I am clearly better at some things than others. This comes as no surprise. It’s not headline making news. Sometimes, though, I end up feeling horrible because of one of the things I’m not so good at.

Way back in September I was given the One Lovely Blog award. But you wouldn’t know it. Here is what I wrote on October 4th.

I am humbled and honored to have received the One Lovely Blog Award from three beautiful BLM’s (baby lost mamas). Charlotte’s mama, Angela; Riley and Peyton’s mama, Jessica; and Ailis and Noah’s mama, Vera Kate. What I’m supposed to do is pass it along to ten blogs I love. What I’m going to do is break the rules. You see, I’m pretty sure everyone I know in the BLM world has been awarded this already and all my favorite writers from elsewhere, well, I’ve already given them awards from my previous blog and as wonderful as it is to be awarded, when you’re super popular (as most of these women are) the awards start to feel a little like those chain emails that you have to forward to nine friends or else and I can’t do anything that makes me feel even the least bit yuck these days.

I never hit publish. I kept meaning to. Two things stopped me. The first was my desire to have it be the grand unveiling of my blogroll – my favorite places on the internet to sit and read a while. The second is I couldn’t remember how to make the darned badge show up. Instead I seemed like a complete ingrate.

Clearly, the technical side of blogging is not one of my strengths. I know the badge thing is simple. I used to know how to do it. But these days – and particularly back in the first 3 months after Ben died – I have no patience for things that don’t come easily. And the blogroll? Still haven’t gotten that done. So the post languished in my draft folder and now…

Now I’ve been honored again and I would undo a whole lot of personal acceptance work if I didn’t do something about it, and fast.

Huge thanks for the Stylish Blogger award go to fellow BLM, artist, teacher and mama to two unborn babes, Jessica and to the sassy, hilarious and endlessly talented Stereo. I adore you both. Thank you. Please take a moment to click through and check them out. They are undeniably stylish themselves, in very different ways.

The rules for acceptance are as follows.

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award. (obviously a rule for ingrates like myself)
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 5 recently discovered great bloggers. (am going to focus on the recently discovered bit so I don’t drive myself nuts trying to limit to 5)
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

And now, 7 things you don’t likely already know about me.

1. I was a can-can dancer in Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Gambling Hall in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. Three shows a night, six nights a week, fully clothed.

2. I graduated tied for top of my high school class, a year early. I got a scholarship but no speech. Valedictorian in our school was a popular vote. Enough said.

3. I would rather sweep than vacuum – hence my penchant for hard wood floors.

4. I used to wake up every birthday and Christmas for years and hope that I was getting a horse. Never happened. Maybe I’ll get myself one some day.

5. I hate washing lettuce and eating green peppers.

6. I have spoken French since the first day of kindergarten. I spent the 8th grade living in France, attending a French school. I think everyone should live/travel outside the country they are born in at some point. It’s an education.

7. I wish I could still play the violin.

And now, in no particular order and in the hopes of not awarding people who’ve already received it 12 times, here are five of my new favorite places where my minutes disappear into beautifully written moments…

Head The Gong

MujerZen

WriteMuch

Canopy In The Sunlight

Carry it Forward

I will not be offended if anyone chooses to stop the madness love fest and doesn’t move the award along. Just saying.

And I’m still working on that blogroll.