I've been procrastinating on this particular blog award because it requires me to sort through my blog posts for the most beautiful, most controversial, most popular, etc., and somehow it's making me feel like a judge for American Idol. Or maybe, a better metaphor would be a beauty pageant judge...

Strut your stuff, blog post #20! Chin up, blog post #68! You call that a walk? What are you thinking?

And I fear my posts from now on will develop an inferiority complex.

BUT! It has to be done. Sooooo...a BIG THANKS to these wonderful blogger friends who bestowed me this interesting award:

Tara Tyler of Tara Tyler Talks. She's a lovely math teacher and writer rolled into one. I am always in awe of mathematicians because Math was the one subject I struggled the most with during my high school years.

Caitlin Vincent of Musings of an Ordinary Mind. Caitlin is one of the sweetest and smartest persons I know. I love her writing voice (check out her A Word for Wednesday posts). Love yah, Cay-Cay! ;)

A.M. Supinger of Inner Owlet. This gal is one of my favorite bffs. She's lovely, she's funny, and she can write beautiful, sometimes heart-wrenching stories. She's very imaginative and she never ceases to amaze me with her talent. <3

Thank you, ladies!

Cue the music and lights... Here we go:

1. Most Beautiful Post goes to... I can't decide between two so I made it a tie instead. The first one is the meme: Writing Is NOT Like a Box of Chocolates, where I compared writing to a tango dance. It has JLo and Richard Gere. I mean, c'mon, Richard Gere, right? Ok, he's old but he's still got it.

The second pick is more personal (to me, anyway): Poetry, The Music To My Soul.

2. Most Popular Post is...my contest entry: Beware the Bunny. So technically, this is not the first most popular but the FOURTH ranking post. The others were giveaways so I didn't include them. Apparently, you guys like morbid, scary bunny stories. O_o

Don't be fooled by those lovely round eyes, or by its soft fur.

3. Most Controversial Post (oh my!): I don't do politics, so I had a hard time picking a winner for most controversial. And then I remembered this post that started the #goatposse phenomenon on Twitter so what the heck: Who We Are. Yep, it's got goats in it.

So cute, right?

4. Most Helpful Post goes to...Passive vs. Active Voice. This is actually the second most popular post too. I get "passive and active voice" searches a lot. Glad to know it's helping someone out there. *looks out into the great beyond*

5. Most Surprisingly Successful: (wait, what does this even mean? That a post I thought was a loser actually garnered views? Or that a post I wrote wriggled its way into the top popular post ranking?) Since I'm not sure about this, I'm going with the next popular: The Breakfast Club: YA in a Nutshell. John Hughes, baby. 'Nuff said.

6. Post That Didn't Get the Attention It Deserved or Most Underrated (I need to make two sashes for this): I think it would have to be the milk maid story found here: Because I Was A Reader First Before I Became A Writer. I'm still thinking of myself as the milk maid sometimes, especially when I get writerly doubt. (You think you can write, punk? Oh yeah? Ya think you can? Huh.)

7. The Post I Am Most Proud Of: This is the one that started it all: On Writing and Other Knickknacks that Stumble My Way.

And I'm tagging these wonderful bloggers because I'm sure they have interesting posts to share with us:

Michelle Simkins (Beyond awesome. Y'all need to follow her. Srsly.)

Shelly Brown (Funny and entertaining. When I think of Shelly, "movie star" comes to mind immediately. Must be those cool-looking shades she's got on.)

Bethany C. (She is my Shakira-fro-wearing, hamster-slave-driving, purple goat sistah who totally rocks. I <3 <3 <3 her!)

Lori M. Lee (Uber talented. I drool over her manga artwork all the time.)

Mary Frame (The wolf lady who doesn't write about werewolves. Yeah, she's awesome.)

The Golden Eagle (She rocks. 'nuff said.)

Laila Knight (Her words: "Life is too short to let it be ordinary." Amen!)

Abby Fowers (A real, down-to-earth, sweet lady. ;) )

Kristin Baker (I love this gal! She's funny and smart and sweet.)

Peggy Eddleman (she just landed herself an agent! Hooray!)

Go on, ladies! Dazzle us with your fabulous posts! <3

Hello Monday!

This is going to be quick and easy. I have recently gotten to know these bloggers and I thought they need acknowledgement for the work they put on making their blogs shiny and sparkly. And you know me, I like sparkly things! ;)

So I hereby award the BLOG ON FIRE award to the following ladies:

1. Jessie Humphries
2. Krista
3. Lisa Ann
4. Tracy Jorgensen
5. Rachel Brooks
6. Julie Fedderson
7. Jeana Watts
8. Christine Tyler
9. Madeline Bartos
10. Charissa Weaks

Enjoy!

