I've Received A Lovely Award!

Good Monday Morning Everyone!

I'm pleased, humbled and flattered to say that I've received The Sunshine Award from my good friend, Holly at "A Life-Size Catholic Blog" !!

It came as no surprise to me that Holly received this award. She's an extremely bright, upbeat gal who blogs about her personal journey to truly know, understand and embrace her Church, to strengthen her knowledge and to serve God in a new (and rapidly growing) "cyber based" world of worship and stewardship.  Her posts are extremely well written, often humorous, and always passionate about her family, her friends and of course, her faith.  Holly and her blog have even gained some recent notoriety surrounding Matt Lauer's "curious" gift to Pope Benedict during his visit to Rome! You should definitely stop by and check Holly and her fabulous blog out for yourself. You don't have to be Catholic or deeply religious to appreciate who Holly is and what she writes about. I know you'll get hooked, just like I did!

So, here's the skinny on what this award asks of it's lucky recipients...

1. Thank the person who awarded you and link back to them  
2. Tell one thing about yourself 
3. Then nominate 10 blogs 
4. Stop by and let them know you chose them 

OK, I've taken care of point number one.  Now, I guess I need to tell you all something about myself.

Hmmm... The first food I ever cooked without any assistance from an adult, was Pot Roast. I was such a fan of the whole meat and gravy, with slowly braised potatoes, carrots & onions thing that I guess I wanted to have it for dinner more frequently than Mama wanted to make it. So, after watching her a couple of times, I made it myself one chilly September day and then several times again over the years.  Mama checked in on me here and there, to make sure I wasn't burning the house down or lopping off a finger, but I was basically on my own. That was 40 years ago and I was a whopping 9 years old that first time.  I guess that was the beginning of my love of cooking....

Now, for the part that I find the most difficult...  Who do I pass the award on to?? Call me crazy, but I always feel like a mom favoring one child over another. (or in this case 10)  So, what do I do?  Well, I genuinely enjoy all of the blogs that I choose to follow but I can't choose them all.  Then take into account that I've never been very good at following all of the rules.  Then add in the fact that Mr B and I are heading out of town this Wednesday in the wee hours and I'm running around like the proverbial beheaded chicken. So, all of that being said, I've decided to go with 5 blogs who are relatively new (or newer) to blogging or maybe haven't had long to build up as many followers as they'd like to. I look at it this way... The majority of these awards are meant to help provide exposure to fellow bloggers so they can get the recognition they deserve, so why not help each other?  We all like making new friends! And, since I'm no good at just choosing a few out of many, I'm also putting it out there for everyone else who'd like to grab it and pass it on. So, without further ado...  Here we go! (In no particular order)

• Giggle, Laugh, Cry
• Mom In Rome
• Young and Restless
• The Dinner Belle
• The Daily Hoop-lah

 Please make sure to stop by and visit all of these great blogs!  I'm sure you'll be glad you did!

~Mrs B

An Award? For Me?

Happy Saturday everyone!

I received a comment yesterday from the lovely Yenta Mary at one of my favorite blogs, Food Floozie, saying (much to my delight and surprise!) that she had given me an award!  The Versatile Blogger Award to be specific! I'm very flattered and honored that she thought of me when she was deciding who to pass it on to.

The Food Floozie blog is a virtual smorgasbord of delicious recipes, all perfectly seasoned with Mary's wisdom and wit. Along with posts about her life and her teenage son, she shares her thoughts on cooking and dining  from all points of the culinary spectrum and a vast array of cultures. She's a sassy single mom and a lover of all things food! Mary cares deeply about people and gives straight from the heart. So, stop over and say hello to Yenta Mary at the Food Floozie when you get the chance. You'll be so glad you did!  Thanks Mary!

Now for the rules:

1. Leave a comment thanking the person who gave you the award and link back to them. 
2. Tell seven things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered new bloggers.

1. Check!
2. OK, I can do that!
3. Now, this is the hard part... As much as I love and appreciate it when I'm given an award, (I was blessed to have received many at my previous blog) time can be scarce in my "offline life"  and that leaves a small window of opportunity for me to spend time here. Frankly, I think every blogger deserves to receive an award just for authentically putting themselves out there into the blogosphere, but due to the limited time that I have and as the lovely lady who passed this on to me also chose, I'll be passing it on to 5 instead of 15.

