Liebster Blog and HSBA nominations

I have been so wrapped up in my project lately, I've neglected to mention some honors I've received lately. Consider this the catch up post!

I was recently honored to notice this post from my blogger friend at Once Upon a Family

Here is what the award is about: The Liebster Blog Award started (sometime in the recent past) in Germany to encourage traffic to hidden gems of blogs with 300 followers or less. So it is an award you receive, but also an award you give (share the love kinda thing). If you receive a Liebster Blog Award you are asked to choose 3-5 other bloggers and link back to the blogger that gave you the award.

The blogs I am passing the award on to are:

• Home School Dad: I've been reading Home School Dad's blog for a while. I come for the jokes and stay for the thoughts. He will be running the Carnival of Homeschooling this week.
• Homeschooling on Hudson: It's funny, we live near each other, but this homeschooler is always on the go, so I haven't seen her for a while! She has wonderful photos and awesome links on her blog. She also covers news regarding homeschooling. This month she and her son are working on NaNoWriMo, which she has provided links for.
• Lost Persons Homeschool: This creative homeschooler's recent posts cover her daughter's project on renewable energy, a topic near and dear to my heart. Be sure to look at the excellent poster her daughter made using Power Point!

I'm going to have to stop at three, but only because it is so hard to choose. I follow so many blogs, and I think all of them nourish me in some way--spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, or some combination of the three.



I have also been honored with nominations in three categories at the Homeschool Blog Awards. I'm listed for Favorite Homeschool Mom Blog, Funniest Homeschool Blog, and Best Nitty-Gritty Homeschool Blog. Honestly, I am deeply grateful to my readers who took the time to nominate me. I do what I do for you, and I appreciate that you feel the need to reward me when your comments and visits here are reward enough! I recently had my 100th follower, Beth at Living Life Intentionally. To hit that milestone is so impressive to me. I'm humbled that so many of you want to read what's happening in my little corner of the blogosphere! Thank you all for the inspiration! It keeps me focused on my goal to get this book together for you and to keep cranking out new comics for you to enjoy!

Beautiful and Versatile Blogger Awards!

I recently received two blogger awards from blogger friends! Since the requirements were similar, I will combine them in one post.

The first award comes from Subadra at Library of Books, Links & More. She gave me the Beautiful Blogger Award. Thank you Subadra! I hope you know I love your blog too and have already bought at least five books because of your interesting suggestions!

The rules for the Beautiful Blogger Award:
1. Add a link and note of thanks to the person giving the award. (See Above)
2. Pass the award on to the bloggers whose blogs you love. (15 tops)
3. Share 7 things about yourself. (These last two I will combine with the second award)


The second award comes from ~*~The Family~*~ at Once Upon a Family. The family gave me The Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you so much for this!

The rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:
1. Tell seven things about yourself
2. Now pass the torch onto other wonderful versatile bloggers. Grab the award and tell us seven things about yourself. (See what I mean? Similar rules. Two interesting awards to add to your blog!)




First, I will name the blogs I'm passing this to. Since I'm not very good at deciding, I offer you your choice of awards. Or enjoy both! Any blog I read regularly is likely deserving of both. I will start out with my award givers:

Library of Books, Links & More: I think this blog should take the Versatile Blogger award since anyone who can put together the amount of links this site holds--and all while preparing for a year long sabbatical in India--must be incredibly versatile!

Once Upon a Family: I have learned so much about the care and keeping of goats from this blog, 4H happenings, and Once Upon a Family also has lots of recipes and neat crafts to do! Her insights into all she does makes her truly deserving of the Beautiful Blogger Award!

Inner Elder: This is my mother's blog. She writes about growing up in New York so that her grandchildren will have a family history to look upon and also shares her poetry and personal experiences and insights. Mom, I know you probably won't figure out how to put this on your blog, but know that I am proud to have you as my mom!

Pictureka: When my youngest child insisted she wanted a blog, I thought it would be as kept up as my son's. But Sierra has surprised me with her persistence, her photographs, and her spelling! Keep up the good work, sweetie!

~Shady Bayou Academy~: There is always something interesting happening at the house of Mama Teaching 2, soon to be Mama Teaching 3! Their experiments are illustrated with wonderful photos that capture the excitement of her young scientists as they make their discoveries!

