Seriously, Stef. What were you thinking? First off.. there is the matter of the "TAG FREE for X days counter." Which in and of itself should have been enough. It just should. But then, you throw in, oh I don't know... THIS!.. and it just leaves me scratchin' my head. Why girl? Why? Honestly... :) lol.

Because I love you... and because I know you give this in love, I will participate. I will once again humiliate myself and bore my friends with my mindless and brutally honest tid-bits about myself. ughhh... I am so sorry friends. I am just. so. sorry. You too, "TAG FREE FOR X DAY COUNTER". There goes the pizza party! ;)lol

In order to accept this Bloggy Award/Tag in disguise, you must do the following:

1)When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.

2)Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design.

3)Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Honest Weblog’.

4)List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. And then, pass it on.”

And now, I shall bore you to tears...

1. I am a tradition Junkie. I make a tradition out of anything and everything. I am a child of divorce, and because of that, we didn’t have many traditions. I don’t know how I just made that connection there, but I think when you are a child of divorce you take license with that to blame everything and anything on that fact. Because we lacked in the tradition department, I strive to ensure our kiddos childhood’s are rich in tradition. Some might say I over tradition. I think it is better to have over traditioned than to have never traditioned at all. That is how Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote it, right? (Might have googled the name so you would think I was smart)

2. I am an eternal optimist, almost to a fault. Case in Point. Sometimes, I get a little crazy and think I might like to start eating healthy, and workout. So when this happens, I usually treat myself to something I wouldn’t eat while partaking in the healthy lifestyle. Certain sugary delights.. or something fried perhaps. Cause you know, tomorrow is DAY 1. Sometimes, just sometimes, I might get halfway(if that) through Day 1 and decide that day is not really a good day to start DAY 1.. but rather, tomorrow is feeling a bit more DAY 1-ish. So that day then becomes the DAY BEFORE DAY 1. And, once again I plan and partake in “my last meal.” Because I am an optimist… there is always another DAY 1. See the problem here? While I do see it.. doesn’t bug me. I’m an optimist. I am just happy giving myself credit for recognizing there is a problem. :)

3. Some might call me vertically challenged. I am 5’1” on a tall day. I don’t really even know I am short. Might be that eternal optimism thing. I have always been smaller than everyone else, and it has never really bothered me. Though my mom, in recalling my 1st grade year and the hazing that I suffered at the hands of Billy Quinimin due to my“shrimpiness”, as he liked to call it, may beg to differ. The horrible first grade year aside, it is not something I really think about. Though as my 7th grader catches me in height, I have come to the realization that I am going to be one of those moms who looks up at her kids. And that makes me laugh.

4. I often laugh at inappropriate times. It is a BIG PROBLEM! Always had it. Always will. Funerals. (Thankfully no one has ever noticed. Oh I would just die. See laughing there. I said the word die in talking about funeral. Very inappropriate. ) Weddings. My sister has the same problem, which I am thankful for. Not that she has it.. I am sorry for that. But that someone understands. It is AWFUL. If we both need to go to a funeral, we have to sit away from each other. Cannot make eye contact. Or a laughing fit will ensue. And let me tell you. There is nothing funny about it. I think it is just my awkward response to an uncomfortable situation. I spent a good amount of my time in high school choir in the hallway.. because I would start laughing, and could not stop. Might have had to step out of a few concerts, because I laughed so hard, I MIGHT have almost peed my pants. And I was not a trouble maker, mind you. Just an obnoxiously inappropriately timed laugher. I am SOOO VERY SORRY Mrs. B. Did I mention I am a child of divorce?

5. I frequently misuse words. If I am feeling bold and I want to try out a new word I am unsure of, I will throw it in there speaking really softly or speeding up when I get to the word in hopes that no one notices in case I have misused the word. Unfortunately if no one notices, they don’t get a chance to call me out on it, and then I never learn whether I used the word appropriately or not. That means there is a good chance I could repeat the same ignorant mistake. And no, I never think to come home and look up the word in the dictionary. That would be perspicacious of me. Or would it?

6. I am horrible at SMALL TALK. If I go to a party(sha, right.) and there is a room of people that I don’t know, I freeze up. Because I just.cannot. small talk. I don’t care what the weather is, nor do I want to pretend like I do. You want to tell me about your family, how your passion for something turned into your career, traditions your grandma passed on to you, How you met your spouse and how you proposed, I am all over it. I could talk to you for hours about you. But start chiming in about the weather and you’ve lost me man. I can’t do it. Exception: You are a weather man and weather is your passion. Then and only then can I hang long enough to chat about the weather.

