New Award

I got a comment from GunDiva over at Tales From The Trail (among her many other blogging world presences) that she'd bestowed upon me the Leibster Blog award. 

 

I do believe that this is actually the second time she has given me this award, but it’s entirely possible that I didn’t get around to accepting the first one since it's not in my sidebar. Regardless, I appreciate the recognition and will dutifully play along.

As with all blog awards, there are rules:

HOW TO ACCEPT THE AWARD: The Liebster Blog Award is a way to recognize blogs who have less than 200 followers.  Liebster is a German word that means beloved and valued.  Here are the rules for accepting the award:

1.      Thank the person who nominated you and include a link back to their blog.

2.      List 11 random facts about yourself.

3.      Answer the 11 questions given to you.

4.      Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.

5.      Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate and include links to their blogs.

6.      Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them. 

Okay, let’s run these down now.

1. Thank you, GunDiva.

2. 11 Random Facts About Me 

    ·         I have a pilot’s license, but I am not “current”.

    ·         I drive a 2000 Nissan Maxima with 336,000 miles on it because I hate car payments and I am now genuinely intrigued to see how long it will last before dying completely.

    ·         I don’t like politicians.

    ·         I learned to fly at the same time I learned to drive.

    ·         I drink milk when I eat spaghetti or chili. Don’t ask me why. I have no idea.

    ·         I was an art major at one time.

    ·         Between high school and college, I had six years of German language classes.

    ·         I have never been to Germany.

    ·         Macaroni and cheese is my favorite comfort food.

    ·         I hate running and weightlifting.

    ·         I am not a country music fan, but my cowboy boots are the most comfortable footwear I own.

3. 11 Questions from GunDiva

    1.      What is your passion? Setting aside God, wife, and daughter, it’d have to be guns.

    2.      If you could do anything you wanted for the rest of your life, without having to think about money, what would it be? Travel the world and help people along the way.

   3.      What is your guilty pleasure? Reading a book in a quiet place with no distractions.

   4.      Favorite book ever? Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

   5.      Favorite movie ever? The Godfather

   6.      Have you ever met anyone famous? That all depends on your definition of famous. I got to interview Brad Davis from the Dallas Mavericks when I was in middle school for a class project. I have met a few other pro sports players after their playing days were over and they had moved on to other careers. Other than that, I wouldn’t say that I’ve met anyone impressively famous. There have been several people that I have met and/or known who were important for one reason or another. I once knew a man who survived the Bataan Death March in WWII who has since passed away. I met a Holocaust survivor once.

   7.      Who would you like to meet (living or dead, real or fictional) and why? That’s a pretty long list. At the top would have to be Jesus Christ followed by Leonardo DaVinci, Nicola Tesla, Kelly Johnson (longtime head of aircraft design at Lockheed) and Benjamin Franklin. Why? Because I want to pick their brains and learn from them.

    8.      Biggest pet peeve? Being interrupted.

    9.      If you won the PowerBall or Lotto and wanted to donate a chunk to a charity, which charity would it be and why? Aside from my church for the obvious reasons, I would donate to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas. They provide free medical care to children with orthopedic conditions on a referral basis regardless of the family’s ability to pay. They are funded 100% by donations, and they are the real deal.

    10.  Favorite place you've visited? It’s a toss up between Park City, Utah; Lake Tahoe and Holden Village in Washington state.

    11.  Where to you want to visit that you haven't been able to? Washington, D.C. Specifically, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.

4. 11 Questions for the blogs I nominate:

·         Who is your favorite author and why?

·         What is your favorite adult beverage?

·         Which Biblical verse (or other spiritual text quote) is the most meaningful to you and why?

·         What’s the coolest, bestest, most exciting thing you’ve ever done?

·         What is your favorite weapon and why?

·         What is your favorite sport in which to participate (watching it on TV from the sofa does not count)?

·         At what event (past, present, real or fictional) would you want to be present and why?

·         What is the weirdest food combination that you like at which others raise an eyebrow?

·         What is your biggest hypocrisy or double standard?

·         What was your first car and would you own it again?

·         Which unfulfilled dream of yours do you most want to achieve in your lifetime and why?