Is There a Bathroom on this Ship?: I am so impressed with flmom's latest blog. It is full of giveaways and her adventures in adopting a more healthy lifestyle and vegetarian diet.

Boarding in Bedlam: One of the two homeschooling dads in my Reader, his blog is full of his life adventures, some of which have reduced my giggly oldest child to a puddle of mirth.

Home School Dad: The other homeschooling dad I read regularly. His posts range from the introspective, to reviews, to the funny. (You will notice the pattern that I tend to be drawn to blogs with a good sense of humor!)

Jenny of Elefantz: One of my oldest blogger friends, she has an incredible blog full of her quilting creativity as well as quilting tutorials and challenges for her readers.

So there you have it. If I've missed anyone, know that it is unintentional and simply the result of me being so busy I was trying to fit this in between cartooning and car taxi-ing.
*Update* See? I knew I would forget someone:
Laughing Stars: I know a lot of fast readers, but Stephanie not only reads fast, she reviews fast! This is another blog that is hugely responsible for my ever growing "To Be Read" pile. She also posts about her homeschooling life and gives excerpts of her daughter's film critiques, which are thoughtful and interesting.
Malia Li'i Kula: Whose latest entry features a cool egg drop experiment.
And last but probably not really last,
Kez's Blog: Who shares many neat homeschooling adventures and links. Her Week of Learning entries always give me ideas for my own children.

So, seven things about me:

1. My perfect weather is when I can comfortably wear a jacket. I have a favorite duster-length purple jeans jacket for my perfect weather.

2. I would rather cook dinner at home than eat in a restaurant. I like to know what's in my food. I'm a control freak that way.

3. I would rather email than talk on the phone. I can count on one hand the people I can easily converse with on the phone. Writing is definitely my medium.

4. I'm less afraid of getting lost in a big city than I am of running into an acquaintance. This is because I usually can't remember the acquaintance's name when they are out of the place I know them.

5. I tend to be passionate in my ideas, but I lose the power of speech when I try to voice my opinions. It's very hard to engage in a discussion when others jump in while you are trying to organize your thoughts into a coherent sentence.

6. I try to gain insight from everything I read or watch. That includes picture books, newspapers and Saturday morning cartoons. You would be amazed how much learning I can draw out of an episode of Ben 10 or Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

7. I think I have the most amazing family and friends. They keep me thinking and questioning and make life incredibly interesting for me. And they provide some much needed laughter when I need it most.

So enough about me. Let's talk about you. What do you think of me?

Some Generous Awards

My wonderful blog friends have given me a couple of awards.

I figured I would list both of them in one post.

The first is the "One Lovely Blog" award, which was passed to me by Appleleaf. Paula has a lovely blog herself. It always leaves me with something to ponder about.

The rule for this award is to pass it on to 15 other blogs. I won't check if any of my favorites have been recipients yet, I'll just pass it along. In a second. First....




Laughing Stars has passed this lovely award to me. This one is a little more involved.

The rules:

1. List Seven Things That Make You Awe-Summm!
2. Pass the award on to seven bloggers you read religiously.
3. Tag those seven bloggers.




Seven Awesome Things About Me

1. I juggle. Really juggle, not just metaphorically. Including fire. This might not sound awesome to another juggler, but I think it is.

2. I can find the humor in most situations. If I can't, someone in my awesome family can. They keep me smiling.

3. I have a great ability to understand how to do things by observing, even if I can't do those things myself. For example, I could explain how to do certain poses on the single trapeze even though I don't have the arm strength to do the tricks myself.

4. I enjoy learning. I believe I can learn something from anyone.

5. I listen.

6. I have awesome friends and family.

7. I try to live in the moment and take joy in the little things. Like breathing.

Now since I've got to tag for both of these, I'm just going to name fifteen bloggers. Take one or both of these awards and enjoy!

