After reading up on the history of it, It sounds like it is an award that is bestowed upon a blog by another blogger, pending of course, the strict adherence to a rigorous set of criteria (Ok, well maybe not rigorous, but they ask you do a few things if you are nominated/awarded it). It is to honor other bloggers and basically give them warm fuzzies about how great they are and how they're writing affects you, whether they post something every so often, or every day.
Anyways, off of that rabbit trail. While reading the latest and greatest from the Travellerzero Blog, I noticed that he had listed me as one of his fifteen nominations for the Versatile Blogger Award. Before I go any further, I wanted to say Thank You to Steve Madden from the Travellerzero Blog. I only recently started blogging and the while I personally have enjoyed putting some of my thoughts/ideas/recipes into words, I never actually imagined that anyone would enjoy reading them. So, the fact that I was nominated is really heart warming to know that others enjoy reading what I'm thinking about as much as I enjoy writing it.
One of the rules of being nominated for this award is to list fifteen blogs that you've recently found or regularly follow that are worthy of being nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award due to being either versatile and/or mind blowing. So here is my "list."
1. Heavenly Homemakers: I really don't remember where I originally found this blog, but the author, Laura, is amazing. She blogs about her family's quest to eat healthy, as well as just the day to day life of being a parent. She has some great recipes as well as always has enjoyable stories about her family.
2. Defining Bliss: This blog is written by one of my closest friends, April. Originally she started the blog to be a cooking type blog, but it really has bloomed into more of a mish mash of different things such as make-up, cooking, books, and fashion. She is actually the one who encouraged me to first start a blog and is always such an inspiration to me.
3. Life's Crazy Joke: This particular blog is one that I follow religiously. Meredith is a hoot. She always has something to say that makes me either laugh, or be able to relate. She also has great advice in regards to human resource questions. Amazing blog.
4. Brittany, Herself: This is another blog that I follow with stalker like passion. I always feel like I can relate to what Brittany writes about in regards to parenting, and just other life situations that she faces. Her kids are even almost the same age as mine, so I can relate just that much more. When I need a laugh, this is my go to blog. She originally was named The Barefoot Foodie, but then changed it (pretty recently actually) to Brittany, Herself (sorry for the similar name Brittany, I was lacking on ideas the day I named my own blog). Brittany truly exudes versatility, always bringing fresh perspective, whether she's talking about her family, or the latest and greatest book she's added to her special book club.
5. Untypically Jia: Untypically Jia is a blog that really covers everything. Jessica talks about her passion for make-up, her family, her struggles with infertility, mental illness, weight loss, her faith, and pretty much anything else she thinks up. She is not only entertaining, but she is inspirational in her honesty on all the subjects that she talks about. She doesn't sugar coat things, she says it how she sees it. Her posts always are a breath of fresh air into the topics she explores.
6. Travellerzero: Truthfully, I know that Steve is the one who nominated my blog originally, but I think that he deserves this award as well. Steve writes about his family, his books that he's written, and any other topics he feels like wandering off onto. He is very passionate about his books and his writing, and they are good books. His passion for his books comes out in his writing. If you haven't read his blog or checked out his books, you should. The books he's written (Ascension, The Four-Year-Old Guardian, and Shadow Walker among others) are well articulated and the way he writes just draws you into the world of these characters that he's created.
7. Annie's Eats: I originally found Annie's blog from another cooking blog that I follow (The Comfort of Cooking). Annie is absolutely fearless in the kitchen. She always has fresh ideas for not just desserts, but pretty much anything that can be whipped up in the kitchen. Her beautifully photographed dishes always make me want to get into the kitchen and do something. She is creative and has a flair for making things just look as good as the taste.
8. The Comfort of Cooking: The Comfort of Cooking was probably one of the first blogs I ever really followed. Georgia is amazing in the kitchen. Her dishes always look so professional in the pictures she takes for her blog. She is versatile in the types of foods she makes and always adds her own pizzazz to dishes that is refreshing to see. This is a food sight that I follow closely for ideas of things to whip up in my own kitchen.