5. 11 Blogs I want to nominate:

·         Kymber at *Framboise Manor*

·         The Redneck Engineer

·         Heroditus Huxley at The Anti-Soma

·         Senior at Senior’s Mess

·         Odysseus at By Other Means

·         Bob S. at 3 Boxes of BS

·         Keads at Another Day…

·         Captain Tightpants at I Aim To Misbehave

·        

·        

·        

The last three positions are unfilled as most everyone else I know either already has the award or has more than 200 followers. If you don't see your name above and you have less than 200 followers, consider yourself nominated.

6. Notify the recipients. I’m not going to everyone’s page to let them know ‘cause I’m lazy like that. Most of them read here anyway. Consider yourselves notified.

Followers and Other Stuff

I think I've beat my record for lack of posting. As of today, it's been 33 or 34 days since I posted (unless you count "The Ever Evolving Wishlist" page I added two days ago). I sincerely apologize. In my defense, things have been a bit busy in real life. In the past month, I've had two serious claims that required "drop everything and get there now" travel. The Queen managed to wrench a muscle in her back which has really hampered her child care taking abilities. When I'm done doing stuff at the end of the day, it's generally late and I'm too tired to look at a computer.

Bad me.

Before I go further, I'd like to welcome a couple of new followers. A Girl of A Girl And Her Gun has graced this humble space with her presence. I've been following her for a while now. She has an inspiring story for those who have not yet come into contact with her. I would encourage anyone with even a passing interest in self defense to check her out. She takes her training and personal protection seriously...as we all should. Also, someone blogging at Encourage One Another has decided to hang their hat here. Welcome. Feel free to let me hear from you.

I also received a message on Facebook from a girl I went to high school with who told me she's been reading the blog. It still amazes me when folks I know actually show up here and read my stuff. Welcome, Tracy. Not one word in the comments about my 80s mullet. Zip it. That goes for you too, Tena.

Now, in the midst of life swirling around me the last month or so, I had an email exchange with cyber friend Kymber who came up with an even BETTER name for Little Miss Cobra. Kymber called her the Banshee. So, I am shamelessly stealing her intellectual content while silently cursing myself for not thinking of it sooner. From now on, LMC will be forever known as The Banshee. With her brother, they are Mini Me and The Banshee. Sounds like an interesting name for a band if you ask me. Thanks, Kymber.

While on that subject, Mini Me and The Banshee are still with us. We are making some progress with The Banshee's noise making tendencies. She no longer howls and screams when getting her diaper changed. Huge plus at 7:00 AM when I am trying to get ready for work. Trust me. Car rides are more pleasant too. She still wails like a tornado siren when she is not being held and feels that she should be which is pretty much anytime she is awake and active. Those magical times when she has just eaten or is interested in something like the tassles on my dress shoes are wonderful though, she seems almost angelic...then she turns into Jack Jack at the end of The Incredibles.

We continue our efforts to instruct Mini Me in the fine art of honesty. Please allow me to share a brief scene with you from this past Sunday's Father's Day Dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

The setting: Mini Me next to me. The Queen across from me with M&M sacked out on the bench cushion next to her. The Banshee plotting revenge in the high chair between The Queen and I. Dinner arrives. Mini Me was ordered grilled chicken, mashed taters and steamed carrots...all things he has eaten previously and liked but not what he wanted to order (hamburger and fries).

Mini Me (after poking at his food): I got a 'tomak ache.

Me: Are you sure? I think you just don't want to eat what you have in front of you.

Mini Me (nodding his head): My 'tomak hurts.

Me: Well, here's the deal. If you really don't feel well, you don't have to eat anymore. BUT, that will be your breakfast tomorrow.

Mini Me: Well, maybe I can eat some now.

Me: Mini Me, you know what you just did don't you.

Mini Me (nodding head): [mumble, mumble]

Me: What's that?

Mini Me: yes, sir.

Me: That's right. You lied. [The Queen], since Mini Me said he was sick, I think we should take him to the emergency room. What do you think?

The Queen: I think that's a great idea.

Mini Me (face draining of all color, water works beginning, sobbing): NO! Don't take me to the doctor. I'll never lie again. I promise.

I wish I could have taken a picture of the look on his face. It was priceless. He HATES going to the doctor. Despises it with a passion. The fear in his eyes was genuine. He wasn't sure we weren't going to take him to the ER until we pulled into the driveway at the house. Yes, it was evil, I know.