Mama Teaching Two (wonderful ideas and some fantastic pictures)
Laura at Life Faith Homeschool (she makes me think)
Keeley (she has a private blog, but I want her to know I'm thinking of her)
Jessica at Crazy Lives filled with Love (ditto)
Dave at Home School Dad (he makes me laugh)
Little Blue School (who always comes up with interesting ideas)
Malia Li'i Kula (who can do anything with muffin tins)
Lori at Camp Creek Blog (another that makes me think)
The Jacobite Rose (her artwork inspires mine)
Jenny at Elefantz (beautiful quilting)
Once Upon a Family (they have smart goats)
The Narrow Path (one of my favorite nature lovers)
Alison at Loving Nature's Garden and Homeschooler's Guide to the Galaxy (another nature lover)
Stone Age Techie (even more thought provoking posts)
The Inner Elder (my awesome mom)

I know even after punching in fifteen links, I'm still thinking of other great blogs. If I've commented on your blog, assume I think you have a lovely blog and you should be Queen (or King) of Alll Things Aw-summm!!!

Book Party

This has been a weekend full of art and books, it seems. Today I went to the book party for the poetry contest. This is the same contest that Marina had previously won third place in her category. I wrote about that last year. This year, I had won an honorable mention, which meant the honor of having my poem published in a book that (I think) will be available in all libraries in Westchester. The greater honor was being able to read my poem to an appreciative audience.

Because I know I will be asked, I am reprinting the poem here:

Reading a Hot Drink

When I write,
I pour my soul into the words
Where it swirls with the ink
And tastes like espresso
Marbled with the richest cream.
But when my daughter reads it,
Its flavor changes.
She delights in the hues of dark chocolate
With bobbing white dots of mini marshmallows.
My husband savors it as warm mulled cider
Stirred with a cinnamon stick.
My mother sips my poetry as tea,
Earl Grey, hot, with lowfat milk
And sweetener.
My father sees my words in their simplicity.
For him, the aroma of fresh black coffee is enough.
And there has been the occasional friend
That scalds her tongue on the hot water
With a twist of lemon
And politely smiles as she passes it back.
I’m not offended.
My soul has many flavors
When I mix it with ink.

Arte y Pico Award!

The Jacobite Rose has given me quite an honor. And at long last I've had time to pass it on.

The rules for accepting this award are:
1. Choose 5 blogs you consider deserving of this award for creativity, design, interesting material and a contribution to the blogging world.
2. List the name of each person awarded and a link to their blog.
3. Show the award and the name and blog link of the person who presented you with the award.
4. Show the link to the Arte Y Pico blog. http://arteypico.blogspot.com/
5. Show the rules.

1. He Knows My Name- for her beautiful quilts
2. The Bean Sprout- If you haven't seen this blog, the photography is outstanding.
3. Eclectic Education- She has such a beautifully designed blog.
4. Little Blue School- who always comes up with such creative homeschooling ideas.
5. The Jacobite Rose- yes, I'm giving this back to the blogger who gave it to me, because her artwork is inspiring for my own creativity.

E is for Excellent

This blog has been doubly blessed by Purpleflowerpatch and Divinagrace with an award!



Because I happen to find their blogs just as excellent, I am throwing this award right back to them. Catch!

The Rules:

By accepting this award I must now share with you 10 blogs that I also deem 'excellent'. If you are one of my 10 you then choose 10 blogs that you feel have an excellent quality about them. You can give it to as many people as you want-even those that have received it already, but please award at least 10 people.

Purpleflowerpatch - Her unique perspective on life always inspires me.
Divinagrace - Even this old homeschooler has been introduced to some picture books I missed the first two times, and her photos are beautiful.
Spinneretta - We inspire each other in our artwork!
Bonni - Who poked and prodded me into submitting work to my first magazine.
Vicki - She helped Bonni with the poking, and she is forever sending links to aid our homeschooling.
InnerElder - Because she's my mommy! I also think she's an excellent poet and has wonderful insight on life.
Callmekate - Who always seems to know what I'm talking about!
Appleleaf - Who is a true mentor with her helpful posts on writing.
PrincipledDiscovery - Because homeschoolers need to stay informed about the issues that affect our rights.
ComfyDenim and
MuddyBathwater- Because God laughs. And that's what it's all about.

I know some of you have gotten the award already and I know I have missed some as well. Please know that if it weren't midnight and I still have to finish my comics, every blog I visit would be listed here!
Thank you all for taking the time to share my little corner of the blogosphere. Peace and Laughter!