9. Six Sister's Stuff: The Six Sister's Stuff blog is a compilation of recipes and other topics that a group of sister's started since they aren't all in one spot. They mainly have recipes and DIY type stuff on their site. They have tons of crock pot style recipes. I've made dozens of things from this site, and all of them are delicious. I don't think I've gotten a bad recipe from here yet. This site is the go to site when I'm not sure what to feed my family.
10. The Oatmeal: The Oatmeal is quite frankly one of the funniest things I've seen on the internet recently. The comics are always funny and almost always have references to current pop culture. Found this blog in a link from another blog I read pretty regularly. It is hilarious. Check it out.
11. I'm an Organizing Junkie: The name really says it all for this one. Laura writes about organization for all sorts of topics, ranging from food organization to household organization. She does a link up party every Monday (Menu Plan Monday) that I link up to pretty regularly. Her site is a fantastic place to find ideas when looking for ideas of what to make for the week. She regularly posts delicious recipes and is a great place to find new recipe blogs.
12. Cozycakes Cottage: The Cozycakes Cottage is another cooking blog (if you can't tell, I really like to cook). She has some really delicious recipes and some really cute decorating ideas on her site. One of the best bread recipes I've made to date I found on this site (English Muffin bread). Drool worthy.
13. Bakerella: Bakerella is the woman with whom the cake pops originated. She is so creative and full of imagination when it comes to the way she prepares her desserts. She is an amazing baker. When I am looking for new ideas on something that needs to be not only tasty, but also look completely professional and amazing, this is the place to go. She posts some great ideas on decorating, as well as shares her wisdom that she's gained from her own experiences.
14. 100 Days of Real Food: This is a blog I actually recently just started reading. The author, Lisa, blogged about taking her family on a journey of going from processed foods to more 'real' foods. She posts plenty of recipes that utilize less processed items in an effort to create a healthier menu. I love this site as it has plenty of healthy alternatives to things that my family normally would just buy from the store.
15. Shauna Glenn: This is another blog I just recently started reading. Her reading style reminds me somewhat of Brittany, Herself and Life's Crazy Joke, but not exactly. She writes about an assortment of things, and while I'm not super familiar with her blog yet, I think it is one I am really going to enjoy.
The other piece that goes along with the whole being nominated thing is that you're supposed to tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself, so here it goes.
1. I work full time as the Administrative Assistant for the Paratransit Department of the local Transit.
2. I am the mother of three amazing children: Jaycob, Sydney, and Ashton. The older two boys are in school now, but Sydney is my stay at home child for now.
3. I love to cook. It is a passion of mine. I enjoy being able to create something greater than the single parts it's made up of.
4. Although I have 3 children, I am an absolute clean freak. I cannot stand for my house to be dirty. It drives me insane. If it is dirty, I cannot relax until the mess is cleaned up. It's like the dirt is taunting me otherwise.
5. I am a sleep talker. There has been numerous times my husband thinks I am awake and so will talk to me, and I will have no recollection of the conversation at a later point. I've also taken the opportunity to vehemently deny purchases in my sleep that I clearly had made.
6. When I am not spending time with my children or in the kitchen, I love to read. It really doesn't matter what. I like to read science fiction, romance, horror, action, etc. etc. I really don't stick to one genre, I am pretty much all over the board in this department.
7. I probably will never own a pet of my own. As a child I had horrible luck with animals. I managed to kill practically every animal I ever owned. I ended several goldfish (accidentally let my cat eat them), a hamster (this one is up for debate, may have been natural causes), and a cat (I accidentally shut her tail in the door. The tail fell off. She ended up getting an infection and then had to be put down). We did have a dog when I was little, but he escaped (my older brother adopted him), before I could do any damage to him.
If you want to know more about the Versatile Blogger Award, you can get that information here:
http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com/vba-rules/
Here's the general rules for the award if you are nominated:
- Thank the person who gave you the award/nomination - That is common courtesy.
- Include a link to their blog... This again, is common courtesy.
- Select 15 blogs/bloggers that you have recently discovered or follow regularly that are amazing.
- Then nominate them for the Versatile Blogger Award.
- Tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.
- Let your nominees know
aww, Angela, thanks for nominating me! I love that you are also a sleep talker- I'm not sure I knew that-- but I am too LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words, Angela. But you're never allowed anywhere near my animals. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for including me in your list, so nice!!!
ReplyDeleteLaura