enjoying the day… the whole LONG day…

it's monday. welcome to a new week. today is also the longest day (daylight-wise, we still have the same 24 hours!) of the year, and if i hadn't just celebrated father's day, i would throw a party for summer. even though it's pretty steamy here in the south, it so beats the cold!! the sun is shining and we have another barn-burner in store for us today. no complaints here, as the memories of gloom, cold and damp of our winter still lingers, and i'll not complain about the heat. i'll instead, be very thankful for my air conditioning, and the ability to pay my utility bills!

i'm also thankful for one of my new OLF, cranberry morning, who gave me this award yesterday.
normally, i'd thank them and move on, but since it's monday and i don't have anything else prepared, i'll play along. The rules to the award (and sorry, but to me an award should just be an award with no strings attached… but in the spirit of keeping the award alive, i'll play by the rules… well, most of 'em anyway). Now, it's my turn to pass on the awards! So, to the recipients whom I will name shortly, my instructions are pretty simple and straight forward:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award. 
2. Share up to 10 things about yourself.  Short & sweet
3. Pass the award along to up to 10 bloggers who you have recently discovered and think are fantastic!
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award. -- of course!!!


10 things about myself (like i don't talk about myself enough already). short and sweet.
1. there ain't nothing short & sweet about the way i communicate. this is gonna be tough…
2. i love to read. favorite place to wander is a book store.
3. i like to be crafty but oftentimes get swept up by perfection, which is seriously limiting.
4. i have massive reflux and eat my daily prevacid or whatever, but still could live on tums. 
5. love to pack my children's lunches (they're home for the summer and have to be out of the house by 7 and 7:30)
6. having a love affair with my DVR. the good wife. the big bang theory. burn notice. grey's anatomy. bachelorette (don't judge). most are on summer hiatus, but with a hubster that doesn't dig tv, this is a way for me to stay in the loop.
7. i'd be lost without google. (there. i said it)
8. the hubs and i have three weiner dogs. that makes us lacking in intelligence, but not in compassion.
9. many of my friends are under 21 (comes with the territory of being a volunteer youth leader for ten years). a lot of my other friends live in my computer. cultivating IRL friends this summer. so far, so good.
10. am a faithful recycler, but not a composter. throwing away food garbage seriously hurts my soul, but not sure i could deal with decaying stuff in my backyard. or the papers the hubster would most certainly serve me with. ahhhh. green angst.


i'm passing this on to some bloggers that i love… and it won't be ten, because some of the bloggers i love don't need the exposure, or are dealing with much bigger fish to fry than answering questions and talking about themselves. but if you want to visit them and encourage them, that would be fantastic.


so these are folks that i dearly love, but are dealing with major life issues and could use the prayers and encouragement. leave them an uplifting comment today, would you?
our claire journal (their daughter drowned on memorial day and is slowly recovering)
walking by faith (triplets born at 24 weeks. two boys did not survive, daughter charli fighting and winning. she's now 35 weeks gestationally and weighs just over 4 pounds)
just because i am me (fifth child was born with heart defect and is undergoing surgical procedure {second of many} TODAY. please offer up love and encouragement)


and those that are not all new friends but  i simply love and think their words are beautiful…
mama4real (she even asked me to guest blog for her this thursday!! i totally love her blog and she tweets the funniest thoughts)
4tunate (a mom with four little boys… ie quads… is she supermom or what??)
just breathe (she's my west coast friend and we have some fun things in common. go love on her… her daddy's in the hospital)
a day in the life of kimber (she's adorable and funny and i will meet this person AND mama4real in real life.) 
the art of losing myself (we've been OLF for quite some time now, and it looks like i'm going to get to visit her next month!)


okay. i'm done now. 
sheesh. blog awards are exhausting! but i'm still honored. thanks judy!