While I'm thinking about it, I received a genuine honor recently from fellow blogger, GunDiva. She invited me to be a contributor to a blog she runs called The GunDivas. I haven't had a chance to post anything there yet, but there will eventually be content cross posted here from there. Or vice versa. We'll figure it out. One of the contributors there is a real life, "I get paid to do this", published author by the name of Tara Jansen. So, I am in good company. Hopefully, I can live up to the honor.

There was apparently some confusion amongst the readership on the subject of M&M. She remains in our care. Prying her out of The Queen's hands for a little daddy time is becoming more of a challenge though. She is almost ready to crawl. She is up on all fours and rocking back and forth. She scoots around surprisingly well. She also has a couple of teeth breaking through, and she's started on baby foods. She has a "delightful" habit of "motorboating" while she is being fed resulting in all around her getting splattered with food. It's hysterical until it gets in your eye.

There is a court status hearing scheduled for next week. It is our understanding that a trial on the parents' rights will be set at that time. Such a trial is not likely to occur until the fall at the earliest and could be as late as December. We have some other news on that front as well that I, unfortunately, cannot talk about in detail here yet. The short of it is that the out of state cousin is no longer in the picture. The Queen and I were shocked to say the least. If I ever can post details here, you will see that it really was a miracle and answered prayer.

In the meantime, I am going to try and get back in the swing of posting here more regularly again. I have several ideas for posts. There's the Magellan Award to discuss, there's some thoughts about a political theory I've been kicking around, thoughts about the current state of goverment at all levels, thoughts on cars I've owned and pets that have owned me, and I still haven't gotten around to posting about learning to fly and other things from my murky past.

All in do time.

New Follower and Blog Bling

As the title of this post suggests, I have the pleasure of welcoming another new follower. Mystic Mud from the blog of the same name found her way here and decided to stay a while. Mystic Mud, I hope you enjoy.

Also, for the first time in a long time, I have the honor of receiving an award. GunDiva at The GunDivas (at least in this particular instance) passed along the following:

In addition to the blog bling, GunDiva gave me a new title: GunDude. She has some really nice things to say along with that which I'm not I deserve, but who am I to argue with her or look a gift horse in the mouth. Anyway, as is the way of these things, there are strings attached none of which are particularly onerous which are as follows:

1) Copy and Paste the award on your blog.
2) Link back to the blogger who gave the award.
3) Pick out five favorite bloggers with less than 200 followers and leave them a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award. 

My nominees to keep the love flowing are:

1) *Framboise Manor* 
2) North 
3) Standing Outside Looking In  
4) I Aim To Misbehave 
5) Daddy Bear's Den 

 These are all nice folks. Go give them a read if you haven't already.

Recognition

So, there I was catching up on my blog reading on Monday morning...'cause the weekend was a tad busy with the family get together on Saturday following which The Queen and I spent Sunday with my mother, my sister...the devil, and her kids...the wonder nieces. Anywho, as I was saying, there I was reading away when I came across Brigid's post dated Sunday. Seems someone sent Brigid some blog bling called the Stylish Blogger Award.

It comes complete with rules and a little blog bling picture that looks like this:

As with most blog bling awards, the rules are pretty simple: cough up some secrets (seven actually) that people don't know about you and nominate some folks for the award (fifteen actually). Imagine my surprise when I continued reading to discovery that Brigid had selected me as one of the bloggers to which she was passing the award along.

I am genuinely flattered by the recognition from someone such as Brigid who is a phenomenally better writer than I am; however, I'm still scratching my head as to what it means to be a "stylish blogger". A little help from the readership would be nice about now. I know it ain't got nothin' to do with my fashion sense or lack thereof. How would you describe my style?

Anyway, since I'm claiming the award, I supposes that means I have to abide by the rules. So, here goes.

SEVEN THINGS ('CAUSE I'M NOT GIVEN NO SECRETS) YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME
1) I am a Sabbatarian. Long time readers will know that my faith is not something I talk about often despite the irony of me claiming the title of Shepherd K. I've always tended to be fairly tight lipped when it comes to my beliefs. It's not that I'm embarrassed about them or anything. I just try to live my beliefs instead of wasting my breath trying to tell people what they are.

2) I am a licensed (albeit not current) pilot. For my 16TH birthday, I was given flying lessons. My instructor was my grandmother who was an ATP rated pilot, FAA Safety Inspector and one of the two women first hired by the FAA for inspector positions back in the early 1970's. I've been planning on writing about that part of my life, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

3) I am 6'4" tall, and I am horrible at the game of basketball. It's true. This white man can't jump. Or shoot. I'm a terror on rebounding though.

