"In every power, of which taste is the foundation, excellence is pretty fairly divided..." (Mansfield Park)

So my itty bitty bloggy thing got its first "award" of sorts today--TWO actually! :)

First to post it was my muse, Ms. Jill... More about her below...

And THEN Amy gave me the same really cool award! Amy is a new online friend for me, but she TOTALLY rocks... She's beyond talented, and oh so humble about it to boot! And she has this little Princess named Emma... Oh my gosh. CUTIE... Oh, Amy needs stamps... Note to self...

OK, so this bloggy awardy thingy means that I have to post the pic, and then I have to post about Seven bloggy friends, and THEN post seven things about myself people may not know... So here goes.

I am a fan of:

Lisa Howard: Seriously, the funniest, most REAL blogging voice in our crafty little circle, Lisa's blog inspires me to work harder at my craft while enjoying my everyday life a little more... My all time favorite blog read...

Kristy: Miss Kristy is seriously SUCH a hugely talented artist. She's not just a scrapper though... She has these awesome skills... Sketching skills, nunchuck skills, chibi skills, bowhunting skills, photoshop skills, computer hacking skills, blog design skills, oh, and scrapbooking skills.

Tracey: This is Tracey's like sixth copy of this award, and it's her own fault for being so darned amazing. She's truly an artistic inspiration, and an overall AWESOME chick. We bond, over wine or beer, almost every other day lol, and it has gotten to the point where I "talk" to Tracey more than I talk to my local friends... now if we could only meet face to face one day, well... that'd be off the HOOK! :)

Karmyn: Karmyn and I are like polar opposites. She's a neat crafter. I'm a mess (slovenly artist IS my motto!!). She's in a band. Not only can I not carry a tune, but I listen to SPANISH music or the New Kids on the Block in my free time... definitely not a rock kinda girl if you get my gist... She knows how to get things on a discount. I know how to rack up a credit card bill. She's got short spikey hair. I have long curls... The list goes on and on and on, but we WORK. At this point I think we see each other about twice a month or more if we can swing it! :) She's my buddy, fellow newbie Design Team member over at the Shoe, and my main confidante... Which reminds me... Karm, give me a BUZZ!!!

Jill: Ahhhh... Jill has DEFINITELY seen the evolution of my scrappy style! Actually, if I really think about it, Jill has actually TAUGHT me how to scrap the way I scrap today... I was so scared of ink before I "met" her online! :) LOL... She talked about inking edges and (gasp) distressing and tearing paper like it was the greatest, newest, bestest thing ever. And I thought she was nuts. Um, if you saw my last post, you can see that we've come a long way together!!!

Tanisha: THIS lady TRULY traipsed across the eastern seaboard to come see little old me about two years ago... And that was back when I was like "Ink, what ink?" ACTUALLY, it was more like "WHAT is that gun looking thing that sounds like a battery operated adult toy that you're using on your layout? OH Stamps? What stamps?" And then she tried to teach this old dog how to make something DIMENSIONAL... LOL. I was SO in awe... and still am in awe of what Ms. T can do with some paint, adhesive, and a l'il bit of paper! :) She rocks...

Lesley: Yeah... um I thought I was getting good with the whole vintage and Tim Holtzy stuff... Until I got to know Lesley. Of my bloggy friends, she's my newest, but hot DAMN, check out her work.... She puts me to shame each and everytime she posts, and, well, she knows how to keep it real too! :)

SHEESH, the SECOND part of this longest blog post ever is seven things about me.... Let me make them snappy:

1. I am deathly afraid of spiders or flies going up my nose. Don't ask.

2. The first thing I look at when I meet a person is their teeth. Then their hands. Then their butts.

3. My aunt and scrap buddy was my best childhood friend for over twelve years. We argued, didn't talk for about ten years, and now she's my best adult friend all over again. And we're raising our children together just like we dreamed...

4. I want to move to the country.

5. I have to be reading about three books at a time or I can't concentrate and get the gist of a single one of them. Current list includes The Time Traveler's Wife (again), Mrs. Dalloway, Persuassion, and Great Expectations. The last THREE are prep for work though! :)

6. I wish I were still 26. It was a great year... I reminisce a lot about YOUNGER years, and am starting to feel a little age worn, but at 32, I have to suck it up and keep truckin!

7. I had a best friend for over fifteen years (not the aunt I mentioned above, lol). SOMETHING went wrong and we lost it... I wish we could have salvaged our friendship earlier, but of all things, FACEBOOK is bringing us slowly closer again... Gotta LOVE technology!!!