More Awards, Oh My!

I have been blessed with receiving two blog awards, The Versatile Blogger award, and the Merci award! I am honored and grateful for such recognition from my fellow bloggers and cherish the opportunity to share some truly unique and inspiring blogs that I have come across in my blogsphere travels.

I hope you will take a moment to visit them today! Without further ado, here goes:

Versatile blogger award:

1. Name and link to the person who nominated you: Laura at the MindSync blog – True Life Revealed From Every Angle. A touching blog dedicated to her husband and chronicling her experiences in dealing with his diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer.

2. Share 7 personal things about yourself:

I’m an insurance agent
I have 1 husband, 2 children, 3 dogs, 1 tortoise, 4 rats, and 1 ant colony
I live near Seattle, Washington
My favorite living person is the Dalai Lama
I believe in life on other planets
I have a pretty large birth mark on the left side of my face
My all time favorite Star Trek character is Garek from Deep Space Nine

3. Nominate 15 wonderful blogs, and let the blog owner know:

Amanda at Tshirts & Twine blog – Live Simply. A wonderfully inspiring blog about simplifying your life. I love that she is not judgmental and super supportive of everyone she crosses paths with!
Tuscon Blonde at 108 plus blog – Poems about love… She is the perfect expression of my (non-existent) inner poet.
The Truthionary Blog – A guidebook of getting happier. Short, simple, inspiring, “feel-good” posts that always make me smile.
Buzz Malone’s blog – A self-published author who’s writing has inspired me in my own journey into writing.
Neuronotes – It’s about the brain. It’s about the environment. It’s about being human.
No Ulterior Motive – What a curmudgeon thinks about, when he has time to think.
Gemma Utting – Relationship Therapy – Cultivating great relationships with family, friends, and self.
Counting Joy Blog – Finding the joy in the every day, and sharing joy with others.
Read Jan Traff – are you alive with it, on fire with it, knee deep in it, and about to arise with it? Jan has a true poets heart and expresses it beautifully.
It’s a Whole Lifestyle Thing - Excercise, eat, rest, repeat. Judy has a passion for health and wellness and loves sharing it with you. She has helped whip me into shape! At least I’ve started! =D
Rootie Birds – Chakra Your Karma – Meanderings from a bird on a wire. Her posts always make me stop and think.
The Story Reading Ape – An author’s blog. Some great book reviews and recommendations
One Woman Delivered – Inspiration for Women
Depressed Pessimist – My thoughts as I continue to battle depression
Depression’s Collateral Damage – Support for those caring for loved ones with depression

Merci award:

1. Name and link to the person who nominated you: Tucson Blonde at the 108 plus blog – Poems about love… I have rediscovered my childhood fascination with poetry since diving into the world of blogging, and her poems are some of the most evocative and inspiring!

2. Mention 5 things you would like to do with your life, no matter how mad or tame:

Make a real difference to further the cause of suicide prevention
Visit the Grand Canyon
Be there for my kids when they are grown and have kids of their own
take very good care of my aging parents
learn sign language

3. Nominate six bloggers, let them know, and say why they have left their mark on you. Hence the name “The Merci Award”:

Laura at MindSync blog – True life revealed from every angle. The strength and grace of this lovely young woman as she copes with her husband’s stage 4 colon cancer is truly an inspiration.
Drop Bear Exterminator – helping us understand what it’s like to live with mental illness
Help To Hope – encouragement for parents of teens in crises
Meditation and Wellness – Articles and anecdotes for Wellness in everyday life

* A VERY, VERY SPECIAL MERCI TO:

5. Nadine on Writing – My wonderful friend who has been a pillar of support and encouragement and taught me more than a few things as we navigate the world of self publication together
6.Rachelle’s Window – Another super talented self published author who explained the puzzling world of Twitter for me!

4. Say a big THANK YOU TO EVERYONE ON WORDPRESS!! here goes:

To all the bloggers out there, I wish I could nominate you all for an award ~ Thank you for inspiring me, making me laugh, cry, cringe. Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity, and thank you for renewing my convictions to try and make the world a better place!