4) My office is extremely cluttered, but very well organized. Trust me on this one.

5) Briefs. Defintely not boxers (much to The Queen's dismay).

6) I have had a moment of perfect clarity. It was not as enlightening as it sounds. (Slamming on the front brakes on a motorcycle is a bad idea. Especially in rush hour traffic. One of these days, I'll get around to sharing that story too.).

7) I cannot dance anything more complicated than a two step.

FIFTEEN BLOGS NOMINATED FOR THE SPECIAL HELL AWARD
1) 911 This Better Be Good. This is a recent addition to my blogroll and also, apparently, my most recent follower. I admit I have a morbid fascination with the world of stupid people. Where better to indulge that fascination than in the world of police blogs? Snark-o-plenty.

2) GunDiva. One of my long time followers and all time most prolific commenter. She writes for something like a hundred blogs now. At least it seems that way. I know of at least five she's got going right now (does that mean I can move on to nominee number 7?). She writes about horses, guns, life in general and the occasional medical related post.

3) PKWynn of MostlyGrocery.com. I used to work retail as a cashier for Walmart and Best Buy back in college. Every once in a while, you really need to get back to your roots...and get a healthy reminder why you left that line of work.

4) John the Texaner of All You Really Need. "A Blog of Guns, Food and Photography". Need I say more?

5) Candance of Crazy Texas Mommy. You want to talk about style? There is no mistaking this woman's style. I've never met her in person, but I have no doubt that I could pick out of a crowd blindfolded the second she opens her mouth.

6) TJIC of Comments for Dispatches From TJICistan. TJIC is currently off the air due to a little misunderstanding with the authorities in his home state of Massachusetts (I hate spelling that friggin' word). Hopefully, he'll be back up soon.

7) Momma Fargo of The Boogie Man is My Friend.... Another popo blog with the snark turned up to 11.

8) Mary Whitsell of ResidentAlien. Great stuff about teaching and living in other cultures.

9) Lawyer at Lawyer With A Gun. I'm cyber stalking him. Just for fun...and to keep my skills up. I'm not weird or anything. Shhhshh. Don't tell him.

10) Captain Tightpants of I Aim To Misbehave. I admit to shamelessly stealing his idea. He changed his blogger name from his first name to Captain Tightpants as a double homage to the show Firefly. I thought that was brilliant and co-opted it by changing my blogger name to Shepherd K. in my own little homage to Firefly. He's another police blogger, but he has the added extra special bonus of being on the bomb squad for his department. Great guy. Regular commenter. Give him some love.

11) Rick O'Shea of Bullet Points. How can you not like a gun blogger with that name?

12) Blue Steel with Point Blank Range. Go check out his Sunday, 2/27 post. The picture alone is worth a giggle or two.

13) Melanie of One Hot Mess. Another of my long time followers. She's a tad busy with school and all now, but she posts when she can.

14) Bob S. of 3 Boxes of B.S.. One of these days, he and I are going to have to go shoot something together.

15) theJu of My Curious Life. My oldest niece's blog. She's only done a couple of posts so far. Be patient and kind. I'll know if you're not.

Miscellaneous Stuff

Alright, I know it's been a week or so since my last post. Okay, more like 10 days or so. Hopefully, you've had a chance to get the mental picture of catfish eating manatee poo directly from the source out of your heads. Oops...sorry. Or, maybe I'm not sorry. I've never been a fan of catfish.

Oh well...and now...on with our story.

When you last heard from our hero (that would be me...grant this little illusion of grandeur for a moment...thank you), he was in the midst of taking some well earned time off after leaving his laptops (work and personal) behind with barely a "so long, suckers". I apologize for failing to advise you, my loyal readers, of my travel plans (travel is probably the wrong term for hiding out in various, secret locations in the same general geographic location as where you live).

While I was gone, Monda at Easy Street Prompts choose my post about racial issues as a winner for September's edition of the Block Party. That makes for four selections in four attempts. One of these days, I need to sit down with her and give her a sanity check. 

As per the rules, I am required to post a link to the block party submission form. Done. It was supposed to be done within 7 days. Y'all will forgive me, I hope, for the delay since I wasn't near my laptop and all.

