12 September 2012

Fabulous Blog Ribbon

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Thank you, Cheryl Fassett, fellow blogger and writer extraordinaire, for honoring me with a Fabulous Blog Ribbon. After a mixed summer of highs and lows, you made my entry to fall, my favorite season, a grander one.

Check out her blog Catching Fireflies where she captures creativity, magic and inspiration.

I’m a little late thanking Cheryl due to a cracked rib. I had no idea they hurt so much and could slow me down to half speed. But being recognized by one of my favorite bloggers is enough to sprinkle fairy dust over my writer’s world.

For those unfamiliar with blog awards, they come with a set of “rules,” but I would rather call them guidelines and give out awards without asking for anything back, in this case answering questions and passing the award to five fellow bloggers.

Call me conflicted, but sometimes these things remind me of a chain letter when they’re actually meant to help bloggers expand readership and feel good about the time and energy they put into their blogs. I know what it takes to keep up a blog, keep up with life, and keep up with other people's postings, and therefore I am reluctant to add one more “to do” to the list of these extraordinary bloggers. I hope you visit their pages to see why I love them so much.

Here are the guidelines for receiving this Fabulous Blog Ribbon:
  1. Thank the blogger who gave it to you and share the link back to the awarding blog.
  2. Name 5 fabulous moments in your life.
  3. Name 5 things that you love.
  4. Name 5 things you hate.
  5. Pass the award to 5 deserving bloggers.

So, without further ado…

Five Fabulous Moments in My Life
  • The birth of my son, Jason
  • Finding my sweetheart, Dan, and being with him for 36 years
  • Discovering my life as a writer—over and over and over again
  • Being in Paris the first time
  • Seeing Fleetwood Mac in concert for the first time

Five Seven Things I Love
  • My friends and family, with all my heart
  • Writing, writing, writing
  • Paris
  • Books by my favorite authors and discovering new ones
  • Music, mostly rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, funk, French pop, folk
  • Dancing
  • Art in all forms

Five Things I Hate
  • Crazymakers
  • The word hate
  • War
  • Dishonesty and greed
  • Not giving art & culture in our society and government programs the recognition it deserves

Five Bloggers Who Deserve a Fabulous Blog Ribbon*
  • Barbara Sullivan for her extraordinary wisdom and big heart in The Solace of LoweredExpectations
  • Kirsten Steen and her exquisite blog Write-on-Thyme for keeping me in touch with our beloved Paris (plus having such gorgeous music on her blog, too!)
  • New to the blogosphere in March, Karla Droste with open heart and adventurous spirit takes us on her life-changing journey in Re-inventing Karla
  • DianeProkop keeps my reading pile high, not just in height, but in the quality of her book reviews and recommendations
  • Supremely gifted artist and creative, Beth I. Robinson, who keeps me laughing and gives me the gift of being inside the head of a working artist (p.s. check out one of my favorite pieces of hers at her website)

* Ribbon recipients: please accept this Fabulous Blog Ribbon, enjoy freely, post the ribbon, know that I give this ribbon to you with no expectation of you having to do anything more than enjoy it for all the hard work you put into your blog.

As for something to entertain you further, I offer this bit of writerly eroticism:

Thanks for tuning in!
And yes, for those who asked, my cracked rib is healing nicely. Thanks for being concerned!
Keep creativity in your heart and soul,
Val

COMING UP:
Where I Work: a photographic peek into my writing spaces
A Confession: What happened after my six readers responded to the Beta version of my novel