Stylish Blogger? (This is the ONLY time I'll be called stylish)

The sweet Yankee over at MidWestern Exposure http://midwesternexposure.wordpress.com/ recently tagged me for the Stylish Blogger Award. Honestly, I’ve been blogging for a couple of years now, and I’ve jealously coveted all of these shnazzy little blogging recognition moments, and I got all teary eyed when I found out that I had actually been chosen! Someone reads my blog(s) enough to spread the joy? (Is that what I’m spreading? Hmmm…. Smells of …..)
Appreciation is best shared; it’s what makes the blogging community a community, after all. To this end, the Stylish Blogger is modeled on a chain-letter, with the following (optional) obligations:
1. Thank the person who recognized you. (I’ve done this on her blog, but I will do again here: THANKS! You really made my day.)
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Recognize 15 other bloggers (or however many you like, if you don’t read that many blogs) whom you admire by passing the award along to them.
Seven Things About Me
• Unless I’m running in a crowd of thousands, I will go out of my way to avoid stepping on street or sidewalk hole covers. They creep me out. If I’m in a huge crowd (Race for the Cure, Honolulu marathon, etc.) I cringe and my stomach is in momentary knots when I realize that I can’t avoid stepping on one.
• I became a mom for the first and second times at the age of 37 when many of my counterparts were becoming grandparents. No, I’m not kidding. We get started early in these parts.
• I spent my entire youth astride a horse. I miss it SO much.
• When I actually have time to read for pleasure, I try to alternate a fiction with a non-fiction. I think that I prefer fiction, but I’m always worried that I’m not well-rounded enough.
• I have Meniere’s Disease which is not really a disease, but rather a dis-ease or a syndrome or “episodes.” When I use the term “episode,” I feel like I’m 80 years old.
• I’m going to be really pissed off if I don’t actually live to be 80+. Now that I’m of “ma’am” age (40), I’ve decided that eighty is the new 60.
• I will try ANYTHING twice. I don’t think that once is enough because the first time (good or bad) may have been a fluke. This applies to experiences (running a marathon, bungee jumping, etc.) as well as food (although I’m still trying to muster up the desire to stomach oysters on the half-shell again – I will do it, I’m just not sure when).

Bloggers I Admire
I admire just about anyone who is willing to publicly put pen to paper (metaphorically speaking) and open themselves up to critique. It’s a pretty vulnerable place to be in if you’re doing it right. Well, it is for me. Maybe that’s a personal problem. Maybe I’m not doing it right? 1-800-THERAPY, anyone? Wait! Maybe YOU’RE not doing it right? Ha!
Regardless, I love reading these particular blogs (and not necessarily in this order) because they provide me with a laugh, a cry, a sigh of relief, an update on local politics that COMPLETELY impact my life, and a belief that good things can happen to good people.

1. Nicole at Arctic Garden Studio. I love how bright and cheery and beautiful her blog photos are. I’m impressed that she manages to find and/or create sunshine in one of the coldest parts of the country.
2. I recently discovered Briggsy over at Oh, Briggsy, and I must say that she cracks me up. She is so much more clever than I am, and if she were typing this, she would probably write something that Phil from Modern Family might say like “She’s the shizz that busts my chops, yo!” (See? Even then I can’t make it work) and then make some obscure by hilarious reference to DJ Jazzy Jeff or Air Supply.
3. Dooce’s Heather absolutely makes my day. Wait. Daily Chuck makes my day. No. It’s the way that she describes her husband’s responses to anything that she says. Ehhh – it’s Coco. Heather, you had me at “my dog eats her own poop.”
4. Baba makes Lesbian Dad a true joy to read, and her kids are ADORABLE. She is very active in her community, and is creating the type of family that has been around for years but only recently respectfully recognized – and even then, not everywhere (read: right where I’m standing).
5. Indispensible to gay Utahns, Eric has the cajones to take on the locally wicked Sutherland Institute and, frankly, the whole of “the church” as it’s known in these parts. Pride in Utah is one of the fastest links to local politics that we have. Eric, you’re a pig, and we’re lucky to have you amongst us!
6. Hysterical in a PPMD way is Role Playing with Kids’ K. She says things that the rest of us think, and you gotta’ respect people who have multiple multiples, especially this close together. And, by the way, these kids are so stinking cute. Really – check out their smiles! Mine are a smidge cuter, but not by much!
7. In addition to the usual blogger fodder, Kyla has the ability to write very profound posts when the topic is just right. Besides, the regular “fodder” in her life is pretty dang interesting which makes Turtlefly Adventures something that I look forward to checking on a regular basis. It’s rumored that she’s a blast to hang out with, and I find it shameful that we haven’t yet. I smell a BBQ in the making.
8. It was a happy day that I stumbled across The Pioneer Woman, and now I not-so-secretly wish to live her life (minus the goateed hubby, although I must admit that he is very attractive) because I believe I was meant to be a farmer with a basset hound.
9. After experiencing the first of eight horribly wrong recent court decisions, Keri has managed to keep her dignity intact. She’s become an activist, and her new (almost 2!) baby is completely precious, but she will never give up her hope that she will be reunited with her first child. Pieces of Gray is the place to read this story of hope and persistence.
10. With a name like Whiskey in my Sippy Cup, this blogger can’t help but be awesome. Mr. Lady is honest and actually made me cry once.
11. Second only to Dooce, RBR’s protagonist makes me choke on my morning beverage with almost every post. Love it! Love her!
12. My coworker, and fellow reasonable human being, Nate mixes triathlon training, techie crap, a dad’s perspective on multiples, and hockey into an enjoyable little read. His techie updates are waaaaay over my head, but his race reports are awesome – like the time he likened his swim to a zebra being taken down by an alligator. Only at The Bloody Toe.
13. Tigress’ 2010 Can Jam jolted me out of the sweet spread doldrums that I was unwittingly languishing in. The challenge, documented on Tigress In a Jam, inspired me to make things like Key Lime Pie Martini jelly and Onion Rosemary confiturra and O3 jam. Oh, and she’s a clever writer, to boot!
14. The people who were brave enough to employ me from ages 18-20 can be found here. Ah, I miss those days of sunshine, sea air, and the nights of partying like only under-aged kids can. And, the pizza. THE PIZZA!!!
15. Besides the fact that she seems to be able to grow anything, Gayla at You Grow Girl has the most fantastic photos. She could find a flower growing in a gravel pit and make it look beautiful.