This entry was posted on Friday, November 28th, 2008 at 5:05 pm and is filed under By the Numbers, Five on Friday, If I Were the Queen, Internetting, To Whom it May Concern. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
As anyone who’s ever tagged me for a meme knows, if I don’t answer right away then I never do. And to be honest, I never answer right away, usually because I can’t think of what to write. By the time the words would have come to me, I’ve usually forgotten the assignment. (Incidentally, this is not very different from my middle school years, when I procrastinated on my homework until long past the expiration date. Of course, back then I could blame it on friends, lack of motivation, and an unhealthy interest in a certain few boys who, in turn, had no interest in me whatsoever.)
But when my friend Robin Bielman awarded my blog – and six others — the lovely badge to the left, I knew I couldn’t ignore it. Sheer terror had much to do with my dutiful response, since Robin knows where I live, she could totally take me in a fight, she knows several of my more potent secrets, and she critiques my writing. There was more to it than lack of courage, however. I loved the spirit of this award, which was designed to acknowledge bloggers who tirelessly entertain near-strangers with regular, good-quality content — and all for free.
It’s deciding which worthy bloggers deserved the honor next that gave me the most difficulty, of course. How is it possible to narrow down my favorite blogs to just seven, even when accounting for those who had already received the badge from someone else? And how could I do that without hurting the feelings of those who were left? After all, I think everyone on my blogroll is deserving of recognition. And so I grabbed all of the eligible names from my sorely outdated list of links, shuffled them in a high-tech fashion, and chose the top seven. If you have the opportunity, please take a few moments to check out the following blogs, as well as the ones from my blogroll that ended up later in the randomized list and so didn’t get chosen this time around. I bet you’ll find some fun new reads that way.
And now, without further fanfare, I hereby present the I Love Your Blog badge of honor to:
- Katie from Cactus Kate for her gorgeous photographs and awe-inspiring gardening abilities
- Courtney from Five-Second Dance Party for her unflinching honesty and warm-heartedness
- Sandi Kahn Shelton for writing posts that never fail to make me laugh and, on some occasions, tear up
- Alyson Noel from Tales from the Real OC (Really!) for her fun updates, insights into the life of an author, and many cool website recommendations
- Chemical Billy for writing drop dead gorgeous prose that makes the world around her come alive for her readers
- Eileen Cook from Just My Type for finding the most random, bizarre, and entertaining links to pass on to the rest of us. I don’t know how she does it!
- Emily from The Sassy Lime for being such a sweetie, and for her cheerfulness in the face of near-constant pain
Thank you, ladies, for your inspiring, entertaining, and always-interesting posts! Please pass on the blog love by putting the badge of honor on your sites and awarding it to seven other deserving bloggers.
Note on a Unrelated Topic: If you’re reading this through an email subscription or an RSS feed, or at http://www.caryncaldwell.com/blog, you have been successfully transferred over to my new blog. Stay tuned for a fun surprise later this weekend!
November 28th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Thanks, Caryn! Whether ‘randomly selected’ or not, I feel honored that I made the list in the first place. I did add 2 of your other chosen ‘blogs to my Bloglines list. They were interesting and very well written. Thanks again!
November 28th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Yay! Your blog transitioned on my blog roll, so all is right with the online world
. GREAT blog choices–looking forward to reading them and to tuning in for the fun surprise!
November 28th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Sandi Shelton certainly deserves it. I’ve known her for some time, back before her mom died and I’ve been following her blog ever since. She’s a wonderful woman and deserves this award!
November 29th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Congrats on the award!
New home looks lovely – and it worked perfectly my end!
November 29th, 2008 at 11:17 am
You think I could take you in a fight? Really? Hmm. What kind of fight are we talking? And will we have an audience? lol Sorry, couldn’t help myself this morning.
This post, as usual, was terrific Caryn! I look forward to checking out your honorees. And again, thanks for making my days better whenever I’m here!
November 29th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Katie & Robin, check your email!
So glad, Marilyn! I always get concerned with big changes like this, but it needed to be done.
Boomer Chick, I agree! I love her posts!
Thanks, Kit! So glad to know it all worked for you!
November 29th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
This is the best meme! I keep finding such good new blogs to read. Thanks, Caryn!
(Am I allowed to say it again? Your website is beautiful!)
November 29th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Wow, Caryn, this new blog design is BEAUTIFUL! I love it–it’s so clean and spacious and wonderful. And I am so flattered to be mentioned in this. I’ve loved the other sites you mentioned, too. Thank you for bringing me new wonderful sites to read!
November 30th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Spyscribbler, hope you enjoy the new blogs. And, yes, feel free to tell me that as often as you want. It feels good to “hear” it.
Thanks, Sandi! I’ve been happy with it so far, especially as I keep tweaking it to get it just so. (Today it was perfecting the polling box to the right.) And your blog definitely deserved to be on there! I know at least one person who started reading it after this.
December 1st, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Dang, it’s been awhile since I commented here.
How’s it going Caryn? I love your new blog digs! Congrats on getting such a nice award, it is well deserved.
December 1st, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Okay, Sandi, this book sounds fantastic! I love that you love your characters, it’s kinda sacrilegious not to ya know? And a character that haunts a writer is worth his/her weight in gold. Love when they come with a bag of secrets too!
I’m adding this baby to my list!
December 1st, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I have not had a second to breath, much less read, since Sandi’s book arrived on my doorstep on Tuesday. I had to take my son back to college this evening. I tossed him the keys and said <i>Drive. I’m reading</i>, which gave me about 30 minutes before it was too dark to read any more. We got into a horrible traffic jam which was made more agonizing by the fact that not only were we not moving, the book sat beside me on the seat, begging me to continue but there wasn’t enough light. Can’t wait to get back to this!
December 1st, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Ooh, terrific story indeed! I’m off to update my Christmas wish list!
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Thanks, Caryn. I just saw this!
December 12th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
[...] immediately, it probably won’t happen. In any case, I ask you to read Caryn’s post (HERE), and check out the other ‘blogs she nominated. Some of them are great! I am sorry for [...]
December 28th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I am more than randomly tickled to be on your list, however randomly generated! Thanks everso…