In other news, the diety of all things food related has smiled on my little corner of the world. A Rudy's has opened up (today, in fact) in South Arlington not 15 minutes from Castle Erickson (or should I be calling this the parsonage since I claim preacherhood in this little corner of cyberspace...nah...). It is some truly good barbeque. They serve it by the pound. You have your choice of turkey, lean and regular brisket, chops, prime rib, sausages, chicken, ribs and the usual fixin's. Yes, I had dinner there this evening. No, I am not getting paid to advertise for them.

Today was another milestone of sorts. The Queen, as some or all of you are aware by now, has been fighting several health issues for about four and a half years now. She started having initial symptoms in June 2006, and things were really in the toilet by December 2006. One of the issues we discovered was that  the dental work she had done in August of 2005 was causing her severe trouble. She had cavities on eight teeth filled at the same time. The dentist used composite resin filings which are not supposed to be a problem; however, he also used a "desensitizing" compound called Gluma which contains glutaraldehyde as its active ingredient. Gluma is used to disinfect the cavity and act as an insulator of the tooth to prevent cold/hot sensitivity. Turns out that glutaraldehyde and The Queen do not play well together. It causes The Queen to seizure. Violently.  We know this for a fact based on careful testing by her new dentist.

So, for the last three years, we've been having The Queen's new dentist work on clearing out her old fillings (along with the Gluma) and doing some other neat and interesting dental magic to get The Queen's teeth from causing her neurological difficulties. The last of the old fillings got drilled out and sucked up today. It is too early to tell how much, if any, of an affect this will have on her overall health, but The Queen and I are cautiously optimistic that progress is being made.

That is all the news that's fit to print for now. If I think of anything else, I know where to find y'all.

If This Keeps Up...

To borrow a line from Laurel & Hardy, "Well, that's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" 

It would seem that Monda at Easy Street Prompts is bound and determined to make think I actually know what I'm doing. It seems that she choose my little diatribe about zombie guns as a winner for August's edition of the Block Party. She even said "Bless his heart for providing this service, because there are scads of unprepared folks out there." That would make me want to blush if it weren't for the fact that I was raised in the south and know that it means she's questioning my sanity.

Regardless, this makes for three selections in three attempts. I have to assume that Monda is either really hard up for submissions, or my writing might actually be somewhat coherent. I'll leave that to others to decide. 

As per the rules, I am required to post a link to the block party submission form. Done.Y'all go check out the other selectees. I;m sure they worked just as hard on their stuff as I did on mine and would appreciate a little love.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

It's come to my attention that the car review post I submitted to the 10TH edition of Monda's Easystreet Prompts monthly blog carnival was selected as one of the winners in the non-fiction category. One of the rules is that winners must post links to the blog carnival and the submission page within 7 days of their selection.

I think that about covers that. This post is turning into a link fest.

Monda tells one and all she is changing things up for next month by calling the monthly challenge a "Block Party" instead of a "Blog Carnival". Same concept. Different name. Po-tay-to. Pah-tah-to. Whatever.

I'm quite pleased with my results so far. Of the two posts I've submitted, I've been selected both times. I consider that more or less better than half bad. Go clickity click the links and check out some of the other submissions. You might something you like letter than my half witted postings.

More Blog Bling

So, yesterday evening, I get an email in my inbox showing I have a comment to moderate on the blog. It's from my most prolific commenter, GunDiva, advising me that she has an award waiting for me.

The award looks something like this.



In fact, you could say it looks exactly like that.

As I've come to discover, blog awards such as this one are not so much about any particular accomplishment but more about introducing other people to the blogs a particular person finds interesting. The fact that GunDiva has given me 3 of these awards must mean I've made an impression. Not sure exactly how or why, but she is well armed and not afraid to use her weapons. So, who am I to argue with her?