Tune in tomorrow for the winner of the BOOK GIVEAWAY: THE FIFTH SPECTER by T.S. Welti. You can still join! Contest ends at midnight, Mountain time.

Have a good day, everyone!

Did you miss me? Teehee. =D

The vacay was absolutely FUN and relaxing. Zero writing done, of course, but the break gave me a chance to recharge my writerly batteries and now I'm happy to be home and get back into the nitty-gritty work of word-pumping.

But before I can hunker down in my cave and dive into my WIP, I have some business to attend to, namely: A blog award, and an opportunity to brag (yes, BRAG as in, I WON something and I'm so excited and though I don't usually toot my own horn, just this once I will and you are allowed to be sick of me for one day. That is all.)

So. Here we go. Apparently, someone thought I was cute enough to win an award. Christine Tyler of The Writer Coaster is a new blogger friend, and she was nice enough to hand me the Seriously Cute Blogger Award.

Seriously. Cute. Puppy!

Thanks, Christine! It's great to meet you through the blogosphere.

You all should pay Christine a visit because she's one cute gal herself, and her blog is witty and funny!

I'm supposed to list down 5 books/films/TV shows I've read or watched in the last 12 months. I'm good with sharing so here's my list:

1. TV

Chopped! No, really. I love Food Network's CHOPPED. (The fact that my fave TV program is in the FOOD channel, what does that say about me? Haha!) It is brilliant. And the suspense! Can the chefs come up with a delectable appetizer in under 20 minutes using strange ingredients from their basket? Last night it was quahogs, napoli (Mexican cactus), kettle chips, red miso, and persimmons. Whoa, you say. Yes, indeedy. This show is like a bloody battle done in so little time. They start off with 4 chefs, and after each course, one gets chopped and sent packing. The winner gets $10,000.

2. FILM

#1:   I've watched too many movies during our vacation. But let me rewind to last month when I saw SUPER 8. I went in not knowing what it was about. There was much hype, the trailers didn't reveal anything, and I kept bugging the hubster to tell me what it was about (like he would know or something. Haha, no he didn't. We were both clueless.) I won't tell you either, in case you haven't seen it. Let's just say I enjoyed it. It was like Goonies meets E.T. meets Sandlot. The kids in this movie are so cute I could've adopted them all. ;)



#2:   X-Men: First Class. Um, yeaahh. Hubs and I were keeping in with *tradition. So we sat through it. Entertaining, yes. But the whole X-Men-save-the-Cuban-missile-crisis is a bit farfetched, even for this Fantasy writer.

3. BOOK

#1:   The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff. You'll just have to wait for my review coming up soon. ;) (Thanks to the lovely Michelle Simkins who recommended this to me when I was in the library looking for something to read.)



#2:   Crossed by Ally Condie. This is the sequel to Matched by the same author. I'm currently reading it and once I'm done, I'll post a review too. Shout-out to Jenny Phresh whose hand picked my name out of her sparkly fez and mailed me this prize. Thanks, Jenny! I'm lovin' it.





I would LOVE to tag all of you, so if you absolutely and really, really, really want that cute puppy in your sidebar, go get it! It's yours. Still, I'm going to tag these people so I can FORCE them to take the award ('cause if I don't, they won't take it.)

1. Bethany C. of RookieRiter. She is my lovely Shakira soul sistah (did you see her hair? I'm crushing on her hair.) And better yet, she just got herself an agent! Yes, she's cool like that.

2. A.M. Supinger of Inner Owlet. Go look at her Twitter pic. She's seriously CUTE. And this gal CAN write.

3. Suzanne F. Payne. From one hottie to another, right Suzanne? {it's an inside joke we share.}

4. T.S. Welti. This rockin' chick is superwoman in my book. I adore her. And you should too. Her MG book, The Fifth Specter, is out! I can't wait to read it. ;)

5. Mary Frame of It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets An Agent (wow, what a mouthful!). I love this gal. She is smart and funny and pretty. Check out her blog for great writing tips.

6. Jenny Phresh of The Party Pony. I worship her sneakers (even when they've stepped on goat poo). This chica is lovely in green. When she writes, she makes me laugh or cry or both. Seriously. You're missing out if you're not following her.

7. Michelle Simkins of Greenwoman. How could I not tag my lovely queen? Yes, I'm her minion and proud of it.

8. Anita Howard of A Still and Quiet Madness. My lovely, sparkly, talented friend. She's what I aspire to be.

Okay, lovely ladies, grab the award and spread the cuteness.

And now. I present to you my bragging rights on Michelle Simkins' Stone House Writing Prompt contest. Click here to read my winning short fiction piece.

I wish you all a good day! If you have any news to share, please. Go ahead and let us know. We'll celebrate with you! ;) 

I forgot to add this:
*tradition: I loved the X-Men comics as a kid. So everytime an X-Men movie comes out, my hubster takes me to see it (even though he doesn't care for the X-Men; that's how awesome he is!).

