PASSING ON AWARDS

Hey there blogger buds.  I've been so busy lately I've neglected to pass on way cool awards.  Where are my manners?

Aldrea at   http://thardrandia.blogspot.com/ gave me this. Hmm, yummy, but strawberries go better with chocolate.

Thank you.



E. Arroyo at http://chandarawrites.blogspot.com/  gave me this.  And I do love blogging...to a point.  I'm happy to have met all of you.

Thank you.





Julie at http://gypsyjulesinmysoul.blogspot.com/  gave me this.  I could describe the different attributes of fire, but fire just makes me hungry...so it's only fitting I offer a recipe on this one. 

Thank you.




Alternate Recipe to Beef Stew.

1/2 lb meat
2 or 3 potatoes (depends of how much you like potatoes)
10 sliced Spanish olives
1/2 sliced onion
5 to 7 cloves of garlic
1/2 to a whole green pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup white cooking wine (taste remainder, toss in a little extra squirt for good measures)
squirt of olive oil
Cover with a layer of:
All season salt
Cumin
Parsley
Basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of 8 oz tomato sauce
Mix in large pot and let cook until meat and potatoes are tender.
Serve over white rice.  Good for seconds.  Hubs swears by it.


Tara at http://taratylertalks.blogspot.com/ tagged me.  She gave me this.  I always get a kick out of being tagged because I never know what to do with it.  So in a little bit I'll tell you more deep dark secrets about myself.





Sia McKye at http://siamckye.blogspot.com/  stopped by to let me know I won a $10.00 gift card to Amazon.com.  I've yet to get my butt over there and collect the card.

Thank you.

First, I'm mentioning 15 blogs I frequent because I have the privilege to consider these people friends.  I'm not mentioning anyone I mentioned on the blog hop.  For those of you I left off the list, please accept my apologies.  I will mention you next time.

1. Unikorna  http://unikorna.blogspot.com  I love her honesty and her ability to speak her mind.
2. Mary http://mpaxauthor.blogspot.com  Every visit to her blog makes me feel like I'm  out in space.
3. Botanist  http://thebaldpatch.blogspot.com  He's a great Sci-Fi writer and an awesome artist.
4. Lydia  http://lydiakang.blogspot.com  She offers the most fascinating interviews.
5. Shelly  http://shellysnovicewritings.blogspot.com  Her posts offer variety...not all about writing.
6. Eve   http://thedesertrocks.blogspot.com Special lady alert.  We visit each other through email.
7. Bryce  http://brycedaniels.blogspot.com  Bryce shares his body with a poet.
8. Rusty  http://rustywebb.blogspot.com  His blogs are highly informative.
9. Madeleine  http://rustywebb.blogspot.com  I love her romance.
10. Al  http://alpenwasser.blogspot.com  He has a great sense of humor.  Seriously, he cracks me up, and such a funny commenter.
11. laughinwolf  http://laughing1wolf.blogspot.com  The blog speaks for itself.  He's funny.
12. Mike  http://protecttherisen.blogspot.com  He's been absent from the blogging world for a while, but I'm sure he'll be back.  Mike's cool and a gifted writer.
13. PK http://pk-hrezo.blogspot.com  Great fun lady.  Blogs about her progress.
14. Doralynn  http://dlynnkennedy.blogspot.com  Last I heard she was a little under the weather, but she's writes a pretty awesome blog.
15. Heather  http://littleredhenry.blogspot.com  She a wonderful artist, a sweet person, and a pleasure to be around.

Now some stuff about me.

1. I've recently pondered the idea of having a baby.  Hubs vetoed my suggestion to send off to the homeworld for a specimen capsule, stating that he is more than capable of doing the deed.  He also refuses to let me have a cat.  Negotiations are in process.

2. I write because I love it.  There was a time I needed the success and the glory.  The thing that pushed me was the idea that I would one day be a published author.  Now I find myself thinking how wonderful it is that I just write and that one day others will read my stories, but also how wonderful it is that I'm surrounded by a wonderful family, that I get to see the sunrise or stare at the starts at night.  I couldn't imagine making it through a single day without smiling at the sound of a barking dog.  Life is entirely lovely.

3.  I'm remodeling my house.  It's funny but somehow when you reach a certain age there are things that need to be done.  So I'm stripping carpet, tiling, wooden floors, the works.  And I just bought the coolest sofa and love seat ever.

4.  I find comfort in the color of an eggplant.

5.  I don't eat red meat.  (The stew above can also be made with chicken.)

6.  I always wanted to get lost in the Bermuda Triangle secretly hoping it led to an alternate plane of existence.

7.  I have a hairy guy on a stick on my desk.  When you press down on him, he says, "Boy, do I feel great.  It's going to be a stress free day today."  The spite the little bastard I put makeup on him.  Now he looks like Boy George.

