Wow! I'm blown away

I was blog-hopping through my most favoritest (if that's not a real word, too bad - it is now...) blogs and noticed the headline from Thisisme over at Southhamsdarling.  Seems that she had gained two followers overnight and since I gained one (thank you to my newest follower {I've gained a couple recently so thank you to you all}), I decided I needed to go out of my usual routine and read her post next.

Imagine MY surprise when I finished reading it to find that SHE had passed Petey, the Pet Rock award, over to me. Wow! I was (and still am) quite blown away! She posted that I'm dealing with some challenges right now (so true, so true) and that I am coping the best that I can (again, so true). Some of my other blogger friends are also on her friend list and said I was deserving. Wow again!!!

I had a good laugh as I was reading the rules, which were written by a man (Bruce, at JADIP, justanotherdayinparadise.blogspot.com) and I'll repeat them here so my recipient knows what to do.

The rules...

• You can only give it to one Blogger in Arms (BIA)
• You must recognize the Blogger who gave it to you in at least 3 consecutive blog posts
• You can take up to 3 weeks to pass on the award, but not more than 3 weeks
• The recipient of the award must not have any more than 100 BIAs (followers
• You must update the list of names of previous recipients with your own name before passing it on (see below)
• You should give at least 3 reasons why you think your recipient deserves this award
• You can choose to NOT accept this award, but (apparently) if you do, the Bruce will come after you

Let's try to stick to these rules please, as, after all, the whole point of the award is to get our blogs noticed and to gain new followers (friends).

Here is the Winner's Circle thus far:

Becca at http://mylife.blogspot.com/
Mynx at http://just-tish.blogspot.com/
Bouncin'Barb at http://bouncinbarbs.blogspot.com/
Thisisme at http://southhamsdarlig.blogspot.com/
Teresa at http://themiddlesideoflife.blogspot.com/

The nice part about blog hopping is that you get to "meet" so many new friends who are also friends on other blogs that you might read. I know that I've met many of my online friends by finding them on other blogs. I have had my life enriched by everyone who has stopped by to visit and those of you who have stuck around for the long haul. I thank you - each and every one of you for being my friend.

Now, after much deliberation this morning, I think I must pass this award onto Skippy over at I Make Soap.
I could list the same reasons for choosing her that This used for choosing me, but I'll try to be original and come up with my own.

1. I thoroughly enjoy reading her blog and it's one of the ones I look for everyday to see if there's an update (not quite "original" but I did add to it... LOL!)
2. She writes from the heart
3. She faces the curve balls that life has thrown her with grace, dignity, and humor. Even when she's "down" she is never quite "out" and that is something that I greatly admire. Whenever I feel like whining and crying (which seems to be often these days), I try to remember that there are other people in this world who handle their challenges in a much more dignified way.

There you go, Skippy! I hope that your award will put a smile on your face today!