Hello Monday!

I am feelin' the LOVE.

What a great way to start the week, eh? Two blog awards from my fabulous blogging friends. I feel so honored, really I do. First off, we present the snazzy Stylish Blogger Award, presented to me by the equally snazzy and rockstar-in-disguise Caitlin Vincent of Musings of an Ordinary Mind. She does not have an ordinary mind, by the way. She just likes to make you believe that she does. (Ha! Right, Caitlin? You and your purple zebra-striped gloves. *wink*) Check out how stylish this thing is:

Ooh, it twinkles!

This shiny thing comes with rules. But before I get there, let me turn your eyes towards this simply delightful and scrumptious looking thing awarded to me by the ever lovely Ashley Nixon of Ashley Nixon. (Yes, her blog is named after her.)

Yum! Hey, no touching! This one's all mine, all mine! Bwahahaha! (Sorry, I haven't had breakfast yet.)

Miss Ashley is as sweet and pretty as the strawberries above. She's also a brainiac (Gates Millenium Scholar, whoa!), loves history, and has a boyfriend who looks like Aladdin! So check her blog out, if you haven't already done so.

Thank you, Caitlin and Ashley! You guys are super nice to me. =)

So. Rules. Here they are:

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated me.
2. Share seven random facts about myself. (The magic number 7)
3. Pass the award along to 5 new-found blogging buddies. (This is for the Stylish Blogger Award)
4. Pass the award to 15 blogging friends. (This is for the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award)
5. Contact the winners to congratulate them.

My Seven Random Things:

#1 I once got my picture taken with figure skater Rachael Flatt. She is the 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Champion, the 2008 World Junior Figure Skating Champion, and the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Ladies Silver Medalist. She performed at a local show and fell down twice! But, I still like her. =)

Unfortunately, I'm unable to find that photo of me and Miss Flatt, so I'll just leave you with this:

Source

#2 I am allergic to cigarette smoke. It gives me hives and triggers my asthma. One time, we were checking in at a hotel and our room was supposed to be non-smoking. I walked in, smelled the faint trace of smoke, broke out in hives, and started coughing. We were immediately moved to a different, nicer room.

#3 I can sing and dance to The Wiggles, The Imagination Movers, and the Yo Gabba Gabba Gang. But I refuse to sing and dance to Barney--I have nothing against the guy. Really.

Source

#4 I once took hula classes and got an A. Though if you were to ask me to dance the hula now, I will absolutely refuse, even if you were to pay me a million bucks. Okay, maybe I will. ;D

#5 I don't drink any alcohol. At all. I can't even stand drinking soda all the time. Except for maybe when I was pregnant with my first child, and because I couldn't have Coke, I desperately craved it. (No, I did not give in. I'm happy to say I channeled my soda craving to McDonald's double cheeseburgers. Not good for the thighs, I know, or my cholesterol, but safer for baby.)

#6 I wanted to be STORM of the X-Men comics when I was a kid.

Source

#7 I used to watch anime shows. One of my favorites is Naruto, a quirky, orphaned Ninja boy who's a sort of an outcast in his village because of a demon, the Nine-tailed Fox, sealed inside him. Despite his blunders and comical antics, he has a big heart and will do anything to help his friends, even at the cost of his own life. (I don't watch it anymore, btw. Too busy.)




Alright. Now that you're all acquainted with my own quirks, it is time to pass on the awards to these amazing bloggers I admire. Here are the nominees for the Stylish Blogger Award (hold your breath, people):

T.S. Welti

Ashley Nixon

Dierdra Coppel

Rebecca Dupree

Jen


And the nominees for the Irresistibly Sweet Blogger Award are (drum roll, please):

Caitlin Vincent

Anita Grace Howard

Bethany

Angela V. Cook

Sophie Li

Jeana

Ashley Graham

Jenny Phresh

Huntress

Jemi Fraser

EEV

Joyce Alton

Sarah

Carissa Elg

Shawna

Congrats, blogger friends!

I also had fun making my own blog award (inspired by my creative buddies Anita and Jenny Phresh, who made their own snazzy awards to give to people). I call it the Cool Blogger Award. Check it out:




This is my sort of Jack-in-the-box award. I'll spring it on you when you least expect it. Uh-huh. So watch out, stay cool, and maybe you'll find Ms. Butterfly flitting your way. For my first ever blog award giveaway, I give it to my super cool friend Lori M. Lee of You Are the Unicorn of My Dreams. That's right, Lori! This one's for you for being fantastic. Enjoy it!

What? You're asking for rules? Erm...you tell me one cool thing about yourself, and then you do a surprise attack on another blogger to present them this award. Sounds good enough? Okay, moving on....

