Friday, January 16, 2009

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!

**********************************
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!

28 comments:

Barely Domestic Mama said...

Way to go Denise on all those awards! You must be loved by lots. :)

I didn't see my blog on your list. Feel free to add it - http://barelydomesticmama.blogspot.com

The Johnson 5 said...

Thank you thank you..... I'd like to thank the academy of Denise from There's always Room For One More :):)

You are very SWEET!!

Girl, I don't know which blog your reading, but this life is far from all together :)
But thanks for the positive vibes, maybe they will help.

You know I love your blog, I send you love all the time.Thanks for sharing the love!!

I've never won anything so FABULOUS before!!

Brandy said...

Thanks for the award! And the shout out on the new site...I haven't done too much shopping so not a lot going on there this week. Blah!

And you know I'm right there with you on the procrastination so if you don't see the award for a few days you know why!

Katie said...

I'm a silent watcher. You have an adorable family and amazing story. We have kids the same age (the younger ones) and it's fun to read your experiences with yours and relate them to my crazy world. Please don't feel obligated to add me, but I wanted you to know that I'm reading...and enjoying it! :)

Tim said...

Denise,

Its such a great thing to give and receive awards!! What fun!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Unknown said...

congrats on all those awards.. you have a GREAT blog and i really enjoy checking in with you and hearing about your amazing family!

The Fab 5 said...

This is how bad I am at this blogger thing.........what is a blog roll?? Do I want to be on a roll??!! My New Year's resolution was to get rid of my rolls!! I know I really don't know much about this whole blogging world but it sure addicting!! If you have a minute let me know what it is!!

Carey-Life in the Carpool Lane said...

Woo hoo! My first ever award! I'm honored to have been given it and even more so because it came from my favorite blogger.
And I'm excited to read all the other blogs you awarded honors to as well...
Thank you, Denise!

April said...

congrats on the awards! i'm so impressed at ryan's speech... my son is almost 26mo and barely says anything. and he's been here the whole time. :-/

Unknown said...

I have similar addictions! Except for the Diet Coke one... I stopped that by using Diet Kola Capsules )http://www.dietkola.com ) dietkola_com to get some... now I drink soda water and take these... no aspartame, no caramel, no phosphoric acid, so my brain, teeth and bones are a lot better now!

Kristin said...

Yeah! My first award. :-) I will work on it this weekend. After all, it is a three day weekend for me. Yippee!!

Southern Hot Mom

Shell in your Pocket said...

Wow..look at all those awards and you did this post so beautifully!!! Starbucks..say the word and want to go get one..I am addicted!
-sandy toe
p.s. you can add me!

Lula! said...

YAY! Thanks for the award...I feel all honored and mushy and gushy and stuff.

Girl, you do not KNOW how obsessed I am with Lost. I refuse to out myself here, lest anyone think I haven't a life. But the hours I've spent on DarkUFO, Lostpedia, and LongLiveLocke should make me want to hide under my bed in embarrassment. But I don't. I just go with it. Because I LOVE LOST!!!! Woooooooooooooooo!

Kim said...

Wow, congratulations on all your awards and to all those you passed out awards to. It must of been like going to the Golden Globe Awards only much shorter and you didn't have to go buy a fancy dress. Not that you don't deserve a fancy dress or anything.

You can certainly add me to your blog roll.

Have a great weekend!

Angel said...

You can add mine too!

www.littlebabyhunter.blogspot.com

Kelsey said...

Whooo hoo for all the awards!
I used to want to be famous and win awards too, actually I still want to! I have a speech somewhere in the back of my head..maybe they'll let me make an acceptance speech when I get my diploma? haha.

I didn't see my blog on the list, so feel free to add away.

The Fab 5 said...

Why then yes I would love to be on your roll!! I think this might be one roll I would love to add, and that my husband wouldn't care about.......even better!!

Candace said...

You can add mine...it's www.anakatelinh.blogspot.com

Kay Bratt said...

Denise,

I am so slack! But thank you for the award and add me, too. [though I think I may already be added..?] I appreciate the award but am even more thankful for your friendship. I've enjoyed talking to you via blog and pm. I will accept the award and try to pass it on before the end of the weekend.

Cassie said...

Kudos on the awards! I love your addictions list! I SOOoooo wish that I had gotten into "LOST' when it first came on. I don't understand it a bit, and feel like I am missing something now! I miss my Starbucks! I no longer live in a city that has one, and the nearest is 45 minutes away!

I didn't see my blog over there. Feel free to add it if you wish!!

http://dabbledabbledo.blogspot.com/

Cathy said...

You may add my blog to your blog roll. http://www.semihappyhomemaker.com
Congratulations on all your well-deserved awards!

Lorie said...

Thank you so much for this award, I accept this award w/ great gratitude. I would like to thank my crazy family for giving me so much to write about, my friends for reading and Denise for teaching me.

Thanks again!!! I will try to pass on some awards of my own, but I don't know that many bloggers, or read that many blogs.

Jules said...

Well it's not much to look at-but feel free to add me and laugh at my blogging attempts.

Carey-Life in the Carpool Lane said...

Howdy...it's me again! Thanks for the award. I just wanted to let you know that I've passed it on. And for the record, if you hadn't given it to me, I would have given it to you because your blog is always a must-read for me.
-Carey

Emily said...

heck ya add me to your blog roll (found you through teresa at continuing the journey-- :)

Stacy Uncorked said...

Congrats on the awards - and don't feel bad about forgetting who/what on one of 'em...I had that same problem when I was trying to play catch up on my awards today, too! ;) I've got you on my blogroll, feel free to add me if you like! ;)

http://stacysrandomthoughts.blogspot.com

Stefanie said...

Wow, congratulations on all those awards!! It's a nice place to be when you can't even remember where they all came from ;)
And thank you for honoring us over at Ni Hao Y'all with one of your coveted awards... you are so sweet!!

BloggessJ said...

Congratulations on your awards! If you want to you can add me too.
http://haveinspirationwilltravel.blogspot.com