Seven Things About Me:

1) I'm adopted. I have one older brother, also adopted. Our wonderful parents are no longer here with us and the two of us have a bit of a strained relationship, but we're working on it as best as we can. 

2) Mr B and I were blessed with two beautiful daughters. One is here with us and one is waiting for us in Heaven. Our eldest is 26 and our youngest would have been 11 this year. You never get over the loss of a child, but you get through your life in the best way that you can. With our faith our families and our friends, we grieve and we heal a little bit every day.  

3) I do not eat "fish" fish.  I love shellfish, (even raw oysters!) but anything with scales and gills is out of the question. I think I had some kind of childhood trauma or some kind of run-in with bones. I wish that I liked it though, because Mr B loves it. For the record, I do cook it for him. I just make chicken for myself. 

4) I know very few details about my biological history, but one thing I do know is that I am 100% Irish. I'm actually technically "first generation American". Let's just say that I was "planted" in Ireland and "bloomed" here in the U.S.  'nuff said. 

5) I have hyperextended knees. It's an odd thing where the joints in the knees (or elbows, fingers, etc.) extend beyond their "normal" extension. As an example, when I stand straight my knees bend back a few inches instead of locking in a straight-up position. It does cause back problems as you get older (which I have more than my fair share of) but on the up side, I'm told we make better swimmers and excellent ballerinas! LOL It's usually caused by an injury during one's life, but some people are born with it. I am one of those people. 

6) I have an almost obsessive crush on a dead man.  Maybe I should explain.... I love, love, love Cary Grant. I think he was the most elegant, handsome, charming man in the world. (ahem, uh, next to Mr B of course) He possessed the kind of class that transcends time. I've seen every movie he's ever made and just about every documentary or biography ever filmed about him. Can I just say, Swoooooooon! 

7) Aside from my own little home, my favorite place to be is Ogunquit Maine. Mr B and I have been going there for almost 30 years (geeze, that number doesn't seem possible, but it is) and I spent many a Summer vacation there with my parents, growing up. I can say with a good degree of certainty that I will never, ever get tired of it. We do travel to lots of other places too, but I'm pretty sure that I'd go through some major withdrawal if we missed our trip to Ogunquit each Fall. (If you happen to drop by here during the month of September, you'll see what I mean)

OK.... That being said, it's time to pass this award on to (5) other "newly discovered" blogs. Not that any of these blogs are "new" to the blogosphere, but they're all pretty new to me. Each one of them has something unique and special that makes their blog more than worthy of a follow. Please stop by and say hello to each of them when you have a little spare time and I'm sure you'll agree!  Here they are: (in no particular order)

One Big Mashugana World

Giggle, Laugh, Cry

Yankee Texan Mom

Inspiration By Karen

Life In A Small Town

Here's a little something for everyone!  Have a fabulous weekend!

I'm linking up with Java today!



Photo courtesy of Google Images

Howdy folks! It's a busy Friday for me, but I wanted to link up with Java's Friday Follow this week. It's been a while and I plan to do some long overdue visiting with my current blog buddies and hopefully meet some new friends too this weekend!  If you haven't participated in her 40 and Over Blog Hop and you fit the criteria (40 plus and just downright fabulous! - both boys and girls!) you should "hop" on board and give it a try! It's lots of fun and better still, it's how I've met some of the nicest bloggers around! Hope to see you around the blogosphere!






It's easy.... Just click on the link above and Java has all the steps right there for you to "follow"!  Have fun!

I Really Need Some Spring!

This is what my back yard looked like yesterday morning:

It still looks pretty much the same, except the snow is now rain. (sigh)

Soooo, I thought I'd dig up some pictures that I took last summer and post them today. Hopefully they'll remind me that Spring and Summer are not really that far away.  It's going to take some serious convincing for me to believe it, (as I sit here listening to the plow scraping along my neighbor's driveway) but maybe if I just sit and stare at this post long enough, the water lapping at the shore, the graceful beauty of the flowers and the sunny blue skies and green grass will be imprinted in my subconscious and I'll think it's true.  If you're living in an area that looks anything like that first picture and feeling the late winter blues too, feel free to try it along with me!

Well, on with the experiment.....

For some added inspiration, I'm linking up with Java's 40 & Over Friday Blog Hop. I look forward to meeting some new friends!