As promised, here's the Monday funny. Sorry for this extremely long blogpost. We might as well end it in a good humorous note.



By Debbie Ridpath Ohi


P.S. To claim your award, right-click on the pic and do Save As. To display award on your blog, go to Design, click on Add Gadget, scroll down to Picture, and upload the award pic. Voila! You now have blog bling for extra pizzazz!

We interrupt your lazy Saturday routine to bring you this exclusive news (those chips are not going to walk away, trust me).

My good karma is paying off. This morning, I woke up to another surprise. This time, from my lovely friend Huntress who, by the way, has such an awesome name! When I think of a huntress, I immediately conjure up images of the Greek goddess Artemis, who is known for her hunting prowess and superbly athletic abilities. This goddess is not one to fool around with, I tell you.

I digress.

Back to the announcement.... Huntress aka CD Coffelt keeps a dynamic blog over at Spirit Called. (Check it out, folks, if you haven't already done so.) And this morning, she handed me my second blog award: Blog On Fire Award. How cool is that.

Woohoo! Look at that thing. It's on fire!

I am really and deeply honored to have people care enough to remember me. What a nice welcome for this newbie blogger. Thank you for making me feel all mushy and tingly inside.

*grabs Kleenex box*

So. To pay it forward, I pass this award to the following blogs I frequent for the humor and fun, for the connection they extend to their readers through sincere and heartfelt posts, and for the sheer awesomeness of the blogger behind the blog.

Bluestocking Mum

A Still and Quiet Madness

Rookie Riter: Trying to get it write

Reads, Reviews, Recommends

Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire

Musings Of An Ordinary Mind

The Wordsmith Apprentice

The Party Pony

Congratulations! May our blogging endeavors connect us together and enrich ourselves and our readers.

UPDATE: My new blogger friend has also awarded me the Blog on Fire. Thanks to Scott Niven! Check out his blog here. His books are out and the cover art is beautiful!

I had a nice surprise this morning. My new blogger friend Lori M. Lee over at You Are The Unicorn of My Dreams (such a cute blog name) passed me The Versatile Blogger Award. Here it is in its beautiful, green glory:

 Woot! Woot!


My very first blog award, yay! I feel so super. Thanks, Lori! <3

There are rules that come with this baby:

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated me.
2. Share seven random facts about myself.
3. Pass the award along to 5 new-found blogging buddies.
4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them.

I've already thanked Lori so I'm just going to say, check out her blog because she is such a cutie, she loves anime/manga (who doesn't, right?), and she loves cheese! (Yes! Yummy cheese.)

Now on to the 7 random facts. Hmm...this one needs more brain power.

#1 I went to geek school for High School. It was a government-sponsored institution and we had to take two different exams (a sort of screening test) to get in. The focus of the school was on Science and Technology (we were the ultimate nerdbots), so all of our curriculums covered advance Math and Science subjects. (We were also on scholarships, which meant I never had to pay a dime and I received a monthly stipend from the school. Sweet!)

#2 Because of said geek school, I had to live in a dormitory for 4 years. I was barely 13 when I entered. I cried into my pillow for several nights, until I made friends and my homesickness lessened. I did get to go home every weekend.

#3 On a not so depressing note, I used to join Art Poster Competitions. I won three times: school level, interschool level, and regional level. I used the prize money to buy myself a new dress and new shoes (I was 12 at that time).

#4 I went to Hawai'i for college. Blue skies, hitting the beach in between classes, it was truly paradise. =)

#5 I worked part time while going to school. I was a waitress, food server, gate greeter at an Ali'i Luau restaurant. Tourists would come up to me and have their picture taken...with me in it. It was hilarious.

Photo by andy castro

#6 Alright...what else is left in my arsenal? Oh, the first time I experienced snow, I was in Japan with my hubby. We were there for Christmas vacation. On our way to the airport, a huge blizzard hit and our flight was canceled. We drove through the thick sheet of snow with zero visibility. It was crazy, but we made it to a hotel safely. To this day, we joke around that it was like Planet Hoth from Star Wars.

Ice Planet Hoth Photo by ulybug

#7 And lastly, I come from a big family. Lots of siblings, lots of fun and chaos growing up.

Whew, glad to get that part over with. And now, I'm passing this awesome award to my new blogging buddies who have entertained me, made me laugh, helped me along the way to bloggingdom, and are just plain awesome people.

The nominees are (drumroll, please!)

Mindy McGinnis

Ashley Graham

Jenny Phresh

Lydia Kang

Joyce Alton

Come collect your award, ladies. =)

UPDATE: I'm also fortunate enough to be handed this award two other times from these SUPERB WRITERS: Carissa from My Inner Stillness and Scott Niven from Scott Niven - Author. Check them out people! They are wonderful.