I've never overly concerned myself with being popular. I had some bad experiences in elementary and junior high, and by the time I reached high school I was supremely satisfied with the status of "Not Universally Hated". In High School, I could walk the halls without being punched in the arm for existing, I had a handful of good friends who cared about me - life was good.
As an adult, I have made many friendly acquaintances, but very few friends. My childhood experiences, combined with my natural shyness and the busy home life that comes with being a working mother of 4 has left me somewhat socially stunted. Moving cross country and having to start over (Twice!) has likely not helped this situation. I "don't get out much" except with DH, who is truly my best friend, and not just in an ooky married-people kind of way.
The rise of the Internet and my obsessive interest in digital scrapbooking has opened new doors for me. I have met so many wonderful people online. I spend a lot of time on scrapbooking websites and blogs, and a few pet lovers forums. But, most of the time, I still feel like an outsider. Not really part of the group, just hanging around the fringes. Not truly included, more just tolerated.
Imagine my immense "Shock and Awe" when DeltaDawn
nominated my little blog for an award! Really? Me? Color me completely surprised.
RULES:
Here are the rules for the Brillante Weblog Premio 2008 Award:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've nominated.
First off, before we get to the nominations, you all HAVE to visit
DeltaDawn. Well, any scrappers and Nascar lovers anyway. She has published 3 amazing series of templates that I am completely in love with, and she gave them away for free! There are all 50 states, Countries of the World, and Cities of the World. You've already seen her Oklahoma and Stanley Cup templates on this blog.
Now, for the nominations. 7 blogs. Let's see if I can find 7 friends or acquaintences to nominate!
1.
Angelia. Angelia is the first friend that I made in the Digital Scrapbooking world. We met during a late night Crop Chat at
Scrapbook-Bytes. When the chat was over, we connected on Yahoo, and chatted for another hour - until my eyelids were so heavy she could practically hear the snoring over IM. She's a military wife, and breaking into the designing world, so if you have a yen for military themed kits, check her out.
2.
Fantacy. Fantacy is another friend I met at
SBB. She has been wonderfully supportive over some bad times last year. She recently dropped out of the designing game, but I really love her "
Hillbilly Coverups" - you'll see them on my layouts whenever I have pictures of kids that don't belong to me.
3.
Carjazi. SBB is my home away from home for scrapbooking, so needless to say, many of my friends come from there. Carjazi just started digi-scrapping a year ago, and is already designing. I love her work.
4.
Evitangel. I love Evitangel's blog. Not only is she the most prolific scrapper I have ever seen - 416 layouts so far in 2008 - all her layouts are so beautiful. I keep her blog bookmarked for inspiration when I lose my mojo.
5.
IkeaGoddess. Simply the best scrapbooking freebie list on the web. Sure, there are sites that list MORE freebies each day. But IG only posts the "best" - freebies she would actually use. Since our tastes are so similar, I end up liking the same things. She always includes the designer's preview so that we can see what she's posting.
6.
WildTomato. WT is the first person who mentioned me by name in her blog. Her dogs picked my name out of a hat (okay, dog toy) as a winner of her blog contest. She recently sent me some fingerless gloves, which are absolutely wonderful. I'm always cold at work, and these will keep my hands warm while I work. She is currently working a series of knitting patterns called "International Cat Hats", and I can't wait to see what she has coming up next.
7.
MuppetDog. I originally met Muppet on the same pet lover forum that I met WildTomato on. She has been incredibly supportive of me on the fitness forum we both post to, and Muppet and the other girls there are the inspiration for me deciding to take up running and enter a 5K. Muppet is running in Vineman (today!) just two weeks after being run over by her training partner. (Sorry, SBG, had to mention it!) Talk about inspirational, Muppet will be training for her first Ironman-length Triathlon in 2009.
Well, that's it! Thank you DeltaDawn for awarding me! You've made my week!
