I'm Ba-ack!!

Surprise!  I know, I said I'd be away for awhile, completely immersed in my new Jodi Picoult treasure.  But the truth is, I couldn't stay away!  I'm LOVING Ms. Picoult's latest offering (fa-bu-lous!!), and I'm already several chapters in, but I've decided to try and actually PACE myself with this one.  I'm going to savor it, if you will, rather than devour it in a few days. We'll see how that goes!

I also couldn't bear being away from HERE! And you know what THAT means, don't you?  I'm completely hooked!  I'm crazy about this lovely blogosphere of which I can proudly state that I am a part, and the thought of not being connected to it for even a day is simply unimaginable.  This, of course, means there's going to be a lot of therapy in my future, but I'm not going to think about that just now!!

There's another reason I needed to come back today, and that's because about a WEEK or so ago the lovely B Sparkly awarded me with this "Master of Karate and Friendship" honor!

On top of THAT, my new best friend and stalking victim Kelly, of Kellyansapansa, gave me the prestigious "Lemonade Stand" award, about seventeen EONS ago!  And, like an ungrateful LOSER, I've not acknowledged either.  I, it turns out, royally suck!  But I'd sincerely like to remedy that today!

Thanks so much, B and Kelly, I really am honored and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you thinking of me!  If you haven't already, be sure to check out both of these girls' fantastic blogs.  They're pretty, witty, and fabulous, Dahlings!  I know you'll love them!

For the Karate Master award, I'm to now list six things in which I "master."  Wow, only SIX?  But there's just so many areas in which I excel (NOT!)! I guess I'll go with these:

1.  Running Discipline.  There's very few days I actually WANT to run.  I always do anyway.  I'm kinda proud of that!!

2.  Sticking to My Guns.  Fifteen years ago, the APSCA asked it's members to boycott Proctor and Gamble products because of inhumane animal testing procedures.  Only until recently, when it was announced the company had changed it's policies, did I buy a SINGLE item of theirs (this included Pringles potato chips, for crying out loud!!).

3.  Buying Presents for People.  I LOVE it.  And I think I'm pretty good at choosing the right item for the right person, if I do say so myself!

4.  Drinking Wine.  I've given it up for a few months to help achieve some weight loss goals.  But, MAN, when I'm on my game, I'm REALLY good at this!!

5.  Wearing What I Like.  This one took a while, but I finally stopped worrying about what others think about my outfits, and wear what I want! (See earlier, Christmas Sweater post!)

6.  Gardening.  I LOVE being elbow-deep in dirt, planting flowers that are going to make my yard "pop!"  It's like painting with nature!  In Florida, my flowers won me "Yard of the Month," TWICE!!  I wrote about THAT, too, here!

Ok, now to pass this award on to six others.  This will be tough, because so many of my new friends' outstanding blogs have already been presented with these awards!  I tried to pick ones that haven't, but if this is a repeat for you, feel free to completely ignore it!!  I won't be offended in the LEAST!!  Here are my choices:

Views of a Star Child
Sylvia from Over the Hill
"A" for Effort ("B" for Blog)
Things I Never Knew
Paint Splotches
Darlene's Days

As for the Lemonade Stand award, I'm supposed to present it to someone who's "making lemonade out of lemons," so to speak.  I'd love to give this to sweet Julia over at A Blonde Walks Into a Blog...  She's going through a rough patch right now and I'd love for you all to stop by and throw her some kind words of support!

Welp, there it is!  Thanks again, Kelly and B, I can't tell you how tickled I am that you thought of me!  I promise I'll do my best to live up to the Lemony Karate Master you see in me!!

Ok, back to Jodi!  Bye (again!) for now and,

Thanks for Reading!!