Inevitably, these awards come with strings attached in the form of rules for propagating the species. They are fairly simple and, in this case, are as follows:

• Link to the person who awarded me the blog: GunDiva
• Offer up 7 things about yourself
• Pass it on to 15 bloggers you've recently found and followed

7 Things About Me (To Love or Hate)

1. I am sickeningly, maddeningly, obsessively, overwhelmingly, passionately, and desperately in love with my wife. GunDiva has remarked on my oft stated love for The Queen. I'm glad someone noticed. I try to be a good example of what a husband should be.
2. I am a Christian. Not long after I chose to follow a more religious life than I had previously, my mother commented that I had started to sound like a preacher. It's time that I embraced the fact that, just as my wife is The Queen, I am, in fact, The Preacher here at Preachers and Horse Thieves. I endeavor to live my life according to the example set for me in the Bible by the name sake of my chosen religion, Jesus Christ (after all, Christian means follower of Christ). Sometimes (more frequently than I care to admit), I stumble and fall short of that example as we all do. I try very hard to pick myself up again and do better next time so that I am not just saying, but doing as well.
3. I am easy to get to know but hard to get to know well. My mother tells stories of how, as a child, I would go up to a group of kids and tell a few that I would play with them and tell the rest I would play with them tomorrow. Somewhere along the way, that all changed. I still make acquaintances fairly easily; however, I have very few close friends. The person closest to me is my wife, and even she occasionally complains that I do not open up enough with her.
4. I envy craftsmen and artisans. I have a desperate desire to create and build which is going unfulfilled in my life right now. I have tried my hand at drawing, painting, woodworking and pottery as well as other crafts and arts with moderate degrees of success; but, someone who is truly gifted and can make something heartbreakingly beautiful where only a stick of wood or lump of clay existed previously is, perhaps, as close as one can ever get to the marvel and wonder God must have felt as He created the universe and the little ball of dirt we call home.
5. In 14 days, I will be 40 years old. Without The Queen in perfect health, it does not seem to be anything worth celebrating.
6. I have a morbid fascination with snipers.
7. I am a conservative (NOT a republican) who feels that the horse thieves elected to public office have abandoned we the people in order to form a more perfect bank balance or power base. I am disgusted by what passes for leadership in this country, and I pray that God will remind them that He brought 'em into this world and He can take 'em right back out.

15 Award Winning Bloggers (...more or less)

In truth, I'm not sure I know 15 bloggers much less ones I've started reading recently. I guess that makes me a bad blogger buddy or something.

1. Bob Hoover's Blog Bob is an interesting guy. He's a bit sporadic on his postings because he's dealing with cancer. Based on his writings and lack of response to comments, he's probably not big into this type of recognition; but, since this is about introducing others to blogs they might not find otherwise, he gets a nod.
2. Crazy Texas Mommy I've nominated her before for one of the other awards GunDiva sent my way. A good read more often than not. Especially if you're from Texas.
3. Flight Level 390 Captain Dave is a commercial airline pilot for an unspecified air carrier. Like Bob Hoover he does not appear to be in this blogging thing for the awards, but his stuff is very interesting to the pilot in me and would be of interest to any travelers out there looking for insight into the world of commercial air travel.
4. Fresh Confessions of a Screwed Up Texan This girl shares my love of Dr Pepper and has promised to let me be her editor when she makes it to the big times as an author.
5. Not So Humble Pie If you like food and especially anything baked, this is your place. Her science inspired cookies and other baked items are just incredible.
6. Mary Witzl at Resident Alien I've mentioned Mary before as well. She's worth a read.
7. Nathanael Rey at This Is How It Feels T!nk most definitely qualifies as the most incongruous selection in the list of blogs I follow. We have next to nothing in common, but his writing is strong and he's convicted about his opinions. Got to give him props for that.
8. Shatner's Hall Shatner is definitely a recent addition to the list of folks I follow.

...and, I'm out. There are other blogs that I follow, and it's not that I don't think they are worthy of mention here. It's just that they are either very sporadic in their postings, already have big followings and don't need my help, or are not personal blogs.

That, and the fact that I must go spend time with The Queen

With Friends Like These...

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to find a comment on one of my posts from GunDiva (aka Mrs. Wilson of http://gundiva.blogspot.com/) directing me to her blog for a little pat on the back. GunDiva has been a loyal reader and commenter on P&H since the EasyStreet Blog Carnival award I received in early October brought me to the attention of people outside close family and friends. It seems I made an impression with my special brand of baffling bull hockey ('cause I know I ain't dazzlin' no one with brilliance). While I didn't set out on this adventure to win awards or receive recognition, I have to say it's really nice to be appreciated and get kudos from my peers.

