You Like Me! You Really Like Me!

Lynnaima, http://lynnaima.wordpress.com, Bodhirose http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/ and verseinanutshell http://verseinanutshell.wordpress.com nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. Two were for Mouse Droppings, my poetry and prose blog, and the other was for Rants From the Hormonally Challenged, my therapeutic venting blog. I humbly thank all bloggers very much for this honor. The Rules to accept the award are as follows:

• Thank the person who awarded you and link back to them in your post.
• Tell 7 Random facts about yourself.
• Pass the award on to 15 new found bloggers.
• Contact each blogger you want to pass the award on to and let them know you’ve done so, and let the giver of your award know you accept it.

So, 7 Fun and (Maybe) Interesting Facts about Me (Lolamouse)

1. I'm a leftie 
2. My favorite candy is Twizzlers
3. I like the East Village, egg bagels, and Johnny Depp
4. I hate Times Square, stinky cheese, and Giada DeLaurentis
5. I started writing stories and poetry for a literary magazine in junior high
6. I've had birds, fish, guinea pigs, and dogs as pets
7. I've had migraines since I was at least 7 years old

Now, for the difficult part: 15 new found bloggers. There are so many bloggers who already have this award, but I will try to find 15 new ones. I nominate for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. moon stones http://smallmoonstones.blogspot.com small poems with big thoughts
2. Inside My Poem Book http://umaspoembook.blogspot.com Uma writes poems, prose, and has a weekly poetry challenge to explore different poetry forms
3. life whispers http://nene-lifewhispers.blogspot.com  poetry that is sometimes political, sometimes personal, always thought provoking
4. Lost In LaLa http://layneeslalaland.blogspot.com come on Laynee's journey of self-exploration-you never know where she'll take you!
5. Art Projects from MN Art Gal http://mnartgal.blogspot.com/ here is a teacher who is definitely NOT burned out! inspiring art projects for the kiddies or yourself!
6. EveryDayIsAwesome http://everydayisawesome.com Paul Overton teaches us how to tame nastiness without being "hippie-dippie" and annoying (I'm a slow learner!)
7. Few Miles http://pendownmythought.blogspot.com  talented writer of prose and poetry, host of annual haiku contest, check out the many blogs of Someone Is Special (SIS)
8. Reflections Of... http://reflections-dreams.blogspot.com/ beautiful poetry, prose, and pictures
9. Coffee with a Hint of Self Delusion http://muse-on-fire.blogspot.com cool poetry, thoughtful thoughts, photos, etc. from one cool chick
10. The Simple Life http://odielangley.blogspot.com Odie's blog is a happy mix of personal anecdotes, inspirational but not preachy messages, photos, and fun
11. Appetite for Words http://appetiteforwords.blogspot.com/  poetry- sometimes funny, sometimes not, always good
12. Kim Nelson Writes http://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/ art, photos, poetry, writings from one talented gal!
13. Shay's Word Garden http://fireblossom-wordgarden.blogspot.com/  awesome poetry! check out fireblossom's other blogs as well-good stuff!
14. Pics and Poems http://picsandpoems.blogspot.com/ Dave King is an extraordinary poet and artist. You may even learn some history reading his poetry!
15. 120Socks http://120socks.blogspot.com/ poetry, photo journal, thoughts, and lots of other goodies! maybe you'll even find your lost socks!

Congratulations to all of the award nominees! You all rock! And thanks again to the bloggers who nominated me! 

Please Join Me in Honoring....Uh, What's Your Name?

Well, it's school awards assembly time! That time of year when parents are unjustly punished for bearing and rearing intelligent offspring. Ah, the feel of hard, metal folding chairs beneath my ever aging bones, the closeness of fellow parents as we're crammed into the undersized gymnasium like wads of stuffing into the cavity of a turkey, the warmth of the stagnant air as the one, overworked rotary fan attempts to cool a room full of sweaty, squirmy adolescents. And, of course, that one grandparent who invariably sits near me and drones on and on and on and on throughout the entire assembly with facts, stories, jokes, comments, and other fascinating anecdotes I DON'T CARE ABOUT! It's like having a mosquito buzzing nonstop in your ear, and you just want to stick a pencil into your brain to kill it and end the noise! But I digress. Awards. It is nice to see the kids who actually do what they are supposed to do in school acknowledged for once. Usually, it's the kids who are wreaking havoc who get the attention. So, awards are good. Acknowledgment is good. Recognition is good. You know what else is good? Not butchering the name of the kid that's getting the award! There's something phony and hypocritical about blathering on about how special someone is and how proud you are to honor him or her and then mispronouncing the kid's name. This happened many times throughout the middle school awards ceremony. How hard would it have been to look over the list of winners and learn how to pronounce the names correctly? We're not talking about some multicultural mecca school with lots of foreign names here; it's Southern Maryland for goodness sakes! Note to school administators: DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!