Well, that's it blogger buds.  Hope everyone has a wonderful week.  I will be stopping by to say hi.

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My Gratitude

Hello all and Happy Friday!

I was hopping through the campaigners and it occured to me that many are selling, promoting, and building their numbers. I don't have a darn thing to offer except my friendship.  Maybe it's just that life moves so fast, and I see Blogger in a different light. To me it's become an opportunity to meet like-minded people, writers that have set out on my same journey. I hate to rush it, strive for the numbers and not stop to get a feel for and get to know all of you as individuals. It seems a shame otherwise, but that's just me.

So in my own mushy way I'd like to take this moment to recongnize a few of my oldest blogger friends who were with me from the beginning, and others who have touched my heart in one way or another. Don't worry, I'll try to keep it brief. (Swampland anybody?)

　

Cheryl over at Kangaroos in the Scrubby Bush  (tells a tale of cute kangaroos) and Lisa at Lisa L Regan (awesome thriller writer) gave me this award.  Thank you so much ladies.  Sorry it's taken me so long to pass this on.


And Cheryl (fellow Fantasy writer) over at http://offwithefairies.blogspot.com/ also stuck me...er...gifted me with this one.I'm going to cheat like a wayward spouse and combine these all in the sake of hating long blogs.  (There's no way I'm going through all this copy and paste again.)

Most Beautiful : Finnegan the Squirrel  Captures the essence of nature. And he's a cute little booger.

Most Controversial : Free Sex Advice It was supposed to be advice on how to write sex scenes without being too explicit.  It was inspired by the lovely Donna Weaver from Weavin a Tale or Two, and was also the time I thought I had scared Alex at Alex J Cavanaugh away for good.  Thank you Donna.  And Alex, I'm glad you came back.  I'd miss you. You are both way cool.

Most Popular : Happy Birthday to Me.  74 birthday wishes and counting made my day extra special. 

Most Helpful : Genre Map  It's a clicky thingy that helps you determine your genre.  (I hope the darn thing still works.)

Most Surprisingly successful : Being Present  All about spending time with your loved ones and giving yourself a break from the social media.  With so many Blogger addicts here (myself included) I thought it would bomb.  I appreciate your attention to this blog. 

Most Underrated : Panty Meme  Smutty as all hell, I admit it.  I had fun with it.  And plenty of you stopped by (fellow closet freaks).  And it made it's way around like wild fire.  Even L.G. over at Barbs and Prophets played and Carrie at So You're a Writer.  Mike, I appreciated your participation the most.  (Spidey)  Protect the Risen

Most Prideworthy : Ginger (Crime Fiction)  It didn't get tons of hits, but I found it very special.  It was also the first day Rusty at Blutonian Death Egg stopped by my blog and tipped his hat to me.  (Very cute comment.) I also appreciated seeing Lisa, above and Nancy at Nancy Thompson.

I'd like to pass on this award to all those mentioned above as well as to Eve at The Desert Rock and Bryce over at The Preservation Society eventhough he's AWOL.  A lot of these people were with me when I had no one to come and comment.  They stopped by to say hi.  And they cared.

I've met so many wonderful individuals since then like Botanist at Views from the Bald Patch, Roland at  Writing in the Crossairs, Joylene at   Joylene Nowell Butler , Isis at  Isis Rushdan, PK at Pk Hrezo, Julie at  Gypsy in my Soul ...I could go on and on.  I am proud to call you my blogger buds.  These awards go to each and everyone of you.  You don't have to do a darn thing...just pay the three ladies up top a visit and say hi.

Now, ten random facts about me and I will make them brief.

1. My middle name is Angelica. (Bet you had no clue.)
2. Most kids have a comfort toy.  Mine was a long-haired blonde doll.  I tore out her eyes and dragged her around by her hair. (Till this day I never had kids of my own.)
3. I had a baby chick once.  Years later my mother told me I ate it in soup.  (Scarred me for life)
4. I wear white socks with everything, unless I'm dressed up of course.  I also carry a black purse. (Both go great with hot pink) 
5. I'm a morning person, pisses people off, but they remark they miss me when I'm gone.
6. I like the dark.  I will shut windows, turn off lights, tv, the works.  (My inner vampire at work.)
7. I don't believe in buying $300.00 shoes.  There's starving people out there.
8. I've seen my share of ghosts ever since I was three.  (Scoff if you must.)
9. I can't stand parties...not when there's so much more I'd rather be doing. (However, after a glass of wine I'm good to go and can BS with the best of them.)
10. I secretly dream of being beamed out into a cool spaceship by sexy aliens.  (Oh, wait, that's no secret.)

There you have it.  Hope everyone has a wonderful day and I'm looking forward to getting to know all my new followers.  Happy blogging.

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