This award comes with strings attached, though. The rules, as explained in GunDiva's blog posting, are as follows:

1) grab the award (see the big blue circle thingie above - click on it and save it as jpeg file on your hard drive somewhere you can find it)
2) post it on your blog along with five things you love to do
3) name five others you want to recognize

I think I've already posted at least five things I love to do in my blog; but, what the heck, repetition can't hurt. Here, in no particular order, are five things I love to do:

1) Read. I think it was Stephen King who said that anyone who wants to be writer should read everything they can get their hands on. I'm not sure I ever had a conscious thought to want to be a writer until recently, but I've tried to read just about everything I can get my hands on for as long as I can remember.

2) Cook/Eat. This may seem like trying to cheat and get a two fer; but, the truth is, you can't do/love one without doing/loving the other. They go together like high school sweethearts. As the saying goes, never trust a skinny cook. Unless they have metabolism issues. I was 30 before my pasta binging caught up with me and beat my metabolism into submission.

3) Fly. It's sad that one of the things I am most passionate about in life is so freaking expensive. To fly for one hour in a small, basic single engine plane costs upwards of $75. Get something with a little more power or complexity and you might as well light a stack of Benjamins on fire. Still though, when I can afford it, there's nothing I like better than breaking the surly bonds of mother earth to go punch holes in the air.

4) My Wife. If you haven't figured this one out yet from reading this blog or knowing me personally, you are seriously and truly screwed in the observation department.

5) Tinkering. I can't help myself. Really. I just can't bring myself to pay someone else to do something I can do or figure out how to do myself. It's just too much fun to learn something new or fix/make something with your own two hands.

Now comes the hard part...figuring out who to recognize. Here, in no particular order, are the five people I'd like to recognize:

1) GunDiva. The logic of this choice may seem a bit circular and perhaps not in the spirit of the award, but the rules don't say nothin' about not doing it. So, I'll recognize who I darn well please. Thank you very much. Seriously, GunDiva is a loyal reader and regular commenter whose feedback I value. Knowing that there is someone else out there who gets a kick out the thoughts oozing from you brain is, more than anything else, what makes writing worthwhile. She also happens to be a pretty good wordsmith herself. I am a particular fan of her "other blog" Lyon's Roar Protection Agency (http://gundiva-lyonsroar.blogspot.com/).

2) Candace at Crazy Texas Mommy (http://www.crazytxmommy.com/). This is double recognition for her since GunDiva already beat me to it and recognized her. Candace is flat out nuts and knows the true meaning of "bless your heart" to boot.

3) Melanie at One Hot Mess (http://makingupyourmind.blogspot.com/). Like GunDiva, I've met a few people I wouldn't otherwise have crossed paths with. Melanie deserves special recognition as she was follower #2 on the blog and the first follower from the blogosphere outside of friends and family to publicly admit to following my deranged ramblings.

4) Mary Witzl at Resident Alien (http://witzl.blogspot.com/). Given the fact I have a double major in History and Anthropology with an emphasis in cultural anthropology, I was immediately drawn to Mary's multicultural stories of growing up and living in foreign countries and teaching English to young kids who are not so interested in learning anything much less English. Great writing, and it will probably irrevocably crush any thoughts I ever harbored of entering the teaching profession.

5) Tay at ProfoundiTay (http://profounditay.blogspot.com/). Tay is another glutton for punishment who fell on the hand grenade that is P & H and publicly admits to reading my witty attempts at prose. She is also another person whom I would never have met but for this world of blogging.

There. I hope my selectees enjoy my humble accolades as much as I enjoyed mine from GunDiva.

Blog Carnival Award

I think it was Sunday evening when I received the email from Monda at Easy Street Prompts (http://easystreetprompts.blogspot.com/) telling me that "I Speak Thingie" had been selected as an Editor's Pick in the September Blog Carnival. I'm still hyperventilating into a paper bag and laying awake in bed in the middle of the night thinking "Holy keyboards, Batman. What next?" Stunned doesn't quite seem to cover it. Floored, maybe? How do you sum up disbelief, validation, redemption, elation and a whole legion of emotions into one word?

I will probably be geeking out about this for at least another week. So, if you know me personally or have the misfortune of being related to me, I apologize in advance for the radiant smile and the constant murmuring of "I can't believe it."

So, to Monda who had to wade through an unknown number of submissions to narrow it down to the 9 selections I say simply: Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, tell me your favorite liquor and where to send it, thank you, gracias, danke, thank you.....

To my fellow award winners, congratulations. You all ROCK!!!!