7. I have memory issues. I have a hard time remembering things that are told to me. So even if I found someone at a party who would like to tell me their life story, chances are 30 minutes later, I’ve lost it all. I am a visual learner, so if I can somehow connect what you tell me to a picture, it has a chance of sticking. I try to blame it on mommy brain, but truth is, I have had this issue my whole life and I come by it honestly. Hi MOM! It is mom, right?

8. I am a WORRIER! I try not to be, but I can’t help it. It is funny because I am fairly laid back and a go with the flow kind of gal, but when it comes to my kiddos, my family and people’s feelings. I am a worrier. Did they make friends the first day of school. Was their zipper down and they didn’t know it? Did the bus make it to school? Ugghhh… This is something I am praying about and working on. Umm… I am pretty sure there is some scriptural basis that alludes to the fact that I am not supposed to worry. Can you imagine if I spent my nervous energy diving into scripture and in prayer, what a difference that would make? Not to mention the lines on my forehead that could have been prevented? If you are young and there is still a chance for your forehead, learn from me friend.

9. That Follower gadget haunts me. Remember we had a talk about it here. I love that it allows people to connect with other people. I have met so MANY people I would have never come across otherwise. I have met people that I didn’t even know read my blog, and it gave me the opportunity to have a chance to peek in on them and get to know them a little bit. So personally, I love it for that reason. What I don’t like is how it is displayed up there for all to see, as though it is a badge of honor or something. A popularity contest, if you will. Because it is not. It should not be a way to “show off” how many friends you have. Yet, I see so many comments from people about the follower gadget and how they don’t want to put it up because they only have x followers and someone else has y followers. Or they feel the same way that I do about it, they don’t want anyone to get their feelings hurt. You see what I struggle with. The inner turmoil. Another thing to worry about. Check.

10. I think I might be a Jesus Freak. I have heard about them, might have even laughed at the name a few years back. Didn’t know what it meant then, and still don’t. Is it a secret club or something? I am behind in getting this out, so I don’t have time to google it. If it is someone who is head over heals crazy for our Savior, striving everyday to be more like HIM, but always falling short, then Jesus Freak I am, Sam. Sign me up and send me the bumper sticker. I will display it proudly. But I don’t want to be in the club. I am not really a “club” fan. As far as I have been taught, everyone has the invitation to be a Jesus Freak, you just have to accept the invitation. Confess your sin, accept him into your heart as your savior, and you are good to go- Intro to becoming a Jesus Freak 101. If you’re not in the “not -a -club "Jesus Freak" club.” , and you want to be, shoot me an e-mail, as I would love to help you get started on your journey. And I will TOTALLY send you a bumper Sticker! :)

Please tell me that was 10 things.. Are we good now? Umm… Thanks Stef for the award/" TAG Free Counter for X days killer." Can we say I owe you one? :)

And now the part I don't like. If you have been around long enough, you might know I don't like choosing people for these things. AT ALL. I might have been made fun of last time for my random nomination method, but that's okay. I kept on keeping on. I was going to pass on passing this on, but I decided I am going to shoot you in the direction of blogs that have a cool story to share, so that you can be blessed. So If I didn't pick you, doesn't mean I don't love you. Cause I do.

1) MckMamma at My Charming Kids This gal rarely accepts a bloggy award/TAG IN DISGUISE... and she has been a little busy with her MckMiracle, and all!!!! But I am just going to send you on over there anyways, for some MckMuffin cuteness!!!!!!

2) Angie at Bring the Rain- Again, she has about 10,000 people following her, and no time in between caring for her little cuties and ministering to her thousand of followers, nor does she even know who I am , but I wanted to put her in case you haven't "met" her yet. I hope you take the time to head on over and read her story. Talk about laying it all out there... and blessing everyone for doing so!

3) Rebecca at China Baby! I am cheating, because I know she has already been chosen by Stef. She is doing a blog makeover giveaway. You can head on over to her blog and nominate someone for a blogover. Also, did I mention that she is doing a fundraiser to bring her son OWEN home? I can't even name all the things she is raffleing away. You need to see it for yourself. Head on over To China for Owen and get in on the fun. What could be more fun than helping to get a little man home to his family. Nothing. Get prepared for some SERIOUS cuteness!

4) Linn at A Place Called Simplicity. She has one cool story to share and I don't want you to miss out. Check out the picture in her header. Is that one big beautiful family, or what?

5) Sara at Football and Fried Rice. She got some good news last week, and I am still celebrating!

6) Tonya at Safe in His Arms. In case anyone missed out on hearing about Brent's story during our giveaway!

7) Gwen at Oatsvall Team. She always has an inspiring story to share.

If you don't frequent these blogs, I hope you head on over there to learn a little more about them and their stories. You won't be sorry!

Lots of Love~