Jen on the Edge

Peggy at Divas Seasons2 has given me some bloggy love.

Thank you Peggy!

Now I get to pass this on:

ClemsonGirl — Her sassy attitude and smart-A mouth always have me laughing. ClemsonGirl tells it like it is, which we all know is how I like to communicate on my own blog, so I truly appreciate her honesty and her dry wit. She’s also an excellent source of fashion advice.

SarahO at LemonLife and Mamarazzi — Irreverent is one of the words I would definitely use to describe Sarah’s sense of humor, which I enjoy a great deal. She’s also a huge fan of Led Zeppelin and what’s not to like about that?

The Guider — I have never met such a dedicated Girl Scout leader. Her enthusiasm over her volunteer gig is mind boggling and I’m pretty much always in awe over the activities she’s planned, including an overnight trip to London last summer, where the girls went to the ultra-exclusive release party for the final Harry Potter book AND met the famous author herself.

Josie at No Internal Editor — I’m not nominating Josie just because she sends my family boxes of chocolate. No, Josie gets my bloggy love because of all the wonderful things that seem to occur on her blog, such as when her fiance’ Rhino or her son WonderBoy hijack the blog and put up their own posts.

Heidi at VikingConquest — How many families do you know who get to move to another country and have all sorts of amazing adventures for a year? Heidi’s family is doing just that; they are wrapping up a stint in Norway, before going to England for a lengthy visit, and then heading back to their home in Canada. Reading Heidi’s blog is always fun, because she posts lots of photos, tells great stories, and I usually learn something new in the process.

Winners, here are the rules:

1. Write a post with links to five blogs that make your day. (Done.)
2. Acknowledge the post of the award giver. (Done.)
3. Display the “You Make My Day Award” logo. (Done.)
4. Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs or emailing them the news. (Done. Done. Done. Done. Done.)

Green Girl in Wisconsin has been handing out some love and shared some with me. Thank you Melissa!!!

I just received the Underblogger Award from Lisa at Take 90 West.

Lisa said some really nice things about me, which I’m going to quote here, because frankly I like reading nice things about myself:

Jen is witty and sassy and a real smarty pants. She writes honestly about life in Jenworld, and she tells it like it is. That may not be for everyone, but it is definitely for me. I don’t think Jen really falls into the category of needing any blog recognition, but she falls into my category of cool.

Lisa, honey? I hate to call you a liar in public, but cool I am most definitely not. But I’ll cut you some slack since you’ve never met me in real, non-blog life. Maybe one day we’ll meet and I’ll spill my Starbucks all over your pretty outfit and then you’ll realize what a TOTAL GOOB I am. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for saying such nice things about me and giving me this totally fab award. I want everyone to know that I did not bribe or in any way compensate Lisa for this honor.

And now I’m going to share the luv with other bloggers who I think should be recognized for being such BLOG GODDESSES (or gods, this isn’t a woman thing only):

Drum roll please…

Mrs. G. at Derfward Manor - Jen doesn’t know if she can adequately convey to you how damn funny Mrs. G. is. Mrs. G. is hilarious, especially the way she always refers to herself in the third person. And she has the most divine Secret Boyfriends. Presumably, Mr. G. is an understanding fellow.

Sue at Navel Gazing at its Finest - You really need to read about Sue’s ghetto pinata, because that’s just the essence of Sue’s humor. Or, go read some of her posts at Fight the Fluffy, because she is a lean mean humor machine.

Clemsongirl - Damn, this is one funny mama. Sassy — wickedly and delightfully so — and irreverent. Try not to wet your pants laughing.

And that’s all the love I have to share today. Please go check out the funny bloggers linked above and share the love with them.

Hotfessional has awarded me the “I’m Fabulous” award.

[squee!]

I love awards. Both giving and getting. So, merci beaucoup Hot!

Believe me, I really needed the extra love yesterday. It was a long day. A really long one. More on that in a separate post.

Now, time to share the fabulosity: TX Poppet, Mrs. G., and Suzanne at Perfecting the Fine Art of Procrastination — Come on down! You’re the next contestants on the “I’m Fabulous!” awards.

TXPoppet has bestowed upon moi an honor:

And then she said the nicest things about me:

I chose her not just because I really do love her blog, but because she is able to express small tender moments with her daughters in a way that really touches my heart. She makes me want to grab my wee poppets and just hold on to them for dear life. Thank you for that, Jennifer.

So clearly I haven’t been blogging about all the times I’ve locked the girls in a closet or beaten them with cat o’ nine tails or made them beg for their dinner on street corners or scrub the bathroom floor with their tongues.

(I kid, people, I kid.)

Of course, one of my daughters, who shall remain nameless, except to say that her name begins with an E, did have an early bedtime last night AND she lost her computer time. So I’m not winning any parenting awards from her right now. Then again, she did throw a pencil at me. And the point hit my face. I’m fine.

Anyway, merci beaucoup to TXPoppet for sharing the love with me!

So I’m looking at all the blogs I read, trying to decide if I have a favorite. And I don’t. It’s like my children, I love them equally, just in different ways.

But, there’s one blogger who’s really made me smile this week and it’s the blogger who may have used the fewest words in the process. And that’s Blackbird, who has had some beautiful photos this week. And a couple of funny ones too. And who has reminded me many times in the past month that life is what you make of it. There’s good, there’s bad, there’s sublime, there’s agony. But it’s all part of what your life is supposed to be.

Heavens to Murgatroyd! I’ve been honored and I’m just gobsmacked.

(I just finished a biography of Winston Churchill, so my language is a bit British at the moment.)

Elizabeth at Charlottesville Words has tagged me with a Thinking Blogger Award — my first!!!

Thank you very much Elizabeth! Let me also add: gracias, merci, danke, domo origato (Mr. Roboto), and so on and so forth. This is an excellent pick-me-up in what has otherwise been a long and draining week.

Here’s what Elizabeth wrote about my blog: “Honest, funny writing about family life ‘n’ stuff. She doesn’t hold back the painful parts.”

Honest - check
Painful - check
Funny - I’m glad someone else gets me. Sometimes even I don’t get myself.

So the deal is, that I have to tag five other bloggers whose work has caused me to think. Four of them have commented on my blog and therefore are familiar in some way with me. The fifth is someone who has a nationally-read blog and has nevah evah heard of me.

And the winners are:

STL Working Mom — Marijean’s blog is geared for working mothers and I am amazed by how much she herself seems to accomplish on a daily basis: work with a lot of travel, children, dedicated volunteerism. I get tired, but definitely inspired, by reading her blog.

Happy Working Mom - She works full-time, has two very small children, an extended family that seems to keep her busy, and she even finds time to scrapbook.

Lori Anderson — Her blog is a combination of her thoughts, her daily life, and her amazing work as a jewelry designer and small business owner. Lori’s creativity inspires and humbles me on a regular basis.

Oh My — Disclosure: This is my sister-in-law’s blog. I’m not tagging her because I’m trying to suck up and get more time with my amazing nephew. On the contrary, I find her blog to be thought-provoking on a wide array of subjects: first-time parents, religion, philosophy, etc.

Dad Gone Mad — Why should mothers get all my admiration? DGM’s blog is funny, irreverent, and thought provoking. He’s willing to take on all topics, including those that are normally somewhat taboo. (And I’m not just talking about poop here.)

And to the winners: By accepting this award, you agree to the following: Acknowledge the origin of the award and link to it. Write a post with links to five blogs that make you think. Optional: Display the Thinking Blogger Award with a link to the post that you wrote using either the gold or silver versions of the award. I know, blah blah blah, you just want to go polish your new trophy.