays is amazing and the support she offers to other grieving families is endless.

5) Kay Bratt Uncensored by author Kay Bratt. I first heard about Kay's book, Silent Tears: A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage, while I was in China adopting Ryan. Since then I have read her book, had the extreme pleasure of interviewing her for a book chat , and the honor of be able to call her a friend. Kay volunteered and spearheaded volunteer efforts in an orphanage in the city her family was living in because of her husband's job. The book is heart breaking, but as the title suggests, also offers hope for those left behind.

The third award is from Kristin at The Way It Is:


This award is given to those whose blog is entertaining and fun to read... one you get excited about when you notice a new entry! I am giving this award to:

1) Continuing the Journey by my friend Teresa. Teresa just started a job as a college professor teaching nursing students. She has a wonderful teenage daughter Meggie and a 5 year old son, Carson, who was adopted from China. Her family is not-so-patiently waiting to complete their paperwork to adopt their new daughter Molly, who is currently waiting for them in China.

2) The Princess and The Ladybug by my friend Lorie. Lorie is fairly new to the blogging world and its been fun to watch her as she learns new things. She's having a lot of fun with it and that's what blogging is all about!

3) I'm Not Your Average Soccer Mom by my friend Brandy. I met Brandy through BlogHer. We're on the same blog roll and am I ever grateful! She's just started a new blog Craving Savings
and its all about saving money grocery shopping. Girl, I'm all over that!

4) Life in the Carpool Lane by my new friend Carey. She's new to my blog roll and her posts are always so much fun! It's been fun getting to know her.


And the fourth one is from Sandy Toes at Shell in Your Pocket:

I'm supposed to list 5 addictions. Hmm... thinking of addictions isn't that tough, it's figuring out how to order them that is difficult.

1. Lost! I know, most of you think I would list Starbucks here, but Lost is almost an obsession with me right now, even more so than my beloved Starbucks.

2. Starbucks You know, I think Starbucks is starting to take me for granted. It's kind of like when you've been married for awhile and your husband starts forgetting to call to tell you he's going to be late. Or when he thinks going to the mall with you should qualify as a date. Yeah. So I'm making Starbucks #2. Sometimes its good to let them sweat a little. But I swear, if Starbucks starts watching Nascar and drinking beer while I'm trying to watch HGTV then it's moving to #3!

3. Diet Coke You don't hear me talk about Diet Coke but those around me know its the only soft drink I will consume. (Just look back at my SITS Christmas card to see all the cans around me.) In China and Vietnam they had Coke Light, which is supposed to be the same thing but in reality, is not. I did lower my standards to drink it though. While my love affair experience with Diet Coke has been longer than Starbucks, it runs longer but not deeper. What can I say? I'm a beverage polygamist.

4. Blogging Blogging is like my own personal therapy. And its fun and its free, which comes in handy when you find out your income has decreased in 2009.

Okay, trying to eliminate all my other addictions to list just one more is hard.

5.Reading I'm putting reading because when I read a really good book the rest of the world is expected to stop while I read it. Unfortunately, the rest of the world never agrees.

So now I award this addiction award to:

1) Lulaville by Lula, because she just might be as addicted to Lost as I am. She does have links devoted to Lost but I have a bigger and better Lost count down. She even admitted it! Plus it seems like she has a lot of addictions. Just like me. I think we could have a beautiful future together.

2) Under the Misty Mountain by my friend Cynthia, whom I've known since October of 2003 while we were both waiting for our referrals from China. I happen to know her latest obsession is her new son, Nathaniel Jin Pei, who she is in China adopting at this very minute!

3) The Johnson Family Tales by my friend Heidi. Heidi is another friend from the BlogHer blog roll. Heidi seems to have everything "so together" that I'm curious to see what addictions lie below the surface!

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It was REALLY hard to award these awards. For one thing, I HATE to leave anyone out! I don't ever want anyone to get their feelings hurt. Dork that I am, I hate it when there's only one winner in my own giveaways! How crazy is that??? So it was hard for me to choose. And another reason this was hard is that I've got many new readers that aren't on my blog roll. I read most of my blogs from my blog roll on the side there. So I have a favor to ask of you:

If you are currently not on my blog roll, will you please leave me a comment giving me permission to add you? And if you have more than one blog will you let me know which one you want me to add? Thank you!!!

And one more thing, and maybe this is a bit self indulgent, I dunno know, but I thought I would try something new. If you have any questions about me, or my family, or Darrell, or anything at all, ask me in the comments and I'll be happy to answer them on Sunday.


Whew! If you all had any idea how long this post has taken to write! I literally started it on January 5th!