The Greatest Gift

I’ve discovered in life that my favorite thing in the world is to watch someone’s face light up with pleasure when….Yeah…get your minds out of the gutter…I find just the right gift to convey how much I appreciate them. I must not be the only one because my awesome friend, Joe, decided to gift me with the Blog Of The Year 2012 award for Christmas. That means I’ve either been very, very good…or very, very naughty. Since he’s become like a brother to me, I’m betting on the former.

Here’s the thing….when I started this blog a few months ago I had no idea what I was doing or if anyone would read my stuff…and quite frankly, I wasn’t doing it for them. Along the way, though, I made some great friends. So, I’m embracing Joe’s idea…since I can’t send all my lovely friends Christmas gifts (I’d go broke) or Christmas cards…I wanted to at least gift you with this award to let you know that you helped to make my year an awesome one.

The Rules are:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award

2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.

3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them

5 You can now also join our Facebook page – click the link here ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience

Please keep in mind if you aren’t given this gift…it doesn’t mean I don’t love you…or don’t plan on giving you one. In the last 3 days I’ve stacked up 3 of these bad boys so I’m not trying to hit the same people twice…And I’ll be spacing out the awards.  🙂

• First goes to my first real friend on here…she’s looked out for me, she’s commented on my stuff, she welcomed me with open arms, then included me in some of her challenges and invited me to be part of her Triberr group… Mae Clair, with her talent for writing and her dreamer’s heart, this lady is one in a million. I love her Mythical Mondays best…and I’m wishing her all the success in the world on her books, the first which was also published this year! Check her out!
• Another of my earliest friends on WordPress is Sheri DeGrom. Her advocacy for Veterans rights is awesome and her heart is just as sweet. She does a great job reviewing women’s fiction and she’s a pretty prolific writer in her own right. Our shared passions for words and music drew us together. If you haven’t been introduced, consider this your introduction.
• Then there’s Emma Meade, my sexy music buddy…and vampire lover extrordinaire. She loves her supernatural stuff and makes no bones about it. The badder the boy, the sexier she finds him…well, at least on paper.  And she’s got great taste in sexy songs. Did I mention that she, too, has a book out? This awesome Irish woman is wonderful and I’m so glad I met her.
• Have ya’ll met my girl, Katie? She is a fellow Chi-town girl and rip roaring hilarious! Not only has she lost a shit ton of weight, but she calls things like she see’s them.  She is not ashamed to discuss the fact that she’s cheating on her DVR with her boyfriend…or that she thinks her boyfriend may be stepping out on her with the TV…or about the horrific things that happen in a gym.  (My favorite is her most recent post about panty lines and the assacre it creates, so I linked it in…just so you can share in the hilarity.)
• What about Miz Vagenda Vixen, who has her page decked out in my favorite…Hello Kitty. She is always looking for the brighter, more colorful side of life…and has a unique dancing style that will keep you in stitches…because all she wants is smiles, bright colors and sunshine…
• I can’t do one of these awards without including the indomitable Natalie Hartford and her love of Urban Word Wednesday, pink and bedazzlers. There’s hardly anything out of bounds on her blog…except maybe talking bad about Mac…but hey, she’s a self professed Macturbator. Tears and howls of laughter ensue when I’m at her place… The cause nearest and dearest to her heart? MADD…and you should ask her why.
• My buddy LJ has been the unfortunate victim of Blog loss in the last few months…which has enabled her to migrate over to WordPress…Yay, US! She is a writer friend who has been a huge support to me, and who had great taste in men. (Something I like to encourage). She always has time for a kind word, and that means everything.

These are a few of the people who’ve made a difference to me… I sincerely hope you check them out…and find something worth following, just like I did. For my nominees? I hope you like your early Christmas gifts….:-)

So, I sincerely hope you check out these folks and