Sunshine Awards

I'll say this is a first - I was nominated for an award! I was nominated by Lauren, and actually was surprised by that. Only because I don't really consider myself  "a blogger".

"The Sunshine Award is an award given by bloggers to other bloggers. The receivers of the Sunshine Award are bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogsphere"

I guess when I think about "bloggers" I think about ad space down the columns, giveaways, promotion/self-promotion, collaborations with other super-bloggy people, awesome professional pics watermarked with their .com name...and don't get me wrong, it's wonderful and I love it, but it's totally not what I do. I love bloggers. I wish I was a blogger. Haha

Whenever I write, I guess I keep in a couple things in mind - this blog is a scrapbook of life for my kids. Pics, lessons I've learned, inspiring quotes, stories about family, things I've learned how to do and others might find useful. I guess I am generally of the impression that if you are related to me, you will adore this space. If you are not, you will probably be nauseated with the amount of kid-pics. And I'm ok with that. This space is largely for our out of town family - which is a lot of people!

Anyway, to thank my nominator, I would say THANKS! The thing I love about Lauren is her transparency. I am getting to know her better in real life, as a friend, and she is a true gem. I guarantee you will not meet many people like her in your life, who have been through a lot by way of a hurtful past and emerge shining with Christ as her focus. She and I are way overdue for another coffee date:-)

So part of this Award is that I have to tell 7 things about myself, and link to 7 more blogs to nominate them...

Well, since I've been alive for 34 years, and probably most of you reading this have known me for about that long...It is a little hard to come up with 7 things about myself that you might not already know. I'll try to dig deep into the recesses of my life and pull out some new-to-most information. I did something similar in 2009, and I think I used up all the little-known facts at that time;-)

1. Iron Man is my favourite Avenger. Obviously for the reason that he is played by Robert Downey Jr. If that was not obvious, well, now it should be.

2. You know how you hear people say (about desserts) "oh this is too rich" and then they don't even finish it? Well, not only has that never happened to me, but the thought has never even crossed my mind. I have never met anything made out of sugar that I couldn't handle, 3x over in a single sitting, no less. This is not necessarily a good thing. If I don't finish my dessert, its because it doesn't taste good. At all.

3. I am a social coffee drinker, not an addict. I'm basically one that likes a little coffee with my flavoured creamer.

4. I feel like I rely on the internet, maybe a little too much. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have the option to "google it". The internet makes me smarter.

5. Don't be surprised if someday, you find me blogging to you from Ireland or Scotland, from my dark, dank, {and gorgeous} stone castle. It will happen. It must.

6. On the driven/lazy scale...I guess I'm in the middle. Not exceedingly driven, so I guess that would tend me to the lazy side.

7. I do not own a vacuum cleaner. Unless you count a shop vac, in which case, I own 2.

My Nominations:

Clean Green Start - Bronwyn is a friend of Brian's & I from waaaaay back in the day, like, 16 years ago! She is very dedicated to "clean living" and I love her recipe ideas (especially great for those on restricted diets), and health and beauty product alternatives. She definitely lives what she preaches by way of food and exercise, and has a wonderful husband and 5 children. Her hubby is Canadian, and so they are a "dual" family like us! If you have a Canadian in your family and you live in the USA, you're pretty much already my fave person. Everybody should love a Canadian, but I digress...


Beauty in Weakness - This blog will point you Christ, it really will. I know Fawne through my Mom, which is to say, my mom knows Fawne (I have met her once, though, actually, at church:-). Fawne is from a really big family, like me, and she's experienced much of the dark side of life and the pain that it can bring. And God has turned those ashes into pure gold. You will feel her heart and pain as you read, but you will also feel the pure delight of the Saviour who holds her heart.

Plenty Place - Kerry is a new friend I do not know very well yet in person...but I guess I know her better through her blog?! She attends my church, and I really like her blog, and perspective. This blog is the most recent addition to my blogroll:-)

Tales of Frogs & Cupcakes - This is a site I found through Pinterest. She is a 4th grade teacher, and she has great ideas and games, and printables etc for the younger grades. Another freebie - Pinterest find and school teacher blog I love is Teeny Tiny Teacher

The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking - I heard of this blog through a friend, and I love it! Kelly is very down to earth, and wouldn't you know it, she's Canadian {all the best of us are}.(ok, ok, I'll stop ;-) I identify with her in many ways and really like her writing style, and she always posts great tips and recipes and how-to's

The Sesetan Chronicles - This blog journals a missionary family, supported in part by Avalon Hills Bible Church in Virginia Beach. Jon & Kristi live in Indonesia, and I love their posts - they make me smile, and rejoice at what God is doing across the globe, and also shudder at the gross stuff they eat and whatever. I am always completely captivated by foreign cultures and try to gobble up all that "little stuff" that really is big stuff, when you add it all together - what makes a nation and a people "tick" and what will matter to them as you try to meet them where they are, with Christ. I appreciate them, their work, and them giving us a peek into the life they are living there.

Mask Cara - I came across Cara's blog through Pinterest awhile ago. It's really become a go-to beauty site for me. I love her videos, and I love her tips for highlighting and contouring the cheeks and nose. I really like the fact that most of the product she uses is just "drug store stuff", so her looks are achievable on a normal budget and not some crazy $90 for a bottle of foundation. She has blue eyes and dark hair like me, so almost all recommendations are perfect fit for me, but she dyes her hair and gets coloured contacts to show how to do makeup for all types:-)